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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

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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Wunderhorse / Been Stellar (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, July 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Been Stellar, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wunderhorse on July 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 24, 2026] Wunderhorse / Been Stellar

Wunderhorse is a band whose name sounds like a lot of other bands that I like (or at least hat I know).  I know WXPN liked them, although when I played the song tha they had been playing a lot, I didn’t recognize it.  And I didn’t really like it.  I have nothing against the band but nothing about the songs grabbed me at all.

So, yea, I wasn’t going to see them.

I have enjoyed the band name Been Stellar for a little while now.  I’m not even sure if I knew their music, but their name gave me a chuckle.  They have opened for two bands that I was interested in seeing, but I didn’t go to either show.  Last time, when they opened for Fontaines D.C. I said I listened to a few clips and didn’t really get much of a feeling from them–fuzzy alt rock.  They’re kind of a buzz band, but I’d need to hear more.  When I first listened to them in 2023, though I really liked them.  I guess tastes change.

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Finn Wolfhard / Sleeper’s Bell (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, July 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Finn Wolfhard, Philadelphia, PA, Sleeper's Bell, Stranger Things, Union Transfer on July 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 26, 2026] Finn Wolfhard / Sleeper’s Bell

Just how many of the cast from Stranger Things are also musicians?  Well, just about all of them, it seems.

And so here comes Finn Wolfhard.  He played The Foundry a couple of years back and here he’s at Union Transfer.  I have no idea how well the show sold, and I didn’t have any intention of going, but I’m fascinated by the whole thing.

I checked out his solo stuff and its kind of fun–I imagine he’s a great frontman.  But I didn’t care enough to look into it any further.   But in fairness, his sound is good–a Pavement-adjacent sonic palette with hints of other genres poking in.  And his songs are really short.

Okay, so this review from Get Alternative says

The show was nearly sold out and super packed, a line around the block snaked down the street, to get inside the venue.  Finn Wolfhard, a Canadian actor/musician … is 23. He released his second solo album on July 10th.  He had a full band backing him up and their scrappy indie rock was fun and energetic. The lighting was excellent, mostly blue with bits of yellow shining through, and candelabras spread throughout the stage as a backdrop. This was a memorable show and an exciting night of music.

The review also mentions Sleeper’s Bell, who I didn’t know.

Opening up the show was Sleeper’s Bell, a band from Chicago who are in their mid twenties. They play indie folk and are fronted by vocalist Blaine Teppema and guitarist Evan Green, and played with a drummer and bassist as well for this tour. They seemed grateful for the opportunity to open for Finn and played a few songs from their latest album ‘Clover’ from 2025, as well as a smattering of new and unreleased songs. They had a quieter vibe to them and Blaine’s pretty voice shone through the instrumentation. A highlight of the set was the song ‘Corner’ a single from 2024. They finished up the set by playing ‘Hey Blue’ the final track from Clover.

They are definitely too quiet for me.

(more…)

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Rx Bandits / Catbite (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, July 18, 2026 // Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Catbite, Philadelphia, PA, Rx Bandits, Union Transfer on July 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 18 & 19, 2026] Rx Bandits / Catbite

Two years ago Rx Bandits played a show at Asbury Lanes and the following night at Union Transfer.  I was not familiar with Rx Bandits when they announced this show.  Indeed the only reason I was interested in at all was because Zeta was announced as the opener.

So I went to the Asbury Lanes show and really enjoyed them a lot.  I liked the music and I found the band members charming and entertaining.  There were people at the show ho were major diehard fans, and I felt a bit like poser, but I enjoyed myself.

I did seriously consider going to these shows, too.  The Asbury Lanes one didn’t work because I had been to two shows in a row before this one.  But I did think I might make the Union Transfer show (it would have been interesting to see them on a much bigger stage).  But as tends to happen, things got hectic and I wound up never buying a ticket.  So I stayed home.

Maybe in three years they’ll tour the Mandala album as well.

I saw Catbite open for Fishbone in April and really enjoyed their old school ska.  The venue I saw them in was really small and it would have been fun to see that in a larger, hometown venue.  But they’re not going anywhere and I’m sure I’ll be able to see them again.

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Vundabar “Gawk” ten year anniversary / Slow Fiction (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, June 14, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Drook, Philadelphia, PA, Slow Fiction, Union Transfer, Vundabar on June 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 14, 2026] Vundabar / Slow Fiction

I’ve seen Vundabar twice, although the first time was just a song when we arrived late.  The second time was at All Things Go.  And it made me really want to see them properly inside.

I missed them in 2024 when they came around and this tour–10 years of their Gawk album–seemed like a great way to see them.  There was some real miscommunication in my house and I wound up not going.  So I was bummed about it.  Vundabar does seem to tour quite often so I hope I’ll get to see them in the near future.

Drook was originally listed as the support act but it was changed to Slow Fiction.

Slow Fiction includes band members Julia Vassallo (vocals), Joseph Skimmons (guitar), Paul Knepple (guitar), Ryan Duffin (bass), and Akiva Henig (drums) who came together in New York City in March of 2021.  The band references Swervedriver, Broken Social Scene, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and speaks to breaking the patriarchy, shattering the gaze of toxic masculinity, and dismissing the notion of objectification. The music is refractive while the lyrics are uneasy, meant to make us reflect on the inexplicable image modern society allots to women.

This would have been a stellar show and I wish I had gotten my act together.  Luckily, Slow Fiction is opening for actual Swervedriver in August.

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Built to Spill (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, June 3, 2026)

Posted in Built to Spill, Guerrilla Toss, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 3, 2026] Built to Spill

Built to Spill is a fascinating band.  I’ve seen them seven times.  They change their setlist nightly which is awesome, and even some of the bigger “hits” don’t get played every show.  They didn’t play Carry the Zero the last time I saw them and there’s no song that they’ve played at every show (I Would Hut a Fly is pretty close).

So they are an indie rock band who tour a lot but who don’t put out a ton of new music.  And yet their fan base is devoted (and pretty obnoxious).  The age range is pretty broad, but there are a mix of twenty-somethings scattered in there who are awful–drunken bros and chatty girls.  The girls next to me couldn’t stop talking and taking pictures of each other and the bros at the bar were audible during the quiter moments–one of them even said something about the bass player which was borderline salacious.

This is the third time I’ve seen the band with this lineup: Melanie Radford on bass and Teresa Esguerra on drums.  It’s the most times I’ve seen them with the same players.  And they have really been gelling.  Onec of the most fun parts of the shows is when Dug does a lengthy improvised solo and Melanie steps back and looks over at Teresa and they smile and get into a tight groove.  It’s great!

Teresa plays in Prism Bitch who opened for BtS back in 2019 and Melanie Radford plays in Blood Lemon who opened for BTS in 2022.  As a trio, they are fantastic.  A friend of mine says he misses the larger band, and yea, it is cool when there are two guitars playing off each other, but this format give Dug a lot of space to play around.

Every setlist is different, even from show to show.  I’m intrigued, though, that they never play songs from Ancient Melodies of the Future (I’ve only seen them play one song from that record).  But as for the other albums, he mixes it up.  And tonight’s show started with Some Other Song and Spiderweb.  The crowd was really loud after his solos–I’m fascinated that there’s so many people who enjoy jammy guitar solos.

I was psyched to hear The Plan, a personal favorite.  It was followed by The Wait which I haven’t seen them play since 2019.

By this time I was getting really annoyed by the girls near me.  They were talking so much.  And I wanted to let it not bother me but they were so annoying.  But they were also apparently really into the show.  They were excited by Center of the Universe, but I have to wonder what songs they really like.

They started Tomorrow, a song I had not heard them play before and a guy at the far left of the crowd shouted They’re Playing My Song!  And he bounced his way to the middle right in front of me, obnoxiously singing and facing everyone until he pushed his way to the barrier ans shouted along. Security came a few moments later and the loud girls next to me started shouting No No, He didn’t…  whatever.  At that point I had to leave the area because I hated everyone.  I was glad my wife hadn’t come because the crowd was awful. (more…)

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L.A. Witch (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2026) [THE BLACK ANGELS]

Posted in L. A. Witch, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, Union Transfer on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 21, 2026] L.A. Witch

I hadn’t heard of L.A. Witch before this show, but the name sounded promising.  I’m not sue what I expecting, but this band did not bring that.  There was nothing witchy–comical or otherwise) about their songs, which were kind of slow and surfy.

I guess if I had just looked at Wikipedia I would have seen that that is exactly what they sound like:

the band’s sound has been described as a “mix of forlorn psych folk, lethargic lo-fi blues and boozy garage rock drones steeped in moody, drugged-out surf reverb.”

Sade Sanchez (vocals, guitar) plays a hollow bodied electric guitar with lots of reverb.  A couple of songs picked up the pace with Irita Pai’s bass propelling Drive Your Car, but Sanchez’ voice just didn’t do anything for me.  Drummer Ellie English was solid, but with the simple music, there wasn’t too much excitement there.  But, I guess that’s the deal with garage rock, right? (more…)

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The Black Angels (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2026)

Posted in L. A. Witch, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, Union Transfer on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 21, 2026] The Black Angels

The Black Angels are a psychedelic band from Austin, Texas.  I’ve known about them for about ten years.  Their music sounds pretty similar from album to album–fuzzy guitars, catchy riffs and Alex Maas’ recognizable haunting voice.  I saw them in 2022 and really enjoyed their set, although I remember being surprised at how minimal everything was.  It was also pretty dark on stage–so it was hard to see everyone clearly.

And that proved to be if not the same, then similar for this show.

This was a tour of their debut album Passover.  This album isn’t my favorite of theirs, but I do enjoy a full album show. I got into The Black Angels with their second album and my favorite one is Indigo Meadows, but as they played the album in full I realized just how much I do like it.

I also had  to laugh because there’s a guy who my wife and I saw at the MMJ concert who we called Jim James.  We saw him again at Band of Horses, then I saw him at Pallbearer and now at this one.  He’s a nice guy, a real headbanger.  He and his friends were having a great time at all of these shows, so I figured I was in for a good time.

Before the band came on, their logo was projected on the stage, spinning like the inside of a record.  Then the band came out and most of the lighting on stage was provided by the projections behind them.  This cast the band in eerie lights–sometimes moving shapes, sometimes stripes, visuals that obscured more than they illuminated.  And, connecting to the cover of Passover, it was all black and white.

The opening song, Young Men Dead, featured big fuzzy guitars in a simple riff that introduced Alex Maas’ vocals.  They have a new bassist since 2024, Misti Hamrick who also plays keys.   She and guitarist Jake Garcia switched off on bass (his bass was loud and ponderous on The First Vietnam War).   Although Christian Bland is the primary lead guitarist, Garcia does his fair share as well, playing the intro riff on The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven. (more…)

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