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Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

Belly: King 30th Anniversary Tour (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 27, 2025)

Posted in Belly, Los Angeles Power Disco, Philadelphia, PA, Tanya Donnelly, The Breeders, Throwing Muses, Underground Arts on October 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 27, 2025] Belly

I really liked Belly when they first came out.  Their debut album is great and the follow up King is probably just as good.  When this tour was announced I wasn’t sure if I had listened to King all that much but when I put it on again I realized I knew it quite well.  Then I looked at other setlists to see of they were playing any of the songs from Star, and the were.  So I decided to see them.

I’ve always liked Tanya Donnelly–she’s been on the periphery of massive success pretty often.  She founded Throwing Muses with Kristen Hersh (her step sister). But I feel like Tanya left just before they became more commercially successful.

Then she formed The Breeders with Kim Deal.  But she left before they released Last Splash.  And then she formed Belly.  She had a pretty big hit with Feed the Tree.  But King wasn’t as successful and Belly broke up.  Tanya went solo.

Belly reformed in 2016 with almost all four original members.  The original bassist was replaced by Gail Greenwood right after Feed the Tree and is with them as they reunited.  Belly put out an album in 2018 which I missed entirely.

They toured in 2016 playing a set of mostly Star and King, then toured in 2018 playing mostly the new album, Dove.  And now they were back for King.

The set was great and I was delighted with how much fun bassist Gail was.  She was very chatty with the audience and when she said that the next sing would make you cry, a guy next to me said I’m crying already, and she went over and gave him a hug.  Gail also sang an amazing range of backing vocals, from really deep voices to very high pitched ones.  And her bass sounded great.

The stage set up was interesting, with Tanya and Gail right up front.  Lead guitarist Thomas Gorman was on the far side.  He was in the background a bit although he did take front stage for the few guitar solos he played.  His brother, drummer Chris Gorman was behind a pole and I didn’t see him for the whole show–but the drums sounded great.

But of course the focus is Tanya.  She exuded a coolness that I really enjoyed.  But she didn’t see aloof or above it all.  She seemed to be having a really good time.  Especially when Gail said, thanks for cheering us on even when we suck.  But they did not suck.  They sounded great and Tanya’s voice was really impressive.  She hit some high notes in the encores that really blew me away.  And the harmonies between her and Gail were fantastic.

I didn’t know every song from King.  It’s weird that I didn’t really know the first two songs all that well, but I knew the next few–who doesn’t remember the first song on an album?  And when they sang the jittery Red, I couldn’t wait to shout along with the chorus.  Silverfish sounded fantastic and Super-Connected was even better than I remembered.

After the album, they took a short break and came back with a second set of mostly songs from Star (which was great!).  I got to hear all of my favorite songs from the album, so that was super cool.  They played two songs from Dove which sounded very nice, if not a little slower.  And they ended the set with the Dive track Shiny One.  They merged that song into Jimi Hendrix’ Are You Experienced (which I see is on their B sides record, so I guess it has been a part of their set for a while) which merged back into Shiny as they headed off for the encore break.

It’s obvious that they were going to do an encore (it was on the setlist after all), but it’s always nice when a band seems to really appreciate that the people there are excited for them to come back.

I didn’t know the first song, Thief, which is a bonus song on their greatest hits album.  This was one of the songs where Tanya really showed that she could hit those high notes.  It was a quiet, almost acoustic song (she didn’t play acoustic guitar) for about half of it. And then the band kicked in to rock the rest.  The final song was Full Moon Empty Heart.  I aways assume bands are going to save the big hits for the encore–but no one seems to do that anymore. And that’s fine. But I found it odd that they picked this song to end the show.  Unless it was an opportunity for Tanya to save her voice for the end, where she–damn–really hit some impressive high notes.

I also really appreciated that this was an evening with Belly and the whole show was done by around 10:15.

I’m really glad I finally got to see them.

SETLIST
King album

  1. Puberty ♠
  2. Seal My Fate ♠
  3. Red ♠
  4. Silverfish ♠
  5. Super-Connected ♠
  6. The Bees ♠
  7. King ♠
  8. Now They’ll Sleep ♠
  9. Untitled and Unsung ♠
  10. L’il Ennio ♠
  11. Judas My Heart ♠
    Set 2
  12. Low Red Moon *
  13. Gepetto *
  14. Slow Dog *
  15. Human Child ◊
  16. Spaceman ≅
  17. Dusted *
  18. Feed the Tree *
  19. Shiny One ◊   >
  20. Are You Experienced (Jimi Hendrix song)
    encore
  21. Thief ≅
  22. Full Moon Empty Heart *

≅ Bees (2021)  [also appeared as new songs on their Greatest Hits album in 2002]
◊ Dove (2018)
♠ King (1995)
* Star (1993)

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Destroyer / Jennifer Castle (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dan Bejar, Destroyer, Jennifer Castle, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on October 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2025] Destroyer / Jennifer Castle

I had tickets to see Destroyer here in 2022, but other things got in the way.  After seeing Destroyer open for Father John Misty, I was curious to see how he would tour for this new album (a huge band or a small band?)

Well, we had tickets for My Morning Jacket the two nights before this show and even though I wanted to go to this one, there was just know way I could do it.  So I missed out on Dan and his band again,  But I’m sure he’ll be back again.

Incidentally, here’s a review of his show (well, actually, more of him than of the show) in San Francisco

He’s a notoriously shy performer—Early reviews of Destroyer all recall him coming on stage already drunk, if not drink-in-hand prepared for it.  English major dropout, lover of French New Wave films and 40s era jazz. The Vancouver-based artist stands aloof on stage, staring at seemingly nobody in particular, in what seems like an attempt to pretend the crowd isn’t there. He sips his beer in between songs and crouches down, closing his eyes while his bandmates do the rest. Something tells me that this is his most comfortable and preferred way of performing.

And it answered my question about his live band

Joined by the two guitarists, the bassist and drummer were feverish and impossible to take your eyes off of. The keys player and trumpeter (with his own pedal board, mind you!) took the edges of the stage, with Bejar in the center.

So I know what I missed.  And I’d like to see it again.

Jennifer Castle is a Toronto based singer songwriter.  She released two albums under the name Castlemusic.  She has played with everyone from U.S. Girls to Fucked Up.  Her 2014 album has chamber folk and psychedelic components an her previous album had psychedelic folk elements.

She sounds interesting, although the few songs I’ve listened to are far more folk than psychedelic.  And she’s a little too slow for my tastes.

 

 

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TWRP (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2025)

Posted in LAPD, Los Angeles Power Disco, Philadelphia, PA, TWRP, Underground Arts on October 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2025] TWRP


My son and I saw TWRP open for Magic Sword back in 2023 and we loved them.  We saw them again when they headlined.  And they’re the reason I went to Ninja Sex Party (they opened the show and were NSP’s backing band).

And here they were playing Underground Arts!  They were originally supposed to play World Cafe Live but because of a shakeup at the venue, TWRP and several other bands abandoned WCL for other venues.  I love Underground Arts but I think WCL would have suited my purposes better (much better sight lines).

I arrived later than I intended and the place was packed.  So instead of being on the barrier, I was back a ways behind a whole bunch of tall people.  After the first two songs I moved back and off to the side.  Not the best view but better than what I had and I could see most of the band just fine.

The previous times that I’ve seen them, they were on pretty big stages, so it was interesting to see them crammed into the small UA stage.  But they did fine with it and I was pleased that Phobos the guitarist was always near the front of the stage so he wasn’t hidden by the big pole.

All of the fun aspects of TWRP were in place.  Dr Sung on his hoverboard, Dr Sung bragging about his awesomeness and the rest of the band keeping him in check.

This tour’s theme was a weekend camping trip.  There were leaves and things around the stage and the whole conceit that they were camping was on full display.

They opened with a new song (and a new chant: party party party party).  I haven’t listened to much of the new album.  They played 4 songs from it but they did not get rid of crowd faves like Bright Blue Sky (so much fun to sing along to) and of course Atomic Karate (even in this small area he was able to do his high kicks (baby) and use the nunchaku.

The segues into each song are always fun, like when he talks about all of the potential in the room as a warm up to Human Potential. (more…)

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LAPD [Los Angeles Power Disco] (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2025) [TWRP]

Posted in LAPD, Los Angeles Power Disco, Philadelphia, PA, TWRP, Underground Arts on October 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2025] LAPD 

I was super excited for this show.  I wanted to get there early and get right up front for TWRP.  But I guess everyone else did too.  So I didn’t get a close spot at all.  I was annoyed by the people in front of me since they cut in at the least second and blocked about six shorter people.

The only consolation is that they were playing Weird Al as house music–which is a little weird since TWRP are funny, but aren’t comedy music.  But whatever, we all enjoyed it.

I’d never heard of Los Angeles Power Disco before this show.  The name was pretty funny (especially abbreviated LAPD).

The band came out on the tint stage and the trio crowded right up front.  There was a guitarist and a keyboard/bass/guitar player, and there was singer/guitarist Sarah Rayne.

Rayne had been in the band Cobra Man which played what they called Los Angeles Power Disco.  Then Cobra Man broke up very acrimoniously and Sarah took the name LAPD.

There was no drummer and honestly I don’t even know if the two guys on stage are part of LAPD or are touring musicians (LAPD has five songs out on Bandcamp, all released in 2025).

Sarah was dressed in a sequined unitard and was super interactive with the crowd.  I didn’t love the spot where I was (or the three tall people who jumped in front of us at the last second), so I couldn’t fully see what she was doing, but I know at one point she climbed on the barrier (holding hands with someone up front) and proceeded to high five and have people sing along to “Your. Time. To. Burn.” (more…)

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Wavves / Beach Goons / Chokecherry (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 13, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Beach Goons, Chokecherry, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Wavves on July 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 13, 2025] Wavves / Beach Goons / Chokecherry

This show came on my radar because of Chokecherry whom I saw a few months ago and absolutely loved.  I was 100% going to go to this show to see them again.  And then I realized that they were the first of three bands and that their set would be minimal.  I’m still not sure how long or what they played.

I also thought that I had seen Wavves before (I had seen Hovvdy back in 2017–different band, same double v).  I kind of thought that I didn’t like them, but they’re pretty fun.  They have a sloppy indie rock vibe that would probably be fun live.

In fact, looking at past posts about them, I was once quite the fan of the band, but I completely lost touch with them.

I’d never heard of Beach Goons, but when I looked them up I saw this reddit thread from two years ago:

Anyone know what’s going on with Beach Goons?  Seems like the members keep changing, lots of drama/controversy around getting kicked from tours/venues and scamming fans, and more importantly — no new music in 5 years with no communication of anything in a few months it seems. Is the band still alive?

with this follow up

The scene Beach Goons is a part of has splintered apart. Some bands cancelled due to controversies or have distanced themselves away from their origins (The Frights). I don’t know about Beach Goons drama but it doesn’t surprise me considering the state of the scene since covid.

and this one

Pablo is super egotistical, i was in high school going to backyard shows showing mad support for beach goons and members as he got more famous, seemed like he grew a crazy ego, then the controversies and drama started

I listened to some of their songs and quite liked them.  I guess maybe I should have gone to this one.

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Helmet: Betty 30th anniversary / Effusion 35 / Slomosa (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Effusion 35, Helmet, Philadelphia, PA, Slomosa, Underground Arts on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2025] Helmet / Effusion 35 / Slomosa

I really liked the first Helmet album.  I bought betty, but I don’t remember much about it.  I probably haven’t listened to them in twenty years, and I think there have been some fifteen people in the band over the years, but I’ll bet they are still heavy as anything.  But I wasn’t that excited about this tour.

In Denver, War on Women opened, but not for us.  We had Slomosa and Effusion 35.

Slomosa is from Bergen, Norway.  They have created their own music genre, Tundra Rock.  It appears to be a meld of stoner rock and power metal.  I’m intrigued by them.  I listened to a couple of songs and found it okay, but a little flat.  They are probably great live though.

Effusion 35 is from Philly.  They seem almost like a heavy country band, although their earlier stuff is even less heavy–an odd pairing with Helmet to be sure.

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Nish Kumar in “Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe” (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2025)

Posted in Amy Annette, Nish Kumar, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster, Underground Arts on March 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 2, 2025] Nish Kumar

I know Nish Kumar from Taskmaster, where he was hilarious.  I have since grown to love him from his appearances on various podcasts, including his own Pod Save the UK.

When he announced that he was touring the US and playing Philly, I grabbed my wife and I tickets immediately.

And holy crap was he funny.  He ranted for 90 minutes and we never stopped laughing the whole time.

Most of his material is political (and there’s so much to choose from in 2025), but there were also personal observations (his poor therapist gets mentioned A LOT), and even a joke or two about his fridge and his mom.

In his current tour, he is upfront with how his therapist warned him against discussing traumatic unprocessed memories on stage, saying that re-telling unprocessed memories can re-traumatise you.

What’s his comedy like?  It’s fast, angry and very funny.  Think Lewis Black but less deranged sounding.  He’s also got a wonderful outsiders perspective on the US that can make you see thinks a little differently, although as he points out, his radical left wing base probably sees things this way already.  But, as a Brown person, he brings a whole new perspective on, well everything.

Like how Indians should be pleased that they are getting represented in politics, even though these people are the worst representatives of their culture who routinely abuse and put down their own people. (more…)

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Amy Annette (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2025) [NISH KUMAR]

Posted in Amy Annette, Nish Kumar, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster, Underground Arts on March 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 2, 2025] Amy Annette

I didn’t know if Nish Kumar would have an opening act.  Since the show was starting at 9PM (!) on a Sunday night, I hoped he didn’t.

But then I remembered that comedy opening acts aren’t the same as concert opening acts.  They don’t stay on for all that long and there isn’t a 30 minute gap between performers.

So when Amy Annette was announced, I was ready to be entertained.  I found out after her set, once Nish came on, that Amy is his girlfriend of 13 years.  This made me happy for two reasons.  The first was that her set was only about 20 minutes, and it seemed crazy to travel all the way from the UK just to do 20 minutes.  And also, her material is so very different from Nish’s I wondered how he might pick someone to warm up that was doing completely unpolitical material.

So, the fact that they are dating was great!  They get to travel together and we all got some exposure to a comedian that we (or I, at least) didn’t know but now want to see again.

Amy’s humor is so very different from Nish’s.

She began with a really funny bit about bread. Yes, bread!  She had some good audience interactions to find out others’ bread choices.  And one of the respondents was a man named Paulie who would come back later. (more…)

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Emo Nite featuring MC Lars (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 14, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Emo Nite, MC Lars, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on February 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 14, 2025] Emo Nite featuring MC Lars

I have wanted to see MC Lars for a few years now.  But this wasn’t the way for me to see him.

I didn’t know what Emo Nite was.  I assumed it was just a night of emo music.  Which it is, but apparently, Emo Nite is a THING, an entity that tours.  As their blurb says

We are not a band. We are not DJ’s. We throw parties for the music we love.

Their website goes into detail about how they started and what they play.  Basically they love emo and play a night of emo with guest artists.  If I were younger and liked going out, this is the kind of thing I’d enjoy.  But I don’t want to go to a room to listen to records.

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J. Mascis (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 12, 2025)

Posted in J. Mascis, Kurt Vile, Mike Polizze, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Mountaintops, Purling Hiss, Underground Arts on February 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 12, 2025] J. Mascis

When this show was first announced it turned out to be on the same night as the Babymetal show that my son and I were going to.  But then it was postponed and I grabbed a ticket for the new date.

I couldn’t really imagine J. Mascis in a small club or playing quietly.  Well, this is the same place I saw Thurston Moore a number of years ago.  Amazingly neither legend sold out for a solo show (Thurston wasn’t solo, but it was his solo music).  J was by himself, but I needn’t have worried about being quiet, as he had a massive amp setup on stage.

I don’t know why it took him so long to get on stage (he showed up at 10:10 even though no work had to be done on stage).  His roadie also put like 5 different drinks on his stool, and I don’t think he had any of it.

He came out with a beat up acoustic guitar and proceeded to jam through almost 20 songs.

Before he started, some meathead started the E-A-G-L-E-S chant and J. smiled and then said, I’m impressed you guys can spell.

And then he got to business. (more…)

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