Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

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.

 

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

Iron and Wine / Improvement Movement (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, May 11, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Improvement Movement, Iron & Wine, Iron and Wine, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on May 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 11, 2026] Iron and Wine / Improvement Movement

I have liked Iron and Wine for a while.  never quite enough to see him live, but I’ve thought about it a few times.  Then he did a (solo) Free at Noon in February and I went.  I enjoyed it a lot–his songs are wonderful and he is a great performer.

I was quite interested in going to this show, which was a full band show.  I dithered about it quite a bit and when it finally came around, I had two other shows that week so I gave this one a miss.  I’m sure he’ll be back though and I’ll try to make a point of seeing him.

Improvement Movement is an “acoustic grunge band” and “the social betterment campaign/prog-rock quartet/non-denominational cult from Atlanta, GA,”

Their first album is weird and cool–progressive and psychedelic.  Their second album is acoustic and very soft rock.  They’re probably fun live, but I’m not as interested in the music as I want to be.

Read Full Post »

Dry Cleaning (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2026) [rescheduled date]

Posted in Dry Cleaning, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, YHWH Nailgun on May 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 6, 2026] Dry Cleaning [rescheduled from February 1, 2026]

Back in February, Dry Cleaning had to reschedule their American tour until May.  Back in 2022, a family emergency prevented me from going to this show.  I was interested in Dry Cleaning who at the time were a kind of trendy British band.  They are of the spoken deadpan vocal/wild guitar noise variety.   I thought they’d be fun to see live once.

So I was glad I did get to see them live.  But what I figured by the end of the night was that you will enjoy them a lot more if you know their songs well.  This is more or less true for a lot of bands; however, there are many bands that I’ve seen where I didn’t know them at all, but I was blown away. With Dry Cleaning, it’s hard to hear the spoken, deadpan words.  So if you focus on the words, you miss out on all the interesting music being made. And if you focus on the music, the words just become another sound.

So I definitely didn’t get the most out of the show.

They are such an odd band to experience because the Tom Dowse plays really noisy, odd and, at times, abrasive guitar sounds.  Lewis Maynard plays some really interesting bass lines melodies and sometimes thumps along with the Nick Buxton on drums.  Regardless of what the band is doing, Florence Shaw speaks at the same volume and speed.

They opened with Sliced by a Fingernail a new single with really random loud guitar noises.  Dowse is interesting to watch as he moves around a bit generating these sounds.  But the bassline is catchy and Florence even doo-doo-doos sometimes.  Which isn’t that unusual since she does occasionally “sing” lines like that.  But mostly it’s a quiet spoken word vocal which is often drowned out by the music. (more…)

Read Full Post »

YHWH Nailgun (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2026) [DRY CLEANING] [rescheduled date]

Posted in Dry Cleaning, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, YHWH Nailgun on May 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 6, 2026] YHWH Nailgun [rescheduled from February 1, 2026]

I hadn’t heard of YHWH Nailgun (pronounced Yahweh Nailgun) before this tour.  They are a noise/experimental band from New York who originated in Philly.  I’m not sure if they were especially excited to play Philly since no one said anything before during or after the set.

Zack Borzone came out to the mic and made some noises–coos or barks or some such.  And he only got stranger from there.  Once the music started, he flapped his arms, he squatted down and stomped his feet.  He danced and swung his arms around and looked like he might fall over any second.  But he never did–controlled chaos.  Were there words?  I assume so.  Were they understandable? No.  Was it mesmerizing?  Absolutely.  He was also content to stare out at the crowd, making eye contact with everyone.  Unsettling.

Since I didn’t know anythig about them I didn’t know if the songs were as short as they seemed (they are–the longest song on their new album is 1 minute and 20 seconds.  And most of the time when the songs ended abruptly after 75 seconds with no indication that they were ending, there was a pause before everyone applauded. (more…)

Read Full Post »

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…)

Read Full Post »

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…)

Read Full Post »

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..

Read Full Post »

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)

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »