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Enter: Shikari / Boston Manor / Initiate (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, June 13, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

June 13, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 18, 2022] Enter: Shikari / Boston Manor / Initiate

Sometimes, when a venue promotes a band pretty heavily it’s easy to get caught up in the hype.  There’s also a lot of bands that have been around for fifteen or twenty years that I completely missed when they had their popular surge.  Back in 2022, they played Union Transfer and I was really interested in them because of the UT hype machine (they are very good at their job)

Enter: Shikari (I think that I just like the colon in their name) has been around since 1999 and originally were kind of a screamo band that was really heavy but had lots of synth and electronic elements too.  It’s the kind of thing I want to like but I tend to not, really.

It’s probably the kind of show I would go to where everyone is a diehard fan and I’d enjoy the songs but not know any of the songs.

I also didn’t realize they were British.

I’ve listened to them a bit more since that show and I do rather like all of the various elements they put into their music. Although at the same time I’m not convinced I need to see them live.  There were several other shows that I wanted to go to instead of this one, so this didn’t really have a chance.

Then in May, they had to cancel the whole tour becaue of our stupid givernment

Hello USA & Canada.
We wish we were here with better news. Unfortunately, despite best efforts at our end, due to ongoing visa issues that look extremely unlikely to be sorted before some massive financial decisions need to be made, we’re in the position where we have to cancel both legs of the planned touring in North America this year, along with our Warped Tour and Summerfest appearances.
If you know us, you know that this isn’t a decision taken lightly and we’re gutted that we’re not able to be with you in 2026.
We’re already starting the process of trying to make plans for 2027 but, with uncertainty around the timeframes getting visas secured, we did not want to simply postpone and reschedule these shows, hence full cancellation and refunding of ticket purchases.
Once again, we apologise for this situation which is out of our control, and we thank you for your continued support. We were really looking forward to bringing Lose Your Self to you, and we hope to have better news regarding that sooner rather than later.
Thank you.

Boston Manor are a British band who have been around since 2013.  I’ve never heard of them, despite them being a punk, post-hardcore, grunge band.  Although when I just looked them up on Tidal, I do know the song Heathens.  Follow up: it’s a Twenty One Pilots song that they are covering.

Initiate are a screamy band from L.A.  And I really like them.  Their singer Crystal Pak has a great screaming voice–intense but understandable.  And their music is more complicated than many similar bands  The current line-up of the band consists of Pak on vocals, Alec Riley and Jack McTomney on guitars, Michael Morales on bass, and Danny Paul on drums.   I’ll bet they are fun live, although a whole album is a little exhausting.

Posted in Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Enter: Shikari, Boston Manor, Initiate | Leave a Comment »

The Fab Faux with the Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, June 13, 2026)

June 13, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 13, 2026] The Fab Faux

I’ve said many times that I don’t do cover bands.  And yet, here’s another one.  Well, this one was different. There is literally no way to see The Beatles anymore and since my wife is a huge Beatles fan and a friend (who is in a different Beatles cover band) said these guys were great, I got tickets for us.

Recently The Fab Faux (a truly great name) played Abbey Road and a Hard Day’s Night in their entirety.  So I was psyched for an evening of Beatles music.  They even had Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings with them, so I imagined a chronological tour through the years of Beatles albums.

They opened with Got to Get You Into My Life and I was pretty impressed.  The vocals were really good and of course the musicianship was top notch.   They followed it with Savoy Truffle (in which they sing “creme tangerine”).  I recognized the music but not the words at all.  (It’s a late cut on the White Album, but I guess I never paid much attention to it.  My wife was pleased to hear it.

Then they played a song that neither of us really knew.  Junior’s Farm is a song by Wings and neither of us are big Wings fans, so…

But then they started playing some familiar songs–Back in the U.S.S.R.–and I was really blown away by how good their voices were–Paul and John were just perfect.  I loved Paperback Writer and Taxman and it was around this time that I noticed that the people in the front row (we were in the middle section) were going nuts.  Like nuts as if this were, not the actual Beatles, not that nuts, but like a super famous band of musicians.

Speaking of the crowd, when we sat down, a guy next to us had brought three inflatable cushions to sit on.  It looked like he had some kind of trouble walking, so I assume it was medical.  But this guy was in the front row and he was going to be easily six inches taller than he was meant to be.  They were in the wrong seat anyhow, and had to move, so I don’t know what happened after that.

They played It Don’t Come Easy (and the drummer sang this Ringo song).  I realized that I didn’t know this was a Ringo Starr song.  Huh.  And then a fantastic cover of I am the Walrus.  And then they played Jet by Wings.  Don’t get me wrong, it was fun hearing this song played live, but, seriously, what was with all of the spinoff songs?  Continue Reading »

Posted in John Lennon, Montclair, NJ, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Beatles, The Fab Faux with the Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings, Wellmont Theater, Wings | Leave a Comment »

Holy Wars (Nikki Lopez, Philadelphia, PA, June 10, 2026)

June 12, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2026] Holy Wars

This show was announced rather unexpectedly.  Holy Wars and Oxymorrons are playing the Warped Tour in Washington D.C.  But they had a few days off, so they decided to play some small clubs in NY and Philly.   I didn’t know Holy Wars, but I love Oxymorrons. I actually assumed that Oxymorrons was the headliner.  Especially when I went upstairs and saw that the Oxy drum were set up (and every band used them).  But Holy Wars were the headliner and the crowd that was there was really into them.

The guy who was in front of me was a huge fan of Holy Wars–he had gotten to the venue at like 4:30 and chatted with the band.  He must have been super psyched when lead singer, Kat, leaned right up to him during one of the songs and let him sing a line or two.

So Holy Wars is technically a duo of vocalist Kat Leon and Nicholas Perez on guitar.  For the live show they had a bassist and drummer too.  They’ve been around for a few years and have a few albums out.  Their style has changed pretty dramatically over the years.  Their earliest stuff is much less heavy.   And their middle stuff is more electronic.  But their newer stuff is guitar based and almost nu metal.  Kat seems to really get into this new style.

Kat is a great frontwoman–she clearly loves what she does and has a lot of fun up there.  The rest of the band didn’t do much, but I think all eyes are on her.  I gather that this was a tour to support their new album, the awkwardly named Shadow Work/Light Work, because they played most of it.

They opened with I Feel Everything the first proper song on their new album.  Kat has a few different vocal styles and I wondered if she was putting some kind of effect on her voice when there seemed to be some kind of echo during certain parts.  The song has a really heavy almost 5 string bass sound.  But what I thought was really cool was that their bassist was using a hollow bodied 4 string bass.  It looked huge and sounded really deep.  He also sang the occasional ugly backing vocals.

Their drummer, Johnny Tuosto was a beast back there.  I don’t know if he had effects on his drums, but his snare was occasionally so piercing.  He really added a lot to the sound.

They followed it with Kill the Light a song that switches between heavy parts and quieter moments.  It really showed off how diverse Kat’s vocals can be.  She dedicated Crucify to a lot of people they hate (she didn’t say names).  I enjoyed the slow, screamed chorus.  Then she said they would play some old songs.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Hole, Holy Wars, Nikki Lopez, Oxymorrons, Palinoia, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Panic Shack / Flavorless Gum (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, June 12, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

June 12, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 12, 2026] Panic Shack / Flavorless Gum

I didn’t know about Panic Shack until this show was announced.  They sounded really fun, so I looked them up and immediately fell in love with their irreverent punk attitude and catchy songs.

I grabbed a ticket and it sold out soon after.

Panic Shack are from Wales and, although they’ve been a band since 2018, they’re starting to get noticed now.  I would have lived to see them at PhilaMOCA instead of what ever much larger venue they’re going to play when they get back here next time.  But my daughter wound up having a graduation party that night and I couldn’t leave the rest of the family to deal with it.

It looked like a really fun show and I hope they do come back in the not too distant future.

Flavorless Gum is an indie band from Philly.  Their bio says the band “brings a fresh and daring approach to indie rock with poetic lyrics about local characters seemingly stuck in time, the influences of wealth and greed, and the counterbalance between perfection and humanity.”

I’ve listened to their debut album and they remind me of some off-kilter indie bands form the 90s.  They say their inspirations are Let It Be by The Replacements and The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse.  They don’t sound like either band but I can see how they got from there to here.

This is a good summary (again, from their bio) rough around the edges vocal melodies, heart pounding basslines, and fierce drum grooves.  I’m curious to see what they do next.

Posted in Flavorless Gum, Panic Shack, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA | Leave a Comment »

Deer Tick [FREE AT NOON] (World Stage, Philadelphia Pa, June 12, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

June 12, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 12, 2026] Deer Tick [FREE AT NOON]

There are three Deer bands on my radar.  And I can never remember which one is which because I don’t really listen to them all that much.

There’s Deerhunter, the creation of Bradford Cox who played artpop and psych pop.  I liked them a bit but never got really into them.

There’s Deerhoof, a wacky band from San Francisco featuring drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez.  Matsuzaki has a high pitched and very distinctive style of singing I would like to see them live.

And then there’s Deer Tick.  They’ve been around since 2004 and are the most conventional of the three.   They fall into the Americana side of alt folk rock.  I listened to a song to see if I wanted to go and realized I didn’t.

So, basically I really only need to pay attention to Deerhoof going forward.

I grabbed a ticket to this show because I Wasn;t sure which Deer band this was, but when I realized it was this one, the one who played “indie folk, country tunes, and a punk cover” I knew I didn;’t need to head on down to Philly for it.

Posted in Deer Tick, Free at Noon, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »

Robyn Hitchcock / Emma Swift (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, June 12, 2026 / White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, June 13, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

June 12, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 12 & 13, 2026] Robyn Hitchcock / Emma Swift

I found out about Robyn Hitchcock in college when I was a DJ.  I loved playing his song Balloon Man and much of the rest of the Globe of Frogs album.  And I never really gave him much more thought than that.  Over the years I’ve learned that he;s been around forever and was a part of The Soft Boys and all kinds of other interesting things about him.   I still haven’t listened to all that much of his music, though.

I was intrigued about seeing him live, but felt I should know his music more.  I’d rather have gone to the Ardmore show.  But I had tickets to another show on the Ardmore night and on the night of the WEH show.  Maybe if I listen to more of his stuff I’ll be more inclined to go next time he comes around.  This sounded like a pretty comprehensive set though: a couple of solo songs, a few Soft Boys songs, songs from the era when I knew him best and then a bunch of newer stuff too.

Emma Swift opened for him and sang some songs with Robyn later in his set.  She is an Australian-born songwriter, currently residing in Nashville with Robyn Hitchcock.  She has a high, beautiful voice and probably adds a lot to his songs.

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Emma Swift, Robyn Hitchcock | Leave a Comment »

Oxymorrons (Nikki Lopez, Philadelphia, PA, June 10, 2026) [HOLY WARS]

June 11, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2026] Oxymorrons

This show was announced rather unexpectedly.  Holy Wars and Oxymorrons are playing the Warped Tour in Washington D.C.  But they had a few days off, so they decided to playt some small clubs in NY and Philly.   I didn’t know Holy Wars, but I love Oxymorrons.  This was my third time seeing them and it was the best one yet.

My son and I saw them twice in a bout a year back in 2023.  Since that time they have been all over the world oening for everybody.  They have played to massive crowds.  And here they were playing for 100 people and they gave it 100%.

I had never been to Nikki Lopez before.  The place is SMALL.  So much so that everyone on stage was basically right in front of me.  And since both singers move around so much, they were within inches of me from time to time.  I am only surprised that they didn’t walk into the crowd–it was certainly logistically possible.

While guitarist Jafe Paulino was setting up, frontmen, Demi “Deee” and his brother Kami “KI” came bouncing up on stage.  They have so much energy and are so fun.

Last time we saw them their drummer was Matty Mayz. He has since left (to start a restaurant, I believe) and as of May, their new drummer is Amani Drums–and he was phenomenal.  Their  setup hasn’t changed since we saw them last.  One guitarist playing the riffs which belies how solid and huge they sound. With Amani on the drums, that’s all there is in terms of music (they definitely have some kind of backing music somewhere).  Their songs have big punk riffs that are catchy and powerful.  And that’s when Deee and KI come in.  The verses are rapped and the choruses are sung.  It’s not “rap rock” it’s an organic blend of punk and rapping that works perfectly, blending rap’s rage with punk rage.

When we saw them last time, they were just about to release Melanin Punk.  Since then, they’ve put out an EP

They opened with Justice, which is from their debut, has a cool riff, aggressive rapping and then a big ol chorus (I’m tired of justice, I’m tired of pain, the rain only washes a few of the stains).  They followed this with Green Vision.  I was worried that they’d only play songs I didn’t know since it had been a while, but these first two songs I’ve seen twice before–which was perfect for singing along.

They also played a few songs from Melanin Punk, including Head for the Hills which I hadn’t seen them play before.  I was surprised that their set was so short, but I didn’t realize that many of their songs are so short–everything is so intense and bouncy and exhausting that it feels like the songs are long.  But Melanin Punk is less than 2 minutes and Enemy (a fantastic song) is just over 2 minutes.  And I guess since Head for the Hills has a guest verse, they leave that one out, shortening the song live.

I had to laugh when I remembered that we were supposed to help out on Melanin Punk, by singing a “la la, la la la” part.  But that part is only in the intro, so we didn’t have to do it again.

I also loved that they are still telling the origin story of their name

They were thinking about names and thought that Oxymorons was a great name.  But they found out an old punk band already had the name.  So they contacted them and the old geezers said they would sell them the rights for $25,000.  So they decided to put a second R in their name because R’s are free.  They kept the $25K and copyrighted their new name.  So when they shout TWO R’s we shout NOT ONE!

Two R’s Not One–a catchy slogan and a way to not forget their name.

They played two songs from the 2025 EP.  The naughty, but fun Laughing While Crying and the ripping BLK SHEEP, which has the superfun sing along “fucking why not” at the beginning of each line.  And man the melody is so frikkin catchy.

I’ve liked Definition (which I’ve also now seen 3 times) from the first time I heard it.  A killer melody singing

Can’t define me
I am, who I am on my own
Don’t try me again
We are ’bout to take you to another level
If you weren’t ready, baby, you’re in trouble
Can’t define me, don’t try me again

They ended with Look Alive, a ripping song that ended with Jafe making all kinds of noise with his guitar against the speakers and the mic stand and anything else he could scrape it against.  And that was that.  Only a half hour but with 2 hours worth of sweat.

I know that they have played all over the place–and are currently playing the Warped Tour this weekend.  I am genuinely surprised they aren’t bigger.  Because they are one of the best live bands I’ve seen–especially if you see them from two feet away.

June 2026, Nikki Lopez January 2023, The Foundry March 2022, Union Transfer
Justice µ Intro Think Big µ
Green Vision µ Think Big µ Green Vision µ
Head for the Hills ♣ Green Vision µ Django µ
Melanin Punk♣ Ghost of Chuck Berry µ Definition µ
Laughing While Crying ∞ Enemy ♣ Happy Birthday to You
Deadass drum interlude Deadass Interlude Pretty People µ
Enemy ♣ Definition µ Justice µ
BLK SHEEP ∞ Melanin Punk ♣
Definition µ Django µ
justice interlude Pretty People µ
Look Alive (netic) ♣ Look Alive (Netic) ♣
Justice µ (with preceding interlude)
Encore
Lapdance (N.E.R.D. cover)

∞ Create, Destroy, Rebuild, Repeat EP (2025)
♣ Melanin Punk (2023)
µ Mohawks & durags (2021)

Posted in Holy Wars, Nikki Lopez, Oxymorrons, Palinoia, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Deer Tick / Jobi Riccio (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, June 10) [DID NOT ATTEND]

June 10, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 10, 2026] Deer Tick / Jobi Riccio

There are three Deer bands on my radar.  And I can never remember which one is which because I don’t really listen to them all that much.

There’s Deerhunter, the creation of Bradford Cox who played artpop and psych pop.  I liked them a bit but never got really into them.

There’s Deerhoof, a wacky band from San Francisco featuring drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez.  Matsuzaki has a high pitched and very distinctive style of singing I would like to see them live.

And then there’s Deer Tick.  They’ve been around since 2004 and are the most conventional of the three.   They fall into the Americana side of alt folk rock.  I listened to a song to see if I wanted to go and realized I didn’t.

So, basically I really only need to pay attention to Deerhoof going forward.

Jobi Riccio is from Colorado.  While posting about all of these singers that I’ve never heard of, I’m getting a real kick out of how intense and potentially insane all of the bios of these people are:

Jobi Riccio grew up surrounded by music and found inspiration in artists ranging from Sheryl Crow to Joni Mitchell. Sonically, Jobi’s music exists between worlds, melding the classic craftsmanship of her songwriting with modern indie-leaning production to forge a lush, expansive sound that feels traditional and experimental all at once.

I listened to a couple of songs and I have to say of all the young folk and folk adjacent women I’ve listened to recently, I like her the best.  Her voice is big and powerful–not mumbly like so many other new singers.  And she throws some interesting chord progressions into her songs.  I’d happily see her if she opened for someone I liked.  She veers toward country, but only slightly.

I also wonder if she was named for the character in Elf, since no one was every named Joby before that movie.

Posted in Deer Tick, Jobi Riccio, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Palinoia (Nikki Lopez, Philadelphia, PA, June 10, 2026) [HOLY WARS]

June 10, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2026] Palinoia

This show was announced rather unexpectedly.  Holy Wars and Oxymorrons are playing the Warped Tour in Washington D.C.  But they had a few days off, so they decided to play some small clubs in NY and Philly.   I didn’t know Holy Wars, but I love Oxymorrons. A few days beforethe show, I received an email: IMPORTANT – Your upcoming event at Nikki Lopez Philly has changed.

Which was worrying.  But they just wanted to let us know that there was an opening act–Palinoia.  Here’s their deal

Palinoia is a post-hardcore/metalcore band from eastern PA and NJ, formed by lead vocalist Via Weiss, bassist Adam Tomcho, drummer Thomson Estabrook, and guitarist Kenan Salazar.  Palinoia [are] influenced by 2000s alternative metal, contemporary post-hardcore, and modern metalcore. Their sound is marked by heavy melodic riffs and searing vocal hooks.

And that’s pretty accurate.  They are a solid four piece.  Estabrook broke his snare drum after five songs (he had a replacement).  I was in front of Tomcho and I was happy to see that on a number of songs, he was playing some really cool bass lines.  He used a four string for most songs, but for one of them he switched to a five string and added a lot of cool riffs to the song.

Their first song was Harridan, their single. I was really impressed by Salazar’s guitar playing.  He had serious shredding chops, but he didn’t show off with them.  Some songs didn’t have solos, but the ones that did were really tasty.  Like in Lilith.  Lilith has some what I think of as chunky chords–heavy notes one or two at at time, which works well to transition parts of the song.  I also liked that this one had a cool bent note during the chunky part.

They played a cover song which I didn’t know (but she was sure everyone would).  I didn’t know it was a cover, but I assumed it was because it didn’t sound anything like their own stuff.  I don’t know Thrice at all, but it was catchy.

I actually thought the staccato chords and soaring chorus of Lay This to Rest were catchier than Harridan, but what do I know.

They slowed things down with Falling, a quieter song that allowed Weiss’ voice to be heard more clearly.  Since for the other songs everybody was really loud, I couldn’t tell how good her voice was.  Last December was similarly melodic with some more quiet moments–and the five string bass with some great bass lines.  Salazar switched to a seven string guitar for this song, too.

When they said they had only one more song, someone shouted, No Two!  And Via told us that they didn’t know any more.  They played their entire EP (but not in order) and one cover.  Scarlet Letter is a moodier piece that stretched out to nearly 6 minutes.  The middle section has some cool heavy riffs and guitar tricks that I rally liked.

It was fun seeing a brand new band.  I have no idea how many shows they’ve played out, but they sounded great.  And maybe this show will give them some more exposure.

June 2026, Nikki Lopez
Harridan ∞
Lilith ∞
Falling (Back to You) ∞
The Artist in the Ambulance (Thrice cover)
Lay This to Rest ∞
Last December ∞
Scarlet Letter ∞

∞ Palinoia EP (2026)

Posted in Holy Wars, Nikki Lopez, Oxymorrons, Palinoia, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Holly Humberstone / Diva Smith (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, June 9, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

June 9, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 9, 2026] Holly Humberstone / Diva Smith

Holly Humberstone opened for Girl in Red the first time we saw them.

She was really good.  I wrote:

Well, I was impressed by her.  She played guitar, keyboard, piano and created live beats on the drum machine while singing.  And her voice was really lovely too.

Her songs are on the pop side but with some good loud guitars from time to time.  “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet” was the synthy song (that featured sped up samples of her voice trilling in the background.  I enjoyed the way she jumped from the synth rack to the piano mid-song.

She has a new album out, but I don’t need to see her again.

Diva Smith was born and raised in Los Angeles and is now based in New York City.  She offers an “idiosyncratic take on the modern pop artist. Growing up in a musical household, Diva was influenced by listening to the likes of Bread and Fleetwood Mac as a child, learning the piano at 8, and picking up the guitar by 10. Diva’s sonic interests led to her becoming her own creative, beginning to record her music in 2016.  Her self-proclaimed “therapy pop” ballads reminiscent of Bon Iver meets St. Vincent.”

I can almost see the comparison.  There’s definitely a Bon Iver vibe (his more electric sounding stuff) and her voice sort of sounds like the softer St. Vincent.  But listening to her songs, it’s really not that compelling.

Posted in Holly Humberstone, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

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