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Deafheaven (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2022)

March 8, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2022] Deafheaven

I’m not a huge fan of Deafheaven, but the more I kept seeing this show advertised (and postponed and rescheduled) the more I thought I might really like to see them live.

I like their blend of shoegaze and screaming metal.  I couldn’t listen to a lot of it, but I figured a show would be just right.

The band’s newest album, however, is very different from past efforts.  There is almost no screaming at all.  Lead singer George Clarke who pretty much only screamed a largely incoherent rasp on previous records actually sang on this one.  The music wasn’t vastly different although it tended to be a bit less intense.

When I looked to see what their setlist was like, the show in late 2021 had them play the entire new album and then a couple old ones.  I wasn’t that excited by that prospect, but figured I’d still enjoy it.  And after Holy Fawn, I was ready.

They opened with “Shellstar” which is quite a pretty song.  I think I would have really liked it if it weren’t Deafheaven.  Plus, I had never seen any footage of them before.  Clarke was a wildly intense figure, but he was dancing and moving and shuffling.  Dressed all in black in a button long sleeve shirt, he moved about the stage and fully engaged with the audience. Continue Reading »

Posted in Deafheaven, Holy Fawn, Midwife, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Gang of Four / Guitar Army / DJ EBG III (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 8, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

March 8, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 8, 2022] Gang of Four / Guitar Army / DJ EBG III

I am not a huge fan of Gang of Four.  But I like some of their records quite a lot and I would have really enjoyed seeing them.  Especially since they seemed to be playing a lot of their Entertainment album.    But I already had tickets to see Tigers Jaw, a band I’ve been interested in for a little while.  UPDATE CIRCA 2025: Gang of Four has not come back and when they did return in 2025, they skipped Philly entirely.  Hmmph.

Guitar Army has a promising name, but their bio says that they are “a rock n’ roll band that hasn’t forgotten its roots. Formed in Windsor with strong dose of Detroit rock, rhythm and blues, Guitar Army has been kickin’ out the jams in the Windsor/Detroit circuit for more than 25 years.”  And indeed, they sound like a rock and roll band that’s been around for 25 years.  Possibly fun live, but not that great on record.

I can’t find anything about DJ EBG III except that he he also spun records for a David Bowie tribute night.  He’s clearly Philly based and that’s all I know.

Posted in DJ EBG III, Gang of Four, Guitar Army, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Holy Fawn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2022) [DEAFHEAVEN]

March 7, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2022] Holy Fawn

Holy Fawn was supposed to open a show I was going to go to a while ago.  I didn’t go for whatever reason, but here they are again.

“Candy” started out kind of slow and atmospheric.  There were quiet guitars and whisper/sung vocals by Ryan Osterman.  It had a powerful shoegaze vibe.  After a minute or so drummer Austin Reinholz started hitting a martial beat that felt like it was heading to a burst of noise.  But that never came.  It wasn’t until almost four minutes into the song that it burst forth.  And at nearly five minutes started screaming in an intense growl–but just for the end of the song.

“Dark Stone” worked the other way.  After some slow swirling intro sounds, the band played a heavy chord and then silence.  And it worked that way as the full band kicked in–loud crashing chords followed my ambient noise.  vocals were quiet and clean as the band played a picked guitar melody and interesting sounds from the second guitarist Evan Phelps.  The song just built and built on a wall of noise with crashing guitars, lots of cymbals and screams from bassist Alexander Rieth (who was into the music bodily–bouncing and headbanging like crazy). Continue Reading »

Posted in Deafheaven, Holy Fawn, Midwife, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Midwife (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2022) [DEAFHEAVEN]

March 6, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2022] Midwife

I was intrigued by the setup on the stage.  On the microphone stand there was a old-school telephone receiver.

Then Madeline Johnston came onstage with her guitar.  She spoke into the telephone and her voice sounded distant and far away.  It was pretty neat.

She then triggered a drum beat and started playing guitar over it.  She sang into it and her voice was spooky and sounded like it was coming from outer space.

Midwife plays was she calls Heaven Metal and falls into the “Slowcore” and “Sadcore” genre. Continue Reading »

Posted in Deafheaven, Holy Fawn, Midwife, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Nick Kent–The Unstable Boys (2021)

March 5, 2022 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: THE PRETTY BOYS-“Midnight to Six Man,” “Don’t Bring me Down,” “Rosalyn.” (1966, 1964, 1964).

The Pretty Boys are referenced a lot in this novel and I realized I never knew them.

According to Classic Rock History, these are t he band’s top three songs.

I guess as a reference point, I can see what Kent was going for.  The lead singer sounds like a bit of a wild man, with lots of screams.  Each song is a kind of rowdy garage rock. They’ve got a lot of energy, but very mid 60’s energy which really doesn’t appeal to me.

And none of the songs have anything remotely resembling the kind of musical genius that the guitarist in the novel is supposed to have.

So I wasn’t missing anything.

[READ: February 28, 2022] The Unstable Boys

I’m usually a pretty good judge of books when I see them at work.  We get a lot of novels that I would never read, but we occasionally get a gem that I’d never see anywhere else.

I looked at The Unstable Boys and thought I had a gem.  And it started out as one.

The book is about a fictional band from the 60s called The Unstable Boys.

The opening of the book is clippings from various articles about the band.

They were a mix of personalities with two talented members, an array of drummers and a lead singer called The Boy who was a force of nature.  He was, simply, an asshole.  But he was charismatic and unpredictable and people were intrigued by him.  They had a hit, they were poised to do some big stuff and then their second guitarist died.  They were about to go on a major American tour and wanted to postpone.  But the label wouldn’t let them.  The label threw in some new members for the tour and the band imploded.

Guitarist Ral Coombs was a really talented and sensitive musician.  He and The Boy nearly came to blows.  They vowed to never reunite or even speak to each other again.

Then the story begins properly.  We meet Trevor Bourne. He is recently single and, as a freelance writer, not very successful.  He had written a story about The Unstable Boys a while back, but hasn’t had much success lately.

Enter Michael Martindale.  He is a very rich and successful fiction writer.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Amsterdam Netherlands, Books about music, Books about writers, Death, Drinking, Drugs, Nick Kent, Poo, Pornography, Prostitution, Sex, Sexism, Sexual Assault, The Pretty Things, Violence | Leave a Comment »

Circa Survive / Tigers Jaw / Soul Glo (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 4 & 5, 2022) [CANCELLED]

March 4, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[CANCELLED: March 4 & 5, 2022] Circa Survive / Tigers Jaw / Soul Glo

I feel like I should have known Circa Survive.  When this tour was announced there was a lot of hype about it.   I mean, two nights at Union Transfer! (they are a Philly band after all).  This was to be a tour of their ten year old (sort of) album Blue Sky Noise.  They’re alt and emo and I’m just really surprised I’ve never heard them.  The hype made me interested enough to check out the album and I liked it (although I’m not sure of Anthony Green’s voice).

And then just before the tour started, they cancelled it

Circa Survive have announced that they have decided to cancel their Blue Sky Noise Anniversary Tour in part due to the mental health struggles of frontman Anthony Green.

The band had this to say, “It breaks our hearts to announce that we are officially cancelling the BSN Anniversary Tour. This includes the dates that were being rescheduled for the summer as well.

“There are multiple factors at play here but most pressingly Anthony is currently struggling with a mental health crisis and unable to be on tour at this time. A focus on self and family is of the utmost importance right now therefore postponing or rescheduling any further doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.

“We’re absolutely devastated over this and feel awful for everyone it affects. We hope you will accept our most sincere apologies and regrets with this news and the last minute nature of this announcement. All refunds will be available at point of purchase (VIP buyers, check your email).

“Although we are somber and wounded in this moment, our art and this community have always been guiding lights of hope and healing for us in times like this. We look forward to better days where we can celebrate overcoming these hardships together.”

I saw Tigers Jaw last year when they headlined Union Transfer.  It was an album release show for their I Don’t Care How You Remember Me record.  I didn’t know them that well, but since this was an album release show, nobody did.  It was terrific and I was surprised that they were opening this one.  When this show was cancelled they announced a show in Garwood a few days later and I saw them there which was a lot of fun.

Soul Glo is a band I really want to see. They are an extreme punk band and will probably scare the heck out of me.  I’ve heard their live shows are really intense.  Although probably not so much as an opening band.

Posted in Circa Survive, Philadelphia, PA, Soul Glo, Tigers Jaw, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Lucy Dacus: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 4, 2022) [POSTPONED]

March 4, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[POSTPONED: March 4, 2022] Lucy Dacus: Free at Noon [moved to July 8, 2022]

indexI have seen Lucy Dacus quite a few times and she always puts on a mesmerizing show.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see her perform a Free at Noon (they are fun to do but such a HUGE part of my Friday.  And then it was revealed that she would be doing her upcoming shows lying on her back.

A few weeks earlier, she had “an unexpected medical issue (not COVID related).” She wrote:  “sup, I have two herniated discs and the only way I’m not in pain is laying down SO tonight’s show I will be singing from a couch, I am both sorry and also pleased to offer this most humiliating and hilarious moment to you good people….”

A few days earlier she played a Sold-out show at the Stone Pony (I wasn’t planning on going but when I heard about the couch I was bummed it sold-out and I couldn’t go). Continue Reading »

Posted in Coronavirus, Lucy Dacus, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »

Zapiro–The Devil Made Me Do It: Cartoons from Sowetan, Mail & Guardian and Sunday Times (2000)

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 »

Dazey and the Scouts (Elsewhere–The Hall, Brooklyn, NY, March 1, 2022)

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 »

Model/Actriz (Elsewhere–The Hall, Brooklyn, NY, March 1, 2022) [DAZEY AND THE SCOUTS]

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 »

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