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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

Altin Gün (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 24, 2026)

Posted in Alex Maas, Altin Gün, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 24, 2026] Altin Gün 

I first heard of Altin Gün (which means Golden Day) in 2022 when they played Underground Arts.   Back then I quoted

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 returned in 2023, this time playing Union Transfer.  I wanted to go, but we had a family obligation that night so I couldn’t check them out.  But in the past year I’d gotten an album and really liked it.

So, this year the show was announced and I grabbed a ticket, super excited to see them live.  Their music is psychedelic with a dirty blend of funk rhythms, wah-wah guitars and analogue organs.  They often play psychedelic covers of Turkish folk music.  Singer Erdinç Ecevit Yıldız is Turkish while the other four members are Dutch.

I walked in and it was really quite empty. I was able to walk up to the barrier with no problem.  And it was a great spot to be because the mixing was perfect.  Aside from the two women who would not shut up behind me.

They came out with a simple set up–guitar, bass and two percussionists.  The man on the left had a full on percussion set up–conga, bongos, wood blocks, cowbells, tambourines and a couple of foot pedals, which I couldn’t figure out what they played.  Daniel Smienk was on the standard drum kit and he was fantastic–a simple kit but complex rhythms.

Jasper Verhulst played bass.  He was on the far side, behind the singer’s keyboards, so I didn’t see him too much,but his bass was essnetial, especially when the other two guys were soloing.  I was right in front of guitarist Thijs Elzinga and he was fantastic.  He switched back and forth between rhythm and lead guitar effortlessly.  His solos were fantastic and he shared the soloing spotlight easily.   Then up front was Erdinç Ecevit Yıldız.  He played keys (some great keyboard solos) and also played the bağlama (or saz)–four-stringed, long-necked (lute family) instrument.  He played some incredible solos on this thing!

I’d listened to the album I have and quickly listened to the new album which I didn’t like quite as much as its a bit quieter.  But I needn’t have worried about that because they came out and played the grooviest psychedelic sounds.  On Gönül Dağ The bass was loud and low, the guitars were great and the percussion kept things interesting.  It had a mid-period Pink Floyd sound.  The percussion came out in force for Sevda Olmasaydı. (more…)

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Alex Maas (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 24, 2026) [ALTIN GÜN]

Posted in Altin Gün, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, Union Transfer on September 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 24, 2026] Alex Maas

Alex Maas is the singer for The Black Angels. I didn’t realize that when this show was first announced.  I saw The Black Angels back in May and as curious to see how different Alex’ solo stuff would be.  And the answer is: very different.

He still sounds the same (he has a very distinctive voice), but for this set it was just him and an unnamed drummer.  In fact, I’m not sure he even introduced himself–his mic had a huge echo on it the whole time, so who knows what he ever said).

He played mellotron for a couple of songs and he played (very quiet) electric guitar for a couple of songs.  For the final song he played a small middle eastern sounding instrument.  It was small and stringed, but I’m pretty sure he pressed keys to change the notes.

The songs were all short with lots of echo.  The melodies were nice (and simple) and the drums were mostly snare and bass, but he also had some tiny roto toms which made really sharp sounds.  (more…)

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The Charlatans (UK) / Frankie Rose (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 23, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Frankie Rose, Philadelphia, PA, The Charlatans, Union Transfer on September 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 23, 2026] The Charlatans (UK) / Frankie Rose

I have the first three Charlatans records (but actually didn’t even realize they had been making music since then).  I was supposed to see them in 2024 when they toured with Ride.  That would have been a great show, but a snowstorm kept me away.

I don’t listen to The Charlatans enough since their early stuff is so good. Their newer stuff sounds a bit like Oasis (or does Oasis sound like  them?)  Listening now, I think this would have been a really fun show.  Their sound has remained largely consistent over the years.

But we had tickets to see a comedian, Lauren Ramoso which was originally schedule for November but inexplicably moved to tonight.  Which meant I didn’t have to decide whether or not to go to this show.

Frankie Rose is evidently a legendary musician who has played with everyone like Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls.  Although her solo stuff is very synthy and unlike those other bands.   It would work well with the Charlatans, I think.

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The Rasmus / Saint Agnes / Death Valley Dreams (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 14, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Saint Agnes, The Rasmus, Underground Arts, Union Transfer on September 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 14, 2026] The Rasmus / Saint Agnes / Death Valley Dreams

I had not heard of The Rasmus before this show was announced.  Indeed, the only reason I paid any attention to this listing is because my friend’s son plays bass in Death Valley Dreams.  He has been playing in bands for years and I have never had a chance to see him.  I did consider going to this show, but it just wouldn’t work out for me.

People seemed kind of excited about this show.  But as I thought, I didn’t know The Rasmus.  But in fact, I do!  They are a Finnish band that had a song in Eurovision in 2022.  Their latest album, Weirdo, had SIX singles released.  Which makes them more successful, or at least more prolific than Maneskin.  They play a kind of rock with pop sensibilities and goth vibes.  They also have some high-energy, feel-good moments.  They’re pretty enjoyable (if lyrically bland), and I’ll bet they’re even more fun live .

Saint Agnes is an English industrial rock band formed by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Kitty A. Austen and guitarist Jon James Tufnell in 2014.  They play simple, catchy industrial songs.  They look pretty theatrical and seem like they’d be fun live, too.

So I’ve not heard much by Death Valley Dreams–they went media silent before releasing new stuff.  But I love how their website describes them: “It’s as if The Cars got David Bowie to sing and played something that could have been on The Lost Boys soundtrack.” The sound is familiar yet fresh and unique.  They are from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania… “an area that was actually voted the least happy place to live in the continental United States…a place where writing music and being creative are the only real ways to stay sane.”  I’m led to understand that the singer is a great frontman.

Bummed I couldn’t make this show, now that I know I could have added to my Eurovision bands!

 

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Peter Hook & the Light (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 7, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Joy Division, New Order, Peter Hook & The Light, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 7, 2026] Peter Hook & the Light

In 2022, Peter Hook & the Light played Union Transfer and I couldn’t go.  He came back again in 2024 and I grabbed a ticket and had a great time.  They were playing Substance from New Order and Substance from Joy Division, which was pretty damned awesome.

My only complaint (and I don’t deserve it since I knew what was coming) is that I like a lot of newer New Order too.  But that wasn’t on the menu, so nevermind.

So it turns out that this tour was for the Get Ready album, a newer album that I thought I liked–the cover was easily memorable to me.  And yet when I put it on, I didn’t really remember it.  Turns out I really liked Republic, and the ones after that, not so much (turns out he played the Republic album back in 2019).

Initially I had penciled this show in for my wife and I to go, because I assumed we’d really like it.  I never got tickets because it didn’t look like it was going to sell out.  It was also the night before she was going back to work, so when I found out the show was mostly an album she didn’t know, I didn’t even bother getting tickets.

It also turns out I was wiped out from the show the night before, and I would have been miserable had I gone.  Maybe in two years we’ll try again.

Although listening to Get Ready now, it is a good album.

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Peter Hook & the Light (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 7, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Joy Division, New Order, Peter Hook & The Light, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 7, 2026] Peter Hook & the Light

In 2022, Peter Hook & the Light played Union Transfer and I couldn’t go.  He came back again in 2024 and I grabbed a ticket and had a great time.  They were playing Substance from New Order and Substance from Joy Division, which was pretty damned awesome.

My only complaint (and I don’t deserve it since I knew what was coming) is that I like a lot of newer New Order too.  But that wasn’t on the menu, so nevermind.

So it turns out that this tour was for the Get Ready album, a newer album that I thought I liked–the cover was easily memorable to me.  And yet when I put it on, I didn’t really remember it.  Turns out I really liked Republic, and the ones after that, not so much (turns out he played the Republic album back in 2019).

Initially I had penciled this show in for my wife and I to go, because I assumed we’d really like it.  I never got tickets because it didn’t look like it was going to sell out.  It was also the night before she was going back to work, so when I found out the show was mostly an album she didn’t know, I didn’t even bother getting tickets.

It also turns out I was wiped out from the show the night before, and I would have been miserable had I gone.  Maybe in two years we’ll try again.

Although listening to Get Ready now, it is a good album.

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Arlo Parks / Baird (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 31, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Arlo Parks, Baird, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on August 31, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 31, 2026] Arlo Parks / Baird

Back in 2024, I blew off seeing Arlo Parks because I wasn’t feeling that well. I noted that I had failed to see her several times now and that maybe I should just give up.  But every time that Arlo releases a new song, I just love it.  So this time, I promised myself that I would go to see her.

And then we had to bring my daughter to college and there was literally no way to make it back in time.  Obviously the trip to college was so much more important and quite a lot of fun), but sometimes timing sucks.

I was able t sell my ticket, so that’s cool.  Maybe, indeed, I won’t be able to see her live after all

I think this means I’m not going to be seeing Arlo live.

I hadn’t heard of Baird but he evidently her producer and co-creator.  He has assisted with much of her music.  His own music is kind of lo-fi dancey.  I was unimpressed by the opening of Dogpile, but I like the way it built into something else while retaining the same elements throughout.

Last time, I chose not to go because Arlo played for only an hour.  This time it was 90 minutes.  I did get to see her (sort of) at all things go.  But maybe in a couple years I’ll finally geta proper show.  We’ll see.

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Citizen / Hotline TNT / Anxious / Rocket (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 29, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Anxious, Citizen, Hotline TNT, Philadelphia, PA, Rocket, Union Transfer on August 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 29, 2026] Citizen / Hotline TNT / Anxious / Rocket

What’s a person to do when there’s a four-band bill and you like 2 of the bands but neither is headlining?

I’m always intrigued when I’ve never heard of a band who is headlining a tour.  Particularly if there are other bands on the bill that I know and like.  So how have I never heard of Citizen?  They’ve been around since 2009 and have come through Philly several times. Their 2023 album Calling the Dogs is considered essential listening.  Their bio says

With the ability to excel in both quiet ballads and distorted rock anthems, Citizen (which recently expanded to a full quintet with the addition of former touring members drummer Ben Russin and guitarist Mason Mercer) has an incredible knack for channeling raw emotion and energy into singalong songs.

A brief listen confirms the singalong part for sure.  I like them, they’re quite fun, although they’re not especially memorable. This probably would have been a worthwhile night to check out, although we were leaving for Minnesota the following day so that was unlikely.

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.  This is the seventh time I’ve missed them since 2022.

Anxious are an emo band from Connecticut,  They play some lighter stuff, but seem to have a heavier punk edge as well.  They have old school punk singing from time to time–sometimes in background behind some much gentler singing.  But it’s mostly poppy punk stuff.   Pretty fun/

I Saw Rocket open for Ride and then saw them ona headline tour at Warehouse on Watts.  They are great.  I’m surprised they were so low on this bill.  This Rocket (there are several bands named Rocket) is from LA and holy cow, they scratched just about every musical itch I had.  Soft female vocals, shoegaze to heavy crunchy guitars.  It was all there.  I loved every second of their set.

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Tomahawk (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 27, 2026)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Melvins, Tomahawk, Union Transfer on July 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Tomahawk

I’ve seen Mike Patton with two bands: Dead Cross and Mr. Bungle. I enjoy anything he does and am always happy to see what he comes up with (Although I didn;t like the Avett Brothers/Patton country sound all that much).  St this point, there’s realistically only two other bands I’d like to see him front live, Fantômas (which I doubt will happen) and Faith No More (which could happen).  I’d also like to see Mr. Bungle again, since the show I saw was their debut album only, but whatever.  Tomahawk is a Patton-fronted project that I was into for a bit and then it just felt like there were too many Patton related bands to keep track of at the time (Lovage, Peeping Tom, Fantômas, Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) so I stopped following them.  Which is a shame because their music is quite diverse (I mean, all Patton music is diverse, often within the same song, but…oh forget it).

So anyhow, Tomahawk put out an album in during the pandemic but hadn’t toured it.  Then, a few months ago, they announced this tour with the Melvins: a huge waste of your time and money (hilarious).

Even though I wasn’t a huge fan, I knew I had to see them.  In addition to Patton, the band featured Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard, Firewater) on guitar John Stanier (Helmet, Battles) on drums and Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, tons of other things) on bass.  A great lineup.

The lights came up and the stage was fairly sparse. Drums in the back (with Stanier’s outrageously tall cymbals), a table of some sort out front for Patton and amps on either side. Because of the table, I couldn’t see Trevor Dunn very much (he hung back) until he came up to sing backing vocals.  But I had a great view of Denison and it was amazing watching him play.  He’s not flashy at all, but he does al kinds of interesting things to generate interesting sounds.

In fact, the whole show was not flashy at all.  There were no fancy lights or projections (just the band’s logo on a curtain in the back).  In fact, half way through the set I realized that the setlist was taped to Patton’s table.

They opened with the first song on their first album.  Rather appropriate, I think. The squeaking sound of some kind of effect opened the set as Patton whispered the lyrics to Flashback and the crowd went berserk.  The song took off and the mosh pit started.  Tomahawk is a hard band to mosh to, because their songs go at varying tempos and intensity.  But people managed it.

Tomahawk never toured that 2021 album, so they finally had a chance to play it live.  I suppose old school fans wanted to hear their earlier stuff (although, I mean this album is 5 years old, it’s not exactly new), but I really enjoyed this new stuff.   And the played 9 of the ten songs from it.

SHHH! has lots of vocal parts and I really enjoyed at the end of the song when Patton whispers the title.  It seemed like he was trying to get everyone to stop yelling things (which they did during the quiet parts), but I realized it was part of the song.  Predators and Scavengers has a cool riff and simple chugging guitar parts.  It was fun being in front of Duane Denison for this one.  I loved turning my head from Patton to see what he was doing and he was inevitably calmly playing some cool thing or other.

I had listened to the setlist before the show since I didn’t really know the songs that well (if at all) and one of my favorites was Business Casual.  It was really fun watching Mike and Trevor scream the lyrics and then whisper “bad cholesterol, business casual.”  Dension made interesting quiet guitar sounds while Dunn’s bass rumbled along.  I liked that Doomsday Fatigue had quiet moments–because Patton’s (and the whole band’s) range is tremendous and it’s fun to see them really show off what they can do. (more…)

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Melvins (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 27 2026) [TOMAHAWK]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Melvins, Tomahawk, Union Transfer on July 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 27, 2026] Melvins

Despite everything in the world indicating that I should be a Melvins fan, for whatever reason, I just never followed them.

And I’d never wanted to see them live.  Then in 2023, they did a coheadlining tour with Boris (which I wasn’t going to miss).  During that show, Dale Crover had an injury so Coady Willis played drums.   But this time, Dale was back and BOTH drummers were up on stage.

Recent bassist (they have had many bassists) Steven Shane McDonald (who was one of the main dudes in Redd Kross, a band I have never gotten into) was on bass and is a lot of fun.  Despite Melvins being a heavy punk band, McDonald acts like a massive hippie.  He has long hair, was wearing a jump suit with eyes all over it and is very chill (except when he’s screaming).   He also plays his bass in a great way–lots of reverb and pedals and often playing high on the neck creating a sound that doesn’t seem to fit what I think of the Melvins’ sound, but which worked really well.

And then there is Buzz Osbourne (King Buzzo).  Last time he was on the far side of the stage, but this time i Was right in front of him.  Like last time he was wearing a caftan with a giant eyeball on it and of course, his legendary hair.  I didn’t realize he was a “good” guitar player.  I assumed the band played sludgy slow songs with just a few chords.  I kind of assumed that they didn’t care about the music.  But that’s wrong.  Buzz played solos and clearly does give a shit.

Last time, it took a couple of songs to win me over, but tonight I was fully into it.  As were most of the audience (I deliberately arrived earl than I normally would because I knew people weren’t going to blow off the opening band).  Indeed, after fifteen minutes a mosh pit started (not bad for an opening band).

As I said I always assumed Melvins songs were slow and sludgy, but most of the earlier songs in the set were pretty fast tempo.

I’m going to admit, though, that the most fun part of the show was the two drummers.  I’ve seen a few bands with two drummers and it’s always neat.  You kind of think they can’t possibly stay in sync, but come one, they are drummers of course they can.  What was really fun about this pair was that Dale is right handed and Coady is left handed so they mirrored each other.  Mostly they played the same thing but from time to time, one of them would add extra fills or wood blocks or something.  I loved at the end of the first song the both held their sticks over the heads in a X shape while they prepped to start song 2. (more…)

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