Posted in Coronavirus, Dawn Richard, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Purity Ring, Quarantine, Union Transfer on June 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 27, 2022] Purity Ring / Dawn Richard [postponed from May 13, 2020 and April 21, 2021 and November 12, 2021]
This show came and went. I never got tickets and never wound up going.
I heard really good things about the show. And I have put them on my list of bands to see when they come around again.
I’m not sure what kept me away–sometimes, you just don’t feel like going outside.
It’s a cool poster though.
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Shannon Lay, Ty Segall, Ty Segall and the Freedom Band, Union Transfer on June 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: November 5, 2022] Ty Segall & Freedom Band / Shannon Lay [rescheduled from October 2, 2020 and June 24, 2022]
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.
He has had a bunch of shows in Philly, both with Freedom Band and with his other band Fuzz get postponed over and over again.
Back in April the Fuzz show was finally rescheduled and I was really excited to see them. But we wound up going on vacation that week instead.
Now came this show, which I didn’t realize would be as amazing as it is (if this KEXP live performance is any indicator).
But my son was leaving for a trip to Europe in a couple of days and I wanted to spend time with the family. So I blew off this show.
Now, since he puts out new music all the time, I have to assume he’ll be back next year (and I hope with this kick ass band).
Shannon Lay is a former punk and now folk singer. Her songs are quite lovely but 100% unlike Ty Segall & Freedom Band.
However, Ty Segall also plays acoustic shows–he has one coming up in Philly in November (so that’s three shows in Philly in one year). and I wonder if she has played with him in these solo settings.
Posted in Anjimile, Philadelphia, PA, tUnE-yArDs, Union Transfer on June 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 18, 2022] tUnE-yArDs / Anjimile
I saw tUnE-yArDs in 2018 and enjoyed the show. There’s questions about her appropriation of African culture into her music which makes me think, rather than enjoy, her music.
So I wasn’t likely to go to this show even if it hadn’t been right up against Kraftwerk, which there was no way I was missing.
Anjimile Chithambo is a folk singer from Boston, Massachusetts. Her music is pretty, but I don’t care for her singing style at all, which is kind of slow and deliberate and, to me, a little tedious.
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, The Still Tide, Union Transfer on June 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2022] Strand of Oaks / The Still Tide
I have seen Strand of Oaks a number of times–although mostly as a solo venture.
I kind of forget that he plays with a full band (and they rock). This would have been a fun show to see, but it was scheduled for the same night as Belle and Sebastian which we’d already gotten tickets for. Plus, the night turned out to be the same as my daughter’s graduation. So, this one was never going to happen. I hope that he comes back to Philly again soon.
The Still Tide are from Brooklyn but are now based in Colorado.
I’ve listened to a couple of songs and they remind me of Lone Justice–rock with a countryish kind of feel. They actually seem like a good fit for Strand of Oaks.
Posted in Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, They Might Be Giants, Union Transfer on June 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[POSTPONED: June 16, 2022] They Might Be Giants [rescheduled from March 13, 2020, September 8, 2020, April 15, 2021 and March 22, 2022 moved to January 12, 2023]
COVID is over, right? Let’s rock, right? What could go wrong?
Never, ever, tempt fate:
Hello –We have some unfortunate news to share, John F from TMBG was in a serious car accident after their show last evening. The upcoming Philly show (and next two months of their tour) is now *postponed* to some time later in 2022.
Greetings from the hospital. I am writing to you with my glasses a crumpled memory, while under a thick cloud of pain medication. In spite of that, I wanted to write to all of you to explain what exactly happened to me.Last night in a car service on the way my to my apartment after the magnificent Bowery Ballroom show, I was in a rather dramatic car accident. Crossing into an intersection, our car was t-boned by a vehicle going at a very fast speed. The force of the impact actually flipped our car over to its side. While the driver and I oriented ourselves to our new sideways, broken glass and airbag-filled reality, we sensed the ominous smell of motor oil and smoke. Remarkably, just a moment later it seemed, a dozen NYC firemen arrived and set their minds on finding a way to liberate us. To them and the fantastically efficient EMS who whisked us to a trauma center, I will be forever grateful.
While sitting in the CT scan machine, I was working out how much more time I would need to get to DC for the next show in my diminished state. When I explained my plan to the doctor, he explained I had broken seven ribs (a majority of the ribs on my right side) and some of them in multiple places, and I wasn’t going to be anywhere but in a bed for the foreseeable future.
While the pain in my side has only gotten worse since, it is my heart that is really breaking over these events. The entire band and crew have been working so hard to create a new show worthy of your interest and your endurance over these miserable COVID years. Last night was such a victory, and with unplayed new songs in the works and rearrangements of older material with the horn section, it was all feeling like a new beginning. But today I am in the hospital. I would understand anyone thinking we are just a band born under a bad sign and giving up hope, but I also know someday we will rock again —and for me, that day couldn’t come soon enough.
Until then I will be watching reruns of Sex in the City until I am strong enough to reach the remote. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it.
Fifth time’s the charm?
After what seemed like a wholly sensible rescheduled date of March 22, 2022, the virus reared its head again, and TMBG decided to push things back one more time. This time they broke their tour into small chunks to avoid having to cancel a huge tour in the future.
Hello everyone. We have rescheduled all of our Spring 2022 shows. The new batch of shows begin in June and run all the way to May 2023 (proving that 2020 is the first year to last for three!).
And the venue has added
Hello! Thank you for purchasing tickets to see They Might Be Giants. We know that this has been a journey and after two+ years their long awaited tour will finally happen! The Philly show scheduled for March 10 has been moved to June 16 2022.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This show was originally scheduled for March 2020 and it now being rescheduled to March 2022. It’s hard to believe that it will be two years.
So, with no opening date in sight, this is where we ask you for a big favor. Without a doubt our biggest expense has been refunding tickets for shows with new safe dates in 2021/2022. The They Might Be Giants show has been officially moved to March 10 2022! With a date this far out, it ensures there will be no issues with TMBG touring and most important – we are near guaranteed to have a safe and normal show (finally!)
This was one of the first shows that was postponed because of the coronavirus. The new date was scheduled very quickly and, as it turns out, too soon.
Now, like most shows, it is being pushed back about a year from its original date. Boy I hope it holds out.
I am still very much looking forward to it. Don’t give up on us yet, Johns!
March was going to be a very busy concert month for me. This was to be the first of four shows in five nights. This show was going to be for me and S.–a night of They Might Be Giants performing Flood!
It turned out to be the first of dozens of shows cancelled or postponed by the coronavirus.
Obviously, my main concern is for everyone’s safety, including the bands!
My selfish concern though is that once the shows are rescheduled that all of these shows will be scheduled on the same day!
Let’s hope the rescheduled dates also do some social distancing.
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Superchunk, Torres, Union Transfer on June 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: June 11, 2022] Superchunk [moved from March 2, 2022]
I saw Superchunk four years ago. It was my first time seeing a band that I have liked for decades. They have put out a ton of music and I don’t know all of it, but I still enjoyed their set a lot.
Enough to see them again when they put out a new album this past year.
Last time, they played a ton of stuff from the then new album (8 new songs). This time, for whatever reason, they played only five songs from the new album and the rest of the set was chock full of songs from throughout their career.
Indeed, they played 21 songs with only 7 duplicates (and I think we’d have been upset if they didn’t play those seven).
The band was, like last time the (nearly) original members: Mac McCaughan of course on vocals and guitar, Jim Wilbur on guitar (he joined after their first album) and Jon Wurster on drums (he joined after the third album)–they’re bonafides! The only one missing was bassist Laura Ballance. She plays on the albums but because of her hyperacusis, she no longer tours. So, on bass we had Jason Narducy who has played with anybody who is anybody. (more…)
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Superchunk, Torres, Union Transfer on June 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: June 11, 2022] Torres [moved from March 2, 2022]
This was my forth time seeing Torres play. I was excited to see her open for Superchunk, but I was (obviously) even more excited to see her play as a headliner.
The headlining gig was great, and I was curious to see how much it would differ when she opened for a well known but not huge indie band. Especially since she is not exactly the same type of music.
Her new album is a love/lust letter to her new wife and in a close setting like Johnny Brenda’s she explored the album in great detail. But her she was able to rock it out with amazing intensity.
She switched her setlist a little to open with the more rocking “Are You Sleepwalking” and followed it with the slower opening “Don’t Go Puttin’ Wishes in My Head” (even though it is ultimately even more catchy). (more…)
Posted in Aldous Huxley, H. Hawkline, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 10, 2022] Aldous Harding / H. Hawkline
I saw Aldous Harding at Underground Arts in 2019. The show was very weird and pretty cool, with Harding being a presence I could not remove my eyes from.
I couldn’t really imagine her at Union Transfer, it is so much bigger.
I didn’t actually enjoy her new album as much as her previous ones and when this show came up, I basically just stayed home. I just didn’t feel like it.
H. Hawkline is one of those performers that seems to open for a lot of people that I like. Or at least whose name I see a lot at shows.
I don’t really know that much about him except that he is Welsh and was once a radio and TV presenter (known as Huw Evans).
Hawkline has put out 5 albums, and Picthfork summarizes his career like this
Hawkline began his career with fingerpicking folk on 2010’s A Cup of Salt, but in recent years, he’s steered towards an ornate art-pop sound that draws influence from his fellow countryman Gruff Rhys, who’s brought him on tour, as well as longtime collaborator Cate Le Bon, who produced Milk for Flowers. Even when the songs are steeped in sadness, there’s a McCartney-esque bounce to them: a pitter-patter levity to the piano arrangements in “Milk for Flowers” and “Denver,” a perpetual forward motion to the playful thump of “Plastic Man.”
It’s a good pedigree and in listening to his new album Milk for Flowers, the McCartney comparison is apt. He could be quite fun live.
Posted in Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Natural Information Society, Philadelphia, PA, The War on Drugs, Union Transfer on June 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: June 3, 2022] Kurt Vile & The Violators
Since the last time I saw Kurt Vile (2018), S. has become a huge fan of Kurt and his music. So when he announced he was touring, and would be ending his run in his home town, of course we grabbed tickets.
I had seen Kurt playing in New Jersey four years ago and he was a delight. He switches instruments almost every song. he doesn’t talk a lot, but he seems to be having a really good time and is happy that we’re there with him.
It was amazing that he played almost none of the same songs tonight that he did four years ago. True he had two new albums to showcase since that time, but even the older cuts were mixed up (except for his biggest hit which I couldn’t imagine him not playing and “Waking on a Pretty Day”).
Kurt is pretty much exactly what you get on record–his delivery is pretty much the same, his guitar playing is the same. he comes across as the most natural performer you’ve ever seen. Like he literally just walked in and started playing.
I am a huge fan of some of Kurt’s songs. I love “Loading Zones” and could listen to him play that song for ages. (more…)
Posted in Full show video, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Natural Information Society, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: June 3, 2022] Natural Information Society
Since the last time I saw Kurt Vile (2018), S. has become a huge fan of Kurt and his music.
So when he announced a tour that would be culminating at Union Transfer, obviously we were going to go. I’m a fan of the opener Chastity Belt, but I was bummed that they weren’t opening our leg of the tour. So that left two possibilities for us: Sun Ra Arkestra or Natural Information Society.
I had seen Sun Ra Arkestra and enjoyed their wild free jazz craziness. I knew S. wouldn’t like them. But it turned out that the question was moot because I was taking my daughter to another show on the Sun Ra night anyhow. So Natural Information Society it was.
I had never heard of them and had no idea what they were like. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 