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Steven Page & Tom Hampton (McLaughlin Norcross Memorial Dell, Haddon Heights, NJ, August 14, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 14, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 14, 2024] Steven Page & Tom Hampton

The summer concert series is a delight.  I really enjoyed going to see Kathleen Edwards there a few years ago.  It’s free and it’s a beautiful venue–especially if it’s a nice night.

I love seeing Steven Page and would have really enjoyed going to this show.  But my brother in law was in town and he was heading to the airport that day, so it really messed with our schedule.

I have not heard of Tom Hampton and what I discovered is

Multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Tom Hampton enjoyed a long career as a sideman to a bevy of notable artists before landing an extended road stint with Marshall Tucker Band and ultimately landing with Poco, where he stayed until the passing of founder Rusty Young in 2021. Refocused on writing and releasing his own material, there’ll be lots of new music coming in 2024.

Odd choice, I suppose.  I wonder how many people have heard of him.

 

Posted in Haddon Heights, NJ, McLaughlin Norcross Memorial Dell, Philadelphia, PA, Steven Page, Summer Concert Series, Tom Hampton | Leave a Comment »

César Aira–Artforum (2014) [translated 2020]

August 8, 2024 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: .

[READ: August 6, 2024] Artforum

I’d been a pretty avid reader of César Aira.  Of course it is impossible to read everything he’s written.  Not only because most of his books haven’t been translated into English but because his bio blurb states “he has published at least one hundred books.”

So, yea.  I assumed that my library would have all of the ones I hadn’t read yet (about 5) but i was surprised they only had this one.

So this book is a collection of stories/essays/musings/thoughts mostly centered around the magazine Artforum.  They were written between 1983 and 2013.  They are gathered in a (very) vague narrative style.  But they all deal with his obsession with this magazine.

Aira is a weird writer.  His books are short.  They seem to be stream of consciousness–as if he starts writing, lets his thoughts go where they will and then just stops.  These short pieces are more focused, but not all of them are focused.  He’s a fun read to be sure. Continue Reading »

Posted in Art, Artforum, Artists, César Aira, Collecting, Katherine Silver, Magazines, Regrets, Short Story, Translation, Translators | Leave a Comment »

The New Pornographers / Gustaf (Concerts Under the Stars series Upper Merion Township Building Park, King of Prussia, PA, August 7, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 7, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 7, 2024] The New Pornographers / Gustaf

I saw New Pornographers’ back in 2019 (I didn’t realize it was quite so long ago).  I enjoyed the show quite a lot.  And almost wondered if I didn’t need to see them again since they played pretty much everything I wanted to see.  And yet, they were really good and I enjoyed the show a lot–I suspect they are always worth seeing.

This was yet another show at the Concert Under the Stars in King of Prussia, which I think would be pretty fun to go to, but KoP is pretty far.  And this night was out of the question as my daughter was showing at the 4H Fair. Plus, we could have seen them in Jersey City the night before (which we didn’t).

The weather was terrible so they moved the show to Ardmore Music Hall.  And the 4H Fair was cancelled.  In theory we could have gone to this one.  But then my daughter was called in to do her show even though the Fair was closed to outsiders.  So we went there instead.

I was actually really excited to see Gustaf who I saw open for Idles almost three years ago.  I’ve wanted to see them again because they were outstanding.  But again, sometimes things prevent you from doing what you want to do.

 

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Concerts Under the Stars series, Gustaf, King of Prussia PA, Philadelphia, PA, The New Pornographers, Upper Merion Township Building Park | Leave a Comment »

Stick Men (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, August 2, 2024)

August 6, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 2, 2024] Stick Men 

I have been trying to see Stick Men since just before the pandemic.  They play around here relatively frequently but the timing or location (not to mention the pandemic) has prevented me from seeing them.

But, luckily, they came back to Ardmore and I was able to get up close to the stage to see Tony Levin (the main reason I wanted to go) play the Chapman Stick up close.  I have seen him play with King Crimson but have never been THIS close.

I didn’t know much about Markus Reuter, who also plays a kind of Stick–his own U8 Touch guitar.  But wow, he was amazing.  And he made playing these crazy complicated song so easy.

And I can’t forget Pat Mastoletto, who I’ve seen several times playing drums with King Crimson.  He’s amazing to watch, but I laughed to myself at what an amazing show this was if he was the least interesting thing on stage. Continue Reading »

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Pat Mastelotto, Stick Men, Tim Motzer, Tony Levin | Leave a Comment »

The New Pornographers / Gustaf (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, August 6, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 6, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 6, 2024] The New Pornographers / Gustaf

I saw New Pornographers’ back in 2019 (I didn’t realize it was quite so long ago).  I enjoyed the show quite a lot.  And almost wondered if I didn’t need to see them again since they played pretty much everything I wanted to see.  And yet, they were really good and I enjoyed the show a lot–I suspect they are always worth seeing.

That show featured Neko Case on vocals–she wasn’t going to be with them on this tour.  That didn’t actually impact my decision at all about this one because, The New Pornographers are excellent without her as well.

This show happened to be on a night that my daughter was going to be doing stuff at the 4H Fair.  I wanted my wife to come with me, and that was proving to be challenging with out timing.  I hadn’t gotten a ticket but i assumed it wouldn’t sell out.

Then the night of the show it was raining like crazy.  Her event was moved forward and I realized that every time I got to White Eagle Hall, I have to park outrageously far away.  And I realized that I didn’t want to be wet or standing in a venue where everyone was wet.  So we stayed home.

I was actually really excited to see Gustaf who I saw open for Idles almost three years ago.  I’ve wanted to see them again because they were outstanding.  But again, sometimes things prevent you from doing what you want to do.

Posted in Gustaf, Jersey City, NJ, Neko Case, The New Pornographers, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Tim Motzer (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, August 2, 2024) [STICK MEN]

August 5, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 2, 2024] Tim Motzer 

Tim Motzer is a Philly-based guitarist.  For his live show, he plays acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, and electric guitar.  He loops his melodies and creates percussion by tapping on the hollow bodied acoustic (and gets a lot of different sounds from it).

He played four pieces in about 45 minutes.

The first on the acoustic guitar.  It was fun to watch him build and then deconstruct the melodies and work within the drum beat that he created.

When he switched to 12 string guitar the sound was more varied.  Afterward he said that he had a new array of pedals and some of the sounds were surprising to him as well

For the electric guitar he played a heavier song with a notable riff.  For this and t he other 6 string piece, he used the e-bow a lot to generate cool sounds.

It was genuinely unclear to me if he was improvising the whole time or if he was playing some of his original pieces.  It doesn’t matter, of course, because the music was cool either way, but I would give the songs a mention if I could tell which songs they were.

For the final piece, he played the 12 string guitar again and briefly used a violin bow (only briefly) to generate new sounds.

It was a pretty mesmerizing session.  The set was marred a little for me by the guy next to me who would whoo!  every once in awhile (like “Whooo 12 string!”) and the guy in the other side of me who kept getting out his phone and then reciting into it before taking a photo (I guess posting to Facebook) “He just took out the violin bow”)

But those annoyances were not very frequent so it wasn’t too bad.

And, overall, it was cool to see Motzer in person after having streamed his set from Sellersville last year.

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Pat Mastelotto, Stick Men, Tim Motzer, Tony Levin | Leave a Comment »

D.O.A. (Broken Goblet Brewing, Bensalem, PA, August 1, 2024)

August 4, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 1, 2024] D.O.A.

I was never really a fan of D.O.A.  I had nothing against them, they were just slightly off of my radar.  I have their album that they recorded with Jello Biafra, but I had no real reason to investigate them further.

I was surprised to see that they were still around (after dozens of lineup changes). They have broken up and reunited a few times and as of 2014, they have had a stable lineup with original guitarist/singer Joey “Shithead” Keithley and Mike Hodsall on bass and Paddy Duddy on drums.

I didn’t know this, but, Joey Shithead was elected a city councillor in Burnaby, BC in the 2018 municipal elections as a member of the Burnaby Green Party. He was re-elected in the October 2022 municipal election.  He is 68 and has a lot of on stage energy and presence.  I was also surprised by his little showoffy moves–playing guitar behind his head and playing with his teeth (?) I think.  Those aren’t really punk moves, but they were fun to watch.

Their last album was 2020’s Treason which took direct aim at trump and his ilk.  They even re-recorded one of their old songs, Fucked Up Ronnie as Fucked Up Donald, just for him. Continue Reading »

Posted in Bensalem, PA, Broken Goblet Brewing, Crossed Keys, D.O.A., The Bad Ups, War on Women | Leave a Comment »

War on Women (Broken Goblet Brewing, Bensalem, PA, August 1, 2024) [D.O.A.]

August 3, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 1, 2024] War on Women

War on Women came on my radar sometime around 2021.  I’ve been wanting to see them now for about four years.  They were supposed to open for Voivod back in March but they left the tour for some reason.

It’s interesting that they were now on another tour with an old school Canadian band, D.O.A.  I bought a ticket for this show because of them (I was kind of indifferent to D.O.A., but they were super fun).  Their set was killer (and may have actually been longer than D.O.A’s).

War on Women is a five-piece singer Shawna Potter lead guitarist Brooks Harlan guitarist Jennifer Vito and bassist Suzanne Werner.  They had a guest drummer for this tour (a guy from Canada, they said).

The band plays a nice mix of heavy metal and punk–with some songs being heavy and riff heavy and others being kind of fast without the riffage.  And Potter’s voice is fantastic.  She sings clearly but she can scream with the best of them. Continue Reading »

Posted in Bensalem, PA, Broken Goblet Brewing, Crossed Keys, D.O.A., The Bad Ups, War on Women | Leave a Comment »

Crossed Keys / The Bad Ups (Broken Goblet Brewing, Bensalem, PA, August 1, 2024) [D.O.A.]

August 2, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 1, 2024] Crossed Keys / The Bad Ups

I had never been to The Broken Goblet before.  It’s a brewery in Bensalem in a stripmall type environment with a parking lot.  It’s a big venue (which is expanding).   They have a bar (with their beers on tap) and a large stage.  They also have (at some shows) some tables and chairs (which I took advantage of).

I arrived a few minutes after The Bad Ups has started, and by the time i got into the venue they were probably more than half way through their set.  Which is a shame, because I really enjoyed their upbeat, borderline ska sounding music.   Or as this review from New Noise magazine puts it

Being of Jamaican descent, frontman Travis McKayle named his band after the patois term “baddup,” which means to treat someone poorly or violently. Pulling influence from the best of the ’90’s and 2000’s Epitaph bands,

I’m a fan of that era of Epitaph music and I enjoyed the few songs that I heard.  I didn’t see a setlist anywhere so I don’t know what they played.

After about fifteen minutes, Crossed Keys came on.  Like The Bad Ups, Crossed Keys are also from Philadelphia.  Crossed Keys lead singer Joshua Alvarez described their live show like this Continue Reading »

Posted in Bensalem, PA, Broken Goblet Brewing, Crossed Keys, D.O.A., The Bad Ups, War on Women | Leave a Comment »

Speedy Ortiz (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2024)

August 1, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Speedy Ortiz

I saw Speedy Ortiz back in 2018 and then… they sort of disappeared.  When they returned back in 2023, I saw  them twice, for a Free at Noon before the release of their new album and then a month later when they played the new album in full.

Speedy Ortiz was supposed to play Milkboy on New Year’s Eve, but the show was cancelled because of COVID in the band.

So this show was the rescheduled show from New Year’s (New Year’s in July).  And then in June, Sadie Dupuis posted this

 i had a bike accident monday after a car cut me off and, considering philly drivers and roads, i’m way lucky i’m alive and it didn’t go worse. 🚴😵‍💫  my elbow is, as they say formally in the medical-industrial complex, “totally effed,” but i’m scheduled for surgery monday and i’m being led to believe i’m in the best orthopedic hands out there. it’s going to be a long and annoying road to recovery but i love guitar more than anything and i’m famously stubborn so i’ll get there, don’t worry

They had to cancel shows with Mary Timony, but Sadie said she’d do anything to get this Milkboy show done, even if that meant not playing guitar and teaching all of her parts to Dylan Baldi of Cloud Nothings.

Sadie said it was like doing karaoke.  And when she realized that she’d be a “stand up” singer, she asked for a tambourine to keep her hands busy.  Then she learned that people who play tambourine off their thigh tend to protect themselves from serious bruising. Continue Reading »

Posted in Grocer, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Queen Rat, Speedy Ortiz | Leave a Comment »

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