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Merce Lemon (Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, July 22, 2025) [THE DECEMBERISTS]

July 22, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2025] Merce Lemon 

I didn’t know Merce Lemon before this show.  Normally I look up an opening band, but I just didn’t for this show.

They came out as a five piece (although Merce Lemon is apparently the lead singer and it is her project).  She was joined by Reid Magette who played some utterly fantastic lead lines in the songs.  Pat Coyle on drums was fun to watch because the songs weren’t complicated, but he threw in lots of flourishes here and there to make them really come to life.  Alvin Row was playing lap steel for the whole show.  Sometimes his leads lurred with Reid’s but overall he provided some great ambient sounds.  And Benji on nass occasionally made some great feedbacking noises on these otherwise mellow songs.

Merce described her band in an interview with Post-Trash:.

My drummer Pat Coyle plays under his name. Benji, who plays bass, also plays under Clear Creek SP. Reid, my guitarist, plays under I4A, which stands for Ideas for Advertisements. Spencer, who played keys on the album, plays ambient music under the name Alvin Row. We recently played a show at my friend’s sauna, which has an outdoor space. He was playing ambient lap steel, and it made me cry.

They played six songs, each one at least 5 minutes long.  The songs started out quietly but they usually had really exciting moments and the crowd was easily won over by them.  The last song in particular had a great build up and conclusion.

Merce never mentioned the band’s name (or anything more than I’m Merce) and I don’t know what songs they played, except for a Bonnie “Prince” Billy cover of “I See a Darkness.”

I’m hopeful that someone will post the setlist as I really don’t know what they played.

But yeah, overall a very enjoyable opening act.

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Melt, Merce Lemon, The Decemberists, Wind Creek Event Center | Leave a Comment »

Pixies / Kurt Vile (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 22, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 22, 2025] Pixies / Kurt Vile 

When Pixies announced this two night stand at The Fillmore I was really intrigued.  I have seen Pixies four times in the last eight years and wasn’t sure I’d need to go again.  Although I was actually interested in tonight’s show because I feel like they don’t play as much from Trompe Le Monde.

But then this show was on the same night as a Decemberists concert that my wife and I were not willing to pass up.  Glad we got to go to night two.

My wife has become a huge fan of Kurt Vile over recent years.  We have seen him, but I thought she’d really like to see him again.  SO I’m glad we got to go to the second night of these shows.  And it’s fun to see him as an opening act in Philly.

Posted in Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Philadelphia, PA, Pixies, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Primus / Ty Segall (The Rooftop at Pier 17, New York, NY, July 21, 2025)

July 21, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 21, 2025] Primus / Ty Segall

I’ve seen Primus four times.  And yet I’ve never seen them as just Primus.  I saw them in the 90s which was great.  Then I saw them play their Desaturated Seven album, which was fine, but the  extra songs were what I really wanted to here.  I saw them play Rush’s A Farewell to Kings, which was awesome, but again, not really Primus.  And I saw them with Puscifer this summer but it wasn’t really their show.  So, this would have been a great opportunity to see them.

But, while the Rooftop is an amazing venue, it’s a massive pain in the ass to get to.  So I’d need to have someone really special playing there to haul ass there.  And Primus wasn’t it.

Probably because Ty Segall was opening.  I have had no luck seeing this guy.  I have missed him on six occasions for one reason or another.  So, I’ll blame Ty.

 

Posted in New York City, Primus, The Rooftop at PIer 17, Ty Segall | Leave a Comment »

“Weird Al” Yankovic: Bigger & Weirder 2025 Tour (TD Pavilion Stage at the Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2025)

July 20, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 19, 2025] “Weird Al” Yankovic

This was my tenth time seeing Weird Al.  That’s pretty exciting.

I didn’t know if he’d be doing another tour (he hasn’t put out any new music (aside from soundtrack songs) in over ten years!  But this was a bigger and weirder tour.  In practice, this meant that there were more people on stage than ever before–four other people on stage aside from his long-lasting regular band.

Probyn Gregory – backing vocals, trumpet, trombone, tuba, guitars, percussion ; Scheila Gonzalez – backing vocals, saxophone, clarinet, percussion ;  Payton Velligan – backing vocals, guitars, percussion ; Monique Donnelly – backing vocals, keyboards, percussion.

I asked my whole fam if they wanted to go and all three of them said yes, rather excitedly I might add.  But that was a long time before the show.  And so my daughter wound up working and my son wound up going to a concert in Wisconsin!  I was able to sell my two tickets for basically face value and my wife and I enjoyed the show by ourselves.

I assumed that this show would be a kind of greatest hits show, but it turned out to be chock full of songs I hadn’t seen live before and, some that I had never even heard before!

They opened with Tacky, but there was some kind of technical difficulty, so I’m not sure how much of the song they were going to play.  I would have enjoyed hearing it, but it’s not a big deal.

Then he surprised the heck out of me by opening with Mission Statement, the CSNY inspired song that mocks corporate speak.  It sounded great with the backing singers doing harmonies.  Then came Polkamania!  I knew this medley, but not very well.  I had forgotten that he put it out in 2024 as a single covering the ten years since his last album.  It was really fun seeing Billie Eilish in a Weird Al concert.

After the drum solo, they played Everything You Know is Wrong, a song I simple cannot believe I’d never seen him play live before (I see he never played it before this tour!).  It was amazing. Continue Reading »

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Funny (ha ha), Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Milo Murphy's Law, Paul Simon, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

The Warning / Speed of Light (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 19, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 19, 2025] The Warning / Speed of Light

In a really weird coincidence, I had literally just read about The Warning and how much they rocked.  I listened to a couple of songs and liked them quite a lot.  And then I saw that they were playing at Union Transfer.  I was really interested in going, but it was one of four shows that I wanted to see today.  And I already had tickets for Weird Al so The Warning lost out.

So The Warning is from Monterrey, Mexico (they sing in English).  The band members are sisters: Daniela (guitar, vocals, piano), Paulina (drums, vocals, piano), and Alejandra (bass guitar, backing vocals, piano) Villarreal Vélez.  They rock really hard , Daniela’s voice is great and they seem like they’d be fantastic live.

Speed of Light are also siblings Riley (bass and vocals) Tyler (drums) and Cameron (lead guitar) Christensen.  They are from California and started the band when they were children.  They are less metal than The Warning, with a grungy sound, they have clean (excellent) vocals and some growling as well.  They are pretty intense.

I think this would have been a great show to go to and I hope they both tour again around here.

Posted in Mexico, Philadelphia, PA, Speed of Light, The Warning, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Dinosaur Jr. / Snail Mail (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, July 19, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 19, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 19, 2025] Dinosaur Jr. / Snail Mail

I saw Dinosaur Jr. right here ten years ago almost to the day.  They were opening for Jane’s Addiction and it was a terrific show.  I have seen them two more times since then and kind of felt I didn’t need to see them again.  Although it has been four years now.

I don’t love this venue, although if you get there at the right time and in the right spot it can be pretty great.

I’ve ben trying to see Snail Mail since 2018.  Every time they play–either opening or headlining, something comes up and I don’t see them.  I’m not even sure if I like them anymore.  But I love that she keeps popping up on my radar.  They seem like an odd band to open for Dino Jr.

 

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Dinosaur Jr., J. Mascis, Snail Mail, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage | Leave a Comment »

Puddles Pity Party (TD Pavilion Stage at the Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2025) [“WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC]

July 19, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 19, 2025] Puddles Pity Party

I heard about Puddles Pity Party a few years ago. A giant (6′ 8″) man dressed like a clown with whiteface and everything.  Who has an incredible voice.  He’s funny, but also not funny at the same time.

I’ve wanted to see his act but I didn’t think I wanted to see him as a headliner (where does he even headline show?).  So the fact that he was opening for “Weird Al” was perfect.  An opportunity to check him out.  Sadly, two things prevented this from being a great experience.  The first is we ran into a ton of traffic and wound up missing at least half of his show.  The second is that we were pretty far back, so it was hard to get absorbed in the show that interacted with the front rows.

But yes, walking in during him singing Estoy sentado aquí–beautifully, of course–was surreal because who knew if it was suppose to be funny.  By the time we were settled he had started Come On Up to the House.  This is a Tom Waits song that is, unsurprisingly, rather sad.  So it’s kind of funny to see a clown singing it, but it’s not really funny–there’s no punch line.

Up next was In the End, not a cover and also not funny.   But again, wow what a voice. Continue Reading »

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Funny (ha ha), Los Lobos, Metallica, Philadelphia, PA, Puddles Pity Party, Tom Waits | Leave a Comment »

Pelican / Porcelain / My Wife’s An Angel (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 19, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 19, 2025] Pelican / Porcelain / My Wife’s An Angel

Pelican is an American post-metal band from Chicago known for their heavy, atmospheric and almost entirely instrumental style.

I’ve been vaguely aware of Pelican for a while, and when this show was announced, I listened to a bunch more and was really excited to see them.  But it was the same night as Weird Al, which was a family event.  So, no Pelican for me.  I hope they come back next year.

Porcelain played with Wax Jaw in March of last year.   But I didn’t go to that show.

They are from Austin.  Post-Trash says

The quartet of Ryan Fitzgibbon (US Weekly), Eli Deitz (Dregs, Votive), Steve Pike (Exhalants, CSSS), and Jordan Emmert (Super Thief, Pleasure Venom) bring a great deal of experience together from different pockets of the city’s noise rock and punk scene, the pieces coming together to create something better than the sum of it’s parts.

I’ve never heard of any of those bands.  I like the sound of their music but I don’t really like the singer.  I bet they crush it live though, their drummer sounds like a maniac.

My Wife’s An Angel is from Philly.  A review on Ghettoblaster of their most recent album was simply

Philadelphia noise rock enigma My Wife’s An Angel releases its Yeah, I Bet, an album that is equal parts thrilling and terrifying

They make a lot of noise with a screaming psycho as the vocalist.  No doubt terrifying live.

Posted in My Wife's An Angel, Pelican, Philadelphia, PA, Porcelain, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Summer of ’99: (Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI, July 18 & 19, 2025)

July 18, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 18 & 19, 2025] Summer of ’99

My son and his friend went to this festival. I think they mostly wanted to take a big road trip–from NJ to Wisconsin.

They had a blast.

I kind of laughed about this lineup. It’s so, well, 1999, but holy cow some of the bands.

I think if this was just playing in the background and the festival grounds were fun, it would be a good time. But they said the people who were really into the bands were a little scary.

Day 1:  Lit, Our Lady Peace, Tonic, Daughtry, Live, Nickelback
Day 2: Fuel, Vertical Horizon, Hinder, Mammoth WVH, Sevendust, Three Doors Down, A Day to Remember, Creed

Posted in A Day to Remember, Alpine Valley Music Theatre, Creed, Daughtry, East Troy WI, Fuel, Hinder, Lit, Live, Mammoth WVH, Nickelback, Our Lady Peace, Sevendust, Summer of '99, Three Doors Down, Tonic, Vertical Horizon | Leave a Comment »

Hozier (Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJ, July 15, 2025)

July 16, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 15, 2025] Hozier [moved from June 10, 2025]

Last year when this tour came to this very same location, I balked at the price of tickets.  And now I regret doing so because this time around, I was going to get tickets no matter what.  In the time since last year, my whole family has just gotten more into Hozier.  So I jumped on line and scored… four lawn tickets.  Meh.  The lawn at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion is massive.

Then, a few days before our show, he postponed it.  I gather he was feeling under the weather.  So his team rescheduled the show for almost exactly a month later.

And this turned out to be a blessing and a curse.  A curse because now my daughter couldn’t go (she was away).  But my wife was happy to come along, so that was cool.  But it was also a bummer because the rescheduled date was the same night that I had a ticket for Phish at the Mann.  And the exciting thing about that was that I had pit tickets for the first time.  So I was bummed not to go.  But as part of the deal with rescheduled shows, people were allowed to get rid of their tickets if they couldn’t make it.    I asked the kids if they wanted lawn or seats and they said they were fine with lawn.  So I grabbed two tickets for my wife and me in the middle of the lower tier.  And the view was awesome.

My son and I had seen him at World Cafe Live a couple of years ago–when he was prepping for this tour, I believe (but that can’t be right, surely).  When we saw him, he had the full band, but there was no stage show.

So I was blown away by the visual effects he employed. Whether it was close ups of the band or clips of videos to really impressive 3D videos that floated around the stage.  It was magnificent.  But the most magnificent thing was his voice.   If he wasn’t feeling well last month maybe he wouldn’t have sounded as amazing as he did tonight.  And wow did he sound great.

He opened with a quiet song with some cool lights shining just on him.  And then slowly the whole (ten-piece) band was revealed. Continue Reading »

Posted in Camden, NJ, Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Gigi Perez, Hozier | Leave a Comment »

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