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Cate Le Bon (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 6, 2022)

Posted in Cate Le Bon, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 6, 2022] Cate Le Bon

Cate Le Bon has been on the top of my “bands to see list” for a few years now.  I have tried to see her a bunch of times to no avail.  In 2019, I sold Phish tickets so that I could see her at Boot & Saddle, but i was too burnt out to go.  Then in 2020, she was supposed to play with Kurt Vile, but that got cancelled twice.  She was scheduled to play Philly for a benefit show, but I didn’t want to see her in that kind of setting.  So, although I guess it has not been that long that I’ve wanted to see her, but prior to 2019, the last time she’d played Philly was 2017, and I feel like I found out about her right around that time. 

Whatever the case, I’d heard her shows were amazing and was really looking forward to it.

I went into the show not knowing her music all that well.  I knew a few albums and had listened to Pompeii (the new album which I knew she was touring), but I expected to be blown away by the performance.

And I wasn’t.

The whole show was fine.  The band (Euan Hinshelwood on sax, keyboards and guitar; Toko Yasuda on bass; Dylan Hadley on drums; and Alex Morrison on keyboards and guitar) were all very good.  There was a little too much sax for my liking, although I did enjoy the way Hinshelwood distorted the sound so it sounded like a guitar at times.  Toko Yasuda on bass was the highlight for me.  Her bass sounded great–ever fluid, deep and rumbly and just a nice low comforting presence amid all the rest of the higher notes.

I enjoyed the stage set up with Cate on a slightly raised platform off to the side (although I had adjusted myself to perfectly see the center microphone and there was a larger guy now blocking my view of Cate).  She mostly played a day-glo orange guitar shape as a sort of pentagon.

I think what it comes down to is that I think that Cate is pretty weird.  And I expected this concert to be weird in a wonderful way.  And really, it was just fine.  The lighting was muted colors.  Her voice is soft and chill.  It was all very laid back and mellow.  And that is simply not what I thought we’d be getting.

Obviously, this is my fault for having the entirely wrong expectations.  Not to mention her newest album Pompeii is pretty different from her weirder earlier stuff–the stuff that I was more familiar with.

Sometimes, you need to see an artist right when you first wanted to.

SETLIST

  1. Miami √
  2. French Boys
  3. Pompeii
  4. Daylight Matters √
  5. Moderation
  6. Running Away
  7. Typical Love *
  8. Mother’s Mother’s Magazines √
  9. Magnificent Gestures √
  10. Rock Pool ®
  11. Sad Nudes √
  12. Mug Museum ϖ
  13. The Light √
  14. Home to You √
  15. Remembering Me
    encore
  16. Harbour 
  17. Dirt on the Bed
* single (2022)
¶ Pompeii (2022)
√ Reward (2019)
® Rock Pool EP (2017)

ϖ Mug Museum (2013)

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A. Savage (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 6, 2022) [CATE LE BON]

Posted in A. Savage, Cate Le Bon, Parquet Courts, Union Transfer on October 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 6, 2022] A. Savage

A. Savage is the main voice behind Parquet Courts.  His deadpan deep voiced delivery is pretty recognizable.

As a solo artist, he plays slightly quirky folk songs.

I knew this show wasn’t going to sell out, so I didn’t buy tickets ahead of time.  I actually had tickets to see Turnstile this even in Asbury Park, but I didn’t feel like that kind of show.  So I blew that off and came to see Cate.

Traffic was a little heavy and I wound up arriving midway through A. Savage’s first or second song.

I had listened to his solo album earlier in the week and I knew pretty much what to expect.  And that’s what I got.  Enjoyable enough folkie kinds of songs.

He is a funny performer with good banter.  After the first song I saw he said something like By the way this is it–just me and the guitar–nothing else is going on.

I really like Parquet Courts for how weird they are.  But this show was not weird at all (except for some of his lyrics).  He is a great guitar player.  Nothing fancy, no solos that I recall, but very solid rhythm with the ability to make the songs feel really full even though it was just him.

I happened to not love his slow delivery, though, so the set was just okay for me.

  1. Unknown new song
  2. Buffalo Calf Road *
  3. Pulcinella (Parquet Courts cover)
  4. Wild, Wild, Wild Horses * 
  5. Winter in the South *
  6. Elvis in the Army
  7. Unknown (new song)
  8. Phantom Limbo *
  9. Minor Strummer
  10. Ladies from Houston *

* Thawing Dawn 

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Ibeyi / Madison McFerrin (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 4, 2022) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Ibeyi, Madison McFerrin, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, World Cafe Live on October 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: October 4, 2022] Ibeyi / Madison McFerrin [moved to March 25, 2023 at World Cafe Live]

I first heard of Ibeyi quite some time ago. They are sisters Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz.  They were born in Cuba but moved to France as small kids.  Both of their parents are musicians, and the sisters have a great musical connection.

I had heard that their live show was amazing and I put them high on my list of bands to see.   I was pretty excited to see that they’d be playing Union Transfer.

Then on September 7, I got this email:

Ibeyi have moved their US tour, including their Philadelphia date to Spring 2023. A note from the band can be read below.

“To our fans in North America, we’re sorry to announce that due to logistical complications, we have to move our originally scheduled North America September/October dates to the spring of 2023. For those who have been following Ibeyi from the beginning, you know how touring and performing is special to us, we can’t wait to come and play our songs for you, but it’s only a matter of time.

Please note the new date and venue for our show – original tickets will be honored, please contact your point of purchase for more information.”The Philadelphia show will now be taking place at a new venue, World Cafe Live on March 25, 2023.

The opening act, Madison McFerrin is Bobby McFerrin’s daughter.

She sings in a kind of classic soulful way.  Her voice is rather timeless.  I’m not sure how much I would have enjoyed seeing her live, but I’ll probably never know.

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Indigo De Souza / Horse Jumper Of Love / Friendship (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2022) [rescheduled again, again]

Posted in Friendship, Horse Jumper of Love, Indigo De Souza, Lucy Dacus, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Union Transfer on October 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: October 1, 2022] Indigo De Souza / Horse Jumper Of Love / Friendship [rescheduled from January 30, and May 2, 2022 moved to May 23, 2023]

Third time was not the charm.  Indigo de Souza has postponed this show twice before because of COVID–valid enough reasons.  But it was pretty strange that she has chosen to postpone this time for very different reasons:

We just received word that Indigo De Souza will begin working on their new record in the coming weeks. So the previously re-scheduled show for October 1st will now take place at our venue on May 23, 2023.

That’s a little weird.  At least they sent this message on August 12, so there was plenty of time to be made aware of the change.

So, the fourth time will be almost a year later from the second time.

~~~~~

Indigo De Souza had to postpone her previous show here because of general COVID anxiety.  Now, just a few days before this show was supposed to happen, she had to postponed because of an actual COVID outbreak:

Thank you for purchasing tickets to see Indigo De Souza at Union Transfer on May 2. Unfortunately, due to a postive Covid test in the touring party, this show has been postponed to a date to be determined in the future.

From the band: “Unfortunately, our bass player and Horse Jumper of Love’s drummer have tested positive for covid so we have decided to postpone Monday’s show in Philadelphia ,PA :/ Please hold on to your tickets as we will be announcing new dates asap. We are sad to miss this show. It’s a sensitive time to be playing music. Thank you for bearing with us as we learn how to navigate it all. Sending love in all directions.“

Perhaps third time’s the charm

~~~~~~~

Indigo De Souza is a new (to me) musician who I heard about on NPR music.  Her song “Kill Me” is outstanding.  A great dynamic of sounds, very funny lyrics and memorable hooks.  I loved it immediately.  She announced a tour soon after I’d heard it and I grabbed a ticket to see her headline tour (!).

She’s ben making music since she was like 9 with a few EPs and a previous album.  I imagine she’ll be a fun and wild performer.

On January 13, Union Transfer announced:

Indigo has decided it’s best for all involved to move their tour to a few weeks later in the year. The Philly show will now take place at Union Transfer on May 2nd

That’s not too far off.

I hadn’t heard of either of the opening acts (such is the case when the headliner is fairy new herself).  (more…)

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The Get Up Kids / Sparta (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sparta, The Get Up Kids, Union Transfer on September 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 29, 2022] The Get Up Kids / Sparta

My friend Al got me into The Get Up Kids back in the early 2000s.  “Mass Pike” is a frequently played song on road trips.  My Get Up Kids album is Something to Write Home About.  I never really got that into Four Minute Mile.  So, even though this show could have been fun, it wouldn’t quite have been for me.

Although I certainly wouldn’t have disliked it.

I had plans to see Sparta back in 2020 but the shows were cancelled.  Back then I wrote

When At the Drive-In broke up, they split into two bands: The Mars Volta and Sparta.  The Mars Volta went in a wild, psychedelic/prog metal direction and Sparta maintained a more tradition heavy rock sound.

I enjoyed the first Sparta albums but I hadn’t heard anything recently.  I considered going to this show because I’d heard they were really good live.

UPDATE: Sparta are headlining a tour in August 2023.  So I’ll get to see them.

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OSEES / Bronze (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 26, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bronze, Osees, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 26, 2022] Osees / Bronze

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.

Bronze is a sychedelic synth-goth outfit whose album Absolute Compliance is to be released by Osees main guy John Dwyer’s Castle’s Face records.  Their earlier record was a bit more angular and choppy while the new song “People Watching People” is slower and synthier.

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Spiritualized (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 22, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Philadelphia, PA, Spiritualized, Union Transfer on September 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: September, 22, 2022] Spiritualized

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.

But it turned out that on that night Kathleen Edwards was playing at SOPAC.  I had seen her recently, but I had purchased two SOPAC tickets for my wife and I to see her, so Kathleen won out.

Interestingly, at 12:30 this afternoon, Union Transfer sent is this message

Hello! Thank you for purchasing a ticket to see Spiritualized this evening. We want to send this quick heads up, the band will go on right at 8pm and will finish just before 10pm. No opener this evening. One long set.

An hour before showtime, however, the show was cancelled because of a “medical emergency.”  They also cancelled the final two shows of the tour (in New Jersey and New York).

So I made the right choice–I would have been really mad to find out that while I Was driving to Philly, the show was cancelled and I therefore missed both shows.

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Enter Shikari / Trash Boat / Aviva (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in AViVA, Enter: Shikari, Philadelphia, PA, Trash Boat, Union Transfer on September 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 18, 2022] Enter: Shikari / Trash Boat / Aviva

We’re almost entering into an area of bands that I considering seeing based on very little.

Sometimes, when a venue promotes a band pretty heavily it’s easy to get caught up in the hype.  There’s also a lot of bands that have been around for fifteen or twenty years that I completely missed when they had their popular surge.

Enter: Shikari (I think that I just like the colon in their name) has been around since 1999 and originally were kind of a screamo band that was really heavy but had lots of synth and electronic elements too.  It’s the kind of think I want to like but I tend to not, really.

It’s probably the kind of show I would go to where everyone is a diehard fan and I’d enjoy the songs but not know any of the songs.

I also didn’t realize they were British.

Trash Boat is from the same town as Enter: Shikari (St. Albans).  They are a heavy punk band with pop elements (although the vocals are more metal).  I wouldn’t have enjoyed this band as much–although I may have once.

AViVA is an Australian singer (and more–for a hilariously over the top hagiography, check out her fan wiki page).  Although this blurb is interesting:

Aviva Anastasia Payne, also known professonally as AViVA is Australian singer, songwriter, High School Teacher, and writer.

Her songs seem a little too poppy for this show, but she does include some heavier elements.  She’s probably be pretty interesting live.

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Broken Social Scene / Jasmyn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Andy Shauf, Marina Allen, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2022] Broken Social Scene / Jasmyn

I can fall for hype when it comes to concerts.  I’m not going to see someone I don’t actually like or anything like that, but if there’s lots of excitement about a reunion or something, I can get swept up in it.

I really liked Broken Social Scene when they came out.  You Forget It in People was on steady rotation twenty years ago.  But I didn’t really listen to them at all in the last fifteen or so years.

This 20th anniversary tour was much hyped and I grabbed a ticket remembering how much I liked the album.  Although when I went back and listened to the album again I didn’t remember it all that well.

This show was in the middle of a busy week of shows and I felt like I could sacrifice this one to spare me having to go out every night of the week.

Reviews of the show and tour were quite good though and I wonder if I made the right call.   In an otherwise rave review, WXPN points out a few flaws at the show

An eight-member edition of their coterie faced mildly chaotic setbacks throughout their Union Transfer set, from Drew switching up songs on the fly as his voice grew more and more raw over two-plus hours, to a sound tech who kept rushing onstage to fidget with drum mics and synth inputs up to the last song of the main set. Though nothing ever reached the point of full collapse, the threat hovered; at one point there was an inexplicable loud BANG! from offstage and once it was clear nobody was injured, the show moved on.

But this makes me think I should have gone

But the moments that were great, were so great. Opening the show with People‘s opening run of songs was a thrill, from the barreling urgency of “KC Accidental” to the handclap-happy crowd participation of “Stars and Sons,” to Amy Millan of the band Stars rushing onstage in a whirlwind to sing “Almost Crimes,” play flute on “Looks Just Like The Sun” and generally contribute to the festivities for the rest of the night. It was the first show of tour where she was able to link up with the band, and she knocked it out of the park.

I love Amy Millan, and that would have been a cool surprise.

I was going to say I didn’t know who Jasmyn was, but the review says she was the singer in Weaves, a band I loved, and who were amazing live.  Her new sound is a bit more synth poppy, but I’ll bet she’s still dynamite live.

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Built to Spill (Musikfest Cafe, Bethlehem, PA, September 4, 2022)

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Blood Lemon, Built to Spill, Cate Le Bon, Daniel Johnston, Musikfest, Prism Bitch, Union Transfer on September 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 4, 2022] Built to Spill

I know that a Built to Spill show is going to be great.  But sometimes the crowd makes it hard to enjoy.  I was fairly sure this show would be poorly attended, and yet there were a lot of (drunk) people who knew Built to Spill very well.  Are they more popular than I realize?

I had seen them just four months earlier, but the opportunity to see them again at the reasonably close SteelStacks in Bethlehem meant that I was going to see them again.  I enjoyed his new lineup.  This is the third, possibly fourth lineup I’ve seen play with Doug.  Melanie Radford is now on bass (she also plays in Blood Lemon) and Teresa Esguerra on drums.

I love that Esguerra was on the side of the stage facing the other two (that’s how his band was set up with the previous trio as well).  This allowed for Esguerra  and Radford to communicate with each other while Doug was jamming.  And they had outstanding chemistry.

I hadn’t really gotten to see Radford much during Blood Lemon, but she totally let loose with Built to Spill.  Her bass playing was great and her sound was outstanding.  She also seemed to create some of the second-guitar melodies (instead of the bass lines) to make the songs sound even fuller. And then she would jump back with her hair flying a smile on her face.

I had seen Esguerra with Prism Bitch, but she was even more impressive tackling songs that I knew.  She was fast and powerful and seemed to be the engine pushing the songs forward not just keeping pace with them. (more…)

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