Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

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…)

Read Full Post »

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!

 

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

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…)

Read Full Post »

Slow Fiction (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, August 27, 2026) [SWERVEDRIVER]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Slow Fiction, Swervedriver, Underground Arts on August 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 27, 2026] Slow Fiction

Slow Fiction opened for Vundabar a few months ago but I missed the show.  When I read about them, I was really excited that they were opening for Swervedriver (especially since they mentioned that Swervedriver was an influence).

When I arrived there was a lot of room near the stage but people were standing in that spread out way that prevents one from getting next to the stage.  Which is fine, unless the people you choose to stand behind are very mobile and phone abusers.  I thouht I had a really good spot, but once the band came out, I realized that I couldn’t see as well as I wanted (which is crazy when you are second from the stage).  But whatever.

The band came out and I was in front of Ryan Duffin on bass and one of the guitar players (Joseph Skimmons or Paul Knepple).  The other guitarist was on the far side of the stage.  Singer Julia Vassallo was up front and Akiva Henig was in drums in the back.

I love Underground Arts, but sometimes when a band is mixed a certain way, it’s really easy to miss something.  So for this show I was right in front of one of the guitars which was really loud (it did get turned down later) so I hardly ever heard the other guitar.  And the vocals were kind of muted for the first half.  It was fine when the guitars were quieter, but that didn’t happen all that often.

They opened with Dollhouse–a bouncy bassline, great washes of guitars and Vassallo’s delicate (too delicate in the early mix vocals).  It was like being in the 90s!  When it was over, someone shouted “shoegaze is back, baby!”

It was much easier to hear Vassallo when the guitars were playing a quieter section, but I never really got a good vibe on the lyrics.

I loved the drums (a simple snare pattern that reminded me of old school alt rock) on What the Night Told Me.

By the end of the set, the balances were better and I could hear everything pretty equally (except for that far guitar).  Interestingly, when they played the penultimate song, Heavy Metal, a much quieter song of picked guitar notes, the far guitarist sat down.  I’m not sure what he was doing, he seemed to have muted his guitar strings and may have been playing something.   Or he was just sitting there, chilling out.

I really enjoyed their set a lot and would definitely like to see them again, with headlining, or opening (again) at Union Transfer.

 

  1. Dollhouse ∏
  2. Junior Year ∏
  3. Satellite ∏
  4. What the Night Told Me ∏
  5. bottle episode ∏
  6. ninetynine ∏
  7. Suitcase Ψ
  8. Brother §
  9. Heavy Metal ∏
  10. Turning Down Flowers ∏

Ψ new (2026)
∏ Dollhouse (2026)
§ single (2024)

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Faetooth / Latter / Bosses (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, August 23, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bosses, Faetooth, Latter, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on August 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 23, 2026] Faetooth / Latter / Bosses

I didn’t know Faetooth at all, but I saw that they were opening for Die Spitz in October and headlining this show in August.  I didn’t really think about going to this because I figured I’d see them with Die Spitz.  Then my friend Max said that a bunch of them were going to see the show, so I investigated more.  I couldn’t go, but it got me more excited to check out Faetooth, whom they said were really good.  The band describes themselves as a fairy-dOoM trio from los angeles.  The group is composed of Ari May as guitarist and vocalist, Jenna Garcia as bassist and vocalist, and Rah Kanan on drums and have been around since 2019.

Latter was the middle band and Max said they enjoyed them even more than Faetooth.  I’m listening to their (shirt) album now and it’s really cool.  Slow but intense.  Heavy and intense.  LATTER is a Chicago-based experimental noise rock project formed by Jon Alvarado and Meredith Haines, known for dynamic live performances.  Haine’s vocals are screamed in a way that I really like–clear but raw.

Bosses are also from Chicago.  Originally conceived as a solo project by singer and guitarist Harlee Young, Bosses is now a five-piece featuring erstwhile members of Old Coke and Dead Sun.  Their bio says the group takes influence from grunge, shoegaze and early 2000s alt rock. Layering melodic, ambient leads over distorted rhythms, bosses creates a sound that is heavy, atmospheric, and highly emotional.

Sounds like a great night.

Read Full Post »

The Armed ⋈ (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2026) [YARD ACT]

Posted in ⋈, Philadelphia, PA, The Armed, Underground Arts, Yard Act on August 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2026] The Armed

I grabbed a ticket to this show for my wife and I as soon as it was announced.   I’ve seen them twice and the last time was so much fun, I was sure my wife would get a kick out of it.   I had never heard of The Armed (whose name is often simplified to ⋈) before the show and when I listened briefly, they sounded like a hardcore band, which was confusing as an opener for Yard Act, who are not hardcore.

We arrived early and got a decent spot.  The lights went down, The Armed came out and the stage exploded.  The entire place was just an explosion of noise and chaos and I was delighted to see the huge smile on my wife’s face.

I had no idea who The Armed were, nor that they had a massive fan base.  The story of the Armed is almost as interesting as their music, although, really, no, the music is far more interesting.  But still:

Although no official members of the group are known for absolute certain, the collective has been represented in the media by advertising creative and director Tony Wolski – formerly known as Adam Vallely.  The Armed allegedly has a central core of members, while simultaneously featuring a rotating line-up of collaborators. The people behind The Armed have gone to considerable lengths to misdirect, deceive, and otherwise toy with their audience when it comes to who is actually a member of the band. To achieve this, the band has largely avoided printing names of its members, had actors pretend to be members of the band and toured in secret, often performing at open mic nights under fake names.

There was a woman singing/screaming in a very high pitched voice not unlike Melt-Banana.  There were two other singers in the band, a guy who screamed as well and a guy who sang in a really nice voice.   I’m not sure how many people were on stage (seven maybe?)  They absolutely filled the stage and never stopped moving.  The guitarist in front of us was a whirlwind of action and near the end of teh set he climbed on a huge speaker cabinet and jumped off.

The male singer frequently put the mic into the crowd for the guys up front (die hard fans) to scream along.  The female singer jumped into the crowd and sang from the floor.

I loved the way Fortune’s Daughter was a wall of noise and then had a neat low-key catchy chorus sung by the third vocalist– and the end had all of the singers (and screamers going at it together).

Grace Obscure was a noisy chaotic song with a big “woah oh” and lots of screaming from the female singer.  And An Iteration started with furious hardcore drumming and then segued into a really catchy rumbling bassline and dual vocals. It was followed by FKA World from their previous album, which was (relatively) mellow–the use of explosive hardcore drumming with slow vocals is really interesting.

Local Millionaires starts softly and then turns into a screamfest.  All Futures continues the explosive sound The set ended with Big Shell a song that concludes with a series of one-two crashes from the whole band as feedback distortion and screams glide over everything.

It was exhausting and exhilarating and amazing.  I’m bummed I didn’t know about them before and I sure hope they mysteriously pop up again.

  1. Night City Aliens ©
  2. Fortune’s Daughter ♥
  3. Grace Obscure ♣
  4. AN ITERATION ∅
  5. FKA World ⊗
  6. Local Millionaire ♣
  7. ALL FUTURES ∅
  8. BIG SHELL ∅

♣ THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED (2025)
⊗ Perfect Saviors (2023)
∅ ULTRAPOP (2021)
© Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack (2020)  [submitted under the name Homeschool Dropouts]
♥ Only Love (2018)

Here’s an amusing stories about this band from Wikipedia

The Armed released Only Love, with Ben Koller providing drums.  Koller has said the request was short notice, and that the recording would take place right in the middle of tracking drums for a new Converge album, which seemed “[like it would be] pretty stressful.” However, Koller heard that Rob Trujillo would be playing bass on the album, which was “the selling point” to him. In fact, Trujillo was never involved in any capacity with the album. Koller was also told by fellow Converge bandmate and Only Love‘s producer Kurt Ballou that the demos he was sent for this album were Converge songs, spurring him to learn them. Koller went on to say “…essentially, I was conned into playing on this album. I was so taken aback by these weird tactics that I just went with it.”

 

Read Full Post »

Eagles of Death Metal / Mountain Head (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 14, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Eagles of Death Metal, Mountain Head, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on August 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 14, 2026] Eagles of Death Metal / Mountain Head

I got a kick out of Eagles of Death Metal when they came out.  Death By Sexy is a fun album and I enjoy the tongue in cheek nature of the music.  I thought about going to the show since they are apparently a great live band.

But I Just really don’t like them enough to justify going and I was a little worried about what kind of audience these guys would attract.  I left the night open, in case I decided to grab a last minute ticket.  But then the Circle Jerks announced a show for that night and that was the kibosh on EODM.

Who the hell are Mountain Head?  Well, their bio says

The enigmatic and reclusive Hannah Brothers stumbled upon a mysterious mountain in the heart of the Canadian wilderness, and what they found at the summit changed their lives forever. A shaman performed a ceremony that unlocked new depths of creativity and inspiration in the brothers, leading them to channel the spirits of Johnny Cash, Flavor Flav, and Billy Gibbons. Dressed in black denim and adorned with solid gold grills and long beards, Mountain Head emerged with a sound that blended psych-rock, alt-rock, and elements of electro-pop and jangle pop into a unique and potent sonic concoction.

The description is okay–they’re a little slower than you might expect, but there’s some psych elements, but mostly they play dumb rock like EODM.   A perfect pairing.

Read Full Post »

Dogstar / The Backfires (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 12, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dogstar, Philadelphia, PA, The Backfires, Underground Arts on August 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 12, 2026] Dogstar / The Backfires

Three years ago, Dogstar played Underground Arts and I toyed with the idea of going  to this show, probably for the same reason that a lot of other people did.

To see Keanu Reeves!

I can’t decide if I like Keanu ironically or not, but it’s still pretty wild to think that a celebrity of his star power could have been just a few feet from me.

I genuinely had no idea what Dogstar sounded like.   So here’s the blurb from Underground Arts

Here in 2023, Dogstar epitomizes the quintessential Southern California storytelling rock band they’ve always been in their hearts, making deeply resonant music that literally comes from Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees – the name of their new album which arrives October 6, 2023 via their own label Dillon Street Records (distributed through ADA). Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Bret Domrose, drummer Robert Mailhouse, and bassist Keanu Reeves, Dogstar was born in 1991 as a band of friends who came together in a garage in Southern California and simply dreamed of playing music together and making a little noise. Now, all these years later, Domrose, Mailhouse, and Reeves took some time at the tail end of a historic lockdown to create this collection of songs that fully encompasses who they are as artists today. The happily reunited rock trio’s official return came in May 2023 – more than 20 years since their last performance together – with their first public performance at the BottleRock Napa Valley music festival with a set that sparked fan and critical praise alike, including the live debut of their lead single “Everything Turns Around,” which was officially released July 19.

So this isn’t Keanu’s band, per se.  He “only” plays bass.  Domrose sings and plays guitar, although they all get writing credit for the songs.  But wow, it was sold out and no doubt super packed with people looking to meet Keanu.

When they came back to Philly, this time they were playing a much bigger venue.   I don’t think it sold out, but good for them.

And in this video of them record shopping in Philly–their influences are perfect!

Again, I like their music–like 90s indie rock–although I don’t like their singer all that much.

The Backfires are a London/NYC band.  They play solid old-school indie rock.  Their previous album was really good.

I could easily have gotten into both of these bands in the 90s if they had gotten radio airplay.

Read Full Post »

Man Man / Death Valley Girls (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 23, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Death Valley Girls, Man Man, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on July 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 23, 2026] Man Man / Death Valley Girls

I was so excited to get a ticket for this Man Man show.  I was certain it would sell out in a second, so I bought a ticket for this show while on an airplane to Minnesota.  It didn’t sell out (weird) but I was still looking forward to this show so very much as Man Man never disappoints.

I arrived in Philly, found a good parking spot and then realized that I left my wallet in the pizza place that I stopped in on the way to Philly.  And that pizza place is about 40 minutes away.  I called the place and they had found it.  Phew.

I thought, well, I don’t need my wallet to enjoy the show.  I asked my son to go get it for me (so nice of him).  And then I went to use the parking app.  Only to remember that the card I used for the parking app had been cancelled because someone had hacked my account a few weeks ago.  And for whatever reason, the other card on my account wouldn’t work.  I couldn’t add a new card because I didn’t have my wallet.

I stood there for 20 minutes trying to get a card added (going into different apps to get a card number and failing).  Finally, I gave up.  I didn’t want to get a 60 dollar parking ticket.  I realized too late I could have just asked my son to give me his card number.  But I was frustrated and annoyed.  And so I gave up.  I decided to just get my card so my son didn’t have to.  He was about half way to the pizza place, but I told him to turn around and enjoy the night.  I got to the pizza place just before it closed and wound up having a nice night at home.

But dammit.

Dammit.

I saw Death Valley Girls open for The Distillers back in 2019.  They’re sort of a fuzzy rock band with goth leanings.  The goth leaning come primarily from their look and their lyrics–not their sound.  I forgot how good their show was. Now I’m even more bummed that I was a block away form the show but couldn’t go.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »