[POSTPONED: April 9, 2022] Otoboke Beaver [postponed to October 2, 2022]
I’m not sure if this was a COVID-related postponement, but it came at a good time for me, because we had booked a vacation for the following day and it would have been hard to justify going out to see a band the night before a long drive.
I am very excited about seeing Otoboke Beaver.
Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Otoboke Beaver, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: April 6, 2022] Mogwai
Back in 1997, my friend Lar was living in Ireland and we would send each other CDs of songs we liked. He even sent me a couple of UK (etc) only Mogwai singles.
I’m fairly certain he had seen them around this time. Or at the very least he was aware of their live shows being raucous and loud with endless versions of songs like “Like Herod” where the feedback roared on for twenty minutes.
Well, here it is 25 years later and I still hadn’t seen them live, but they were still going strong. Actually, I have a ticket stub for them in 2001, but I have no recollection of the show. I was also supposed to see them in 2017, but a freak snowstorm kept me home. It was probably the right decision, but I hadn’t forgotten it in five years. [Either way according to setlist, at neither of those shows did they play “Like Herod”].
And the band did actually wait the 55 minutes to start at 10PM. Good heavens. It was so long that the guy next to me passed out (this is the fourth show that I’ve been to where someone has passed out). He was fine and they walked over to the door to get him so air.
I was right up front (2nd from the fence) and had a perfect view of center stage. Which was only a shame that Stuart Braithwaite, the defacto leader of the band set up shop on the side of the stage. Between me and he was a very tall man with a lot of hair. Bummer. Continue Reading »
Posted in Mogwai, Nina Nastasia, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts, Ye Gods | 1 Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: April 8, 2022] Jason Isbell / S.G. Goodman
I have mixed feelings about Jason Isbell. I like him as a person and I like some of his song, but I really don’t like some of his other songs. His voice rides the fine line between tolerable and hated. I though that the option to see them in New Brunswick would give me the close by chance to see him and make a final decision (I suppose he’s good live), but I decided against it and just stayed home. And I don’t feel like it was a huge loss.
S.G. Goodman gets a lot of airplay on WXPN, but it’s mostly the same song and I’m torn on her as well.
I stayed home and it’s fine.
Posted in Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, New Brunswick, NJ, S.G. Goodman, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre | Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: April 6, 2022] Nina Nastasia
I had not heard of Nina Nastasia before this show. And, placed between Ye Gods and Mogwai, I never expected her to be a pleasant, if rather dark, folk singer.
She released her first album in 2000 and put out records pretty consistently for ten years. Then she stopped and now has a new album due out in July.
Her bandcamp site is quite confessional Continue Reading »
Posted in Mogwai, Nina Nastasia, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts, Ye Gods | Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: April 6, 2022] Ye Gods
Ye Gods has an amusing name.
It is the project of Antoni Maiovvi, apparently.
Also apparently, Antoni Maiovvi has released music under about a dozen names like: Ye Gods / Jason Priest / Pleasure Model
Half of: Homoagent / Acid Vatican.
According to his bandcamp page,
A project born in Bristol in 2006 and developed in the bohemian dystopia of Berlin from 2009. Antoni Maiovvi walks the line between retro-synth and horror soundtracks for both real and imagined films.
This was his first stop on the Mogwai tour. When he came out, he had a table with a whole bunch of electronic gear on it. From where I Was standing I could see his laptop, and although it’s was 100% clear, I was pretty sure I could see the progress bar streaming across the screen. And indeed, when it reached the end of the last block, the music ended. So that’s pretty interesting
Essentially, he created a 30 minute block of music and put it in his laptop. Then he had all kinds of buttons and knobs and he modified the songs throughout–mostly adding wild effects and pitchshifting.
He also sang (and screamed) into his mic.
It was catchy and dancey and he seemed really really into it.
I wonder if it would have been more enjoyable from further back? If the sound was better back there. Or maybe seeing how the sausage was made was a little weird? Either way, it was fine and it was fun to see him as he made the sounds, but I felt like with a name like Ye Gods, it might have been a bit more fun.
Posted in Mogwai, Nina Nastasia, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts, Ye Gods | Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: April 5, 2022] Snail Mail / Joy Again
I wanted to see Snail Mail back in 2018 and couldn’t make the show. I really liked her debut album.
I hadn’t enjoyed songs from her new one a much, so even though I bought a ticket as soon as this show was announced, I decided not to go.
I didn’t realize at the time that my daughter had a Joy Again song on her playlist. “Looking out for You” is a bouncy song with lots of banjo, although it doesn’t sound folky at all. I wonder if she would have enjoyed going to this show with me.
Posted in Joy Again, Philadelphia, PA, Snail Mail, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: April 5, 2022] Parquet Courts / Sun Ra Arkestra
I saw Parquet Courts twice before the pandemic. Then their shows were cancelled through the pandemic. This was the first post-pandemic show that they announced and I was interested in seeing them, but I had tickets to Snail Mail that I had bought a while ago and I didn’t want to miss her again (which I wound up doing anyhow).
Had I known this would be their last tour before they went on indefinite hiatus I would have pushed harder to see them.
I saw Sun Ra Arkestra in 2019 and they blew my mind (as they are supposed to do). The jazz was far out, the costumes were cosmic and the energy was palpable. I wasn’t sure I needed to see them again, but I would have been fun.
Posted in Parquet Courts, Philadelphia, PA, Sun Ra Arkestra, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: April 2, 2022] DakhaBrakha
After the last few nights, I was in need of a break, but there was no way I was passing up a chance to see DakhaBrakha.
I heard about this Ukranian band from Tiny Desk Concerts, of course. I fell in love with them immediately. Their music was weird and wonderful with amazing harmonies and interesting instruments. And their outfits were incredible. Giant hats and beautiful dresses on the women–who totally kicked ass while they played, too.
I was thrilled when I saw they were coming to SOPAC–local, small and seated. I snatched up tickets way back in November,
And then Russia invaded Ukraine. And who even knew if they’d be alive, much less able to play in the States. Evidently they left the country about a week before the show–so they had been there (their home base is in Kyiv) during the bombing. It’s unreal.
So now, this show went from being a fun celebration of Ukraine to a pointed attempt to show support to a country that needed it. Suddenly, the night was more significant.
Which, fortunately, didn’t change the music. True, the visuals that the band showed were often far more somber and dark than they probably would have been otherwise, but you can’t change the music. And it was wonderful. Continue Reading »
Posted in DakhaBrakha, SOPAC, South Orange, NJ, Ukraine | 1 Comment »
[POSTPONED: April 3, 2022] Holy Fuck (rescheduled from June 10, 2020 and February 16, 2021; moved to August 13, 2022]
The resurgence of COVID meant Holy Fuck postponed their tour one more time. I was bummed about this one because I didn’t have too many shows around this time. But the new date is in a crowded field of shows
~~~~~~~
Not only did Holy Fuck cancel this tour, Boot & Saddle closed its doors. Mega cancelled.
~~~
After seeing that this show was postponed, it gave me an opportunity to explore their music. I was now looking forward to seeing them in the new year. Well, I guess February is still too soon to plan anything, so this tour has also been cancelled.
Holy Fuck have a great name that pretty much guarantees they won’t get much in the way of airplay or advertising.
Of course their music isn’t super commercial either–although it can be quite catchy (and has been used in a bunch of soundtracks). They play an electronic dance music but in a decidedly old-school fashion. They don’t use laptops at all, employing all manner of old school equipment. Continue Reading »
Posted in Boot & Saddle, Cancelled, Coronavirus, Holy Fuck, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine | Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: April 3, 2022] Ted Leo / The Afterglows
I saw Ted Leo with his band back in 2019. Here he was again as a solo performer. I was interested in going but I had a show the previous two nights and didn’t feel like going out again.
I would happily see him again [UPDATE: and I will, a few times].
I am curious what this show would have been like upstairs in the lounge–pretty chill, I guess.
The Afterglows area Philly band comprised of Radiator Hospital’s Sam Cook-Parrott and The Goodbye Party’s Michael Cantor. NPR Music says Their music conveys a long sigh — that self-aware moment just after the daydream’s ended and reality sets back in. As a vocal duo, they are The Afterglows. They play soft sweet music with a snarky side. Cook-Parrott, in his charmingly nasal croon, sings of romantic desire with vivid, yet familiar imagery. But in a sly twist that often accompanies their songwriting, Cantor joins the chorus in an Everly Brothers-style harmony to declare, “I’m burnin’ for your love / You’re drownin’ in my sea of hate.” You can almost hear their grin as the sea swells with Rhodes piano, hand claps and a reverb-heavy guitar solo, undercutting that misty-eyed sweetness with a slight sneer.
Not quite my thing, I guess.
UPDATE: Interestingly I would see them in 2026 when they opened for Remember Sports. And I rather liked them: Their songs were simple but their harmonies were really great. They had a kind of slow, dreamy quality–retro in a pleasant way.
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ted Leo, The Afterglows, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »
