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DAVE / DJ opener (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, May 15, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 15, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 15, 2022] DAVE / DJ opener

I know of DAVE from a Tiny Desk Concert.

I have complained before about one-named singers.  But usually, they have somewhat unique names to trade on.  But Dave?  Really?  Especially since the Dave Matthews people call him just Dave most of the time.  How does a British rapper succeed when he is called DAVE?

Pretty well, apparently since he did three nights in New York (the poster is before new dates were added).

He also played TLA.  I have never been to an exclusively rap concert.  But I thought that I’d like to see DAVE, because I really like his tone (and his accent is neat).

I think the show sold out, but it turned out that I had tickets to see Crash Test Dummies that night, so DAVE was never really on the table.

I don’t know what the opening set was like.  According to the Brooklyn Vegan review of one of the New York shows,

The crowd was already hyped up thanks to Hot 97’s DJ Kast One warming things up with a hits-filled DJ set, but when Dave walked out on that stage, the already-packed crowd packed in even tighter, with people storming towards the stage, a sea of phones in the air, and almost the entire crowd rapping along to every word to show-opener “Verdansk” right off the bat. (At one point, Dave stopped the show to ask everyone to move back and check on people in the front row.)  For a good chunk of the show, there was nothing on stage except Dave and a hazy light show, and that’s all he needed to keep the energy level at a 10/10 song after song. He’s not only a great storyteller but a great performer, and he won over the entire room off the strengths of his raps alone.

Maybe when he comes back I’ll be able to check him out.

Posted in DAVE, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

The Lemon Twigs / Tchotchke (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, May 15, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 15, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 15, 2022] The Lemon Twigs / Tchotchke 

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 I don’t know if 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.

I have rather wanted to see them–this new tour, which was playing at TWO locations really close to me seemed to be an easy way to catch them.

This show wound up being scheduled on the same day as a concert I had a ticket for with my wife.  We were going to see Crash Test Dummies, so this show was never really going to come together.  The fact that we blew of the Crash Test Dummies show anyhow, was a smart choice as we didn’t feel like going, but it was a shame to miss so much in one night.

Tchotchke is a band from New York comprised of Anastasia Sanchez, Eva Chambers and Emily Tooraen.  They used to be called Pinky Pinky which I think is a much more apt name for the style of music they play–it’s a kind of an updated doo-wop, pop sheen aesthetic.

Really not my thing, although I heard that if you went to their merch booth after the show they handed out a tchotchke to each person.

 

 

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Tchotchke, The Lemon Twigs, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Sunflower Bean / Hello Mary (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, May 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 14, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 14, 2022] Sunflower Bean / Hello Mary

I’ve seen Sunflower bean twice.  The first time I was blown away by them.  The second time, they had changed their sound a bit and, while I liked them, I didn’t really love the new direction quite as much.

Sunflower Bean had cancelled a few shows earlier this month due to singer Julia Cumming’s injury. This show did happen, but if I was going out this night it was to see The Dead Milkmen.

Although now that I know about Hello Mary, that might have changed.

Hello Mary is a band I hadn’t heard of.  Why hadn’t I heard of them?  Well, because this article from November 2022 (yes, out of chronology, but it shows just how unknown they were back in May) explains

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.

So at the time of the show they were still in high school.  That would have been wild to see them.  I have since listened to the album and I love it.  I sure hope the tour soon.

 

Posted in Hello Mary, Philadelphia, PA, Sunflower Bean, The Foundry | Leave a Comment »

The Dead Milkmen / MC Lars / Gibbous Moon (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, May 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 14, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 14, 2022] The Dead Milkmen / MC Lars / Gibbous Moon

I’ve been a fan of The Dead Milkmen’s bratty brand of punk for years–probably since 1988.  I’ve never seen them live.

They sort of, but not really, broke up and then reunited and so on.  I didn’t really think I’ve ever get to see them, but they announced this short run of local shows and I thought, YES!  I will finally get to see them.

Well, my plans changed and it turned out I had other things to do that night (and sure, they were fun, but still, bummer).

I think the Dead Milkmen are playing around from time to time, so I met get to see them yet.

MC Lars is a nerd rapper who I would love to see live.  I’ve had a few opportunities and they all seem to fail.  I especially wanted to see the The Four-Eyed Horsemen tour but i couldn’t make it.

MC Lars plays with a laptop and occasionally a punk rock band to back him up, which he refers to as “post-punk laptop rap”. Samples from bands such as Supergrass, Piebald, Brand New, Fugazi, and Iggy Pop play a key role in MC Lars’s music. Hearts That Hate, whose song “Cry Tonight” is sampled in Lars’ “Signing Emo”, is a fictional group created by the rapper.  MC Lars has also shown an interest in using lyrics and song titles based on English and American literature. “Rapbeth” references William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, while “Mr. Raven” is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”. “Ahab” is about the novel Moby Dick and “Hey There Ophelia” on This Gigantic Robot Kills retells the story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Gibbous Moon is a Philly trio that plays heavy psychedelic rock.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Gibbous Moon, Jersey City, NJ, MC Lars, The Dead Milkmen, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

“Weird Al” Yankovic / Emo Phillips (Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, Wilkes Barre PA, May 13, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 13, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 13, 2022] “Weird Al” Yankovic / Emo Phillips

When “Weird Al” announced that he was doing another iteration of The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, I immediately grabbed tickets to Philly.  In October.

It was crazy to me that he playing Wilkes Barre (less than two hours from Philly) in May!

I’m pretty sure my friend Matt was going to this show, and I thought it would be a blast to go with him since we used to go to Weird Al shows pretty regularly (and had even seen him there decades ago).  For whatever reason it did not work out and I had to wait five months to see Emo and Al.

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Elton John, Emo Philips, Funny (ha ha), Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, Religion, Wilkes Barre, PA | Leave a Comment »

The Lemon Twigs / Tchotchke (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 13, 2022) [rescheduled] [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 13, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 13, 2022] The Lemon Twigs / Tchotchke [rescheduled from May 16, 2020]

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 I don’t know if 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.

I have rather wanted to see them–this new tour, which was playing at TWO locations really close to me seemed to be an easy way to catch them.

We had a school day scheduled for this day and it ran much longer than I imagined, so even though I had tickets, there was no way to get to the show.

Tchotchke is a band from New York comprised of Anastasia Sanchez, Eva Chambers and Emily Tooraen.  They used to be called Pinky Pinky which I think is a much more apt name for the style of music they play–it’s a kind of an updated doo-wop, pop sheen aesthetic.

Really not my thing, although I heard that if you went to their merch booth after the show they handed out a tchotchke to each person.

 

 

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Tchotchke, The Lemon Twigs, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Built to Spill (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 11, 2022)

May 13, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: May 11, 2022] Built to Spill [rescheduled from July 30, 2020]

I feel like I have seen Built to Spill a million times, but this was my fifth show.

The first time I saw him was at Union Transfer back in 2015 and he had a five piece band.  That was a couple of iterations ago and now he was back with a new band.

On this newly announced tour, his whole band was going to be different.  In fact, I have seen at least three different lineups for the band over the years.  This tour was going to feature drummer Teresa Esguerra of Prism Bitch (who opened for Built To Spill last time) and bassist Melanie Radford from openers Blood Lemon.

The last time I promised myself I wouldn’t get too close to the stage, but I did.  The problem with being so close is the way Doug Martsch has his guitar set up.  His amp is right next to him and it is so loud.  From where I was you could barely hear anything else.  Of course I’m there to watch Doug play, so it’s not too bad.  But I promised myself I would stand back to fully appreciate his band.

I love that Esguerra was on the side of the stage facing the other two (that’s how his band was set up with the previous trio as well).  This allowed for Esguerra  and Radford to communicate with each other while Doug was jamming.  And they had outstanding chemistry. Continue Reading »

Posted in Blood Lemon, Built to Spill, Cate Le Bon, Daniel Johnston, Philadelphia, PA, Prism Bitch, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Sinéad O’Connor (City Winery Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 13, 2022) [rescheduled date, rescheduled again] [CANCELLED]

May 13, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[CANCELLED: May 13, 2022] Sinéad O’Connor [rescheduled from April 5, 2020 and September 18, 2021]

Lots has been going on in Sinéad O’Connor’s world in the last, oh, decade or so.  It’s no real surprise that this show was postponed or cancelled or whatever it is.  In addition to inner turmoil, she also suffered the death of her son.  And she announced she will not be performing live in 2022 “due to continuing grief over the tragic loss of her beloved son Shane”

On March 24, City Winery sent out this message:

Dear Ticket Holders,

Due to circumstances beyond our control, City Winery is forced to reschedule Sinead O‘Connor‘s performances in NYC, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Many of you have been holding onto tickets since 2019, and we are grateful for your patience and support.  We’ve had to navigate multiple reschedulings due to the pandemic, Sinead‘s personal tragedy, and travel restrictions. We understand the disappointment and don’t want you to wait any longer for a refund.

~~~~~~~~

I have seen Sinéad O’Connor four times. although the last time was in 1998.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Cancelled, City Winery Philadelphia, Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Quarantine, Sinéad O'Connor | Leave a Comment »

The Menzingers / Oso Oso / Sincere Engineer (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 13, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 12, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 13, 2022] The Menzingers / oso oso / Sincere Engineer

I have seen The Menzingers twice.  The first time I missed most of their set.  The second time I was in a terrible location and the sound was dismal.  I told myself that I really wanted to see one good set with them.

They play Philly all the time, but I think I might just be over seeing them.  I feel like I’ve been shut out of seeing them enough (and I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth from the crowd last time), that maybe I don’t need to see this mythical third show anymore

Especially if Oso Oso is the support band.

I saw them open for The Front Bottoms and said

I’m not sure if I was annoyed by the crowd (SO CROWDED) or what but I found oso oso to be one the most meh band I’ve seen on a long time.  I really felt nothing for them. …

Their music was fine–occasionally catchy but not really memorable and I found that I really didn’t like the lead singer’s voice.  It wasn’t bad or awful, it just didn’t seem to fit the music and I found myself enjoying their instrumental sections a ton more.

Someone near me said that they thought he was so stoned he couldn’t sing right.  He did seem like he was a little off, including his weird between song banter and chants.  But maybe he’s just a weird guy.

I haven’t heard of Sincere Engineer, but listening to her now I’m blown away.  I love her/their stuff.  The band is from Chicago and the blurb says

Deanna Belos has been a fixture in the Chicago punk scene since she was in Junior High, attending shows, singing along, and raising hell in general. But she was more than just a face in the crowd, Deanna was a radiant friend to all, and at some point she picked up a guitar and made a different contribution to the Chicago underground scene: her own music under the name Sincere Engineer. Over the last couple years we’ve encouraged her to keep writing songs and she surprised us all by assembling a great band and recording an impressive album. Her debut, “Rhombithian”, was produced by Matt Jordan (You Blew It!, Dowsing, etc.) and pairs the sounds of Chicago punk and the youthful Midwest “emo revival” movement. No one is more excited about music than Sincere Engineer, and Deanna plans to play a lot of shows and bring her infectious energy to the rest of the planet in support of “Rhombithian”.

She plays grungey emo pop punk stuff.  With a heavy grungey guitar.  But what sets Sincere Engineer apart is Deanna’s voice–a snarl that doesn’t detract from her natural melody.  It’s the perfect voice for these songs.  Plus she has a song called “Corn Dog Sonnet No.7”

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, oso oso, Philadelphia, PA, Sincere Engineer, The Menzingers | Leave a Comment »

Wetface (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 11, 2022) [BUILT TO SPILL]

May 12, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: May 11, 2022] Wetface

Wetface is the one-man-band project of Montreal based songwriter Jordan Minkoff.   He writes and plays on a mid 80’s Yamaha organ, douses “bright and ambitiously crafted pop music with layers of wonky digital strings and orchestration.”  That’s according to his label.

According to me he is a tedious, goofy in a bad way singer who is very good at playing the keyboard.  There didn’t seem to be anything ambitious about his songs which were very far from pop.  He sang often in a crazy falsetto.  It’s possible he was making things up as he went along.  The sound (’80s Yamaha) was so cheesy most of the time that I had to assume he was joking, but that the joke just wasn’t all that funny because the sound was so pervasive.

I wanted to see if I was alone in really disliking this set.  I see that the reviewer from White Eagle Hall (the show I had tickets to two nights later but which I did not go to) loved him.  Thought he was hilarious both in his song craft and his banter.

Turns out that Jordan Minkoff created some of Built to Spill’s recent videos and Doug Martsch is a big fan (he also really liked Daniel Johnston, so…).  Martsch called Wetface up on stage to sing with them in Jersey City.  Maybe that would have made me like him more.  But honestly I couldn’t wait for his set to be over.

 

 

Posted in Blood Lemon, Built to Spill, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wetface | Leave a Comment »

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