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Aaron Chen (NJPAC–Victoria Theater, Newark, NJ, November 14, 2025)

November 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 14, 2025] Aaron Chen

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.

So I was pretty delighted that Aaron Chen announced a show at NJPAC–only ten days after Romesh Ranganathan.

I didn’t know if anyone here knew about him, but friends of ours knew him from the show Fisk (which is very funny). So good for him.  Aaron is currently living in the U.S.  And he made a big deal of coming all the way to Newark (from New York City).

He started right off by saying that he is from Australia and how he doesn’t look how he sounds–we don’t have that combination here. Continue Reading »

Posted in Aaron Chen, Blake Freeman, Fisk, Newark, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Taskmaster, Taskmaster Australia | Leave a Comment »

Blake Freeman (NJPAC–Victoria Theater, Newark, NJ, November 14, 2025) [AARON CHEN]

November 14, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 14, 2025] Blake Freeman

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.

So I was pretty delighted that Aaron Chen announced a show at NJPAC–only ten days after Romesh Ranganathan.

Romesh didn’t have an opening act, so I didn’t know if Aaron would.  But out came an Australian comedian named Blake Freeman.  Blake has been living in the U.S. for about a year (with his partner).

He was very funny.  His delivery was calm but witty.  Talking about living in the U.S., he said the hardest part wasn’t having absolutely no professional or personal support network, it’s that we use Fahrenheit.

There was a very funny bit about him not being able to fight.  He said that he and his mates are open emotionally, and so they only fight when people can’t admit their feelings.  He had to break up a fight between his friends because one felt the other wasn’t opening up about his breakup, “You think you’re tough, well, connect with me like a man.”  After, he apologized saying his love language was touch. Continue Reading »

Posted in Aaron Chen, Blake Freeman, Newark, NJ, NJPAC-Victoria Theater, Set in New Jersey! | Leave a Comment »

Jens Lekman: Songs For Other People’s Weddings Tour / Yeemz (Underground Arts: (13th Anniversary Celebration, Philadelphia, PA, November 14, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 14, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 14, 2025] Jens Lekman/ Yeemz

I have enjoyed Jens Lekman over the years. His Tiny Desk Concert is tremendous.  He was even the subject of a request in an episode of Every Little Thing, (a caller could not get a fragment of a song out of his head and it was one of Lekman’s).

But as the years go by and I listen to him less, I’ve lost interest in seeing him.  This show sounded interesting (he has, indeed, written songs for other people’s weddings.  And this show was basically playing the whole album and then a few bonus songs.

I hadn’t heard the new album at all, and just didn’t feel like going to this one.

yeemz (Yi-Mei Templeman) is a cellist, singer-songwriter, and composer based in Santa Monica, California. She blends musical worlds seamlessly, creating music that is intimate yet universal, intricate yet accessible. A lifelong songwriter, yeemz began composing at the piano, and later developed her signature style—singing while playing the cello like a guitar—after she couldn’t bring her ukulele to college.

She reminds me a bit of Regina Spektor and maybe Mitski in her delivery.  She has a pretty voice and seems to play mostly mellow piano songs.

Posted in Jens Lekman, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, yeemz | Leave a Comment »

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 14, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 14, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 14, 2025] Joe Russo’s Almost Dead

I don’t actually know Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.  It didn’t actually occur to me that the Dead in the band name is a Grateful Dead reference.  But I see that JRAD is like a Grateful Dead cover band plus more.  They are known for their intermingling of the Grateful Dead’s recognizable folk-rock and Americana sound with more contemporary Progressive Rock and Jazz Fusion influences.

I haven’t been super excited to see them.  I’m vaguely intrigued.  And then my wife won tickets to this show at XPNFest.  Actually there weren’t many concerts to choose from so she chose this and we got on the waiting list for Neko Case (which we eventually got as well).  I thought free tickets would be the perfect way to see JRAD.  And if we hated it we could leave.

But then we saw that Aaron Chen was doing a show in Newark, so we grabbed tickets to that instead.

Posted in Joe Russo, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

WXPN Thank A Member Live Band Karaoke Party (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, November 13, 2025)

November 13, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 13, 2025] WXPN Thank A Member Live Band Karaoke Party

When WXPN announced this event, it sounded like a lot of fun.

A chance to mingle with other members and to see (and maybe sing) karaoke.  But the mostexciting part for me was that the live music was being performed by Pat Finnerty and the Full Band.  I’ve seen Pat twice and I love his videos.  It would be cool just to see him play and maybe hear him do a Little Stinker.

I put in my song choice–The Boys Are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy.  And kind of regretted it. It’s in my range but I realized I don’t know the words all that well.  But when we arrived we were allowed to put more songs in so that the band had more options to choose from.

My wife suggested I put in Surrender by Cheap Trick and I knew she was on to something.

So the night was quite a lot of fun.  We aren’t minglers and my hip was bothering me, so we sat in the (empty) ADA section while people around us danced and drank (free drinks, but as my wife pointed out they didn’t use the top shelf stuff–we found out a few weeks later that World Cafe Live had lost its liquor license and probably shouldn’t have been serving anything!).

The night was emceed by Kristen Kurtis and Robert Drake.  I always wonder if Radio DJs are “celebrities” or not.  It was fun seeing them in person, but even if you listened to the radio, would you care that I got to see or meet them?  We met Robert Drake at a Sloan show a few years ago and he was super nice, but I feel like he’s so present in Philly that everyone has probably met him.

I can’t remember all of the songs that people sang.  But I did appreciate that they projected the lyrics to the songs on the wall so we could follow along.  It also meant that I learned the words to a few songs that I had NO IDEA about.

A woman sang David Bowie’s Moonage Daydream.  I’ve heard that song hundreds of times and realized I never knew any of the words and certainly never guessed they were:

I’m an alligatorI’m a mama-papa comin’ for youI’m the space invaderI’ll be a rock ‘n’ rollin’ bitch for youKeep your mouth shutyou’re squawking like a pink monkey birdAnd I’m bustin’ up my brains for the words

Someone else did Space Oddity.

The night opened with DJ Jim McGuinn singing and playing guitar (Pat informed everyone else that Jim was the only other person who was going to be playing guitar–nobody get any ideas) on an Elvis Costello song.

Two women did Pink!’s Get the Party Started (and even brought little megaphones to sing into).

And as they introduced all of the singers, they were all listed as in choirs or singers in bands–one was even in a tribute band to the artist she sang.  And I wondered if I was called up if I would be okay (having never done karaoke or sung in front of people before). Continue Reading »

Posted in Cheap Trick, David Bowie, Madonna, Philadelphia, PA, Queen, The Beatles, Thin Lizzy, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Geese / Dove Ellis (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 13, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 13, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 13, 2025] Geese / Dove Ellis

My wife and I saw Geese open for Vampire Weekend back in May.  It was about a month before they really blew up.  They had a couple of singles that I’d heard and I loved Cowboy Nudes.  Soon after this show they released Getting Killed and became the most popular band in America.

I probably should have gone to this show because I’m sure the next time they play Philly it will be at a much bigger venue.  I’m not as 100% about them as everyone else is.  I like them more and more as I hear more and more.  But I am genuinely puzzled at why they are so popular.  I mean, they are really weird.  Musically they are fantastic though.  And live they were really great.  Yea, I probably should have gone to this one.

Dove Ellis has started to get a bunch of airplay on WXPN but I didn’t know anything about them.  He’s an Irish folk singer named Thomas O’Donoghue.  I can hear a vague connection to Geese in Dove Ellis’ sound (not that I think they influenced him or anything).  He’s got an alt folk sound and is catchy but a little weird.  I’m curious to see how much more popular he gets.

Posted in Dove Ellis, Geese, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Merce Lemon / Hemlock / Soup Dreams (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, November 12, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 12, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 12, 2025] Merce Lemon / Hemlock / Soup Dreams

We saw Merce Lemon open for The Decemberists in July.  They came out as a five piece (although Merce Lemon is apparently the lead singer and it is her project).  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.

I assume this isn’t a solo show, but I didn’t love them enough to want to see them headline.

Hemlock was not the heavy metal band from Las Vegas but rather, as their (hilariously old school looking website) describes them they are the ongoing folk experiment of Louisiana-born multi-disciplinary artist and independent musician Carolina Chauffe, and various rotating collaborators.  They play “swamp-raised, phone-fi, alt-folk🕊️🕊️ louisiana & chicago-based, but more often on the road 🕊️ END ICE + FREE PALESTINE.”

According to their tour list, this show was a full band.  Their sound is indeed slow and swampy.

Soup Dreams are a Philly based project.  Get Alternative describes them pretty well

Philly’s Soup Dreams play a familiar style: a dusty, rearview-gazing kind of alt rock that seems perpetually en vogue. With Hellbender, though, they do it very, very well. Much of the appeal lies in Emma Kazan’s voice, which carries some of the same self-assured quiver as Katie Crutchfield’s; in fact, Waxahatchee is a fair comparison point for Soup Dreams, who occasionally come off like the … more alt, less country version of them).

I would say like a combination of Remember Sports, Wednesday, and Ratboys.  They are fairly new and I’m sure I’ll see them open for someone else next year.

 

Posted in Hemlock, Johnny Brenda's, Merce Lemon, Philadelphia, PA, Soup Dreams | Leave a Comment »

Kurtis Conner (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 9, 2025)

November 10, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 9, 2025] Kurtis Conner

My daughter and I saw Kurtis Conner three years ago.  I didn’t know him at al, but I knew my kids really liked him.  I came away from the show laughing really hard and having a really strong respect for him as a comedian.

I still have not really watched any of his YouTube stuff (what I’ve seen I like, but it’s off my radar).  But what really impressed me (and impressed me more this time) was how a YouTuber who effectively uses editing can do standup so well.  He is (mostly) comfortable in front of the audience (in fairness, everyone there loves him and there is nary a heckler in sight), and he clearly feeds off of the laughter.

Although he is (quite a bit) younger than me, I found it really interesting that his childhood sounded kind of similar to mine–defects and all.  Kurtis is a feminist and an ally, and proudly on both counts (which I found wonderful since my kids liked him so much).  But he’s also able to look back on his younger self with dismay at the way he (and kids in general) behaved.  It does make for good comedy too.  Like he regretted that when he was ten, he and his friends used to use “gay” as an insult.  Like he would be drawing and his friend would come up and he’d tell the guy to get away and stop being gay–and then go back to drawing the most detailed penis you’ve ever seen.

The show was called The Goodfellow Tour and it is named after where he grew up–on Goodfellow Street.  A road that had a ton of kids in it.  They used to play together all the time.  He had a lengthy but very funny bit about a kid in their group whom they all convinced had super fast speed.  They would do races all the time and the kid with super fast speed (who was in reality the slowest person in the world) would win. It went on all summer until the kid’s father found out.

This was all in aid of a running joke that he is a compulsive liar trying to fix that about himself.  But somehow, he keeps lying–throughout the show, even, making the jokes even funnier. Continue Reading »

Posted in Danny Gonzalez, Dean Hebscher, Drew Gooden, Jacob Sharpe, Kiss, Kurtis Conner, Neil Diamond, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, The Rolling Stones | Leave a Comment »

Wednesday / Daffo (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 10, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 10, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 10, 2025] Wednesday / Daffo

Wednesday were supposed to open for Beach Bunny at The Fillmore in 2023.  They bailed on the show and I was a little bummed because I had heard good things about them.  They played Union Trasnfer last year and I didn’t go.  I really like the fuzzy guitars and largely grunge sound, but there’s a kind of alt-country vibe that underpins their sound that I just can’t get past.  They have a lap steel guitar (which I either love or hate depending on how it’s used) and are often described as merging shoegaze and country.  The more I hear the less grungy they sound so I decided against this one.

My daughter and I saw Daffo open for Sr Chloe last year.  Since then she opened for Blondshell at Union Transfer in June and now she’s back again.  I’m glad she’s getting to open in bigger venues.

Posted in Daffo, Leith Ross, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wednesday | Leave a Comment »

Danny Gonzalez (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 9, 2025) [KURTIS CONNER]

November 9, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 9, 2025] Danny Gonzalez

My daughter and I saw Kurtis Conner three years ago.  I didn’t know his stuff at all but I thought he was really funny.  So when he announced another show in the same venue I grabbed us tickets.  My son is also a fan and he wanted to go to this show too, so it was a fun night out with the kids.

We had seats in the balcony but they allowed us to sit in the ADA section.  It didn’t seem like it sold very well, which I was surprised by since last time I think it was sold out.  But we enjoyed the spaciousness of the ADA section to be sure.

Before the show started, we didn’t know if there would be an opening act.  And then Kurtis announced that his special guest would be Danny Gonzales.  The crowd went crazy, although I had no idea who he was. I see that for the last show I wrote that my daughter told me

the Holy Trinity is Kurtis Conner, Danny Gonzalez and Drew Gooden.

So, it was cool to see one third of the trinity.

Danny was very funny.  He seemed a little nervous to be doing stand up, and suggested that it was either his first time or his first time in a long while.  But he was very warmly received–that’s an understatement.  My daughter says it was very exciting to see him live.  And the one vide I can find of his introduction practically blew out the speakers of my phone Continue Reading »

Posted in Danny Gonzalez, Kurtis Conner, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

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