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Fox Teeth (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, January 26, 2024) [PINKSHIFT]

January 28, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 26, 2024] Pinkshift /Jhariah / Foxteeth

I was really excited for this show.  It had been postponed from November (when I didn’t have a ticket) to the New Year.

Originally it was supposed to be at House of Independents, but the reason the first show was postponed was because of flooding.  The flooding was so bad that HoI had to close its doors and is now out of business.

So it was moved to Asbury Lanes, which is a great small club.

I arrived with just a few minutes to spare and soon enough Fox Teeth came out. Originally the opening band was Pollyanna, who I really like.  I was bummed that they weren’t going to be playing, but Fox Teeth more than exceeded expectations. Continue Reading »

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Fox Teeth, House of Independents, Jhariah, Pinkshift | Leave a Comment »

Torres (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2024)

January 27, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 25, 2024] Torres 

This was my fifth time seeing Torres play.

Every time I see her, her set becomes more powerful and intense.  What was fun about this tour was that her new album, What an Enormous Room, was coming out the next day.

So we were able to hear most of these songs for the first time in a live setting, which was great.  Especially since she gave a little explanation of each song before playing them. I also love that she played a new song followed by an old song–a kind of mini greatest hits.

A lot of times when you hear a song for the first time, it may not land right away.  There were a couple of songs that are going to take a few listens to really get into, but for the most part, these songs were grabbers, doing what Torres does best–catchy powerful choruses with her great voice doing its thing.

I had wondered what the title of this album was supposed to mean, and she told us that life these days was overwhelmingly depressing.  And without trying to forget that, she felt that this album was a ray of hope–this is an enormous room, look what other things I can do in it.

She played a few songs from each of her recent albums (although only one from her lost-to-COVID album, Silver Tongue). Continue Reading »

Posted in Aisha Burns, Philadelphia, PA, Torres, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Nina Simon–Mother-Daughter Murder Night (2023) [audiobook 2023]

January 27, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[LISTENED TO: December 2024] Mother-Daughter Murder Night

This was described as Gilmore Girls meets mystery novel.

And while I want to be clear that in no way was it Gilmore Girls related, it had a Gilmore Girls vibe.  Three generations of women living together (out of necessity) working together to solve a mystery.

The grandmother is Lana Rubicon (terrible name).  She has created a real estate empire.  I enjoy that she is a strong and powerful woman who had been pushed down but fought back and built her own fortune.  But she’s also cold and distant–especially to her daughter, Beth.

The plot moves on when Lana is diagnosed with cancer and has to move in with Beth and Beth’s daughter.

Like Gilmore Girls, Beth was impregnated when she was a teenager.  She decided to keep the baby and move out.  But she moved into a property that Lana owned in a waterfront community.

Lana thinks she’ll be back home pretty quickly but she winds up in worse shape and needs to be there for a a lot longer than she imagined.  Beth and Lana are quite antagonistic.  But Lana and Beth’s daughter Jack get along pretty well. Continue Reading »

Posted in Audiobooks, Funny (ha ha), Gilmore Girls, Jane Oppenheimer, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Nina Simon, Violence | Leave a Comment »

Meet Me @ the Altar (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, January 23, 2024)

January 26, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 23, 2024] Meet Me @ the Altar

I had tickets to see Meet Me @ the Altar last year but went to The Beths instead (good choice).  MM@TA were headlining The Foundry.  And now a year later they are headlining TLA.

My daughter and I saw them at the All Things Go Festival and I loved them.  I knew I wanted to see them again–especially as a headliner.

I thought that Meet Me @ the Altar were really really young (teenagers), but this summer, singer Edith Victoria announced that it was her birthday and that she was now 23.  I’m not sure how old guitarist/bassist Téa Campbell or drummer Ada Juarez are.

They play feminist pop punk.  Téa Campbell absolutely rips on guitar and Ada Juarez pummels back there.  I’m not sure how they play the backing sounds–basses and extra percussion.  I assume Juarez triggers a sampler and they play to the sounds as opposed to them being triggered on the fly.  I loved the sound of the guitars.  I loved Edith’s voice (and Téa’s backing vocals) and I loved their attitude.

From the start, they brought the pop punk.  In addition to playing a lot of new songs, they dig into their back catalog (which they have).

After a couple of songs they got a pit going and when they played “Hit Like a Girl,” Edith told the crowd that this pity was just for the women, which I thought was pretty cool.

When I saw them this summer, they played some excerpts from songs they’d wished they’d written.  I assumed that was just a fun way to endear yourself to a festival crowd.  But they’ve been doing this on each show of the tour (although mixing things up a bit).  I really enjoyed their cover of “Complicated” this summer.  They didn’t play that this time, instead playing “Since U Been Gone” and putting a great punk attitude on it.

The end of the set was a collection of killer tracks that the crowd was fully into.  We all sang along to “Kool” and they ended with the name of the tour: Say It to My Face absolutely shredded the room.

The show was only an hour, but they packed everything in and the crowd was really psyched by it.  On the way out I heard someone say how much better they were than at The Foundry last year.  So I think i picked the right show after all!

 

2024 (TLA) 2023 (All Things Go)
Same Language ⇔ Same Language ⇔
Brighter Days (Are Before Us) Δ T.M.I ⇔
Now or Never Δ Try ⇔
Beyond My Control ♦ Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson) (excerpt)
Try ⇔ Complicated (Avril Lavigne) (excerpt)
May the Odds Be in Your Favor Ø Take Me Away (Christina Vidal) (excerpt)
Hit Like A Girl § Hit Like A Girl §
It’s Over For Me ⇔ Say It (To My Face) ⇔
Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson) (excerpt) Garden Ø
Take Me Away (Christina Vidal) (excerpt) Kool ⇔
Burnin’ Up (Jonas Brothers) (excerpt)
T.M.I ⇔
Garden Ø
Feel a Thing Δ
Kool ⇔
Say It (To My Face) ⇔

⇔ Past//Present//Future (2023)
Δ Model Citizen EP (2021)
§ single 2021
Ø single 2020
♦ Bigger Than ME EP (2019)

Posted in Elliot Lee, Honey Revenge, John Harvie, Meet Me @ The Altar, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

Aisha Burns (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2024) [TORRES]

January 26, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 25, 2024] Aisha Burns

I hadn’t heard of Aisha Burns before this show, although the way she talked about her career, it sounded like she’s been playing music for years and years.  She’s in her late 30s and has been playing violin for ages.   She has appeared on several records as a featured violinist, but she has only released two solo albums in the last ten years.

She actually didn’t play as much violin as I imagined.  The first song opened with some looped violin, but then she played the melodica or guitar for most of the songs.  She had a partner on lead guitar with her but she never introduced him.  He played mostly backing solos and noises. They made a solid wall of sound.

Her songs were a little too slow for me overall.  There wasn’t a ton of variety.  But what she played was great.  I think just not in this setting, maybe–a seated venue with a great sound system would be an amazing way to experience her. Continue Reading »

Posted in Aisha Burns, Philadelphia, PA, Torres, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Honey Revenge (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, January 23, 2024) [MEET ME @ THE ALTAR]

January 25, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 23, 2024] Honey Revenge

I hadn’t heard of Honey Revenge, but before the show I checked out a few songs and really liked them.

Apparently they have a pretty big fan base too, because there were several people who left the front after their set.  And one guy in front of me who was dancing in a very elbows-in-your-face kinda way.  I was very glad when he pushed further forward.

Honey Revenge has played Philly three times in about a year, once as a headliner at The Foundry, so the Philly love is big.

So Honey Revenge is evidently a two-piece: Devin Papadol (vocals) and Donovan Lloyd (guitar), although there were two other people on stage too–touring musicians Tay Fischer (@witchybassist) who was super fun and jumped off the bass drum at one point (and who will be playing with Jhariah in February) and drummer Matt Arsenault who I feel like I’ve seen play with other people too.

They play grungy 90s rock with great pop hooks.

Papadol is a take-no-shit front woman.  She encouraged people to mosh and to crowd surf (it’s not often that people crowd surf for an opener, but they did).  She asked who had never crowd surfed before and aid that tonight was the time to do it.  And, she threatened, if anyone gets dropped, I will stop the show.  It was really fun seeing little kids (with big era protectors) crowd surfing during the songs.

She also insisted that there be a pit AND a conga line.

Lloyd was a great guitarist too.  I didn’t really notice the guitar work at first because really, all eyes are on Papadol, but Lloyd pulled out some great sounds and some kicking (but short) solos.

I also really liked their lyrics which were empowering.  But also funny.  Like a song that is part slacker, part ass kicker

Sure, I could be doing more, but I could be doing lessUsed to going overboard and if I had to take a guessNever been too proud, I’ve always been too loud to ignoreMy mouth’s a messNow being annoying comes with reward and everyone’s impressed

Although one of their most popular songs is “Airhead” as in “damn, I’m such a” so there is definitely a sense of humor in the lyrics.

They were a lot of fun and I would absolutely see them again.

  1. Seeing Negative (Disappointment) ∞
  2. Worst Apology ∞
  3. Recipe for Disaster @
  4. Favorite Song ∞
  5. Habitual ∞
  6. Rerun ∞
  7. Murphy’s Law ∞
  8. Are You Impressed? ∞
  9. Airhead ∞
  10. Distracted ∞

@ new song 2024
∞ Retrovision (2023)
[from this album, they did not play Fight or Flight, Sensitive, Scapegoat]

Posted in Elliot Lee, Honey Revenge, John Harvie, Meet Me @ The Altar, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

John Harvie (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, January 23, 2024) [MEET ME @ THE ALTAR]

January 24, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 23, 2024] John Harvie

I didn’t know who John Harvie was before this set.  He seemed like a slightly out of place artist since everyone else was female (token male on the tour perhaps?).  Although he was more of an odd presence because his songs are mega-emo rather than pop punky.

But he won me over pretty quickly because he’s a Philly guy and he was pretty psyched to be playing in his hometown.

Unlike Elliot Lee, Harvie had a live drummer.  Although like Lee, much of the rest of the music was on backing tracks. John did occasionally play guitar too.

The things that really made an impression on me were his stage presence and his voice.  he absolutely commanded the stage like a guy who has been playing for far longer.  And, even more impressive, his voice sounded like he was the singer for any number of long-time emo bands.  He strained his voice to the breaking point a few times (and may have paid for it by the end oft he show).

Most of his songs seemed to be a bout breakup, but there was some clever wordplay in the lyrics, which I appreciated.

I also chuckled when he said that “Beauty in the Bad Things” was about being an Eagles fan.

I wound up enjoying his set more than I thought I would.

  1. roses £
  2. A Little Bit Longer ©
  3. Alaina ©
  4. Beauty in the Bad Things ©
  5. at my worst £
  6. figure 8 £
  7. Bleach (On the Rocks) ©

£ single 2023
© Told Ya. (2022)

Posted in Elliot Lee, Honey Revenge, John Harvie, Meet Me @ The Altar, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

Elliot Lee (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, January 23, 2024) [MEET ME @ THE ALTAR]

January 23, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 23, 2024] Elliot Lee

Elliot Lee looks like they are about 12 years old. In fact, they are 26 and are simultaneously adorable and, for someone who commands a stage, really nervous-seeming.

I didn’t know anything about Elliot Lee before this show.  I listened to a couple of their songs and wanted to get there early enough to see their set.  I’m glad I did, even if it was only 20 minutes.

They played five songs and when the lights first dimmed a guy in a full on bunny costume (with really long ears) came out and either did nothing or triggered the sounds of the first song “Sicko.”

Elliot came out shortly after wearing a bonnet with small ears.  The whole outfit was wild–striped shirt, colorful bra on the outside and pink ski pants.  And they proceeded to bounce around the stage with abandon.

Her songs are catchy and poppy but with a dark edge.  On record, the production is really sharp with lots going on.  But live, the music was stripped down, letting Elliot’s voice shine.

“Fun” is pretty much a disco song with a dark edge (come to think of it, just like ABBA).

Elliot was pretty clear about what the songs were about, but here’s an article from Outwrite Continue Reading »

Posted in Elliot Lee, Honey Revenge, John Harvie, Meet Me @ The Altar, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

Fortune Feimster: Live Laugh Love (Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ, January 21, 2024)

January 22, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 21, 2024] Fortune Feimster

My wife asked for tickets to see Fortune for Christmas.  I was pretty delighted to see her too.  I don’t know her career that well, but she was a favorite character (Dougie) on the short lived Life in Pieces.

I didn’t really know what to expect from her stand up, but I assumed it would be brash and funny.

What was really impressive is that she basically told four stories over the course of 75 minutes and each story was funnier than the next.

There’s weren’t jokes per se, there’s no real one liners, they’re just very funny stories.

The first was about her and her wife going on a honeymoon to the Maldives and her discovering mid-flight that in the Maldives being gay is a crime.  Her (over)reactions to everything that people did on the island was great.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Caitlin Peluffo, Count Basie Theatre, Fortune Feimster, Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre, Red Bank, NJ, Set in New Jersey! | Leave a Comment »

Caitlin Peluffo (Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ, January 21, 2024) [FORTUNE FEIMSTER]

January 21, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: January 21, 2024] Caitlin Peluffo

Being an opening band has got to be tough.  being a warm up comedian might be tougher (or maybe not, if the crowd is already pumped).

Anyhow, we didn’t know if there was a warm up act, and then as the show was announced we were told that Caitlin Peluffo would be warming us up.

I hadn’t heard of her.

She came out in jeans and work boots and joked  that she wasn’t gay, it was just a clothing choice.  She then announced that she had a boyfriend.  Peluffo has a very loud, aggressive style, which worked really well for some of the jokes, but here it almost felt defiant–that she was straight opening for a gay comedian.  Or something.

She had some good jokes about being a physically strong woman and how she liked to date smaller guys.  I enjoyed the gentle male bashing that she did, but somehow her jokes fell a little flat for me–smiles but not a lot of laughs. Continue Reading »

Posted in Caitlin Peluffo, Count Basie Theatre, Fortune Feimster, Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre, Red Bank, NJ, Set in New Jersey! | Leave a Comment »

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