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Archive for the ‘World Cafe Live’ Category

Gladie: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, October 6, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

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[DID NOT ATTEND: October 6, 2023] Gladie

I saw Gladie open for Otoboke Beaver late last year and really enjoyed their set a lot.  I would happily see them again, although a Free at Noon didn’t really seem like a worthwhile trip.

Here’s the blurb from the show and what I missed

After a successful tour with Jeff Rosenstock, today’s Free at Noon performer Gladie made a pit stop at the World Cafe Live stage to dazzle fans with their indie rock magic. Performing songs from their last album Don’t Know What You’re in Until You’re Out, along with a few favorites from other projects, the band truly came to impress.

The stage was decked out in the best gear, necessary for a classic Indie Rock experience. Guitarists Pat Conaboy and Matt Schimelfenig had full pedal boards, and used them frequently throughout the show, conjuring waves of distortion, their eyes were glued to the floor in true shoegaze fashion. The band started with their song “Mud,” immediately exploding into the room with a beautiful wall of sound that demanded the attention of everyone — a common theme that remained through the entirety of the show.

Lead vocalist Augusta Koch sang with intense power. She was able to strongly project (and even scream during some songs) her voice over the volume of the band, and listeners could also eel the emotion within her voice, whether the track had a somber energy or an exasperated energy. Koch’s lyrics were very impactful, influencing the tone of her vocals, as we heard during “20/20” where she and Schimelfenig harmonized to sing “I am angry, I am lonely, but I’m optimistic too.” Later, Schimelfenig took over vocals for “Fixer,” a song where he sings lead with a bit of a country twang from the band’s 2022 album Don’t Know What You’re In Until You’re Out.

Drummer Miles Ziskind was astounding to watch. The movement of his hands was difficult to track throughout the show due to his fills being so quick and precise. At stage left, bassist Liz Parsons accompanied the music with interesting lines throughout the set, especially on “Hit the Ground Running,” which was a bit groovier than the rest, allowing her to show off her skills. As the set came to a peak, “When You Leave The Sun” from Gladie’s 2020 album Safe Sins was the most commanding part of the set. It was faster, heavier, and built up a breathtaking ending with the band members blaring their instruments, hitting the crowd once again with that wall of sound.

That’s a lot of blurb for this fairly short set.  Here’s the setlist and you can listen to it here

  • Mud ⇔
  • 20/20 §
  • Hit The Ground Running ⇔
  • When You Leave The Sun §
  • Fixer ⇔
  • Nothing ⇔
  • Chaos Reigns [new single]
  • Born Yesterday ⇔

When I saw them they played:

  1. When You Leave The Sun §
  2. thank you card ¥
  3. Mud ⇔
  4. Twenty Twenty §
  5. …Heaven, Someday ⇔
  6. Hit the Ground Running ⇔
  7. Nothing ⇔
  8. Born Yesterday ⇔
⇔ Don’t Know What You’re in Until You’re Out (2022)
§ Safe Sins (2020)
¥ thank you card EP (2020)

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Margaret Glaspy: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, August 18, 2023)

Posted in Free at Noon, Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on August 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 18, 2023] Margaret Glaspy

I had been wanting to see Margaret Glaspy for a pretty long time.  She last played Philadelphia in 2016, about two months before I heard her album.  (Well, actually, she played Philly when opening for Ruston Kelly, ew).  She was supposed to headline a tour back in 2020, but that show was postponed, so it’s not her fault that it took six years for me to see her.

It also takes her a pretty long time to put out new music.  Her new album is only her third in seven years.  She had been working on these songs for a while because she played a bunch of them when opening for Spoon last year.

She announced a new tour and is playing Underground Arts the same night I have a ticket for Explosions in the Sky. I’m still torn–they’re very different shows.  But then WXPN announced she’d be doing a Free at Noon and I grabbed a ticket.  I’ve often thought it’s not worth doing one of these–I mean it’s about three hours of my ay for a 30 minute show.  But this one was especially fun because her album came out today and she signed them.

And the band sounded great!

I love how loud and brash her guitar sounds.  I tend to think of her as a kind of soft-spoken singer, but her guitars really rock.   Her new single “Act Natural” is so damned catchy with a great riff and a fun chorus.  Like last time she opened with “I Didn’t Think So” and “Act Natural.”  They are a great one-two punch of riffs and melody.  (more…)

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Speedy Ortiz: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, August 4, 2023)

Posted in Free at Noon, Philadelphia, PA, Speedy Ortiz, World Cafe Live on August 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 4, 2023] Speedy Ortiz

I feel like I have seen Speedy Oriz a few times.  But I had only seen them once before.  It was a very memorable show, though, with me getting to stand right in front of Sadie Dupuis as she played and sang.

Here it is five years later (after they opened for Foo Fighters in Fenway a few days after I saw them), with a new album out soon.  I bought a ticket for their Johnny Brenda’s show in a few weeks, but I decided to give the Free at Noon show a go.  (This time it only cost me 3 hours of sick time).

I was pretty no nonsense about this one.  Sucked it up and paid for parking (it had just started raining) and I felt like I was cutting it a little too close to be driving around.  I was bummed for them that it was so sparsely attended, but maybe they’re just not that big of a band.

But it meant I could get up nice and close and watch them play.

They were so spread out on  the big stage.  I felt like bassist Audrey Zee Whitesides (now a permanent member of the band) was miles away.  I was in between Saide and Andy Moholt.  Last time I couldn’t really see Moholt but he was fun to watch this time, playing weird chords and lots of solo frills 9as well as a keyboard).  Initially his lead guitar was way too loud, but they mixed it down pretty quickly.

I’m guessing my location was to blame for how loud Joey Doubek’s drums sounded.  Or more specifically, his one cymbal.  When he crashed it a lot, it really drowned out everyone else. I’m sure you won’t hear that when it gets uploaded to the streaming playback, but it was quite loud to me (I probably should have moved).

They played 8 songs in half an hour.  Four from the new album (released Sept 1) and four oldies.

I was surprised and delighted that they started with “The Graduates” a favorite of mine.

The new songs sound great–a bit heavier and a bit more unusual with the guitar chord choices and whatnot.  And Doubek’s drumming was much louder and more intense on the new songs.  Sadie said that Scabs had something to do with striking postal workers.  I’ll have to listen to the playback to get the details (she was drowned out by the applause).

The folks around me were definitely fans as they sang along to the older songs like “Silver Spring.”

Audrey said that the last time they played World Cafe, they played all of Twerp Verse.  They didn’t want to do any duplicates for this show, but they did want to play a song from each album, so they played “Lucky 88” my favorite off of Twerp.

They ended with the new song “You SO2” (which continues the album’s trend of Sadie’s lyrics being more narrative than rhyme based) and finished with “Plough” a great song from their debut.

Seeing this made me wonder if I still needed to go to Johnny Brenda’s, but it’s a few weeks away and I expect they’ll probably play at least twice as many songs, right?

It’s great to have them back.  I’m looking forward to more new music from them.

Free at Noon 2023 PhilaMOCA 2018
The Graduates € Buck Me Off ⇓
Scabs ¥ Lean In When I Suffer ⇓
Ghostwriter ¥ Lucky 88 ⇓
Silver Spring ⊗ Raising The Skate €
Plus One ¥ The Graduates €
Lucky 88 ⇓ Silver Spring ⊗
You SO2 ¥ Plough ♠
Plough ♠ Alone With Girls ⇓
I’m Blessed ⇓
Taylor Swift [single]
You Hate The Title ⇓
Moving In ⇓
Villain ⇓
Swell Content €
Dvrk Wvrld €

 

¥ Rabbit, Rabbit (2023)
⇓ Twerp Verse (2018)
€ from Foil Deer (2015)
♠ from Major Arcana (2013)
⊗ from Sports EP (2012)
[single] from (2012)

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Blondshell: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, July 21, 2023)

Posted in Blondshell, Free at Noon, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on July 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2023] Blondshell

Blondshell is a new band created by Sabrina Teitelbaum.  She has recorded music under BAUM, but wanted to go in a different direction and so created Blondshell (great name).

I’d heard a couple of songs by her and she was generating a lot of buzz.  I bought a ticket to see her (and Hello, Mary, another young band I like a lot) at PhilaMOCA.  The show sold out soon after.

And then I got invited to a party for my friend’s son. I gladly blew of the show to go to the party.  But when it was announced that Blondshell would do the Free at Noon this week, I immediately grabbed a ticket.

The band played eight songs.  I really enjoyed their guitarist playing some really noisy guitar solos especially at the end of “Veronica Mars.”

The song I know and really like is “Joiner” which sounded great.

And I was impressed that Sabrina sings mostly in a kind of low dirgey style but  that she can really belt out when it’s time for it.  She has some really strong pipes. (more…)

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The Residents: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2023)

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[ATTENDED: March 31, 2023] The Residents 

I’ve been an admirer of The Residents forever.  I’m not a fan exactly–I have some of their records.  I also have some of the CD-ROMS because they were one of the first entities to really make good use of CD-ROM technology.

Their music is bizarre.  Sometimes wonderfully so.  Sometimes not.  I’ve thought about going to see them for years now.  They played Philly in 2018, but i was going to see Built to Spill that evening, so there was no thought of The Residents.

Then in 2020, they announced a new show.  And that and all subsequent attempts were put on hold.

Then my friend Garry sent me a notification that The Residents were going to do a Free at Noon. What?!  I took half a vacation day and drove to Philly to see this remarkable opportunity.

Since their promo material still shows the giant eyeballs that they wore when they came out, I assumed we’d see at least one.  But instead, each member of the band had on a gaiter over their head which perfectly matched their eyeball-filled suits. Anonymity is key! (more…)

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Ibeyi / Ojerime (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2023) [RESCHEDULED] [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ibeyi, Ojerime, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, World Cafe Live on March 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 25, 2023] Ibeyi / Ojerime [rescheduled from October 4, 2022]

I first heard of Ibeyi quite some time ago. They are sisters Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz.  They were born in Cuba but moved to France as small kids.  Both of their parents are musicians, and the sisters have a great musical connection.

I had heard that their live show was amazing and I put them high on my list of bands to see.  They were supposed to play Union Transfer back in October and I was really looking forward to seeing them there.

The show was moved to World Cafe Live which wasn’t a super big deal, although I fins getting to World Cafe Live to be far more of a pain than getting to Union Transfer.  Then I listened to the newest album and it was okay.  I still think “Deathless” is a staggeringly wonderful song, and I sure it’s genius live, but I had kind of lost interest in Ibeyi in the last few months.  And when The Rural Alberta Advantage announced a show for the same night, they ultimately won out.

Sometimes if you are not sure how a band is going to be live, you might be able to get a sense based on their opening act.  Not a foolproof plan, but it can certainly be an indicator.  I hadn’t heard of Ojerime, but when I looked her up, I saw she was described as a “nostalgic R&B queen, [whose] debut mixtape ‘B4 I Breakdown’ tracks a difficult journey through depression and self-discovery.”

That had all the elements of someone I did not want to see.  Like, at all.  So, that helped to solidify my decision not to go.

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Will Sheff / mmeadows (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia PA, November 17, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in mmeadows, Okkervil River, Philadelphia, PA, Will Sheff, World Cafe Live on November 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 11, 2022] Will Sheff / mmeadows

Will Sheff is the main voice behind Okkervil River, a band that I like but who I don’t know all that well.  I’d like to have seen Okkervil River, although I don’t know if there’s really all that much difference between a Will Sheff and an Okkervil River (he played several Okkervil songs).

But I’m guessing that they are a band that at this time I don’t know well enough to travel all that far for.

This was the third time this year that mmeadows was opening for a show that I wound up not going to.  Wither I really need to see them OR they are cursing me into not going to shows.

Their music is pretty interesting.  Rough Trade publishing describes them this way:

Longtime collaborators Kristin Slipp and Cole Kamen-Green come together for the first time as a duo in mmeadows. The band’s distinct sound is informed by their deep musical backgrounds: Kristin is a current member of indie royalty Dirty Projectors, while Cole has worked directly with Beyoncé on two albums, ‘Beyoncé’ and ‘Four.’ Drawing from their disparate influences, mmeadows sees two people connect in what Paste Magazine calls a sonically “singular” way.

Vocal-focused pop songwriting is the heartbeat of mmeadows, who liberally use found sounds and esoteric vintage instruments in their productions and performances. The band released their first EP, Who Do You Think You Are?, in April 2020.

Perhaps a but too poppy for me, but I’ll bet they’re fun live.

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Sudan Archives / Lulu Be (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia PA, October 11, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Lulu Be, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on October 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 11, 2022] Sudan Archives / Lulu Be

The last show that I’m aware of that went on before the pandemic shut everything down was this Sudan Archives show at Johnny Brenda’s.  A friend of mine went to this show (she had gotten tickets early) and said that so few people had actually shown up to this sold out show that they were letting people buy tickets at the door.

Two and a half years later, I finally got my chance to see Sudan Archives.  But I wound up having tickets to shows every single night this week and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it all.  So something had to give.

Sudan Archives’ shows have become pretty crazy in the last couple years as I understand it–much more aggressive and in your face.  It sounded like a fun time.  But sometimes, when I’m on the fence, I listen to a band’s opening act to judge the vibe of the night.

Lulu Be is a Chicago rapper and I wasn’t really feeling it.  And World Cafe Live is kind of a pain in the ass venue.  So this show was blown off.

Now if it had been Cartel Madras again, I wouldn’t have missed it.

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Philly Music Fest 2022 (October 10-15, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Dolphin Tavern, Echo Kid, Empath, GHÖSH, Johnny Brenda's, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, Low Cut Connie, Mannequin Pussy, Max Swan, Philadelphia, PA, Philly Music Fest, REC Philly, Riverby, Screaming Females, Stereo League, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Ire, Underground Arts, World Cafe Live on October 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 10-15, 2022] Philly Music Fest 2022

Every year since 2019 I have participated in Philly Music Fest in some way.  But this year I wound up giving the whole thing a miss.

Philly Music Fest is a non-profit endeavor focused exclusively on local bands, with all proceeds donated to local music education charities. Philly Music Fest features both established and up and coming artists, showcasing the diversity of the Philadelphia music scene.

It wasn’t because of a bad lineup or anything, it was that I had tickets to other shows every night.  I wound up not going to all of those shows anyway, but basically I was already booked for the whole Fest.

This year’s line up was even bigger than last year’s

October 10, 2022 at Ardmore Music Hall 

  • Marielle Kraft is a poignant indie pop singer-songwriter
  • Electric Candlelight is a heavy psychedelic band that I was supposed to see open for Fuzz
  • Mt. Joy is a band I’ve heard on the radio a bunch who I don’t particularly like, so not so great in the headliner here.

October 11, 2022 at Ardmore Music Hall 

  • Stereo League is apparently impossible to describe using concrete words as I can’t figure out what their music sounds like from the blurbs I’ve read.
  • Salika is an R&B singer
  • Mt. Joy of the two nights I wouldn’t have picked this one anyhow.

October 12, 2022 at World Cafe Live

  • Perpetual Motion is described as dynamic acoustic jazz who play blues, rock, jazz, and world music
  • Kayleigh Goldsworthy is a folk singer who I saw open for Frank Turner.  She was great.
  • Ron Gallo is not Vincent Gallo, which is what I think every time I see his name.  Ron is an indie guy who I’ve never heard but who must be pretty popular or interesting if he keeps popping up.
  • Lady HD is a kind of psychedelic pop band whose name reminds me too much of that Lady A fracas that bubbled up a few years ago.
  • Low Cut Connie is one of the bigger bands at the festival.  I’d never want to see them, but I like some of their songs.

October 13, 2022 at Johnny Brenda’s

  • This was the night I would have gone to
  • The Ire is a four-piece goth-tinged post-punk band.  I like their overall sound.
  • Ghosh is a band I’ve wanted to see: they’re pissed off, informed, and ready to party.
  • Screaming Females are terrific and even better live.  I thought this would sell out in a second.

October 14, 2022 at REC Philly

  • This was a free show.  A night of hip hop and beat curated by Working on Dying who I’ve never heard of of

October 14, 2022 at The Dolphin

  • The Dolphin is a new-ish venue that I’ve yet to check out.
  • Max Swan is saxophonist, vocalist, and producer influenced y likes of Stevie Wonder, James Blake.
  • Echo Kid is two guys from RFA.  This is a hazier, no-holds-barred, psychedelic reimagining of the way they’d approach their songwriting process with a languorous sense of ease, effortless genre-blending, and an amalgam of intentional recorded conversation
  • Shamir is an artist I’d like to see live.  They keep popping up as an opening act and then something happens and I don’t see them.  Here’s another miss.

October 15, 2022 at Underground Arts

  • This would have been my pick for show of the Fest, if I hadn’t already been overbooked.
  • Justmadnice is blues-dipped psychedelic jazz.
  • Riverby are a fun indie rock band with a loose sound (and a cover of “Walk Through the Fire” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  • Empath is a band I was supposed to see open for Fucked Up but the couldn’t make the rescheduled date.  They are kind of noisy and poppy and punky and are probably very fun live.
  • Mannequin Pussy is one of my favorite new(ish) bands.  They are amazing live and are always worth seeing.

The 2023 Fest is bound to be great too.

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Ibeyi / Madison McFerrin (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 4, 2022) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Ibeyi, Madison McFerrin, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, World Cafe Live on October 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: October 4, 2022] Ibeyi / Madison McFerrin [moved to March 25, 2023 at World Cafe Live]

I first heard of Ibeyi quite some time ago. They are sisters Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz.  They were born in Cuba but moved to France as small kids.  Both of their parents are musicians, and the sisters have a great musical connection.

I had heard that their live show was amazing and I put them high on my list of bands to see.   I was pretty excited to see that they’d be playing Union Transfer.

Then on September 7, I got this email:

Ibeyi have moved their US tour, including their Philadelphia date to Spring 2023. A note from the band can be read below.

“To our fans in North America, we’re sorry to announce that due to logistical complications, we have to move our originally scheduled North America September/October dates to the spring of 2023. For those who have been following Ibeyi from the beginning, you know how touring and performing is special to us, we can’t wait to come and play our songs for you, but it’s only a matter of time.

Please note the new date and venue for our show – original tickets will be honored, please contact your point of purchase for more information.”The Philadelphia show will now be taking place at a new venue, World Cafe Live on March 25, 2023.

The opening act, Madison McFerrin is Bobby McFerrin’s daughter.

She sings in a kind of classic soulful way.  Her voice is rather timeless.  I’m not sure how much I would have enjoyed seeing her live, but I’ll probably never know.

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