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TWRP (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 2, 2024)

Posted in nelward, Philadelphia, PA, Trey Magnifique, TWRP, Union Transfer on May 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 2, 2024] TWRP

My son and I saw TWRP last year.  We had actually gone mostly for the opening band Magic Sword.  But I figured TWRP were going to be a lot of fun.

TWRP were once known as Tupper Ware Remix Party (TWRP is much better).  They are from outer space (and Canada).  They are also from the 1980s (and the future).

They are a foursome. In order of the below photo they are guitarist Lord Phobos, bassist Commander Meouch, keyboardist and vocalist Doctor Sung and drummer Havve Hogan.

Last year’s show was so much fun that I was really excited to see this year’s show.  I got a ticket for my son but he had a final exam at 8:30 the next morning so he (wisely) stayed home.

Last time, Doctor Sung told us all about their high tech new stage manager, Grobb.  Grobb appeared on the side of the stage in a circle which previously said IBS (in the IBM logo style).  Grobb looked like a psychopathic Teletubby as he smiled and talked to us.

Grobb was back again for this tour which was all about crypto currency. (more…)

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Trey Magnifique (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 2, 2024) [TWRP]

Posted in nelward, Philadelphia, PA, Trey Magnifique, TWRP, Union Transfer on May 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 2, 2024] Trey Magnifique

Just as I hadn’t heard of nelward, I hadn’t heard of Trey Magnifique.

He came on stage, a silver fox, in a while suit (with no shirt on).  He proceeded to fill the room with smooth jazz sex.

He won me over immediately by saying “If someone asks if you want to hear smooth jazz,” the appropriate response is “Hell Yea.”  So when we all shouted “Hell Yea!” he said, no our energy was too high.  Try whispering it.  So we whispered ‘Hell yea” and he said no that was too much, just think it.

He then proceeded to make obscene mouth gestures on his straight saxophone.   It was really funny.

And then finally, after about six minutes, he actually played a song.  It was cheesy smooth jazz, but he was great–his sax playing is really solid.

So who is this guy?

Trey Magnifique is the smooth jazz alter ego of musician, comedian, and theoretical physicist Brian Wecht. Best known for his comedy bands Ninja Sex Party and Starbomb, where he performs as the keyboard-playing “Ninja Brian”, as well as his kids’ band Go Banana Go, Brian is one of the most popular comedy musicians in the world. Mature Situations is Brian’s first album as Trey Magnifique, as well as his first solo project.

Brian grew up in Pompton Lakes, NJ, and, after studying math and music (with a focus on jazz composition, arranging, and performance) at Williams College, went on to get a doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of California, San Diego. Wecht held postdoctoral research positions at MIT, Harvard, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and the University of Michigan, and was a faculty member in the Centre for Research in String Theory at Queen Mary University of London. Wecht has authored over 30 papers in theoretical physics, focusing on supsersymmetric quantum field theories and string theory.

While pursuing his academic interests, Wecht began doing improv comedy with San Diego TheatreSports, and went on to become the Musical Director of the Improv Asylum in Boston, MA. After moving to New York, he met Dan Avidan through a mutual comedy friend, and the two created Ninja Sex Party in 2009. In 2015, Wecht left his faculty position at Queen Mary in order to focus on his YouTube career full time. In addition to NSP and Starbomb, Wecht’s projects include children’s comedy band Go Banana Go! (along with NSP producer Jim Roach), and the podcast Leighton Night with Brian Wecht (along with Leighton Grey). Outside of YouTube, Wecht maintains an active career as a public speaker and science communicator, and is one of the organizers of the annual Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism (NECSS).

Incredible.  This guy is literally a genius AND he is funny as hell. (more…)

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nelward (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 2, 2024) [TWRP]

Posted in nelward, Philadelphia, PA, Trey Magnifique, TWRP, Union Transfer on May 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 2, 2024] nelward

I hadn’t heard of Nelward, but holy cow a few people in the audience sure did.

Nick “nelward” Elward is an electronic composer based in Atlanta. His music takes cues from video game soundtracks, jazz fusion, old school hip hop, and classic pop.

Nelward’s songs are (mostly) short and (mostly) silly.   He came out snazzily dressed and began singing DVD (30 seconds long, although longer live, with the entirety of the lyrics: Have you seen the DVD of me? repeated).

Ghost was a bit more of a real song–catchy and rather fun.  He did some wild dances and clearly loved the reactions of his silly behavior.

More representative of his stuff seems to be “I Hope My Pants Don’t Fall Down.” A minute of silliness. (more…)

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Ty Segall / Sharpie Smile (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 28, 2024)

Posted in Kamikaze Palm Tree, Philadelphia, PA, Sharpie Smile, Ty Segall, Union Transfer on April 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 28, 2024] Ty Segall / Sharpie Smile

I bought a ticket to this show in August.  AUGUST!  I’d been waiting nine months to see Ty Segall (as I’d missed him five previous times for various reasons).  I didn’t really want to see him solo, and I assumed this was  full band show (which it was).

But then our friends invites us over for a Passover Dinner and we couldn’t say no.  I thought maybe I could squeeze in the show afterward, but damn, that’s a long dinner.

I’m about to give up on ever seeing Ty Segall.  Next time he announces a local show, I’m no buying a ticket ahead of time.

Sharpie Smile is a dup who were formerly called Kamikaze Palm Tree.  (more…)

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Belle & Sebastian (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 26, 2024)

Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Philadelphia, PA, The Weather Station, Union Transfer on April 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 26, 2024] Belle & Sebastian

I was shocked to discover that it had been SEVEN YEARS since we’d last seen Belle & Sebastian.  I would have sworn that the show at the Mann was just a couple of years ago.

But I see that in 2019 we just “didn’t feel like going” to Union Transfer.  What?  That’s insane–I mean, not really, I’ve felt like that many times, but in retrospect to miss out on a B&S show was crazy.

Then in 2022, the show was scheduled on the same night as my daughter’s graduation.  And last year they cancelled the tour for health reasons.

My wife and I were pretty excited to go to this show and then it turned out their Girl Scout troop scheduled a trip leaving on Friday night.  So she had to miss the show.  And I hate to say this, but she would have loved the show–a setlist geared very much to her.

But it was also geared to me, because holy cow they played all kinds of great songs.

They even joked about how anyone who followed them back in the old days would be shocked at how different they are now, and it’s true.  Their early albums were quiet and introspective, but as they played more and more they got really fun and dancey.

Indeed, they started with two songs off of Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, and it boded very well for the rest of the night. (more…)

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The Weather Station (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 26, 2024) [BELLE & SEBASTIAN]

Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Philadelphia, PA, The Weather Station, Union Transfer on April 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 26, 2024] Belle & Sebastian / The Weather Station

This is my third time unintentionally seeing The Weather Station.  They opened for Mitski, First Aid Kit and Belle & Sebastian.  And this is my third time walking in during the middle of their set.

My wife and daughter were going away this weekend and they wound up leaving later than I thought they would.  So I did too.  I missed about half of the set.  But i did get to hear Robber which is the one song of theirs that I really like. (more…)

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Black Country, New Road / Camera Picture (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 25, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Black Country New Roads, Black Midi, Camera Picture, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 25, 2024] Black Country, New Road / Camera Picture

I was vaguely intrigued when Black Country, New Road first came out (NPR music loved them).  I mean this blurb from 2021 was amazing sounding

the new band I’m most excited to see when they come back is a group of U.K. art-school kids called Black Country, New Road. Their 2019 single “Sunglasses” is a 10-minute swirl of post-punk, jazz, long blurted spoken-word passages and frenzied klezmer freak-outs. It’s a wild song, and it must be incredible to take in live.

And then, maybe I was getting ready to g to a U.S. show at Johnny Brenda’s, when

On 31 January 2022, lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood announced his sudden departure from the band four days before the release of Ants From Up There via the band’s Instagram, citing struggles with his mental health. This resulted in the cancelling of the band’s planned first US tour.

(more…)

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Mike / 454 / Niontay / El Cousteau (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 17, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in 454, El Cousteau , Mike, Niontay, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 17, 2024] Mike / 454 / Niontay / El Cousteau 

This one is embarrassing for me because I bought a ticket for this show thinking that Mike was somebody else.

I’ve wanted to try to see a few more rappers live–I really enjoyed Open Mike Eagle there’s a few alt-rappers who I like.  One of them is DAVE, from England.  Dave sold out TLA pretty quickly when he came two years ago.  So when it was announced that MIKE was playing, I bought a ticket thinking that a) the show would sell out and b) that MIKE was DAVE.

I had never heard of Mike and didn’t know there was another rapper with an insanely common first name as his rap name.  Obviously I should have confirmed that I wanted to see Dave not Mike, but I was caught up in the excitement.

Mike’s sound is pretty good although he’s a but of a mumbler.  I still figured that I’d go until Girl in Red announced a show for the same night and there was no way I was missing Girl in Red with my daughter. (more…)

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Swans (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 13, 2024)

Posted in Kristof Hanh, Philadelphia, PA, Swans, Union Transfer on April 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2024] Swans

I have been a fan of Swans since 1988.  I have a lot of their records on vinyl.  I have more on CD.  I went through a deep dive of Swans fandom  after college and then pretty much drifted away from them.

I’d been kind of intimidated away from seeing them live for years–I heard their shows were punishingly loud and that Michael Gira could be a rather contrary front man.

But my pal Phil Puleo has been playing drums with them for years and I thought it was time to see him and them.  (I had tickets to see them in 2021, but COVID).

So here they were back again.

The biggest surprise to me was that they were not as loud as I suspected.  That may not have been everyone’s experience, but I really expected to be knocked back by the sound and yes, it was loud–without earplugs I ‘d have been crying–but not THAT loud.

Early Swans albums were full of slow, loud, pummeling songs.  The songs are still slow and are still loud, but there’s a lot more subtlety (relatively) in them.

I also had some idea of what this show was like–all new songs–but I genuinely didn’t expect the first song, “The Beggar” to run over an hour!

It began very quietly with leader Michael Gira strumming one chord on an acoustic guitar.  For about five minutes.  He made some vocal sounds which I don’t think were words and then, ever so slowly, the rest of the band joined in.

Kristof Hahn on lap steel was right in front of me and it was fun watching him as he added all kinds of ambient sounds–from quiet to outrageous.

Behind him was Dana Schechter who played a lap steel (possibly modified, I couldn’t see it by she seemed to make different sounds) and occasional bass guitar.  For most of the set I could see her pretty clearly (although not her lap steel), but toward the end a tall person blocked her from me. (more…)

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Kristof Hanh (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 13, 2024)

Posted in Kristof Hanh, Philadelphia, PA, Swans, Union Transfer on April 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2024] Kristof Hanh

I have been a fan of Swans since 1988.  I have a lot of their records on vinyl.  I have more on CD.  I went through a deep dive of Swans fandom  after college and then pretty much drifted away from them.

I’d been kind of intimidated away from seeing them live for years–I heard their shows were punishingly loud and that Michael Gira could be a rather contrary front man.

But my pal Phil Puleo has been playing drums with them for years and I thought it was time to see him and them.  (I had tickets to see them in 2021, but COVID).

So here they were back again.

I wasn’t sure who the opener, Kristof Hanh, was.  But when I looked him up I saw that he has been a member of Swans on and off since 1989.  He mostly plays lap steel guitar but also plays other guitars.  He has, in fact, played lap steel on the most recent album and some other recent releases as well.

Wikipedia says

His approach to the lap-steel guitar is non-traditional, often devoted to playing drones that can serve as either supporting background elements or take a more prominent role in the band’s music.

He came out and sat at his lap steel which was right in front of me.  He started playing and then smiled and said he was demonstrating the importance of electricity.  He turned on his gear and started playing.  He uses lots of effects and his sound was, indeed, full of drones.  He played melodies but also kept a large sound in the overall chords that he played. (more…)

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