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Lucius / Danielle Ponder (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 11, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 11, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 11, 2023] Lucius / Danielle Ponder

Last year I didn’t see Lucius on two separate occasions because the shows didn’t line up properly for me.

So when they announced a shwo at White Eagle Hall, I thought I’d try to get to it.

But it turned out to be opposite Sleaford Mods who I had been wanting to see for quite a while.  So, sorry Lucius.  I suppose I won’t get another opportunity, but if I do I’ll be sure to take it.

Although as I keep saying–

I’m not even 100% sure I want to see them live–I really like some of their songs a lot, but a lot are just kind of okay for me.  Although their harmonies are absolutely dynamite.

Danielle Ponder is a soul singer with an amazing voice.  Her raspy vocals on “Some of Us are Brave” are incredible.  I feel like she could easily be working with Hozier one of these days.

In 2020, NPR described her music as anthemic while compassionate; soulful, while bold and strong. She reverberates with a goosebump-inducing passion,.”

She’s be pretty great to see live.  And she has a fascinating backstory too:

Danielle attended Northeastern University where she received her Juris Doctorate. For 5 years, Danielle worked as a public defender where she provided criminal defense to the indigent community.

While working as a public defender, Danielle also toured Europe and scored an opening spot with George Clinton.

In 2018, after five years as a public defender, she made the gutsy decision to pursue her No.1 passion — music. In 2021, Danielle performed at the Newport Jazz Festival where her performance was hailed as one of the stand out performances of the event.

 

 

Posted in Danielle Ponder, Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

Sheer Mag (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 11, 2023) [SLEAFORD MODS]

April 11, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 11, 2023] Sheer Mag

I saw Sheer Mag about ten months ago. So this was my third time seeing them.  It’s always funny to me how I see some bands a lot without really trying to, but bands that I really want to see I hardly get the chance.

There are bands that I love that I have now seen as many times as Sheer Mag, a band that I enjoy, but don’t need to see again.

The first time I saw them, I said

They play a terrific swagger-filled hard rock (comparisons to many riff rock bands of the 70s abound).  And they are fronted by bad-ass singer Tina Halladay whose gritty voice sounds quite a bit like some of high-pitched male singers of the era.

They have a new album coming out soon.  And they may have played some songs from it–there were a few that sounded different from the ones they usually play.

They are certainly an odd opening band for Sleaford Mods.  Tina joked that the pairing made sense because Sleaford Mods are British and Sheer Mag are a bunch of cunts.  So there ya go. Continue Reading »

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sheer Mag, Sleaford Mods, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Bikini Kill (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2023) [Fifth rescheduled date!]

April 9, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 7, 2023] Bikini Kill [rescheduled from November 22, 2020, October 2, 2021 and July 13, 2022]

I bought a ticket for this show on November 10, 2019.  That’s 1,244 days.

And it finally happened!

It felt like a pretty long time before the band came out.  My daughter was a little nervous about the place being sold out and the crowd definitely pressed in on us, but she was a trooper and we enjoyed talking to some of the other people around us.

And then the band came out.

Three of the original Bikini Kill members were touring, Tobi Vail on drums (and vocals) Kathi Wilcox on bass (and drums) and Kathleen Hanna singing (and bass).  Original member Billy Karren was not part of the reunion and was replaced by Sara Landeau who has an impressive musical background.

They came out and launched right into song after song.

Kathleen Hanna is a great front woman–talking to us about the songs, saying how great it was to see so many young people whose parents were into th eband and talking about how different it was back in the 90s when people would heckle and throw things at them.

They played a bunch of songs and the crowd was singing along with them all the way.

After about six songs, Tobi Vail came down from behind the kit and sang a couple of songs.  Kathi played drums and Kathleen went to the bass.

Then Kathleen retruned to the fore for a few more songs.  She talked about “No Backrub” as being about self-care and she was delighted to see punks slamdancing to a song about self-care.

It’s been a pretty long time since I listened to these records very carefully so I didn’t know the songs all that well.  But I enjoyed the energy and singing along to the songs and parts of songs that I knew.  I love “Reject All American.”  And it was soon after that they played a whole bunch from Pussy Whipped, the album I know best.

As the set drew to a close, she said they were going to a play a song that she wrote because her sister used to say it to all he guys who harrassed her on her way to school.  Everybody shout along now: “suck my left one!”

After a short encore break, Kathleen apologized for not introducing the band and shouted “We are Bikini Kill and we want Revolution Girl Style Now!” before playing “Double Dare Ya!”

And then came the moment everyone was waiting for.  They started “Rebel Girl” and the play exploded.  It was great fun.  And at about 80 minutes it still felt pretty exhausting from all the dancing.

  1. New Radio §
  2. This Is Not a Test ⇓
  3. Don’t Need You ©
  4. Alien She Ψ
  5. Feels Blind ⇓
  6. I Hate Danger § (Tobi Vail singing)
  7. In Accordance to Natural Law § (Tobi Vail singing)
  8. Carnival ⇓
  9. Resist Psychic Death ©
  10. No Backrub Ø
  11. Capri Pants Ø
  12. For Tammy Rae Ψ
  13. For Only Ø
  14. Demi Rep §
  15. Reject All American Ø
  16. Jigsaw Youth ©
  17. Sugar  Ψ
  18. Rah! Rah! Replica §
  19. Hamster Baby Ψ  (Tobi Vail singing)
  20. Tell Me So Ψ  (Tobi Vail singing)
  21. Magnet Ψ
  22. Lil’ Red Ψ
  23. Suck My Left One ⇓
    encore
  24. Double Dare Ya ⇓
  25. Rebel Girl Ψ
⇓ Revolution Girl Style Now (1991)
Ψ Pussy Whipped (1993)
© The C.D. Version of the First Two Records (1994)
Ø Reject All American (1996)
§ The Singles (1998)

Posted in Bikini Kill, Brontez Purnell, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Riot Grrrl | Leave a Comment »

Brontez Purnell (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2023) [BIKINI KILL] [Fifth rescheduled date!]

April 8, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 7, 2023] Brontez Purnell [rescheduled from November 22, 2020, October 2, 2021 and July 13, 2022]

I bought a ticket for this show on November 10, 2019.  That’s 1,244 days.

And it finally happened!

In the 4 years since I bought these tickets, my daughter became a fan of the band and I was able to score a ticket for her that wasn’t marked up all that much.  So we both got to enjoy the show.

There were a couple of different opening acts planned for this show.  I would have loved to see Alice Bag.  But for this date we had Brontez Purnell.

I had no idea who this was and even had kind of a hard time imagining what they would do.  Especially since his Wikipedia page states:

Brontez Purnell is an American writer, musician, dancer, and director based out of Oakland, California. He is the author of several books, including Since I Laid My Burden Down, and the zine Fag School; frontman for the punk band The Younger Lovers; and founder of the Brontez Purnell Dance Company.

I didn’t know if Brontez would speak, dance or sing.

So it turned out Brontez fronted a three piece garage punk band.  And they were very much okay. Continue Reading »

Posted in Bikini Kill, Brontez Purnell, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Riot Grrrl | Leave a Comment »

Guster / Allison Ponthier (The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 7, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 7, 2023] Guster / Allison Ponthier

My wife and I saw Guster yesterday.  It was her ninth and my tenth time.

We both thought it would be super fun to see them two nights in a row (especially since their sets tend to change up so much).  Indeed, the set from this night was almost entirely different.

However, I had long- long- delayed tickets to see Bikini Kill that night.  I assumed up until the last minute that the show would get delayed once again, but it did go on this time.  And my daughter was going with me and she was super excited to go to the show.  So, we’ll catch Guster again I’m sure.

Allison Ponthier is a singer songwriter who sings quiet, catchy folk songs.

In August 2021, Ponthier released her debut EP Faking My Own Death.  The debut single from the EP, “Cowboy”, was named one of the “25 Best Songs By LGBTQ Artists of 2021 (So Far)” by Billboard on June 29, 2021.

Her voice is quiet interesting and her videos are visually very interesting.

As for what she sounds like, her own description sums it up pretty well:

I will always be making pop music. Pop is very general, but my music will always be pop at its heart. Growing up, there was country music all around me. It was what my mom listened to, and it was all over Texas. But I also really found a love for songwriting with artists like Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, and Fleet Foxes. When I’m writing, I try not to think about the genre and more along the lines of, “Oh, that piano chord sounds cool,” or, “I have this melody idea.”

Cool, although I’m so glad we got to see Karina Rykman.

Posted in Allison Ponthier, Guster, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Guster (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 6, 2023)

April 7, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 6, 2023] Guster

It was only a few months ago that we saw Guster in Montclair.  And yet here they were back again in New Jersey!

They’re playing Philly tomorrow night and it was be incredible to see them two night in a row, but the second night is the same as night as the five-times rescheduled Bikini Kill show. so, you know, priorities.

Karina Rykman’s set was so much fun but we had no idea how good this night’s set was going to be.

This is my tenth time seeing Guster and my wife’s ninth (she couldn’t make the Free at Noon that I went to).  So we pretty much know what to expect at a show by now.

But the guys really mixed it up quite a lot for this one.

In addition to their super fun set design (desk lights suspended from the ceiling all set up with LEDs to glow different colors), they also played a setlist that was totally killer. Continue Reading »

Posted in Guster, Jersey City, NJ, Karina Rykman, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Karina Rykman (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 6, 2023) [GUSTER]

April 6, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 6, 2023] Guster

I’ve seen Karina Rykman play with Marco Benevento three times.  She is an amazing bass player with a great sound, great instincts and great jamming skills.

I was supposed to see her a few times, but the shows were cancelled for one reason or another.

So how awesome was it that she was going to open for Guster?

I didn’t really have a good sense of what her live show would be like.  Her recorded solo stuff is rather synthy and kind of discoey, which I really didn’t expect.  So who knew what we were going to get.

Well, her band, Chris Corsica on drums and Adam November on guitar were outstanding.  The songs had a kind of disco feel (especially from the guitar playing from November) and the occasional very disco bass line that Karina threw in.  But they felt modern as well.

The songs grooved and were groovy, taking the most fun aspects of disco and marrying them to a heaviness and thumping sound that worked really well.

I hadn’t really heard Rykman sing before and her voice is quiet and somewhat angelic.  She must have some kind of processors on her mic because it sounded like there were harmonies a lot of the time. Continue Reading »

Posted in Guster, Jersey City, NJ, Karina Rykman, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Deerhoof / Hello Mary / Scarlet (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 5, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 5, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 5, 2023] Deerhoof / Hello Mary / Scarlet

Deerhoof is one of the weirder indie bands out there.  Their songs have no real sense of standard structure or melody.  They jump from notion to notion, seemingly on a whim.

I haven’t listened to them a lot, although I always like to know they’re still making weird music.

They’re the kind of band that would be really interesting to see live.  One reviewer on Soundkick puts it much better than I could

There sound is also so fascinating because they love playing around with polar opposite musical elements, testing how they clash and complement each other. Singer Satomi Matsuzaki’s voice has a characteristic sweet and child like innocence to it; however it is often bizarrely paired with abrasive (sometimes borderline frighting) musical accompaniments. Deerhoof is also a band that has a rich understanding of pop music; however they will take it into their own territory: perverting it, capitalizing on its charm, and most importantly using it as a way to mess with the listeners anticipations.

Deerhoof is one of the most unique bands around and it is a wonderful experience to see them perform live. Their music is simply incomparable. In a way it is a mystery how they get such interesting sounds when using very conventional instrumentation. When I saw them live for their “Breakup Song” tour they performed their entire set using only a guitar, bass, drum set and microphone. I was mesmerized throughout the performance. It was one of the few shows I have attended in which I was absolutely absorbed in the music. They switched from songs like “Apple Bomb” which was a more contemplative track featuring fantastically odd chord changes to newer songs like “There’s That Grin”. “There’s that Grin” has to be the catchiest Deerhoof track written. I couldn’t believe how perfect they performed it live either. This is a song that features extensive use of synthesizers and yet it sounded just as good performed on the guitar and bass. Their drummer Greg Saunier also has one of the greatest improvisational styles I have seen in a long time.

I wasn’t really intending to go to this show until I saw that Hello Mary was opening.

The New York trio’s self-titled full-length debut, out March 3, is a blast of distorted chords, sunny harmonies, and all-consuming angst that will renew your faith in the hopelessly dated and/or timelessly classic sounds of alternative rock. Hello Mary is an instant contender for 2023’s most bracing entrance to the stage, sharp and self-assured. Oh yeah, and the band’s two founders — singer-guitarist Helena Straight and bass player Mikaela Oppenheimer, both 18 — just graduated from high school this summer.

I have since listened to the album and I love it.  I sure hope they tour soon, maybe as a headliner.

Scarlet is a terrible name for a band.  While looking this band up, I found at least three possibilities because there are at least three bands with this name.  One is a hair metal band, the other is a grunge goth band and then there’s this one, which I assume is the right one (there’s no way to tell really).

The band that I think this is–they make the most sense–is the band from Brooklyn (this one) who I rather like.  There’s droning guitars and feedback–grunge guitars and soft vocals (a la 90s indie rock).   Probabaly because I just saw Versus, tis band reminds me of them somewhat in style. It’s pretty great.  I hope this is the Scarlet that was at this show.

Posted in Deerhoof, Hello Mary, Philadelphia, PA, Scarlet, Underground Arts | 2 Comments »

Xylouris White (Solar Myth, Philadelphia PA, April 4, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 4, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 4, 2023] Xylouris White

xylourisI saw Xylouris White almost exactly seven years ago.  They were amazing–just drums and lute that captivated the room.

I saw that they were playing at Solar Myth, a venue (coffee bar?) that I’d never been to before.

I had a busy week but I checked and it seemed like Tuesday night was cool to go out to see them (especially since there was no opening act and the show would be over not too late).  But when I got home from work, my plans changed–I couldn’t say no to the proposed evening of sushi dinner.  So I went out with the fam instead.

I also had been coming down with a sinus infection which meant me feel less than stellar, so a concert (even a seated one) probably wasn’t the best idea.

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Xylouris White | Leave a Comment »

Sunset Rubdown (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2023)

April 2, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 31, 2023] Sunset Rubdown 

I really like Spencer Krug’s other (one of many) band Wolf Parade.  When the Sunset Rubdown album Dragonslayer came out, I really liked it as well. Krug is a weird songwriter with an unusual sense of what a song should be like.

Sunset Rubdown more or less broke up after Dragonslayer for reasons I’m unclear about.  They toured throughout 2009 and then disbanded.  Sometime in December 2022, Krug decided to get the band back together for a Tiny Tour.

As Krug puts it

“Fast forward twelve-and-a-half years” from their final show in Tokyo in late 2009 “to Krug whimsically sending the band a group email about a possible reunion, after having dreamt about it the night before. Each of the members replied with an enthusiastic “Yes” that same afternoon, and a dormant volcano began to rumble…”

I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to go to this show.

When it was first announced, on December 6, it was at PhilMOCA and it sold out almost instantly.

Then on

December 9,  (Three days later) there was a message

OK, let’s go. Due to popular demand, the Sunset Rubdown show has been MOVED from PhilaMOCA to the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia! All previously purchased tickets will be honored at the new venue and additional tickets are ON SALE NOW! …but for how long?

Now I don’t go  to the Church, so I wasn’t going to go to this show.  But then later that day:

Damn, this sold out instantly. Should we move it to a bigger room or…

On January 5, the show was moved to Union Transfer and I bought my ticket the next day.

By the time the show came up, I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to go.   There were two other shows that night that I was vaguely interested in.  But I decided to take advantage of this reunion.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Nicholas Merz, Philadelphia, PA, Sunset Rubdown, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

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