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Stick Men / Tim Motzer (Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA, April 28, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 28, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 28, 2022] Stick Men / Tim Motzer [rescheduled from August 5, 2020 and April 1, 2021]

April 28th turned out to be a banner night of shows.  There were four I was interested in seeing–three of those I was really interested in.  It was very hard to choose especially since one of them was a show rescheduled to that night and I already had tickets to a different one.

The rescheduled show was Stick Men, the trio comprised of Tony Levin and Pat Mastellotto from King Crimson and Markus Reuter, one of the foremost players of the Chapman Stick guitar thing.  Bernier and Levin both play them during the set (hence the name).  I’ve wanted to see them every since I heard about them (A chance to se Tony Levin right up close!).  But Stick Men seems to tour quite a lot, and now that King Crimson is more or less dissolved for good, I assume they’ll be touring a bit more.  So when Son Lux, a band I’ve tried and failed to see twice before) was scheduled for the same night, I had to see them while I had the chance.

Tim Motzer is an experimental guitarist.  Apparently you never know what you’re going to get with him.

Both Motzer and the Stick Men show were streamed for a couple of days afterward, so I was able to see them both, which is nice.

An excerpt from Motzer is here.  I don’t see Stick Men available anymore.

Posted in Pat Mastelotto, Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, Stick Men, Tim Motzer, Tony Levin | Leave a Comment »

Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark / In the Valley Below (Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA, April 27, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 27, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 27, 2022] OMD / In the Valley Below

Really I was never going to attend this show.  I don’t really like going to the Keswick.  And OMD is probably my third favorite British 80s synth duo.

I did see them open for Barenaked Ladies in 2016 and that’s probably good enough.  I did enjoy them though and it’s nice that they are still touring.

In the Valley Below is a band I’ve never heard of although they’ve been around a decade or so and apparently had an indie hit with “Peaches” (not the “Millions of peaches, peaches for me” song) back in 2014.  They are described as indie rock and dream pop and would probably work very well with OMD.

Posted in Glenside, PA, In the Valley Below, Keswick Theatre, OMD, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | Leave a Comment »

Biffy Clyro (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 25, 2022)

April 26, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 25, 2022] Biffy Clyro

I’m not exactly sure when I got into Biffy Clyro.  Probably just hearing about them all the time in the British music press.

Biffy Clyro is absolutely massive at home in Scotland and they typically headline festivals of thousands of people.  They recently had a film made about the: Biffy Clyro: Cultural Sons of Scotland in which they played a concert for some 50,000 people.

Then they did an American tour and I got to see them at Union Transfer, a venue of 1,200 which did not sell out.

And yet as far as I could tell, they played as if there were 50,000 people there.

The three shirtless lads came out on stage to much applause (those in the States who like them like them a lot) and they proceeded to kick arse playing huge anthems to a small crowd who responded with energy and excitement.

The band last played Philaelphia in 2017 and they had two new albums to showcase.  They played six from 2020’s A Celebration of Endings and four from the newer The Myth of the Happily Ever After.

The good thing is that I knew they’d be featuring these two albums so I listened to them a lot and the live versions were even better–with so much energy comes from singer Simon Neil and remarkable drumming from Ben Johnston.  His twin brother James Johnston plays bass and somehow, the three of them sound like a wall of sound.  It was intense high energy sing along stadium rock up close and personal.

The only real slowdown came when Simon sang a solo acoustic version of “Machines”

Despite featuring the new albums highly, they also dipped into some older records. I actually don’t know what their hits are, so I didn’t really know what they’d play along with the new records.  They didn’t go very deep (ignoring their first three records entirely).

They hit four songs from Only Revolutions (their best selling album), but the crowd greatly appreciated them.

I’m clearly not as big a fan as most of the people there, but I really enjoyed a night of Biffy Fucking Clyro.  I don’t see arena rock all that much, but seeing it in an intimate setting like this was awesome.

  1. DumDum µ
  2. A Hunger in Your Haunt µ
  3. Tiny Indoor Fireworks €
  4. Black Chandelier ⊄
  5. North of No South €
  6. That Golden Rule ©
  7. Instant History €
  8. Mountains ©
  9. Machines (Simon Neil solo acoustic)
  10. Unknown Male 01 µ
  11. End Of €
  12. Wolves of Winter ∴
  13. Space €
  14. Slurpy Slurpy Sleep Sleep µ
  15. Re-Arrange ∴
  16. Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies
  17. Bubbles ©
    Encore:
  18. Cop Syrup €
  19. Many of Horror ©

µ The Myth of the Happily Ever After (2021)
€ A Celebration of Endings (2020)
∴ Ellipses (2016)
⊄ Opposites (2013)
© Only Revolutions (2009)
¶ Puzzle (2007)

Posted in Biffy Clyro, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Dead Poet Society (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 25, 2022) [BIFFY CLYRO]

April 25, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 25, 2022] Dead Poet Society

I am usually pretty early for shows.  Not super early, but usually 20 minutes before the opener.  And usually that’s fine to get up close to the stage (unless the headliner has a huge fan base, then forget it).  I thought I had arrived in plenty of time for this show, but I think Dead Poet Society went on a few minutes early because I wound up walking in in the middle of their set.

Dead Poet Society are from Massachusetts and they create epic, bombastic rock.  There is the heaviness of Led Zeppelin in there with some good old indie rock noise thrown in the mix.  But the most notable thing about the is singer Jack Underkofler’s voice which sounds uncannily like Jeff Buckley most of the time.  I suppose there’s a Robert Plant component to it as well, but Buckley all over it.

Which is not a criticism at all.  Buckley’s voice was amazing and to be able to do something similar is very impressive.

Indeed, their songs rocked and they were really engaging.  The one thing that was odd to me was how much Underkofler acted like they were the headlining band.  I’m not entirely sure how much the crowd was with them just yet for him to be demanding the sing and clap along.  But by the end of the show, they had won everyone over I think.

I was near guitarist Jack Collins who made some great noises, bassist Dylan Brenner and drummer Will Goodroad, played heavy and loud and kept everything very tight.  Some have commented on their rather cryptic song title stylings on their debut album -!-, but I think it works pretty well with their overall sound.

Based on the previous night, this was their setlist

  1. Lo Air Ð
  2. .burymewhole. -!-
  3. .georgia. -!-
  4. Bacalar
  5. .SALT. -!-
  6. Touch
  7. .AmericanBlood. -!-
  8. Sound and Silence ∇
  9. .intoodeep. -!-
  10. .CoDA. -!-

-!- (2021)
∇ Axiom (2015)
Ð Depmsy (2016)

 

Posted in Biffy Clyro, Dead Poet Society, Jeff Buckley, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Fontaines D.C. (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2022)

April 23, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 22, 2022] Fontaines D.C.

I saw Fontaines D.C. in September of 2019 just as they were getting a buzz about them.  The show was sold out and crowded.  And, it turns out people knew them very very well.  And they wanted to dance.

Johnny Brenda’s does really lend itself to that and when one guy took exception, he started to get really rough.  It was not a great experience.  So I wanted to see them again, to cleanse my palette.

Fontaines have to be the most disaffected band that ever existed.  Not an expression on any of them.  They seem like they are disgusted with everyone there.  And lead singer Grian Chatten feels simultaneously like he is not there and is the only thing there.

He often seems like he’s in his own world and then he seems to focus on the audience and consumes everyone.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Fontaines D.C., Just Mustard, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Godspeed You! Black Emperor / Myriam Gendron (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 22, 2022 and Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 23, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 22, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 22 & 23, 2022] Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Back in 2000, I saw Godspeed You Black Emperor at Maxwell’s in Hoboken.  My friend Lar was in from Ireland and he went to the show with me, which was pretty awesome.

I waited 18 years to see them again, but the last time I saw them, the show was marred by the crowd.  Or perhaps I was just always in the wrong place.  I couldn’t see well from where I was so I moved–something I never do.  I tried a few spots and none felt right and a couple were near some genuinely unpleasant people to be standing near.  So I never enjoyed myself, even though the music was good.

So I thought I’d try a redo.  I was excited to see them in Jersey City, but then the Fontaines D.C. sow came up.  I figured I’d go see them the next night, but we wound up having a big birthday party that day and it seemed rather crass to go out later that night.  So, I missed them. And that’s ok.

Myriam Gendron is a Quebec musician I hadn’t heard of, but this review makes me want to check out her records.  This is for her latest album:

Delving deep into traditional music from Quebec, France, and the United States, she rewired segments of songs to emphasize evocative lyrics and tossed out others that she found abhorrent. Singing in French and English … these historic songs become universal, while her tender voice maintains the soft power to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

Woah.

Posted in Godspeed You Black Emperor, Jersey City, NJ, Myriam Gendron, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Just Mustard (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2022) [FONTAINES D.C.]

April 22, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 22, 2022] Just Mustard

Just Mustard are a five piece band from Dundalk, Ireland.  They make a fantastic noisy mess of shoegaze combined with a wall of noise and singer Katie’s droney but at times piercing vocals.

The blew away Underground Arts when they opened for Fontaines D.C.

They have a new album coming out soon and they played a bunch of songs from it.  Lead singer Katie Ball was wearing a cheerleader-type outfit with her name in letters across he front.  This was about the only whimsical thing in their entire set.

The band exuded seriousness and they were exceptional musicians.  Drummer Shane Maguire played some amazing and unexpected fills and when he hit the snare hard (which wasn’t always) it cracked to attention.  I was in front of guitarist David Noonan who played a lot of rhythmic sounds (not so much rhythm guitar as rhythmic sounds–his playing was very percussive.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Fontaines D.C., Just Mustard, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

The Lemonheads / Leah Hennessey (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 21, 2022) [POSTPONED]

April 21, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 21, 2022] The Lemonheads / Leah Hennessey [postponed to December 16, 2022]

I saw Evan Dando play a bunch of Lemonheads songs solo at a tiny venue in Jersey City.  He seemed kind of wasted, but he sounded great and I had a wonderful time.

I was genuinely interested in checking out this show since I missed him in Philly a few months earlier, but the show was postponed.  Whether because of COVID or he mercurial whims of Dando, I’m not sure.  Maybe I’ll see him this winter.

Especially since they’re playing It’s a Shame About Ray–I know this poster is for the UK, but so far the NJ show is a one off.

Leah Hennessey is a musician/actress/playwright/lead singer.  She fronts the band Hennessey a retro synth band created by NY artists.  Not sure what she’d sound like as a solo artist.

Posted in Hennessey, Jersey City, NJ, Leah Hennessey, Lemonheads, Soft Kill, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Lorde / Remi Wolfe (The Met Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 20, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 20, 2022] Lorde / Remi Wolfe

I have enjoyed most of Lorde’s output even if she is quite poppy.  In fact, I love the song “Solar Power.”  I find her rather intriguing and was curious about seeing her live.

This sow sold out (or nearly sold out) very quickly, so I didn’t bother even trying to get tickets.  It sounds like there was some kind of controversy at recent shows about her shushing people while she was singing.  Which is kind of cheesy, although, having been to shows where someone with an amazing voice is drowned out by a fan who cannot sing, I understand the sentiment.

Remi Wolfe is a singer songwriter whom I do not know.  The fact that she appeared on American Idol in 2014 makes me not like her.  That’s unfair, but whatever.

Posted in Lorde, Philadelphia, PA, Remi Wolfe, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Phish (Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY, April 20 & 21, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 20, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 20 & 21, 2022] Phish [rescheduled from December 29, 30, 31 2021 and January 1, 2022]

I wasn’t exactly happy that Phish cancelled their New Year’s run at MSG.  Well, actually I was because I didn’t feel safe going out.

The rescheduled dates (around 4/20, ha ha) were doable except that it’s a birthday week in our house.

MSG is a pain in the ass to get to, so I wasn’t looking forward to the travel.  Then Phish announced more summer shows–in Philly and Atlantic City.  Suddenly I had tickets to seven Phish shows in four months.  That was too much even by my standards, so I sold these two on Cash or Trade and someone else got to enjoy the shows.

Posted in Madison Square Garden, New York City, Phish, Postponed | Leave a Comment »

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