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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

OSEES / Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 25, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Nolan Potter's Nightmare Band, Osees, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 25, 2023] Osees / Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band

Last year, I did not go to the Osees show.   And I wrote this:

I saw Osees exactly one year ago today.  I summarized by saying

The show was intense, exhausting and a ton of fun. I am so glad I went.

When they announced this year’s show I wasn’t quite in the mood for seeing them again (the exhausting part being the most vivid memory of the show).  But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t see them again maybe next year.

When Osees announced their new show (exactly one year and a day after last year’s show), I bought a ticket for it in February, figuring what I said last year was true.

September was turning out to be a busy concert month, when I was trying to calm down my concert going.  And I figured there was always a chance I wasn’t going to go to this show.

But since I had blown off the weekend show, I figured I’d go to this one.  Especially since I really like the new Osees album.

But this time the world got to me instead.  I had made an appointment for a COVID booster.  But I accidentally went to two of the wrong locations (first one my fault, second one a misunderstanding).  What should have taken five minutes wound up taken 90, and by the time I actually got the booster, it was later than when I wanted to leave for this show.  And I hadn’t even been home yet.

There’s no way I would have made much if any of Nolan Potter and by then, I was just too worn out from driving around to bother going anywhere (we’ll blame a little vaccine exhaustion too).

But since Osees love to play Philly, I’m promising myself that I’ll see them next year.

I had not heard of Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band before this show and I imagined them being loud and crazy and abrasive.  But when I listened to their latest album Let It Stream, I was amazed by how much I liked it!  It was like Frank Zappa with jazzy and proggy moments.

Another reviewer says of them

Awesome newish prog-psych band with an awesome vibe and a TON of flute. Lotta King Gizzard vibes from them, and if you’re a fan of Matt Berry too you might really like them.

So, yeah, I might be more bummed that I missed them than the Osees.  Will definitely have to catch them in the future.

But Markit Aneight recorded the show for everyone:

Here’s Nolan Potter

Here’s Osees

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Sleep Token / A.A. Williams (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 9, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in A.A. Williams, Philadelphia, PA, Shevy Marie, Sleep Token, Union Transfer on September 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 9, 2023] Sleep Token / A.A. Williams

I had never heard of Sleep Token until about a week ago when Shevy Marie, the woman who plays all of the women in Ice Nine Kills’ live performances, announced that she would be touring with Sleep Token.  I have no idea in what capacity.  Ad when I looked up to see where  the tour was taking this band, I found out that they were playing Union Transfer and the show was sold out.  In fact, the whole tour appears to be sold out. Wow.

So, who are they?  Interestingly, no one know.

Sleep Token are a British alternative metal band from London, formed in 2016. The group are an anonymous, masked collective led by a frontman using the moniker Vessel. They have been categorised under many different genres, including alternative metal, post-rock/metal, progressive metal and indie rock/pop.

There’s obviously so much for me to like about this band–masked singers, calling their shows “rituals”, toying with heavy metal, Shevy Marie.  Although when I listened to a few songs I didn;t really like them all that much.

Well, it being sold out saved me the worry.

A.A. Williams is a singer from

The first thing that comes up when searching for her is a cover of Placebo’s “Without You I’m Nothing” which is even more gothy than the original.  It’s good and moody.  Her other stuff is similarly moody and gauzey with a healthy dose of goth.  Or as Kerrang says

a stunning work of minor-chord perfection that announced its author as a genuinely exceptional talent. A perfect expression of beautiful melancholy that touched that same delicate, isolated, rainy-night nerve as Anathema, Nick Cave and Deftones at their most understated,

I’ll bet this show is really good.

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The Tallest Man on Earth / Andrea von Kampen (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 8, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Andrea van Kampen, Philadelphia, PA, The Tallest Man on Earth, Union Transfer on September 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 8, 2023] The Tallest Man on Earth/Andrea von Kampen

Last year, after many failed attempts, I finally got to see The Tallest Man on Earth–Kristian Matsson, a Swedish folksinger with a great guitar picking style and a deep powerful gritty voice.

It was a fun show only marred by the very vocal drunks behind me who talked during the show and then sang along really loudly to the words they knew.

I thought it would be fun to see him again–and to hopefully be in a different spot than the drunks this time.  So I grabbed a ticket.  Completely not realizing that I had already purchased tickets to see Beck/Phoenix tonight.

Alas.

Andrea van Kampen is an American folk singer.  She has a gentle fingerpicking style and a nice voice that reaches to a powerful falsetto.

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Altin Gün / Rogê (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Altin Gün, Philadelphia, PA, Rogê, Union Transfer on July 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 29, 2023] Altin Gün / Rogê

Altin Gün is a Turkish psychedelic band from The Netherlands.  (Their name means Golden Day).

Their live shows are supposed to be wonderful as well:

Altin Gün’s relentless grooves are truly immersive, anti-elitist, inclusive. It’s truly music for the dancefloor – all dancefloors. Altin Gün are the perfect 21st Century psych band, hinting at a deep record collection while still belonging to a living tradition and having a unique and distinctive voice
[from Forestpunk].

They played Underground Arts last year but I couldn’t go.  I’m impressed that they moved up to Union Transfer this year–good for them.

I bought a ticket this year because I’d been listening to and enjoying their new album.  But it seemed like this show was destined for me not to go. (more…)

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Nanna / Indigo Sparke (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 21, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Indigo Sparke, Nanna, Of Monsters and Men, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on July 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 21, 2023] Nanna / Indigo Sparke

Nanna is the main singer (and creative force) behind Of Monsters and Men.
I was intrigued by the announcement of her solo tour, but i wasn’t sure if I wanted to see her.

Then Blondshell announced her show the same night as this one and I decided I’d rather see her than Nanna.

Turns out we have another obligation that night anyhow, so the decision was moot.

I know of Indigo Sparke from her Tiny Desk Concert a few years ago.  She is an Australian singer songwriter and I wrote

Sparke sings a little too slowly for my liking–the kind of stretched out vocals that make it hard for me to follow the thread of the song (or maybe that you need a few listens to fully appreciate).

At the tome of that Concert, she was in a relationship with Adrienne Lenker from Big Thief.  Not sure if she still is.

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Wednesday / All Dogs / Tenci (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 17, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wednesday on June 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2023] Wednesday / All Dogs / Tenci

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.

All Dogs is kind of a mini supergroup with Maryn Jones, from Saintseneca, drummer Jesse Wither, from the punk band Delay,bassist Amanda Bartley  from Swearin’, and guitarist Nick Harris, from Slaughter Beach, Dog.  That may explain why their first EP had som many reviews.  With details like

“pierced with a strong sense of yearning” [Pitchfork] “containing more perfect anxiousness and earnestness than some bands can get out in a whole album” [Stereogum] and it’s “awfully charming for something that’s eating itself alive from the inside.”[Consequence of Sound].

I listened to a couple of songs and rather liked them.  They had a good indie rock sound with fuzzy guitars and a pop bedrock.  Although they haven’t released any new music since 2015.

Tenci features Jess Shoman on vocals and guitar and are a indie folk band.  They have a bedroom quality and I don’t quite like their sound. They are a little too slow and yodelly for me.

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Black Midi (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 8, 2023)

Posted in Black Midi, Cold Court, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 8,  2023] Black Midi

So who the hell is Black Midi?  I’m not sure.  I wanted to see them because I’d heard their live show was great.  Although, I’m not sure where I heard that from.

I assumed NPR music, but they don’t really talk about Black Midi all that much.  So it must have been from elsewhere.

I watched a live video online and the show was insane–lots of slam dancing, lots of amazing musicianship.

The main trio is Geordie Greep – lead vocals, guitar; Cameron Picton – lead vocals, bass, guitar and Morgan Simpson – drums.  At our show there was a fourth member. and I’m not sure who he was.  He played bass the whole night and may have played piano for one song (although I couldn’t see him, but SOMEONE was playing).

Black Midi plays a kind of free jazz with a spoken lyric vocalist (Greep) who sounds like he’s an over-the-top crooner/stage actor from the 1950s.  Picton wore a button down shirt and tie and Greep was wearing business casual.

And they inspire some of the most intense mosh pits I’ve seen.

I don’t know how much (if any) of the music is improvised, but the scripted musical parts are intense and fast with incredible guitar playing that would fit right in with King Crimson.  Oh, and a very healthy splash of Primus.

The music is intense and so very specific, yet it is also quite a lot of fun.  The band apparently often plays ludicrous covers, but for this show it was all originals.  And that was fine. (more…)

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Cold Court (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 8, 2023) [BLACK MIDI]

Posted in Black Midi, Cold Court, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 8,  2023] Cold Court

Cold Court is from Philadelphia.

That’s about all I can find out about them.

They have an Instagram page but there’s not much on it.  And any searches reveal pretty much that they opened for Black Midi and very little else.

According to the video below (live at the Lawn Jawn), this is the lineup of the band about two weeks before the Black Midi show:

Mini Serrano (Guitar, Vocals), Josyah Lavina-Maldonado (Guitar, Vocals), Theo Shuttleworth (Bass), Jett Mann (Drums), Charlie Westlake (Saxophone, Synth), Alex Ramirez (Viola), and Joe Kuck (Percussion). (more…)

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AJJ / Oceanator / Gladie (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 9, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in AJJ, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Oceanator, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 9, 2023] AJJ / Oceanator / Gladie

AJJ were once called Andrew Jackson Jihad (that’s how I had always known them, although they changed it in 2016:

1.) We are not Muslims, and as such, it is disrespectful and irresponsible for us to use the word jihad in our band’s name. 2.) We no longer wish to be a living reminder of the president Andrew Jackson. Interesting historical figure as he was, he was an odious person and our fascination with him has grown stale.

And that’s all I knew about them.  I had no idea they were a folk/punk band, I assumed they were a heavy, harsh band.  And I could not have been more wrong.

They sound a bit (on this new album anyway) like The Weakerthans.  Literate, clever lyrics with simple instrumentation (in this case mostly on acoustic guitar).

But I had had tickets to see Pixies/Franz Ferdinand/Bully and I wasn’t passing that up for a band I didn’t really know.

Turns out they played 28 songs from throughout their career. It was probably a lot of fun.  Maybe even if you didn’t know their music ahead of time since the lyrics are so easy to understand.

Oceanator is Elise Okusami a Brooklyn-based guitarist.  I hadn’t heard of her and when I listened to some songs, I loved them. The songs are catchy and fun and sound great.  This would have been a really fun show.

I saw Gladie open for Otoboke Beaver late last year and really enjoyed their set a lot.  I would happily see them again, although this is the second time since that show that I’ve had to miss them.  They were supposed to open for Charly Bliss, but cancelled at the last minute.  I’m sure that with each show they just get better so when I finally get to see them again, they’ll be fantastic.

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Le Tigre (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 27, 2023)

Posted in Le Tigre, Philadelphia, PA, Shamir, Union Transfer on May 28, 2023| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 27, 2023] Le Tigre

Le Tigre’s song “Deceptacon” became a huge viral Tik Tok sensation last year.  I remembered the song from the 90s.  I was interested in Le Tigre because Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna was involved.

I liked it enough, but I found it so simplistic and repetitive that I didn’t really enjoy the album all that much.  I grabbed their second album, but didn’t follow through with them after that.  They put out one more album and then broke up.

Then they announced a reunion tour.  My daughter really wanted to see them.  The first date was at Union Transfer and then they were going to Europe.

I snagged two tickets as soon as I could and, amazingly, we would see Kathleen Hannah twice in two months.  (more…)

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