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Archive for the ‘White Eagle Hall’ Category

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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Indigo De Souza (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, February 22, 2024)

Posted in Indigo De Souza, Jersey City, NJ, Truth Club, White Eagle Hall on February 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 22, 2024] Indigo De Souza

This was the seventh time since Jan 2022 that I might have seen Indigo De Souza.

She had a show scheduled for Union Transfer which was postponed twice.  She was scheduled to open for Lucy Dacus–a show I didn’t get a ticket for because I was seeing Indigo headline (cancelled).  She finally played her Union Transfer show but I couldn’t make it.  Then she was supposed to open for Rainbow Kitten Surprise and that whole tour was cancelled.

I wasn’t even really sure I still wanted to see her after all this time, but the show was nowhere near sold out, so I grabbed a ticket.

There were a lot of die-hard fans there which is hit or miss.  This crowd was very respectful of her, which I liked.  There was some singing along but it was mostly quiet until it called for loud sing alongs.

I was honestly surprised at how subdued she was during the set.  I’ve never seen her before, but all of her promotional material makes her seem like a wild performer.  And she was absolutely not that tonight.

But her voice was beautiful and she was very sweet and engaging.  She played about an hour and the crowd was enraptured.

She opened with the mellow “Be My Love,” and I was so happy that the crowd was silent as she sang the quiet, sad song.

Her guitarist Maddie Shuler played a lap steel that I couldn’t even tell what the instrument was at first, it was small, plastic and portable.  It looked like a keyboard, but was clearly a guitar. (more…)

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Truth Club (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, February 22, 2024) [INDIGO DE SOUZA]

Posted in Indigo De Souza, Jersey City, NJ, Truth Club, White Eagle Hall on February 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 22, 2024] Truth Club

I used to really like White Eagle Hall.  I still think it’s a great venue with fantastic sound, but the people who go to show thee have really ruined it for me.

A guy preceded me into the bathroom and was enthusiastic about the show, which was cool “Bro, are you fucking stoked?”  But he brought that enthusiasm out to the floor and was shouting “rock and roll” and just being really loud (and tall). I assume he was drunk, but who knows.

Then in front of me there was a group of ten or so people who were definitely there for Indigo but who talked throughout the opening band which sucked because Truth Club was fantastic,

Any band who has a My Bloody Valentine song in their setlist is going to be interesting.  I would have love to have heard their cover of “Cupid Come,” but they didn’t play it.

From North Carolina, Truth Club is a foursome who play quiet loud really well.  Catchy melodies and big walls of sound meld into a great picture overall. (more…)

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The Salt Collective / Sneakers (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, January 20, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Let's Active, Matthew Caws, Nada Surf, Sneakers, The Connells, The dB's, The Salt Collective, White Eagle Hall on January 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 20, 2024] The Salt Collective / Sneakers

I had not heard of The Salt Collective, but I felt like White Eagle Hall really promoted this show.  So when I clicked on  the link, I read that The Salt Collective is a

Supergroup featuring Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Mitch Easter (Let’s Active), Chris Stamey & Gene Holder (The dB’s), Lynn Blakey (Tres Chicas), & Rob Ladd (The Connells)

Now, in fairness, Nada Surf is the only band of these that I really know.  The rest I am aware of.  But I love Matthew Caws and believe he puts a good spin on everything.  So I did seriously consider going (especially after listening to the record).

But that was the day we dropped off my son at college, and it just seemed like a good night to stay home.

Sneakers was the band that came before all of these bands:

Before The dB’s and Let’s Active, there was Sneakers! Chris Stamey, an icon of indie pop, and friend Mitch Easter began to explore recording techniques in Winston-Salem, NC, during their youth. In 1976, Chris and his band, Sneakers (including drummer Will Rigby, with appearances from Easter), released a single on Stamey’s own Carnivorous Records. The sessions were engineered by Don Dixon, who would eventually produce bands like R.E.M. (with Easter) and The Smithereens.

They apparently put out a single and then in 2015, an expanded reissue of 9 songs came out.  Sounds like a fun night for jangle pop.

 

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GZA / Fishbone / Beau Young Prince / Crazy and the Brains (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, November 18, 2023) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Beau Young Prince, Cancelled, Crazy & the Brains, Fishbone, GZA, Jersey City, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Rebelmatic, Thurston Moore, Underground Arts, White Eagle Hall on November 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: November 18, 2023] GZA / Fishbone / Beau Young Prince / Crazy and the Brains

This About a month ago I saw a message that Fishbone was playing White Eagle Hall.  I had seen them earlier this summer for the first time and absolutely wanted to see them again–headlining!

But this show was scheduled for a day that we had family plans.  So I knew I couldn’t go.

When I looked up the show recently, I saw that it was cancelled.  I also saw that maybe this show was opening for GZA?  Weird that the WEH page mentioned Fishbone and not GZA.

And of course GZA is part of the Wu-Tang Clan although I don’t know much about him individually.

But it turns out that this leg of the tour has just been cancelled.

Most apologetically, due to unavoidable circumstances, we are forced to postpone the upcoming GZA/Fishbone Truth and Swords shows to Spring 2024.
Rest assured tickets purchased will be honored for the rescheduled date. If you would like to receive a refund, you will be able to do so at place of purchase.
We apologize for doing this at the 11th hour with the tour beginning
in Silver Spring, MD Monday.
Both GZA and Fishbone only want to bring the best show to all of you
and plan on doing so in Spring 2024.

Except that GZA is supposed to play Underground Arts in a week or so (which isn’t on the poster) and the opening band is Rebelmatic, who I’d not heard of, but apparently I should have: (more…)

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Ty Segall (solo acoustic) / Mike Donovan (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, November 10, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Mike Donovan, Philadelphia, PA, Ty Segall, Ty Segall and the Freedom Band, Union Transfer, White Eagle Hall on November 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 10, 2023] Ty Segall / Charles Moothouse

Last year, about a Ty Segall show that I missed, I wrote:

I have become a fan of Ty Segall in the last few years.  He releases far too much music to keep tabs on him, but I’ve wanted to see his fuzzed out live show for a while now.

When I finally do get to see Ty Segall, I want it to be with a big noisy fuzzy band, not as an acoustic performer.

So, I opted to give this one a miss.  Wonder if I’ll regret it someday.

Well, it’s a year or so later and he’s back with a solo show in New Jersey and I feel the same way.  Luckily, I’m going to see him (I assume with a band) in April in Philly.

I went to high school with someone named Mike Donovan.  When I saw that this Mike Donovan was roughly the same age as me I wondered if it could be him.  But this one is from San Francisco.   He is “best known” as the guitarist and singer of Sic Alps (2004-2013).

He has a few solo albums that are kind of sloppy anti-folk.  Probably okay live but I’ll never listen to him on purpose.

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Spiritualized (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, November 6, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Spiritualized, White Eagle Hall on November 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 6, 2023] Spiritualized [moved from September 23, 2022]

I had forgotten that Spiritualized was supposed to play our area last year, but they cancelled the show last minute for a medical emergency.

I wasn’t planning on going to this show (White Eagle Hall has really fallen off my radar lately).  But I feel like it must not have been very well attended as a week before the show, White Eagle Hall was giving $10 off per ticket.

I decided to go see Tortoise instead.  Interesting that both bands are from the same era.

But I really enjoyed Tortoise, so no regrets.

 

 

 

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Thurston Moore reading Sonic Life (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, October 24, 2023) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Jersey City, NJ, Thurston Moore, White Eagle Hall on October 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 24, 2023] Thurston Moore reading Sonic Life

This summer, Thurston Moore announced that he would be touring to read his new book Sonic Life:

Thurston Moore has a new memoir on the way, Sonic Life, which he describes as telling “the story of my childhood and teenage years as I fell in love with music (for the most part unbridled rock ’n’ roll) and how it drove me to New York City, where I would co-found Sonic Youth.”

A couple of weeks ago, he cancelled the tour.  I wasn’t planning on going, but it still sucks that he feel so crappy.

To all my dear Sonic friends and family,
It utterly bereaves me to pass on the news that I have been advised by my medical team here in the UK to cancel my upcoming USA book tour. For years I have been dealing with a longstanding health condition, though it has never seriously stopped me from touring and recording. Regardless it’s always been an underlying issue and as I reach my mid-60s this year it has become rather, and consistently, debilitating. After a recent consultation, my doctors have strongly advised against me flying anywhere under any circumstance until they get it all sorted out.

(more…)

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