Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

Gondola (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 21, 2018) [ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE]

Posted in Gondola, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, Underground Arts on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 21, 2018] Gondola

I hadn’t heard of Gondola, the first of three bands this evening in The Black Box. They are a local Philly band with (apparently) a large following.  They are the first opening band I have ever seen called back for an encore.  They are also, subsequently the only band I’ve seen called back for an encore who was not allowed to play the encore because they ran out of time (apparently).

Gondola was fantastic.

They play a kind of psychedelic stoner metal, with heavy crunching guitars, awesome low end bass and some surprisingly catchy riffs.  I detected a serious 80s SST Records vibe from the sound of the guitar (solos especially) and the way the bass played off of it. (more…)

Read Full Post »

The night when no live shows would be seen

Posted in Adult Mom, Ardmore Music Hall, Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band, Diarrhea Planet, Fire is Motion, Forth Wanderers, Madison Square Garden, Petal, PhilaMOCA, Phish, Pinegrove, Starland Ballroom, Television, The Superweaks, Underground Arts, Yankee Bluff on December 29, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[NO SHOWS: December 29, 2017]

December 29, 2017 was a night of many many shows that I was interested in.  I thought it would be fun to end my season of many concerts near the year end (but not on New Year’s Eve, because I have a family, after all–even though Phish beckoned).

So the first option was Phish at Madison Square Garden.  They were playing three nights for New Years.  I tried to get tickets to any of the three, because sure I Would have absolutely gone on New Years Eve, who am I kidding).  But in the band’s lottery I did not get any GA tickets.  I have seen them twice before but I really only wanted to see them up close.  So when no GA were forthcoming, I basically decided I wouldn’t go. Even though I love CashorTrade, I wasn’t willing to fight for them.  Plus, there were other possibilities. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Elephant Stone (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, December 12, 2017)

Posted in Canadian Music, Elephant Stone, Groovy Movies, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, Underground Arts on December 12, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 12, 2017] Elephant Stone

I heard Elephant Stone on NPR and loved their alt rock/shoegaze sound mixed with some awesome sitar,

Lead singer/bassist Rishi Dhir is a masterful sitar player and, as I read somewhere, if you’ve heard a sitar in an alt-rock song, it was Dhir.

Elephant Stone are a trio based in Montreal with Dhir, Jean-Gabriel Lambert on guitar and Miles Dupire-Gagnon on drums.   For this show they had an additional player on keyboards and backing guitar but I never got his name.  Amusingly, the lightning in The Black Box was pretty dark and this extra guy was almost perpetually in the dark, so photos were pretty hard. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Groovy Movies (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, December 12, 2017) [ELEPHANT STONE]

Posted in Canadian Music, Elephant Stone, Groovy Movies, Love, Philadelphia, PA, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Monkees, Underground Arts on December 12, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 12, 2017] Groovy Movies

I had never been to The Black Box before. It is a smaller club inside the already small club Underground Arts (the main room is cordoned off).  The setting is intimate and cozy with couches and a tiny bar.

When I got there, there were seven people waiting for the show to start.

I felt bad about that.  I love a show to be not too crowded, but that was uncomfortably empty.

Groovy Movies, a Philly band, came out and did their opening set.  And they were terrific.  Dressed all in white, they played the greatest not-exactly-Beatles music I’ve ever heard. (more…)

Read Full Post »

X: 40th Anniversary Tour (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 22, 2017)

Posted in Billy Zoom, D.J. Bonebreak, Exene Cervenka, Philadelphia, PA, Ray Manzarek, Skating Polly, The Doors, Underground Arts, X on September 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 22, 2017] X

The very first CD I ever bought was by X (More Fun in the New World).  My college friend Anita was a big fan (I’d never heard of them).  When I got my first CD player, rather than buying music I already had on vinyl (why would anyone do that?), I bought this band that I really liked.  That was in 1987.

So, while X was celebrating their 40th Anniversary, for me it was a 30 year anniversary.

Either way, I was really excited that all four original members were playing: John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom, and D.J. Bonebreak.

My friend Kelli told me about this show and I was instantly intrigued about going.  And boy am I glad I did.  The band sounded great.  The crowd was really into it and I got to hear a bunch of songs that I really love.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Skating Polly (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 22, 2017) [X]

Posted in Exene Cervenka, Philadelphia, PA, Skating Polly, Underground Arts, X on September 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 22, 2017] Skating Polly

Skating Polly are now a trio (until recently a duo) with a great origin story.

The band was founded by multi-instrumentalist step-siblings Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse who were just 9 and 14 years old when the band formed.  The band’s first setup consisted of Peyton on drums and Kelli playing a basitar (Kelli’s father made her a basitar after she complained that a traditional six-string guitar hurt her fingers.)  Shortly before their debut album Taking Over the World was released on Nice People Records in November 2010, Kelli and Peyton met Exene Cervenka after a show in Oklahoma City. Exene was surprised by the girls’ extensive knowledge of punk and began corresponding with the girls and discussing them in numerous interviews.  In 2017 the girls’ brother Kurtis Mayo joined the band.

So that’s all pretty interesting but how did they sound?

Well, after being cocky about not having any trouble getting to shows on time, I hit yet another snag on my way to Philly–a big section of 95 which is always under construction was particularly bad in one spot.  I think I missed one or two songs.

But the rest were really good.  Rocking and punky with great lead vocals from both singers and some really cool harmonies as well.   (more…)

Read Full Post »

Thurston Moore Group (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 22, 2017)

Posted in My Bloody Valentine, Philadelphia, PA, Sonic Youth, The Writhing Squares, Thurston Moore, Thurston Moore Group, Underground Arts on July 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2017] Thurston Moore Group

I’ve loved Sonic Youth since the late 1980s.  And yet in all of those years I never saw them live.  Never!  So to make up for that, I quickly snatched up tickets for Thurston Moore’s show at Underground Arts (such a great intimate venue).  Inexplicably, I don’t  think the show sold out.

For this show his band consisted of Thurston on guitar and vocals, Steve Shelley on drums (1/2 of Sonic Youth right there), My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe (!) and maniac guitarist James Sedwards.

I had the impression that they would play most if not all of their new (fantastic) album Rock n Roll Consciousness.  And that was fine with me.  They did play the whole album, but not in order.

I was talking to the fans around me and we marveled at the lo-tech way their gear was set up–the bass was propped on the bass drum case, guitar amps were stacked on chairs.  And, everyone (except Thurston) came out to prep their own gear.

There were a couple lunatic bozos nearby who just screamed and shouted through the set, but it’s hard to overpower Thurston and Co.  One of these bozos took off his short and threw it on stage–it actually landed on Deb’s bass which I could see pissed her off.  After the song she threw it back into the crowd–it sailed right over my head. (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Writhing Squares (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 22, 2017) [THURSTON MOORE GROUP]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Writhing Squares, Thurston Moore, Thurston Moore Group, Underground Arts on July 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2017] The Writhing Squares

I was unfamiliar with The Writhing Squares before this show, although apparently they have been making music for at least four years. And Thurston Moore claimed that they had the best band name he;s heard this year.

The Writhing Squares are a duo: Kevin Nickles: Saxophone, flute, voice, synthesizer, percussion and Daniel Provenzano: Bass, voice, synthesizer, percussion, drum machine.  I can’t get over how many duos there have been lately and just how good two people can sound (even if they’re not just playing acoustic guitars and harmonizing).
(more…)

Read Full Post »

Sloan (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2016)

Posted in Canadian Music, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Philadelphia, PA, Sloan, Television, Underground Arts on October 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »

sloan[ATTENDED: October 15, 2016] Sloan

Back in the early 1990s, I heard Sloan’s “Underwhelmed,” and I loved it.  Such a great song that is still rocking and clever over 20 years later.  Sloan has a tumultuous few years after that, appearing to break up but not, getting signed and then dropped and then settling down and putting out some amazing music over the next 20 or so years which few people outside of Canada heard.

They have released eleven albums and I think that each one gets better and better.  Sloan is touring the 20th Anniversary of One Chord to Another.  There are some great songs on it, although it’s wasn’t my favorite album.  But the point is I have never seen Sloan.  In all the years I’ve been a fan, we’ve never been in the same place at the same time.  So even though I had been to a show the night before and this would make six concerts in twelve days (!), I bought tickets to see one of my favorite underground bands.

Since I knew they were playing all of OCTA, I listened to it a lot before hand and now, after seeing it live, I do like it even more than before. (But seriously if they do a 20th anniversary tour of Between the Bridges in three years…. you couldn’t keep me from that stage).

I’d never been to Underground Arts before.  It is indeed underground.  And it is indeed quite small (about 500 people max).

I arrived pretty early (start time was supposed to be 9:15, but they didn’t go on until 9:30–divas!).  But that meant that I was able to score a spot right behind the guy leaning on the stage.  As they say in Fast Times at Ridgemont High: so close I could scare the band. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts