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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

Yuno (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 13, 2018) [SUPERORGANISM]

Posted in New Order, Philadelphia, PA, Shabazz Palaces, Superorganism, Union Transfer, Yuno on September 13, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 13, 2018] Yuno

I had heard of Yuno, but hadn’t realized it.  All Songs Considered played his song “No Going Back” back in February.  I liked it but had forgotten about it come September.

When I saw the poster for the Superorganism show and saw that Yuno was opening I assumed it was a dance band (possibly Japanese, probably female).  But I didn’t investigate.

So I was surprised when Yuno came out and he was an African-American dude from Florida.  As soon as he said his name (like “you know”) I remembered joking about the pronunciation of his name on the podcast and it all came flooding back.

Yuno is a 27-year-old from Jacksonville.  He recorded a lot of his work in his bedroom and posted it on Soundcloud.  In what sounds like a made up story Ishmael Butler of Shabazz Palaces started tracking him on Souncloud and eventually reached out to him to record an EP with SubPop.  (Yuno didn’t tell us this, I looked it up). (more…)

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First Aid Kit (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 8, 2018)

Posted in First Aid Kit, Heart, Kate Bush, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Union Transfer on September 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 8, 2018] First Aid Kit

Seven month ago Sarah and I saw First Aid Kit (sold out) at Union Transfer.  Now here they were back in Philly seven months later playing at the larger Fillmore.

We both enjoyed that earlier show a lot (obviously).  I wasn’t sure if it was smart seeing the band again on the same tour (as with Sloan, there was a lot of duplication).  But there was something quite different about this show compared to the first one.

The (very beautiful) poster was different and this leg of the tour was called the Rebel Hearts Tour (whereas the first one was called the Ruins tour).  So what this meant was that they were still playing mostly songs from their new album Ruins, although not all of them, and, indeed, not the title song.  But they’d added a new song (woohoo!) and one from Ruins that they didn’t play last time.

In a nutshell, it felt like a very different show even though it was more or less the same show. (more…)

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Julia Jacklin (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 8, 2018) [FIRST AID KIT]

Posted in First Aid Kit, Julia Jacklin, Phantastic Ferniture, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Union Transfer on September 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 8, 2018] Julia Jacklin

I had heard about Julia Jacklin from NPR, so I was intrigued to see her live.  Jacklin is Australian, but you can’t really tell from her singing voice (or her speaking voice, really).  Although the way she enunciates “buh sket ball” makes her sound conspicuously non-American.  I had heard a song called “Don’t Let the Kids Win” which contains that basketball.  The title is amusing and I knew she was lyrically dense, so Iassumed there’d be amusing lines throughout the show.  But indeed, no.

Jacklin is not a partier, but nor is she a downer either.  She is thoughtful and inquisitive.  Her music, even live, is fairly spare–except when it’s not–and she sings pretty quietly–except when she doesn’t.

She was charming and funny–delightful in an opening act.  She played a quick six songs and that was that.

“Lead Light” has a kind of old school swing to it, almost 50s rock and roll.  I enjoyed the way the song built and stopped several times.

Her band, three Canadian guys, Harry (lead guitar) Eddie (bass) and Ian (drums) kept perfect accompaniment and backing vocals. (more…)

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 18, 2018)

Posted in Australia, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 18, 2018] King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

‘I’ve been a fan of Melbourne’s King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard since I heard Nonagon Infinity which came out in 2016.  SET

Since that record, the band have released five full length albums (five in 2017!).

And that kind of dedication to making music has seen their fanbase grow and grow.

From the 140 capacity Kung Fu Necktie in 2014 to the 650 capacity Underground Arts in 2016 to the 1,200 capacity Trocadero in 2016 (I found out about this show literally two weeks after it had happened or I would have been there!)  And now finally to selling out Union Transfer (a higher profile show to be sure).

When the band came around in 2016, most of their set came from the then new Flying Microtonal Banana, but here they were one year and four albums later.  What would they play?

They played twenty songs dividing them between Murder of The Universe, Polgondwanaland (their fifth album of 2017, coming out on New Year’s Eve) and Banana, as well as a few from Gumboot Soup (yet another 2017 release) and Nonagon Infinity.  They went back to an earlier album for “Cellophane,” but this show was all about the newest stuff. (more…)

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Amyl and the Sniffers (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 18, 2018) [KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD]

Posted in AC/DC, Amyl and the Sniffers, Australia, Beat, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 18, 2018] Amyl and the Sniffers

I had never heard of Melbourne’s Amyl and the Sniffers before this show.

From their name, it’s pretty obvious what the band is all about.  They’re a four-piece, bass, guitar, drums and Amyl up front.  They play short, fast, loud rockers.  On their bandcamp site they have released ten songs totalling about twenty minutes.

And they were pretty fun.

This song shows their garage rock sensibility.

Amyl is an enjoyable frontwoman.  I think we were taken more with her thick Melbourne accent than any words she may have been saying. (more…)

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Parquet Courts (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 8, 2018)

Posted in Goat Girl, Parkay Quarts, Parquet Courts, Philadelphia, PA, Street Stains, The Ramones, Union Transfer, Venom on June 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 8, 2018] Parquet Courts

2017-01-31-22-13-40I saw Parquet Courts a year and a half ago at this very venue.  At the time I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see them again, but it had been a fun show.  Their new album was also fun, so why not?

They played 10 of the 13 new songs from Wide Awake.  But they also played a lot of older songs too (19 songs in total including a Ramones cover of “Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World.”

But they started with the lead song of the new album, “Total Football.”  The end of the song “and fuck Tom Brady” got a huge reaction from the crowd (since Philly beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl). (more…)

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Goat Girl (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 8, 2018) [PARQUET COURTS]

Posted in Goat Girl, Parkay Quarts, Parquet Courts, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 8, 2018] Goat Girl

Goat Girl are a massive buzz band in England.

Back in March, The Guardian had this to say:

Fearless, omnivorous Goat Girl (named in reference to Bill Hicks’s lusty alter ego, Goat Boy) found each other, and their sound, in Brixton indie venue the Windmill, signing to Rough Trade (over Domino and XL) two years ago before releasing anything. Taking their time and choosing the right home has served them well – their eponymous debut sounds self-assured: 19 songs crafted with care, in which dirty grunge riffs take strange left turns.

I was surprised that they were playing here so soon, evidently on a multi-date tour with Parquet Courts.  But they proved to be an excellent compaion band to parquet Courts since they have a punk, DIY aesthetic but don’t stick to one genre of music

I’ll let NME describe their album:

The four piece’s debut album is a grubby, clattering thing that takes its lead from 1980s LA punk trailblazers like X and The Gun Club, who took traditional country music and fed it moonshine until it fell down in a ditch, then scraped the mud off its jeans, handed it a microphone and a broken electric guitar and made it walk through broken glass to sing in a grotty toilet venue bar over a broken PA system. Goat Girl have mixed this scrappy sound with the gothic ennui of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and the doomy experimentalism of Tom Waits. The result is a late-night swagger through the murky underbelly of the town that Clottie Cream, Rosy Bones, Naima Jelly and L.E.D. – not, we assume, their birth names – call home, coming in at 19 swirling songs in 40 punchy minutes. It even includes a song that describes their very sound, the Pixies-esque belter ‘Country Sleaze’, thus rendering the past paragraph of me picking apart their sonics almost entirely pointless. Ah well.

Goat Girl was a lot of fun.  They played for about 40 minutes, presumably their whole album, although I didn’t know it. (more…)

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Street Stains (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 8, 2018) [PARQUET COURTS]

Posted in Parkay Quarts, Parquet Courts, Philadelphia, PA, Pissed Jeans, Q and Not U, Street Stains, Union Transfer on June 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 8, 2018] Street Stains

Street Stains are from Washington D.C.  They are a duo consisting of guitar and drums.

Guitarist Chris Richards (who was in Q and Not U) plays a spare guitar and simple riffs.  It amused me that he never really took his hood off as he shouted the lyrics.

Drummer Sean McGuinness (who also plays in Pissed Jeans) played some really complex fills and kept the simple songs from growing dull.

He had some things to say about parties in Washington D.C. and how they suck (I assume as an introduction to “The Party.”

I also enjoyed that they have a song called “Street Stains” and one called “Somewhere Over the Chemtrails.” (more…)

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Japanese Breakfast (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2018)

Posted in Japanese Breakfast, Philadelphia, PA, Radiator Hospital, Union Transfer on June 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2018] Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast is the creation of Philadelphia-based Michelle Zauner.  She sings pretty melodies and has a variety of tones when she sings–some high-pitched notes and some lower parts as well.

A lot of bands celebrate in some way when they play a home town.  Sometimes its an extra song or a guest.  I don’t really know how this show deviated from other in terms of set list, but Zauner had a lot to celebrate being back at Union Transfer.

[Quotes and quoted passages are from an article in The Key

“I fucking used to work coat check here,” Zauner told the audience as she gazed into the sold out crowd at UT.

She said this just after she’d sung her first song “Diving Woman.”  It was the first time she had headlined Union Transfer.  She said she felt a bit shy playing here because so many friends and family were in attendance.  And she talked a lot about her connections to the city.  She graduated from Bryn Mawr college and she recorded both Japanese Breakfast albums in Philly.   (more…)

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LVL UP (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2018) [JAPANESE BREAKFAST]

Posted in LVL UP, Philadelphia, PA, Silver Jews, Union Transfer on June 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2018] LVL UP

I had two ideas of what LVL UP sounded like.  I thought they were either a punky crazy band or were a poppy band.

Turns out they were neither.  They’re more punk than pop, but there’s a kind of a DIY quality to their music more than anything polished.

I was also delighted to see that they have three singers (and I assume songwriters) as well.  For this show, they basically went around the horn with who sang lead.

Bassist Nick Corbo started off with “Angel From Space.”   He was followed by guitarist Mike Caridi with his more angular song “Blur.”  Then came second guitarist Dave Benton with his more chill sounding “Soft Power.”

The only one who didn’t sing was drummer Greg Rutkin.

Then they repeated the cycle.  Nick Corbo with his big old-fashioned looking bass played the slower “Five Men on the Ridge.”  Back to Caridi with a new song (all the others are, I believe on their new album.  It was followed by Benton’s “I Feel Extra Natural” which references the Silver Jews.

They went through the cycle of singers one more time and then played a couple more songs at the end.  It was cool that they kept things moving and all sounding pretty different while maintaining their overall vibe.

 

 

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