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Franz Ferdinand / Telescreens (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 8, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 8, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 8, 2025] Franz Ferdinand / Telescreens

I seem to have bad luck when it comes to Franz Ferdinand.  In 2022 they played Philly the same night that I had tickets to see Elvis Costello.  This year, they played Philly on the same night that I had tickets to two other shows (Mogwai and John Grant).

I did get to see them last year when they co-headlined with Pixies.  And they were great!  I would really like to see them again.  But I’d rather have seen the other two above mentioned bands.

Either way, it was moot since my wife had surgery and I was staying home regardless.

Telescreens are based out of New York, Their bio says their:

sound is classic rock with a twist, made unique by their alternative addition of keys and synth. They put on high energy live shows that bring the house down.

And the photo shows someone in the and jumping very high in the air.  They sound like they’d be a blast live.  The little bit I listened to sounded pretty good–simple but rocking with weird sounds sprinkled in.

Posted in Franz Ferdinand, meija, Phantogram, Philadelphia, PA, Telescreens, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

John Grant / Árný Margrét (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, April 8, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 8, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 8, 2025] John Grant / Árný Margrét

John Grant is an American singer who lives in Iceland.  He moved there in 2013 and became a citizen in 2022.

He doesn’t play the U.S. very often (last time he played Philly was 2015) and I put him on my “hope to see” list.

I really liked his records from 2013 and 2015 but hadn’t listened to his more recent releases.  But there was something so strangely enchanting about his music–kind of poppy but dark and weird too.  I wasn’t sure what his live shows would be like, but reviews talked about them being really engaging.

I was pretty psyched to get a ticket for this show, but it turned out to be the same night as Mogwai and so I had one of those tough choices–see a band I loved and wanted to see again, or see a guy I liked ok but who never plays here.

In the end the question was moot because my wife had surgery and I wasn’t going anywhere that night.

Árný Margrét is an Icelandic folk singer with a lovely voice.  She plays quiet acoustic guitar and has a delightfully Icelandic-sounding voice.  It makes it seem like the night would have been more mellow than I would have guessed.  But of course I could be wrong about that.

For ease of searching I include: Arny Margret

Posted in Árný Margrét, John Grant, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »

Mogwai / Ye Gods / Brainiac (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, April 8, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 8, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 8, 2025] Mogwai / Ye Gods / Brainiac

There were four shows that I wanted to go to on this night.  But this was my top choice.

I saw Mogwai and Ye Gods almost exactly 3 years ago at this same venue (April 6).

Mogwai were amazing.  And I knew I’d want to see them again.

I liked the name Ye Gods, but my take away was

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.

Brainiac (3RA1N1AC) was the unknown quantity for me.  I had heard of them but didn’t know much about them.  I have since learned that they were a weird, electro-driven, frantically spastic, experimentally noisy art-punk band.  They put out three albums and then disbanded after the sudden death of lead singer Tim Taylor in a car accident on May 23, 1997.

I’ve seen a few live clips.  This one from KEXP is particularly good and it makes me really wish I had seen them.   But my wife had just had surgery and I wasn’t going anywhere.

Posted in 3RA1N1AC, Brainiac, Mogwai, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts, Ye Gods | Leave a Comment »

Trey Anastasio (Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre / Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ, April 5 & 6, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 6, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 5 & 6, 2025] Trey Anastasio 

I’ve seen Phish nearly 2 dozen times.  I’ve seen the Trey Anastasio Band twice.  I’ve only ever seen Trey solo once.   I wasn’t planning on going to this show when it was announced on April 5.  Plus it sold out in a second.

But then they announced a second show on the 6th and I scored a ticket!

I read crazy reviews of Trey shows and that the audience songs along really loudly.  Which some people love but which I would absolutely hate.

And then my wife wound up having surgery early on the 7th, so there was no way I was going out the night before.  Luckily, Phish adjacent tickets are pretty easy to resell so no loss on my part.

Like You Were There recorded the whole show on the first night, so you can decided people are too loud:

Posted in Count Basie, Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre, Red Bank, NJ, Trey Anastasio, Trey Anastasio Band | Leave a Comment »

Kool Keith / MC Homeless / DJ Halo: The Punk Rap Tour (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, April 6, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 6, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 6, 2025] Kool Keith / MC Homeless / DJ Halo

Kool Keith is a weirdo rapper who I liked back in the old days.

He was supposed to play Johnny Brenda’s during the pandemic.  But those shows got cancelled.

I wrote this back then

Kool Keith is a wacko alternative rapper.  I really liked him a lot back in the 1990s. He was part of the Ultramagnetic MC’s and Dr. Octagon. he also had the alias Black Elvis.

I had more or less forgotten about him and didn’t realize that he was still making music, but he has been consistently releasing music since the 1990s.

A lot of his music is aggressively, explicitly, sometimes disturbingly sexual (Dr. Octagonecologyst, anyone?) which was once amusing but feels really wrong now.

I didn’t really know about this show until it was cancelled and I’m not sure that I’d actually want to go (I had a few other shows I was more interested in that night).  I’ve also heard mixed things about Keith live, but I feel like it would be a fun experience.  The postponed date is a year away–we’ll see.

When he performed again in 2023 I didn’t go for various reasons.  And then this show was announced at Kung Fu Necktie.  Once again, I was intrigued.  And yet I’ve learned that underground hip hop shows are pretty boring if yo udon’t know the music really well.  And I don’t.  So. Continue Reading »

Posted in DJ Halo, Kool Keith, Kung Fu Necktie, MC Homeless, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Deftones (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2025)

April 5, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 4, 2025] Deftones

I liked Deftones pretty much from when they first came out (the riff for My Own Summer is so good), although like everyone else, it was White pony that really blew me away.

I was lucky enough to see them in 2016 after they released Gore (an album that I love even though many fans do not).  They played the Sands Bethlehem, not a great venue, but the band sounded great and the band was really interactive with the audience.

I knew I wanted to see them again but the pandemic had other ideas, rescheduling their shows a few times.  When the rescheduled show finally happened in 2022, I wound up going with my daughter to see Beach Bunny instead.  And my son (a Deftones fan) went in my place.  Interestingly, since then my daughter has become a big Deftones fan and wow I’m sure she wished we had gone to Deftones instead of Beach Bunny.

Indeed, when this show was announced, I grabbed four tickets for me, my son, and my daughter.  But then my daughter had a commitment she couldn’t get out of (oh no), so my son’s friend came along–he’s a big fan as well–and all was good.  Actually it wasn’t all good because my car died on the way down.  Luckily it died on the way to his school and not while we were on 95.  Okay it didn’t die exactly, but it gave me a very alarming warning beep that made me quite certain I would not be driving it anywhere except home.

So he drove us in his convertible.  And he handled the nonsense of rte 95, the bottleneck at the Wells Fargo Center and the fact that there was a baseball game at the same time next door very well.  The baseball traffic was the real killer and the reason we missed fleshwater completely.  While we were in line for the exit, a car swerved in front of us and it was one of my coworkers!  How weird.  They were going to the stupid baseball game.

But we had decent seats (straight back but not close) and after Mars Volta we waited with mounting excitement.  It was here that I realized how young (and female) much of the audience was (like my daughter).  I believe that TikTok has introduced them to a lot of new people (good for Deftones, but it means they pay arenas instead of large clubs now).

The lights went down and thier gigantic video screen behind them lit up.  The screen jumped between shots of the band playing and other random projected videos.

The show started with what I guess is their (now) biggest hit.  I believe that Be Quiet is the song that got all the younguns into them.  And it sounded great, even in the cavernous Wells Fargo.  And I was really impressed with how energetic and bouncy Chino Moreno (who is in his 50s now) was. Continue Reading »

Posted in Deftones, fleshwater, Philadelphia, PA, The Mars Volta, Wells Fargo Center | Leave a Comment »

Poppy (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 3, 2025)

April 4, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 3, 2025] Poppy

A few years ago Poppy was supposed to open for Deftones.  The show was postponed and on the new dates, Poppy was no longer available.  I wound up not going to the show anyhow.  She has played Philly once before as a headliner in 2022, but I had plans that night.  So I decided, why not check her out this time around, now that she has fully embraced her heavy metal persona.

I didn’t know how crowded it would be (somewhat), nor how enthusiastic the crowd would be (very).  I casually know Poppy’s music and assumed she’d put on a good show  But people there knew every song.

With five minutes to go before showtime, a countdown clock appeared on the curtain (this was a great idea I thought).  And when it reached zero, a voice read out a whole bunch of thingsas the words were projected onto the screen  I don’t know if this is part of a song or what.  But when it was done, the band emerged.

Her stage was set up with soft fabrics, including a keyhole entryway with soft curtains that she went through a number of times.  Her band was on the left on a large platform.  She was on the right on a large platform.  The view would have been spectacular except the guy who was earlier next to me was now in front of me and he swayed and pogoed in my face for about half the show.  Sigh.

So Poppy has a great stage presence.  She was dressed in what I can only imagine was a fairy wedding dress without the train, which was replaced by short shorts.  Poppy is, of course, an internet creation, so she is well versed in her image.  She also know how to play against type, being cute and bashful in between songs while screaming her head off during them. Continue Reading »

Posted in House of Protection, Philadelphia, PA, Poppy, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Mars Volta (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2025) [DEFTONES]

April 4, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 4, 2025] Mars Volta

I liked Mars Volta when they came out, lost track of them over the years and then assumed they’d broken up for good.  But in 2022 I scored tickets to see them at The Met in Philly.  The show was great and I was really amazed at how good Omar Rodríguez-López’s guitar was and I was even more impressed by Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s voice which can still hit the incredible high notes.

So I was pretty excited that they were opening for Deftones on this arena tour.

But when they came out on stage I realized the flaw.

Mars Volta plays intricate, complicated songs with many parts and wild shifts.  Which totally got lost in this giant arena.  Plus, they were playing their brand new (not yet released) album in its entirety.

It’s fun to hear new songs for the first time live.  But it is tough to hear an entire new album for the first time in a giant arena with thousands of people around you who are only waiting for the headliner. Continue Reading »

Posted in Deftones, fleshwater, Philadelphia, PA, The Mars Volta, Wells Fargo Center | Leave a Comment »

House of Protection (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 3, 2025) [POPPY]

April 3, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 3, 2025] House of Protection

A few years ago Poppy was supposed to open for Deftones.  The show was postponed and on the new dates, Poppy was no longer available.  I wound up not going to the show anyhow.  She has played Philly once before as a headliner in 2022, but I had plans that night.  So I decided, why not check her out this time around, now that she has fully embraced her heavy metal persona.

I didn’t know who would be opening and when she announced it would be House of Protection, I assumed they would be a metal band that was super heavy.

I wasn’t expecting a duo.  Aric Improta ran out and sat at the drumset which was sideways and sitting at the front of the stage.  Seconds later Stephen Harrison also ran out.  He sang and played guitar.  But mostly he incited the crowd.

Improta sang the first song while drumming in a very elaborate (and yes, I’ll say it, a very California) style with lots of arms flailing around.  He was exceptionally theatrical, standing on his drum stool and waving a cymbal around, and really trying to get the crowd into it.

Harrison was equally as theatrical.  He literally ran all over the stage (his guitar was remote, so no cables held him in place).  He spun around, he punched the air, he swung his guitar around his neck.  He was exhausting to watch.

He also commanded the crowd in a way that an opening band very rarely does.  But it turns out that both guys were in Fever 333 (who I don’t know, but who sound pretty cool) and are veterans of the stage. Continue Reading »

Posted in Fever 333, House of Protection, Philadelphia, PA, Poppy, The Fillmore Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Nanocluster : Immersion | Suss (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 1, 2025)

April 1, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 1, 2025] Nanocluster : Immersion | Suss

I stumbled upon Suss one night when I was looking for music to relax to.  I got a kick out of the name–my kids had been using it as slang quite a lot at the time–and really enjoyed their music.  The seem to be described as “ambient country” which would have turned me off.  I’d rather think of them as a soundtrack to the open spaces in the midwest and west (even though all three members are from New York City.

The trio is Jonathan Gregg: Pedal Steel, dobro ; Bob Holmes: Mandolin, baritone guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, violin, Keyboards ; Pat Irwin: Electric guitars, National guitar, eBow, harmonium, keyboards, melodica, loops.

Then one night I was listening to Echoes on NPR and they had an interview with Suss.  Which seemed coincidental.  And they mentioned this album that they had made with Immersion.   Immersion is a project from Colin Newman of Wire.  He and Malka Spigel (his wife) who played in Minimal Compact started this electronic project some 30 years ago.  Then in 2021 they started doing Nanocluster projects where they collaborated with others.  Volume 3 featured Suss.  So this was a tour of the album (which is short) as well as sets from each band.

I almost never sit in the balcony at Johnny Brenda’s.  I like to be up by the stage.  But this show, which promised to be very chill, seemed like a great opportunity to go upstairs and grab a stool!

Suss came out first.  They were clustered close together because there was so much gear on the stage.   They had two screens behind them.  Each one projected the same thing (which was weird when it was a  camera panning over a landscape since it seemed like it should continue from one screen to the next rather than being the same thing, but that’s fine.

The three guys bent over their instruments and made beautiful instrumental music.  Keys, slide guitar and other instruments created a dreamy feeling of being in open spaces.  After about 15 minutes or so they were joined by a bass player (whose name I didn’t catch),  he didn’t add fancy bass lines, just a nice low end.  They ended as a trio with one of the guys whistling a sad mournful melody.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Immersion, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Suss | Leave a Comment »

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