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Stars (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2026) [METRIC]

July 28, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Stars

When this tour (dubbed All the Feelings) was announced, I knew I was going immediately.  Stars, Broken Social Scene and Metric?  Three great Canadian bands who have all played with each other?  It sounded wonderful.

Stars is a fantastic band and it took me far too long to see them live.  But now that I have, I’ve seen them every two years since that first time.  I was a little bummed that they weren’t the middle band for this show, but, as it turned out, they spent a lot of time on stage with Broken Social Scene, so it was no big deal.

The actual big deal, though, was that the show started at 7 instead of 8.  I probably could have gone home after work and been home for a second and then headed down to Philly, but I decided to go directly from work (which was a very smart idea).  I arrived way too early so I went to Federal Donuts to get a chicken sandwich only to find out that this location’s grill was off.  I also found out that Federal Donuts has closed a lot of their locations (No!).  So I’m not sure if this location (on 7th) no loner serves chicken (is the grill closed permanently?).  Devastating.

So, with no dinner, but a six pack of donuts, I headed over to The Met, got to my secret free parking spot, and listened to my audio book.  But there was threat of thunderstorms.  I didn’t want to get into the venue too early, but I also didn’t want to get soaked, so I headed in around 6:15.  Merch was okay, but I didn’t get anything.  I moseyed down to the pit and happily stood behind the front row of people (a nice short woman in front of me).  This family was very nice and had seen BSS many times.

Right on time, Stars came out and, as usual, Torq was his funny engaging and charismatic self.  Amy Millan looked wonderful and seemed to be having a great time as well.  And their onstage rapport is always amazing together.  Torq talked about how great it was to be able to do something with your best friend.

The rest of the band has remained the same for 20+ years.  Last tour I learned that bassist Evan Cranley and guitarist Chris Seligman are the main composers of Stars’ music while Torq Campbell and Amy Millan write lyrics.  Drummer Pat McGee and lead guitarist Chris McCarron keep everything going.  And Torq played melodica a bunch. Continue Reading »

Posted in Broken Social Scene, Metric, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Melvins (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 27 2026) [TOMAHAWK]

July 27, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 27, 2026] Melvins

Despite everything in the world indicating that I should be a Melvins fan, for whatever reason, I just never followed them.

And I’d never wanted to see them live.  Then in 2023, they did a coheadlining tour with Boris (which I wasn’t going to miss).  During that show, Dale Crover had an injury so Coady Willis played drums.   But this time, Dale was back and BOTH drummers were up on stage.

Recent bassist (they have had many bassists) Steven Shane McDonald (who was one of the main dudes in Redd Kross, a band I have never gotten into) was on bass and is a lot of fun.  Despite Melvins being a heavy punk band, McDonald acts like a massive hippie.  He has long hair, was wearing a jump suit with eyes all over it and is very chill (except when he’s screaming).   He also plays his bass in a great way–lots of reverb and pedals and often playing high on the neck creating a sound that doesn’t seem to fit what I think of the Melvins’ sound, but which worked really well.

And then there is Buzz Osbourne (King Buzzo).  Last time he was on the far side of the stage, but this time i Was right in front of him.  Like last time he was wearing a caftan with a giant eyeball on it and of course, his legendary hair.  I didn’t realize he was a “good” guitar player.  I assumed the band played sludgy slow songs with just a few chords.  I kind of assumed that they didn’t care about the music.  But that’s wrong.  Buzz played solos and clearly does give a shit.

Last time, it took a couple of songs to win me over, but tonight I was fully into it.  As were most of the audience (I deliberately arrived earl than I normally would because I knew people weren’t going to blow off the opening band).  Indeed, after fifteen minutes a mosh pit started (not bad for an opening band).

As I said I always assumed Melvins songs were slow and sludgy, but most of the earlier songs in the set were pretty fast tempo.

I’m going to admit, though, that the most fun part of the show was the two drummers.  I’ve seen a few bands with two drummers and it’s always neat.  You kind of think they can’t possibly stay in sync, but come one, they are drummers of course they can.  What was really fun about this pair was that Dale is right handed and Coady is left handed so they mirrored each other.  Mostly they played the same thing but from time to time, one of them would add extra fills or wood blocks or something.  I loved at the end of the first song the both held their sticks over the heads in a X shape while they prepped to start song 2. Continue Reading »

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Melvins, Tomahawk, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Muse (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 23, 2026)

July 25, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 23, 2026] Muse

I can’t believe that it has been seven years since I’ve seen Muse.  Mostly because I remember their two shows (the earlier one was ten years ago) so vividly because they were fantastic.

I blew off their last tour to the States in 2023 because the tickets were so expensive.  Then I read a review and realized that the price was worth it for the show.  This time around the tickets were once again WAY too expensive, but they were at the PNC Bank Arts Center.  Where you can get lawn seats for around $40.  And, if the pavilion seats aren’t sold out, you can upgrade for $25.  And that’s what my son and I did.  We got Row Q which was the best location I’ve had for a Muse show.  And holy cow was it amazing to see them so close.

I realize that I haven’t enjoyed Muse’s newer stuff as much as their older stuff (I know everyone says that) but it doesn’t mean I think the new stuff is bad.  I just need to listen more, I think.  But new music mostly means a new tour and new technology for them to play around with.  And that’s pretty awesome.

When I saw them last time, it involved gigantic creatures all around the stage.  This show was slightly more subdued, but no less technologically marvelous.  Although at the start, the stage was remarkably minimalist.  One amp behind Matt Bellamy–I assume it was not plugged in and was just a prop).  Dominic Howard on drums on a riser in the middle (later, the amp was replaced with a small standing kit that he used for a song or two while they were no doubt doing something interesting to his main kit.  In the back right was touring musician Dan Lancaster who plays keys and guitar and other things.  And then there was bassist Chris Wolstenholme with his red-light-on-frets bass guitar.  He and Bellamy walk all over the stage, untethered to anything.

I assumed that they would be playing most of the new album and would certainly start with a new song.  But, instead, after a Chvrches song played over the speakers, they came out (to thunderous applause) and launched into Interlude.  Which is an amusing title to star a show with but it segued into the outstanding Hysteria which go the crowd totally rowdy. Continue Reading »

Posted in Bloc Party, Ennio Morricone, Holmdel, NJ, Muse, PNC Bank Center, The Temper Trap | Leave a Comment »

Seratones (ArtYard, Frenchtown, NJ, July 25, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 25, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 25, 2026] Seratones

There have now been at four events at ArtYard in Frenchtown that I have wanted to go to, but for one reason or another, I did not make it.

I saw Seratones play at Johnny Brenda’s six years ago and they were fantastic.  Such energy, such excitement!  I couldn’t believe they were playing in Frenchtown and I wanted to get a ticket to encourage other bands to play here.

They are now apparently a trip instead of a five piece and when I listened to some of their newer songs, they weren’t quite the same.  It’s a bit more R&B and a bit less punky.  I’m sure they were still great live–AJ Haynes is really a an amazing front woman, but we were heading out on vacation in a few nights and we had a lot going on to sacrifice a Saturday night.  Even if it was in Frenchtown.

Posted in ArtYard, Frenchtown NJ, Seratones | Leave a Comment »

Wunderhorse / Been Stellar (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, July 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 24, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 24, 2026] Wunderhorse / Been Stellar

Wunderhorse is a band whose name sounds like a lot of other bands that I like (or at least hat I know).  I know WXPN liked them, although when I played the song tha they had been playing a lot, I didn’t recognize it.  And I didn’t really like it.  I have nothing against the band but nothing about the songs grabbed me at all.

So, yea, I wasn’t going to see them.

I have enjoyed the band name Been Stellar for a little while now.  I’m not even sure if I knew their music, but their name gave me a chuckle.  They have opened for two bands that I was interested in seeing, but I didn’t go to either show.  Last time, when they opened for Fontaines D.C. I said I listened to a few clips and didn’t really get much of a feeling from them–fuzzy alt rock.  They’re kind of a buzz band, but I’d need to hear more.  When I first listened to them in 2023, though I really liked them.  I guess tastes change.

Posted in Been Stellar, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wunderhorse | Leave a Comment »

Finn Wolfhard / Sleeper’s Bell (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, July 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 24, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 26, 2026] Finn Wolfhard / Sleeper’s Bell

Just how many of the cast from Stranger Things are also musicians?  Well, just about all of them, it seems.

And so here comes Finn Wolfhard.  He played The Foundry a couple of years back and here he’s at Union Transfer.  I have no idea how well the show sold, and I didn’t have any intention of going, but I’m fascinated by the whole thing.

I checked out his solo stuff and its kind of fun–I imagine he’s a great frontman.  But I didn’t care enough to look into it any further.   But in fairness, his sound is good–a Pavement-adjacent sonic palette with hints of other genres poking in.  And his songs are really short.

Okay, so this review from Get Alternative says

The show was nearly sold out and super packed, a line around the block snaked down the street, to get inside the venue.  Finn Wolfhard, a Canadian actor/musician … is 23. He released his second solo album on July 10th.  He had a full band backing him up and their scrappy indie rock was fun and energetic. The lighting was excellent, mostly blue with bits of yellow shining through, and candelabras spread throughout the stage as a backdrop. This was a memorable show and an exciting night of music.

The review also mentions Sleeper’s Bell, who I didn’t know.

Opening up the show was Sleeper’s Bell, a band from Chicago who are in their mid twenties. They play indie folk and are fronted by vocalist Blaine Teppema and guitarist Evan Green, and played with a drummer and bassist as well for this tour. They seemed grateful for the opportunity to open for Finn and played a few songs from their latest album ‘Clover’ from 2025, as well as a smattering of new and unreleased songs. They had a quieter vibe to them and Blaine’s pretty voice shone through the instrumentation. A highlight of the set was the song ‘Corner’ a single from 2024. They finished up the set by playing ‘Hey Blue’ the final track from Clover.

They are definitely too quiet for me.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Finn Wolfhard, Philadelphia, PA, Sleeper's Bell, Stranger Things, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Kurt Vile and the Violators / Twisted Teens / They are Gutting a Body of Water // Pavement / Ratboys [A Make the World Better Benefit] (The Dell Music Center, Philadelphia PA, July 24 & 25, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 24, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 24 & 25, 2026] Kurt Vile and the Violators / Twisted Teens / They are Gutting a Body of Water // Pavement / Ratboys

When this show was announced, I really wanted to go. I mean, Ratboys, Kurt Vile and Pavement!  Holy cow.  But I have really bad memories of Dell Music Center (parking is a nightmare) and I just felt like I didn’t really want to BE there.  I thought my wife might like to go because she loves Kurt.  But we had seen him a few months ago at the Stone Pony.  And I have seen Ratboys a few times (and blew them off a few times already in recent weeks.  So, although I would have liked to see Pavement….well.  Alas, it’s not going to happen.

How did Pavement get mixed in with this normally Philly heavy lineup?  See below.  Also, I’ve enjoyed some Pavement over the years, but I find the aggressive love that people have for them a alittle offputtingm so it is comforting to read (from an article quoted below) “I would like to note that they lack the pretentious, cynical, self-seriousness of some of those who followed them in the ensuing decade-plus.”

I have been interested in They are Gutting a Body of Water for a while. Their name sounds like they should be harsher than they are.  But I haven’t ever really gotten a real sense of thei live show, so I wasn’t willing to start at the Dell Center

Of the five bands, Twisted Teens was the only one I’d never heard of.  They’ve from New Orleans and recently signed to SUB POP and here’s a few words of description: “Fans of Raw Power-era Stooges, Eastern mysticism, or the punk-to-country pipeline should tuck in” (Atwood Magazine). “Here to put some steel wool type hair on your chest. Gritty, toothy lofi punk with some stoink on it” (Sims Harden).  I’m gathering it’s a country-punk vibe. Continue Reading »

Posted in Dell Music Center, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Make the World Better, Pavement, Philadelphia, PA, Ratboys, TAGABOW, They are Gutting a Body of Water, Twisted Teens | Leave a Comment »

Bloc Party (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 22, 2026) [MUSE]

July 23, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2026] Bloc Party

For ages now I’ve felt like I should get into Bloc Party.  I mean, right from the start, I associated them with Art Brut and there’s no good reason why I didn’t jump on the Bloc Party party.  While not as “talkie” as Art Brut there is a similar vibe, with singer Kele Okereke kind of yell-speaking the lyrics.

Last year, Bloc Party played a show at the Met Philly.  I was going to go because Metric was opening.  Then they dropped out and I wound up not getting tickets–as I said, I didn’t know them all that well.  But I was really excited that they were opening for Muse on this tour, because it would finally give me a chance to check them out.

And they were fantastic.  The sound wasn’t perfect for them (too much bass drum, good heavens).  But what really impressed me about them was how great they sounded musically.  I’d always thought that the focus was on the lyrics/vocals.  And, yes, the lyrics are compelling, like on Coming on Strong

I was happy as a pig in
Happy as a pig in
Happy as a pig in spite of myself

But once I got past the words, I was blown away by guitarist Russell Lissack–he generated some weird and cool sounds effortlessly.  And there’s so much going on with the guitar work in Bloc Party songs.  I only wish I’d watched him from the start.  But, understandably, all eyes are on Kele–especially since he is a big muscular dude (I didn’t really know what he looked like back in the day, but he is big now!

I found myself liking their newer songs even more than their older ones.  The guitar progression of Rough Justice is great–cinematic and slightly scary at the same time.  Of course, the riff from 2012’s So He Begins to Lie is also great–heavy and lurching but really catchy as well.  And it was during this song that I really blown away by drummer Louise Bartle.  She played fast and heavy and played some really interesting drums patterns.  I realize that she didn’t play on the early albums (she joined ten years ago), but she was a force of nature live. Continue Reading »

Posted in Bloc Party, Holmdel, NJ, Muse, PNC Bank Center, The Temper Trap | Leave a Comment »

Man Man / Death Valley Girls (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 23, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 23, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 23, 2026] Man Man / Death Valley Girls

I was so excited to get a ticket for this Man Man show.  I was certain it would sell out in a second, so I bought a ticket for this show while on an airplane to Minnesota.  It didn’t sell out (weird) but I was still looking forward to this show so very much as Man Man never disappoints.

I arrived in Philly, found a good parking spot and then realized that I left my wallet in the pizza place that I stopped in on the way to Philly.  And that pizza place is about 40 minutes away.  I called the place and they had found it.  Phew.

I thought, well, I don’t need my wallet to enjoy the show.  I asked my son to go get it for me (so nice of him).  And then I went to use the parking app.  Only to remember that the card I used for the parking app had been cancelled because someone had hacked my account a few weeks ago.  And for whatever reason, the other card on my account wouldn’t work.  I couldn’t add a new card because I didn’t have my wallet.

I stood there for 20 minutes trying to get a card added (going into different apps to get a card number and failing).  Finally, I gave up.  I didn’t want to get a 60 dollar parking ticket.  I realized too late I could have just asked my son to give me his card number.  But I was frustrated and annoyed.  And so I gave up.  I decided to just get my card so my son didn’t have to.  He was about half way to the pizza place, but I told him to turn around and enjoy the night.  I got to the pizza place just before it closed and wound up having a nice night at home.

But dammit.

Dammit.

I saw Death Valley Girls open for The Distillers back in 2019.  They’re sort of a fuzzy rock band with goth leanings.  The goth leaning come primarily from their look and their lyrics–not their sound.  I forgot how good their show was. Now I’m even more bummed that I was a block away form the show but couldn’t go.

Posted in Death Valley Girls, Man Man, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

The Temper Trap (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 22, 2026) [MUSE]

July 22, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2026] The Temper Trap

I was really excited for this show. Muse is always a good show and I brought my son with me–he’s become a big fan.  I had purchased lawn seats and was hoping to upgrade them to pavilion seats when we arrived.  So I wanted to get there earlier enough to upgrade without having to hang out with nothing to do.  I knew that heading down to Holmdel around 6PM can really suck. but I was totally unprepared for how bad the traffic would be.  Holy cow, we were on 287 for half an hour easily (ten miles).  We pulled up to the venue just before 7. We still managed to upgrade our tickets and walked into the pvailion just as The Temper Trap came on.

I hadn’t heard of The Temper Trap, but when I looked them up I found out that they had a new album that being quite well received.

I also found out that they were from Melboure and I’ve been having a great deal of luck with Australian bands lately.  Well, I’ve found that they actually moved to London a while ago (and singer Dougy Mandagi doesn’t have much of Australian accent).

I enjoyed their set but I wasn’t really blown away by anything.  Indeed, when they were done I couldn’t even really remember what the sounded like (except that the bass was way too loud, which I know is not the band’s fault).

Listening to the songs now, Lucky Dimes is pretty cool with the sound effects getting generated–but which I didn’t really notice during the show.

Into the Wild slowed things down and Mandagi ‘s falsetto really came to the fore. Continue Reading »

Posted in Bloc Party, Holmdel, NJ, Muse, PNC Bank Center, The Temper Trap | Leave a Comment »

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