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Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

Wax Jaw (Black Box @ Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2026) [SWEET PILL] [Philly Music Fest]

Posted in Midfield, Philadelphia, PA, Philly Music Fest, Remember Sports, Sweet Pill, Underground Arts, Wax Jaw on October 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 16, 2026] Wax Jaw

When this show was announced as part of Philly Music Week, I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Three of the four bands were bands I had either seen or wanted to see.  The only band I didn’t know was Midfield.

I have seen Wax Jaw twice, although I laugh at the number of times I haven’t seen them but could have (14 times).  I’m curious that each time I’ve seen them, they’ve played ten songs.  Huh.

So they were the headliners of the side stage and they exploded onto the stage with Lace Up.  Within moments, guitarist George Fenton was on the floor getting a mosh pit going!

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about the Wax Jaw printed setlist is that between songs, they write things which they (sometimes) say to the audience.  Like after the first song, Shane Morgan said, as was printed “I like to see the pit going crazy, just don’t be a creep” (as an intro to Creepshow).

So they played three songs from their 2025 album, which I actually didn’t know that well, even though I was obsessed with their debut EP.  The new album is also really good–punkier and more diverse–I just missed it entirely somehow–along with half a dozen shows.

The setlist notes that Bite the Apple was a new song and then says that they just got back from Europe, so buy some merch. They had new merch, but I didn’t love any of it. (more…)

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Remember Sports (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2026) [SWEET PILL] [Philly Music Fest] (Night 5)

Posted in Midfield, Philadelphia, PA, Philly Music Fest, Remember Sports, Sweet Pill, Underground Arts, Wax Jaw on October 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 16, 2026] Remember Sports

When this show was announced as part of Philly Music Week, I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Three of the four bands were bands I had either seen or wanted to see.  The only band I didn’t know was Midfield.

I had seen Remember Sports just a few months ago when they headlined Kung Fu Necktie.  I feel like they should be a bigger band since WXPN was playing one of their songs a lot–and they were asked to do a Free at Noon today (I didn’t go since I was seeing them tonight).   I was surprised that they were going on when they were (2nd of 4).  But I never know if opening on the main stage is better than headlining the side stage.  I actually thought they might be bigger than Sweet Pill, but I was massively mistaken about that.

Nevertheless, they are such a dynamite live band.

It was much more crowded here than at KFN.  Like last time, I was in front of guitarist Jack Washburn who is really fun to watch–he played great solos and switched easily from noisy to quiet.   I could barely see bassist Catherine Dwyer who was in shadow for much of the set.  But like last time, she sang excellent backing vocals and in true bass player fashion, was chill and low key–she did make a joke about some basketball podcast being taped in Underground Arts, so she was geeking out about that.

Last time I couldn’t see drummer Connor Perry, but this time he was right up front too, and I was really impressive by his intensity–the songs aren’t super heavy or anything (well, a couple are) but he was a maniac behind the kit.

But really all attention is on singer/guitarist Carmen Perry.  She played an acoustic guitar for the first couple of songs and then switched to an electric for the rest.  Her voice is great with a lot of variety, including some really powerful screams.  But I’m amused every time she speaks between songs because she is so quiet and almost nervous–after belting out a song like Bug, she asks how everyone is doing and if they like living in Philly.   This isn’t as weird as it seems, it related to her saying that they had just come back from Europe and she asked what people think of when they think of Philly and the overwhelming answer is Cream Cheese!

Although their set didn’t differ radically from when I saw them, they did mix things up and only played 7 songs from the new album “We have a new album out.  We like it.”

They played five songs from the new album–a great mix of tempos and intensities.  Then they dipped into some older songs, one from their previous EP and one from their debut album.  But they also played three older songs that they didn’t play last time.

Pinky Ring from their last full length and then two from an album they didn’t touch when I saw them last time, 2015’s All of Something.  Reality TV, a fast punky song and Washing Machine, a sweet gently rocking song.  They ended with Cut Fruit, a track with a noisy intro (again, Washburn does great things with noise and feedback) that turns into a simple, catchy song.  It was a perfect, compact set.

They set was short, and it was great, except for the trio of (presumably drunk), really obnoxious guys who were shouting to each other through most of the songs.  What the heck?  And no one said anything to them (they were pretty intimidating looking, I will admit) and I made sure to avoid them going forward.

 

October 2026 (Underground Arts) Feb 2026 (Kung Fu Necktie)
Ghost ® Across The Line ®
Across The Line ® Bug ®
Yowie ® Thumb ®
Bug ® Tiny Planets Π
Thumb ® You’re So Sorry Π
Leap Day £ Cut Fruit ®
Tiny Planets Π Selfish ®
Pinky Ring ♣ Ghost ®
Nevermind ® Fridge ®
Reality TV ⊗ Yowie ®
The Washing Machine ⊗ Calling Out §
Cut Fruit ® Easy ♣
Zucchini ®
Soothe/Seethe ®
Nevermind ®
Leap Day £
Out Loud ♣

 

® The Refrigerator (2026)
£ Leap Day EP (2022)
♣  Like a Stone (2021)
§ Slow Buzz (2018)
⊗ All of Something (2015)
Π SPORTS (2013)

 

 

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Midfield (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2026) [SWEET PILL] [Philly Music Fest] (Night 5)

Posted in Midfield, Philadelphia, PA, Philly Music Fest, Remember Sports, Sweet Pill, Underground Arts, Wax Jaw on October 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2026] Midfield

When this show was announced as part of Philly Music Week, I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Three of the four bands were bands I had either seen or wanted to see.  The only band I didn’t know was Midfield.

Turns out they are a pop punk band from Philly.  Their songs are catchy and a lot of fun.  The band was great and their singer Matt Kelly has a strong deeper voice but he occasionally adds a falsetto.

I wasn’t clear how many people knew them, although there were two guys standing next to me who knew all of their songs really well.  There was also a mosh pit but only a few solo dudes were dancing in it.

They played seven songs in 30 minutes and if the guys next to me were an indication, the last song is their biggest.  I really enjoyed them, as pop punk is my latest jam and I’d happily see them again.

  1. Southpaw ∇
  2. Battle Scars §
  3. Nothing Changes §
  4. Fishtown and Down ∇
  5. Some Way Some How §
  6. Tidal Wave ∇
  7. Out of Time ∇

§ single (2026)
∇ Midfield (2024)

 

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The Dillinger Escape Plan (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2026) [Philly Music Fest] (Night 4)

Posted in Aphex Twin, Caged, Ministry, Philadelphia, PA, Philly Music Fest, Pyrrhon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Underground Arts on October 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2026] The Dillinger Escape Plan

When this show was announced as part of Philly Music Week, I grabbed a ticket immediately.  I had seen The Dillinger Escape Plan ten years ago when the opened for Mastodon and it was one of the most memorable shows I’ve seen–even if I was very far away and it was so loud I had to leave my spot to buy earplugs.

They have only played Philly twice since that show.  Once a couple months later at Union Transfer and once two years ago at FMH again.  shouted out Philly venues they played when they were first starting out, especially Stalag 13 (which I’ve never heard of but was a legendary DIY punk location 1996-1999 apparently).

Speaking of Philly Music Fest, a festival that is nominally about Philly music, The Dillinger Escape Plan are (proudly one might say) from New Jersey.  But that’s okay and lead singer Dimitri Minakakis shouted all of the people in Philly who have seen them at so many clubs along the way (he listed a whole bunch).

They opened with the noisy sounds of *#.. and then splashed right into the incoherent screams of Destro’s Secret.  And the place exploded.  I didn’t realize (and coudln’t really tell since I don’t know the album very well) but they played three songs in a row from Calculating Infinity (just not from the start of the album).  For all of the speed and chaos, DEP is tight as anything.  They way they shifted from chaos to quiet in The Running Board was really impressive.

I didn’t realize that this show was going to be basically a Calculating Infinity tour.  They played the entire album as well as the EP they released before the album, Under the Running Board.

The midsection with wild drumming and wild guitar of The Mullet Burden was incredible to hear live.  And then it was back to the album sequence with Clip the Apex, including the static and samples, and Calculating Infinity, a song that slowed things down for a couple of minutes and gave S a rest.  But wow, so much noise and chaos in about 15 minutes.

Minakakis took a break from time to time to address the crowd, thanking everyone for coming and for being with them all this time.

And it certainly didn’t stop there.  They jumped to the opening of the album, Sugar Coated Sour, and then back to Under the Running Board for Sandbox Magician. (more…)

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PISS (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 14, 2026) [GILLA BAND]

Posted in Gilla Band, Philadelphia, PA, PISS, Underground Arts on October 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 24, 2026] PISS

I wasn’t too impressed when I heard the opening band was called PISS, (some names just rub me wrong), but I listened to their song “blocking a scene you can’t remember” and holy cow it is one of the most intense songs I’ve heard in a long time.  The way it is constructed combined with the way the noise builds and builds.  Wow.  And the lyrics.  Jesus.

So who are they?  And how are they signed to SUB POP already?

PISS is a noisy, genre-bending four-piece band from Vancouver, B.C. Combining punk, poetry, sound collage, performance art, and visual art, the band creates a multidisciplinary body of work that blurs the line between personal and political.

Powered by thoughtful musicianship, energetic live performances, and a crystal-clear artistic mission, PISS writes punk music that aims to transcend the limitations of a well-established genre. Their work draws inspiration from a range of unexpected influences: literary giants, philosophers, filmmakers, painters, psychoanalysts, activists, children, members of a German anarcho-feminist militant group, and conversations with audience members. These voices represent varying ideological beliefs about gender-based violence and enable PISS to create art that depicts challenging and controversial issues such as sexual violence and enculturated gender norms without reduction, romanticization, polemics, or dogmatism.

This is radical feminism bathed in noise.

The band came out on stage and while the rest of the band was getting their gear ready, lead singer/screamer taylor zantingh stood front and center, stretching.  She stretched her arms, her back and some intense leg stretches (with knee pads).  I knew this was going to be an intense performance.

The band crashed to life, gavin moya feedbacking the bass, tyler paterson standing in front of the amp generating guitar sounds and garreth roberts smashing the drums.  After a 30 second intro of loud noise, taylor said “hi everybody.”  She was polite and a bit quiet.

Before the set began, she gave us a trigger warning, that these songs are about sexual assault.  And also to let us know that if a mosh pit forms and you don’t want to be in it, to raise your hand and people will make sure you get out of the way safely.  She also said it was going to be very loud, so put in earplugs. (more…)

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Voivod / BAT / Rhododendron (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2026) [TOUR CANCELLED]

Posted in BAT, Cancelled, Philadelphia, PA, Rhododendron, Underground Arts, Voivod on October 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 11, 2026] Voivod / BAT / Rhododendron

I was pretty excited for this show.  I love Voivod and have only seen them once.  The chance to see them at Underground Arts was just amazing.

But last week they announced

Dear Fans,

It is with heavy hearts that we must cancel the US tour dates with BAT due to family health emergency in the Voivod clan.
We would like to say postponed and give you a new time period but Voivod can’t commit to any dates right now.
Tickets will be refunded at point of sale, we ask fans to wait a few days until the ticketing systems have been alerted.
Thank you for your understanding and support.

So that sucks.  More for them than for me and I hope all is okay.

BAT are a heavy band from Virginia that I’d seen on posters but didn’t know much about.  Well,

The brainchild ofMUNICPAL WASTE guitarist, Ryan Waste, BAT’s origins actually go back to 2008 when Waste and former D.R.I. drummer, and Texas native, Felix Griffin, hatched the idea of working together. “We’d see each other when I’d pass through Texas,” saysWaste, “and we talked about doing a project where I played all the instruments—guitar, bass, and vocals— and he would drum. We both love Discharge and Celtic Frost and we wanted to do something real straightforward, no frills.”   “As big of a heavy metal fan as I am, I think the dirtier side of it fits better with my vocals,” he says. “But we try to push the boundaries in BAT between heavy metal, punk and rock ‘n’ roll to where you can’t quite put your finger on it. Dynamically it all coagulates together with our dirty sound. I call it primitive heavy speed. It’s just the nastiest mix of all of the above.”

And that’s pretty accurate.  They play fast and heavy, in an old school way.  And the vocals are old-school growly where you can hear the words clearly but the singer is snarling at you.  It reminds me a lot of Venom or Celtic Frost.

Rhododendron were formed in 2019 in Portland, Oregon while the band’s members were still in high school, Rhododendron’s Ezra Chong (guitar, vocals), Gage Walker (bass), and Noah Mortola (drums) set out to push their musical limits without regard for genre boundaries or audience expectation.  In the past 7 years the trio has developed a sound rooted in technical precision and repetition. Drawing from the angular experimentation of underground rock in the 1980s and 1990s alongside elements of jazz, ambient, and progressive music, their compositions are deliberate with intensity. Riffs fracture and reform, rhythms lock into patterns only to break apart, and extended passages build pressure before shifting direction.

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Ida / Ava Mirzadegan (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ava Mirzadegan, Ida, Philadelphia, PA, Tsunami, Underground Arts on October 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 11, 2026] Ida / Tsunami

Last year Ida and Tsunami played together.  I was more familiar with Tsunami than Ida, although I did know Ida.

Ida was based in NYC and Tsunami in DC.  Tsunami’s own Simple Machines record label released Ida’s first three albums (1994’s Tales of Brave Ida, 1996’s I Know About You, and 1997’s Ten Small Paces) and the two acts regularly found themselves touring and collaborating together throughout the decade.

I had mild regret about not going to that show, and even more mild regret about not going to this one.  I initially had tickets to see Voivod, but that was cancelled.  Up next was Isiliel but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.  There was even the possibility of seeing rhododendron play in West Philly.  So this show was fourth on my list.  It was never going to happen.

But maybe if  listen more to Ida now, when they come back around I’ll out them higher up.

Reading this blurb about Ava Mirzadegan made me think I wouldn’t like her–that it would be too spare, too silent.

Accompanied most often by spacious silence and a finger-picked nylon string guitar, Ava Mirzadegan writes quiet songs about longing, letting go, and befriending night skies.

But listening to her album, it’s really lovely.  Her voice is gorgeous and her playing is gentle but resonant.  You could probably hear a pin drop when she played.

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Slothrust / The Velveteers (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Slothrust, The Velveteers, Underground Arts on September 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 24, 2026] Slothrust / The Velveteers

I thought that I had been on the verge of seeing Slothrust many times, and yet I either didn’t note it or I’m making that up.  I’d alway assumed that with a name like Slothrust that they would be really heavy.  I also assumed, since I thought I saw their name a lot, that they were from Philly.  But they are from Boston and have been around since 2010.  Even more interesting is that the band is just Leah Wellbaum (vocals, guitar) and Will Gorin (drums).

I also just realized/remembered that they played the song for the opeinng credits of You’re the Worst, a show that my wife and I really liked back in the day.  A nice review from The Revue (in Canada) from 2021 says

In the 8 years we’ve been covering Slothrust, we’ve seen the band change a lot musically. They’ve shifted from the early days of jazz-infused grunge, which eventually grew into much bigger and less easy to classify sounds. Each record feels like a rebirth, from Everyone Else having a fine polish on that distinctive Slothrust sound but expanding on it at the same time. The Pact felt like an even more diverse records, with the band diving more into electronic sounds and even diving into poppier sounds. It set up any future releases nicely to dive even more into the trio’s widening approach. Their latest record, Parallel Timeline, heralds yet another rebirth of the band.  This is a slower Slothrust, as the chugging basslines and heavy drums are nowhere to be found. All the things that make Leah Wellbaum stand out as an artist, however, are on full display.

The biggest surprise for me is just how catchy their latest song is.

I was mostly interested in this show because of The Velveteers, a band I saw on Instagram and was immediately hooked by.  Why?  Because the band consisted (I assume it still does although I know someone left) of two drummers (one of whom is named Baby Pottersmith) and a guitarist/singer.  The video was eye catching and the song was simple in that perfect grunge/garage sound that is just so great.

After hearing more of Slothrust, I would have really liked to get to this show, but I already had tickets to see Altin Gün tonight and I’ve been wanting to see them for a while.  So I hope they both come back soon (especially The Velveteers).

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Militarie Gun / Softcult / Shady Nasty / Dazy (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 22, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dazy, Militarie Gun, Philadelphia, PA, Shady Nasty, Soft Cult, Underground Arts on September 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 19, 2022] Militarie Gun / Softcult / Shady Nasty / Dazy

Back in 2022, I first heard of Militaire Gun, who are apparently a post-hardcore supergroup (made up of bands I’ve never heard of).  I got a kick out of this tour being 20 Songs for 20 Bucks and I did consider going.  But this was a crazy busy week for me and I didn’t really fancy going to a show with THREE openers who I’d never heard of. Normally I love a good opening band, but this night sounded exhausting, especially since I assumed they were all heavy/hardcore bands.

Since then they have been spoken of in really high terms by lots of bands that I like and their new single is really soft and catchy.  So unlike the noisy punk extravaganza and that I thought this night would be, it was actually a fairly diverse and far more quiet evening.  Although MG play a kind of heavy alt rock with vocals that are very punk.

I assumed I didn’t know Softcult (which looked less familiar when I saw it as Soft Cult). Turns out I have been interested in them for a little while, but had to miss them in 2026.

Softcult is a duo from Canada.  Their number one song on Spotify, “Love Song” is a soft woozy shoegaze song–it’s wonderful.  Their other songs play more with a hard/soft dynamic and grungy attitude.  The band comprises twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn who are also in the band Courage My Love (who are a bit more punk).  The three or four Softcult songs I heard were great.

Shady Nasty are from Sydney and mix hip hop, shoegaze and post punk.  Far more hip hop than anything else and I found it a little bland.

Dazy is a the work of James Goodson.  They put out a single with Militarie Gun and it’s great (Pressure Cooker).  Their songs have big hooks are are kind of unpolished (fuzz guitars) pop.

I’m sure this would have been a fun night.  Must keep Softcult and Dazy in mind for future shows.

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Eihwar (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 20, 2026)

Posted in Eihwar, Frayle, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on September 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2026] Eihwar

I hadn’t heard of Eihwar before seeing the ad for this show, but when I saw the photo and learned that the singer of the band does, indeed, wear a giant animal head on her head, I had to investigate.  So Eihwar is a French tribal electronic neo-folk musical duo who go by the pseudonyms Asrunn and Mark.  They are originally from Toulouse and have been around since 2023. The band is distinguished by a style that it calls itself “Viking War Trance”, mixing tribal percussion, evocative songs and electronic rhythms inspired by Norse mythology.

So they look Nordic but are actually French.  But who cares, because they put on a hell of a show.

When I entered the venue there was a crowd around the stage–which doesn’t always happen.  But there were two guys wearing long robes with hoods with leather belts–one with a pelt attached to his belt.  Elsewhere in the room were men in corpse paint (which may have been for Frayle–indeed, the guys in robes may have been, too).  And when I left, there was a guy with an animal skull on his head.  For a band that never toured the States before, they certainly had a devoted crowd.

It’s just the two of them, Asrunn sings and plays a hand drum (I’m assuming a Sami) while Mark, dressed like a knight of templar or something, plays all of the electronic instruments (and an occasional acoustic guitar).  I actually assumed that Asrunn wasn’t singing words–that it was just cool ethereal sounds.  But their bandcamp page shows lyrics for all of the songs (on the new album), most in Icelandic, or at least that’s what the translation apps think.  Regardless, the point is, there are words, whether made up or not.

Typically, Asrunn sings at the mic stand and then when its just an instrumental, she picks up the drum and dances around the stage.  It’s pretty intense and when she leans her head forward and you can only see the skull, it’s downright creepy. (more…)

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