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Fern Brady (NJPAC–Victoria Theater, Newark, NJ, April 19, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 19, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 19, 2025] Fern Brady

I have made a list of all of comedians from Taskmaster who I would like to see live.  It’s not everyone of course (some of them don’t do stand up and some I don’t think I would enjoy).  And then we started watching Taskmaster Australia and Taskmaster New Zealand, and I’ve added a dozen or so more to that list.

Fern Brady was the first comedian to be playing in the area and I found out about the show too late to take advantage of it.  Plus it was the same day as a special event in our house.

So, I would have liked to go, but it wasn’t going to happen.  I hope she comes back.

Posted in Fern Brady, Newark, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Taskmaster | Leave a Comment »

The Dead Milkmen / The Ditches / The Rectors / EDO (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 18 & 19, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 18, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 18 & 19, 2025] The Dead Milkmen / The Ditches / The Rectors / EDO

I saw The Dead Milkmen last year at Underground Arts and it was great–so much fun to hear these old songs that I loved and to see they still had great charisma.

I already had tickets to see L.S. Dunes on April 18 so I couldn’t go that night.  And the 19th is a special night in our house–no going out.  But I’m happy to know that The Milkmen are still playing live from time to time.  I hope to see them in 2026.

The Ditches played both nights.  The Rectors played on the 18th and EDO played on the 19th.

The Ditches says thy play garage Americana from Bucks County, PA.

The Rectors are a psychobilly band from Philly.  They play pretty fast but do have the rockabilly vibe.  I could see The Dead Milkmen enjoying them.

EDO in an article from WXPN

Since their formation at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD back in 1987 – they moved to Philly soon after graduation – the band has continuously defied norms and expectations. Somewhere between Frank Zappa’s matter-of-fact weirdness, the Butthole Surfers’ freakout rock, and the outer space groove of Parliament Funkadelic, EDO (the meaning of the name has been lost to history) occupies a singular position in Philly punk history, even if you’ve never heard of them.

And here’s what someone else wrote about EDO

Some people say EDO is the house band on Pluto. Some people say EDO is more confusing than two cats and a barbershop.

They have a song called Upper Darby (Gives Me the Creeps) which makes me laugh in title alone.

They are clearly insane–someone describes them as the Delconian Primus.  I’s never heard of them until this announcement and now I sure hope to see them live someday.

Sounds like a couple of wild nights.

Here’s a recording of EDO uploaded by EDO

As for the Milkmen:

Alyssa Forester recorded the entire show on the 18th

DirtyMovies76 recorded the whole show on the 19th

Posted in EDO, Philadelphia, PA, The Dead Milkmen, The Ditches, The Rectors, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Lucy Dacus (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2025)

April 16, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2025] Lucy Dacus 

I have seen Lucy Dacus quite a few (six) times and she always puts on a mesmerizing show. The first time I saw her was at Johnny Brenda’s (capacity 250), the most recent was at Union Transfer (capacity 1200).  And now here she was starting off her first tour after boygenius in her former home town of Philadelphia by playing The Met (capacity 3800).

And, wow, did she step it up for this bigger venue.  She had a gigantic backdrop designed to look like a museum wall.  There were picture frames and columns and it looked amazing.  And even this was presented theatrically as for the openers and for Lucy’s first song, the whole extravaganza was covered in a dropcloth.  The band even walked through the dropcloth opening at the center of the backdrop.  When it dramatically dropped away, the crowd went nuts.

And as she sang, one (or more) of the frames would display a picture that had something to do with the song she was playing.

Because this was the Forever is a Feeling tour, she played mostly songs from that new album (she played the whole album, but not in order).  The album opens with Calliope Prelude and so did the show.  It’s a short instrumental which is primarily strings and it worked very nicely as “walk on” music.

And then she launched right into Hot & Heavy, a song that opens quietly but builds really nicely to get the whole band involved.  I was surprised that she hadn’t opened with a song from the new album, but she followed that up with five songs in a row from it.  The band includes Sarah Goldstone (keys vocals), Dominic Angelella (bass), Alan Good Parker Guitars), Phoenix Rousiamanis (violin), and Ricardo Lagomasino (drums).

First was Ankles, the big single from the album–I’m always surprised when bands play their new single so early, but it worked to keep the energy up.  This also happened to be the first Lucy album I hadn’t listened to much before the show.  So I didn’t know these new songs all that well.  But Lucy is engrossing as a performer.  And it’s fun to hear a sing for the first time in a live setting.  Like hearing the words to Modigliani–while she projected a Modigliani painting on the screen. Continue Reading »

Posted in Boygenius, Jasmine.4.T, Katie Gavin, Lucy Dacus, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Katie Gavin (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2025) [LUCY DACUS]

April 16, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2025] Katie Gavin 

I Katie Gavin is the singer for Muna.  I didn’t really like the Muna album that much when it came out, but I was really impressed by their live show when I saw them at All Things Go a few years ago.

I felt kind of the same about the Katie Gavin album.  It was okay, but it didn’t excite me all that much.

In fact, I really wanted to see Jasmine.4.T because their song Elephant is one of my favorites this year.  Sadly, I didn’t realize the show started at 7:15 (I assumed 8) and when we rolled up at 7:45, Jasmine.4.T had already ended.

When Katie came out, she was met by thunderous applause, and as soon as she started performing, I was once again blown away by her stage presence.  She joked that people might not know who she is (the applause belied that).

I didn’t love Katie’s album as it leans a little too alt-country for me.  But as with anyone whose albums lean alt-country but who also rock out, in a live setting, the rocking comes to the fore.  And her four-piece band was outstanding, Both bassist Nana Adjoa and guitarist Eric Radloff provided backing vocals.  Adjoa even took a verse or two of some songs (she has a wonderful voice). Continue Reading »

Posted in Jasmine.4.T, Katie Gavin, Lucy Dacus, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Mercury Rev / Ryley Walker (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 16, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 16, 2025] Mercury Rev / Ryley Walker

I enjoyed Mercury Rev’s 1990s albums.  But the 2000s records lost me.  I was surprised that they were playing Johnny Brenda’s since Deserters Songs was a relatively big album.  But they really haven’t done anything much since then.

I wouldn’t mind seeing them live but this one wasn’t very appealing to me.

I’ve seen Ryley Walker a few times.  I’ve seen him play weird psychedelic instrumental jamming and I’ve seen him play rocking songs as well.  I’m not sure which way he went with this show–probably more traditional songs I’d assume.

I wasn’t all that interested in this show, but I was taking my daughter to see Lucy Dacus tonight anyhow, so it didn’t make much difference.

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Mercury Rev, Philadelphia, PA, Ryley Walker | Leave a Comment »

Tomato Flower / Zero Point Energy / Flock Econo (Silk City, Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 15, 2025] Tomato Flower / Zero Point Energy / Flock Econo

I saw Tomato Flower open for Melt-Banana.  I didn’t know who they were but I loved them from the start.  Their songs were jagged and indie, weird and delightful.  They reminded me of Palm (one of my favorite weirdo bands) for the unexpected shifts in tempo and direction.  They had two singers Jamison Murphy and Austyn Wohlers (who is also a novelist) to make it all the more unexpected.

I absolutely wanted to see them again.  I couldn’t believe there were actually five shows I wanted to go to tonight.  But this one topped the list, especially since Silk City is small and has decent sight lines.

But my wife was still recovering from her surgery and I was planning on taking my daughter to a show the following night so I stayed home and missed them all.  I hope Tomato Flower comes back.

But, damn.  What bad timing.  I do hope they come back again in a couple of years.

Zero Point Energy is a Brooklyn-based duo consisting of Genesis Edenfield and Ben Jackson with a sound described as earthy electronic dance.  That’s a bio phrase but it works. They seem weirdly divergent from Tomato Flower, but there’s nothing wrong with that.  I don’t know what they’d do live, but I did like the songs I listened to.

Flock Econo is from Philadelphia.  Matt Loretti is Flock Econo and he says “Flock Econo emerges from an alternate timeline scored by Musica Popular Brasileira and ‘80s sophisti-pop. Sprung from his hermetically sealed chamber, a fool croons over bubbling syncopation and harmonies which meander, serpentine, before finding their way home.”   The songs I listened to were lo-fi and again don’t really seem like they’d play with Tomato Flower.  But who knows.

Either way, I’d love to see Tomato Flower again.

Posted in Flock Econo, Philadelphia, PA, Silk City, Tomato Flower, Zero Point Energy | Leave a Comment »

Ani DiFranco: Unprecedented Shit! / Wryn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 15, 2025] Ani DiFranco / Wryn

Back in the day I loved Ani DiFranco.  I loved her independent spirit and that she released her own albums on her own label.  I loved her acoustic albums, I loved her more rocking albums. I saw her a few times and she was incredible live.  And then at some point she changed her sound.  She added horns and started to sound a bit more like Prince.  These aren’t necessarily bad things but I didn’t like the new stuff at all and so I completely lost touch with her.

I didn’t even realize she was still putting out records. Her most recent was Unprecedented Sh!t  and here she was touring it.  I had no plans to go but I am pleased she sold out Union Transfer.

Wryn plays acoustic guitar music that rocks once in a while.  They have a good voice and a good sense of melody.  The album is out on Righteous Babe, and there’s an early Ani feel. I might have to dive in a bit more.

Posted in Ani DiFranco, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wryn | Leave a Comment »

The Used / Family Dinner / In Angles / MX Lonely (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, April 15, 16, & 18, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 15, 16 & 18, 2025] The Used / Family Dinner / In Angles / MX Lonely

My son and I saw The Used open for Pierce the Veil.  I didn’t know them but he was excited to see them.

I enjoyed them quite a bit–their songs were fun and rocking and the show was a really good time.

I had no intention of going to any of these shows–these 25th Anniversary shows were for the die hard fans, I believe.  I thought my son might want to go but he wasn’t that interested either.

Each night they were playing an album in full (plus other songs, I assume).

April 15 was their self titled debut.  Family Dinner opened.

April 16 was their Love and Death album.  In Angles opened.

April 18 was their Lies for the Liars album.  MX Lonely opened.

Family Dinner “creates alternative rock that makes you want to dance, with lyrics that take some dark twists.”  I listened to a couple of songs and I really liked their fuzzy guitars and Natalie’s vocals.  I would absolutely see them live.

In Angles are a much much heavier band–a heavy screaming kind of band with tasty guitar licks in their songs.  Described as post-hardcore, if that helps.  They are from East Brunswick, NJ, so mad props. Maybe I’ll give them another listen just for proximity sake.

MX Lonely is described as heavygaze from Brooklyn.  I don’t love that phrase, but I do tend to like the music.  They seem pretty good.

I would have enjoyed all three openers.  But probably Family Dinner best.

 

 

Posted in Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, The Used, Family Dinner, In Angles, MX Lonely | Leave a Comment »

Remember Sports / Anna McClellan (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 15, 2025] Remember Sports / Anna McClellan

Remember Sports are a Philly band that I’ve been vaguely interested in for a while.  They play indie punk and lead singer Carmen Perry has a distinctive almost unpleasant voice that I find really compelling.

But since I didn’t know them that well and there were four other shows I could have gone to tonight, this one didn’t have much of a chance.

Anna McClellan is an indie musician based out of Nebraska.  Her music (and vocals) seem really raw.  She seems to be also pushing the boundaries of unpleasantness, but might fall on the other side of it for me.

Posted in Anna McClellan, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Remember Sports | Leave a Comment »

An evening with Dawes (McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, April 13, 2025)

April 13, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2025] An evening with Dawes

My wife and I first encountered Dawes in 2013 when they (inexplicably) appeared on Parenthood, a show we watched pretty regularly.  I thought they were a fictional band, but indeed they are not and had two albums out at the time.  I can’t recall at all what their plot line had to do with anything, but Dawes became something of a punchline for us.  The AV Club (who loves Dawes and the episode) jokes that the main character says the word Dawes so much it’s like he wants to be in the band.

And yet, over the years, we heard more and more songs of their that we liked.  It seemed like every new album brought at least one or two songs that we thought were really catchy.  I hadn’t really considered seeing them live until they announced that they were playing at McCarter.  I mean, a show that close to my house?  Sign me up!

So I got us tickets and wondered who the opener would be.  Well, it turned out there was no opener.  So we were given two full sets (20 songs… evidently the typical how on this tour got 17 songs, so I guess it wasn’t a huge difference (except that we got to go home earlier).

This show also happened a few months after the band announced that everyone except the two brothers: Taylor (vocals, guitar) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums) was out of the band.  I had actually wondered if they were going to play just the two of them.  But they didn’t–it was a full band, and they sounded great.

I think we were both a little surprised at what the band looked like, since I clearly never looked at them (since Parenthood).  This tour was for their new album Oh Brother, which I didn’t really know, although I did know and like the song Still Strangers Sometimes–a perfect catchy song from them.  But they started with The Game, a deep cut that I didn’t know but which I thought was quite good.

But I was really psyched when they played Living in the Future, and even though When the Tequila Runs Out is kinda goofy, it was really fun live.  Speaking of fun, this crowd was really really rowdy.  More so than the band, I’d say,  I had no idea that Dawes had such a devoted fan base (one guy was overheard saying he’d seen them a dozen or so times).

And the crowd went nuts for songs that I didn’t know.  I knew a few songs from Good Luck with Whatever, but I didn’t know Me Especially or Didn’t Fix Me.  Nor did I know Right on Time from the album All Your Favorite Bands (which I think we owned).

But that was just a few songs I didn’t know before they played Most People, a ubiquitous song that sounded great live.  They ended the with the mellow A Little Bit of Everything and then finished up the set with  Someone Else’s Café/Doomscroller Tries to Relax from Misadventures of a Doomscroller.  I felt like I knew the song, but it seems like an unlikely radio song–but that guitar riff was really cool.

After a little break, Tyler came out by himself and played a pretty, acoustic Moon in the Water. Continue Reading »

Posted in Dawes, McCarter Theatre, Parenthood, Princeton, NJ | Leave a Comment »

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