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Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

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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Frayle (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 20, 2026) [EIHWAR]

Posted in Eihwar, Frayle, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on September 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2026] Frayle

I didn’t know Frayle, but I knew they had a following (and haters, of course).   They are a female fronted doom and witchrock band from Cleveland.   What does that mean?  Well, their influences are Sleep, Portishead, Björk, Kyuss, & Black Sabbath.  Which sounds impossible, but is true.  The heavy doomy Sleep and Sabbath with great witchy vocals of Portishead and Björk.  Evidently there are two permanent members of the band Gwyn Strang (vocals) and Sean Bilovecky (guitars and I assume more).

They had the stage adorned with candelabra and their logo on vertical banners (visually very satisfying).

I had just seen Angine De Poitrine, a masked band, and I was pretty excited to see Eihwar and Frayle for even more masked fun.

The band came out and the only person I could see was  their bassist who had corpsepaint makeup on and some chains across her face.  She played an intense low end which sounded great throughout the set.  Their drummer was behind her and it wasn’t until half way through the set that I realized he was wearing a black mask with a chain across the front.  Their guitarist had on a large cape with a hood and it was only when he looked up tat you could see he was wearing a similar mask to the drummer.  And then walked out.  She too had her face painted white and had a series of chains across her face as well as a black tiara atop her head.  She had blue eyes shadow on and wasn’t afraid to make eye contact with anyone.

Bright Eyes started the set with slow, heavy bass and guitar with haunting soft high pitched vocals floating over the top.  It was great.  The music was wonderfully heavy and slow but without the typical growled vocals. And the rest of their set was similarly heavy and grooving.  At some point during the set I saw that the guitarist (who was huge) had a pink camera phone and was aiming it at us in the audience.  Then I saw him hand it back to someone, so that was sweet.

I really enjoyed Heretic–a great riff and intense lyrics.  The chorus was interesting because underneath her voice was a deep male voice singing along with her (demonic possession?).  No one in the band seemed to sing along, so I assume it was pre-programmed or she had a very cool filter on her voice. (more…)

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Cheekface / Apes of the State / Sad 13 (Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Apes of the State, Cheekface, Philadelphia, PA, Sad13, Underground Arts on September 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 18, 2026] Cheekface / Apes of the State / Sad 13

I saw Cheekface on a whim in 2023 and loved the show so much I couldn’t wait to see them again.  They have been back to Philly three times somnce then and I have been unable to see them. Ugh.

Tonight’s show was the same night as the Bikini Kill show that my wife and I had tickets to.  I really wanted to get to this show, but there was just no way–unless Bikini Kill cancelled (which they didn’t).  They seem to tour annually, so I guess I’ll have to wait until next year to try again.

Apes of the State play folk punk and are from Lancaster, PA.  I feel like I’ve heard of them before, although I can’t find any evidence of that.  They play acoustic folk music but at a breakneck speed.  And with very pointed lyrics (as folk tends to do).  Somehow the speed makes these songs way more fun.

But even their slow songs are spot on

Now I’m not a stranger to being let down
By political movements that die on the ground
But all of those failures they don’t hold a flame
To July 13th ‘24 in Butler, PA

Oh Thomas Oh Thomas
You let us all down
We could have had Donald Trump slumped on the ground
Now instead we have ICE agents all over town
Oh Thomas how you let us down

But we must let his failure be an inspiring tale
And we must take shots even though we might fail
Cause once in a while those shots they do land
And violence is the language fascists understand

Oh Charlie Oh Charlie
Died of direct hit
Taken out by the same bitter hatred he spit
When we speak in a tongue they understand
It defies the boundaries of classes and land

And fascists only speak violence
Fascists only speak violence
They don’t back down to spoken word or acts of kindness
No fascists they only speak violence

Sad13 is the side project of Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz. It’s her more experimental side.  Her songs aren’t mellow folkie songs (as the band name kind of suggests) but rather they are weird experimental songs with sound effects and fascinating noises.  On her new album, the longest song is 1:48. She opened for a show I wanted to get to but couldn’t back in July.  Back then I wrote:  I’m not dying to see this incarnation, but I do hope she is opening for someone one of these days.  So she did, but I couldn’t make it, yet again (which is kind of funny since I’ve seen Speedy Ortiz 5 times).

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Annie-Claude Deschênes (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2026) [ANGINE DE POITRINE]

Posted in Angine de Poitrine, Annie-Claude Deschênes, Duchess Says, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on September 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2026] Annie-Claude Deschênes

I am vey rarely ahead of a trend, but I think I found out about Angine de Poitrine about two days before everyone else.  I recall watching the KEXP show and thinking, wow, I want to see these guys.  And then like two days later, they blew up and everyone wanted to see them. The video went up on Feb 6 and by Mar 16, when this show was announced, I knew it would be hard to get a ticket.  Luckily, I scored a ticket (and paid $34, not $300).

Who even knew if they were going to have an opener.  Well, soon enough, the opener was announced as Annie-Claude Deschênes.  When I looked her up, I couldn’t find any music by her, which is weird since she has an album Les Manières de Table that came out in 2024.  And a new(ish) single from 2025.

So just who opens for Angine de Poitrine?  Well, Annie-Claude Deschênes is a performance artist and musician.  I have just learned that she was in a band called Duchess Says who were on the terrific alien8recordings label and put out three albums between 2008 and 2016.  Not sure what Annie-Claude was doing in the meantime, but she certainly hasn’t lost any front woman skills.

When the rumbling noises of her first song started, a man in a waiter outfit (bow tie, cloth, paper receipt) stood on the stage and shone a flashlight around.  Then Annie-Claude came running out and shouted the end of that first song.  The second song, Culinary Security was more dancey, but the music was very old school synth style.  Indeed, the bandcamp summary of her album says

Inspired by the pioneers of electronic music, LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE is as danceable and melodic as it is disquieting and dystopian. The album proposes to set the table differently by deconstructing the social codes of politeness, and draws from a wide range of influences, notably Steve Reich’s minimalism, Kraftwerk’s synthetic textures, Herbie Hancock’s stylistic diversity and experimental cinema’s unconventional approach to narrative.

The lyrics were in English and French and song three, Phones, saw Annie-Claude taking a (prerecorded) reservation.   I should mention that on stage this whole time was a small table and two chairs.  After this song, the waiter, who had been polishing the table, put flowers and several Reserved signs on the table.  Menace Minimale was more dancey and I enjoyed the way Annie-Claude moved in a robotic way to the synth blasts and chord changes. (more…)

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Angine de Poitrine (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2026)

Posted in Angine de Poitrine, Annie-Claude Deschênes, Duchess Says, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on September 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2026] Angine de Poitrine

I am vey rarely ahead of a trend, but I think I found out about Angine de Poitrine about two days before everyone else.  I recall watching the KEXP show and thinking, wow, I want to see these guys.  And then like two days later, they blew up and everyone wanted to see them. The video went up on Feb 6 and by Mar 16, when this show was announced, I knew it would be hard to get a ticket.  Luckily, I scored a ticket (and paid $34, not $300).

I am still puzzled about their popularity.  Sure, the gimmick is a good one, but their music is weird and instrumental.  Since I don’t speak French, I resisted saying their name for a while, calling them “the polka dot band” for my family.  And then one day in the last couple of months, my wife was telling me how catchy she thought their radio friendly song Sarniezz was.  And I realized that even though they’re weird and play micrtonal jams, the songs are crazy catchy too.

When a band breaks it big like this, there’s always the assumption that people want to go just to be there.  And sure, people capitalized on the fame by scalping tickets for crazy prices.  But the people here were pretty seriously into the music.

Normally I can stroll up to a venue 15 minutes before the opening act and get a pretty great spot.  But I knew this would be different.  So I left straight from work and arrive in front of the venue around 6:15 and there was a line almost to the end of the block.  I parked and walked over and was able to stay on the entrance side of the street–before it curved around the block.  It was a good 35 minute wait for the doors, but everyone around was chatty and friendly and that’s okay by me.

When we got in, for the first time ever, everyone who was already in the venue was crowded around the stage (rather than at the bar or merch). So I hung to the side with one of the guys I was talking to (who had never been there and I should have known better).  The spot we had wasn’t bad, but I probably should have gone to the middle more.  Of course, this is annoying complaints since I was three people from the stage (and they recently played in front of 100,000 people).  I was more or less in front of Khn de Poitrine but I couldn’t see Klek de Poitrine (drums) without moving–good thing he has a massive helmet on.

The duo came out to the music of LCD Soundsystem’s North American Scum, tuned their gear and then held up their triangle hands to each other (for a comically long time) and then held them up to us–which everyone responded to, of course and within moments Khn was playing the thumping bass of Angor.  Khn clapped his hands along his hat to get people to clap, I guess (who knows what these aliens mean when they communicate). (more…)

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The Rasmus / Saint Agnes / Death Valley Dreams (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 14, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Saint Agnes, The Rasmus, Underground Arts, Union Transfer on September 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 14, 2026] The Rasmus / Saint Agnes / Death Valley Dreams

I had not heard of The Rasmus before this show was announced.  Indeed, the only reason I paid any attention to this listing is because my friend’s son plays bass in Death Valley Dreams.  He has been playing in bands for years and I have never had a chance to see him.  I did consider going to this show, but it just wouldn’t work out for me.

People seemed kind of excited about this show.  But as I thought, I didn’t know The Rasmus.  But in fact, I do!  They are a Finnish band that had a song in Eurovision in 2022.  Their latest album, Weirdo, had SIX singles released.  Which makes them more successful, or at least more prolific than Maneskin.  They play a kind of rock with pop sensibilities and goth vibes.  They also have some high-energy, feel-good moments.  They’re pretty enjoyable (if lyrically bland), and I’ll bet they’re even more fun live .

Saint Agnes is an English industrial rock band formed by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Kitty A. Austen and guitarist Jon James Tufnell in 2014.  They play simple, catchy industrial songs.  They look pretty theatrical and seem like they’d be fun live, too.

So I’ve not heard much by Death Valley Dreams–they went media silent before releasing new stuff.  But I love how their website describes them: “It’s as if The Cars got David Bowie to sing and played something that could have been on The Lost Boys soundtrack.” The sound is familiar yet fresh and unique.  They are from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania… “an area that was actually voted the least happy place to live in the continental United States…a place where writing music and being creative are the only real ways to stay sane.”  I’m led to understand that the singer is a great frontman.

Bummed I couldn’t make this show, now that I know I could have added to my Eurovision bands!

 

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Aldous Harding / Sam Burton (Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA, September 9, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Aldous Huxley, Philadelphia, PA, Sam Burton, Underground Arts on September 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 9, 2026] Aldous Harding / Sam Burton

I saw Aldous Harding at Underground Arts in 2019.  The show was very weird and pretty cool, with Harding being a presence I could not remove my eyes from.  When this show was announced (in January), I grabbed a ticket.  I didn’t actually enjoy her new album as much as her previous ones and when this show came up, I basically just stayed home.  So I’ve made a note to myself to not get a ticket next time (even though this show sold out).

Sam Burton is an American singer songwriter.   He plays a country type of music that I don’t care for.  His voice is “a high-lonesome wail that recalls Roy Orbison” playing “an old, weird Americana sound filled with echo and longing.”   Totally not my thing.

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Swervedriver (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, August 27, 2026)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Slow Fiction, Swervedriver, Underground Arts on August 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 27, 2026] Swervedriver

I saw Swervedriver back in 2019 and I was really excited to finally see them.  I was especially excited that they played the one song I wanted to hear (the rest was great, too).

So here it was seven years later (insane) and they were playing their debut in full.  This album was in such heavy rotation when it came out.  I loved their propulsive shoegaze as well as Adam Franklin’s voice.

Swervedriver has had a lot of members over the years, but the two guitarists (Franklin and rhythm guitarist Jimmy Hartridge) have been there the whole time.  Last time I recognized the bassist (their third) and it was still him–Mick Quinn from Supergrass! (he’s been with them since 2016).  Like last time, the drummer (their fourth) was Mikey Jones–he’s been with them since 2011 and man was he good–pounding the hell out of the kit–I never realized how many fills Swervedriver songs have.

The theme from Twin Peaks began and by the time it wrapped up, the guys came out on stage.  I haven’t listened to Raise in a while, but as soon as the opening notes of Sci-Flyer came out, the whole record came flooding back.  And it sounded great.  I loved watching Franklin easily play the recognizable riffs.  Obviously they played the album in order, so Pile Up was next and it was cool watching them generate the album sounds live–the way the guitars almost seem to fade away during the verses.

Son of Mustang Ford is the song I really wanted to hear last time and they played it next.  I was super psyched to hear it again.  Frankly, they could have played it for five more minutes and I would have been happy.

Things slowed down for Deep Seat, and I appreciated the quiet guitar and prominent bass–I should have watched Quinn more but I was so focused on the guitars. (more…)

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