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Archive for the ‘Underground Arts’ Category

The Lemon Twigs / Milk ‘n’ Cookies (Underground Arts, Philadelphia PA, October 11, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Milk 'n' Cookies, Philadelphia, PA, The Lemon Twigs, Underground Arts on October 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 11, 2024] The Lemon Twigs / Milk ‘n’ Cookies

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.  Tonight I had tickets to see Bevis Frond, but their tour was cancelled because of visa issues. So I should have gone to see The Lemon Twigs, but October had so many shows in it that some had to give.  I rather wish that I hadn’t skipped this one though as I have just learned a bit about the opening band Milk ‘n’ Cookies.

Milk ‘n’ Cookies formed in the early 1970s in Long Island, New York.  They played power pop but never made it.  The core line-up of the band was made up of Ian North, Justin Strauss, Sal Maida and Mike Ruiz and, in their time, they played classic NYC venues like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City. They shared bills with everyone from Talking Heads to The Ramones and have amassed a cult following, influencing the likes of Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and Debbie Harry (Blondie).

It would have been interesting to see them live.

So, maybe the next time the Twigs come around (if their next album kicks ass) I’ll go see them.

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Charly Bliss / Pronoun (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 10, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Charly Bliss, Philadelphia, PA, Pronoun, Underground Arts on October 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 10, 2024] Charly Bliss / Pronoun

This was a really tough choice for me.  I was super excited when Charly Bliss announced this show because the last time I saw them it was a ton of fun.

And then Yard Act announced that they were playing Union Transfer the same night.

I had seen Yard Act before, but only once.  And I’d seen Charly Bliss three times.  So I chose Yard Act because they are from the UK and are less likely to play Philly again soon.  And, if I’m being honest, I didn’t love the direction this new Charly Bliss album went is as much as I liked the older records.  So we’ll see what happens in 2025.  (Yard Act were great, btw). (more…)

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Nada Surf (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2024)

Posted in Nada Surf, Office Dog, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on October 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2024] Nada Surf 

I left Soul Coughing for this show.  It was a risk because this was the first time Soul Coughing had toured in decades.  But I was so miserable at the show that I was happy to leave.  And it turned out that tonight’s Nada Surf show was fantastic.

Even though singer Matthew Caws’ voice was a bit shot because they had played two shows (one was a bonus show) the night before.

Since I had been at Soul Coughing, I arrived at Underground Arts basically as the final chords of Office Dog’s last song were fading away.  I didn’t know Office Dog who are a power trio from New Zealand.  And this summary makes me rather bummed that I missed them:

New Zealand singer-songwriter Kane Strang got tired of going it alone as a solo artist, he started an old-fashioned indie rock power trio called Office Dog. Backing him up are two friends from different iterations of his touring band: bassist Rassani Tolovaa and drummer Mitchell Innes. Like Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, and Built to Spill, this threesome emphasizes the personality of each player as it wrings maximum drama from a minimum of instruments.

So I hope they come back around.

This tour was for their latest album Moon Mirror, but they opened with two songs from 2003’s Let Go.  The crowd was totally into it–very responsive and singing along.  Matthew seemed to be really excited at the size of the crowd, which surprised me because I thought that they had played bigger venues before (but I see now that World Cafe Live is the same size as Underground Arts (this blows my mind as I feel like UA is quite small). (more…)

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Nilüfer Yanya / Lutalo / Eliza McLamb (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 28, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Eliza McLamb, Lutalo, Nilüfer Yanya, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on September 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 28, 2024] Nilüfer Yanya / Lutalo / Eliza McLamb

I saw Nilüfer Yanya back in 2019.  Since then she seems to have become even more of a dynamic performer.

I wanted to go to this show but I had a show the night before and the night after so I stayed home.

And the more I listen to her newer stuff the less engaged I am by it.

Lutalo is based in Vermont.

After releasing their 2022 debut EP, the 24-year-old born Lutalo Jones emerged as a rising presence in the indie world, catching the attention of Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker, who invited the young musician on tour.

Their music was good, but didn’t inspire me. (more…)

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Brutus (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2024)

Posted in Brutus, Philadelphia, PA, Superbloom, Underground Arts on September 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2024] Brutus

Brutus is a trio from Belgium.  I wasn’t familiar with them until this show was announced but when I listened to their album Unison Life, I loved everything about them and knew I wanted to see them.

As the Superbloom gear was being removed, there was a drumkit on the right side of the stage.  I assumed that it would get moved to the middle, but it never did!

Rather, guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden and bassist Peter Mulders were center stage with all of their gear (including Milders’ bass pedals) and vocalist and drummer Stefanie Mannaerts faced them from the side of the stage.

Mannaerts’ microphone was on her left so she turned to the crowd when she sang.  The problem for me is that one of her cymbals was right where her face was, so I literally couldn’t see her face the whole night.  Even when the guy in front of me made room for me (that was very nice), it was still impossible to see her. (more…)

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Superbloom (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2024) [BRUTUS]

Posted in Brutus, Philadelphia, PA, Superbloom, Underground Arts on September 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2024] Superbloom

Superbloom is a 4 piece Brooklyn band.  They are grunge-y and heavy (and loud).

Their latest single shows the band as a five piece so I don’t know which guitarist was playing.

Lead singer Dave Hoon has a great grungy voice, at times sounding a bit like Kurt Cobain (and on one song drummer Matteo Dix did backing vocals like Dave Grohl).  Hoon was wearing a Soundgarden shirt and I’m sure that was only part of the reason I could hear Soundgarden in their music as well.

None of this is to say that they were a knock off band because they weren’t.  I never thought “this sounds just like X,” rather I loved the vibe and the confidence of the songwriting. (more…)

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Tinariwen (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 24, 2024)

Posted in Basic, Chris Forsyth, Philadelphia, PA, Tinariwen, Underground Arts on July 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 24, 2024] Tinariwen

Tinariwen is a pretty legendary band.  They play a guitar driven “desert blues” in which the guitar is played pretty much non-stop.   It’s unique and original to American ears but is apparently part of a Mali musical sound that combines traditional Tuareg and African music with Western rock.

I’ve been trying to see them for a number of years and things never seemed to pan out, until this year.

The night was a challenge as parking was limited and I wound up coming in later than I intended.  It was also much more crowded (so early) than I anticipated.  So I had  to stand off to the side.

About half way through the show, I had to get out of the crowd and Underground Arts was super nice in that someone got me a chair (I’m using a cane at the moment).  I actually felt obliged to stay in the chair which meant I was in kind of a crappy location visually for most of the show.   But it was so crowded that I wasn’t going to see much anyhow, so I’m grateful for the seat. (more…)

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Basic (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 24, 2024) [TINARIWEN]

Posted in Basic, Chris Forsyth, Philadelphia, PA, Tinariwen, Underground Arts on July 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 24, 2024] Basic

Philadelphia’s own BASIC, Chris Forsyth on guitar, Nick Millevoi on baritone guitar and drum machine, and Patrick Avery on percussion and electronics.  I saw them open for Tortoise back in 2023 and really enjoyed their rocking, possibly improvised set.

The venue was super packed.  I started in the center but couldn’t see anything so I moved to the Nick Millevoi’s side, but was still blocked by a pole.  Eventually I sidled up and managed to see all three of them.

Last time, I felt Christ Forsyth’s guitar was a little quiet, but this time the sound was great.

Like last time, Avery had a tiny bass drum that he hit with a mallet.  On it was a kind of woodblock, which he hit with a plastic mallet.  That’s all he had.  Millevoi often started a drum machine as he started playing so technically Avery didn’t have a lot to do, but seeing and hearing him add bass drum was a nice touch.  Avery also played with some electronics on a table near him–I think he was doing a lot more than I realized (since I couldn’t see him very well, it’s hard to know).

They played for about 40 minutes and it was a great rocking set.  Nick and Chris both played great solos from time to time and Mikel held it all together.

I do hope to see them one more time, hopefully from the front where I can really see what’s going on.

And what was fun was that Chris and his family (I assume) stood next to me at the end of Tinariwen, and then he was super friendly after the show where we chatted about the upcoming Basic album.

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Pallbearer / REZN / The Keening (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, June 16, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, REZN, The Keening, Underground Arts on June 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 16, 2024] Pallbearer / REZN / The Keening

I’m more or less done with going  to heavy metal shows.  There are still a few bands I’ll go to see, but overall, there’s not much left that I’m curious about.

Pallbearer are a doom metal band (a subgenre I find myself drawn to more than other subgenres), but they mix in elements of prog metal as well, which is a major draw for me.  I’ve never seen them, but I would very much like to.

I dithered about this show because I had a few other shows around it and wasn’t sure if I wanted to go out on a Sunday night.   Then about two weeks before the show I realized that this was Father’s Day, and I certainly wasn’t going to go to a metal show by myself on Father’s Day.

REZN is a band I didn’t know, but when I checked out a few songs I really liked them.  Angry Metal Guy describes

 an esoteric brand of psychedelic doom that finds unique ways to incorporate each member’s talents. Synth maestro Spencer Oulette boasts credits for piano, sax, and flute, and bassist Phil Cangelosi even busts out a rainstick to set the mood.

(more…)

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Man Man (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, June 15, 2024) [TOUR CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Man Man, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on June 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: June 15, 2024] Man Man

I was pretty thrilled to hear that Man Man had a new album out and that  they were touring it–June 15 at Underground Arts!

And then one day the show wasn’t listed anymore.  And when I went to Underground Arts for a different show, they told me it was cancelled.

It took a few days, but on May 23, they finally posted

Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to our upcoming US @manmanbandband tour. We’re gutted by the postponement. unforeseen circumstances took control of the wheel. Hopefully we’ll wrestle it back in the future. Our album still drops on June 7 & and we are so goddamn proud of it.”

So no explanation for the cancellation, but at least  thy acknowledged it and (one hopes) they will reschedule for next year.

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