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Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

Fontaines D.C. (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2022)

Posted in Fontaines D.C., Just Mustard, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 22, 2022] Fontaines D.C.

I saw Fontaines D.C. in September of 2019 just as they were getting a buzz about them.  The show was sold out and crowded.  And, it turns out people knew them very very well.  And they wanted to dance.

Johnny Brenda’s does really lend itself to that and when one guy took exception, he started to get really rough.  It was not a great experience.  So I wanted to see them again, to cleanse my palette.

Fontaines have to be the most disaffected band that ever existed.  Not an expression on any of them.  They seem like they are disgusted with everyone there.  And lead singer Grian Chatten feels simultaneously like he is not there and is the only thing there.

He often seems like he’s in his own world and then he seems to focus on the audience and consumes everyone.  (more…)

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Just Mustard (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2022) [FONTAINES D.C.]

Posted in Fontaines D.C., Just Mustard, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 22, 2022] Just Mustard

Just Mustard are a five piece band from Dundalk, Ireland.  They make a fantastic noisy mess of shoegaze combined with a wall of noise and singer Katie’s droney but at times piercing vocals.

The blew away Underground Arts when they opened for Fontaines D.C.

They have a new album coming out soon and they played a bunch of songs from it.  Lead singer Katie Ball was wearing a cheerleader-type outfit with her name in letters across he front.  This was about the only whimsical thing in their entire set.

The band exuded seriousness and they were exceptional musicians.  Drummer Shane Maguire played some amazing and unexpected fills and when he hit the snare hard (which wasn’t always) it cracked to attention.  I was in front of guitarist David Noonan who played a lot of rhythmic sounds (not so much rhythm guitar as rhythmic sounds–his playing was very percussive.

(more…)

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We Were Promised Jetpacks / Frankie Rose (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Vivian Girls, We Were Promised Jetpacks on April 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 14, 2021] We Were Promised Jetpacks (postponed from November 14, 2021).

I’ve seen We Were Promised Jetpacks a couple of times and they put on a ripping show.

But recently one of their original members left and they seem to have changed their sound a bit.  I didn’t enjoy it quite as much.  But I still had a ticket to this show and figured they’d still be great live.

But when Gustaf announced a show the same night, I knew I’d be going to that one instead.  I saw Gusaf open for Idles and imagined that their headline show would be amazing.  So I chose Gustaf.

Frankie Rose is evidently a legendary musician who has played with everyone like Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls.  She sounds like she’d put on a good show.  Although her poppier sound suggests that WWPJ were leaning a bit more pop on this album.

 

 

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Fuzz / Electric Candlelight (Underground Arts, Philaelphia, PA, April 11, 2022) [rescheduled date–rescheduled again] [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cave In, Cleric, Electric Candlelight, Full show video, Fuzz, Philadelphia, PA, Ty Segall, Underground Arts on April 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 11, 2022] Fuzz / Electric Candlelight

This week was supposed to be an intense week of concerts for me.  I don’t really like when they all line up in one week. but what can you do?

Then we decided to go on vacation (it was Spring Break), so I blew off all of these shows.

This second show was with Fuzz.  Fuzz is one of Ty Segall’s bands.  He plays drums in this one and, as their name suggests, they play fuzzy psychedelic music.  I thought  this would be a fun show even though I didn’t know the band all that well.

Besides, I had tickets to Ty Segall later in the summer as well.

Electric Candlelight is a Philly-based band who sound right up my alley.  Here’s a brief write up:

Electric Candlelight — the newly minted four-piece is led by singer Owen Stewart from Ruby The Hatchet and guitarist Justin Pittney, formerly of Residuels and Moon Women. The heavy psychedelic band is rounded out by Max Jonas from Tough Shits on bass, Joshua Aaron from The Lawsuits band on drums, and Ali Awan on guitar. The group made its debut this week with a single called “Another Year Gone By,” a six-minute-long thrasher with ample guitar melodies and the drive of Stewart’s raspy, Credence-esque vocals that offer an element of Ruby The Hatchet’s psychedelic hard rock.

Sounds like it would have been a trippy, fun show.

But D.C. was a wonderful trip, so no regrets.

And Markit Aneight has a video of the whole show from Fuzz

And from Electric Candlelight too!

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Mono / Bing & Ruth (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 10, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bing & Ruth, Mono, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 12, 2021] Mono / Bing & Ruth

This week was supposed to be an intense week of concerts for me.  I don’t really like when they all line up in one week. but what can you do?

Then we decided to go on vacation (it was Spring Break), so I blew off all of these shows.

I am really looking forward to seeing Mono again.  I saw them once and their epic post rock blew me away.

Bing & Ruth I hadn’t heard of, but they are a NY-based band and sound similar: “minimalist ensemble music with a certain filmic sensitivity.”

Would have been a lovely show I’m sure.

But D.C. was a wonderful trip, so no regrets.

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Fu Manchu: 30th Anniversary Tour / Speedealer (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 24, 2022) [rescheduled date CANCELLED]

Posted in Alex Lifeson, Cancelled, Coronavirus, Fu Manchu, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Rush, Speedealer, Underground Arts on March 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: March 24, 2022] Fu Manchu / Speedealer [rescheduled from May 9, 2020 and March 18, 2021]

indexThis show had been rescheduled for March of 2022 after two previous cancellations.  But with the rise of more COVID cases Fu Manchu decided to cancel once more.  It strikes me that they seem quite content to just cancel a show and then work with the venues for a future show, so I’ll assume they’ll be back to Philly eventually.

~~~~~

This concert was never formally cancelled it seems (as of last week you could still get tickets for it).  But Fu Manchu officially cancelled all of their shows on the tour.  No word yet if they’ll be back, but I hope so.

Fu Manchu is one of the great stoner rock bands.  They have been around for thirty years with a similar fuzzy, grungey sound.  I missed them the first time around but because more keenly aware of them when their 2018 album Clone of the Universe featured not only an 18 minute song, but also a guitar solo from Alex Lifeson of Rush.

Their early stuff is really catchy and I wish I had known about them for longer.  They seem like they’d be a really fun live band.

Speedealer was originally called REO Speedealer, which I love.  They were told to cease and desist from REO Speedwagon (imagine that).  They play a kind of aggressive garage metal.  They have a punk edge and the lead singer has a growly punk voice that is clear enough amid the roughage.

I feel like they don’t quite pair with Fu Manchu (they seem a bit too aggressive) and would pair better with Monster Magnet.

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Wet Leg (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 12, 2022)

Posted in Boyzone, lowertown, Philadelphia, PA, Ronan Keatine, Underground Arts, Wet Leg on March 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 12, 2022] Wet Leg

Wet Leg became a huge sensation on the basis of one song.

“Chaise Longue” was suddenly everywhere.  And it’s a weird, catchy, funny song with lots of talking a lot of repetition.  It hit all of my buttons and I was immediately a fan.

But it was so strange that the band had just this one song out–nothing else online or anywhere.  NPR Music introduced me to the song in July 2021.  They had a second single “Wet Dream” out in September.  And that was that–two songs and an album promised in 2022.

And they announced a tour of the States in November.  Somehow I missed the announcement because I would have totally gotten tickets at PhilMOCA.  And it sold out pretty quickly.  Then at some point it was announced that it was moved to Underground Arts and more tickets were available.  I grabbed one immediately and it soon sold out at UA as well.

I thought the show would be fun, but I also thought that the band was a kind of left-field, one hit wonder who it would be fun to see because they’d probably never come back.  Heck, they seemed like they might just make the one album and be done.

So my expectations weren’t super high, but I assumed I’d have a good time. (more…)

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Lowertown (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 12, 2022)

Posted in lowertown, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Wet Leg on March 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 12, 2022] Lowertown

I had a great plan for this evening  I would drive into Philly early–this show was at 6:30!  I’d stop in at Federal Donuts for treats for the family.

Then I would park near Underground Arts on the street.  I would see Lowertown and Wet Leg, then I would hop in my car and drive to Union Transfer–just a few blocks away, and see Daughter of Swords and The Tallest Man on Earth–a double header!

And then it snowed.

I wasn’t even sure if I could make it.  But it stopped snowing with enough time for me to get to the venue and do my plan without the donuts.  But when I got to Underground Arts, it was packed.  There was a huge line out the door and nowhere to park! (more…)

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Gang of Four / Guitar Army / DJ EBG III (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 8, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DJ EBG III, Gang of Four, Guitar Army, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on March 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 8, 2022] Gang of Four / Guitar Army / DJ EBG III

I am not a huge fan of Gang of Four.  But I like some of their records quite a lot and I would have really enjoyed seeing them.  Especially since they seemed to be playing a lot of their Entertainment album.    But I already had tickets to see Tigers Jaw, a band I’ve been interested in for a little while.  UPDATE CIRCA 2025: Gang of Four has not come back and when they did return in 2025, they skipped Philly entirely.  Hmmph.

Guitar Army has a promising name, but their bio says that they are “a rock n’ roll band that hasn’t forgotten its roots. Formed in Windsor with strong dose of Detroit rock, rhythm and blues, Guitar Army has been kickin’ out the jams in the Windsor/Detroit circuit for more than 25 years.”  And indeed, they sound like a rock and roll band that’s been around for 25 years.  Possibly fun live, but not that great on record.

I can’t find anything about DJ EBG III except that he he also spun records for a David Bowie tribute night.  He’s clearly Philly based and that’s all I know.

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The Beths (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 24, 2022)

Posted in National Treasure, New Zealand, Philadelphia, PA, The Beths, Underground Arts on February 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 24, 2022] The Beths

The Beths are from New Zealand.

I really enjoyed hearing them talk between songs–super cool accents.

They only have two albums out but they have a pretty rabid fan base–if the guys who sang along loudly to everything were anything to go by.

The Beths were originally supposed to play King Fu Necktie in April 2020.  The show was moved to World Cafe Live, but was ultimately cancelled because of COVID.  They scheduled a new date at Underground Arts for January, but that got pushed back a month as COVID cases rose again.

And then, finally, they were here! (more…)

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