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Ministry / Helmet / Front Line Assembly (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, October 17, 2021) [rescheduled date, rescheduled again and again] [POSTPONED]

October 17, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[POSTPONED: October 17, 2021] Ministry / Helmet / Front Line Assembly [rescheduled from July 18, 2020, April 17, 2021; moved to March 9, 2022]

indexOut of the blue, and very close to the time of the shows, this tour was cancelled and postponed until next year.

The lineup has completely changed as well.  Initially, the support was from KMFDM an Front Line Assembly.  Then KMFDM was replaced with Helmet.  Now for the show next year, we have The Melvins and Corrosion of Conformity.  I had pretty much decided i wasn’t going to go to this show anyhow, but it always lingered in the back of my mind as something I might want to do.  Of course, I’d much rather go to the Wellmont than Franklin Music hall, so it’s unlikely I’d go to this show anyhow.

~~~~

This show was moved to April which seemed reasonable at the time.  I see now that it has been pushed back to October which actually seems optimistic.  I am very bummed to see that KMFDM is no longer on the tour, as They would have been a great opener.  I like Helmet, but I think KMFDM would have been more fun.  If I’m going to one of these two shows (Montclair being the other one) it would certainly Montclair.

I’ve been a fan of Ministry for decades.  I even liked the first album With Sympathy (and listen to it now more than their hardercore stuff).  But when Land of Rape and Honey came out, it was the most intense thing in the world. It was incredible.

They put out a series of great heavy albums, although by 1999’s Filth Pig either I stopped enjoying it or they just weren’t as good.

So I guess it has been two decades since I cared about Ministry.  However, Al Jourgensen and his band keep touring and, since I’ve seen Slayer now, I thought I should see what a ministry experience is like.

I wanted to go to their show in 2018, (I was really interested in seeing opening band Igorr) but the date just didn’t work for me.

Although I hadn’t yet gotten tickets for this show, I was looking forward to this retro bill.

I liked KMFDM more in theory than actually listening to them–I have one album I think). But I always appreciated them (especially the joke that their initials stand for Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode–actually it is Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, “no pity for the majority”).  Only one guy is still in the band, but I’d be curious to see what their proto-Rammstein show would be like.

Front Line Assembly was one of the few bands on the industrial label Waxtrax that I never really got into.  I liked many bands on the label, but really never had much exposure to FLA (in the days before you could listen to things online).   I’m curious what 1980s industrial music sounds like in 2020.

Now that I see that the show is also going to be at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, I will definitely try to get to that one instead.

Posted in Coronavirus, Corrosion of Conformity, Depeche Mode, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Front Line Assembly, Igorrr, KMFDM, Ministry, Montclair, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Rammstein, The Melvins, Wax Trax!, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

Jade Bird: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, October 15, 2021)

October 16, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2021] Jade Bird

I’ve really enjoyed the rocking songs that Jade Bird releases.  Her voice is so powerful and big that I rally wanted to see her live.  Well, we did kind of see her live at Newport Folk Festival, but that was more hearing her as we were walking around.  So when she announced a tour I definitely wanted to see her.

But it turned out that her show at Underground Arts was Thursday the 14th and I’d already had three shows in a row that week.  (One did get cancelled, but I didn’t change my plans).  So I wouldn’t get to see her.  Until WXPN announced that she’d be playing a Free at Noon (one of the few they did this year).

A Free at Noon show is weird for me.  I have to leave at least 90 minutes before the show for travel time and parking and then it takes me an hour at least to get back to work. So that’s two and a half hours, not including the show which is usually an hour.  So, if traffic is bad, it could be a four hour Free at Noon for me.  But if you have extra vacation time, why not use it?

So I drove down to Philly and got a great spot on the street.  I actually wound up being very early because of the lack of traffic.  And that was fine.  I got a spot right by the stage and waited for Jade Bird to come out. Continue Reading »

Posted in Free at Noon, Jade Bird, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »

Ministry / Helmet / Front Line Assembly (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, October 16, 2021) [rescheduled, rescheduled again][POSTPONED]

October 16, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[POSTPONED: October 16, 2021] Ministry / Helmet / Front Line Assembly [rescheduled from July 18, 2020, April 16, 2021; moved to March 12, 2022]

indexOut of the blue, and very close to the time of the shows, this tour was cancelled and postponed until next year.

The lineup has completely changed as well.  Initially, the support was from KMFDM an Front Line Assembly.  Then KMFDM was replaced with Helmet.  Now for the show next year, we have The Melvins and Corrosion of Conformity.  I had pretty much decided i wasn’t going to go to this show anyhow, but it always lingered in the back of my mind as something I might want to do.  Of course, I’d much rather go to the Wellmont than Franklin Music Hall, although I’m in no rush to get tickets for this.

~~~~

This show was moved to April which seemed reasonable at the time.  I see now that it has been pushed back to October which actually seems optimistic.  I am very bummed to see that KMFDM is no longer on the tour, as They would have been a great opener.  I like Helmet, but I think KMFDM would have been more fun.  If I’m going to one of these two shows (Philly the other one) it would certainly be this one.

I’ve been a fan of Ministry for decades.  I even liked the first album With Sympathy (and listen to it now more than their hardercore stuff).  But when Land of Rape and Honey came out, it was the most intense thing in the world. It was incredible.

They put out a series of great heavy albums, although by 1999’s Filth Pig either I stopped enjoying it or they just weren’t as good.

So I guess it has been two decades since I cared about Ministry.  However, Al Jourgensen and his band keep touring and, since I’ve seen Slayer now, I thought I should see what a ministry experience is like.

I wanted to go to their show in 2018, (I was really interested in seeing opening band Igorr) but the date just didn’t work for me.

Although I hadn’t yet gotten tickets for this show, I was looking forward to this retro bill.

I liked KMFDM more in theory than actually listening to them–I have one album I think). But I always appreciated them (especially the joke that their initials stand for Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode–actually it is Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, “no pity for the majority”).  Only one guy is still in the band, but I’d be curious to see what their proto-Rammstein show would be like.

Front Line Assembly was one of the few bands on the industrial label Waxtrax that I never really got into.  I liked many bands on the label, but really never had much exposure to FLA (in the days before you could listen to things online).   I’m curious what 1980s industrial music sounds like in 2020.

Now that I see that the show is also going to be at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, I will definitely try to get to that one instead.

Posted in Coronavirus, Corrosion of Conformity, Depeche Mode, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Front Line Assembly, Igorrr, KMFDM, Ministry, Montclair, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Rammstein, The Melvins, Wax Trax!, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

Idles (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 13, 2021)

October 15, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 13, 2021] Idles

I saw Idles two years ago and the show was amazing.  A raw, raucous punk show with all kinds of slam dancing, crowd surfing (including the band), and shouting.  But also an incredible feeling of warmth and love from the band.

I’m gathering that the band always opens with “Colossus.”  A loud, slow, rumbling repeating bass note from Adam Devonshire shook the whole place.  And then Joe Talbot came out and started singing the slow, quiet introduction.

But the band and the crowd were just waiting in anticipation for the BOOM, when the song took of and the pit started flailing around.

Since I saw them last, they put out a new album, with another one on the way.  The only played one song from the forthcoming album, but they did play a bunch from Ultra Mono.  They sprinkled the songs throughout the set, interspersing classic tracks with the new ones.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Full show video, Gustaf, Idles, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Gustaf (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 13, 2021) [IDLES]

October 14, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 13, 2021] Gustaf

I had not heard of Gustaf when this show was announced, but when I looked them up, they promised to put on a fun show.  And boy did they ever.

Gustaf is a five-piece from Brooklyn: Guitarist Vram Kherlopian, lead singer Lydia Gammill, bassist Tine Hill, vocalist/percussionist Tarra Thiessen and drummer Melissa Lucciola.  They are a classic old school art-punk band.

They make weird music and they have a lot of fun.  It was a terrific set.

The band was spread out across the stage with guitarist Kherlopian in front of us on the left.  It was fun watching him playing and not playing.  The kind of guitar work that is sparse and punchy.  The other side of the stage had the rhythm section.  Lucciola and Hill were the backbone of the band, keeping things grounded while the rest of the band did their weird things.  Thiessen might have been having the most fun as she played a Chock Full O Nuts Coffee can for percussion and often had her voice manipulated to sound deep and slow. Continue Reading »

Posted in Gustaf, Idles, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

St. Vincent (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2021)

October 13, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2021] St. Vincent

I have seen St. Vincent three times and each time was a totally different experience.

The first time was in 2015 at XPN Fest.  She was so good that I wanted to see her again on that tour (since her set was a little shorter due to the co-headline).  But she did not tour that album again.

In fact, when she toured again, it for Masseduction and that tour (in 2017) was radically different.

So here it is four years later and this tour was also radically different–and in no way even close to that first tour either.

I bought S. and I tickets but since I didn’t have a good handle on the seating areas of the Met, the seats sucked (practically the last row).  Luckily, the Met is pretty small, so even sucky seats aren’t bad.  The thing is though, that Annie Clark has so much going on, you want to be close to her when she does it.

For her new album, St. Vincent went away from the technology and sexiness of the previous two records and dove into a wholly retro experience.  It was quite a change (and, once again, really minimized her amazing guitar playing).

This concert was a theatrical spectacle.  The background was an excellent retro design of a city scape.  It didn’t change much, but dramatic lighting changed the look of the set in nearly every song–from day to night to midday to whatever else was going on. Continue Reading »

Posted in Full show video, Philadelphia, PA, St. Vincent, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Ali Macofsky (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2021) [ST. VINCENT]

October 12, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2021] Ali Macofsky [Cassandra Jenkins]

I hadn’t heard that there was going to be an opening act for the St. Vincent tour.  In fact it wasn’t until the night of the show that I found out there would be one at all (although I see that the information was publicly available, I must have been searching the wrong way).

We were supposed to have Cassandra Jenkins as an opening act, but the St. Vincent team, decided to limit the number of people on the tour to prevent COVID infections, so Cassandra was removed.  I don’t know if Ali Macofsky did the entire tour but she was clearly slated to open the first few shows and she did our shows, so I’ll assume she was on board the whole time.

Ali Macofsky is a comedian whom I had never heard of.

She is young and, shall we say a kind of shock comic (she has a history of working with Joe Rogan I have just found out.  In 2021 that would have instantly made me hate her.  I don’t know if he was as much of a douchebag in 2019 when she worked with him (and maybe she still does, I’m not willing to find out). Continue Reading »

Posted in Ali Macofsky, Cassandra Jenkins, Philadelphia, PA, St. Vincent, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Dead Can Dance / Agnes Obel (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2021) [rescheduled date, rescheduled again, then CANCELLED]

October 12, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[CANCELLED: October 12, 2021] Dead Can Dance / Agnes Obel [rescheduled from April 17, 2020 and April 23, 2021]

On September 30, I received notice that show would be postponed once again.  Dead Can Dance cited reasonable concerns about COVID and travelling around the world.

Then on October 11, I received notice that the show was cancelled entirely.

There’s no word from the band on this except t o say that they are trying o reschedule shows for Fall of 2023.  Presumably the venue just didn’t want to wait that long.

So, while I was looking forward to this show, I can wait until 2023.

As April came closer and closer I was sure that Dead Can Dance was going to cancel this tour for good–so many other bands have done so.  But I’m happy they didn’t–even if I don’t have fantastic seats for this show.  This just feels like one of those shows that I’m going to be really happy to experience and I can wait a few more months.

I really enjoyed Dead Can Dance’s mix of cultural touchstones on their earlier albums. I have a bunch of their releases up until they broke up.

Somehow I missed their reunion entirely.  I also missed their subsequent reunion and new albums.

They haven’t played in this area for 8 years and I was pretty pleased to finally experience them live.  I bought a ticket for this show and then a few days later it was announced that they would be playing the State Theatre in New Brunswick.  Since that venue is about three times closer to me, I snatched up a great seat for that show and figured I could sell the Philly ticket.

Then a couple months ago the Theatre announced that the New Brunswick show was unexpectedly cancelled. No reason was given.  I don’t think it was sales as it looked like they sold well.  So that sucked, but I was glad I still had this ticket.

Agnes Obel is a Danish born singer who plays quirky atmospheric chamber pop.  I have heard great things about her for many years but never really investigated her music.  I was looking forward to learning about her in this setting.

She was actually scheduled to open for The The on their 2018 tour.  However, the three New York area shows had different openers, so I didn’t get to see her then.

I hope they all come back around together.

Posted in Agnes Obel, Cancelled, Coronavirus, Dead Can Dance, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

The Menzingers (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, October 9, 2021) Philly Music Fest Night 4

October 11, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 9, 2021] The Menzingers

I saw The Menzingers open for Weezer back in 2016 and really enjoyed them.  I’d been wanting to see them again mostly because I was really far from the band when I saw them and couldn’t really get into it the way I might have liked.

So when they were listed as headlining two nights of Philly Music Fest I knew I had to see them.  Especially in a small place like Ardmore Music Hall.

I have only been to Ardmore a couple of times.  My favorite show there was Marco Benevento where the sound was outstanding.  Even right up against the stage.  Well, for this show I was right up against the stage (although as more and more people crowded into the place, I moved away from the band’s more devoted (and a little crazy) fans.  But apparently I never got far back enough because literally all I could hear the whole show was Tom May’s guitar.  And May tends to play lead licks and solos, so I never really got the backing chords of Greg Barnett unless May wasn’t playing anything (which happened from time to time).

Obviously it was more fun being able to see bassist Eric Keen and drummer Joe Godino (who I couldn’t see at all last time), but it was weird having the sound so disjointed.  Throughout the set I tries moving further and further away from the stage, but I was never able to get further to the middle. Continue Reading »

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Marco Benevento, Philly Music Fest, Weezer | Leave a Comment »

Terry Pratchett–Lords and Ladies (1991) [Discworld #14] [Witches #4]

October 11, 2021 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: Fall 2021] Lords and Ladies

The Discworld Witches are back for another story.  (This is the fourth Witches story which puts them on equal footing with Rincewind at this point).

I have been reading all of the Discworld stories in order (obviously?) and I wasn’t looking forward to this one because of the lousy cover.  I mean, look at that.

But this book turns out to be great.  In addition to the enjoyable story, Sir Terry sets the record straight on elves.  They are nasty.  They are wicked.  They are not cute, they are cruel.  And they don’t appear in Discworld because generations ago they were locked out

The only way they can get back in is via the Dancers, a ring of magnetized iron stones.  Or technically they can’t get in there because the iron stones keep the elves away–elves can’t abide iron.  But when the time is right the worlds get close and the elves try to see if they can somehow get someone to magic away the iron.

And it turns out this is a time of convergence.  Crop circles begin appearing around Lancre and that can only mean that the universe of Elves is nearby.

So what is wrong with elves exactly?  They enter the minds of humans using glamour, to try to make them see the world differently.  Yes, Witches enter into human and animal minds, but only temporarily.

Here’s what they say about elves.  And what those words mean.

  • Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
  • Elves are marvelous.  They cause marvels.
  • Elves are fantastic.  They create fantasies.
  • Elves are glamourous.  They project glamour.
  • Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
  • Elves are terrific.  They beget terror
  • No one ever said elves are nice. Elves are bad.

Granny and Nanny can remember the stories about the elves.  But Magrat is too young, to sweet to believe that elves are bad.  She would believe that the elves are magical and fantastic in a good way.  She would not understand why they must be kept out.

And so Granny and Nanny do not tell her.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Casanunda, Death, Discworld, Elves, Fairy Tales, Funny (ha ha), Granny Weatherwax, Greebo, King Verence, Magic, Magrat Garlick, Mustrum Ridcully, Nanny Ogg, Terry Pratchett, The Dean, The Librarian, Unfinished series, Violence, Voodoo | Leave a Comment »

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