March 4, 2022 by Paul Debraski
SOUNDTRACK: hiatus
[READ: March 1, 2022] The Devil Made Me Do It
As South Africa entered the new millennium, things were progressing very slowly (and sometimes regressing). And Zapiro was watching.
Homophobia was spreading throughout African nations. There’s a banner that says Queens against Mugabe. Zapiro ties it together nicely with a picture of Queen Elizabeth with a paper that says “Mugabe lambasts U.K.”
And an anti-rape ad (starring Charlize Theron) was banned because there was public outcry. Which leads to a later strip in which children learn the rape message: it’s not bad to rape someone in your own family (A lenient sentence was given to a man who raped his daughter); rape is less offensive than an anti-rape ad that offends men; you can get away with rape if you are famous and hire a hotshot legal team.
Apartheid fallout was still happening.
There’s a an amusing picture of Apartheid Hell and the devil is showing all of the people there a video called No person shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, gender ethnic or social origin, culture, sexual orientation….” Although clearly the powerful men aren’t all getting punished as we see Craig Williamson, a constant figure in these battles, telling the Amnesty Committee to sit, lie down and fetch his amnesty. Continue Reading »
Posted in Abortion, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bill Clinton, Charles Schulz, Cigarettes, Comic Strips, Coronavirus, Corporate skewering, Daily Maverick, Environmentalism, Funny (ha ha), Hergé, Liars, Lies, Mad Magazine, Mail & Guardian, Nelson Mandela, Olympics, Peanuts, Political Humor, Politicians, Racism, Robert Mugabe, Sexism, South Africa, Sowetan, Violence, World Cup, Zapiro | Leave a Comment »
March 3, 2022 by Paul Debraski
[ATTENDED: March 1, 2022] Dazey and the Scouts
I had never heard of Dazey and the Scouts when my son said he wanted to go to their only show.
I did some research, found out that they’d been a band about five years ago. They were from Boston. They put out a short record called Maggot and then broke up.
Sometime about two years ago, their songs were discovered by the TikTok users and Dazey had a huge (in terms of their band) resurgence of popularity–presumably more than they had initially.
My understanding is that the song “Sweet Cis Teen” was what really went big online. Dazey and the Scouts are a queer band, and they sing about sex. “Wet” is pretty funny and explicit. And “James Deen” was a porn star who was later accused of rape and sexual assault. Continue Reading »
Posted in Brooklyn, NY, Dazey and the Scouts, DJ Red Rosa, Elsewhere--The Hall, Gully Boys, Model/Actriz | Leave a Comment »
March 2, 2022 by Paul Debraski
[ATTENDED: March 1, 2022] Model/Actriz
I hadn’t heard of this band. I looked them up online and listened to the first song that came on and didn’t think that much of it–a kind of aggro dance-punk with a spoken lyric delivery.
When I saw the lineup, I wished that Model/Actriz went on first so I wouldn’t miss any Gully Boys.
But then Model/Actriz came out. [The really cool thing about Elsewhere was that they posted the time the bands were scheduled to go on, so you could adjust your purchases accordingly. They also had this really cool wristband that somehow connected to your credit card–you were only allowed to use the wristband to buy things at the bar. High tech!] Continue Reading »
Posted in Brooklyn, NY, Dazey and the Scouts, DJ Red Rosa, Elsewhere--The Hall, Gully Boys, Model/Actriz | Leave a Comment »
March 2, 2022 by Paul Debraski
[POSTPONED: March 2, 2022] Superchunk / Torres [moved to June 11, 2022]
I saw Superchunk four years ago and really enjoyed their fast and furious set. I realized that most bands that I like, I want to see twice. So when they announced a new show, I was ready.
In mid February, when Omicron was surging, they announced that they were going to postpone their tour until the summer, which makes sense given their new single is “Endless Summer.”
It actually worked out alright for me as I was out late the night before seeing Dazey and the Scouts.
I’ve seen Torres four times and she always puts on a great show. I’m glad she’ll be playing with them in June as well.
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Superchunk, Torres, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »
March 1, 2022 by Paul Debraski
[ATTENDED: March 1, 2022] Gully Boys
I had been hearing rumblings about Gully Boys once Get Better Records signed them. I checked out their songs online and loved them. They have a fantastic angry 90s’ al rock vibe combined with sensational harmonies.
The band has three fantastic singers. And n top of that, they write wonderfully catchy songs.
We arrived in Brooklyn with enough time to get some delicious food at a taco truck. But we decided to wait on line for Dazey merch and that’s when Gully Boys came out. So we could hear them fine, I just couldn’t really focus on them.
They sounded great–Elsewhere’s sound system is top notch.
Gully Boys started as a trio. Drummer Nadirah McGill told us that they started a band and didn’t know how to play anything. They learned together. That was five years ago. I can’t believe they are this good in that short period of time. She sang a lot of backing vocals, but also took lead on “Like Me Now.” It was really fun watching her dreadlocks fly around while she played. Continue Reading »
Posted in Brooklyn, NY, Dazey and the Scouts, DJ Red Rosa, Elsewhere--The Hall, Gully Boys, Model/Actriz | Leave a Comment »
February 28, 2022 by Paul Debraski
SOUNDTRACK: hiatus
[READ: February 15, 2022] City of Iron and Dust
Like a bird attracted to shiny things, when I see an interesting-looking book come by my desk at work, I decide to read it–no matter how big my tipping over pile of other books to read happens to be.
I dithered about reading this book and I had a slightly hard time getting into it (probably because I wasn’t exactly sure if I wanted to read it). But it got very good and very exciting very quickly.
The book is broken up into chapters and each chapter is broken into subsections about a particular character
Jag. She is the daughter of one of the big goblin families in the City of Iron. But she longs for a world where goblins don’t dominate and persecute the rest of the fae. She’s an idealist who goes to fae bars trying to feel something more than the money and power her family has.
Sil. Sil is half goblin half Fae. She is Jag’s half sister. But she was brought up to be an assassin. And her only purpose in life is to protect Jag. Later on, we are shown the brutality she suffered to become such a formidable creature. She has no opinions of her own. Continue Reading »
Posted in Adventure, Art, Death, Drugs, Goblins, J.P. Oakes, Pixies, The Fae, Violence, War, Yuck! | Leave a Comment »
February 27, 2022 by Paul Debraski
SOUNDTRACK: hiatus
[READ: February 20, 2022] Call Mr. Delivery
This is Zapiro’s fourth book and it’s the first time, I think, that he’s put himself into the cartoons. And it seems like maybe the world is getting to him.
Although his first appearance is in the meta-joke:
“Only one tiny minority welcomes the formation of Louis Luyt’s new political party” : Cartoonists.
But later by March 1999 he is on a therapist’s couch. The therapist asks “when did you first experience this feeling of uselessness. Zapiro says “this week suddenly reality seemed weirder than anything I could come up with.” (And the world hasn’t even gotten to trump yet).
It’s the end of the Mandela era and his successors don’t seem to be shaping up very well.
Although Mandela gets one nice shoutout. He parts the waters for the Lockerbie Breakthrough and Libya asks if anyone ever get blasé about this sort of thing.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report had to have any negative mentions of F.W. DeKlerk removed. And Desmond Tutu seems under attack from the left, right and centre (PAC, IFP, FF, ANC, NP, TRC). Continue Reading »
Posted in Abortion, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bill Clinton, Charles Schulz, Cigarettes, Comic Strips, Coronavirus, Corporate skewering, Daily Maverick, Environmentalism, Funny (ha ha), Hergé, Liars, Lies, Mail & Guardian, Nelson Mandela, Olympics, Peanuts, Political Humor, Politicians, Racism, Robert Mugabe, Sexism, South Africa, Sowetan, Violence, Zapiro | Leave a Comment »
February 26, 2022 by Paul Debraski
[DID NOT ATTEND: February 26, 2022] Lucy Dacus / Indigo De Souza
I saw Lucy Dacus play back in October. I didn’t plan to go to this show because I had just seen her. I was supposed to see Indigo De Souza, but her show was postponed.
Then I looked into this show to see if there were still tickets available, but it was sold out. No big deal.
But then this show became legendary.
Lucy threw out her back a few weeks ago and has been performing while lying on a couch. That would have been pretty fun to see. Continue Reading »
Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Bruce Springsteen, Indigo De Souza, Lucy Dacus, The Stone Pony | Leave a Comment »
February 26, 2022 by Paul Debraski
[ATTENDED: February 25, 2022] Marco Benevento
Almost exactly five years ago to the day I saw Marco Benevento headline a show at the Ardmore Music Hall. That show blew me away, it was so much fun. The whole band: Marco on keyboards, Karina Rykman on bass and Andy Borger on drums were terrific. And the three of them laid down a fantastic groove all night.
The trio was almost the same tonight. This time Dave Butler was on drums, but it was still Marco and Karina. I looked up Karina and found that she is 23, which means she was 18 last time! She was fantastic then and even better tonight.
There was supposed to be an opening act: Deer Scout. But for whatever reason, they didn’t come and it was announced a few days ago that Marco would play two sets.
I arrived a little later than I wanted to, but he didn’t go on exactly at 8, so that was fine. I was also amused because for the first time in a while, I was one of the youngest people there.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead had played three nights in Philly a few weeks ago and it was clear that people who were at that show were here as well (Marco plays with JRAD, although his music is not similar at all). There was a lot of tie-dye and a lot of long gray beards. I decided not to get mixed up with that crowd so I hung back a bit. Continue Reading »
Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Deer Scout, Elton John, José González, Karina Rykman, Leon Russell, Marco Benevento, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Floyd, The Knife | Leave a Comment »
February 25, 2022 by Paul Debraski
[ATTENDED: February 24, 2022] The Beths
The Beths are from New Zealand.
I really enjoyed hearing them talk between songs–super cool accents.
They only have two albums out but they have a pretty rabid fan base–if the guys who sang along loudly to everything were anything to go by.
The Beths were originally supposed to play King Fu Necktie in April 2020. The show was moved to World Cafe Live, but was ultimately cancelled because of COVID. They scheduled a new date at Underground Arts for January, but that got pushed back a month as COVID cases rose again.
And then, finally, they were here! Continue Reading »
Posted in National Treasure, New Zealand, Philadelphia, PA, The Beths, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »
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SOUNDTRACK: hiatus
I Just Read About That... 