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Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

Oranssi Pazuzu / Wayfarer (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Oranssi Pazuzu, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Wayfarer on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 21, 2026] Oranssi Pazuzu / Wayfarer

I had not heard of Oranssi Pazuzu until about a week ago.  I’m not even sure what made me look into a band with a name like this.  But as soon as I saw that they were a Finnish psychedelic black metal band I had to see what they were all about.

And they are an interesting proposition.  The music definitely gets heavy, but there are lots of gentle samples (flute perhaps?) through some of the quieter more psychedelic moments.  My only complaint is the black metal component because the singer more or less growls quietly (presumably in Finnish) over the music.   Musically, though, I’m really intrigued by them.  Because I didn’t know enough about them, and because I already had tickets to see Black Angels, I didn’t really look into them very closely.  But having sat with them a bit and listened to them a but more, I think this would have been the better choice, especially since they haven’t toured the US in 7 years and presumably won’t be back for a long while, if ever.

Wayfarer is Denver’s gothic country-infused black metal band.  They have an interesting aesthetic (black metal, with sludge, with death metal, heated to a boil on the scorching stones of the Rockies) and I like their musical components, but once again the singer is a deep cookie monster type singer–yes, black metal, I know–but as a person who likes lyrics, it’s hard to get into a song when you just can’t understand what the singer is doing.  This is another band I think I’d probably enjoy live more because I could focus on the music rather than the words.

I enjoyed the Black Angels show, but yea, this might have been the better choice.

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Ghostface Killah / ZekeUltra / J the Audiophile / Dell P (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 14, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dell-P, J the Audiophile, Philadelphia, PA, The Chameleons, Underground Arts, ZekeUltra on May 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 14, 2026] Ghostface Killah / ZekeUltra / J the Audiophile / Dell P

It was unlikely that I’d go to a Ghostface Killah concert, but he’s a member of Wu-Tang and it would be interesting to see one of them live.  And in Underground Arts.

I had talked to my physical therapist about this show and he told me that he had seen Ghostface and that he was boring live.  And really that’s all I needed to hear to know that I wasn’t going to go.

ZekeUltra is a young low key rapper.  Kind of mumbly but you can understand him.  His new album is full of songs that are less than 2 minutes long.  After having seen this kind of performer with Earl Sweatshirt, I can tell I wouldn’t have enjoyed this.

J the audiophile is a hip hop, soul, electronic dance music, disco, and funk DJ, music producer, and all around vinyl enthusiast living large in the City.  He is dedicated to the preservation of vinyl culture in Philadelphia.  He has some albums out.  I think they’re all instrumental with spoken samples.  I guess for a live show he would be spinning, but I don’t know if it would be his own stuff or just DJing.  But I love the retro vibe he’s playing.

Dell-P is a Philly rapper who has nice old school flow–aggressive and clear–with catchy choruses.

Even though I didn’t want to see the first two, J the audiophile and Dell-P are pretty great.

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The Lemon Twigs / Josephine Network (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, May 7, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Josephine Network, Philadelphia, PA, The Lemon Twigs, Underground Arts on May 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 7, 2026] The Lemon Twigs / Josephine Network

I wrote this two years ago:

I discovered The Lemon Twigs a few years ago and really enjoyed their glam rock sound and I imagined that they would be a ton of fun live.  The band is technically a duo, although they have more people on stage with them.  I keep managing to not see them though.

I believe that this is the fifth or sixth time that I haven’t seen them.  I did finally get to see them open for Car Seat Headrest but I’d really like to see them headline.  Maybe one of these days.

Josephine Network  is the project of NY singer/songwriter and musician Josephine. Her music has a very retro feel–glammy and poppy.  A very 70s vibe with soft vocals and harmonies.  I don’t really like them, but they sound like they’d be a perfect opener for the retro Lemon Twigs.

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Pallbearer (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026)

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Type O Negative, Underground Arts on April 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Pallbearer

I saw I had heard of Pallbearer but didn’t really know all that much about them.  I assumed they were a really heavy growling type of band.  So when Knoll announced that they were opening for them, I checked them out, enjoyed them and bought a ticket to the show.

It turns out that they are a doom metal band and the album that they were touring, Foundations of Burden, is a classic of the genre.

I had enjoyed the first two bands but when Knoll was done, a whole bunch of guys rushed to the stage.  One of them was actually a guy I’ve seen at a couple of shows recently (MMJ and Band of Horses–he even looks a bit like Jim James).  He is a massive headbanger (headbanging to Band of Horses!).  So he was finally in his element and he knew this album really well. There were a bunch of guys together who knew each other and they were all headbangers and fist pumpers.  And  while it was all harmless, I didn’t enjoy the vibe.

And when the band started I realized the real problem for me.  I was standing right in front of Brett Campbell’s guitar amps.  And it was LOUD!  So when he stepped up to the microphone and I literally couldn’t hear him I wasn’t too happy.  Later on, bassist Joseph D. Rowland sang another part and I couldn’t hear him either.

By the third song, when Devin Holt played a solo and I could hear it until Campbell started playing his guitar, I knew I had to move.

So the album has 6 songs which meant I was already half way through.  But I just wasn’t really enjoying myself.  So I left the front and headed toward the back.  And things were much better back there.  The sound was phenomenal–balanced perfectly and still loud as anything.  Mark Lierly was on drums with a fairly small kit net to the wall of amps–but he was certainly loud enough. (more…)

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Knoll (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026) [PALLBEARER]

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Knoll

I saw Knoll open for Agriculture three months ago.  Then I saw that they were returning in three months to open for Pallbearer.  And they are the reason I went to this show (and why I listened to Pallbearer for the first time).

Knoll’s show in January was just mind blowing–intense and wild and loud and a little scary.  And I really wanted to see them again.  Last time I was in front of guitarist Cameron Giarraputo, so this time I wanted to experience it from the other side of the stage in front of Ryan Cook guitarist and trumpet (!) player.

What did I write three months ago?

I have seen a lot of extreme bands, but there’s nothing to prepare you for this.

And the show was largely the same.  Possibly the same songs, but it’s kind of hard to tell.  So I’ll quote from myself a bunch.

Knoll set up their gear.  They had an old-looking end table (I would guess like 100 years old, with all kinds of filigree–but probably not worth anything) and interesting gear on it.  The table also had a little light on it and there were four floor lamps around the stage.

This time I watched as singer Jamie Eubanks asked them to cut all of the lights.

These lights were the only things that lit the stage!  And, most interesting of all, each band member had a step on plug which turned their individual light on and off throughout the show.

All five members of the band were dressed in all black–button down shirts and black pants.  And the lead singer, James Eubanks, has his head shaved, (possibly his eyebrows), his fingernails shaped into points.  He looks like Nosferatu.

Last time I noted that Giarraputo was like a machine with the speed and technical expertise he brought to these incredibly fast songs.  The same was true of Cook–his wrsits moved so fast!

Drummer Jack Anderson must be exhausted by the end of the show playing so fast.

(more…)

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Lástima (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026) [PALLBEARER]

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Lástima

I hadn’t heard of Lástima.  They are a Philly band who plays blackgaze which may be a term they made up, or maybe not.  But it makes sense.

They play fast, heavy, dark music with mostly growled vocals.  Back in the day we called these cookie monster vocals.  But cookie monster vocals are for fast singers and I think singers of this style of music sing more like real monsters–slow and deep and creepy AF.

What set this band apart was the inclusion of Thuy Nguyen on violin! (!).  From where I was you couldn’t always hear the violin (again, I need to stand further back from the stage) but when the rest of the band quieted down, the violin was a wonderfully mournful component.

I was in front of Eric Mauro on guitars and Hazel Whitman on bass.  I could kind of see Sam Hyla on drums, but really the most entertaining person was singer/guitarist Richie DeVon.

DeVon sang.  Sometimes in a normal voice (during the quiet section) but usually with a growl or a scream.   There were a few songs (or openings of songs) which had quiet piano parts.  DeVon played them and was usually accompanied by Nguyen on violin.  Toward the end he got down on his knees and screamed his head off while messing about with his effects pedals.  It was quite cathartic.  (more…)

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The Chameleons / The Veldt (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 18, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chameleons, Philadelphia, PA, The Chameleons, The Veldt, Underground Arts on April 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 18, 2026] The Chameleons / The Veldt

I thought that I knew The Chameleons. They’re a British band from the heyday of British alt rock.    They’re from Manchester and started in 1981.  I’ve known about them for as long as I can remember.  But I guess I got them confused with The Charlatans (Charlatans UK here).  Because when I listened to the debut Chameleons album, I didn’t recognize a thing.

I didn’t dislike the albums, but I didn’t feel compelled to go listen to them.

The Veldt is a “soul powered rock band on the heavier end of the shoegaze spectrum.”  Formed by identical twins Daniel and Danny Chavis, The Veldt emerged from Raleigh, North Carolina, with instincts shaped by gospel, Motown, Prince, Sun Ra, and Pink Floyd.

The vocals are really soulful with some great rocking guitars.  It was actually The Veldt that made me thing this (or three) times about going to this show.  But it didn’t happen.

 

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Dirty Three (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 2, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dirty Three, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 2, 2026] Dirty 3

I have a list of bands that I want to see.  The list is pretty long, but I do have them ranked roughly by how much I want to see them.  I also have a category of bands that I assume will never tour again but that I want to see if they ever do.  And Dirty Three was on top of that list.  I couldn’t believe when they announced that they were playing Underground Arts.  I bought my ticket instantly and couldn’t wait to see them.

And then about a week before this show, my daughter told me that she wanted to go to Minnesota for a college visit.  And it had to be the first days of April.

I was obviously bummed but was really happy that the trip was fun and helped her decide on a school.

I assume that Dirty Three will never come back to the States (their previous visit was in 2003).   Huh, I didn’t realize that they had put out a new album in 2024 (first since 2012), so maybe if they make another album before ten years pass, they may come back again).

The show sounds like it was wild (of course) and they played for two and a half hours!  I wonder if anyone filmed it.

 

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Baroness (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2026)

Posted in Baroness, Blood Vulture, Commitment, John Baizley, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on March 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2026] Baroness

I have seen Baroness twice before this show.  The first was an acoustic record release show at a Record Store.  The second was at a sold out Kung Fu Necktie in which I couldn’t see anything because of where I was.  So I felt I hadn’t really seen them.

I really wanted to see their Red and Blue tour (where they played both of those albums), but it sold out before I got a ticket.  So this was my chance.  It turned out that they were playing the following night at Starland Ballroom, but they were OPENING for Acid Bath, who I’d never heard of. Crazy.

But here they were headlining.  It feels like the band is really John Baizley (they only person who has been with the band from the start) and new(ish) lead guitarist and amazing shredder Gina Gleeson.  I had thought that the bassist and drummer were kind of new to the band, but Nick Jost has been bassist and Sebastian Thomson has been drummer since 2013–so, they’re long time fixtures for sure. (more…)

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Commitment (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2026) [BARONESS]

Posted in Baroness, Blood Vulture, Commitment, John Baizley, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on March 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2026] Commitment

I listened to Commitment just before the show and was blown away by the band’s old school hardcore punk sound.  And that the singer was a woman (not all that common in hardcore).  The woman is Tati Salazar who can scream with an unparalleled fury.   I noticed that the guitarist from Soul Glo was standing in the back of the stage, and that made even more sense when I found out that the drummer is Soul Glo vocalist Pierce Jordan.  And he is a beast on the drums!  Holy cow he is fast and loud.

Guitarist Jake Smith (of Eye Flys, who I do not know) was on the far side of the stage and bassist Zach Bailey, was in front of me.  Bailey was fascinating to watch because his bass work was excellent, but he did not fit the part–he looked a little like Peter Parker in the early Spiderman movies.  He also wore a black latex glove on his left hand–how did it not get ripped on the strings that he was sliding all over?  The last time I saw someone wearing those gloves on stage was also at UA when Damien from Fucked Up said that he had cut his hand and the glove was for protection.  If Bailey cut his hand, it didn’t impact his playing at all.

The band came out and exploded all over the stage.  It was no-frills hardcore punk with almost no song reaching the two-minute mark (except for one longer song).  Now, I couldn’t understand a lot of what Tati was singing, but her energy and intensity made it pretty clear what the songs were generally about. (more…)

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