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Soft Blue Shimmer (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2024) [TOUCHÉ AMORÉ]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Portrayal of Guilt, Soft Blue Shimmer, Soul Glo, Touché Amoré, Union Transfer on November 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2024] Soft Blue Shimmer

I invited my son to this show because I had seen Touché Amoré last year and they were fantastic.  He was at school and I picked him up and we drove to Philly together.  The plan was to get there really early and have dinner and then meander to the show.  If we missed any bands, that was okay because I didn’t really know the other bands (except Soul Glo).

I had listened to Soft Blue Shimmer and really liked them and I was a little bummed if we’d missed them.  But it turned out that our dinner was fairly quick and we arrived at Union Transfer in time to see almost the entire set from Soft Blue Shimmer (we may have missed one or two songs).

Given the rest of the bands on the tour, Soft Blue Shimmer seems like an outlier–their name is a great descriptor of their sound (while the other bands are pretty or very heavy).  It’s a testament to Touché Amoré’s tastes that their openers were so varied.

The band is Charlie Crowley on guitar and vocals, Kenzo Cardenas on drums, and Meredith Ramond on vocals and bass.  There was a fourth member at our show but I didn’t catch a name.

The setlist below is based on a show from the following night but seems pretty accurate.

Their songs are soft and shimmery, a delightful mix of shoegaze and pop.  Both singers sound great together and the rest of the band fills out the sound nicely.

I would definitely see them again.

2024
9090 ♥
Chihiro ≅
Shinji ∅
Emerald Bells ≅
Memory/Fantasy ♥
Canti §
Love Being ♥



§ single (2024)
♥ Love Lives in the Body (2022)
≅ Heaven Inches Away (2020)
∅ Nothing Happens Here EP (2019)

 

 

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Osees / Godcaster (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 26, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Godcaster, Osees, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 26, 2024] Osees

Three years ago I saw Osees and really enjoyed the chaotic energy of the show.  Since then they have returned every year in mid October.

Last year  had an appointment scheduled that ran really late and made me unable to get to the show.   This year, I bought tickets for the show in February.

But this year my daughter’s birthday conflicted (as it tends to do) and I wasn’t able to go out that night.  I really would like to see Osees again.  Maybe if they come back around this year I can go.

Godcaster is a screamy noise band from Brooklyn.  Pitchfork wrote of them that their music is “teetering right on the edge of irredeemable obnoxiousness, daring you to resist their charm and lightning-fast musicianship.”  Another reviewer says of their show “If you’ve seen Godcaster live, you know they put on a show as if they were in a crowd of thousands.”  That’s a cool recommendation, and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard.

Maybe I’ll get to see them as well.

 

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Boris (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 19, 2024)

Posted in Joy Division, New Order, Peter Hook & The Light, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 19, 2024] Boris 

I saw Boris last year.  It was great, of course.  And I ended my post about that show with

I wonder if we’ll get a drone show from them next time?

And did we ever!  This was a tour of their second album, Amplifier Worship.  65 minutes of loud heavy drone music.

When I arrived., the place was pretty crowded, but that’s because everyone was online to buy merch. The venue was almost empty because there were 150 people waiting to buy the kick ass poster.  I figured I’d wat until after the show to get the kick ass poster, but after waiting for ten minutes and the line not moving at all, I gave up and went home.

They came out.  Muchio was on drums.  This was the first time I’d seen him play with Boris (and I didn’t know he was on this tour).  This explained why there was a smaller drumset facing the larger drumset.  Then Takeshi came out with his double neck guitar and Wata walked out to her station.

Muchio smashed the gong, the music began to swell, Atsuo came on stage and commanded everyone’s attention.  He’s usually behind the kit so I’ve never actually seen him out from before.  He stood at the front of the stage, arms outstretched and half of the crowd raised their arms in (amplifier) worship.  I loved how long he stood there absorbing the adoration as the other three played a wall of noise.

“Huge” opened with heavy, loud chords from Wata and Takeshi.  Atsuo stood and absorbed everything.  Eventually he and Takeshi screamed the vocals.  “Huge” is 9 minutes on record.  I don’t know how long it was live. (more…)

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Starcrawler (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 19, 2024) [BORIS]

Posted in Boris, Philadelphia, PA, Starcrawler, Union Transfer on October 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 19, 2024] Starcrawler

Starcrawler goes down as probably the biggest let down from a build up for me at a concert.

I had wanted to see Starcrawler for about 5 years because I had heard such great things about their live show.  Since then, their show had evolved (as it probably should) and instead of the crazy rockers I thought I was getting, instead, I got a cocksure LA band who were snotty to the crowd and way overconfident in an unpleasant way.

So, while I might normally have been really excited to see them, I was a little bummed that they were opening for Boris without hearing anything new from them.

There’s a few songs by them that I really do like.  And they didn’t play either “Hollywood Ending” or “No More Pennies.” But the did play the two songs that I liked least when I saw them last time, covers of two genuinely terrible songs, If You’re Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough and Pet Sematary (easily the worst Ramones song ever).

The one thing that made me happy was when Wata from Boris came out and played guitar on Kick Me. (more…)

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Yard Act (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 10, 2024)

Posted in Omni, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Yard Act on October 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 10, 2024] Yard Act

I had tickets to see Yard Act last back in 2022.  That show was cancelled at the last minute because Yard Act was called back home to do a live TV appearance for the Mercury Prize (surely a lot more lucrative than playing a gig at Underground Arts).

But they returned to Underground Arts last year and I grabbed a ticket.  My expectations were mild and they blew me away with their energy and fun.

Yard Act are very British (being from Leeds).  On record, “singer” James Smith mostly rants and speaks angrily in his accented English.  His lyrics are placed over some very cool guitars from Sam Shipstone and some really grooving bass from Ryan Needham.  Drummer Jay Russell keeps things together.

For this tour they added two backing singers Daisy Smith and Lauren Fitzpatrick who made a surprising difference to the show.  Their vocal contributions were great but it was their physical presence that added a lot to the show.  They also added a keyboardist Christopher Duffin who fleshed out the sounds–I’m not sure if he was making some of the really weird sounds that floated through the background, but I assume so. (more…)

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Omni (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 10, 2024) [YARD ACT]

Posted in Omni, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Yard Act on October 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 10, 2024] Omni

Omni is a trio from Atlanta. I hadn’t heard of them and thought they were a new band.  Well, they are, but the members of the band have been around for a while.  Guitarist Frankie Broyles on guitar was in Deerhunter.  Drummer Chris Yonker has been in some other bands that I didn’t know and Philip Frobos on vocals and bass has been in Carnivores.

This explains why this band of, what I assumed were young newbies, was so confident playing their off-kilter post punk.  And probably explains why I loved their set immediately.

I was in front of Frobos and it was cool watching him play bass lines that were more like lead lines than simply rhythm.  I also really liked the sound of his bass–clean but not sharp.

I was pretty far from Broyles, but I enjoyed that he played interesting guitar lines that complemented the bass–but it basically meant there was no simply chord playing going on.

Granite Kiss was staccato with fluid lead guitar lines over the stomping bass and drums.  (more…)

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Mass of the Fermenting Dregs / Young Statues (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 8, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Mass of the Fermenting Dregs, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Young Statues on October 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 8, 2024] Mass of the Fermenting Dregs / Young Statues

I saw Mass of Fermenting Dregs last year and the show was amazing.  It was at Underground Arts and it was packed and the crowd was insane.  I was really looking forward to seeing them at Union Transfer.  I knew a bigger stage would lead to an even better show (and better sight lines as I was too far back at UA).

And then Kishi Bashi announced his Philly show was going to be the same night.  And since my wife and I love Kishi Bashi, he took precedence.

The Kishi Bashi show was great, but I’m bummed to have missed MotD.  (Although looking at the setlist, it was mostly the same show.  But I still would have enjoyed it!). (more…)

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Mannequin Pussy (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, September 27, 2024)

Posted in Mannequin Pussy, Margaritas Podridas, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 27, 2024] Mannequin Pussy

After I saw Mannequin Pussy in May I was certain that I didn’t need to see them again.  But when they announced that they were playing in Asbury Park with Margaritas Podridas opening, I knew I had to go!

Margaritas was fantastic, but I couldn’t get over how crowded the place had gotten for Mannequin Pussy.  When I saw them in Philly, I knew that they would sell out (three shows!).  And I know that Asbury isn’t that far from Philly, but sometimes the shows don’t really translate.  But wow, it was packed.

I moved to the higher level (which I didn’t even realize was open for shows).  And that’s where the ADA section was.  So I grabbed a high stool and could see the stage perfectly.

One thing I’ve always noticed about me though is that if I’m not in the mix on the floor, I tend to not get fully involved in the show.  So even though the band sounded great I was mostly thinking about how I saw them first in 2018 when they opened for Japandroids.  They were pretty unknown at the time and didn’t have much of a stage thing going on.  But now, they were like rockstars.

Marisa Dabice’s hair was flowing, she was wearing a fancy crop top (that she must have known couldn’t hold her breasts since she had tape on the nipples.  The stage looked great and it felt like a big show. (more…)

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The Get Up Kids: 25 Years of Something to Write Home About / Smoking Popes (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Smoking Popes, The Get Up Kids, Union Transfer on September 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 27, 2024] The Get Up Kids / Smoking Popes

Back in 2022 I wrote

My friend Al got me into The Get Up Kids back in the early 2000s.  “Mass Pike” is a frequently played song on road trips.  My Get Up Kids album is Something to Write Home About.  I never really got that into Four Minute Mile.  So, even though this show could have been fun, it wouldn’t quite have been for me.

And here they are two years later touring for that very album.

But it was the same night that I was going to see Mannequin Pussy and Margaritas Podridas, who I was really excited to see.

So, once again I missed The Get Up Kids.

Smoking Popes seem like an unlikely opening act.  I didn’t even know they were still a band.  I enjoyed their Born to Quit album quite a bit.  And the one after that was pretty good too.  Apparently at some point in their career, someone in the band became a Christian and the band broke up.

Then they reunited about twenty years ago (!) and have put out a few records since.   I’m sure it would have been fun to hear the old songs again.  Maybe I’ll bust them out on Spotify.

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Margaritas Podridas (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, September 27, 2024) [MANNEQUIN PUSSY]

Posted in Mannequin Pussy, Margaritas Podridas, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 27, 2024] Margaritas Podridas

I’m not sure how I first heard about Mexico’s Margaritas Podridas, but as soon as I did I wanted to see them live.  They had yet to play on the East Coast of the U.S. but they did open for Mannequin Pussy on the West Coast, so I was pretty excited that they were at least playing in the U.S.

When they were announced as the support for Mannequin Pussy in Asbury, I had to get tickets even if I had just seen the headliners in May (and really I was happy to see them again so soon).

The band came out as a trio (they are listed as a quartet in all their promo material) and proceeded to rip the house down.

Margaritas Podridas does play some shoegaze, but at this show they were in full on rage mode (as their newest singles have indicated).

They opened with a killer 2022 single “No quiero ser madre” (I don’t want to be a mother), and bassist Carolina Enríquez demonstrated that in addition to having a lovely singing voice, she can strip paint off the walls with her screams.

The rowdy Asbury Park crowd responded immediately.

Going forward, she introduced every song with the English translation of the title, playing the two songs from their 2023 single Corazón and Muñeca (Heart and Doll)

The song “Vómito” (no translation needed) even featured her retching.  That song from 2023 and “Tornillo” (Screw) are from a 2023 single.

They slowed things down for the middle section with the shoegazey “Wow” and the starts-as-shoegaze but then gets really intense “Parabrisas” (Windshield).

Then it was back to the heavy, grungy “Margaritas” (Daisies).  At this point the crowd started a small mosh pit–a rarity for an opening band, but the crowd was totally into it.

Things got even more intense (with lots more screaming) on “Agujas” (Needles) and “Pólvora” (Gunpowder).

They played one song in English (their first album was all in English) called Malign, and then ended  the set with a blistering “Filosa ” (Philosopher).  When the song ended, the band jut exploded with sound, with feedback galore and Carolina scratching her bass against the mic stand.

By then the pit had pushed me pretty far away from where I started, and I feel like the band really appreciate the crowd’s energy.

I would happily see them again.  Such a great energy.  I also enjoyed that they were really happy to be in New Jersey because they love My Chemical Romance.

2024 Asbury
No quiero ser madre Ø
Corazón ♥
Muñeca ♥
Vómito ⊗
Tornillo ⊗
Wow ∪
Parabrisas ∪
Margaritas ∪
Agujas λ
Pólvora §
Malign λ
Filosa ⊗

§ single (2024)
♥ Corazón de Muñeca single (2023)
⊗ single (2023)
Ø single (2022)
∪ Margaritas Podridas (2021)
λ Porcelain Mannequin (2018)

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