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Baroness / Sheer Mag / Uniform / Zorn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND–COVID]

December 1, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 1, 2023] Baroness / Sheer Mag / Uniform / Zorn

I was really looking forward to this show.  I had seen Baroness in Kung Fu Necktie.  It was a fun show, but it was close and crowded and, while it was a great experience I wanted to see them in a bigger (but not huge) place.  Union Transfer was perfect.

Then I got COVID.

I was so bummed.  And with COVID being so weird these days, I wouldn’t have even tested if the tests hadn’t just come in the mail that day.  But I took it and couldn’t in good conscience go to the show.

I had been torn about when to get to this show, though.  It started at 6:30, which is insane.  And the openingest band was called Zorn.  Not John Zorn, but Zorn, a Philly based metal/punk band that I was really curious to see.  I mean check out this review from Punknews.org

During Zorn’s set, singer Eric Flea approached one of three already burning torches on stage, whipped out a sword, lit the sword on fire, and began waiving it all around as the flames grew up to some eight feet. I mean, that’s all I have to say about the Philly Vender Bender from October 28, 2022. What else can I say? A flaming sword!

I’ll admit, I was worried about Zorn. The band quickly released a string of excellent EPs which coincided with a string of excellent live shows (bandmembers jumping out coffins; people dressed like plague monks; chains being whipped at the audience; really kick ass death punk) but then, things seemed to go… silent. Was one of Philly’s most promising acts snuffed out in the bud before the flame could grow?

For one thing, Zorn was in raw and ragged and crazed top form. Their songs are as fast and as furious as ever. And, their strongest asset (aside from a great core concept) is that they’ve found that perfect sweet spot between metal and punk where the songs have the epic, grandiosity of metal as well as the slam-damn-heaviness, but they also have the unpredictable swing and danger of punk rock. A lot bands try to mix metal and punk and most of them are terrible. At the show, as the epics riffs swung upwards only for the screeched vocals to tear them back down, Zorn proved that it can be done and that the sum is greater than the parts.

The band also played some newish songs. the new tracks are more complex and frantic than earlier hits. This makes the band particularly effective because, while a lot of the spooky bands sound cool for a song or two, all their songs sound like those one or two songs. at the show, Zorn had a core style, but were able to flex it into a broad array of slashing. I’ll also add that the band has some degree of self-awareness, which, much likes Bauhaus, is the extra bit of pop that makes this band soooo good.

Also, did I mention that they started the show by having pallbearers bring out the aforementioned torches and a coffin, only for the vocalist to jump out of said coffin and throw said coffin lid at the audience? Now, THAT’S WHAT I AM HERE TO SEE.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Baroness, Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Sheer Mag, Uniform, Union Transfer, Zorn | Leave a Comment »

Touché Amoré  (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, November 29, 2023) [DEAFHEAVEN]

December 1, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 29, 2023] Touché Amoré

Touché Amoré (what a fun name to say) have been on my radar for a little over a year.  I assumed they were a dance band, not a punk band.  But indeed. They punk.

And they punk hard.

The band came out and started right in with a big, clean sound and singer Jeremy Bolm screaming the lyrics.  The best thing about his screaming is that it is intense like old school punk, but it is completely clear.

I loved that for every verse or chorus he put the mic out for the audience to sing the last word or phrase. And they did.  There was a huge Touché Amoré fanbase there.  [There was a gross couple in front of me who had hands all over each other who, thankfully, left after the band was done].

At first I thought they were “just” a screaming punk band.  But I quickly got totally into them.  I loved the sound of the band–not too complicated but every song has something interesting going on in it.  Drummer Elliot Babin is a maniac behind the kit.  And I loved that you could hear both guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt very clearly (Nick Steinhardt was on the far side of the stage, so I couldn’t see him very well, but I could clearly see his sparkly shirt).  And bassist Tyler Kirby would punctuate songs with excellent thumping bass.

But it was the lyrics that constantly impressed me.  I couldn’t understand them all obviously, but the ones I did were impressive. Continue Reading »

Posted in Deafheaven, Mary Jane Dunphe, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts, Touché Amoré | Leave a Comment »

Darlingside / Field Guide (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, December 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

December 1, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 1, 2023] Darlingside / Field Guide

My wife and I were huge fans of Darlingside.  Seen them four times and pit them on my “always see them” list.

But for some reason, the last few times they announced shows nearby we weren’t that interested.

It may be temporary or maybe their original sound was exactly what I needed at that time.

They have changed a little over t he last few years, including the departure of one of their core members.  I don;t think that has anything to do with our lake of interest.  Honestly it may just be end of the year burn out.

So, maybe if they come around again soon we’ll check them out.  I just checked and saw that it has been four years snce we’ve seen them.  Maybe next time we’re due.

I hadn’t heard of Field Guide.  A review from Red Guitar Music says

 Hailing from Manitoba, Canada, Field Guide is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Dylan MacDonald and Full Time is a beautifully hushed quartet of thoughtfully written, warmly delivered songs of heartbreak, loss and leaving.  Artists trading in confessional acoustic intimacy are pretty easy to come by but what sets Field Guide apart from the crowd is the lyrical quality and the careful, understated execution in what they do.  Rather than wallowing in regret, the songs take a more philosophical path, which oddly makes this record feel more like a pick-me-up than a drag-me-down.  The songs are sad but matter-of-fact; sober but wry.

Sounds like the kind of nice opening act that Darlingside would pick.

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Darlingside, Field Guide | Leave a Comment »

Sam Shelstad–“Notes on the Craft of Fiction” [The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar #1] (2023)

December 1, 2023 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 1, 2023] “Notes on the Craft of Fiction”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my sixth time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.  Now in its ninth year, the SSAC is back to once again bring readers a deluxe, peppermint-fresh collection of 25 short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

The author of this story was Sam Shelstad.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.

It’s December 1. To officially kick off the 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar, here are some iron-clad rules for writing your own short story by the author of Cop House.

This story was really quite funny and was a great way to start the collection.

Shelstad explains

The story is excerpted from my novel The Cobra and the Key, which came out this October with Touchwood Editions. The novel takes the form of a creative-writing guide, where the guide’s fictional author can’t help but reference his personal life and autobiographical works while dispensing misguided writing advice, which is how the narrative breaks through. The excerpt takes sections from the first few chapters and, while these sections are more focused on the misguided writing advice side of things, a sense of the narrator and his various delusions begins to emerge.

In no way does it feel like it is excerpted from a novel–it is perfectly lifted from the story and exists on its own 24 point plan.

As it starts out you kind of think this writer doesn’t exactly know what he is talking about.

Don’t they say a picture is worth a thousand words?  With a couple of mouse clicks, however, a writer can copy and paste an image of a painting right into their book.  Checkmate.

As the sections progress, they get even more insane.  If your protagonist is an anti-hero, they must earn sympathy.

If your character pets a stranger’s dog on the first page, you’ve bought yourself a nasty, insensitive comment on page two.

He says you want your protagonist’s name to be meaningful to them somehow, but don’t be too obvious about it.  To avoid being obvious, make them Irish or Jewish:

  • Strongstein
  • O’Brave
  • Basketballberg

It also turns out there’s some plot thrown into the tips–plot about his ex and about the publisher he is currently (harrassing) to get his book published.

I will definitely read this novel.  It sounds great.

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Sam Shelstad, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Darlingside: Free at Noon (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, December 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND–COVID]

December 1, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 1, 2023] Darlingside

I had been thinking about the Darlingside show and how it was kind of sad that I wasn’t dying to see them again.

And then this Free at Noon was announced.

Sure, it was at Ardmore Music Hall, which is far–not even closer to my work like most Free at Noon shows are.  But I was planning on taking some time off and driving to Ardmore and STILL going to the Baroness show that evening.

And then I tested positive for COVID.  Ugh.

This sounds like it would have been a great short spell of seeing Darlingside again.  Although it’s not the same Darlingside anymore, as this review from WXPN’s The Key says

Darlingside’s core four-piece — Paseltiner on guitar and cello, Don Mitchell on guitar and banjo, Auyon Mukharji on mandolin and violin, and David Senft on bass — is augmented on this run by Molly Parden on bass, Benjamin Burns on drums, and Deni Hlavinka on keys. Putting Darlingside in more of a rock band configuration adds energy and atmosphere to new cuts like “Green and Evergreen” and “Green Light,” but their exquisite harmonies soared on older favorites like 2015’s “The God Of Loss.”

One of the best things about Darlingside (aside from the music) is the banter.  And it was in evidence at this show:

As usual, the band used its copious tuning and re-tuning breaks for playful conversation: describing the venue to the radio audience at home, arranging the band intros by hometown and number of syllables in each member’s last name.

And this sounds like an amazing moment

And when they stepped offstage and into the crowd for a breathtaking off-air off-mic encore of Everything Is Alive‘s “The Breaking Of The Day,” played “directly under the disco ball,” they had the room enthralled.

Stupid COVID

SETLIST

  • Green And Evergreen
  • White Horses
  • Green Light
  • Hold Your Head Up High
  • Right Friend
  • Darkening Hour
  • The God Of Loss
  • Ocean Bed
  • The Breaking of The Day

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Coronavirus, Darlingside | Leave a Comment »

Mary Jane Dunphe  (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, November 29, 2023) [DEAFHEAVEN]

November 30, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 29, 2023] Mary Jane Dunphe

I didn’t know there was an opening act for this show until a few hours before the show.  I looked up Mary Jane Dunphe, listened to a song and didn’t much like it.

So, according to The Creative Independent

Mary Jane Dunphe is a poet and musician who tells stories—not through direct narrative but through embodied presence and performance, through cinematic and fragmented memory, the wild transmission of feeling. Her versatile songwriting has garnered critical acclaim in past projects such as the visceral punk of Vexx and Gen Pop, the minimal dream pop of CCFX and CC Dust, and the lonesome country-rock of The County Liners—and now Dunphe’s debut solo album, Stage of Love (out now on Pop Wig), is the start of a captivating new chapter.

Mary Jane came out on stage wearing a Sinead O’Connor T-shirt with FIGHT THE REAL ENEMY on the back.  A very promising start.  Then she told us it was her birthday.  When someone started singing happy birthday to her, she held up a finger and said “No.  I’m the singer,” and then laughed.

Then she hit a key on a device behind her, strapped on a guitar and sang a very mediocre song.  The music was okay and the lyrics were hard to decipher.  I see now that she is a poet, so I suspect that means the words are more important than the music.  When the song ended, she played chords on her guitar for a few more measures, eventually sliding up the neck to make a wall of noise.  When that stopped, she put down the guitar, tapped the device again and walked to the mic.

The music–even more spare without the guitar–filled the room.  Mary Jane swayed and spun and danced and hopped and occasionally sang.  It occurred  to me that the singing wasn’t really in tune or on time.

And her performing wasn’t particularly interesting either.  A lot of spinning, some stomping, occasionally touching herself.  There was even a somersault at one point.  It just felt a lot like what a little kid thinks performance is.  And since you couldn’t really hear the words, it wasn’t very impactful.

I honestly wondered if she was like the local promoter’s daughter who was getting her first shot at being on stage.  And then I discovered  that she has been in bands for years.

I am a very forgiving viewer, but I had a really hard time with this one.  I also assumed she’s be done after 20 minutes (12 was enough), but she was allowed to stay up there for 30.  Oof.

She received decent applause after each song, but I don’t know if people were entirely genuine about it.  Both Touché Amoré and Deafheaven sang her praises during their set, with Touché Amoré really hyping her.  But I didn’t get it.

I have also seen that Ringo Deathstarr opened for them on a few shows.  I would have 200% preferred to see them.

Posted in Deafheaven, Mary Jane Dunphe, Philadelphia, PA, Ringo Deathstarr, Theatre of Living Arts, Touché Amoré | Leave a Comment »

Pierce the Veil (Santander Arena, Reading, PA, November 25, 2023)

November 29, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 25, 2023] Pierce the Veil

My son and I saw Pierce the Veil this summer in Asbury Par–on a storm-filled evening in which the opening band was dropped entirely and every other band did a shortened set (PtV played 7 songs).

This tour was, technically, I think, part of that tour–all for the new album.  But instead of it being a double-headline bill, PtV was the main headliner.

They played like it.

And the crowd responded in kind.

I’ve been to a lot of shows where the audience is 100% into the band, but after my two PtV shows, I’d have to say their audiences have to be the most intense.  Everyone knows every word to every song.  The people behind me even brought their small children with them.

For this show they played more than twice as many songs as when we saw them last time–although they did not play “Bulls in the Bronx” a song that I love.  But that’s fine.

While this tour is for the new album (they played six songs from it), they did not shy away from older songs at all.

The set was mostly loud rockers.  Starting with the opener “Death of an Executioner.”  They followed it with a song from their debut album–with angry vocals, the kind of which they don’t really use anymore.

I don’t actually know a lot of their songs all that well, but I really enjoyed “Circles”–these guys know their way around a chorus. Continue Reading »

Posted in Dayseeker, Destroy Boys, L.S. Dunes, Pierce the Veil, Reading PA, Santander Arena | Leave a Comment »

GZA & The Phunky Nomads / Rebelmatic (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, November 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

November 29, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 29, 2023] GZA & The Phunky Nomads / Rebelmatic

I saw a poster for GZA playing Underground Arts and I was kind of surprised that he wouldn’t play a larger venue.  But I don’t know much about the individual Wu-Tang members, so I shouldn’t guess at how successful they are.

I wasn’t planning on going to this show, but when I heard that he was touring with Fishbone (although not here) I checked out this show a little more.

Turns out Rebelmatic is an amazing band.  I hadn’t heard of them, but listened to a few songs and  they are great.  This blurb is pretty spot on

Style Weekly recently asked the legendary HR of Bad Brains if there were any bands out today that reminded him of the Brains. “There’s a group called Rebelmatic,” was his response. 
 Certainly high praise for a band that recently came off tour with Fishbone’s Angelo Moore. “Rebelmatic brings out the automatic rebel in you,” Moore stated of his tour mates. 
 Rockers, Rebelmatic have been racking up a large number of legendary live performances, most recently packing out Webster Hall with indie darling Kool A.D. (Das Racist).

I’m still not going to this show, but I will definitely keep an eye our for Rebelmatic in the future.

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Rebelmatic, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

L.S. Dunes (Santander Arena, Reading, PA, November 25, 2023) [PIERCE THE VEIL]

November 28, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 25, 2023] L.S. Dunes

L.S. Dunes is like an emo supergroup.  The five guys in the band are each from at least one other well-known band.

Frank Iero (guitar) is from My Chemical Romance.  Travis Stever (guitar) is from Coheed & Cambria.  Tim Payne (bass) and Tucker Rule (drums) are from Thursday and singer Anthony Green is from Circa: Survive and a bunch of other bands.  Circa Survive is the only band I didn’t know, so I had a sense of what they sounded like–but not their vocalist.  Actually, I heard him sing a song with Thursday when we saw them open for MCR, but I don’t remember it.

This band started during the pandemic, with the various guys sending tapes back and forth to each other.  They’re all from roughly the east coast, (NJ, NY, PA) which is kind of cool for those of us on the east coast.

When the band came out they sounded so much bigger than Dayseeker.  I don’t know if it’s because the opening bands played via a less sophisticated sound system or what, but L.S. Dunes’ music filled  the arena in a way that Dayseeker didn’t.

The music was interesting and complex.  And singer Green hit high notes and growled alternately.

When I was at the merch table, the guy selling L.S. Dunes merch said sometimes the best first exposure to a band is live.  I agree with that sentiment although I think this particular first exposure wasn’t ideal because we were so far away and the lights weren’t great and, despite me saying how full the sound was, it still sounded a little rough (too loud maybe?)

Regardless, I really enjoyed the set and look forward to seeing them again in a smaller venue where I can really appreciate what they’re doing.

  1. Permanent Rebellion ♠
  2. Bombsquad ♠
  3. Like Forever ♠
  4. Grey Veins ♠
  5. Benadryl Subreddit ∇
  6. It Takes Time ♠
  7. Grifter ♠
  8. Past Lives ♠
  9. 2022 ♠
  10. Old Wounds ∇

∇ single (2023)
♠ Past Lives (2022)

Posted in Coheed & Cambria, Dayseeker, Destroy Boys, L.S. Dunes, My Chemical Romance, Pierce the Veil, Thursday | Leave a Comment »

Dayseeker (Santander Arena, Reading, PA, November 25, 2023) [PIERCE THE VEIL]

November 27, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: November 25, 2023] Dayseeker

Dayseeker was the only band on this bill that I had never heard of.  I was rather surprised to find that they’d been around for almost ten years.

I’m always interested in finding out about new (to me) bands, and there were lots of people with Dayseeker T-shirts on in the crowd, but I really just couldn’t get into them.

They weren’t bad, they were just sort of generic emo.  I wanted to see if I was alone in thinking this, and I found this review from SputnikMusic which loved Rory Rodriguez’ voice, but found the album to be less challenging than their previous one:

Erase his voice from any track, and it instantly becomes mediocre at best, with toned down musicianship, unnecessary breakdowns, and borderline lazy guitar and drum work. To dismiss the record for those shortcomings though, while not entirely unjustified, would be a bit short-sighted.

So, I guess that’s what I was hearing.  And, because the sound at the Santander Arena isn’t great, I wasn’t that impressed by his voice either.

And again, none of it was bad, it was just sort of there.  I tapped my foot to some songs, kind of got into some others, but as I write this just a few days later, I can’t remember a thing about them.

Except that after every song, Rodriguez said “If you know our band, then you know…”  It was a pretty weird was to introduce every song.   He also pretty clearly lays his heart on his sleeve, talking about his father’s battle with cancer and about how the band almost gave up seven years ago (that was when I realized how long these guys had been around).

Their set was almost as short as Destroy Boys, though so all was good.

  1. Dreamstate ♣
  2. Burial Plot ¥
  3. Homesick ♣
  4. Without Me ♣
  5. Crying While You’re Dancing ♣
  6. Sleeptalk ¥
  7. Neon Grave ♣

¥ Sleeptalk (2019)
♣ Dark Sun (2022)

  • Rory Rodriguez – vocals
  • Gino Sgambelluri – guitar
  • Mike Karle – drums
  • Ramone Valerio – bass

Posted in Dayseeker, Destroy Boys, L.S. Dunes, Pierce the Veil, Reading PA, Santander Arena | Leave a Comment »

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