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Archive for the ‘White Eagle Hall’ Category

The Dead Milkmen (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, May 10, 2025)

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, The Dead Milkmen, White Eagle Hall on May 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 10, 2025] The Dead Milkmen 

It took me 35 years to see The Dead Milkmen live.  And now I’ve seen them twice in about a year.  The last show was so much fun; I was really excited when they announced more shows at Underground Arts.  But those days were booked for me.  Bummer.  But then they announced this show at White Eagle Hall (where they have played a few times recently).

I arrived late (because parking there sucks).  I almost gave up and went home, but I found a reasonable parking spot. And the usher brought me to the ADA section which was pretty cool because I had been really far back.  But the ADA section was in the balcony and I was able to get really close to the stage.  Rodney Anonymous is such a wild and inclusive front man that he gets everyone involved in every song.  And even though he never looked up at the balcony, I felt like a participant.

Last time I was on the far side and could barely see bassist Dan Stevens or drummer Dean Clean.  This time I was on Joe Jack Talcum’s side and could see the whole stage easily.  I was also able to watch Jack’s guitar playing which is surprisingly complex.

One of the fun parts of sitting where I was that I could see all of the people slam dancing–and really making their pit large (to the dismay of other around them).  And for once I was really glad that I was upstairs away from the action.

The setlist wasn’t radically different from the previous show, but the order was very different and there were a few songs thrown in that they hadn’t played last time (I was pretty thrilled to hear The Thing That Only Eats Hippies). (more…)

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Miss Teen America (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, May 10, 2025) [THE DEAD MILKMEN]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Miss Teen America, The Dead Milkmen, White Eagle Hall on May 10, 2025| 2 Comments »

[ATTENDED: May 10, 2025] Miss Teen America

Parking around White Eagle Hall is a nightmare.  Despite arriving 25 minutes early for the show, I missed the first half of Miss Teen America.

But I did catch about half of their set and I enjoyed it quite a lot.

As I was watching I thought they had a really My Chemical Romance vibe.  But their earlier stuff.  It was very funny to me when, on my way back to the car, a young woman was talking with her friends and she said “That opening band was like what it must have been like to see My Chemical Romance when they first came out.  The singer even looked like Gerard Way.”

The band had a great look.  Their (new) bassist was awesome in fishnets and super high boots.  And their lead guitarist had a look that I couldn’t see all that well (the stage was pretty dark) but which was cool from afar.

They played four or five song while I was there including a song that they played together for the first time that night.  They describe themselves as traditional goth with “punk rock energy and a pop sensibility” and that’s pretty accurate.  I feel that the goth part is more from their look than their sound, but they definitely fall into the punkier side of goth. (more…)

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Ted Leo and the Pharmacists / Oceanator (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, November 13, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Aimee Mann, Jersey City, NJ, Oceanator, Ted Leo, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, White Eagle Hall on November 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTENDED: November 13, 2024] Ted Leo and the Pharmacists / Oceanator

I saw Ted Leo back in June.  But I missed about half of the set because I was at another show that night.  When he announced that the tour was continuing and he was going to play White Eagle Hall (where I had first seen him five years ago), it seemed like a nice moment of serendipity.  But the show was the same night as Ratboys and Palehound and I knew I was going to go to that show.

So I’m going to have to wait until he comes back around (and for December 6 when I see him play with Aimee Mann).

Oceanator opened for AJJ back in 2023 and I didn’t go to that show either.  But here’s what I said about them then

Oceanator is Elise Okusami a Brooklyn-based guitarist.  I hadn’t heard of her and when I listened to some songs, I loved them. The songs are catchy and fun and sound great.  This would have been a really fun show.

I even hear a little bit of Aimee Mann in her voice.

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Mdou Moctar / The Messthetics (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, October 3, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Mdou Moctar, The Messthetics, White Eagle Hall on October 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 3, 2024] Mdou Moctar / The Messthetics

I have seen Mdou Moctar twice, the most recent time back in July.

I would have enjoyed seeing them again, but I already had TWO shows to go to this evening: Soul Coughing and Nada Surf.

I really like The Messthetics (including the name).  The band has at its core drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally who were both in Fugazi.  Along with guitarist Anthony Pirog, they make cool and interesting instrumental rock.  They have been pretty high on my list of bands to see. (more…)

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The Beths / Alvvays (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, September 7, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Alvvays, Jersey City, NJ, The Beths, White Eagle Hall on September 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 7, 2024] The Beths / Alvvays

Holy cow what a fantastic show!  I saw The Beths twice in a few months about a year ago and they were fantastic.  I would happily see them again.

And Alvvays is one of my wife and my favorite bands.  And there they were together on the same night.  And we haven’t seen them since 2017.

But this show was plopped right on the same night as the Pearl Jam show that we absolutely not missing.

Bummer for doubling up on concerts.

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The New Pornographers / Gustaf (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, August 6, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Gustaf, Jersey City, NJ, Neko Case, The New Pornographers, White Eagle Hall on August 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 6, 2024] The New Pornographers / Gustaf

I saw New Pornographers’ back in 2019 (I didn’t realize it was quite so long ago).  I enjoyed the show quite a lot.  And almost wondered if I didn’t need to see them again since they played pretty much everything I wanted to see.  And yet, they were really good and I enjoyed the show a lot–I suspect they are always worth seeing.

That show featured Neko Case on vocals–she wasn’t going to be with them on this tour.  That didn’t actually impact my decision at all about this one because, The New Pornographers are excellent without her as well.

This show happened to be on a night that my daughter was going to be doing stuff at the 4H Fair.  I wanted my wife to come with me, and that was proving to be challenging with out timing.  I hadn’t gotten a ticket but i assumed it wouldn’t sell out.

Then the night of the show it was raining like crazy.  Her event was moved forward and I realized that every time I got to White Eagle Hall, I have to park outrageously far away.  And I realized that I didn’t want to be wet or standing in a venue where everyone was wet.  So we stayed home.

I was actually really excited to see Gustaf who I saw open for Idles almost three years ago.  I’ve wanted to see them again because they were outstanding.  But again, sometimes things prevent you from doing what you want to do.

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The Menzingers / Lucero / The Dirty Nil (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, June 7 & 8, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Canadian Music, Jersey City, NJ, Lucero, The Dirty Nil, The Menzingers, White Eagle Hall on June 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 7 & 8, 2024] The Menzingers / Lucero / The Dirty Nil

I have seen The Menzingers twice.  The first time I missed most of their set.  The second time I was in a terrible location and the sound was dismal.  I told myself that I really wanted to see one good set with them.

But they’ve come around a few times since then and I really just don’t care anymore.   So I guess I’m done with them.

I thought I had posted about Lucero before, that they had opened for someone else before, but  there’s no posts about them.

I have learned

Lucero is an American country-punk/alternative country/alternative rock band based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Lucero’s sound has been described as a “synthesis of soul, rock, and country [that] is distinctly Memphisian.” They have released 11 albums and one live DVD, mostly through their own label.

I have grown to like country punk more over the years, but I’d have no real desire to see Lucero.

(more…)

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The Lemon Twigs / The Smashing Times (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, May 4, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, The Lemon Twigs, The Smashing Times, White Eagle Hall on May 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 4, 2024] The Lemon Twigs / The Smashing Times 

I discovered The Lemon Twigs a few years ago and really enjoyed their glam rock sound and I imagined that they would be a ton of fun live.  The band is technically a duo, although they have more people on stage with them.

I really liked The Lemon Twigs’ Do Hollywood album and their follow up EPs showed even more development.  Since then they have put out a few albums, and I have enjoyed them.

Their last two albums have drifted from that sound into a more Beach Boys-vibe.  They sound great but they’re not quite my thing.

It turns out that one of my son’s friends is a huge fan of the band, and he has insisted that I need to see them live.

This seemed like a good opportunity, although it was a little odd that they were only playing this venue.  Turns out this was like a pre-tour show, and they are doing more dates in the fall.

I would have liked to go, but we were having friends over, so I didn’t even bother getting tickets.

The Smashing Times are from Baltimore.  Here’s a fantastic blurb

This really is a fusion of psychedelic, twee and freakbeat that will make your heart skip and your head smile. The guitars shimmer, strum and jangle whilst the vocals float effortlessly on top of the efficient rhythm section. Every song is a bundle of energy with hooks that come both instantly and after multiple plays. Of course there are those, that this sound will be too ‘out there’ for. For such sorts there are an absolute plethora of The Byrds YouTube videos to feast your eyes upon.

And they give off a vibe of 60’s psychedelics folk but if there were indie labels that weren’t perfectly polished back then.  I quite like them and hope to see them live someday.

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Teenage Fanclub / Sweet Baboo (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Sweet Baboo, Teenage Fanclub, White Eagle Hall on April 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 27, 2024] Teenage Fanclub / Sweet Baboo

I feel like I saw Teenage Fanclub not that long ago, but it was way back in 2019!

I’ve been a fan of Teenage Fanclub since I heard “The Concept” back in 1991.  The band has changed (and mellowed) a lot since then (they had long hair, they had hair, and they could have been teenagers, maybe), but they still write gorgeous harmony-filled, pop-rock songs.

Last year when bassist Gerald Love retired (amicably) from the band, I assumed they were done.  Love wrote a little more than 1/3 of the songs (Norman Blake wrote a lot and Raymond McGinley wrote a bit less) and he wrote some of their catchiest songs.

But they have continued and announced they were returning to the States.  I had tickets to see Me First and the Gimme Gimmes but I assumed I’d be going to see Teenage Fanclub instead.  Although the parking at White Eagle Hall is terrible, especially now that I’ve had a hard time walking.

And for whatever reason, I was really tired that night.  I wound up doing a lot of things that day and was asleep by 9:30.  I probably could have gone to the show and been awake enough to enjoy it, but I didn’t have the motivation to go to either show.

Sweet Baboo is the musical alias of Welsh singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Black, whose idiosyncratic style encompasses psychedelia, indie pop, folk, electronic, and even classical music. Active since the early 2000s.

His music is chill and perhaps a little forgettable.

 

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Juana Molina / Madison Cunnigham (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 17, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Juana Molina, Madison Cunningham, White Eagle Hall on April 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 17, 2024] Juana Molina / Madison Cunningham

I am pretty lucky where I live to have so many concert venue choices.  This tour with Madison Cunningham and Juana Molina was appearing at two places roughly an hour from me (yes, I wish all the venues were a little closer).

I used to love White Eagle Hall but I have found it to be less than ideal lately, for a number of reasons.  I still think the venue is great, but if I can go elsewhere, I will.  So, even though Ardmore Music Hall is kind of a pain to get tom it feels like a better venue for this show.

I have wanted to see Juana Molina for a few years (I was supposed to see her in 2020 but her show was cancelled due to COVID).  I’d rather have seen her as a headliner, but this collaborative night sounded like a lot of fun.

I really like Madison Cunningham’s song “Hospital” (which I don’t think she’s actually playing on this tour).  I enjoy the rest of her music too, so it should be a fun night. (more…)

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