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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

The Afghan Whigs (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, May 1, 2026)

Posted in Mercury Rev, Philadelphia, PA, The Afghan Whigs, Union Transfer on May 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 1, 2026] The Afghan Whigs

I hadn’t really thought about seeing The Afghan Whigs.  I liked a few of their early albums, but hadn’t really thought about them much at all once they got back together in 2011.  Two of my friends had raved about the band live, though, so when they announced this show and that it was a 40th anniversary tour (instead of a new album tour) I grabbed a ticket right away.

Upon entering the venue, a sign said that the Whigs and Mercury Rev would like us to enjoy the show with out eyes, not with our phones.  Now, I like to take some pictures and I like to grab clips of songs here and there, but I try to be very considerate in my camera usage.  I never hold mine above my head.  So I was on board with this request–it didn’t forbid some photos but it didn’t want a lot.  And for the most part the audience around me was good–but it seemed like Greg Dulli was getting annoyed by some of the people up front who were filming a lot of the show.

I didn’t really know what to expect from the show.  I didn’t think they’d do anything fancy, and they didn’t.  I also had the idea that Greg Dulli had a devoted fanbase of women of a certain age.  He does and they were there in force and they were loud!  And it was a great show.  Sure the ladies screamed a lot but it was in good fun and Dulli seemed to enjoy it.  At one point he winked at someone in the front row and tossed her a pick.

I had listened to some of the newer albums, and, basically, they all have the same tone and vibe, which I like and that meant that any song they played would sound good.  And they did.  I didn’t know most of the songs in the set very well, but the band was great, Dulli sounded great and I have a really good time.  They only played one song from their most recent album (which they toured not too long ago, so that makes sense.  They played the most songs from their previous two albums, but touched on their entire catalog. (more…)

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Mercury Rev (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, May 1, 2026) [THE AFGHAN WHIGS]

Posted in Mercury Rev, Philadelphia, PA, The Afghan Whigs, Union Transfer on May 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 1, 2026] Mercury Rev

I hadn’t really thought about seeing The Afghan Whigs.  I liked a few of their early albums, but hadn’t really thought about them much at all once they got back together in 2011.  Two of my friends had raved about the band live, though, so when they announced this show and that it was a 40th anniversary tour (instead of a new album tour) I grabbed a ticket right away.

And I was even more excited that the opener was Mercury Rev.  I really liked their weird first albums but I really loved Deserter’s Songs (from 1998).  Their newer stuff (alright, everything since Deserter’s Songs, I’ve found kind of boring (I admit I haven’t listened to all of it but what I have has been pretty bland).  So I haven’t wanted to see them headline a show.  But seeing them as an opener sounded grand, because surely they’d play at least a few of the songs I loved.

So it’s pretty odd that I literally just realized that I saw them 26 years ago.  I guess the show wasn’t that memorable (although 26 years is  a long time).  I really wish I had a better memory of it because it’s a setlist I would kill for (even if they didn’t play anything from their then two middle albums).

But here they were (I was much closer for this show, to be sure), 26 years later with Jonathan Donohue singing and Grasshopper on guitar as the only continuous members.

What struck me immediately is that in front of the drums which were on the side of the stage, there was a small step and Jonathan climbed up it, creating quite the striking figure as he conducted the drummer.  Donohue was wearing a big hat (that reminded me of the Waterboys for some reason) and a tightly buttoned peacoat with white sleeves (unbuttoned, sticking out of the sleeves of the coat).  It was quite the look and immediately told us that he was an artist.

Now, I haven’t paid much attention to Donohue in the last 25 years, so I was really surprised when he sang… differently. (more…)

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José González / Abby Sage (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Abby Sage, José González, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 22, 2026] José González / Abby Sage

My wife and I saw José González a year ago in New Jersey.  It was a wonderful set–quiet, moody and exquisite sounding.  We didn’t feel the need to see him again.  Sometimes one set is perfect.

I’m not sure if he added more people for this show (ours was solo).  I see that the setlist was similar but with lots of songs switched out.   I’m not sure if I need to see him again, but we’ll see.

Abby Sage is a singer songwriter from Toronto.  She writes interesting moody folk songs and she sings with the vocal style tha I assoiate with young women in the 2010s and 2020s–like she’s afriad to elucidate the vowels or something.  I don’t dislike the style, but it seems very common and I’m curious about it.  At first I thought it was regional, but it clearly isn’t.  If she had a whole band I would have enjoyed her set because the harmonies (guitar and vocal) are really nice on her audiotree session..

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Sunn O))) (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 11, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sunn O))), Union Transfer, Venom on April 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 11, 2026] Sunn O)))

I saw Sunn 0))) in 2017.

It was a pretty intense and amazing experience.  I didn’t think I would need to see them again, but when this tour was announced, I figured that roughly ten years was enough time between shows.

Sadly, t was scheduled for the same night that I had a ticket to see The Belair Lip Bombs.  Since this was their first time coming to the States and it was at the terrific PhilaMOCA, I decided to give Sunn O))) a miss.  However, I did consider that I might be able to sneak into the end of their set and catch maybe ten or fifteen minutes since my show was two bands with a small catalog of music.

My friend Jae went to the Sunn O))) show and I told him to text me when it ended.

I wasn’t sure how I would ask to get in to see the last few minutes of the show–if they’d make me pay or what.  But it was all moot.  Sunn O))) had no opener, and their set ended roughly at the same time as mine did.  He also laughed that they played the audio of banter from a Venom show.  Hilarious.

Jae said the show was great and I hope they come back again in a couple of years.

Here’s the clip that Sunn played (hilarious)

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Nothing / Full Body 2 / Cryogeyser / Violent Magic Orchestra (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cryogeyser, Full Body, Full Body 2, Nothing, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Violent Magic Orchestra on April 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 4, 2026] Nothing / Full Body 2 / Cryogeyser / Violent Magic Orchestra

I don’t fall for a lot of hype about things.  But when Union Transfer hypes an upcoming show, I often check out the band.  They especially like to hype Philly bands (which makes sense) and I feel like I had been very lax on my Philly music knowledge.  Nothing is a band that I probably should have known but didn’t.  And it turns out I’ve had a few opportunities to see them.  They opened for Boris on the one tour  that I missed and they hosted or helmed Slide Away Philadelphia, which was an all day shoegaze event.  I would have loved every band but a whole day would have been too much.

At the time I wrote

They’ve been around for almost fifteen years. Everything I’ve listened to from them has been quite good.  They tend to veer into the more creepy and less heavy side of shoegaze.

Full Body 2 (odd name that) is also from Philly.  They sound a lot more like My Bloody Valentine than other contemporary shoegaze bands–the vocals are really buried and there’s some interesting synth sounds.

IndexYear0001.com explains the name

Full Body 2 are a band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania made up of Cassidy Rose Hammond, Dylan Vaisey, & Jack Chaffer.

Full Body 2 is a sequel to the band Full Body, which included Hammond and Vaisey. Full Body 2 have a dense, shoegaze sound which they combine with aspects of electronic genres like breakcore and digi-core as well as rendered futuristic aesthetics.

Opener Cryogeyser says this about themselves on their bandcamp: “Three piece from Los Angeles. Cute.”

Flood Magazine writes that

 Distortion and reverb are their friends, but none of their music feels consumed or overwhelmed by such effects. A mix of dreampop, shoegaze, and grunge, the LA-based trio balance their stone-heavy rhythmic section of bassist Hunter Martinez and drummer McCoy Kirgo with the swirling melodies and heaven-reaching vocals of singer-guitarist Shawn Marom.

Their music is quite stark and spare, though for all the reverb.  There’s also a sense of 50s girl group about them.  I’d be curious to see how that translates live.

I hadn’t heard of Violent Magic Orchestra who are from Japan.

The Wire says this “Osaka based six piece fuses black metal aesthetics with the endorphin rush of peak time hard trance and gabber”

And the blurb on their bandcamp pages says

After touring the globe showcasing their A/V moshpit-inducing live show, they are revealing their new musical creations to an unsuspecting public. Never Sleep are proud to present a landmark moment in the Japanese hardcore new rave scene.
The blinding lights of DEATH RAVE point to an untraveled journey, a sci-fi fusion of black metal, gabber, cyberpunk, performance art and techno.

I have no idea how they wound up on this shoegaze bill and their live show sounds pretty amazing.  They are more glitchy/noisy than the other bands, but I would love to see what their love show is like.

We were in Minnesota for this show.  I hadn’t been all that excited about this show because I’d forgotten what Nothing sounded like, but as soon as I listened to them again I remembered how much I liked them and how much this whole evening would have been awesome.

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Thursday presents Full City Devolution / Chris Conly (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, April 1, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chris Conly, Philadelphia, PA, Thursday, Union Transfer on April 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 1, 2026] Thursday / Chris Conly

I have seen Thursday twice.  Both times they opened for My Chemical Romance.  The first time was in the Prudential Center.  The second time was in Giants Stadium.  Both times the sound wasn’t great and while i knew them a little better the second time, I felt like I couldn’t really appreciate them at all.

So while I don’t know their music well, and don’t know the album Full City Devolution any more than any of their other albums, I thought it would be a great opportunity to actually see the band properly.

But then my daughter was going to Minnesota and so I missed all for the shows this week.  Luckily I was able to resell this show, so no loss for me.  And maybe Thursday will headline again soon–I mean they sold out this time, so they know there’s interest.

Chris Conly is a Brooklyn musician,  I listened to two of his songs and hated them both.  He reminds me of George Thoroughgood, and the last thing we need is another George Thoroughgood.

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Tigers Jaw / Hot Flash Heat Wave / Creeks (solo) (The Arrow, Allentown, PA, March 27, 2026/Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, April 5, 2026/Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2026)

Posted in Allentown PA, Creeks, Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Grist Mil, Philadelphia, PA, The Arrow, Tigers Jaw, Union Transfer on March 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 27, April 5 & April 16, 2026] Tigers Jaw / Hot Flash Heat Wave / Creeks (solo)

About five years ago, I had seen Tigers Jaw two times in about a year.  I enjoyed both shows quite a lot but haven’t felt compelled to see them again for whatever reason.  Looking back I definitely enjoyed both shows,  But I guess there are just bands that I like better.

Checking out their tour dates, I am fascinated by the fact that, if I had wanted to, I could have seen them three times spaced apart far enough that it wouldn’t have been like seeing them three nights in a row.  They started in NY, then played Allentown.  They went up the coast to Maine and CT and then New York City and a week after Allentown they popped into Garwood.  Then they went down the east coast to Florida and back and played their second to last date in Philly.  Three area shows in 20 days!

Hot Flash Heat Wave are a  California based power pop band with a pleasant mix of post-punk and smooth emo.  The review from Troy, NY says

the group had a new-wave rock vibe to them, reminding me of a lighter-hearted version of The Smiths. The energy got heavier later on, with one of the vocalists jumping into the tight crowd in a way that was akin to a hardcore performance.

They have a retro synthy vibe and are definitely fun.  I see their older stuff is more guitar based.  So who knows what this set was like

WXPN says Hot Flash Heat Wave’s music contains surf rock staples, new wave vocal patterns, and a touch of grunge on top of them being seriously unserious on stage. Arguably, they’ve created a new subgenre of hyper pop perfect for the Tigers Jaw millennials that like to dance.

Creeks is the solo project of Jon Simmons from Balance & Composure (who are broken up, I guess).  Creeks is a band, but he was solo for these shows.

Turns out Grist Mil stepped up to fill the first slot, last minute in Allentown.  I hadn’t heard of them, but this review from Hashtag says

Grist Mil has created the perfect chill record to soundtrack the start of summer. Waves of haze and distortion move across guitars, crossing paths with bright synthesizers and emotionally packed lyrics. Fresh off shows supporting Balance and Composure and Oso Oso, fans of both bands will find appeal in the music of Grist Mil, also striking similarities to indie-electronic acts like M83, and blips of shoegaze and more pop-forward elements. The EP is written in concept, following through the main character’s tumultuous journey.

I listened to a couple songs–catchy but lo fi.  Nice.

The Crossroads show was an album release show for Tigers Jaw.

If I had thought about it more I might have tried to get to one of these shows, but at the very least Union Trasnfer sold out, so they didn’t miss me.

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Gogol Bordello / Puzzled Panther / Boris and the Joy (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, March 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boris and the Joy, Gogol Bordello, Philadelphia, PA, Punks, Puzzled Panther, Union Transfer on March 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 24, 2026] Gogol Bordello

I saw Gogol Bordello at Union Transfer almost exactly ten years ago.  I re-read my post about it and I said that I had a ton of fun, but my memory of it was that it was chaotic and crazy.  I haven’t really wanted to see them again even though I have a lot of respect for the band and I know that they live shows are amazing.

It was kind of a busy concert week so I didn’t even think about going.  It sounds like this show was all about their brand new album which I hadn’t listened to.  But I really should try to see them again one of these tours.

Puzzled Panther are from New York City.  Their debut EP was produced by Eugene Hütz.  The band is Led by Gen Z rockers Victoria Espinoza and Kay Bontempo, and often play as a duo (not sure if they were a fuller band for this tour).  Their bio says they are

generating a new wave of infectious blissed-out psychedelic mix of Madchester with the danceable frantic attack of New York post-punk

I don’t really hear that–they seem more of a simple punk sound.  It doesn’t really grab me, but maybe they’re more fun live.

Boris and the Joy is Boris Pelekh guitarist from Gogol Bordello who has a side project of indie-folk-electro-pop band Boris and the Joy.

Boris, the Ukrainian/Russian singer, composer and guitar player has toured the world as the guitarist of gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello for a decade and fronting his own unit Hey Guy. His life’s journey and the philosophy of joy are the fibers of the emotionally colorful Boris & the Joy.

It’s pretty mellow–a stark change but probably a nice warm up.

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Sweet Pill / Heart to Gold / Spaced (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 19, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Heart to Gold, Philadelphia, PA, Spaced, Sweet Pill, Union Transfer on March 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 19, 2026] Sweet Pill / Heart to Gold / Spaced

I missed Sweet Pill when they surprise opened for Pool Kids at the Ukie Club and since then I’ve been trying to catch them. I missed them two years ago when they played Union Transfer (that show is up on YouTube–see below).  Then they opened for Zeta at the Ukie club–a show I really wanted to go to but couldn’t make.

So this was an album release show for their new record and I was pretty psyched to go.  And then my son came home from college and I had a bunch of other commitments to take care of so I couldn’t make it either.

The funny thing is that my friend’s daughter whom I ran into at a Pool Kids show a few months ago loves Sweet Pill and she was at the show–it would have been crazy to run into her again.

Sweet Pill actually reminds me a lot of Pool Kids–similar impressive guitar work (finger tapping!) and great strong female vocals.  I really want to see them before they get too huge.

It turns out that Sweet Pill cancelled the rest of the tour a few days later for personal reasons.  I hope everything’s okay with them.  And I also hope that when they reschedule the tour, they throw in an other Philly show so I can see them.

Heart to Gold is from Minnesota and they play a similar kind of upbeat sounding punk with big guitars.  I guess they’re calling it high energy emo punk.  Whatever it’s called, I dig it

Spaced is a hardcore band from Buffalo.  They are certainly heavier than the other two bands and probably got the crowd really revved up.  Short songs, loud vocals.  Fun stuff.

I’m definitely bummed to have missed this show.

 

 

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An Evening with Mike Gordon (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, March 15, 2026)

Posted in Mike Gordon, Philadelphia, PA, Phish, Union Transfer on March 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 28, 2016] Mike Gordon

When Mike Gordon announced a short March tour and one of the stops was Union Transfer, I immediately grabbed a ticket.  I have very warm memories of the last time I saw him.  I assumed it was like six years ago so I was really surprised to discover it was actually TEN.  I was also surprised to see that he had played UT in 2018 and I wondered why I didn’t go (I had tickets to Nada Surf that night).  But it has been 8 years since Mike has been here.

The 2016 lineup was guitarist Scott Murawski, percussionist Craig Myers, drummer John Kimock and keyboardist Robert Walter.

This years lineup was similar but different: guitarist Bob Wagner, guitarist Xavier Lynn, drummer John Kimock and keyboardist Robert Walter.

Like last time, Mike and friends played for almost 3 hours (a brief intermission in the middle).  And like last time, Mike didn’t do a lot of soloing–he’s not a show offy bassist, although he does play some great stuff–he always has a great groove and I enjoy when he messes with his pedal effects to create a variety of sounds.

There was a line to get in, but it moved quickly and when I got in the merch line was really short.  My wife had bought me a poster tube since I like posters so much and I actually brought it with me this time.  But while I stood there (and I could see into the hall) nothing was happening.  Then I saw that the card reader wasn’t working and these two guys were trying to fix it.  With a few minutes before the showtime, I quit the line and went in.  I had a great spot right in front of Mike.  Although the people around me were pretty odd.

One guy had a stuffed doll with him and he kept holding it up trying to take a picture of it with the band (which I get but holy cow he did it like 30 times).  After he moved away, the spot was constantly being filled by other people who really had no regard for personal space (which might just be a Phish thing). (more…)

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