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Archive for the ‘World Cafe Live’ Category

Philly Music Fest (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, September 28, 2019)

Posted in Ali Awan, Arnetta Johnson, Arthur Thomas, Ceramic Animal, Chestnut Grove, Darlingside, Federal Donuts, Foxtrot and the Get Down, Genesis, Ill Doots, Ill Fated Natives, Jeremiah Tall, Johnny Brenda's, Man Man, Milkboy, Palm, Petal, Philadelphia, PA, Philly Music Fest, Remember Sports, RFA, Rosali, Sammus, Secret American, Sixteen Jackies, Speedy Ortiz, Stereolab, Sun Ra, Sun Ra Arkestra, Tate, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, The Districts, Thin Lips, Vacationer, World Cafe Live on September 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 29, 2019] Philly Music Fest

For those counting, this makes four concerts in four nights, which is frankly insane (and thanks to my poor wife who tolerates such excesses).

But the whole reason I wanted to go this evening was to see Man Man (more in their own post).

But, in fact, the entire Philly Music Fest was pretty fantastic.  I would have certainly gone to three of the four nights if I could have.  This little festival is a testament to the amazing music that Philadelphia is producing, and they didn’t even include two of my favorite Philly bands, Mannequin Pussy and Control Top.

The first night I actually didn’t know any of the bands.

  • Wednesday 9/25 at Milkboy (a venue I haven’t been to yet)
  • Secret American
  • Sixteen Jackies
  • Ceramic Animal

The second night was an amazing line up! (more…)

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Guster: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, January 11, 2019)

Posted in Free at Noon, Guster, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on January 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 11, 2019] Guster

Guster has a new album coming out this month.  And as part of their tour, they are coming to the Philly Fillmore on S. and my wedding anniversary!  Obviously, we got tickets and plan to have a bizarre Anniversary celebration–no fancy meal, just music–and we hope we are acknowledged from the stage!

[UPDATE: This date, our anniversary show, has been postponed!  Why?  Because the band is going to be on Late Night with Seth Meyers instead.  We love Seth, so if anyone is going to ruin our anniversary plans we’re glad it’s him.  It turns out that the rescheduled date is going to be a 20th anniversary show of Lost and Gone Forever, which means two full sets of Guster.  I think we made out ahead.  Thanks Seth].

I have never been to a Free at Noon show before.  They seem so awesome–a free concert from some amazing bands?  Sign me up!  The problem is that the venue, World Cafe Live, is 75 minutes from my work.  So, an hour show, two and a half hour driving…  that’s about a four-hour lunch.  Well, I had some personal time, so I used it and got myself and S. tickets for Free at Noon.  I didn’t think she’d be able to go and she didn’t think she could either, so I went by myself.

Parking was a lot harder to find during the day and it was very cold.  I never thought if I got there at 11:45 I’d have to wait online, but they were having some kind of technical difficulties and they kept everyone outside.  I specifically took off my sweater in the car figuring the venue wold be roasting, so I was pretty chilly waiting out there.  By five to 12, someone came around and told us that we wouldn’t miss anything.  And indeed, the free at noon started at 12:15 instead of noon. (more…)

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Steven Page Trio (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, September 24, 2018)

Posted in Art of Time Ensemble, Barenaked Ladies, Craig Northey, Kevin Fox, Philadelphia, PA, Steven Page, The Beatles, World Cafe Live on September 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 24, 2018] Steven Page Trio

I’ve seen Barenaked Ladies countless times.  I saw them when Steven Page was with them.  I’ve seen them after he left.  BNL is always fun even without Steven.

But Steven Page’s voice is awesome and he is definitely missed in the band (even though his solo albums are better than recent BNL albums).

This is actually the third time I have seen him since he left BNL and all were within the last three years.

The first time (also with Craig Northey) was when they and the Art of Time Ensemble performed Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.  The second was earlier this year when Steven did his Songbook–singing (mostly) other people’s songs.

These were both great but, man, I wanted to hear him sing his own songs.  So I was psyched when he announced a new tour with a trio playing his own music (and a new album).

The trio included Craig Northey on guitar and Kevin Fox on cello.  And it was awesome. (more…)

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Wesley Stace (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, September 24, 2018) [STEVEN PAGE TRIO]

Posted in Abba, John Wesley Harding, Madonna, Philadelphia, PA, The New York Times, The Sound of Music, Wesley Stace, World Cafe Live on September 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 24, 2018] Wesley Stace

Wesley Stace once recorded  under the pseudonym John Wesley Harding and released some 20 albums.

He has somewhat recently reverted to his real name for performance and wrote about the pseudonym in the New York Times

I’m the last person who should have bothered with a fake name in the first place. I didn’t need a Bowiesque persona, nor did I have a drab real name, but I did need a disguise, assuming that my “career” would tank in about two weeks, proving an embarrassing obstacle to a more attainable-seeming future in academia.

So “John Wesley Harding” it was, founded purely on the coincidence of my Christian name and a Bob Dylan album title. Both I and the cowboy John Wesley Hardin were named for the founder of the Methodist religion (though of the two of us, I’ve probably followed his teachings slightly more closely, having killed fewer people.) For some reason, Dylan misspelled Hardin “Harding”; no one knows why and to my knowledge no one’s ever bothered to ask. (My own favorite theory is that Dylan omitted so many “g”s from titles like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’” that he decided on a little restitution.)

And after a coincidentally precise 25 years, I have decided, for my new record, to ditch the tried and tested “John Wesley Harding” brand in favor of my real name. Why? I am hardly a household name, but whether you’re a Cougar, a Prince or a Harding (and unless you’re a Will Oldham who changes his name from Bonnie-Prince-this to Palace-Songs-that at the drop of a hat), it’s the sort of decision that doesn’t come lightly.

The reason is simple: I wrote a couple of autobiographical songs, and then I kept writing them. It was the first time that I’d ever bothered to write that kind of confessional song. All songs are autobiographical, but these were also true: things that happened to me. It wasn’t an aesthetic decision; it was something that just presented itself, because I was feeling low and stuck in hotel rooms on a dull book tour. I wrote to comfort myself; you could go so far to say, as a form of therapy.

This move has been facilitated by the fact that I’ve been writing novels for the last 10 years under my real name: that decision was a no-brainer. The first novel, “Misfortune”, was a Dickensian kind of thing, and having the misspelled name of an outlaw on the spine would have been silly. That extracurricular use of my real name means that Wesley Stace has continued to exist on some level over there on the bookshelf. But it gets tiring having two names. Introductions to readings are too long anyway without that added complication: time to get it all under one roof.

That’s a long introduction for a short set (about 30 minutes). (more…)

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Calexico (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, May 2, 2018)

Posted in Calexico, Philadelphia, PA, Ryley Walker, World Cafe Live on May 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 2, 2018] Calexico

Back in the 90s when Calexico first came out, I had no interest in their blend of alt rock and countryish music.  I never really gave them a chance (that was before you could freely listen to music and determine exactly what things sounded like).

Then a couple of years ago, Sarah bought me their then new CD Algiers and I loved it.  Their new single, “Under the Wheels” is wonderful (albeit too short).  So when I saw that they were playing at World Cafe Live, I decided to grab tickets right away.

I didn’t really know what to expect and what I got was a delightfully life affirming set of fun songs, great musicianship and a tremendous amount of diversity.

I don;t really know that much by Calexico as it turns out (no surprise really).  And it was a bit of a bummer that they only played one song from Algiers.  But they played a lot from the new album and (if the crowd reaction is accurate) a whole bunch of old favorites. (more…)

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Ryley Walker (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, May 2, 2018) [CALEXICO]

Posted in Bill MacKay, Calexico, Philadelphia, PA, Ryley Walker, World Cafe Live on May 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 2, 2018] Ryley Walker

I hadn’t heard of Ryley Walker before this show.  I walked in just as his set was starting and it was Ryley in the center of the stage, another guitarist to his right and an upright bassist on his left.

And basically, they were jamming some cool electric guitar solos.

I found out that the bassist was actually Calexico’s bassist Scott Colberg. (more…)

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An Evening with Nada Surf (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 9, 2018)

Posted in Guided By Voices, Joy Division, Nada Surf, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on March 9, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 9, 2018] Nada Surf

Nada Surf has been on my bands-to-see-live list for some time.   Matthew Caws the lead singer and primary songwriter had played a solo gig nearby recently, but I wanted to see the whole band.  So I was really excited to see that they were going to play An Evening, which always means “no opener.”  I love a good opening band, but if I can see twice as much of a headliner, well, that’s even better!

And this was going to be a celebration of their album Let Go.  This was the fifteenth anniversary of this, their third album, and it was going to be played in its entirety.  Which is  great since pretty much the whole album is terrific.

Nada Surf has a fascinating history.  They were huge with their sorta-novelty hit “Popular.”  When they put out their second album, The Proximity Effect, the label thought there were no hits, so the band was dropped.  The guys went to France (Matthew Caws and bassist Daniel Lorca initially met at The Lycée Français de New York (The French High School of New York) a private, independent bilingual French school and also spent time in Belgium and France as kids).  The album was released and well received.  They eventually self-released it back home.

Then they released Let Go in Europe and the U.S. (with different track listings).  Caws thanked Barsuk for releasing the album basically sight-unseen back in 2002.

And the entire first set was the album front to back. (more…)

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