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Iron & Wine: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, February 13, 2026)

February 13, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 13, 2026] Iron & Wine

I have wanted to see Iron & Wine for a pretty long time.  But they’ve always been on my “casually” want to see them list.  I knew I liked them (him) whenever I heard them, and I’ve known that Sam Beam has an amazing voice, but I didn’t really know many songs by them.

So it seemed like going to a full on show might be too much?

When this Free at Noon was announced, it seemed like the perfect way to see him.  A 30 minute show in the middle of the day–not a major time commitment, and I could see if I really like him.

And I did!

It was just Sam and his guitar.  He played a few songs from his new album and then a few older songs too.  He chatted a lot, praised us for being so quiet and talked about how much he liked to play Philly.

At one point someone shouted What’s your name, which I thought was pretty odd.  Then I saw the person and saw that he had special needs.  Sam must have seen that too because he asked What’s Your Name.  And then Sam made a joke that people ask if he’s related to Jim Beam.  It was delightful how nice and friendly Sam was to everyone.  He seems like a genuinely nice guy.

One of his new songs has the line “fuck the man” which he sang (on the radio!–I actually wondered if he forgot he was on the radio).  Later on when he played All in Good Time it has the words shit in it, and he stopped himself from singing the word and then said, well, I already said fuck, so he sang shit. Continue Reading »

Posted in Free at Noon, Iron & Wine, Iron and Wine, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Kim’s Convenience (Berlind Theatre, McCarter Theater, Princeton, NJ, February 12, 2026)

February 12, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 12, 2026] Kim’s Convenience

My wife and I really enjoyed Kim’s Convenience when it aired.  My mother-in-law enjoyed it and then recently, my son watched it on his own.

When this performance–the play that started it all, performed by the writer–was announced at McCarter, I grabbed my wife and I tickets ASAP.  Then when my son found out about it he wanted to go as well.  He couldn’t go the night we had tickets, but I was able to exchange our tickets for another night and get an extra one for my son.  I haven’t been to the Berlind Theater for a long time and I forgot how tiny it is.  So even though our seats were near the back, they were still really close.

McCarter had a lot of fun with this production, setting up a Canadian/Korean market in the lobby with Canadian flags and sweaters and lots of posters. They sold Korean goods (from the local Woori Mart) and may have even brought it some Canadian favorites (some drinks and ketchup flavored potato chips). Continue Reading »

Posted in Berlind Theatre, Canadian Content, Funny (ha ha), Ins Choi, Kim's Convenience, Princeton, NJ | Leave a Comment »

Dan Deacon (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 6, 2026)

February 7, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 6, 2026] Dan Deacon 

I saw Dan Deacon three years ago and it was one of the most fun and uplifting shows I’d ever been to.  I knew I’d see him again and I planned to drag my wife along with me.  I knew that she wouldn’t really like the music, but I thought she’d really enjoy the experience.

After the last show I wrote

I would absolutely see him again, even if I need to wait another six years.

So it was almost 4 but it did take a while.

On the way to the show I told her that all of the things that I usually get mad at during a show don’t apply here.  People can talk, they can push, then can block my view.  It really doesn’t matter.  And, wherever we start it won’t be the same place when we’re done.

She seemed thankful for this primer and knew that this was going to be a very different show.

I had genuinely hoped that Dan would come out right after Moon Bounce was done (who starts a show at 9PM these days?).  Especially since Moon Bounce’s set was 30 minutes.  But he waited until 10.  Unlike last time, he had a live drummer, which was totally unexpected but a lot of fun.

He also took advantage of the venue’s video screen.  I thought he might project trippy images, but he explained that he had been meaning to make something but he didn’t.  So instead, he played a Phish show from Saratoga Springs.  It was so funny to see the guys from Phis playing behind him.  But he was thankful to them for putting out entire shows (2 hours) for free on line with no ads.

And then he started his music.  And it was loud.  I had intended to bring earplugs like always, but with the parking problem (and trying to find a reasonable spot) I forgot.  Dan’s music is repetitive and dancey.  He also sings and usually modulates his voice so that it’s insanely high pitched.  Which is bizarre but somehow even more fun. Continue Reading »

Posted in Dan Deacon, Moon Bounce, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Moon Bounce (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 6, 2026) [DAN DEACON]

February 6, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 6, 2026] Moon Bounce

Moon Bounce is an electronic musician.  He said he was originally from Philly then he moved to L.A. (don’t ever do it)and now he’s back in Philly.  He said he got his start because Dan Deacon turned him on to electronic music.

His set was thirty minutes and I enjoyed watching him.

He had all of his music on his laptop and he used various gear to pitch shift and modify the songs.  It was fun watching someone manipulate sounds in real time.  It was also fun seeing how well he knew his music (which duh, I know, but he would wave his hands in the air to the beats that were coming or angle his face when things slowed down).

His songs were catchy and he did sing (which I wasn’t expecting after the first few minutes of instrumentals).

It’s hard to really describe electronic music if you don’t know it that well.  There were beats and sounds.  He chose some cool sounds to go with the beats. At one point he looped an a capella sample from a rap album (which I can’t remember the name of).  The loop was one word repeated pretty quickly.  Then he slowed it down to match the beat of the next song.  “This is called a transition, it’s got to match 89 BPM, ok here we go.” Continue Reading »

Posted in Dan Deacon, Moon Bounce, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Mdou Moctar (solo) / Koof Ibi (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, February 4, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

February 4, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 4, 2026] Mdou Moctar / Koof Ibi

I have seen Mdou Moctar twice, both in 2024.

His shows (first electric, second acoustic) were really enjoyable.  He’s an amazing player and really charming.  I’ve not seen him solo and I’m not sure if it was electric or acoustic.  But I didn’t feel like going out to this show.  I’m sure I’ll see him again in thefuture though.

Kooh Ibi is a trumpet player born in New Jersey who is now in Philly.  He loops and samples music to create his trumpet pieces.  I listened to a few minutes of one and it was remarkably subdued–but really interesting.

This was probably a cool chill evening of jazzy music.

 

I really like The Messthetics (including the name).  The band has at its core drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally who were both in Fugazi.  Along with guitarist Anthony Pirog, they make cool and interesting instrumental rock.  They have been pretty high on my list of bands to see. Continue Reading »

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Koof Ibi, Mdou Moctar, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Umphrey’s McGee (Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, February 4, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

February 4, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 4, 2026] Umphrey’s McGee

I saw Umphrey’s McGee ten years ago.  I didn’t really know that much about them but I had heard that they were a lot of fun live.  This was at the Fillmore and for the first half of the night I was upstairs, far from the action and I was kind of bored.  But for the second half I got down pretty close (people went for drinks during the intermission) and I enjoyed myself a lot more.

I’ve considered seeing them again and seeing as how this show was at a relatively close place, I thought I might go.  But Mayo Pac is all seats and that didn’t sound like a lot of fun.  And since I haven’t listened to them at all in ten years it was just easier to stay home.

There’s a guy I follow on Instagram who has been to over 200 Umphrey’s McGee shows.  Incredible.

Posted in Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, Umphrey's McGee | Leave a Comment »

Rhys Nicholson (Helium Comedy Club, Philadelphia, PA, February 2, 2026)

February 3, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 2, 2026] Rhys Nicholson

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.

Rhys Nicholson was one of the funnier people on Taskmaster Australia and I was really excited when I saw that they were playing in Philly (apparently not their first time playing here).

Rhys set the tone well asking who had heard of them (much applause) and who had not (more than usual).  They assumed that the people who hadn’t heard of them were straight boyfriends/husbands.  And sadly there were no jokes for those people–they’ve had enough.

And then, geez, it was like 90 minutes of nonstop hilariousness. Continue Reading »

Posted in Hannah Trav, Helium Comedy Club, Jim Gillespie, Philadelphia, PA, Rhys Nicholson, Taskmaster, Taskmaster Australia | Leave a Comment »

Jim Gillespie / Hannah Trav (Helium Comedy Club, Philadelphia, PA, February 2, 2026) [RHYS NICHOLSON]

February 2, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 2, 2026] Jim Gillespie / Hannah Trav

Despite all of the comedians we have seen, we’ve never been to a comedy club.  Technically when we went to City Winery, we had to buy food, but that’s not a comedy club.  Helium, on the other hand, is.  And it was our first experience with a two-drink minimum.  Helium changes it somewhat and has a two item minimum–so food or drinks (and I guess food is actually more expensive?).  So we did indeed by (watered down) drinks–even my ginger beer was watered down.  And we got some apps.  A surprisingly expensive night out for relatively cheap tickets.

So I assumed we’d see Rhys Nicholson and be home by like ten.  But instead, there was a host and an opener.  And I guess this is standard practice.

The host does a short set, then introduces the warm up and then comes back to introduce the headliner.

Our host was Jim Gillespie who implied that he is fairly new to Philly. He was very funny.  I enjoyed his jokes quite a lot and I was intrigued to see that he looked at his phone a bunch–notes, I assume.  I assume he is somewhat new to stand up because the jokes were great but the transitions weren’t very smooth.  But that’s what fine tuning is all about.  As I said the jokes were great and I laughed a lot.

Jim is a big guy and he made some good and (to me) original jokes about being big.  The first was about going thrifting and why are there no large clothes at thrift stores–he knows that fat old people are dying all the time–where are their clothes?  I also enjoyed the jokes about how he doesn’t want to die and become a fat ghost.  Who only haunts the kitchen. Continue Reading »

Posted in Hannah Trav, Helium Comedy Club, Jim Gillespie, Philadelphia, PA, Rhys Nicholson, Taskmaster, Taskmaster Australia | Leave a Comment »

Dry Cleaning / YHWH Nailgun (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 1, 2026) [POSTPONED]

February 1, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[POSTPONED: February 1, 2026] Dry Cleaning / YHWH Nailgun [moved to May 6, 2026]

Back in 2022, a family emergency prevented me from going to this show.  I was interested in Dry Cleaning who at the time were a kind of trendy British band.  They are of the spoken deadpan vocal/wild guitar noise variety.   I thought they’d be fun to see live once.

They announced a new tour in February of 2026 and then announced it would be postponed

Dry Cleaning have rescheduled their imminent tour of North America, cutting a handful of dates and postponing the rest until May. The band cited “the increasingly hostile economic forces that govern touring” in a statement that you can read below.

We have had to take the difficult decision to move our Jan/Feb ‘26 US tour to May. This is due to a number of factors, not least of which the increasingly hostile economic forces that govern touring in the present day. Thankfully we have managed to reschedule the majority of the original shows and all tickets will remain valid, if that suits you, and refunds available if it does not. Regrettably, we have been unable to make this work for all dates due to the shortened routing. Refunds will be available from your place of purchase and we will do everything in our power to play for you as soon as we can.

The new date actually works out better for me and I’m looking forward to the show.

YHWH Nailgun (pronounced Yahweh Nailgun) is an American experimental rock band formed in 2020, known for their abrasive sound that blends elements of punk, noise, and electronic music. The quartet consists of vocalist Zack Borzone, drummer Sam Pickard, guitarist Saguiv Rosenstock, and synthesist Jack Tobias.  They are indeed noisy and abrasive.  I’m curious to see them do this live and I hope they are still the opening band in May.

Posted in Dry Cleaning, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, YHWH Nailgun | Leave a Comment »

Jordan Klepper: Suffering Fools (McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, January 30, 2026)

January 31, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 30, 2026] Jordan Klepper

My wife and I used to watch the Daily Show all the time.  Once ***** got elected we stopped because it was just too painful to deal with the reality.  But we do still watch clips online.  My wife really likes Jordan Klepper.  I knew of him, but didn’t really know him that well.

When this show was announced at McCarter, and she expressed interest in going, well, it was already sold out.  So that sucked.  But then they added a second show the same night so I grabbed us tickets.

Obviously, I would prefer to go to the 7PM show and be home by 9, but it was kind of novel to be able to leave the house at 8:30 for a show.  It was also novel, but not in a good way that it was 9 degrees out when we left.  But Jordan was hilarious and it was a solid 85 minutes of humor.

There was a screen behind him projecting a painting of a random spot in California.  It was beautiful but something looked off.  Later on he revealed that the mountains in the background were the Swiss Alps.  But people at the time didn’t know much about the West Coast and the flocked to see the painting.

But so yes, he told us a little about himself–that he has been on The Daily Show for years and as part of his remit, he has been to over 4,000 T**** rallies.  Jesus wept.

And over the years he has gotten to know some of the regulars.  Because of course there are regulars.  He used a very funny metaphor about them as well.  He talked about once on The Daily Show having to interview a famous pug.  He didn’t say how the interview was actually going to … proceed … because it was derailed when the pug got an erection.  And he talked about how it looked like red lipstick.  And the he posted a picture of all of the MAGAs wearing their red hats.

Not subtle, kind of stupid (as he admitted) but very funny.

And then he revealed that yes, this comedy show was “a fucking powerpoint.”

He talked about several men who he has talked with over the years.  There is Brick Suit Guy (he owns 5 bespoke suits that look like a brick wall).  He has been to hundreds of rallies and has been on stage several times.

There was a guy who looked like Santa Claus but with his teeth sharpened into fangs. Continue Reading »

Posted in Jordan Klepper, Kat Radley, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, The Daily Show | Leave a Comment »

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