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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

Kælan Mikla (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 20, 2025) [ALCEST]

Posted in Alcest, Kaelan Mikla, Kælan Mikla, Mono, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on February 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 20, 2025] Kælan Mikla

I had never heard of Kælan Mikla before this show was announced.  And, since I love music from afar  Was instantly intrigued by this is Icelandic band whose name means (according to Google) The Great Chill or (according to Wikipedia) Lady of the Cold.

They are a trio of Laufey Soffía on lead vocals, Margrét Rósa Dóru-Harrýsdóttir on bass and Sólveig Matthildur Kristjánsdóttir. on keys and more (although only keys for this show).

They came out on stage in dark and spooky lighting (later when I saw them at the merch table, I saw that they had interesting cracked and cobwebby makeup under their eyes.  And Soffia was dressed in an all black gown (seemingly made of toile) with super long fingernails.  It was like a goth flashback and I loved it.

So I guess this music is darkwave, a genre I don’t really know.  I feel like the few darkwave songs I’ve heard I didn’t like.  But maybe seeing it live is a different story, because the whole gothy presentation was fantastic.  I couldn’t really hear Soffia’s vocals (in part because they were in Icelandic, but mostly because of where I was standing), but she sang in variants of quiet, almost whispery singing and screams.  But it combined perfectly to generate a really retro spooky feel with cool modern feminist trappings.  (more…)

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Lauren Mayberry (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 17, 2025)

Posted in Chvrches, Cult of Venus, Lauren Mayberry, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on February 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 17, 2025] Lauren Mayberry

I was a fan of Chvrches when their first album came out.  Then I kind of lost track of them.  But in that time my wife became a fan.  We missed their last tour in Philly (back in 2021 (!)).  When Lauren Mayberry released a solo album, we both loved the single “Something in the Air” and  thought it would be neat to see her live.

The show didn’t sell very well, which was surprising I thought, since Chvrches has sold out Franklin Music Hall, a much bigger venue.  But it meant that we had a really intimate show, which was awesome.

Overall I liked most of the album Vicious Creature, although there were a few songs that I wasn’t that excited by.  But wow, these songs were fantastic live!  

She had two band members on stage and, I think, a guy on the side with a bank of Apple laptops (I joked that it looked like an Apple store–there were about five!).  The two members on stage were Marian Li-Pino on drums and Heather Nation doing guitar or bass depending on the song.  Later in the set, Heather played piano and Marian played guitar for a song, too.

Heather Nation was ferocious on guitar–generating great sounds.  And Marian Li-Pino was a beast on the drums.  They had a cool cymbal that was bent and made a great metallic, non-cymbal sound.  And Lauren Mayberry was an excellent front woman–she knows how to perform a show.   And what a voice!  I mean, it was amazing.

She played the entire album.  The bangers were amazing–bigger and louder than I expected.  The quieter songs were pretty, a little too mellow for my enjoyment, but hey, you need to vary the mood.  (more…)

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Cult of Venus (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 17, 2025) [LAUREN MAYBERRY]

Posted in Chvrches, Cult of Venus, Lauren Mayberry, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on February 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 17, 2025] Cult of Venus

It was a cold windy night when we headed out to this show.  Luckily, we managed to get really close parking (Monday night shows are good for that).  Which meant we were plenty early to see the opening act, Cult of Venus.

Cult of Venus has had a lot of mystery surrounding her.  I’m sure her identity is known (I didn’t look too hard to find it), but the two main articles I saw gave this info:

Forgoing any photos to remain completely anonymous and undefined, Cult of Venus have given themself the perfect platform from which to build and long and exciting career. ][They make] music that illustrates and illuminates the dystopian world today, challenging the patriarchy and resonating with the “divine feminine.” Her on-the-ground activist work includes support for incarcerated women and environmental protest movements. Her mysterious presentation is often shrouded in darkness, with her identity and face in the shadows. Her secretive appearance aligns her poetic soundscape in a way that not only drives more curiosity to her audience but is calming in a world so focused on desperate self-promotion.  With shows in all-female prisons and detention centres in the books already, as well as a show as part of New York City’s Women’s March, Cult of Venus have a big year planned while being rooted in reform.

They opened the show with a prerecorded message about strength in the face of oppression.  And then she came out, picked up her guitar and stood in front of the keyboard.  

The only problem to me was the fairly lengthy (I mean, it was probably less than a minute, but it was SO QUIET) pause before the first song started.  I feel like she could have timed that a little more smoothly.  But whatever.

She generated some beats and some synths and proved to have a fantastic voice.  When she played guitar, she clearly had it patched into an effects box because it didn’t sound like a guitar–it was very cool. (more…)

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Soccer Mommy (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2025)

Posted in L'Rain, Philadelphia, PA, Soccer Mommy, Union Transfer on January 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 25, 2025] Soccer Mommy

I saw Soccer Mommy back in 2021 and was surprised that it sold out.  And this show, four years later, also sold out.

After seeing her last time I knew what was to expect.  The only bad part was that I didn’t know her new album that well.

Sophie Allison (who is Soccer Mommy) plays guitar and sings.  She has a standard four piece behind her–Rollum Haas: drums, Nick Widener: bass, Julian Powell: guitar and Rodrigo Avendano: guitar/keys.

As I said last time, the band is really good and they bring these songs to life live in a more powerful way than on the album.

The thing that most surprised me last time and surprised me this time is that she played her big hits pretty early in the set.  Last time, Circle the Drain was her big single and she played it second!  Well, she played it second this time as well.

And her song Driver, which is one of my favorite songs of 2024 she played third!  It sounded amazing–her voice is fantastic live.

Then after playing one more new song she played the other big song that she had out recently, Shotgun.  So that was the three biggest songs I know by her all done within the first five songs.

After that she played a bunch of songs from the new album. I didn’t know them very well, but they sounded great.  However, the show slowed down quite a bit during these songs as each one was more chill than the previous.

At some point Eagles fans started a chant (there are Eagles fans at Soccer Mommy shows?)  Sophie asked what that was all about and then said I don’t really care about football, which led to a huge cheer.  (more…)

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L’Rain (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2025) [SOCCER MOMMY]

Posted in L'Rain, Philadelphia, PA, Soccer Mommy, Union Transfer on January 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 25, 2025] L’Rain

I saw L’Rain open for Animal Collective without knowing anything about them.  I was blown away.. I really liked the

extended jams that were full of everything–wild, weird guitars, drums that went from simple and gentle to thrash-worthy, and a saxophone that didn’t sound anything like a saxophone.   And Cheek’s voice.  Which she sampled in various ways, pitch shifting it, looping it on top of itself and creating an astonishing array of sounds.

But this show was a littkle different.

She started out with her first song (that comes from a soundtrack) and it was pretty quiet.  Cheek manipulated her voice and much, but it was mostly atmospheric.

The second song featured her on guitar playing an interesting rotating melody.  But it was also pretty quiet.  The keyboardist played some swirling saxophone solos.  I feel like both songs pushed the 6 minute mark.

The band took up about half of the stage and I was right in front of the drummer (no names were given).  During some of the songs, he went crazy, playing loud and fast while the rest of the band jammed and improvised.  He was my favorite player tonight.

The previous time, I was mesmerized by their guitarist because he was doing all kinds of interesting things [strange chords, or non-chords, making squeaking feedbacking sounds] but I didn’t really feel like he did that tonight.

Knead Bee and Uncertainty Principle showed that L’Rain largely plays an R&B base to her songs.  The songs were pretty chill and I was really missing the excitement of the previous show, although, again, I really like the way she manipulates sounds live.

And then she played a melody that was really familiar.  And once I realized that it was Portishead’s The Rip, I was ecstatic.  I’ve never seen Portishead live and although Beth Gibbons is coming to Philly, her solo stuff doesn’t interest me all that much.  But this version of The Rip was fantastic!  The guitar was perfect, the electronics kicked in exactly the right way and Cheek sang in the best Beth Gibbons style.  Hoy cow it was awesome.

So I was still in a good mood for the final song Two Face, a song she played last time that featured a little more of the chaos that I appreciated last time.

I actually had to wonder if L’Rain was crazier last time because they were opening for Animal Collective and contained themselves more for a less experimental headliner like Soccer Mommy.

 

2025 2022
Green Π Which Fork £
5 to 8 Hours a Day (WWwaG) ⊗ A Toes (Shelf Inside Your Head) £
Knead Bee ⊗ Find It €
Uncertainty Principle ⊗ Round Sun €
The Rip [Portishead cover] Kill Self €
Two Face € Blame Me €
Two Face €
Take Two €

£ L’Rain (2017)
€ Fatigue (2021)
⊗ I Killed Your Dog (2023)
Π I Saw the TV Glow soundtrack (2024)

 

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The Vaccines / Thus Love (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 16, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Vaccines, Thus Love, Union Transfer on January 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 16, 2025] The Vaccines / Thus Love

When this show was announced, I thought it would be a great first show of the year for me and the kids.

A couple of summers ago, my son listened to one of The Vaccines’ records almost constantly.  And My daughter and I saw Thus Love open for Crawlers back in 2022.  We really liked them and they were super friendly.

But it turns out my son only liked the one album by The Vaccines (their debut) and didn’t care for the rest.  I’m still amazed that I’d never heard of them (they had like six singles from the debut album).  And my daughter wasn’t really interested in going either. (more…)

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic X] (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2024)

Posted in Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, Union Transfer on December 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2024] Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic X]

I’ve seen Strand of Oaks five times now.  Three of these were Winter Classics.  I kind of assumed that I’d go to all of the Winter Classics (but I knew I wouldn’t make all of them).  However, I’m surprised that I haven’t seen one since Winter Classic V.

After a really fun opening set from Pat Finnerty and what was basically the rest of the Strand of Oaks band, they all came back, this time with Tim Showalter–and he received a very warm welcome.  I’m not sure how full the event was–the previous years he’s played two sold out nights at Johnny Brenda’s, but Union Transfer is much larger.

But the crowd was really into it, especially the guy a few people down from me who was jumping and pogoing through every song.

I can’t believe that it’s been five years since I last saw a Strand of Oaks show.  I really enjoyed his 2021 album In Heaven, but I didn’t enjoy the latest album Miracle Focus quite as much.  I didn’t really think this show would focus on that album–the Winter Classic is meant to be a fun night for Tim and the fans, and not a typical tour show).  But I was actually surprised how little he played from it, especially since his keyboard player was up front (and I felt a little too quiet).

Instead, he played six songs from In Heaven.  I was pretty pleased with the song selection, although there are a lot of older songs that I would have loved to hear too.

In between the In Heaven songs, he played Party at Monster Lake and Fantasy Wranglers from the new album and a great powerful version of Ruby.  At the end of Ruby he asked us if we’d mind if his friend Pat Finnerty played a fucking guitar solo and Pat did.  I had figured out that Pat was a remarkably talented musician from his improv set and from the solos he’d been playing, but for this solo, he played a really great solo that wasn’t obnoxiously showoffy or fancy, it was just grooving and rocking and the band was fully behind him. (more…)

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Pat Finnerty (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2024) [STRAND OF OAKS]

Posted in Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, Union Transfer on December 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2024] Pat Finnerty

Pat Finnerty opened for Strand of Oaks for the last three Winter Classics. And these three are the ones that I missed.

And now that I’ve seen him I’m even more bummed that I missed those three shows.  Because he was funny and he and his band were super talented.

Pat told us that he and his band (which was all of Strand of Oaks and his cousin Mike) were there to warm up Strand of Oaks and that this show was going to be all covers.

The house music was ZZ Top’s Legs and he said that they had to play the whole song if they had started it.  He won me over immediately by saying imagine going to your bandmates and saying hey, I’ve got a new song, it’s called Legs.  Band: What’s it about?

He then asked the keyboard player to learn the keyboard part so they could play Legs at the end of the set.

He also told us that he had cash and would give cash to anyone who earned it.  Last time, he saw some woman really dancing when he played a blues riff, she got $4.  At our show, a guy received $2. (more…)

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Ride (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2024)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ride, Rocket, Union Transfer on December 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 7, 2024] Ride

I’ve known of (and enjoyed some of) Ride’s music for decades.  I was never a huge fan, but there were a few songs that I liked a lot.

Last year, Ride played a show with the Charlatans, but a snowstorm kept me away.  So here was another chance to see them.

I didn’t realize that they had been broken up for 21 years when they released their reunion album in 2017.  Here it is 7 years after that and they’re still a going concern.

I didn’t know really anything since they’d reunited, so I didn’t really care what they played–I assumed they’d play the few songs that I did know since those were the hits.

And I really enjoyed the new songs quite a lot–they were some of my favorites of the night.  A guy up front (who was bouncing and dancing the whole show) shouted how great the new album was and the band got a kick out of it with Mark Gardener thanking him for the affirmation (they later gave him a pick and a setlist I believe). (more…)

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Rocket (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2024) [RIDE]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ride, Rocket, Union Transfer on December 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 7, 2024] Rocket

I’ve known of (and enjoyed some of) Ride’s music for decades.  I was never a huge fan, but there were a few songs that I liked a lot.

Last year, Ride played a show with the Charlatans, but a snowstorm kept me away.  So here was another chance to see them.

I hadn’t heard of the opening band (there are a few different bands called Rocket).  And it’s not lost one me that the marquee would read Rocket Ride.

This band 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.

When the first chord change of Portrait Show was exactly what I hoped it would be, I knew this band was for me.

I wished that Alithea Tuttle’s vocals were a little louder (it’s probably because I was standing s close to the stage) although the quieter mix worked well with the overall sound.  Her bass was great though, understated and used perfectly to emphasize some of the songs.  (more…)

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