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Dinosaur Jr. (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, November 18, 2021)

November 21, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 18, 2021] Dinosaur Jr.

Back in March when concerts were just starting to happen again, Dinosaur Jr were first out of the gate to announce a fall tour. I grabbed a ticket and it sold out almost instantly (yes, we were desperate for live music!).

I was excited more about the show than the fact that it was Dinosaur Jr.  The last time I saw them ( I can’t believe it was five years ago) the show was so good, I felt like didn’t really need to see them again.

Except for one thing.  The two shows I’d seen with them I was too close to the stage.  The guys’ amps are so loud that you can barely hear the vocals (bassist Lou Barlow even yelled at the people up front who complained–“stand father back, it’s physics!”).  So I wanted to stand further back to get the full Dino experience.

After being right up on the stage for Riley, I walked to the back and took up a spot in the middle of the room (I couldn’t voluntarily go all the way to the back).

And it was a much more enjoyable experience–except for the people around me.  There were a couple of really tall guys who just wouldn’t budge an inch. There were also a lot of loud people, including a guy who kept shouting “Just Like Heaven” (as if Dinosaur Jr is a band who takes requests). Continue Reading »

Posted in Dinosaur Jr., J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, Philadelphia, PA, Ryley Walker, The Cure, Union Transfer, Vagabon | Leave a Comment »

Off With Their Heads / Thick (Broken Goblet, Bensalem, PA, November 20, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 20, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 20, 2021] Off with Their Heads/Thick

I had not heard of Off with Their Heads, a Minneapolis punk band.  I was only interested in this show because of the band Thick, whom I really like and would like to see.

As it turns out I had tickets to see Dan Deacon that night and there was no way I was passing that up for any other show.

I’m happy to hear, though, that there is a small club in Bensalem (which is half way to Philly for me), because it would be great if more smaller bands played there.

Posted in Bensalem, PA, Broken Goblet Brewing, Off With Their Heads, Thick | Leave a Comment »

Ryley Walker (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, November 18, 2021) [DINOSAUR JR.]

November 20, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 26, 2016] Dinosaur Jr.

I’ve seen Ryley Walker twice before this (and one time when he played lead guitar for Nap Eyes).  Every time I’ve seen him, it’s been a totally different experience.

The first time, back in 2018 (when Walker had long hair and a beard), he was on stage with Bill MacKay.  They jammed a bunch of songs and Walker was really funny.

Most of the songs were instrumental, but one, “Telluride Speed” was a fairly conventional song and super catchy.

I saw him again at the end of 2019 as part of a post Phish concert in NYC.   He looked totally different, with short hair, no beard and a winter hat.

He had a four piece, with Ryan Jewell on drums.  It was mostly lengthy guitar solos and lots of improv.  Walker has some wild noisy guitar skills and I was right up there watching him.

For this show, it was again a four piece.  Ryan Jewell was on drums again (he’s the main reason I wanted to go) and Bill McKay was on co-lead guitar.  I’m not sure who was on bass. Continue Reading »

Posted in Dinosaur Jr., Philadelphia, PA, Ryley Walker, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Starset (Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, November 17, 2021)

November 19, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 17, 2021] Starset

My son got me into Starset and I enjoy going to see them live with him.  Last time at the TLA we were kind of far back but this time we got pretty close.  I actually wondered if we were too close since it’s fun to take in the whole spectacle of their show.  But it’s hard to pass up the opportunity to get close to the stage.

Starset was formed in 2013 by Dustin Bates, who is also the band’s lead singer and songwriter.  Bates has a Masters’ degree in electrical engineering.  He has done research for the US Air Force and taught at the International Space University (whatever that is).

Using that educational background as a jumping off point, Bates has created this complex backstory.  The story goes that Starset was formed as part of a public outreach initiative by The Starset Society. The Society had obtained a Message from a mysterious signal sent from space and wanted to alert the public to it.

And so every show is a “Demonstration” and there’s all kinds of codes and buzzwords that the band uses, which makes it indeed like a secret society. Continue Reading »

Posted in All Good Things, Another Day Dawns, Metallica, Philadelphia, PA, Starset, The Word Alive, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

The Word Alive (Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, November 17, 2021) [STARSET]

November 18, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 17, 2021] The Word Alive

The Word Alive was up next and  I found them to be a puzzling band.

Their name sounds like they’re a Christian band.  But I don’t think they are.

Their sound was ll over the place during this show.  Which is not a bad thing, although it felt more confused than intentional.

Their third song “Misery” (a new song) was a singalong and lead singer Tyler Smith got everyone doing a hand wave back and forth.

But their earlier song “Trapped” which I guess was a bit of a hit single back in the day featured some really dirty screamed vocals from both Smith and one of the guitarists.

And in this song Smith yelled at us for not giving enough back.

It was kind of all over the place.

The band has had many lineup change over the years and apparently half the band left just before this tour.

I won’t say I didn’t like them, because I did, but it didn’t really do a lot for me.

  1. monomania ≠
  2. SEARCHING FOR GLORY ≠
  3. Misery
  4. No Way Out ≠
  5. Red Clouds ⊕
  6. BURNING YOUR WORLD DOWN ≠
  7. Trapped ♦
  8. Wonderland
  9. Why Am I Like This? ⊕

♦ Dark Matter (2016)
≠ monomania (2017)
⊕ Violent Noise (2021)

Posted in All Good Things, Another Day Dawns, Philadelphia, PA, Starset, The Word Alive, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

Vagabon / Angelica Garcia (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, November 18, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 18, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 18, 2021] Vagabon / Angelica Garcia

I was planning in seeing Vagabon in March 2020, but her show was cancelled of course.

I really enjoyed Vagabon’s debut album.  It had a great indie rock sound, but the fact that Lætitia Tamko is originally from Cameroon gives her music a unique quality that makes it stand out.

There is no way I would have missed this show if I hadn’t already purchased Dinosaur Jr. tickets for this night [Dino Jr. was the first new show announced as lockdown ended and I grabbed tickets immediately].  In fact, if they had been announced at the same time, I would have happily grabbed the Vagabon tickets. Continue Reading »

Posted in Angelica Garcia, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Vagabon | Leave a Comment »

All Good Things (Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, November 17, 2021) [STARSET]

November 17, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 17, 2021] All Good Things

This would be my son’s second show in just over a week.  We drove to TLA and had plenty of time to grab cheesesteaks (something I never do when I’m by myself).  Or so I thought.

The info said the show started at 7:30.  We walked in at 7:30 only to be told we missed the first band Another Day Dawns.  Their set must have been really short.

We got into the club and got up nice and close to the stage, just in time for All Good Things to take the stage.

I hadn’t heard of them, but as soon as they took the stage they played the kind of huge metal anthems that are designed for big group sing alongs.

So I looked them up and discovered

All Good Things were happy supplying dramatic soundtracks for video games and TV shows… until a growing army of fans tracked them down.  The band have built something of an online fanbase supplying music to video games and soundtracks, from WWE Smackdown to Prison Break and Bones. Cut to next scene, and two of the band’s songs have each generated more than two million Spotify listens.

So that makes total sense.  Songs filled with big hooks and lots of woah oh ohs.

Dan Murphy (vocals, guitar), Andrew Bojanic (guitar, vocals), Liz Hooper (bass, keyboard, vocals), Miles Franco (guitar, bass, vocals) and Randy Cooke (drums) played a terrific and enjoyable set.

The one big surprise for me was when they busted out a Destiny’s Child cover.  I don’t know Destiny’s Child at all, so I don’t know if this was a popular song. I do enjoy a left field cover and this was way out in left field.  The anthemic quality fit in pretty well with the rest of their songs, which shows just how poppy metal is at its core.

After the show I found that I didn’t really like the music as much–it felt a little too perfect, too anthemic, too made for movies.  But live, it was a cathartic and fun experience to shout along to these rockers.

  1. Kingdom ⊕
  2. Machines ≠
  3. Hold On ⊕
  4. Push Me Down ⊕
  5. The Comeback ⊕
  6. Survivor (Destiny’s Child cover)
  7. For the Glory ≠

≠ Machines (2017)
⊕ A Hope in Hell (2021)

Posted in All Good Things, Another Day Dawns, Philadelphia, PA, Starset, The Word Alive, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

Tokyo Police Club / Nobro (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, November 17, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 17, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 17, 2021] Tokyo Police Club / Nobro

This was the tenth anniversary tour of Tokyo Police Club’s Champ album.  I’ve never seen them live, but I’ve heard their shows were amazing.  Plus, they were playing The Foundry, one of my favorite small clubs.

I was pretty psyched to see them, but it turned out that this show was scheduled for the same night as a Starset show that I would be taking my son to.  Sometimes schedules just don’t align nicely.

One of the openers for this tour was the Toronto punk band with the great name of Pkew Pkew Pkew.  But on our leg was Nobro. Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Music, Nobro, Philadelphia, PA, Pkew Pkew Pkew, The Foundry, Tokyo Police Club | Leave a Comment »

Avi Avital and MILOŠ (Richardson Auditorium, Princeton, NJ, November 16, 2021)

November 16, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 13, 2016] Avi Avital and MILOŠ

Five years ago, S. and I went to see Avi Avital at a tiny theater on the Princeton University campus.  And now, here he was returning, but this time with a partner!  MILOŠ, an incredible guitarist whom I’d also learned about through a Tiny Desk Concert.

Israeli musician Avi Avital has taken the mandolin to new heights, earning a GRAMMY nomination as the first mandolin soloist in history…. He returns to Princeton University Concerts joined by an exciting PUC debut: Montenegrin phenomenon MILOŠ, who is described as “the hottest guitarist in the world” and renowned for his deeply emotive playing. Together, they bring us a kaleidoscopic program of arrangements and transcriptions for mandolin and guitar.   “POD SEATING” — Patrons will be seated on stage only with members of their party, as determined by the ticket quantity in your order.

So we could see these two terrific musicians and be right on the stage with them? Sign me up!

S. and I both went and we were maybe twenty feet from the musicians.  They were charming and funny as they introduced themselves and each other and then they blew us away with their amazing finger and fret work.

They played a truly wide ranging repertoire and explained the origins and context of each song.  Who would have guessed that Bach and Philip Glass could work together so well? Continue Reading »

Posted in Avi Avital, Isaac Albeniz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Manuel de Falla, Mathias Duplessy, Miloš, Philip Glass, Princeton, NJ, Richardson Auditorium, Set in New Jersey! | Leave a Comment »

Marie Brennan–A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir of Lady Trent (The Lady Trent Memoirs, 1) (2013) [audiobook 2013–Kate Reading]

November 15, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[LISTENED TO: November 2021] A Natural History of Dragons

This book sounded interesting. I knew nothing about it (aside from the title) and had no idea it would unfold the way it did.

Turns out that Kate Reading, whom I didn’t know, was an outstanding reader. She did male voices so compellingly that I forgot it was just one reader.

The book is a memoir.  The book feels like a Victorian novel (where a woman is not allowed to have the kind of adventures she ultimately does).  Reading reads Lady Trent in a kind of slow, deliberate, older, upper class lady voice.  It felt a wee bit slow at first, although I couldn’t imagine her doing it any other way.

Lady Isabella Tent is the leading scholar on dragons.  Indeed, the book starts:

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth into the clear light of modern science.

Each chapter even has an olde-fashioned style in which the chapter heading summarizes what’s to be found within.  Lady Trent is an old woman now, finished with the excitement of her life and all that she has accomplished and she has decided that rather than answering all of the letters she gets all the time, that she would set the record straight and write her memoirs.

She starts from her early childhood and her tone is at one approving and occasionally disbelieving in the kind of person she was.

When Lady Trent was young Isabella, she had a unladylike desire to be scientific.  When she first captured a “sparkling” (this book is written as if we would know what she’s talking about since it is a memoir of a famous person’s exploits.  If you don’t know what a sparkling is, well, where have you been?).

Her mother was horrified by her behavior.  I mean what kind of girl dissects a bird to see how it can fly?  A scientific genius, that’s what kind. Continue Reading »

Posted in Audiobooks, Death, Dragons, Fantasy, Feminism, Kate Reading, Marie Brennan, Rhys Davies, Sci-fi, Science, Sexism, Threats, Todd Lockwood, Unfinished series, Violence | Leave a Comment »

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