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Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

The Dead Milkmen / The Ditches / The Rectors / EDO (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 18 & 19, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in EDO, Philadelphia, PA, The Dead Milkmen, The Ditches, The Rectors, Underground Arts on April 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 18 & 19, 2025] The Dead Milkmen / The Ditches / The Rectors / EDO

I saw The Dead Milkmen last year at Underground Arts and it was great–so much fun to hear these old songs that I loved and to see they still had great charisma.

I already had tickets to see L.S. Dunes on April 18 so I couldn’t go that night.  And the 19th is a special night in our house–no going out.  But I’m happy to know that The Milkmen are still playing live from time to time.  I hope to see them in 2026.

The Ditches played both nights.  The Rectors played on the 18th and EDO played on the 19th.

The Ditches says thy play garage Americana from Bucks County, PA.

The Rectors are a psychobilly band from Philly.  They play pretty fast but do have the rockabilly vibe.  I could see The Dead Milkmen enjoying them.

EDO in an article from WXPN

Since their formation at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD back in 1987 – they moved to Philly soon after graduation – the band has continuously defied norms and expectations. Somewhere between Frank Zappa’s matter-of-fact weirdness, the Butthole Surfers’ freakout rock, and the outer space groove of Parliament Funkadelic, EDO (the meaning of the name has been lost to history) occupies a singular position in Philly punk history, even if you’ve never heard of them.

And here’s what someone else wrote about EDO

Some people say EDO is the house band on Pluto. Some people say EDO is more confusing than two cats and a barbershop.

They have a song called Upper Darby (Gives Me the Creeps) which makes me laugh in title alone.

They are clearly insane–someone describes them as the Delconian Primus.  I’s never heard of them until this announcement and now I sure hope to see them live someday.

Sounds like a couple of wild nights.

Here’s a recording of EDO uploaded by EDO

As for the Milkmen:

Alyssa Forester recorded the entire show on the 18th

DirtyMovies76 recorded the whole show on the 19th

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Ida / Tsunami (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ida, Philadelphia, PA, Tsunami, Underground Arts on March 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 28, 2025] Ida / Tsunami

Back in the 90s I liked Tsunami.  I was never a huge fan, but I liked them enough.  Listening again, I maybe should have given them a better chance back then.

Here’s what philty mag said

“Daniel and I have a 23-year-old daughter, and her friends are interested in music from the ‘90s, and they’re like, ‘You’re parents are in Ida?!  What?!’” says Elizabeth Mitchell of herself and husband Daniel Littleton, co-founders of 1990s indie rock legends Ida.  This past weekend, Ida kicked off their first tour in more than a decade.  The tour has them paired with longtime friends and fellow ‘90s legends Tsunami, who haven’t actually toured since 1998.

Ida and Tsunami are currently amidst the Coin Toss tour, which has the bands double-headlining, sharing equipment and van space, and determining each night’s set order by the flip of a coin.  “I think it’s gonna have kind of a celebratory feel, more than just a two-band bill,” Mitchell tells me of the show, which will be at Underground Arts this Friday, March 28th.  Tsunami co-founder Kristin Thomson chimes in: “I almost made a shirt that said, ‘Expect Whimsy!’”

Ida was based in NYC and Tsunami in DC.  Tsunami’s own Simple Machines record label released Ida’s first three albums (1994’s Tales of Brave Ida, 1996’s I Know About You, and 1997’s Ten Small Paces) and the two acts regularly found themselves touring and collaborating together throughout the decade.  “It will be a very Gen X time!” Thomson jokes of the Coin Toss tour.

Honestly it sounds like a great time, even if I wasn’t too familiar with their music anymore.  But I had tickets to Ninja Sex Party that night and I wasn’t going to pass that up.

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Helmet: Betty 30th anniversary / Effusion 35 / Slomosa (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Effusion 35, Helmet, Philadelphia, PA, Slomosa, Underground Arts on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2025] Helmet / Effusion 35 / Slomosa

I really liked the first Helmet album.  I bought betty, but I don’t remember much about it.  I probably haven’t listened to them in twenty years, and I think there have been some fifteen people in the band over the years, but I’ll bet they are still heavy as anything.  But I wasn’t that excited about this tour.

In Denver, War on Women opened, but not for us.  We had Slomosa and Effusion 35.

Slomosa is from Bergen, Norway.  They have created their own music genre, Tundra Rock.  It appears to be a meld of stoner rock and power metal.  I’m intrigued by them.  I listened to a couple of songs and found it okay, but a little flat.  They are probably great live though.

Effusion 35 is from Philly.  They seem almost like a heavy country band, although their earlier stuff is even less heavy–an odd pairing with Helmet to be sure.

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Reggie Watts / low iron (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 21, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in low iron, Philadelphia, PA, Reggie Watts, Underground Arts on March 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 21, 2025] Reggie Watts / low iron

I’ve been aware of Reggie Watts for a pretty long time.  I think I first encountered him on Comedy Bang Bang and since then his star has risen more and more.  He’s really funny and his beatboxing and improv skills are fantastic.

He also did a Tint Desk concert back in 2o12 which is super fun.  I didn’t really have a good reason for not going, it just didn’t line up well for me.  And I guess I’m far enough from seeing anything by him that I didn’t feel compelled to go.

low iron is a North Philadelphia-based DJ and community organizer  known for blending high-energy techno, electro, and bass with Philly club music and nostalgic hits.   She is active in the local queer and rave scene.

Sometimes an opening act can tell you a little bit about the show (sometimes not at all).  But this inclusion of a techno DJ made me think this show might be more dancey than funny, so I gave it a miss.

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Nish Kumar in “Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe” (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2025)

Posted in Amy Annette, Nish Kumar, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster, Underground Arts on March 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 2, 2025] Nish Kumar

I know Nish Kumar from Taskmaster, where he was hilarious.  I have since grown to love him from his appearances on various podcasts, including his own Pod Save the UK.

When he announced that he was touring the US and playing Philly, I grabbed my wife and I tickets immediately.

And holy crap was he funny.  He ranted for 90 minutes and we never stopped laughing the whole time.

Most of his material is political (and there’s so much to choose from in 2025), but there were also personal observations (his poor therapist gets mentioned A LOT), and even a joke or two about his fridge and his mom.

In his current tour, he is upfront with how his therapist warned him against discussing traumatic unprocessed memories on stage, saying that re-telling unprocessed memories can re-traumatise you.

What’s his comedy like?  It’s fast, angry and very funny.  Think Lewis Black but less deranged sounding.  He’s also got a wonderful outsiders perspective on the US that can make you see thinks a little differently, although as he points out, his radical left wing base probably sees things this way already.  But, as a Brown person, he brings a whole new perspective on, well everything.

Like how Indians should be pleased that they are getting represented in politics, even though these people are the worst representatives of their culture who routinely abuse and put down their own people. (more…)

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Amy Annette (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2025) [NISH KUMAR]

Posted in Amy Annette, Nish Kumar, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster, Underground Arts on March 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 2, 2025] Amy Annette

I didn’t know if Nish Kumar would have an opening act.  Since the show was starting at 9PM (!) on a Sunday night, I hoped he didn’t.

But then I remembered that comedy opening acts aren’t the same as concert opening acts.  They don’t stay on for all that long and there isn’t a 30 minute gap between performers.

So when Amy Annette was announced, I was ready to be entertained.  I found out after her set, once Nish came on, that Amy is his girlfriend of 13 years.  This made me happy for two reasons.  The first was that her set was only about 20 minutes, and it seemed crazy to travel all the way from the UK just to do 20 minutes.  And also, her material is so very different from Nish’s I wondered how he might pick someone to warm up that was doing completely unpolitical material.

So, the fact that they are dating was great!  They get to travel together and we all got some exposure to a comedian that we (or I, at least) didn’t know but now want to see again.

Amy’s humor is so very different from Nish’s.

She began with a really funny bit about bread. Yes, bread!  She had some good audience interactions to find out others’ bread choices.  And one of the respondents was a man named Paulie who would come back later. (more…)

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Emo Nite featuring MC Lars (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 14, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Emo Nite, MC Lars, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on February 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 14, 2025] Emo Nite featuring MC Lars

I have wanted to see MC Lars for a few years now.  But this wasn’t the way for me to see him.

I didn’t know what Emo Nite was.  I assumed it was just a night of emo music.  Which it is, but apparently, Emo Nite is a THING, an entity that tours.  As their blurb says

We are not a band. We are not DJ’s. We throw parties for the music we love.

Their website goes into detail about how they started and what they play.  Basically they love emo and play a night of emo with guest artists.  If I were younger and liked going out, this is the kind of thing I’d enjoy.  But I don’t want to go to a room to listen to records.

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J. Mascis (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 12, 2025)

Posted in J. Mascis, Kurt Vile, Mike Polizze, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Mountaintops, Purling Hiss, Underground Arts on February 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 12, 2025] J. Mascis

When this show was first announced it turned out to be on the same night as the Babymetal show that my son and I were going to.  But then it was postponed and I grabbed a ticket for the new date.

I couldn’t really imagine J. Mascis in a small club or playing quietly.  Well, this is the same place I saw Thurston Moore a number of years ago.  Amazingly neither legend sold out for a solo show (Thurston wasn’t solo, but it was his solo music).  J was by himself, but I needn’t have worried about being quiet, as he had a massive amp setup on stage.

I don’t know why it took him so long to get on stage (he showed up at 10:10 even though no work had to be done on stage).  His roadie also put like 5 different drinks on his stool, and I don’t think he had any of it.

He came out with a beat up acoustic guitar and proceeded to jam through almost 20 songs.

Before he started, some meathead started the E-A-G-L-E-S chant and J. smiled and then said, I’m impressed you guys can spell.

And then he got to business. (more…)

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Mike Polizze [Purling Hiss] (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 12, 2025) [J. MASCIS]

Posted in J. Mascis, Kurt Vile, Mike Polizze, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Mountaintops, Purling Hiss, Underground Arts on February 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 12, 2025] Mike Polizze [rescheduled from November 21, 2024]

When this show was first announced I didn’t know if I wanted to go, plus it turned out to be on the same night as the Babymetal show that my son and I were going to.

Initially Pink Mountaintops were supposed to open for this show.  Then a few days ago I saw that it was going to be Purling Hiss.  I was really excited to see Pink Mountaintops (who I haven’t seen before).  There was no notice or explanation of their departure from these shows.  But they were replaced by, as many of the posters say Purling Hiss (Solo).

Purling Hiss is Mike Polizze.  He was the only person on the first few records and the latter records add a drummer and maybe someone else.  But it’s not wrong to say this is Purling Hiss solo.

Polizze had opened for Kurt Vile recently and I enjoyed listening to his set.  And it proved to be quiet similar to this set opening for J Masics.

Mike had an acoustic guitar and a bunch of pedals–mostly a looping pedal, a distortion pedal and a wah wah.

And wow, was he loud.  I anticipated J would be loud, but I think that Mike may have been louder–or his equipment wasn’t mic’d as nicely so it sounded harsher.

Mike looped his guitar chords and then played solos using varying degrees of distortion and volume.  I really enjoyed the amount of looping he did and I was close enough to watch him using the looping pedal–tapping the pedal to add a solo section to loop with the chords, etc. (more…)

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Wunderhorse / Deux Visages (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Deux Visages, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Wunderhorse on January 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 25, 2025] Wunderhorse / Deux Visages

Wunderhorse was the Artist to Watch on WXPN and they were playing two of their songs a lot.  I didn’t respond well to the first one but the second one was pretty catchy.

I might have considered this show, but I had tickets to Soccer Mommy AND a Control Top show this evening, so this was low on my list. (more…)

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