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Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

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)

 

 

 

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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.

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Yard Act (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2026)

Posted in ⋈, Philadelphia, PA, The Armed, Underground Arts, Yard Act on August 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2026] Yard Act

I saw Yard Act at Underground Arts back in 2023.  Guitarist Sam Shipstone was quite the wild man while Ryan Needham’s bass had a great sound and was often the only thing holding the melody down while Shipstone went nuts.  He also provided backing vocals.

And the best part of the show was that singer James Smith doesn’t casually recite his lyrics.  He is a non-stop machine of gestures and quips, singing and screaming lyrics.  Whispering and delaying satisfaction.  He has the entire audience in his hands and he is not afraid to make then do what he wants.  It was amazing to watch.

The tour is rounded out with drummer Jay Russell and touring keyboard/sax player Christopher Duffin.

My wife loved the show–after the craziness of The Armed, I feared that Yard Act would seem tame, but they really showed up.  But she loved the loudness and the intensity.  Indeed listening to some of the songs later she said they were much more fun live (Fiction in particular).  And she absolutely loved Payday (and who wouldn’t)–take the money, take the money, take the money and run).

They opened with New Beginnings, a song we’d heard a number of times on WXPN (and have heard a lot more since then).  It is pretty different from their other songs, but didn’t change the tone of the show at all.

It’s interesting how they play a very different setlist every night.  They didn’t play Payday the following night, although the did play We Make Hits, which I was sure they would play for us, but they didn’t.

When I saw them at Union Transfer last year, they had two backing singer/dancers with them and they made the show a lot of fun.  They added a lot to the visuals, for sure (including a lot of fun percussion and dancing).  I was a little bummed that they had scaled back for this show, but they know how to put on a show regardless of the number of people on stage.

When I first saw them, they ended with the seven minute “The Trench Coat Museum.”  Last time, during the long guitar solo in the middle, James sat on the drum riser with his head in his hands as if he were miserable.  It was funny to see, especially when it was his turn to sing again and he jumped up happily, grabbed a little sampling device and started having a ball throwing out all of the samples from the song and manipulating them on the fly.  There was no sitting for this version, but the sampling device was right there and he played with it making all kinds of fun sounds.  It was terrific.

Sometimes, live, it’s not clear what the lyrics are, even when he’s speaking them.  But sometimes there a lot going on so you may miss these lyrics from Dead Horse

I wasn’t the one lied to and I’m not scared of peopleWho don’t look like me, unlike you
…
And we’re supposed to let it slideBecause the press have normalizedThe idea that racism is something we should humor

An Illusion is a quieter song which slowed things down before the big stomping fun of Redeemer.  It’s a nasty sounding song with a great chorus: Redeemer, you had your fun, now you’re clutching to your rosary like a nun.  I didn’t realize the next song was called Cherophobe Rock, which I assume is a sly dig at Smashing Pumpkins’ Cherub Rock.  Although I don’t know the conntection the song is catchy and bouncy as anything.

 

 

 

“Dark Days” is primarily a bass line and drums with Shipstone making all kinds of noise on his guitar until it builds to a “chorus” changing “Dark Days” (and live the chorus is HUGE, as is the

So much so, that when he introduced “100% Endurance,” he observed how fast the show as going.  “100%” starts out quietly and then build to a big ending.

They raged into the final two songs–the stupidly catchy chorus of The Overload and the moody “Land of the Blind.”  As they paused before the final song, people shouted out the songs they wanted to hear.  James said that they might considered playing those songs if we would graciously allow them to play the songs they wanted to play first.

The final song was the seven minute “The Trench Coat Museum.”  There is a long guitar solo in the middle, during which James sat on the drum riser with his head in his hands as if he were miserable.  It was funny to see, especially when it was his turn to sing again and he jumped up happily, grabbed a little sampling device and started having a ball throwing out all of the samples from the song and manipulating them on the fly.  I only wish they were a little clearer.

When they came out for the encore, he asked what do you want to hear and immediately someone shouted “Peanuts.” He recited the spoken word part first in a “Tom Waits” voice and then like a vampire–there was very much laughter during this section.  Someone shouted out another song title, but they decided to play “Fixer Upper” and everyone was okay with that.

It was a really fun set.  Everyone was into it, the band gave it their all, and we were back on the road by 10:30.  And we’d both happily see them again.

 

2026 Underground Arts 2024 Union Transfer 2023 Underground Arts
New Beginnings ‰ Dead Horse ♠ Dead Horse ♠
Dream Job ⊗ Payday ♠ Dark Days Δ
Fiction ‰ Fizzy Fish ⊗ Petroleum ⊗
Payday ♠ Land of the Blind ♠ Payday ♠
When the Laughter Stops ⊗ Petroleum ⊗ Dream Job ⊗
The Trench Coat Museum ø Down By the Stream ⊗ Pour Another ♠
Dead Horse ♠ Dream Job ⊗ 100% Endurance ♠
An Illusion ⊗ We Make Hits ⊗ Witness (Can I Get A?) ♠
Redeemer ‰ Dark Days Δ The Overload ♠
Cherophobe Rock ‰ A Vineyard for the North ⊗ Land of the Blind ♠
Dark Days Δ When the Laughter Stops ⊗ The Trench Coat Museum ø
A Vineyard for the North ⊗ The Overload ♠ encore
Talky Talky People ‰ 100% Endurance ♠ Peanuts Δ
You’re Gonna Need a Little Music ‰ The Trench Coat Museum ø Fixer Upper Δ
100% Endurance ♠ encore
The Overload ♠ Witness (Can I Get A?) ♠
encore
Peanuts Δ [tour debut]
Fixer Upper Δ

‰ You’re Gonna Need a Little Music (2026)
⊗ Where’s My Utopia (2024)
ø single (2023)
♠ The Overload (2022)
Δ Dark Days EP (2021)

Here’s what they played at Free at Noon (bold songs they didn’t play at night)

  1. Tall Tales ‰
  2. Talky Talky People ‰
  3. Dead Horse ♠
  4. Petroleum ⊗
  5. New Beginnings ‰
  6. Fixer Upper Δ
  7. Pour Another ♠
  8. You’re Gonna Need a Little Music ‰

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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.”

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Deer Tick / Jobi Riccio (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, June 10) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Deer Tick, Jobi Riccio, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on June 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 10, 2026] Deer Tick / Jobi Riccio

There are three Deer bands on my radar.  And I can never remember which one is which because I don’t really listen to them all that much.

There’s Deerhunter, the creation of Bradford Cox who played artpop and psych pop.  I liked them a bit but never got really into them.

There’s Deerhoof, a wacky band from San Francisco featuring drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez.  Matsuzaki has a high pitched and very distinctive style of singing I would like to see them live.

And then there’s Deer Tick.  They’ve been around since 2004 and are the most conventional of the three.   They fall into the Americana side of alt folk rock.  I listened to a song to see if I wanted to go and realized I didn’t.

So, basically I really only need to pay attention to Deerhoof going forward.

Jobi Riccio is from Colorado.  While posting about all of these singers that I’ve never heard of, I’m getting a real kick out of how intense and potentially insane all of the bios of these people are:

Jobi Riccio grew up surrounded by music and found inspiration in artists ranging from Sheryl Crow to Joni Mitchell. Sonically, Jobi’s music exists between worlds, melding the classic craftsmanship of her songwriting with modern indie-leaning production to forge a lush, expansive sound that feels traditional and experimental all at once.

I listened to a couple of songs and I have to say of all the young folk and folk adjacent women I’ve listened to recently, I like her the best.  Her voice is big and powerful–not mumbly like so many other new singers.  And she throws some interesting chord progressions into her songs.  I’d happily see her if she opened for someone I liked.  She veers toward country, but only slightly.

I also wonder if she was named for the character in Elf, since no one was every named Joby before that movie.

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Witch Club Satan (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 27, 2026)

Posted in Penelope Trappes, Philadelphia, PA, Type O Negative, Underground Arts, Witch Club Satan on May 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 27, 2026] Witch Club Satan

I found out about Witch Club Satan last year.  I’m not sure how I stumbled upon them (maybe Instagram?)  Anyhow,  I was immediately struck by the band:  three Norwegian women in corpse paint singing black metal.  And they were great.  They sang about different subjects (for black metal) and they were fearless.  They had great screams and were completely intense.

I didn’t really think they’d come to the States since they seem pretty niche, and yet, soon enough it was announced they were coming to the States for the first time, bring their tour: Founding of the North American Coven.  And they were coming to Underground Arts.  I grabbed a ticket immediately since I never know if shows like this will sell out.  It didn’t and I was able to invite my son along and grab a ticket day before.  He’s technically not allowed in Underground Arts yet (it’s 21+) but evidently, as long as I let them know ahead of time and follow some basic rules, he was allowed to come along.

He loved the venue (it is very cool) and he loved Witch Club Satan (Penelope Trappes not so much).  Actually, we were both blown away by Witch Club Satan.

The lights went down and they started playing a deep, synthy chord It went on for a few minutes (too long, tbh), but I think they were still setting up because shortly after, the band walked from behind the stage, holding incense.  They walked through the crowd, slowly, making eye contact with everyone nearby.  It was so impressive and the crowd was rapt.

When they arrived on stage lead singer and guitarist Nix (Nikoline Spjelkavik) welcomed us to the coven and they launched into Hysteria.  It was amazing seeing them up close.  The three women wear corpse paint and have blackened eyes and markings.  And from this distance it was easy to see that they blackened their teeth as well.  For the first couple of songs they wore knitted sweaters with openings for their breasts, as well as knitted horned headgear. Nix invited everyone to dance or take their tops off.

Bassist and singer Hedda (who is filling in for Victoria Røising who just had a baby!) was awesome.  She also sang and used a violin bow and a sword on her bass.

The songs are black metal–heavy, short, fast and growled.  I wished I had listened to their music a bit more just so I knew what was happening.  I was able to take a photo of the setlist before they came out so I knew what they were playing, but there were some notes on the page that made things a little unclear.  And after Water Girl, all three women came to the front of the stage to sing the mournful Mother Sea, a completely non black metal story/song that was really intense.

After the song they left the stage and showed a video on the stage.  A few minutes later they returned wearing nothing except for floor-length black wigs (and flesh-colored underpants).  They stood on stage and proceeded to spit blood on the stage and into the crowd (I got some on my glasses!).  Nix leaned into the crowd and whispered into the ear of the woman near me–wonder what she said.

For the intro of Black Metal is Krig, Nix shouted out that there would be no mercy for the mercyless–not for the warmongers, not for Netanyahu.  For the final song of this section, Mother, the three women came to the front of the stage again and they sang/screamed the word Mother (hearing their drummer Johanna Holt Kleive–who did sing occasionally) scream the word Mother in a high pitched wail sent chills up my spine).

They returned for the third part of the set in new outfits–denim and sequined, um, torn headgear and clothing.  They looked insane, and being able to see Nix’s eyes through this mask was really creepy–especially as she made eye contact with everyone.  For You Wildflower, Hedda walked into the crowd and shouted the intro to everyone and people individually

You don’t give up, you don’t give up
The sky shivers, you don’t give up
The ground breaks, the heart aches (Motherfuckers)
The heart aches, the heart aches
They keep lying, they keep lying
The dictators, the small dicks
You keep pushing, you keep pushing (Motherfuckers)
You keep pushing
You keep breathing, you keep breathing
The sun’s shining on your resistance
You keep fighting, you keep fighting
You show up, you keep fighting
You wildflower

It was awesome.  Their “single” Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy” is certainly catchy and it sounded great.  And then for Witchcraft Techno, Nix crowd surfed (despite being mostly naked) and was safely transported to the stage.  Before the last song, she told us that we reminded her of Norway which was both good and bad.  We were very polite but we were also very uptight and se wanted to see people dance with them.  I was (pleasantly) surprised that there had not been a mosh put up to this point.  I think all eyes were on the stage instead of thinking about dancing.  But the crowd did oblige for the final song and a pit was started.

And that was that.  Their set was about an hour and it was exhausting.  I’m so glad I bought a shirt before the show, but I do regret not buying the tour vinyl of their album.  And, if by any chance, they played nearby again, I would see them in a second.

  • Intro
  • Hysteria ∇
  • Wild Whores ∇
  • Water Girl
  • Mother Sea ∇
  • I Was Made By Fire ∇
  • Black Metal is Krig ∇
  • Salvation ∇
  • Mother ∇
  • You Wildflower ®
  • Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy ∇
  • Witchcraft Techno
  • Solace Sisters §

® single (2025)
∇ Witch Club Satan (2025)
§ single (2022)

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Penelope Trappes (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 27, 2026) [WITCH CLUB SATAN]

Posted in Penelope Trappes, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Witch Club Satan on May 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 27, 2026] Penelope Trappes

I found out about Witch Club Satan last year.  I was immediately struck by the band:  three Norwegian women in corpse paint singing black metal.  And they were great. I didn’t really think they’d come to the States since they seem pretty niche, and yet, soon enough it was announced they were coming to the States for the first time.  I grabbed a ticket immediately

I didn’t know Penelope Trappes before this show.  I listened to a few minutes of a song and got the idea that she was a kind of ambient singer.

She came out on stage with a bow tied around her head with the ends raised above her head like horns or rabbit ears.  She had an electronics board and proceeded to make ambient sounds on it.  She is Australian, but lives in England.  She did say Fuck Ice, which–yes indeed!–but is she here long enough to know about ICE?   I don’t know how much international attention they are getting.  But she was immediately on our side after saying it.

She sang, often sounds, sometimes words.  The first song (I honestly don’t know if she was playing a song, multiple songs, or improvising) lasted about 20 minutes.  I only say this because that’s when she said thank you.  There were lots of changes throughout the 20 minutes and they could have been different songs but there’s no way to tell–her latest album is about 45 minutes and it’s possible she was playing the whole thing, but again, I don’t know.

Correction, I recalled a few words when she sang, and “violent hope” was one of the phrases. It’s from “Red Dove” which comes about half way through A Requiem.  It also featured synths ala Philip Glass which  rather liked. (more…)

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