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Sheer Mag (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022) [PUP]

May 7, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: May 6, 2022] Sheer Mag

I saw Sheer Mag back in 2017 and enjoyed their set quite a lot.  I had said that

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 haven’t really made any new music since 2019, which is kind of a surprise as they were pretty prolific up until then.

This show had them playing a few songs from each of their albums and some of their earlier 7 inch records too.

This being a home town crowd, I thought the band would bring something extra.  It seemed like they were a little cranky or something. Continue Reading »

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Pinkshift, PUP, Sheer Mag | Leave a Comment »

Pinkshift (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022) [PUP]

May 6, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 1, 2022] Pinkshift

Pinkshift is from Baltimore and they play a great mix of grunge and punk all coordinated by lead singer Ashrita Kumar.

I saw them open for Mannequin Pussy last year and they were amazing.  I was psyched that they were opening for Pup and made sure my son and I arrived early.

The band has only gotten better since we last saw them.  Kumar remains an amazing front woman, channeling her anger and aggression into an amazing set of songs and really getting he crowd pumped.

Guitarist Paul Vallejo and touring bassist Mikey Stabekis  were locked in step as they rocked.  Sounds like original bassist Erich Weinroth has been let go]. And drummer Myron Houngbedji was completely intense.

Here’s a funny detail I didn’t know.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Pinkshift, PUP, Sheer Mag | Leave a Comment »

Destroyer / Rosali (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 6, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2020] Destroyer / Rosali

It was just over two years ago that Destroyer was the last show I saw before the pandemic shut everything down.  So, Destroyer will always have a warm place in my heart because of that.  When this show was announced, I immediately bought tickets for it.

Then, over the next few weeks, SIX other shows were posted for that very same night.  Gogol Bordello, Sunflower Bean, Olivia Rodrigo (which sold out long before I could get a ticket), Lucius and Pup (which my son and I went to).

Pup was a big hit in my house and so we decided to go to that one.

I’m sure Dan and his team will be back for another tour in the not too distant future.

I saw Rosali open for Graham Coxon.

Here’s what I had to say about her in 2018

She is a Philadelphia-based singer songwriter with two albums out (her last album got some pretty glowing reviews).

She has a lovely voice which reminded me of Aimee Mann.  …  But the problem was that there were no hooks in her songs.

She also had very little stage presence.  She stated as much, confessing that stage banter wasn’t her thing.  No kidding.  One time she asked if anyone watched the news today, after some mild boos, she didn’t follow it up.  Every other time that she tuned, she was basically quiet.  In fact, she never said her name, the most basic thing you do when tuning your guitar.

The other problem was her guitar.  She was playing an electric guitar and was primarily playing slowly, picked notes.  But the settings of this guitar–so clean and sharp–were not helping with her voice at all, which was pretty and rather quiet.

She needed either some echo or vibrato or even an acoustic guitar to let the music resonate more.  She made a number of chord flubs which is no big deal but which really stood out since she was by herself and her guitar was so unforgiving.

I hope that her stage show has gotten better in the last four years, because I did really like her voice.

Posted in Dan Bejar, Destroyer, Philadelphia, PA, Rosali, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Sunflower Bean / Hello Mary (Absury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, May 6, 2022) [CANCELLED]

May 6, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[CANCELLED: May 6, 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.

It was unlikely that I was going to this show anyhow, because this night was an embarrassment of riches in terms of shows to see: Gogol Bordello, Sunflower Bean, Destroyer (which I had bought a ticket for a long time earlier), Olivia Rodrigo (which sold out long before I could get a ticket), Lucius and Pup (which my son and I went to).

But the day of the show, singer Julia Cumming posted

Hey guys. It breaks my heart to announce this, but tonight’s show at @asburylanes is cancelled, and we will also not be able to perform in Baltimore for the @wtmdradio showcase either. I am currently resting due to an injury in my neck, and although I thought through many ways to play these shows, it doesn’t feel safe for my body or fair to our fans. Refunds are available at point of purchase. Thank you guys for understanding.

Ouch.

So, at least I didn’t feel bad missing that one.

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 Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Hello Mary, Sunflower Bean | Leave a Comment »

Gogol Bordello / Amigo the Devil (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 6, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2022] Gogol Bordello / Amigo the Devil

I have seen Gogol Bordello twice.  The first time I had so much fun I couldn’t wait to see them again.  My recollection of the second time I saw them (this time in Philly), was that I got pushed so far back by the pit that I didn’t really enjoy myself.  But my write up of that show is all positive, so maybe I’m misremembering.

They were so much fun that I would like to see them again.  And this show was showing huge support for Ukraine.  So I was bummed to miss it, but  I’d already had tickets to a show (Destroyer) and wound up going to a different show (Pup).

We’ll see where they play next time around (they are always touring).

Amigo the Devil is Danny Kiranos an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and banjo player. His music is influenced by American folk, country, rock, and heavy metal, with themes of murder, death, and other dark subject matters which has led to his music being called “Dark Folk” or “Murderfolk”.  He is the son of a Greek father and a Spanish mother, and was influenced by the traditional music of both cultures.

I listened to a few of his songs.  They are very banjo heavy and I expected not to like it (especially since the lyrics are so dark) but i found myself quite entranced by him.  Perhaps he is the American version of Nick Cave.

Posted in Amigo the Devil, Gogol Bordello, Jersey City, NJ, Kim Gordon, Nick Cave, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Olivia Rodrigo / Holly Humberstone (The Met Philadelphia, PA, May 6 & 7, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 6, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6 & 7, 2022] Olivia Rodrigo / Holly Humberstone

Olivia Rodrigo kind of busted out of nowhere (okay, actually Disney) with her super catchy and mildly punkish album Sour.  My daughter loved it and it is fun as heck.

The more I listened to the songs, the more I thought it would be fun as anything to see her live.

Well, evidently everyone else in the world thought the same thing because this tour (both nights) sold out in about 2 minutes.

Well, I’ll never get to know how this tour went.

Holly Humberstone opened for Girl in Red the first time we saw them.

She was really good.  I wrote:

Well, I was impressed by her.  She played guitar, keyboard, piano and created live beats on the drum machine while singing.  And her voice was really lovely too.

Her songs are on the pop side but with some good loud guitars from time to time.  “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet” was the synthy song (that featured sped up samples of her voice trilling in the background.  I enjoyed the way she jumped from the synth rack to the piano mid-song.

Would have been a fun show.

Posted in Holly Humberstone, Olivia Rodrigo, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Lucius / Celisse (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 6, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2022] Lucius / Celisse

Lucius had played a Free at Noon show earlier in the day and I could have gone.  But for a couple of reasons I didn’t.

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.

For this show, I was even offered free tickets the night before:

Sign up now to claim free tickets to enjoy the sweet sounds of Lucius w/ Celisse

I absolutely would have gone to this for free.  (It also tells me it was not selling very well).

But, it turns out that I had SIX shows to choose from this evening: Gogol Bordello, Sunflower Bean (which was actually cancelled), Destroyer (which I had bought a ticket for a long time earlier), Olivia Rodrigo (which sold out long before I could get a ticket), Lucius and Pup (which my son and I went to).

So Pup it was (and it was great).

Celisse Henderson is a wild rocking woman who plays a killer guitar–I think she’s more of a blues player than anything else, but with a modern, female spin on the blues..  I don’t think I knew who she was at the time, but I have since learned that she is a killer and I would have loved to see her.

 

 

Posted in Celisse, Lucius, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

Joanna Sternberg / Lucius: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

May 6, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2022] Joanna Sternberg / Lucius: Free at Noon 

I scored a ticket to this Free at Noon show because I have been very curious to see Lucius live.  I absolutely love about half of their songs.  And I rather don’t like many of their other songs.  So it’s been a toss up whether I really want to see them.  This Free at Noon seemed like the perfect way.

Then I found out that they were sharing the bill with Joanna Sternberg.

I don’t know anything about her, so it’s no offense to her, but I didn’t want to see such a short Lucius set (most Free at Noons are barely 40 minutes, so it seemed crazy to drive all that way for… 20?

So I stayed at work.

This session took place during Non-COMM, which probably meant that it was really really crowded.  Turns out they only played six songs, although they are probably the six I mist wanted to hear.  So maybe I should have gone.

Although I was seeing Pup that night, so I guess, maybe not. Continue Reading »

Posted in Joanna Sternberg, Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets / Acid Dad (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 5, 2022) [POSTPONED]

May 5, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[POSTPONED: May 5, 2022] Psychedelic Porn Crumpets / Acid Dad [postponed to October 21, 2022]

I’m not exactly sure how I discovered Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.  They are an Australian band and they are weird and pretty wonderful.

I have been really getting into them and Acid Dad (thanks to the Levitation live shows.

Sadly, but only mildly sadly, I received an email on March 30:

Due to circumstances both unforeseen and beyond our control, the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets show at Underground Arts originally scheduled for May 5, 2022, has been Rescheduled to Friday, October 21st, 2022.

No big deal, they’ll be just a great in the fall as they would be in the spring.

Posted in Acid Dad, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Spoon (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 4, 2022)

May 5, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: May 4, 2022] Spoon [rescheduled from April 15, 2022]

This was possibly the shortest time between a postponed show and a rescheduled show.  Nineteen days!  It’s pretty remarkable that the venues were able to accommodate Spoon with such short notice.

So I’ve never been a huge fan of Spoon, but I like a lot if not most of their songs.  In fact, I like them more and more with each record and with each live show.  It’s like the live experience really shows what they’re doing to its best example.

So this was my third time seeing them.  And it was great.

They opened with “Held” a Smog song that they have covered a lot in the past (and which is on their new album).  As soon as Britt Daniel started singing, someone behind me loudly screamed along “first time in my life!” Continue Reading »

Posted in Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

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