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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 »

Grocer (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2024) [SPEEDY ORTIZ]

July 31, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Grocer

This was the third time I could have seen Grocer.   The first time I didn’t go to the show and the second time was when Speedy Ortiz was supposed to play this show in July.

I thought I knew Grocer from NPR music but I didn’t (I think i got them mixed up with Florist who sound NOTHING like them).  Grocer is a trio from Philly: Cody Nelson – Drums/Vocals, Danielle Lovier – Bass/Vocals and Nicholas Rahn – Guitar/Vocals.  Each member sings and each singer’s musical style is a little different making for a wide ranging musical set all held together by this great band having a lot of fun.

The first song “Mating Call” opened with quiet guitars, quiet vocals from Cody Nelson and bird calls.  By the end of the song, the band was furiously singing “It powers on, but the signal’s gone.”

Up next was “Arts & Lit” sung by Nicholas Rahn.  It had an interesting riff, a jumpy melody and fun backing vocals.  I really enjoyed the sounds and effects that he used.  He had some kind of foot pedal that he slid back and forth which manipulated the sound and made his guitar soar into space. Continue Reading »

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

Queen Rat (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2024) [SPEEDY ORTIZ]

July 30, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Queen Rat

I was worried that I’d be a little late for this show but I parked (illegally it turns out) and managed to get into Milkboy pretty easily.

Queen Rat came on just as I leaned I could sit on the comfy stool to the left side of the stage (I assume a bouncer sits there during heavier shows?).   But it was perfect for my presently handicapped state.

Their bio says

Queen Rat is a rock trio born in Ohio, growing up in Philly. Drawing from rock heroes ranging from Hole to the Raincoats to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the band pairs pensive, observant lyricism with a versatile grunge-rock style. Following the release of their debut album, Until It’s Not, in 2022, they relocated to Philadelphia and released their latest single, Cut Me A Garden, in 2023. Talk to Queen Rat about books, jumping, or birds.

I found them to be much less aggressive than any of the bands listed above, playing an almost lo-fi vibe.

There were fuzzy guitars, for sure, but the pacing was slow and thoughtful with a few moments that rocked out–especially when drummer Kate Bertrand really kicked it in.

I particularly enjoyed the way Tile Floor ended with a lengthy outro of more or less the same lyrics repeated: Continue Reading »

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

King’s X / Sound&Shape (The Vogel, Red Bank, NJ, July 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 27, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 27, 2024] Kings X / Sound&Shape

I’ve seen King’s X five times.  I’ve enjoyed all of their shows although I started to find them a little samey.

They tend to tour our area every couple of years.  I saw them two years ago and considered going to one of the three area shows this year, but things caught up with me.

I was intrigued to see them in Red Bank–at the small theater I hadn’t been to.  But I had other plans for this Saturday night so it never happened.

I’ve seen the setlist that they played this night and I have to say they really aren’t mixing it up much at all these days.  Which is a shame.  I know that they have some songs that they “have to” play but there’s a bunch in here that they could switch out.  I mean, I would like to see them once more, but I’d hope they’d throw in a few other songs next time.

Sound&Shape is new to me but apparently they have been playing prog metal for a number of  years.  Their sound reminds me of King’s X–heavy but clean.  The vocals are good.  It’s possible that if I had heard these guys before this show, I would have gone to one of the nights.

Posted in King's X, Red Bank, NJ, Sound&Shape, The Vogel | Leave a Comment »

Previous Industries ft. Open Mike Eagle + Video Dave + STILL RIFT / Cavalier (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 27, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 27,  2024] Previous Industries ft. Open Mike Eagle + Video Dave + STILL RIFT / Cavalier

I saw Open Mike Eagle at the end of last year and really enjoyed his set.  Previous Industries is a low key supergroup, I guess.  (Although, it’s arguable that many people don’t know them individually).

Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave and STILL RIFT have worked together in various ways over the years and here they are together–rapping with each other on the songs.

The songs are kind of slow–emphasizing the lyrics rather than the melodies.  The songs are also thoughtful and not lyrically interesting.  One of the songs, for instance, references The Giving Tree (even mentioning Shel Silverstein).

And  a fun lyrics from Open Mike

Got it made, got it made, like I was hot for the teacher
It’s a sound blaster car with the Altec Lansing speaker
I like David Lee Roth and not the other guy
It’s ’95 South, so I can learn to do the butterfly
It’s Triple F.A.T. Goose stocked even in the summer time
My sweatshirt counting sheep with both words underlined
Yeah, and Mrs. Fields to the cookie stop
As quick as Mr. Owl licked the center of a Tootsie Pop

This is exactly the kind of rap event I would really enjoy.  I couldn’t go mostly because it was a Saturday and our schedule was pretty busy that week.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Cavalier, Milkboy, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, Previous Industries, Still Rift, Video Dave | Leave a Comment »

Control Top / Carnivorous Bells / Eraser (Foto Club, Philadelphia, PA, July 26, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 26, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 26, 2024] Control Top / Carnivorous Bells / Eraser

I saw Control Top back in 2019 and 2021 and really loved them.

They’ve been kind of dormant for a while so when they announced this show I was really excited to see them.  I’ve never been to Foto Club and I’m still not even sure what kind of place it is–it’s very hard to find anything about it online.

I thought my son would really enjoy the show–Control Top is a fun aggressive and somewhat interactive live band–singer/ bassist Ali Carter tends to jump in the crowd during the final song.  But he had to work that night so I knew we couldn’t get to the whole show.  But I considered that if his shift ended early enough and he was interested, we could leave and catch just Control Top (since I didn’t know the other bands anyway).  But I had my notifications off and I missed his text that he was interested in going, so I assumed he wasn’t interested so I more or less settled in for the night.

I’ve felt bad ever since because he seemed really excited to go when he got home.  On a practical level, I don’t know what time they actually went on and I’m sure  their set was fairly short, so it may not have been worth it to go anyway.  Sour grapes, I guess.

Carnivorous Bells according to R5 Productions have quietly become one of Philly’s most savage live acts.  They’re punky with a growly kind of singer. Not really my kind of show so I didn’t mind missing them.

Eraser is a Philly band who are about to release their first EP.  I’m intrigued by them, having only heard one song.  I imagine they would be fun and I’d like to see them some day.

 

 

 

Posted in Carnivorous Bells, Control Top, Eraser, Foto Club, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Richard Thompson / Alexa Rose (Musikfest Cafe, Bethlehem, PA, July 26, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 26, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 26, 2024] Richard Thompson / Alexa Rose

I really want to see Richard Thompson one more time, but I really want to see hi with his band rather than solo.

For this tour, he announced it would be a band tour!  I was so excited.  But when he announced this relatively local show, it was solo.

What’s weird about his solo shows is that he had a million songs in his repertoire and he plays all request shows where I’m sure he’s playing all kinds of songs.  But when he plays solo he tends to play the same twenty or so songs.  It’s always amazing, I am just looking for something a little different from him.

I keep hoping he’ll bring the band to McCarter one more time.

Alexa Rose was born in the Alleghany Highlands of western Virginia, raised in the tiny railroad town of Clifton Forge. Though no one in her immediate family played or sang, she inherited a deep musical legacy.

She has a pretty, clean voice with vaguely country leanings.

Posted in Alexa Rose, Bethlehem, PA, Musikfest Cafe, Richard Thompson | Leave a Comment »

Newport Folk Festival (Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI, July 26-July 28, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 26, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 31-August 2, 2020] Newport Folk Festival

We went to Newport Folk Festival in 2019.  We’ve had a kind of understanding that we would try to go again.

I’ve managed  to score tickets for previous years (and then resell them when we couldn’t go).  But this year I was shut out instantly.  Which is fine as the festival often conflicts with our summer schedule.
Continue Reading »

Posted in Black Pumas, De La Soul, Guster, Hozier, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, The War on Drugs, Tinariwen | Leave a Comment »

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