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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

Girl Talk / Hugh Augustine (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Girl Talk, Hugh Augustine, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 29, 2022] Girl Talk / Hugh Augustine

The embarrassment of riches continued on April 29th as there were four more shows I was interested in going to.  And what’s so fun about Philadelphia is that among the eight shows in two nights none were in the same venue.

Girl Talk is the stage name of DJ Gregg Michael Gillis.  He makes music that is comprised of samples and mashups.  His 2010 album All Day album used overlapping samples of 372 songs by other artists.

His live shows are described as an experience not to be missed and so I immediately grabbed a ticket.  But the more I learned about the experience–a sweaty, writhing dancing mess of people, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to be a part of it.  So I decided to do something else that night instead.  I’m not sure if I missed out on something life changing, and I’ll never know.

Hugh Augustine is a rapper, chef and activist.

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Deafheaven / Clear Capsule (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Clear Capsule, Deafheaven, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 29, 2023] Deafheaven / Clear Capsule

I saw Deafheaven last year; it was an intense and enjoyable show.  A wild mix of utter noise and lovely shoegazey rock.

I’d consider seeing them again, although this show was scheduled for the same night as Placebo, so it wasn’t going to happen this time.

This show was announced with pretty short notice too.  The date was only listed in early March, so it must have been an impulsive show before they went to Europe.

Los Angeles’ Clear Capsule straddles alterna-metal heaviness and punky shoegaze.  Noot unlike Deafheaven, although a les extreme on both ends.  I rather liked the songs I heard and the high whispery voice of singer Bryce Pulaski.

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Built to Spill / Prism Bitch / Itchy Kitty (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 28, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Blood Lemon, Built to Spill, Itchy Kitty, Philadelphia, PA, Prism Bitch, Union Transfer on April 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 28, 2023] Built to Spill / Prism Bitch / Itchy Kitty

I saw Built to Spill twice last year.  I was surprised to see that they were touring again so soon, but it had been all of seven months.

This was supposed to have been a very busy concert week for me.  But after doing so much tree cutting and hauling this week, I was too tired to go even to see Doug and his band.

For the previous shows, the opening band was Blood Lemon which featured BTS bass player Melanie Radford. This time, one of the opening bands was Prism Bitch which BTS featured drummer Teresa Esguerra.

Prism Bitch was fantastic back in 2019.  They’d have been great to see live again.

The second opening band was Itchy Kitty.  Itchy Kitty are a band from Spokane, Wa. They specialize in a hyperkinetic blend of punk traditionalism and a sort of mangled glam rock pageantry. Their music careens from whiplash inducing riffage to flash delirium freak outs.  Originally, they were a cat-centered band with songs about cats and (if photos are correct) the drummer wearing a cat mask.  But now they just rock and scream and rawk.

I’m a little bummed about missing this, but I’m sure I’ll see them again.

 

 

The first time I saw him was at Union Transfer back in 2015 and he had a five piece band.  That was a couple of iterations ago and now he was back with a new band.

On this newly announced tour, his whole band was going to be different.  In fact, I have seen at least three different lineups for the band over the years.  This tour was going to feature drummer Teresa Esguerra of Prism Bitch (who opened for Built To Spill last time) and bassist Melanie Radford from openers Blood Lemon.

The last time I promised myself I wouldn’t get too close to the stage, but I did.  The problem with being so close is the way Doug Martsch has his guitar set up.  His amp is right next to him and it is so loud.  From where I was you could barely hear anything else.  Of course I’m there to watch Doug play, so it’s not too bad.  But I promised myself I would stand back to fully appreciate his band.

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. (more…)

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Biffy Clyro (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 25, 2022)

Posted in Biffy Clyro, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 25, 2022] Biffy Clyro

I’m not exactly sure when I got into Biffy Clyro.  Probably just hearing about them all the time in the British music press.

Biffy Clyro is absolutely massive at home in Scotland and they typically headline festivals of thousands of people.  They recently had a film made about the: Biffy Clyro: Cultural Sons of Scotland in which they played a concert for some 50,000 people.

Then they did an American tour and I got to see them at Union Transfer, a venue of 1,200 which did not sell out.

And yet as far as I could tell, they played as if there were 50,000 people there.

The three shirtless lads came out on stage to much applause (those in the States who like them like them a lot) and they proceeded to kick arse playing huge anthems to a small crowd who responded with energy and excitement.

The band last played Philaelphia in 2017 and they had two new albums to showcase.  They played six from 2020’s A Celebration of Endings and four from the newer The Myth of the Happily Ever After.

The good thing is that I knew they’d be featuring these two albums so I listened to them a lot and the live versions were even better–with so much energy comes from singer Simon Neil and remarkable drumming from Ben Johnston.  His twin brother James Johnston plays bass and somehow, the three of them sound like a wall of sound.  It was intense high energy sing along stadium rock up close and personal.

The only real slowdown came when Simon sang a solo acoustic version of “Machines”

Despite featuring the new albums highly, they also dipped into some older records. I actually don’t know what their hits are, so I didn’t really know what they’d play along with the new records.  They didn’t go very deep (ignoring their first three records entirely).

They hit four songs from Only Revolutions (their best selling album), but the crowd greatly appreciated them.

I’m clearly not as big a fan as most of the people there, but I really enjoyed a night of Biffy Fucking Clyro.  I don’t see arena rock all that much, but seeing it in an intimate setting like this was awesome.

  1. DumDum µ
  2. A Hunger in Your Haunt µ
  3. Tiny Indoor Fireworks €
  4. Black Chandelier ⊄
  5. North of No South €
  6. That Golden Rule ©
  7. Instant History €
  8. Mountains ©
  9. Machines (Simon Neil solo acoustic)
  10. Unknown Male 01 µ
  11. End Of €
  12. Wolves of Winter ∴
  13. Space €
  14. Slurpy Slurpy Sleep Sleep µ
  15. Re-Arrange ∴
  16. Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies
  17. Bubbles ©
    Encore:
  18. Cop Syrup €
  19. Many of Horror ©

µ The Myth of the Happily Ever After (2021)
€ A Celebration of Endings (2020)
∴ Ellipses (2016)
⊄ Opposites (2013)
© Only Revolutions (2009)
¶ Puzzle (2007)

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Dead Poet Society (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 25, 2022) [BIFFY CLYRO]

Posted in Biffy Clyro, Dead Poet Society, Jeff Buckley, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 25, 2022] Dead Poet Society

I am usually pretty early for shows.  Not super early, but usually 20 minutes before the opener.  And usually that’s fine to get up close to the stage (unless the headliner has a huge fan base, then forget it).  I thought I had arrived in plenty of time for this show, but I think Dead Poet Society went on a few minutes early because I wound up walking in in the middle of their set.

Dead Poet Society are from Massachusetts and they create epic, bombastic rock.  There is the heaviness of Led Zeppelin in there with some good old indie rock noise thrown in the mix.  But the most notable thing about the is singer Jack Underkofler’s voice which sounds uncannily like Jeff Buckley most of the time.  I suppose there’s a Robert Plant component to it as well, but Buckley all over it.

Which is not a criticism at all.  Buckley’s voice was amazing and to be able to do something similar is very impressive.

Indeed, their songs rocked and they were really engaging.  The one thing that was odd to me was how much Underkofler acted like they were the headlining band.  I’m not entirely sure how much the crowd was with them just yet for him to be demanding the sing and clap along.  But by the end of the show, they had won everyone over I think.

I was near guitarist Jack Collins who made some great noises, bassist Dylan Brenner and drummer Will Goodroad, played heavy and loud and kept everything very tight.  Some have commented on their rather cryptic song title stylings on their debut album -!-, but I think it works pretty well with their overall sound.

Based on the previous night, this was their setlist

  1. Lo Air Ð
  2. .burymewhole. -!-
  3. .georgia. -!-
  4. Bacalar
  5. .SALT. -!-
  6. Touch
  7. .AmericanBlood. -!-
  8. Sound and Silence ∇
  9. .intoodeep. -!-
  10. .CoDA. -!-

-!- (2021)
∇ Axiom (2015)
Ð Depmsy (2016)

 

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor / Myriam Gendron (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 22, 2022 and Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 23, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Godspeed You Black Emperor, Jersey City, NJ, Myriam Gendron, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, White Eagle Hall on April 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 22 & 23, 2022] Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Back in 2000, I saw Godspeed You Black Emperor at Maxwell’s in Hoboken.  My friend Lar was in from Ireland and he went to the show with me, which was pretty awesome.

I waited 18 years to see them again, but the last time I saw them, the show was marred by the crowd.  Or perhaps I was just always in the wrong place.  I couldn’t see well from where I was so I moved–something I never do.  I tried a few spots and none felt right and a couple were near some genuinely unpleasant people to be standing near.  So I never enjoyed myself, even though the music was good.

So I thought I’d try a redo.  I was excited to see them in Jersey City, but then the Fontaines D.C. sow came up.  I figured I’d go see them the next night, but we wound up having a big birthday party that day and it seemed rather crass to go out later that night.  So, I missed them. And that’s ok.

Myriam Gendron is a Quebec musician I hadn’t heard of, but this review makes me want to check out her records.  This is for her latest album:

Delving deep into traditional music from Quebec, France, and the United States, she rewired segments of songs to emphasize evocative lyrics and tossed out others that she found abhorrent. Singing in French and English … these historic songs become universal, while her tender voice maintains the soft power to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

Woah.

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Fruit Bats / Johanna Samuels (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 19, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Fruit Bats, Johanna Samuels, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 19, 2022] Fruit Bats / Johanna Samuels

Fruit Bats released a song at the beginning of the year and S. really liked it.  Then they announced a concert right around her birthday, so I spontaneously grabbed us tickets.

We joked how we never listened to any other songs by them and wouldn’t know anything at the show.

As the show grew closer, things were kind of crazy and we ultimately decided not to go.  So we’ll never know if we like more than that one song.

I hadn’t heard of Johanna Samuels but I see she is described as “A student of classic songwriting with a certain nod to the current in-vogue Blood On The Tracks-era Dylan” which sounds pretty good.

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The Districts / Francis of Delirium / Vanillaroma (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Francis of Delirium, Philadelphia, PA, The Districts, Union Transfer, Vanillaroma on April 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 16, 2022] The Districts / Francis of Delirium / Vanillaroma

I grabbed a ticket for this dhow from The Districts as soon as they went on sale–even though I had recently seen them in Asbury Park.  A Philly show is always a good time for The Districts.

Then the Ice Nine Kills show was announced for the same day and I knew that my son and his friends would want to go to that.  So I blew off The Districts, which is fine since i had recently seen them.

Francis of Delirium I had heard of and have since listened to their music.  It’s really good–rocking, noisy, but catchy as well.

Vanillaroma has a retro vibe with all of the sweet spots of retro sounds.

This was a really good bill.

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Yumi Zouma / NoSo (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 12, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in NoSo, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Yumi Zouma on April 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 11 & 12, 2022] Yumi Zouma / NoSo

This show had been rescheduled four or five times. The final time was after the tour had been successful so far.  But at the last minute, they had to postpone the final two Philadelphia shows.

I vaguely recalled when Yumi Zouma came out because their name is so fun to say (this was back in 2014).  I didn’t realize they were from New Zealand.

I couldn’t even remember what their music sounded like or if I’d even liked it.  I wasn’t planning on going to this show since it was a such a busy week, but I was delighted to hear the name again.  And if they turne dout to be good, I would have gone if we weren’t in D.C.

NoSo was unknown to me.  Apparently they are an LA-based artist and guitar virtuoso who seems to write delicate pop songs.

 

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Waxahatchee / Madi Diaz (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 11 & 12, 2022) [rescheduled again and again, finally happened] [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cancelled, Coronavirus, Katy Kirby, Madi Diaz, OHMME, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Union Transfer, Waxahatchee on April 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 11 & 12, 2022] Waxahatchee / OHMME [rescheduled from April 14 and October 5, 2020 and May 16, 2021 and October 15, 2021]

This show had been rescheduled four or five times. The final time was after the tour had been successful so far.  But at the last minute, they had to postpone the final two Philadelphia shows.

I don’t recall what was going on in my life at the the time, but I was happy about the postponement and wrote

This one worked in my favor.  And I’m looking forward to that rescheduled show next year.

Of course, the Fuzz show was scheduled for the same day and I hadn’t seen Fuzz before so I was planning on going to that show instead.

But then we went on vacation, so the whole debate was moot.

Originally support was from OHMME, then Katy Kirby.  This time it was from Madi Diaz who is a folk singer I know of, but not very well.

 

wxa

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