Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

Ghost Funk Orchestra (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 19, 2025) [PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS]

Posted in Ghost Funk Orchestra, Philadelphia, PA, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Union Transfer on November 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 19, 2025] Ghost Funk Orchestra

I was really excited to see the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets again.  I had no idea who might be the support act (last time it was Acid Dad which was awesome).  I didn’t know who Ghost Funk Orchestra was and wasn’t really sure what to expect, but the name is fairly apt.

They are an orchestra–at least on stage there were some nine people up there.  Although Ghost Funk Orchestra is the brainchild of composer/multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum and it started as a one man band.

But for our show on the right side of the stage were a trumpeter, a baritone sax player (Stephen Chen, the only person whose name I got because he was very very popular–he also plays with San Fermin) and a trombonist.  Their bass player stood with them as well.

I was delighted with how no one in the band looked like anyone else–Chen dressed in a button down shirt and the bass player wearing what looked like a cowboy outfit with large silver buttons (stars?) down the outside of his pants.  The trombonist had long hair an a beard while most everyone else had short hair.  It felt like a motley crew thrown together to make great music. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Grandson / Ho99o9 (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 8, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bob Vylan, grandson, Ho99o9, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on November 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 8, 2025] Grandson / Ho99o9

Two years ago, my son and I saw grandson and he was great.  It was a stellar show.  So when he announced a new tour this year I grabbed us both a ticket.

We didn’t go when he came back two years ago and  was surprised that my son didn’t want to go this year. I guess he doesn’t listen to grandson anymore.  I thought his new album was really good.

Initially Bob Vylan was supposed to open, but they wer embroiled in a controversy that prevented them from coming to the U.S.

Bob Vylan is under investigation in the U.K. and banned from performing in the U.S., after its singer led anti-Israeli military chants during a BBC live broadcast of the Glastonbury arts festival.

That seems pretty mild to prevent someone from coming to the U.S., but we live in crazy times.  I’m just listening to them now and they’re really good.  I’m sure the publicity is great (that’s how I know them) but I hope they can get out from under the thumb of the man.

Ho99o9 is an punk rap duo founded in 2012 in Newark, New Jersey by theOGM and Yeti Bones. They relocated to Los Angeles in 2014.   They are very intense–sometimes too much for me.  Although I gather their live show is insane.  One review said

Tonight’s show was the definition of insanity, bodies flying all around the room, mosh pits opening up anywhere there was available space; Ho99o9 have been able to secure some of the most dedicated and passionate fans in the scene, no matter where they play no doubt there will be fans there to listen!

They might overwhelm grandson who is very cool, but much more low key.

Read Full Post »

Boris: Do You Remember Pink Days? Tour (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2025)

Posted in Boris, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on November 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2025] Boris

It’s fascinating to think that Boris almost called it quits a few years ago.  Since then they have shown a seriously revitalized interest in touring and revisiting their older albums.

This tour was the 20th anniversary of their classic Pink.  But the tour was titled Do You Remember Pink Days? because they threw in some other songs from the same year (they were quite prolific in 2005).

They also didn’t play the album front to back which was an interesting choice except that there are several different versions of the album so there is no real definitive track listing or anything else.  (You’d have to be crazy to try to be a Boris completist).

They had some fun merch and I debated buying one of Wata’s cute frog stuffed animals, but I didn’t.  And I still kind of regret it.

After the glory of Agriculture faded away, the stage was set–Atsuo’s gong brought close to the front (it was just the trio again for this tour).  I was right in front of Takeshi and his doubleneck bass/guitar and I was pretty far from Wata who seemed to be shrouded in fog for most of the show.  I tend to be on Takeshi’s side more often than not because I think the fanboys really like to be near Wata.  But as it turns out, Takeshi sings a lot of this album, so it was a good place to see all the action. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Leith Ross / Emma Harner (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 3, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Emma Harner, Leith Ross, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on November 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 3, 2025] Leith Ross / Emma Harner

My daughter and I saw Leith Ross at All Things Go two years ago.  I hadn’t heard of her so I had to look up information about them.  Leith Ross is based in Winnipeg and identifies as non-binary, transgender, and queer, and uses they/them pronouns.  They recorded their debut EP, Motherwell (2020), while studying at Humber College, and subsequently found success on TikTok, most prominently with the song “We’ll Never Have Sex” in August 2021.

I know that TikTok fame is real, but i was surprised to see them playing Union Transfer which seems like a pretty large venue for a folkie artist.  But again, what do I know.

Leith’s voice reminds me of Juliana Hatfield’s–kind of childish and sweet but with a bite underneath.  Leith’s more popular songs seem to be slow and while I liked them, I wouldn’t go to a headline show of theirs.

Emma Harner is based in Boston.   She has a gorgeous guitar sound (reminds me of Laura Marling).  She sings beautifully too.  A delightful folk artist.  I’d like to listen to he at an outdoor festival.

Read Full Post »

Agriculture (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2025) [BORIS]

Posted in Agriculture, Boris, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on November 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2025] Agriculture

I had never heard of Agriculture, but I knew that Boris’ opening bands could be pretty intense.  And that was the case here.  They call their music ecstatic black metal and that description, while slightly vague, is really spot on.  There is screaming and growling, speed and heaviness but also a lot of brightness and beauty.

They came out with an absolute blast of noise–screaming  guitars slamming drums and after a minute, guttural growls.  It was intense and a bit overwhelming.

And then imagine when two minutes in, the song shifted to a simply strummed and quietly sung section (that still had super fast drumming).  The quiet music remained but the growling guttural vocals continued.  And then back to the melodic part again.

I was standing in front of singer Dan Meyer who had a big beard and did a full body stomp each time the song was about to kick in. (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Beta Band (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 30, 2025)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Beta Band, Union Transfer on October 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 6, 2025] The Beta Band

When The Beta Band’s 3 EPs came out, I was totally on board.  It was weird–electronic but folky, tape manipulation and craziness but also catchy melodies. And then it got a huge boost on the movie High Fidelity and I felt strangely vindicated.  I bought their second album too.

And then I pretty much forgot about them.  They put out another album in 2004 but I didn’t get it and then they broke up.

When this tour was announced–20 years(ish) since they broke up and 23 years since they played Philadelphia, I immediately grabbed a ticket, assuming it would sell out in a second.

When the date rolled around, I wasn’t entirely sure I still wanted to go.  I mean, how much did I really like that album?  But since there was no opening act and it promised to be a fun show, I went.  And I’m really glad I did.

When I arrived there was a hooded and face-covered DJ playing songs.  I don’t know who he was–maybe he was in the band?  And around 15 or 20 minutes later, the show opened with a short film they made (presumably a long time ago or maybe it was a recent film using old footage) and it was hilarious.  Very Terry Gilliam in its cheap-lookingness and absurdity but a really fun look at the guys doing silly things twenty some years ago.

And then the band came out.  The four original Betas were present and were wearing color coded jumpsuits: Robin Jones (yellow; drums), John Maclean (pink; keys), Richard Greentree (green I think; bass), Steve Mason (gray, I think; vocals and guitar).  Of course, unexpectedly to me, they switched instruments a bunch.  There was even a secondary drumset for Steve to play which said Jack’s Away on the drum head.  They were immediately fun and kind of silly but very serious about the music.  And they immediately did not play The Three EPs in order. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Autechre (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 26, 2025)

Posted in Autechre, Mark Broom, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, William Fields on October 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 26, 2025] Autechre

I have one Autechre album and I don’t really listen to it.  But when they announced this American tour (their first time playing here in ten years), I asked my friend Lar, who had seen them if I should go.  He told me an amusing story about how he liked the show but he took his significant other to the show and she almost broke up with him because of it.

But when I dove a little more deeply into the show it sounded like a unique experience that I’d like to try.

I arrived at the show knowing that this would be the case, but I loved seeing this in print on a flyer at the door:

autechre

will  perform in darkness.

For their set all lights in the venue will be off.

Please plan on being in one place for the performance and do not move unnecessarily until it has finished when the lights will come back on again.

Please do not shine any lights at the stage or ar0und the room during the performance unless you require assistance.

…

If you are uncomforatble with the idea of spending around 80 minutes in the dark while Autechre play, please see venue staff before the performance starts.

Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Sean Booth and Rob Brown, formed in 1987.  After the two openers did their set, the lights dimmed, with only red lights on the stage.  Some ambient music played for, frankly, longer than was necessary.  It was so long, that the music stopped and they had to start it again. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Mark Broom (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 26, 2025) [AUTECHRE]

Posted in Autechre, Mark Broom, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, William Fields on October 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 26, 2025] Mark Broom

I have one Autechre album and I don’t really listen to it.  But when they announced this American tour (their first time playing here in ten years), I asked my friend Lar, who had seen them if I should go.  He told me an amusing story about how he liked the show but he took his significant other to the show and she almost broke up with him because of it.

But when I dove a little more deeply into the show it sounded like a unique experience that I’d like to try.

The opening act for the tour was Mark Broom. We also ha William Fields.  Fields was on the left side of the stage with his laptop and when he was done (after 30 minutes), Mark Broom who was on the right side of the stage with a laptop, started immediately (I appreciated the lack of pause).

I assumed that it would be more of the same because Autechre are also glitchy and noisy, but Broom had a different vibe.  His music was a bit more musical and a bit more dancey.  In the most basic way, it was more “enjoyable.”

I have no idea what he was doing up there (the lighting was very dim).  He had a laptop I know but he had some other gear too.  I could see him twisting knobs from time to time.  So I don’t know if he was making up the sounds on the fly or if they were existing songs that he was mixing around with.  As I said, it’s not my genre, but I found myself really getting into his stuff.

Broom has been DJing (and producing others) for a long time.  He is a veteran of the techno scene and evidently specializes in hardgroove with heavy percussion and tribal beats.

I assumed that he would get a 45 minute set, but he actually played for an hour.  Since I was planning to kick back and enjoy the night, I didn’t have a problem with him playing for an hour.  I felt like he mixed the tempos up and added interesting sounds and beats to make the hour pretty enjoyable.

Read Full Post »

William Fields (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 26, 2025) [AUTECHRE]

Posted in Autechre, Mark Broom, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, William Fields on October 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 26, 2025] William Fields

I have one Autechre album and I don’t really listen to it.  But when they announced this American tour (their first time playing here in ten years), I asked my friend Lar, who had seen them if I should go.  He told me an amusing story about how he liked the show but he took his significant other to the show and she almost broke up with him because of it.

But when I dove a little more deeply into the show it sounded like a unique experience that I’d like to try.

There was an opening act listed, but we had two opening acts.  William Fields is a Philadelphia based DJ whose bio says

William Fields is an artist and musician from the Phildelphia area whose work explores the intersection of generative processes, improvisation, and audio-visual correspondence.

What does that mean?  Beats me.  But here’s some reviews

“Some of the most mind-blowing algorithmically generated music I’d ever heard”  — Richard Devine

“William Fields is at the absolute front of algorithmic music and this tremendous 24 hour collection is some of the wildest stuff out there… TOP NOTCH” — Telefon Tel Aviv

That still doesn’t quite explain it but this kind of does (more…)

Read Full Post »

Indigo de Souza / Mothé (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 23, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Indigo De Souza, Mothé, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 23, 2025] Indigo de Souza / Mothé

I saw Indigo de Souza last year.   She was a lot more mellow than her promo photos suggest (I mean not this one, but previous ones made her seem pretty wild).

But she had a great voice and I enjoyed her (relatively) short set.

I didn’t feel the need to see her again and haven’t heard any of her new stuff (I really enjoyed her early stuff a lot).

Mothé is the musical project from songwriter, musician, and producer Spencer Fort.  The song I listened to had fun sounds and got bigger and more fun as it went along.  There’s rocking elements and catchy parts too.

I’d be happy to see them open for someone one of these days.

 

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »