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Kid Koala x Lealani (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025) [DELTRON 3030]

October 4, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] Kid Koala x Lealani

I’ve been a fan of Kid Koala for a really long time.  His turntable skills are incredible.  I was able to see him once (I can’t believe it was 7 and a half years ago).  I’ve been wanting to catch him again ever since.  And here he was, playing with Deltron and doing his own set.  I didn’t know what the X Lealani meant, but we would soon find out.

Kid Koala came out and moved over to his three turntables.  And as he started playing some records, he said, I’m Kid Koala and I’m here to play records incorrectly.  And then his cameras turned on.  He had cameras mounted above the turntables so you could watch his hands as he scratched and spun his vinyl.

His set was so much fun and having the cameras on meant you could see that he had taped marks and other notifications on his vinyl that helped him keep track of where to put the needle.  Watching him spin the vinyl backwards to get it to exactly where he wanted it was amazing.  He didn’t play any of his own songs, he played samples and snippets of songs and had everybody bopping along.

After a few minutes, he brought Lealani out (I think she was eating dinner with him at La Chinesca–my son and I ate at La Chinesca.  And, lo and behold Kid Koala was sitting there two tables away.  I was going to say hi, but with the cane I am not subtle or fast.  So I assumed he would walk past us and I’d say hi then; but he went out a different way.  Waah wahh.)  Lealani is from Pomona California and Kid Koala introduced her as an incredible electronic musician.  She had one of those light up boxes that makes sound.  I don’t know what they’re called.  There was a camera on her as well and her hands were incredible.  She played elaborate beats and melodies on this box and the whole room was blown away.

Lealani left and Kid Koala played some more.  And then Lealani came back out with a guitar. She sang a kicking punk song while Kid Koala played some drums.  And then Kid Koala told us that he and Lealani had started a new band together and that they would be touring early next year.  This band is called Distorter and I’ll be there when they come to town.

Posted in Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Deltron 3030, Distorter, Kid Koala, Lealani, Lord Sko, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Lord Sko (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025) [DELTRON 3030]

October 3, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] Lord Sko

When this show was announced–Deltron 3030 playing their debut front to back– I grabbed two tickets immediately.  I grabbed one for my son because even though he didn’t know the album, I assumed he’d enjoy the show.

In addition to enjoying his company, I enjoy picking him up on the way to Philly because it usually means we can get there super early.  Which we did–although traffic was a little heavier than I expected.  But we had time to get food at La Chinesca.  And, lo and behold Kid Koala was sitting there two tables away.  I was going to say hi, but with the cane I am not subtle or fast.  So I assumed he would walk past us and I’d say hi then; but he went out a different way.  Waah wahh.

I had looked at the previous show and they were done by around 10:20, which was great because we were going to grab churros (yum!) for the ride home.  However, the previous show did not have the extra opening act, Lord Sko.

I was expecting Kid Koala to come out to his turntables.  But instead, a person came out with a laptop and got us hyped up for Lord Sko.

His logo reminded me of Newport cigarette ads. And moments later he came out.  He had on a big winter hat with ear flaps.  You could barely see his face but you could see his long hair.  And you could hear him quite clearly.  I always think it’s weird when an opening act whom I assume few have heard of, tries to get the crowd hyped up by yelling at us to put our hands up.  I mean, have man, the bar is low, but you have to earn the love.

Anyway, he began rapping and his flow was really good.  Hiphopdx said of him

A true student of the culture, his sound is nostalgic yet fresh, fearless yet effortless. From standout tracks to a fire 2025 project, he’s building momentum fast. Hip Hop heads — don’t sleep on this one

There was some technical difficulties with the laptop, but Sko handled it very well.  He even did a freestyle while the laptop rebooted.

I cam away from his set with respect for the guy (who is like 20) and I’d happily see him again.

Posted in Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Deltron 3030, Kid Koala, Lealani, Lord Sko, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

The Mountain Goats: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025)

October 3, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] The Mountain Goats

I have wanted to see The Mountain Goats for years–pretty much ever since my friend Andrew introduced me to them (with burnt CD copies of albums).  I finally got to see them this summer while playing with Guster and that was great.  I had no idea that the band had so much fun up there and I really enjoyed their set (as I figured I would).

So when they announced this Free at Noon, I jumped at the ticket.  Sure I had just seen them two months ago, but they were great and I wanted more!

I walked in and the usher suggested I sit in the ADA section.  I didn’t want to, as I like being closer, but the crowd was big and rather tall, so I grabbed a seat and happened to be right next to the very Andrew who introduced me to them.  It makes sense that he would be there (he said the same about me) and it was a fun surprise.

The band came out and started with one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs, The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton.  I cannot believe that the song is 25 years old!

I actually wondered how many different songs I’d hear compared to the summer’s set.  Well, it was mostly the same, but of the nine songs they played, there were three that they didn’t play this summer.

But, it was also really fun to know the other songs.  I had really enjoyed Bones Don’t Rust last time and I really really liked Broken to Begin With–a terrific song from the new album.

I really like seeing John Darnielle pogo during the instrumentals and bounce from one musician to the next smiling at the music they are playing–sometimes seeming maybe surprised by a move or another.

He explained that the new album is about a sinking ship (which he is on). Rocks in My Pockets is about it as is Great Pirates.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Free at Noon, Philadelphia, PA, The Mountain Goats, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons (Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA, October 2, 2025)

October 2, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 2, 2025] Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons

My wife is a big fan of Stardew Valley.  Last November, when this show was announced, I grabbed tickets pretty quickly and basically assumed the day would never come.

Back in 2017 my son and I went to this very venue (then called Verizon Hall) to see The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses.  We were really close to the stage which I don’t think was all that exciting for him.  or for me, really. So this time, my wife and I sat in  the balcony–straight back.

It was a great location as they played videos on the screen and we could see both the videos and the orchestra perfectly.  So what was this?

Curated by ConcernedApe, Symphony of Seasons features a 35-piece orchestra performing the most memorable music from the game, and a screen above the stage playing gameplay footage plus original content created exclusively for this tour.

Concert-goers can look forward to hearing the game’s most cherished songs as they watch their farm grow throughout the seasons and explore some of the valley’s most memorable locations, from Pelican Town to the Skull Cavern, Ginger Island to Calico Desert, the Submarine to the Wizard’s Tower and much more.

I have never played the game and have only caught glimpses and audio snippets around the house so while I knew the game I didn’t know any of the music.

The whole show was wonderful.  There was an opening video by ConcernedApe who told us that he made all of the music on his computer and how cool it was that there were actual people playing it now.

The video clips were largely from the game, but there were several videos of beautifully drawn scenes–the likes of which are not on the game.  My wife said it was amazing to see 3-D looking version of the  8 bit game.  It was also funny to hear people gasp when these scenes were projected or to laugh at the funny scenes in the game.  [There were four people behind us who felt compelled to talk and make each other laugh through the show, but whatever].  There was some cosplay and interesting merch. Continue Reading »

Posted in Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Marian Anderson Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Stardew Valley, Verizon Hall | Leave a Comment »

TWRP (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2025)

October 2, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2025] TWRP


My son and I saw TWRP open for Magic Sword back in 2023 and we loved them.  We saw them again when they headlined.  And they’re the reason I went to Ninja Sex Party (they opened the show and were NSP’s backing band).

And here they were playing Underground Arts!  They were originally supposed to play World Cafe Live but because of a shakeup at the venue, TWRP and several other bands abandoned WCL for other venues.  I love Underground Arts but I think WCL would have suited my purposes better (much better sight lines).

I arrived later than I intended and the place was packed.  So instead of being on the barrier, I was back a ways behind a whole bunch of tall people.  After the first two songs I moved back and off to the side.  Not the best view but better than what I had and I could see most of the band just fine.

The previous times that I’ve seen them, they were on pretty big stages, so it was interesting to see them crammed into the small UA stage.  But they did fine with it and I was pleased that Phobos the guitarist was always near the front of the stage so he wasn’t hidden by the big pole.

All of the fun aspects of TWRP were in place.  Dr Sung on his hoverboard, Dr Sung bragging about his awesomeness and the rest of the band keeping him in check.

This tour’s theme was a weekend camping trip.  There were leaves and things around the stage and the whole conceit that they were camping was on full display.

They opened with a new song (and a new chant: party party party party).  I haven’t listened to much of the new album.  They played 4 songs from it but they did not get rid of crowd faves like Bright Blue Sky (so much fun to sing along to) and of course Atomic Karate (even in this small area he was able to do his high kicks (baby) and use the nunchaku.

The segues into each song are always fun, like when he talks about all of the potential in the room as a warm up to Human Potential. Continue Reading »

Posted in LAPD, Los Angeles Power Disco, Philadelphia, PA, TWRP, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

LAPD [Los Angeles Power Disco] (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2025) [TWRP]

October 1, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2025] LAPD 

I was super excited for this show.  I wanted to get there early and get right up front for TWRP.  But I guess everyone else did too.  So I didn’t get a close spot at all.  I was annoyed by the people in front of me since they cut in at the least second and blocked about six shorter people.

The only consolation is that they were playing Weird Al as house music–which is a little weird since TWRP are funny, but aren’t comedy music.  But whatever, we all enjoyed it.

I’d never heard of Los Angeles Power Disco before this show.  The name was pretty funny (especially abbreviated LAPD).

The band came out on the tint stage and the trio crowded right up front.  There was a guitarist and a keyboard/bass/guitar player, and there was singer/guitarist Sarah Rayne.

Rayne had been in the band Cobra Man which played what they called Los Angeles Power Disco.  Then Cobra Man broke up very acrimoniously and Sarah took the name LAPD.

There was no drummer and honestly I don’t even know if the two guys on stage are part of LAPD or are touring musicians (LAPD has five songs out on Bandcamp, all released in 2025).

Sarah was dressed in a sequined unitard and was super interactive with the crowd.  I didn’t love the spot where I was (or the three tall people who jumped in front of us at the last second), so I couldn’t fully see what she was doing, but I know at one point she climbed on the barrier (holding hands with someone up front) and proceeded to high five and have people sing along to “Your. Time. To. Burn.” Continue Reading »

Posted in LAPD, Los Angeles Power Disco, Philadelphia, PA, TWRP, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Pool Kids (House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ, September 22, 2025)

September 24, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: September 22, 2025] Pool Kids

This was my third time seeing Pool Kids.  I really like their mix of punky alt rock and really cool guitar shredding (so much finger tapping).  I saw them headline at a small place in Philly and they blew the roof off (with singer Christine Goodwyne crowd surfing at the end).

Since I last saw them the put out a new album.  And they played 8 (of 11) songs from it.  They opened with a new song and then immediately jumped back to their previous album

The opening riff to That’s Physic Baby is a mastercalss in cool guitar riffage–sounding like an old school metal intro.  Both Goodwyne and second guitarist Andy Anaya shred impressively with lots of fingertapping.  Anaya seems to add a few extra flourishes while Goodwyne gets back to singing.  The end is a dramatic moment where the chorus telling you what I, telling you what I need, is repeated but at the end the song drops off and she screams (and we all scream along) NEED!

Vocalist/guitarist Christine Goodwyne was fun with a powerful voice that held high notes and also screamed with rage.  She and second guitarist played some great harmony solos together too.

A group chat with goddamn 21 people I wish I was joking but I’m not.

They played one song from their debut (the wonderfully named $5 Subtweet) which has a total progressive rock vibe with a fast riff opening and some complicated intertwining moments.

The new album has a lot more going on–synths, quieter moments, even an AutoTune on the first song).  But there’s still plenty of Pool Kids sound–loud vocals and gorgeous guitar work on Last Word.  But they moved back to another of my favorite songs of their “I Hope You’re Right” with the chorus “You wanna start a fight” which is super fun to sing along to.

I also need to mention bassist Nicolette Alvarez who plays some amazingly complicated parts and adds a lot of backing vocals (which I don’t think she did on the previous album).  Drummer Caden Clinton makes a lot of noise on a fairly small drum kit.  He plays interesting rhythms and different parts of the kit to bring a really full (and dare I say kind of proggy component) to the songs.

After playing most of their bigger songs, they played three new songs.  Sorry Not Sorry is a slower song (where Alvarez’ backing vocals really shone).  Easier Said Than Done is also slower (with soft backing vocals from Anaya).  These songs are all a bit more conventional. but they retain a lot of makes Pool Kids interesting.

Then we were encouraged to sing along to the next song because we all knew it.  Conscious Uncoupling is the first song I heard by them and I loved everything about it–the soft to loud vocals, the cool guitar sounds and the big explosive chorus.

For one of the ending songs, Goodwyne put down her guitar and jumped into the crowd.  The guy next to me had been singing along all night and she ran up to him and they sang a line together.  Later from on the stage she called him over to shout a line with her and he was clearly thrilled.  There wasn’t a large crowd–I felt bad for them, although it was a Monday night–and there was even a small “pit” available because I was standing a little back from the people up front (the sound isn’t very good when you’re right on the stage).  She bounced around and then some short person slammed into her really hard.  She bounced off and seemed game for more.  So they bounced off each other a few more times and then she climbed back on stage.

They ended and it was still about 9:45 (I assuming 10PM curfew).  On their other nights they had been adding an encore and when they left the stage they put their guitars down on the stage in the “we’ll be right back” gesture.  But then the house music came on and it seemed like they weren’t coming back.  But the crowd started a “one more song” chant (again, what happened to encore), and after a few minutes, they came back.  Goodwyne apologized to the sound guy saying they weren’t planning on coming back out.  It may be the first genuinely earned encore I’ve ever been a part of.

They played Swallow, a great song with lots of finger tapping guitar–it’s really fun when Goodwyne and Ayana face each other in a little guitar battle.  It was a great and cathartic end to the show and they were done by 10!

The show was great and I was in for a surprise at the end of the show.  As I was heading up the stairs, two young women were walking down and said my name.  I looked up confused until they revealed that they were the daughters of one of my college friends.  I hadn’t seen them in about five or six years and I don’t know how they recognized me (something about knowing I liked this band and they asked their parents what I looked like to see if I was there).

Turns out they are huge fans of the band and drove 3 hours to see them!  They may also drive down to Philly on Thursday to see them again.  It was great to see them and I immediately texted their mom–it had been too long–and we caught up.

 

House of Independents 2025 Ukie Club 2023 Rooftop 2023 (open for PUP)
Tinted Windows € Swallow Swallow ¶
Arm’s Length That’s Physics, Baby That’s Physics, Baby ¶
That’s Physics, Baby Erso ⊗ $5 Subtweet ⊗
$5 Subtweet⊗ $5 Subtweet⊗ Arm’s Length ¶
Which is Worse? € Further ¶ I Hope You’re Right ¶
Last Word € Comes in Waves ¶ Conscious Uncoupling ¶
I Hope You’re Right I Hope You’re Right Talk Too Much ¶
Sorry Not Sorry € Pathetic ¶
Bad Bruise € Arm’s Length
Easier Said Than Done € Conscious Uncoupling
Conscious Uncoupling Talk Too Much
Leona Street € encore
Talk Too Much Borerline ⊗
Exit Plan €
encore
Swallow

€ Easier Said Than Done (2025)
¶ Pool Kids (2022)
⊗ Music to Practice Safe Sex To (2018)

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, House of Independents, Pony, Pool Kids, Truth Club | Leave a Comment »

Truth Club (House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ, September 22, 2025) [POOL KIDS]

September 23, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: September 22, 2025] Truth Club

I saw Truth Club open for Indigo de Souza last year and I really liked their set a lot.

It was pretty obvious that there was a curfew in place because the bands changed pretty quickly (they were using the same drum set so that helped).  Truth Club came out and opened with a song from their debut album.

Unlike Pony, they played many of the same songs (the don’t have a new album yet, but they do have a bunch of new songs).

I definitely enjoy their second album more than their debut–there’s a lot more dynamics going on.  77x starts slow but in an interesting, lurching way.

And here’s what I loved about them last time and this time.  Singer Travis Harrington plays guitar as well and he plays the basic chord structure.  But in these first few songs, guitarist Yvonne Chazal made some really interesting sounds.  They played lots of high chords and single notes.  They bent the notes and made really interesting textures.  It wasn’t always clear what sounds were coming out, but it made the whole thing feel bigger.

After a couple of songs Yvonne switched instruments with bassist Kam Vann.  If I had to guess I’d say that Kam might be the full time lead guitarist because he was pushing the sounds further than Yvonne did.  He played loud hard chords, but also played some solos and added extra sounds.

And really it’s the song creations from Truth Club that I like so much.  There’s a lot of loud/quiet shifts, but there’s also odd time signatures (for one of the songs Travis counted in to 6).  Continue Reading »

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, House of Independents, Pony, Pool Kids, Truth Club | Leave a Comment »

Pony (House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ, September 22, 2025) [POOL KIDS]

September 22, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: September 22, 2025] Pony

I saw Pony open for Fucked Up about 3 years ago.  I didn’t know them before the show, but I really enjoyed them.  Pop punk energy (like Beach Bunny but a little rougher around the edges).  I was pretty psyched about this lineup.  Three bands I knew and liked.  So I wanted to make sure I arrived early enough for Pony.

The show said 7:30, I strolled in around 7:15 and they were already on!  And apparently had been since 7.  So I only got to see a few songs, but it was enough to know that they still kick butt and I would happily see them again.

Interestingly, their recorded output is far more poppy than their on stage performance.

Pony is from Toronto and is fronted by Sam Bielanski who plays guitar and sings.  She is also a voice actress and voiced Jazz in My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale (hence the band name).  I can’t find a ton of information about the band, but I’m guessing that Matty Morand is an important part of the band.  He played (really cool) guitars at this show.

I don’t know if she played guitar for this set as she wasn’t when I came in and didn’t pick one up.  But her intensity is amazing.  And, she was super nice after the show.

The setlist was almost entirely different from the previous show as they have released two albums since then.  I really would have enjoyed seeing more of this set.

 

2025 [Pool Kids] 2022 [Fucked Up]
Superglue § WebMD ™
Peach ∇ Couch ™
Freezer ¼ Furniture ™
Sucker Punch ∇ Très Jolie ∇
Sick ∇ Sometime Later ™
Middle of Summer § My Room ™
Every Little Crumb ¼ Did It Again ∇
Très Jolie ∇ Chokecherry ™

§ single (2025)
¼ single (2024)
∇ Velveteen (2023)
™ TV Baby (2021)

 

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, House of Independents, Pony, Pool Kids, Truth Club | Leave a Comment »

Starcrawler (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2025) [GARBAGE]

September 17, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2025] Starcrawler

I wanted to see Starcrawler for a few years before I finally got to.  And the buildup was more than the band could live up to.

I saw them last year open for Boris (a strange fit) when they played for an hour and I found them more or less unpleasant.  They really make me like the and hate them at the same time.

Last time I quoted someone else as saying “they strike me as rich kids cosplaying as punk rockers,” which seems fairly apt.  Also that

singer Arrow DeWilde tried to irk the crowd by referring to San Francisco repeatedly as “Frisco” after commenting, “Last night in Fresno was better than this shithole.” I have a friend who had seen them in Fresno the night before who said that Arrow said something similar onstage then.

This was one of the things that I found so irritating about them in the past, they are strangely confrontational.  It may be part of the schtick, but it’s weird–especially for an opening band.

Arrow was less confrontational than in the past, although she did yell at the audience for not bouncing their heads along to their song (weirdly, that was to the slowest song they played–we certainly bounced for the faster songs). Continue Reading »

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Garbage, Philadelphia, PA, Starcrawler | Leave a Comment »

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