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Guerilla Toss / Godcaster / Special World (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 17, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

October 17, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 17, 2025] Guerilla Toss / Godcaster / Special World

I’ve been interested in Guerilla Toss for a few years now.  They seem to play a lot in the area, but something always comes up.

They opened for Karina Rykman but I had tickets to a different show that night and later this year they’ll open for Built to Spill but I have surgery scheduled(really bummed about missing that double bill).

I don’t even really know all that much about their music. It’s weird and sounds like if The B52s (without Fred Schneider since the singer of GT is a woman) were more of an underground indie band (so, yes, if The B52s were WEIRDER).  I’ve heard that their live show was a lot of fun–althouhg apparenty it used to be a lot more crazy since they have all matured.  But As one person said it “Guerilla Toss is a chance for experimental, fans-of-the-fringe, noise heads to fuck with mainstream indie-pop, and for mainstream indie-pop heads to fuck with the noise.”

Sounds perfect.  I was all set to go, but we had a family situation and I stayed home.

I feel like I’ve heard people talk about Godcaster, or I just like the name.  Their recording for Audiotree says

Godcaster is an experimental heavy rock band founded by Judson Kolk and Bruce Ebersole who became close friends in Elementary School. The project is known for their ecstatic live shows and serendipitous, incendiary sound.

Listening to the Audiotree set, they are definitely out there.  I’m guessing “experimental” is the new buzzword for hard to describe.  Because they have a very Frank Zappa weirdo vibe.  With lots of complicated melodies and a singer who seems to just sing the weird melodies–there’s even a flute.

Wow, I really want to see them now.

Special World is Andy Molholt, a Philly based experimental musician and guitarist for Speedy Ortiz.   I knew he made cool sounds with Speedy, but this is some pretty trippy bedroom experimentation.  Voices are blurred, sounds echo.  There’s a melody, but it’s bathed in oddity.  Probably a fun war up for the weirdness to follow

Posted in Godcaster, Guerrilla Toss, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Special World, Speedy Ortiz | Leave a Comment »

Daphne Gale (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2025) [MARGARET GLASPY]

October 16, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2025] Daphne Gale

Daphne Gale is a singer, songwriter, composer from Brooklyn (she joked about almost being from Philly because her mom almost got a job “across the street” (not sure where that meant).  Her web page says she also lives in Berlin.

I had assumed that she was a new performer.  However, her stage confidence and ability to not feel rushed really showed what a professional she is.  And indeed, she’s been making music for a few years.

She had a guitar player with her (whom she named several times and whose name I have forgotten).  For  the first few songs she played electric guitar (a guitar that her friend found i the trash and fixed up for her) and then she switched to acoustic for the last few.

She told a little story about each song, with fun personal details.  The song Benjamin is about a doorman.  One of the songs (Melodrama, I think) referenced a bakery that was near her ex’s flat.  She used to pass by it every day marveling at the people who were there to buy $8 croissants. Continue Reading »

Posted in Brooke Annibale, Daphne Gale, Margaret Glaspy, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Gigi Perez / Hannah Jadagu (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

October 16, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 16, 2025] Gigi Perez / Hannah Jadagu

Screenshot

Back in May, Gigi Perez headlined TLA (capacity about 1,000) and now just five months later, she’s headlining Franklin Music Hall, one of the largest midsized venues in Philly.  That’s what kind of summer she had!

My daughter and I saw Gigi Perez open for Girl in Red and I was really interested in seeing her as a headliner.  Since this show I’ve seen her two more times (in short sets, but still).  I wouldn’t want to see her in FMH, one of my least favorite venues.

I feel like I’ve been hearing about Hannah Jadagu for a while, but when I looked her up, she released her first album in 2021.  So maybe it’s her I’m thinking of, maybe not.

Jadagu plays sweet bedroom pop music.  She’s got a really nice voice.

So, yeah, I wasn’t going to this show, but it’s cool to see Gigi’s star keep ascending.

 

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Gigi Perez, Hannah Jadagu, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

The Oh Hellos / Rabbitology (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

October 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 15, 2025] The Oh Hellos / Rabbitology

Back in 2016, I was introduced to The Oh Hellos through a Tiny Desk concert.  And I put them on my bands to see list.

The Oh Hellos are technically a duo of Tyler and Maggie Heath.  But live (and here) they play chamber pop with nine members in the band.  They have an accordion, a violin, a banjo, guitars and great harmonies.

But in the last nine years I hadn’t heard anything about them and more or less forgot about them–they have been putting out albums, but I never heard about them.  When this show was announced I was kind of surprised that it was at Union Transfer, as I didn’t know if they even had a following.  I guess they do.

I was vaguely interested but not enough to get tickets.  Plus I had a ticket to see Margaret Glaspy that night, so Margaret won.

Rabbitology is the world created by the odd-running mind of Michigan-based alternative-folk singer/songwriter Nat Timmerman.  She sings a very earthy, somewhat unsettling style of music.  It reminds me a bit of Paris Paloma–but with a different vocal style.  I really like the songs I’ve heard.  I’ll bet she’s a really compelling live performer.  Maybe she’ll come back around.

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Rabbitology, The Oh Hellos, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Brooke Annibale (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2025) [MARGARET GLASPY]

October 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2025] Brooke Annibale

I was happy to see Margaret Glaspy again. And I was especially happy that she was playing in Milkboy–a venue that I really like but which has terrible parking.Last time I Was here I got a parking ticket for the end of my car jutting into a motorcycle area.  I drove around a bit tonight and wound up parking in the exact same spot!  But this time I pulled forward enough that only my bumper was in the motorcycle zone… no ticket, phew.

But between driving around and then slowly getting to the venue, I missed about half of Brooke Annibale’s set.  I also had to stand pretty far in the back–I like to get close because of the strange layout of the room–narrow and very deep.  But I was able to focus on Brooke’s gorgeous voice.

I really enjoyed the lyrics of her new song Bolder Font.

I had no idea that that Brooke Annibale had been releasing music since 2005 (!).  She talked about touring for awhile and how much she liked Margaret Glaspy.  Originally, Brooke wasn’t supposed to play at this show, but she was added last minute (which I guess is why she was on first since Daphne Gale is a much newer musician).

Her albums have more orchestration, but her it was simply her and her guitar–lovely folksinger vibes.  I wish I had seen her whole set.

It also turns out that Brooke was part of Guster’s On the Ocean festival this year.

Setlist

Hold On
Things We Don’t Believe Anymore
Patience
My Favorite Part
Bolder Font
Home Again

 

 

Posted in Brooke Annibale, Daphne Gale, Margaret Glaspy, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

My Morning Jacket (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2025, Night 2 of 2)

October 13, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2025] My Morning Jacket

After such a great night last night, we wound up leaving a little bit later (figuring there was no Friday night traffic) and arrived a few minutes later than last night.  But when I walked up to the merch line there was literally one person in front of me–moments later when I looked again, the line was huge, going up the stairs.  Then we headed down to the pit.  It was a little more crowded than last night.  We were going to try to get in front of Jim, but that’s what everyone else wanted, too.  So we camped out more or less where we were the night before, in front of Carl.  We were two people back from where we were, which isn’t bad at all.

So yes, last night as pretty tiring and we’d had a busy day, but we were psyched for a second night of My Morning Jacket.  And I was super psyched when they opened with Highly Suspicious, a totally ripping song from Evil Urges and one that I’d forgotten about–it was also the first time I’d seen it live.  This was also when I learned that Carl Broemel can do so many great backing voices (including the deep, angry chanting of “highly suspicious”).  They followed it with Off the Record, one of the poppier songs off of Z.

Then Carl Broemel moved over to the pedal steel guitar and they played the short but fun Climbing the Ladder.   It was interesting that last night Carl played the saxophone on a few songs but didn’t play it at all tonight. And last night he didn’t play the pedal steel at all but he played it about three times tonight.

And it was pretty clear that if last night’s show was all about jamming, tonight show was shorter, more rocking songs.  And the guys in the front who were headbanging last night had much more cause to do so tonight.

Speaking of the pit.  Tonight’s crowd was fascinating.  There was a guy who kept walking around the pit area hugging and fist bumping people.  He switched places with people and let other be on the barrier.  In fact, one of the long-haired headbangers let some of the shorter folks switch places with him for a song or two.  It was an incredibly generous and, dare I say it, loving thing to do.  Appropriate for the next song Love Love Love, the only song they played from their previous self-titled album.  The lighting at the shows was fairly simply but effective.  They had five panels mounted behind them.  All of the panels had lights that moved and spun and changed colors. But during Love Love Love, they spelled out Love! which was pretty nice.

Up next was Wordless Chorus, one of the great MMJ songs.  The crowd went nuts and we all sang the wordless chorus over and over as Jim walked around the stage, coming over by us at last. Continue Reading »

Posted in Balthvs, My Morning Jacket, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Goat Girl / Maria BC (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 13, 2025) [CANCELLED]

October 13, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[CANCELLED: October 13, 2025] Goat Girl / Maria BC

I saw Goat Girl open for Parquet Courts back in 2018 and I really enjoyed their set.  I liked how they played a variety of styles, sometimes playing very loudly, but other times having a kind of drunken country feel.  THey were fun and I was interested in seeing them again.

But then in August they announced that they had to cancel the whole tour:

Hello everyone We’re really sad to share that, due to personal reasons, we won’t be able to go ahead with our North American tour next month. This was not an easy decision, and we’re truly sorry to everyone who was looking forward to seeing us. We were so excited to come back to the US and Canada – it’s been a while, and it means so much to know you’ve been waiting to see us play. This isn’t goodbye, we fully intend to be back as soon as we can. Thank you for your understanding, and for all the love and support you continue to give us.

Maria BC is an American ambient musician.  She sings over quiet, slightly creepy music–catchy melodies with unusual instrumentation.  Interesting and pretty different from Goat Girl.

I assume they’ll be back again.

Posted in Goat Girl, Johnny Brenda's, Maria BC, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Destroyer / Jennifer Castle (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

October 12, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2025] Destroyer / Jennifer Castle

I had tickets to see Destroyer here in 2022, but other things got in the way.  After seeing Destroyer open for Father John Misty, I was curious to see how he would tour for this new album (a huge band or a small band?)

Well, we had tickets for My Morning Jacket the two nights before this show and even though I wanted to go to this one, there was just know way I could do it.  So I missed out on Dan and his band again,  But I’m sure he’ll be back again.

Incidentally, here’s a review of his show (well, actually, more of him than of the show) in San Francisco

He’s a notoriously shy performer—Early reviews of Destroyer all recall him coming on stage already drunk, if not drink-in-hand prepared for it.  English major dropout, lover of French New Wave films and 40s era jazz. The Vancouver-based artist stands aloof on stage, staring at seemingly nobody in particular, in what seems like an attempt to pretend the crowd isn’t there. He sips his beer in between songs and crouches down, closing his eyes while his bandmates do the rest. Something tells me that this is his most comfortable and preferred way of performing.

And it answered my question about his live band

Joined by the two guitarists, the bassist and drummer were feverish and impossible to take your eyes off of. The keys player and trumpeter (with his own pedal board, mind you!) took the edges of the stage, with Bejar in the center.

So I know what I missed.  And I’d like to see it again.

Jennifer Castle is a Toronto based singer songwriter.  She released two albums under the name Castlemusic.  She has played with everyone from U.S. Girls to Fucked Up.  Her 2014 album has chamber folk and psychedelic components an her previous album had psychedelic folk elements.

She sounds interesting, although the few songs I’ve listened to are far more folk than psychedelic.  And she’s a little too slow for my tastes.

 

 

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

Hotline TNT / Dusk (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

October 12, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2025] Hotline TNT /Dusk 

Hotline TNT have played Philly a few times in the last year.  I was a little bit obsessed with them since I missed them back in January 2024 (and then fell in love with their record).  When they played a show in June that I missed, I wrote

Hotline TNT plays what I can only describe as classic shoegaze, which is definitely having a moment again.  Unlike a lot of their contemporaries, they don’t really mess with the classic shoegaze vibe all that much–not adding elements at all.  Their music warms my heart and I’d love to see them live.

I would have loved to go to this show–reviews say they killed it. But it was the night after two long standing nights with My Morning Jacket, and that was just too much.

I can’t figure out who Dusk is.  There’s a number of bands called Dusk.  The most likely one here seems to be the band from Wisconsin, although they are kind of country, which doesn’t quite fit.  There’s an industrial black metal band called Dusk, but I assume it’s not them.  And there’s a band from Austria called Dusk.  It’s as confusing as the fact that I couldn’t find a poster for this mini tour or this show and the only thing I could find was this ad for LPR.

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Balthvs (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2025, Night 2 of 2) [MY MORNING JACKET]

October 11, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 10, 2025] Balthvs

We saw Balthvs last night and really enjoyed them.  So much so that my wife and I were both looking forward to seeing them again.  I wouldn’t have minded hearing the same set again because it was so enjoyable.  But, I assume since they knew that MMJ would be playing a different set tonight, Balthvs played an entirely new set tonight as well.

Tonight, with the audience more familiar with them, they received a huge response when they came out and the guys in the front row were 100% in–jumping and headbandging and clapping.  It had to be a great reception for them.  And they continued to impress with a whole bunch of new (to us) songs.

The opening Sun Colored Eyes was a bit more mellow and groovy, but still sounded great.  All is One continued in the mellower vein with vocals from Vanessa.  She sang in a dreamy voice that made this song even more psychedelic.  There were a few transitions where the song had a five note beat that grounded the song nicely.

As soon as Balthazar played the opening riff to Bird Song, the crowd went nuts.  I didn’t know the song but I have since learned that it’s a Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead song, so that checks.

Apparently in the middle of the song they segued into a 2 minute original, Famagusta Port and then cycled back to finish up Bird Song.

Balthazar said that they had recently been to Turkey and took some of the scene their with them, which resulted in Turkish Coffee, a song that was perfectly in keeping with their sound, but had definite Turkish influences.  Then he joked that Philadelphia wasn’t too far from the ocean and they launched into what they call Surf Medley, a three part song of surf guitar instrumentals, starting with The Chantays “Pipeline,” segueing into Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” and finally Reverend Horton Heat’s “Marijuana.”  It was fantastic–Balthazar is an incredible guitarist and they captured the surf vibe perfectly.

Up next was an older song Siente which had a little bass solo section for Vanessa to show off her chops.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Balthvs, My Morning Jacket, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

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