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Archive for the ‘Union Transfer’ Category

The Sound of Animals Fighting / Soft Blue Shimmer / The Casket Lottery / This Will Destroy You (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 4, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Soft Blue Shimmer, The Casket Lottery, The Sound of Animals Fighting, This Will Destroy You, Union Transfer on October 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 4, 2025] The Sound of Animals Fighting / Soft Blue Shimmer / The Casket Lottery / This Will Destroy You

I hadn’t heard of The Sound of Animals Fighting until I looked further into Anthony Green’s work.  Then I learned of this band and how they were a masked supergroup.  I gather they don’t wear masks anymore, but maybe they do.  The lineup is Rich Balling (Nightingale) Anthony Green (Skunk) Matt Embree (Walrus) Chris Tsagakis (Lynx) Steve Choi (Koala) Matthew Kelly (Wolf) Keith Goodwin (Penguin).  Two of the guys are from RX Bandits.

I was really interested in seeing them and seeing what their live show was like, but I already had events lined up for tonight, so I didn’t bother getting a ticket.  They seem to tour infrequently, so maybe they’ll be back.

I saw Soft Blue Shimmer open for Touche Amore and rally liked them.  I would have been happy to see them again.

I had not heard of The Casket Lottery but they have been around since 1997.  I listened to a couple of songs and liked them.  PunkNews says

Casket Lottery provide a lot of contrast in their music, and each song offers something different at every turn. Equal parts gritty and melodic, straining and beautiful. They’re obviously extremely tight and cohesive musicians, as everything flows very well together, with mathy drum beats, powerful bass, and guitar that can be clean and rhythmic, yet loud and crunching. Either sound can be put into a song without sounding forced or contrived, and it just builds off what came before it.

And they’re right, there’s a lot of stuff going on in these songs and I’m really surprised I hadn’t heard of them before.

This Will Destroy You is from Texas.  They formed in 2004, but I hadn’t heard of them either.  They play cinematic instrumentals not unlike Explosions in the Sky.  They sound great.

This would have been a fun (but long) night.

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Lord Sko (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025) [DELTRON 3030]

Posted in Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Deltron 3030, Kid Koala, Lealani, Lord Sko, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] Lord Sko

When this show was announced–Deltron 3030 playing their debut front to back– I grabbed two tickets immediately.  I grabbed one for my son because even though he didn’t know the album, I assumed he’d enjoy the show.

In addition to enjoying his company, I enjoy picking him up on the way to Philly because it usually means we can get there super early.  Which we did–although traffic was a little heavier than I expected.  But we had time to get food at La Chinesca.  And, lo and behold Kid Koala was sitting there two tables away.  I was going to say hi, but with the cane I am not subtle or fast.  So I assumed he would walk past us and I’d say hi then; but he went out a different way.  Waah wahh.

I had looked at the previous show and they were done by around 10:20, which was great because we were going to grab churros (yum!) for the ride home.  However, the previous show did not have the extra opening act, Lord Sko.

I was expecting Kid Koala to come out to his turntables.  But instead, a person came out with a laptop and got us hyped up for Lord Sko.

His logo reminded me of Newport cigarette ads. And moments later he came out.  He had on a big winter hat with ear flaps.  You could barely see his face but you could see his long hair.  And you could hear him quite clearly.  I always think it’s weird when an opening act whom I assume few have heard of, tries to get the crowd hyped up by yelling at us to put our hands up.  I mean, have man, the bar is low, but you have to earn the love.

Anyway, he began rapping and his flow was really good.  Hiphopdx said of him

A true student of the culture, his sound is nostalgic yet fresh, fearless yet effortless. From standout tracks to a fire 2025 project, he’s building momentum fast. Hip Hop heads — don’t sleep on this one

There was some technical difficulties with the laptop, but Sko handled it very well.  He even did a freestyle while the laptop rebooted.

I cam away from his set with respect for the guy (who is like 20) and I’d happily see him again.

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Stereolab / Memorials (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 24, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Memorials, Philadelphia, PA, Stereolab, Union Transfer on September 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 24, 2025] Stereolab

I saw Stereolab at Union Transfer in 2019.  I really enjoyed the show–they sounded great and they were really entertaining.  I saw them again at Franklin Music Hall in 2022 and I didn’t really enjoy it.  I couldn’t put my finger on why it was less fun.  Bigger venue, with a less serious crowd?  I don’t know.  But I was a little bored by the set.  So when this show was announced, despite it being at the better venue, I opted not to get a ticket.

I see now that they played 9 songs from their latest album, so I’m glad I didn’t go.

Memorials (Verity Susman and Matthew Simms, previously of Electrelane/WIRE) are an experimental pop band from the UK with a psychedelic sound that is both melodic and unconventional. They sound an awful lot like Stereolab–which is no bad thing.  Maybe a bit more fun?  This is a pretty ideal double bill.  Verity even sounds like Lætitia Sadier.

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Wolf Alice / Willy Mason (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 15, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Willy Mason, Wolf Alice on September 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 15, 2025] Wolf Alice / Willy Mason

I saw Wolf Alice play the Wonderbar in Asbury Park in 2017.  It was a teeny place and I was one of the few people there.  It was a fantastic show.  I loved every second of it.

I didn’t realize this was their first time back to the area since then.  And they have become far more popular.  They’ve been getting a lot of airplay on WXPN.  I would absolutely have gone to this show (even if I don’t like the new album as much as the first three), but we had tickets to see Wet Leg.  So, we’ll have to hope for another visit next year.

Willy Mason opened for the Lemonheads in2023, but I didn’t go to those shows.  Back then I wrote

Willy Mason is a folk singer with a deep voice.  I listened to a little of one song and didn’t like his vibe at all.  So that kind of helped me decide not to go to this tour.

So I guess I’m glad I didn’t see him.

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Jenny Tian: Jenny’s Travels (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 13, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Comedians, Jenny Tian, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster, Taskmaster Australia, Union Transfer on September 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 13, 2025] Jenny Tian

I have made a list of all of comedians from Taskmaster who I would like to see live.  It’s not everyone of course (some of them don’t do stand up and some I don’t think I would enjoy).  And then we started watching Taskmaster Australia and Taskmaster New Zealand, and I’ve added a dozen or so more to that list.

I was pretty surprised to see that Jenny Tian was playing Philly and even more surprised that she was at Union Transfer.  I know they do seated shows, so I assume this was seated, but it just seemed so odd.

We were really busy that week so I didn’t get us a ticket and I kind of wish I had now.   I thought she was pretty funny on the show, but I hadn’t gotten the bug for seeing these comedians just yet.

So I hope she comes back–it sounds like she had a lot of fun.

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James: Laid and Deep Cuts (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 7, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in James, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 7, 2025] James: Laid and Deep Cuts

Back in the day I rally liked James a lot.  I got into them through Laid and listened to most of their music over the years.  Although I stopped listening in 2001.  Turns out that broke up and reunited in 2008 and I totally missed it.  Haven’t heard anything on their reunion albums (there are 9, as many as they put out before they broke up).

A few days before the show a DJ on WXPN was listing all of the songs he hoped they’d play and I started to remember all the songs I liked by them. But it was too late to go by then.

Interestingly, James doesn’t come to the US very often.  They opened for Johnny Marr last year, and the previous tour was in 2016 (they played Kung Fu Necktie, which is so tiny it’s insane–they also played there in 2015).

Looking at the setlist, it was pretty good.  They played all of Laid, but not in order–they stretched it out through the whole show.  In addition to Laid, they played three songs from 7, 2 from Whiplash (which I really liked), 1 from Gold Mother and 1 from Pleased to Meet You.  The rest were new songs that I didn’t know.

So I’m not that bummed about missing it.

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Swans / Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 4, 2025) DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Little Annie, Paul Wallfisch, Philadelphia, PA, Swans, Union Transfer on September 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 4, 2025] Swans / Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch

Last year I saw Swans for the first time.  It was intense and wonderful.

This year, the band announced that they would tour once more and this would be the last time in this format:

This is to let you know that there will be zero additional shows/tours added to the 2 Swans tours listed here. This is the final tour, the last chance to experience this expansive sound and ensemble. The players: Kristof Hahn, Norman Westberg, Dana Schechter, Phil Puleo, Larry Mullins, Christopher Pravdica, Michael Gira. This marks about 15 years of this phase of Swans. It’s been wonderful to be inside such an overwhelming, total sonic experience, but it’s time to end it. Following these 2 tours Swans will continue in a much different, stripped down version. I’m not exactly sure what form the music will take, but I’m excited to find out.

I put this show on my maybe pile because I did want to go but if something better came along, I’d be okay with missing it, since I  had just seen it the year before.

And then Poppy announced a show near us and I got tickets for my daughter and I.

Swans wound up playing an entirely different set then when I saw them, but since most Swans music is of the same ilk, I pretty much know what the show was like (glorious, no doubt). (more…)

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Wisp / Dream Ivory / Aldn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 23, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Aldn, Dream Ivory, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wisp on August 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 23, 2025] Wisp / Dream Ivory / Aldn

I had never heard of the band Wisp.  They were announced as an opening band for the System of a Down show so I checked them out and enjoyed them.  I was looking forward to seeing them [UPDATE: we arrived too late and missed them entirely].

I was absolutely fascinated that they (she) had a headlining gig at Union Transfer a few days before the show (apparently Wisp has a big online following).

But this show was smack dab in the middle of our vacation so there was no way I could go anyway.

Luckily Gloss was at the show and recorded all three bands (see below). (more…)

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The Warning / Speed of Light (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Mexico, Philadelphia, PA, Speed of Light, The Warning, Union Transfer on July 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 19, 2025] The Warning / Speed of Light

In a really weird coincidence, I had literally just read about The Warning and how much they rocked.  I listened to a couple of songs and liked them quite a lot.  And then I saw that they were playing at Union Transfer.  I was really interested in going, but it was one of four shows that I wanted to see today.  And I already had tickets for Weird Al so The Warning lost out.

So The Warning is from Monterrey, Mexico (they sing in English).  The band members are sisters: Daniela (guitar, vocals, piano), Paulina (drums, vocals, piano), and Alejandra (bass guitar, backing vocals, piano) Villarreal Vélez.  They rock really hard , Daniela’s voice is great and they seem like they’d be fantastic live.

Speed of Light are also siblings Riley (bass and vocals) Tyler (drums) and Cameron (lead guitar) Christensen.  They are from California and started the band when they were children.  They are less metal than The Warning, with a grungy sound, they have clean (excellent) vocals and some growling as well.  They are pretty intense.

I think this would have been a great show to go to and I hope they both tour again around here.

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor / Marisa Anderson (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 24, 2024) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Alan Sparhawk, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Marisa Anderson, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 24, 2025] Godspeed You! Black Emperor / Marisa Anderson [moved from November 24, 2024]

Back in 2000, I saw Godspeed You Black Emperor at Maxwell’s in Hoboken.  My friend Lar was in from Ireland and he went to the show with me, which was pretty awesome.

I waited 18 years to see them again, but the last time I saw them, the show was marred by the crowd.  I was ready to see them again but when the night arrived I wasn’t feeling it.  So I stayed home.

GY!BE tends to have interesting and perhaps unexpected openers. Last year it was supposed to be Alan Sparhawk from Low.  For whatever reason, this time it was Marisa Anderson is an American guitarist and composer from Portland, Oregon. She is known for mixing American primitive guitar with various genres.  She’s the kind of artist that the intellectual in me loves (because she’s really good, I’ve listened to few songs) but who I would find dull in a live setting after a short time.

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