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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

Slide Away Philadelphia: Nothing / Swirlies / Loveliescrushing / Tagabow / Mint Field / Knifeplay / Astrobrite / Glixen (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 9, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND–COVID]

Posted in Astrobrite, Glixen, Knifeplay, Loveliescrushing, Mint Field, Nothing, Philadelphia, PA, Slide Away, Swirlies, Tagabow, Union Transfer on March 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 9, 2024] Slide Away

When this day-long event was announced, I grabbed a ticket because I knew a couple of the bands.  Amazingly, perhaps, I didn’t know Nothing, the headliner.

I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to spend an entire day at Union Transfer, but the lineup was pretty great.  The recently sent the proposed schedule

3:00pm Doors Open
4:00pm Glixen
5:00pm Astrobrite
6:00pm Knifeplay
7:00pm Mint Field
8:00pm TAGABOW
9:00pm Lovesliescrushing
10:15pm Swirlies
11:30 Nothing
w/ DJ set by Full Body 2, Kip Berman and Vyva Melinkolya between bands

And it sounds like most of the sets were going to be about 30 minutes, at least until Loveliescrushing.

But then my son came home from college for Spring Break and I REALLY didn’t want to spend most of the day away.   I mostlu wanted to see Knifeplay and Mint Field, but as I listened to more of the bands, I realized I quite liked them all.

Glixen is from Phoenix.  Now, pretty much all of these bands are shoegaze, so the descriptions are going to be quite similar, but here we go

Glixen is a shoegaze band from Phoenix, Arizona whose sound consists of tender melodies encased inside chrome walls of grungy textures and heavy guitars. Founder and lead vocalist, Aislinn Ritchie, began the project in 2020 enlisting guitarist Esteban Santana, drummer Keire Johnson, and bassist Sonia Garcia.

I really liked the Glixen vibe–lots of soft guitars and thick cottony sounds.  Aislinn Ritchie has a beautiful soaring voice that suits the music really well. (more…)

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Twin Temple / Vowws (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Twin Temple, Union Transfer, VOWWS on February 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 27, 2024] Twin Temple / Vowws

I saw Twin Temple two years ago when they opened for Ghost.  I said

I don’t really like the music as I don’t like doo-wop, but I was all in for the spectacle.  And wow, what a spectacle.

The band came out of stage: drums, bass, keys and a big old tenor sax.  After riffing for a bit, the two main persons in the band came out on stage in their full satanic regalia.

and concluded

It was an amazing visual experience and it was an a jam packed 25 minutes.  I even enjoyed the music by the end.

I was minorly intrigued to see what they would do as headliners, but not enough to actually go to the show.

I had heard of VOWWS but I guess I didn’t know them.  This review from Revolver says they

usually perform in near darkness, with the only light coming from a movie projector aimed at the stage. The Australian duo — singer-guitarist Matt James and singer-keyboardist Rizz — mostly play bent over their instruments in dark glasses and long black coats, crafting their brooding, deeply melodic “death pop” from the shadows.

Their music is nowhere near as dark as this makes it sound.  They remind me a lot of Black Celebration Depeche Mode.  Kind of cool and spooky synthy.

I guess maybe this would be a fun show.

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DJ Shadow /Holly (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 8, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DJ Shadow, Holly, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on February 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 8, 2024] DJ Shadow / Holly

I really liked DJ Shadow’s debut album.  I also bought his remix album.  And then promptly assumed he stopped doing music (or something).  So, essentially I hadn’t thought about him in some 25 years.

He hasn’t released all that much over the years, but his previous album was well received.

I wasn’t sure if I necessarily wanted to see him live.  I mean a DJ… how interesting can that be.  But I was curious to see him do his thing and I’d heard that his live shows were good.

So I bought a ticket.

And then Band of Horses announced a show for the same night.  My wife and I love Band of Horses and there was no way I was passing them up to see a DJ that I wasn’t all that sure about.

So, no DJ Shadow for me.  Maybe I’d see him next time he comes around.  We’ll see. (more…)

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Torres (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2024)

Posted in Aisha Burns, Philadelphia, PA, Torres, Union Transfer on January 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 25, 2024] Torres 

This was my fifth time seeing Torres play.

Every time I see her, her set becomes more powerful and intense.  What was fun about this tour was that her new album, What an Enormous Room, was coming out the next day.

So we were able to hear most of these songs for the first time in a live setting, which was great.  Especially since she gave a little explanation of each song before playing them. I also love that she played a new song followed by an old song–a kind of mini greatest hits.

A lot of times when you hear a song for the first time, it may not land right away.  There were a couple of songs that are going to take a few listens to really get into, but for the most part, these songs were grabbers, doing what Torres does best–catchy powerful choruses with her great voice doing its thing.

I had wondered what the title of this album was supposed to mean, and she told us that life these days was overwhelmingly depressing.  And without trying to forget that, she felt that this album was a ray of hope–this is an enormous room, look what other things I can do in it.

She played a few songs from each of her recent albums (although only one from her lost-to-COVID album, Silver Tongue). (more…)

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Aisha Burns (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2024) [TORRES]

Posted in Aisha Burns, Philadelphia, PA, Torres, Union Transfer on January 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 25, 2024] Aisha Burns

I hadn’t heard of Aisha Burns before this show, although the way she talked about her career, it sounded like she’s been playing music for years and years.  She’s in her late 30s and has been playing violin for ages.   She has appeared on several records as a featured violinist, but she has only released two solo albums in the last ten years.

She actually didn’t play as much violin as I imagined.  The first song opened with some looped violin, but then she played the melodica or guitar for most of the songs.  She had a partner on lead guitar with her but she never introduced him.  He played mostly backing solos and noises. They made a solid wall of sound.

Her songs were a little too slow for me overall.  There wasn’t a ton of variety.  But what she played was great.  I think just not in this setting, maybe–a seated venue with a great sound system would be an amazing way to experience her. (more…)

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The Charlatans (UK) & Ride (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 19, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ride, The Charlatans, Union Transfer on January 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 19, 2024] The Charlatans (UK) & Ride

I was rather looking forward to this show.

I was never a huge fan of either band, but it seemed like the perfect way to check off an old itch of bands that I enjoyed back in the day.

I have the first three Charlatans records (but actually didn’t even realize they had been making music since then).

Like with The Charlatans, I really enjoyed the first couple of Ride albums.  Unlike The Charlatans, Ride broke up for a long time and then reunited about a decade ago.

This was also going to be my first show of the new year (and then two other shows crept in front).

As it turned out, there was a snowstorm on this day.  I don’t think the snow was all that bad, but there was a lot of hand wringing and street clearing and it seemed like it just wasn’t a good idea to drive down to Philly and try to find parking.

It was also the night before my son was going back to college, so it was nice to be home for that.

I suspect that if I had really wanted to go to the show, the snow wouldn’t have kept me away, so overall it’s not a huge loss.  I’m a little bummed though that Ride didn’t play their Free at Noon earlier in the day, because at least I would have gotten a chance to hear some of the show.

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Wednesday / Hotline TNT / Echotracer (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 17, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Echotracer, Hotline TNT, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wednesday on January 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 17, 2023] Wednesday / Hotline TNT / Echotracer

Back in June, Wednesday headlined Union Transfer.  I wrote:

Wednesday were supposed to open for Beach Bunny at The Fillmore last year.  They bailed on the show and I was a little bummed because I had heard good things about them.  When they announced this headlining tour (at Union Transfer?  They’re big enough for there already?) I was intrigued.  I’d heard a song or two that I liked, but there was something that held me back.

I really like the fuzzy guitars and largely grunge sound, but there’s a kind of alt-country vibe that underpins their sound that I just can’t get past.  They have a lap steel guitar (which I either love or hate depending on how it’s used) and are often described as merging shoegaze and country.  So I didn’t feel compelled to go to this show after all.  And it was nice to have a Saturday night at home.

They have only gotten more popular in the last six months and I was interested in going this time.  However, it was on the night of a very special date for me–so I had other plans.

Hotline TNT plays what I can only describe as classic shoegaze, which is definitely having a moment again.  Unlike a lot of their contemporaries, they don’t really mess with the classic shoegaze vibe all that much–not adding elements at all.  Their music warms my heart and I’d love to see them live.

Echotracer is a couple of DJs or something.  They are members of a couple of Philly bands who make a kind of noisy dance collage.  I listened to a few minutes and didn’t like them.

 

 

 

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Baroness / Sheer Mag / Uniform / Zorn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND–COVID]

Posted in Baroness, Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Sheer Mag, Uniform, Union Transfer, Zorn on December 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 1, 2023] Baroness / Sheer Mag / Uniform / Zorn

I was really looking forward to this show.  I had seen Baroness in Kung Fu Necktie.  It was a fun show, but it was close and crowded and, while it was a great experience I wanted to see them in a bigger (but not huge) place.  Union Transfer was perfect.

Then I got COVID.

I was so bummed.  And with COVID being so weird these days, I wouldn’t have even tested if the tests hadn’t just come in the mail that day.  But I took it and couldn’t in good conscience go to the show.

I had been torn about when to get to this show, though.  It started at 6:30, which is insane.  And the openingest band was called Zorn.  Not John Zorn, but Zorn, a Philly based metal/punk band that I was really curious to see.  I mean check out this review from Punknews.org

During Zorn’s set, singer Eric Flea approached one of three already burning torches on stage, whipped out a sword, lit the sword on fire, and began waiving it all around as the flames grew up to some eight feet. I mean, that’s all I have to say about the Philly Vender Bender from October 28, 2022. What else can I say? A flaming sword!

I’ll admit, I was worried about Zorn. The band quickly released a string of excellent EPs which coincided with a string of excellent live shows (bandmembers jumping out coffins; people dressed like plague monks; chains being whipped at the audience; really kick ass death punk) but then, things seemed to go… silent. Was one of Philly’s most promising acts snuffed out in the bud before the flame could grow?

For one thing, Zorn was in raw and ragged and crazed top form. Their songs are as fast and as furious as ever. And, their strongest asset (aside from a great core concept) is that they’ve found that perfect sweet spot between metal and punk where the songs have the epic, grandiosity of metal as well as the slam-damn-heaviness, but they also have the unpredictable swing and danger of punk rock. A lot bands try to mix metal and punk and most of them are terrible. At the show, as the epics riffs swung upwards only for the screeched vocals to tear them back down, Zorn proved that it can be done and that the sum is greater than the parts.

The band also played some newish songs. the new tracks are more complex and frantic than earlier hits. This makes the band particularly effective because, while a lot of the spooky bands sound cool for a song or two, all their songs sound like those one or two songs. at the show, Zorn had a core style, but were able to flex it into a broad array of slashing. I’ll also add that the band has some degree of self-awareness, which, much likes Bauhaus, is the extra bit of pop that makes this band soooo good.

Also, did I mention that they started the show by having pallbearers bring out the aforementioned torches and a coffin, only for the vocalist to jump out of said coffin and throw said coffin lid at the audience? Now, THAT’S WHAT I AM HERE TO SEE.

(more…)

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Spiritualized (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 11, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Spiritualized, Union Transfer on November 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 11, 2023] Spiritualized [moved from September 23, 2022]

Last year when Spiritualized came around, I wrote

I wasn’t entirely sure that I wanted to see Spiritualized live.  I really like their album Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.  But I wasn’t sure how well they would translate live.  But I read some rave reviews of their live show, so I grabbed a ticket.

This year I forgot that those shows had been cancelled and thought that maybe they were just back again pretty quickly.

I didn’t buy tickets for this show.  I haven’t heard anything about the show either.

 

 

 

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Ty Segall (solo acoustic) / Mike Donovan (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, November 10, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Mike Donovan, Philadelphia, PA, Ty Segall, Ty Segall and the Freedom Band, Union Transfer, White Eagle Hall on November 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 10, 2023] Ty Segall / Charles Moothouse

Last year, about a Ty Segall show that I missed, I wrote:

I have become a fan of Ty Segall in the last few years.  He releases far too much music to keep tabs on him, but I’ve wanted to see his fuzzed out live show for a while now.

When I finally do get to see Ty Segall, I want it to be with a big noisy fuzzy band, not as an acoustic performer.

So, I opted to give this one a miss.  Wonder if I’ll regret it someday.

Well, it’s a year or so later and he’s back with a solo show in New Jersey and I feel the same way.  Luckily, I’m going to see him (I assume with a band) in April in Philly.

I went to high school with someone named Mike Donovan.  When I saw that this Mike Donovan was roughly the same age as me I wondered if it could be him.  But this one is from San Francisco.   He is “best known” as the guitarist and singer of Sic Alps (2004-2013).

He has a few solo albums that are kind of sloppy anti-folk.  Probably okay live but I’ll never listen to him on purpose.

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