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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

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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Guerilla Toss (Asbury Lanes, June 3, 2026) [BUILT TO SPILL]

Posted in Built to Spill, Guerrilla Toss, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 3, 2026] Guerilla Toss

Back in December, Built to Spill and Guerilla Toss played a show at Union Transfer.  I was really excited to go, but it was right after my surgery so I couldn’t make it.  I was especially bummed because I have wanted to see Guerilla Toss for a while.

So it’s awesome that they continued the tour together this summer.

I had heard a lot about Guerilla Toss’ live show and how wild it was.  Reviews I’ve read suggest that back in 2014, Guerilla Toss was a wild band with nudity and short sets.  They have now become far more traditional, but they are still plenty weird.  It’ sjut that now there are catchy, danceable moments within the noise.

So, this show wasn’t particularly wild, but the songs were great and weird and singer Kassie Carlson is a wonderful presence onstage (with great vocal dynamics).  She has a diverse delivery style, sounding at times like the B52s, but also making some fascinating squeaky sounds.

Their bassist Zach Lewelleyn has some fantastic bass lines in the songs.  He’s also either really tall or playing a fairly small bass guitar.  Guitarist Arian Shafiee (who founded the band) plays equally weird riffs and chords.

I couldn’t really see Peter Negroponte (another co-founder) on drums, but he did sing backing vocals a lot. (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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An evening with They Might Be Giants (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 15, 16 & 17, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, They Might Be Giants, Union Transfer on May 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 15, 16 & 17, 2026] They Might Be Giants [rescheduled from March 13, 2020, September 8, 2020, April 15, 2021 and March 22, 2022 moved to January 12, 2023]

Back in 2022, my wife and I saw They Might Be Giants at Union Transfer in a very sold out room.  It was a fun night celebrating the anniversary of Flood.  Here they were, four years later playing THREE nights at Union Transfer.  With this simple promise

➡️Three Nights with @tmbgofficial
👉The Bigger Show Tour. Only 2026 area appearances!
👉3 very different shows. 2 “Evening with” performances. 8-piece band.
3 horns. 2 sets. 0 openers. Starts early. Gets loud.

This was basically something you wanted to get tickets to al three nights and I just didn’t think I had it in me to do it.  I also assumed that something else would come up that would make it impossible to see all three nights.  Amazingly nothing did.  But as I said, I just didn’t think I could do it.

I’m sure it was a lot of fun though.  Here’s some details

Night 1 focused on Factory Showroom [29 songs]
Night 2 focused on John Henry [30 songs]
Night 3 focused on Lincoln [34 songs]

Clearly night 3 was the one to go to.  I probably should have grabbed a ticket for that one at least.  Alas.

 

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CMAT / Blond in Car (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, May 12, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Blond in Car, CMAT, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on May 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 12, 2026] CMAT / Blond in Car

CMAT wrote one of my favorite songs of recent years, When a Good Man Cries.  The chorus/end of this song gets me every single time.  I crank it and sing along.

But I don’t really like most of the rest of her music–it’s too country for me.

Yet I dithered about going because I love that song so much and I wanted to get goose bumps from the harmonies.  And then I watched a live video and … hated it.  The harmonies were off, the power wasn’t there.  Now, this wasn’t a concert video, exactly.  But it was a live recording from somewhere.  Maybe that’s not how her live shows go.  Maybe she and her band kill it live.

But that excuse led me to not feel bad about missing her show.

Of course, we later wound up getting tickets to see Courtney Barnett that night, so it really didn’t matter.

Blond in Car is the project of Robin Schorr.  Before making music, Schorr was a successful film producer whose filmography includes How to Build a Better Boy (Disney Channel). At the beginning of the 2020s after a long film career, she decided to start making indie pop music under the name Blond in Car and it would unexpectedly become a second career for her when her song my high gummy girl became a viral hit on TikTok.

I liked her song Bad Dad (with Mannequin Pussy!) but didn’t really like her first album so much.

It’s cute and probably delightful live.  Maybe someday.

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