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Open Mike Eagle (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025) [CLIPPING.]

August 16, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] Open Mike Eagle

I saw Open Mike Eagle headline at Milkboy at the end of 2023–I was really happy to have finally seen him live.  He played a lot of songs from my favorite album of his and I really enjoyed his style and the way he interacted with the crowd.

I actually found out about this show because Open Mike popped up on my concert radar.  I was psyched to see him again.  And when I saw he was opening for clipping, I grabbed a ticket as fast as I could.  I assumed it would sell out and it did but not as quickly as I would have thought.

After OME’s set, Daveed Diggs said he drove all the way from Chicago and basically came out on stage with no prep work.  If that’s true then this set was even more impressive than I originally thought.

OME started with a song from Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, the album that introduced him to me (I am surprised to see he’s put out 5 albums since then!).  He didn’t play Brick Body Complex last time, and I was all there for it.

There was a guy in front of me who knew all the words to everything (except the new songs) and he was thrilled to be up so close to Mike.

He rapped four more songs that he had done last time.  And I was delighted to hear them again. I like I’ll Fight You and I really like Very Much Money.  Microfiche is from a great EP. Continue Reading »

Posted in Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Fatboi Sharif, Hamilton, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association, Unnecessary Surgery | Leave a Comment »

Goose: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025)

August 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] Goose

It seems like Goose and Geese both came out last year.  But in fact Goose has been around since 2014 and Geese since 2016–so it’s taken both of them about ten years to get serious attention.

It’s also funny that the bands have such similar names since they are so very different.  We saw Geese open for Vampire Weekend and they were kind of jammy but were decidedly weird.

Goose on the other hand is a pretty conventional jam band.  Four members (guitar (Rick Mitarotonda), bass (Trevor Weeks), keys (Peter Anspach–since 2017), drums (Cotter Ellis-since 2024)

I haven’t been going to very many Free at Noons lately.  It is such a hassle especially for a 30 minute show.  On the other hand it’s an opportunity to see a band (sometimes a really big band) in a small, intimate setting.  Goose, for instance, has sold out Madison Square Garden and is about to play the Mann Center.  I wasn’t even sure if I really wanted to see them, and yet this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Especially since my office was closed for air conditioning work. Continue Reading »

Posted in Free at Noon, Goose, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Fatboi Sharif (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025) [CLIPPING.]

August 15, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] Fatboi Sharif.

I haven’t been to the Ukie Club for two years.  A lot of good bands play there and it’s easy to get to and to park around, but something about the club feels so young (although Ty Segall did play there and he’s not young).  The last time I was there, I wrote:

Wow was it hot in The Ukie Club.

And this time I say, holy crap was it hot in the Ukie Club!  I sweated from the second I walked in and my shirt was soaked so thoroughly that it was still wet when I got home an hour after the show ended.  There were a/c units on, but they did nothing near the stage.

I didn’t realize the show went on at 8:30 and arrived at 7:45, so I was sweating for no reason.

Around 8:30, a guy cot up on stage behind some gear and he started playing loud beats.  He talked about what he was playing and really tried to get the crowd hyped up.  I assumed this was Fatboi Sharif, but it turned out it was DJ Boogaveli, Fatboi’s DJ.

Because a little while later Fatboi Sharif came up on stage.  The music was loud and his delivery was good, but I really couldn’t follow him very clearly.  I listened to a few of his recorded songs and his delivery is much cleaner.

The fascinating thing is that he brought several guests up on stage–and then stayed to the side while the guests did their own songs.

The first guest was EightyNiner Grant who I liked.  And then came GDP who i liked less (although on Fatboi’s album, I like his delivery quite a lot).

The set was pretty enjoyable.  I would probably have liked it more if I knew his stuff already, but I am intrigued to be sure.  (He is from Rahway, NJ).

Posted in Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Fatboi Sharif, Hamilton, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association, Unnecessary Surgery | Leave a Comment »

Dropkick Murphys / Bad Religion / The Mainliners (Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 13, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 13, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 13, 2025] Dropkick Murphys / Bad Religion / The Mainliners

Dropkick Murphys are a Celtic punk band from Massachusetts.  I feel like it’s possible I saw the singer in a pub in Boston when I lived there, but possibly not.  I have their debut album, but hadn’t really listened t them in a couple decades.  Btu they are the most vocally outspoken band against the current fascism that going on in our country and or that I respect the hell out of them.

I also know that Celtic punk is fun as hell.  And while I may not listen to their records, I am certain a show with them would be an incredibly fun time (although at the Stone Pony Summer Stage, I imagine the loud and very drunk fan base would be pretty intolerable.

I’ve been a fan of Bad Religion since, oh who knows, a long time.  Although I haven’t really listened to them that much in the last few years.  I’ve also never really thought about seeing them live.  Interestingly, S. saw them live at City Gardens a few decades ago (clearly she is cooler than I).  I guess I don’t care enough about them to make the effort.

The Mainliners are young guys playing old-school style punk band, “taking inspiration from such legendary SoCal bands as TSOL, Descendants, and DI, and drawing comparisons to others in the vanguard, from The Circle Jerks to The Adolescents.”  Their recordings even sound like they are from the 70 and 80s.  They definitely would have gotten the crowd going.

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Bad Religion, Dropkick Murphys, The Mainliners, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage | Leave a Comment »

My Chemical Romance (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, August 9, 2025)

August 11, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2025] My Chemical Romance

My son, his friend and I saw My Chemical Romance in 2022 for their reunion tour.  It was super fun and it was especially fun that we were in the band’s home state.

The Black Parade has always been my favorite MCR record, so when they announced this tour of The Black Parade, I was psyched and so was the rest of my family.  So I bought five tickets.  Sadly, I had to buy five individual seats–all in the same section, but each one a row behind the other.  But that didn’t matter once the show started.

They opened with a tape of 76 Trombones which was fun and weird and then a drummer came out playing a martial beat while the anthem from Draag was played.  Now I hadn’t read any reviews of the show at all, so I had no idea that they were going to play the album in this way.  And I was absolutely blown away by the creative genius of the MCR team.  They took a concept album/rock opera which already had a story and superimposed an entirely new story with videos and other performers on stage.

It was amazing.  And there’s no way I can do it justice.

I can’t possibly explain the new story.  Summarized: The country of Draag is run by a dictator.  There were videos of Draag as well as warnings and alerts in Draagian and English (Do not throw hair).  The dictator was introduced and on the big screens around the stadium, we could see the dictators hands as he gently clapped or ate noodles.

The band were dressed in their Black Parade outfits and then launched into the album.  When we saw them play in 2022, they played three songs from the album, so it was wonderful to hear the entire thing.  And they had backing singers and strings added to the show. It was really a huge sound.  Ray Toro on guitar was shredding like a maniac and the smile on his face was contagious. Continue Reading »

Posted in Death Cab For Cutie, East Rutherford, NJ, MetLife Stadium, My Chemical Romance, Set in New Jersey!, Thursday | Leave a Comment »

Death Cab for Cutie (Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, August 9, 2025) [MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE]

August 10, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2025] Death Cab for Cutie

When these MCR shows were announced, we had the choice of going to MetLife (which I haven’t been to in decades, before this new stadium in fact) or Wells Fargo in Philly, which I have grown to like a little more in the last year.

But then there was the choice of opening acts–Death Cab for Cutie in NJ or …Alice Cooper [?!] in Philly.  That made the decision so much easier, because there’s no way I would pass up DCFC for Alice Cooper [althouh having seen a recent setlist by Alice, his set is probably fun).

DCFC seems like an odd choice as an opening band.  They’re not bigger than MCR I wouldn’t think, but they sell out their own huge shows pretty easily.  It turns out though that DCFC are on tour and were playing four nights in Brooklyn right around this show.  So, heck, why not play this massive show?  And the crowd seemed really really into them.

My wife and I have seen Death Cab for Cutie four times now.  Their shows are always good–great music, great frontman, and a lot of fun.  This show proved to be something of a greatest hits set, at least greatest for me.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Death Cab For Cutie, East Rutherford, NJ, MetLife Stadium, My Chemical Romance, Set in New Jersey!, Thursday | Leave a Comment »

Thursday (Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, August 9, 2025) [MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE]

August 9, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2022] Thursday [rescheduled from September 22, 2020 and September 21, 2021]

This was my first show at this stadium since I saw The Cure back in 1989 (my only time there aside from some football games) when it was a different building called Giants Stadium (since demolished).

Online recommendations said to park at Redd’s a restaurant nearby in Carlstadt that offered parking and shuttle service for a reasonable price.  So we did that.  Despite leaving plenty early (I assumed), the traffic and the shuttle (which was great) plopped us down with a little time to spare.  By the time we got to our floor, Thursday had already started.

The super nice folks at the arena encouraged me to get handicapped seating (once they saw the cane) and while it took a few minutes to coordinate, it turned out to be a great option–folding chairs on a open platform instead of squeezing into seats a few rows back.

But by the time we got settled, Thursday was about half way through the set.

Thursday had opened for MCR back in 2022 when we saw them.  It was the first time I’d heard of them.  Since that show I saw singer Geoff Rickly solo at Underground Arts and grew more appreciative of Thursday.  So I was a little bummed to be unfocused during their set.

Rickly was a great frontman–singing his heart out and being wonderfully vulnerable (his solo set showed off just how much he’s been through).  His best joke of the night was saying that they got to play MetLife stadium before MCR did!  The bands go way back together and last time Gerard Way sang a song with them (not this time though). Continue Reading »

Posted in My Chemical Romance, Newark, NJ, Prudential Center, Set in New Jersey!, The Homeless Gospel Choir, Thursday | Leave a Comment »

The Flaming Lips (TD Pavilion at The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, August 5, 2025)

August 7, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 5, 2025] The Flaming Lips

I have now seen The Flaming Lips eight times.  Even when they play many of the same songs a lot, it’s always a fun and joy-filled experience.

And for the first time, I was right on the barrier to see them right up close.  So close that when they deflated the pink robots, I got to touch one!

The last time we saw them it was for the Yoshimi tour which was an evening with the Lips.  So this 75 minute set was considerably shorter, but it was a great compact set with three songs I’d never heard them play before!

They opened with an instrumental from The Soft Bulletin.  This was my first exposure to the new lineup of the band.  Steven Drozd is sitting out this tour and was replaced by AJ Slaughter who I was right in front of (I admit I was bummed that I was right in front of Steven’s spot but it wasn’t him!  Although his broken double neck guitar was there!

Slaughter did a great job playing all of Drozd’s parts and even added some pedal steel guitar which was a fantastic addition to the songs.

This was also the first time I’ve seen them with only one drummer in ages.

But the fewer musicians seemed to give room to more on stage antics.  They played parts one and two of Yoshimi and there were four giant inflatable robots filling the stage.  During part two, the confetti cannons were on full blast and I was right in the middle of it all.  Wayne also shot off his hand held confetti cannons and the delight on everyone’s faces was wonderful to be a part of. Continue Reading »

Posted in Black Sabbath, Friko, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Modest Mouse, Philadelphia, PA, Rainbows, The Chemical Brothers, The Flaming Lips | Leave a Comment »

Modest Mouse (TD Pavilion at The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, August 5, 2025) [THE FLAMING LIPS]

August 6, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 5, 2025] Modest Mouse

This was my eighth time seeing Modest Mouse in ten years.  The last two times were album tours which are always fun.

I always enjoy seeing them, and this shortened set was punchy and fantastic.  And, since I had managed to get on the barrier, I was right there to watch it all.  I was right in front of Simon O’Connor on guitar and behind him was Keith Karman on keys.

I hadn’t realized that Isaac is the only original member of the band left.  But they are a cohesive unit and it seemed pretty clear that Isaac was having fun up there.

I couldn’t really see Damon Cox on drums because Simon was blocking him, but I had a great view of percussionist Ben Masarella who is so much fun to watch–he adds so many interesting sounds to the songs and he holds them up front to get a full sound, so you get to see him pick up some randomly shaped object and see what it’s going to sound like.

Bassist Russel Higbee was pretty far away but it was fun to watch him from time to time. Continue Reading »

Posted in Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Modest Mouse, Philadelphia, PA, The Flaming Lips | Leave a Comment »

Friko (TD Pavilion at The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, August 5, 2025) [THE FLAMING LIPS]

August 5, 2025 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 5, 2025] Friko

 

I was really excited for this show–two of my favorite bands playing together.

I arrived roughly at 7, expecting to maybe miss the first song of the opener.  But no.  And not only that, I walked down to the pit (I was so excited to get pit tickets) and walked right up to the barrier.  So I was front and left for the entire night.

The night started with Friko, a young band from Chicago.  I’d listened to them ahead of time and enjoyed them, but I was so impressed by their live show.

I was delighted to be in front of Korgan Robb on guitar who was wringing all kinds of interesting sounds out of his guitar.  And since I was right in front of him, I got to watch him mess with his pedals and then find out what he was about to create.

Although it turns out that he is not actually part of the band.  Friko is presently a duo Niko Kapetan sings and plays guitar and and Bailey Minzenberger is the drummer.  For this tour in addition to Korgan, they had David Fuller on bass. Continue Reading »

Posted in Friko, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Modest Mouse, Philadelphia, PA, The Flaming Lips | Leave a Comment »

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