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Stick Men / Tim Motzer (Egner Chapel, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, February 24, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

February 24, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 24, 2024] Stick Men / Tim Motzer 

I have been trying to see Stick Men since the pandemic.  I wasn’t really aware of them before hand.  They played a show in Sellersville a few years ago and I was busy.  They play a lot around New York, but don’t seem to venture off the island all that often.

A show in Allentown seemed like an interesting opportunity to check them out.  But it coincided with a day that we had already set aside for another event.  So, there would be no Stick Men any time soon.

Stick Men is the trio comprised of Tony Levin and Pat Mastellotto from King Crimson and Markus Reuter, one of the foremost players of the Chapman Stick guitar thing.  Bernier and Levin both play them during the set (hence the name).  I’ve wanted to see them every since I heard about them (A chance to se Tony Levin right up close!).  But Stick Men seems to tour quite a lot, and now that King Crimson is more or less dissolved for good, I assume they’ll be touring a bit more.  So when Son Lux, a band I’ve tried and failed to see twice before) was scheduled for the same night, I had to see them while I had the chance.

Tim Motzer is an experimental guitarist.  Apparently you never know what you’re going to get with him.

This was the same line up as in Sellersville, so I guess they tend to tour together.

An excerpt from Motzer in Sellersville is here.  I don’t see Stick Men available anymore.

Posted in Allentown PA, Egner Chapel, Muhlenberg College, Pat Mastelotto, Stick Men, Tim Motzer, Tony Levin | Leave a Comment »

This is the Kit / Sam Amidon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, February 23, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

February 23, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 23, 2024] This is the Kit / Sam Amidon

This is the Kit played Johnny Brenda’s back in October.  They are a band I know from NPR Music and I haven’t thought of them in a while.  I recall liking their music but that there was something unusual about it.

I enjoyed this blurb about them from bandcamp:

This Is The Kit is the musical project of Kate Stables and whoever joins her. You thought you didn’t like the banjo but you were wrong pal. Listen as Kate rips forward with her hypnotic twang pattern and a voice of rare, unaffected beauty.

Kate has a very British delivery.  Reading my review of their Tiny Desk Concert, I really liked them more than I remembered.

I’m happy for them that they have moved from Johnny Brenda’s to World Cafe Live and maybe this will get them some airplay on WXPN. Continue Reading »

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sam Amidon, This is the Kit, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »

Indigo De Souza (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, February 22, 2024)

February 23, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 22, 2024] Indigo De Souza

This was the seventh time since Jan 2022 that I might have seen Indigo De Souza.

She had a show scheduled for Union Transfer which was postponed twice.  She was scheduled to open for Lucy Dacus–a show I didn’t get a ticket for because I was seeing Indigo headline (cancelled).  She finally played her Union Transfer show but I couldn’t make it.  Then she was supposed to open for Rainbow Kitten Surprise and that whole tour was cancelled.

I wasn’t even really sure I still wanted to see her after all this time, but the show was nowhere near sold out, so I grabbed a ticket.

There were a lot of die-hard fans there which is hit or miss.  This crowd was very respectful of her, which I liked.  There was some singing along but it was mostly quiet until it called for loud sing alongs.

I was honestly surprised at how subdued she was during the set.  I’ve never seen her before, but all of her promotional material makes her seem like a wild performer.  And she was absolutely not that tonight.

But her voice was beautiful and she was very sweet and engaging.  She played about an hour and the crowd was enraptured.

She opened with the mellow “Be My Love,” and I was so happy that the crowd was silent as she sang the quiet, sad song.

Her guitarist Maddie Shuler played a lap steel that I couldn’t even tell what the instrument was at first, it was small, plastic and portable.  It looked like a keyboard, but was clearly a guitar. Continue Reading »

Posted in Indigo De Souza, Jersey City, NJ, Truth Club, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Grace Vonderkuhn / Puppy Angst / Babyfang (Fringe Bar, Philadelphia, PA, February 22, 2024) [Free show–DID NOT ATTEND]

February 22, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 22, 2024] Grace Vonderkuhn / Puppy Angst / Babyfang

This show was announced not too long ago.  A free show–an opportunity to see Grace Vonderkuhn again.  In a venue I’d never been to.  It was compelling,

But I had tickets to see Indigo de Souza, who I’ve been trying to see for a couple of years now.

While I was waiting for Truth Club to go on, I saw this update from the Grace camp

UPDATE: Due to sickness in the ranks, I (Grace) will be ~opening~ the free show at @fringebarphilly tonight with an intimate *solo* performance followed by @webabyfang and @puppyangst . Hope to see you there!

I genuinely don’t even know what Grace Koon would sound like solo.  I’d have been bummed to discover that I wasn’t getting the whole band (if I had blown of Indigo for this show).

Babyfang is a trio based in Brooklyn  The band consists of: Oakland, California native, Théo Mode (guitarist), Houston, Texas native, Canteen Killa (drummer) and Queens, New York native, 13th Law (bassist). 

I listened to their album and I really like it.  It pulls from all directions, often within a singular song.  The vocals remind me of shoegaze, the guitars rock but there’s all kinds of interesting elements pinging around the songs.  I imagine they are really intense live.

Puppy Angst is from Philly and they describe themselves:

It’s like puppy love but a lil more sad 🐕 shoegazy/dreamy fuzz pop; kind of fun kind of a bummer [alyssa + eric + john + dan + pauli💓]

Their album scorpio season hits me in all the right places–fuzzy guitars, poppy melodies and  confessional storytelling.  Great stuff.

Posted in Babyfang, Fringe Bar, Grace Vonderkuhn, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Truth Club (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, February 22, 2024) [INDIGO DE SOUZA]

February 22, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 22, 2024] Truth Club

I used to really like White Eagle Hall.  I still think it’s a great venue with fantastic sound, but the people who go to show thee have really ruined it for me.

A guy preceded me into the bathroom and was enthusiastic about the show, which was cool “Bro, are you fucking stoked?”  But he brought that enthusiasm out to the floor and was shouting “rock and roll” and just being really loud (and tall). I assume he was drunk, but who knows.

Then in front of me there was a group of ten or so people who were definitely there for Indigo but who talked throughout the opening band which sucked because Truth Club was fantastic,

Any band who has a My Bloody Valentine song in their setlist is going to be interesting.  I would have love to have heard their cover of “Cupid Come,” but they didn’t play it.

From North Carolina, Truth Club is a foursome who play quiet loud really well.  Catchy melodies and big walls of sound meld into a great picture overall. Continue Reading »

Posted in Indigo De Souza, Jersey City, NJ, Truth Club, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Tyler Ramsey / Jeremy Lister (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, February 21, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

February 21, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 21, 2024] Tyler Ramsey / Jeremy Lister

Tyler Ramsey was the guitarist for Band of Horses for many years.  I don’t know why he is no longer the guitarist for Band of Horses.

He has released some solo albums, including this new one called New Lost Ages.

Musically the songs are interesting.  His voice is also pretty good.  But it all sounds a lot like Band of Horses, just not as good.  Sorry.

Jeremy Lister is (from what I can see) in high demand.  He doesn’t have anything on bandcamp, but he is a featured guest on lots of songs.  His bio says

he is known for his ability to write and perform across a wide spectrum of genres, from pop to folk to crooner jazz. In November 2021, Lister released his full-length big band holiday album “Happy Holidays, Everyone.”

His voice is interesting and evocative.  He reminds me of a bunch of offbeat singer songwriters like Michael Penn or more theatrical songwriters like Rufus Wainwright.

I wasn’t planning on going to this show because I had other shows later in the week.

Posted in Jeremy Lister, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Tyler Ramsey | Leave a Comment »

Arthur Conan Doyle–“The Boscombe Valley Mystery” [The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes] (1891)

February 21, 2024 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: MAGANA-Teeth (2024)

I saw Lady Lamb back in 2019 when they opened for New Pornographers.  In my post I had singled out her bassist Jeni Magaña

fantastic bass from Jeni Magana.  Magana is also the bassist for Mitski and she has such a dynamite sound.  I could have listened to Magana play all night long.

I recently got a DM from Audio Antihero saying that since I seemed to be a fan, would I like to hear the new Magana solo record?  I initially assumed that it was a new album by the singer of Lady Lamb (Aly Splatro), it had been five years, I can’t be expected to remember everything.

The record didn’t sound anything like Lady Lamb, and that’s when I read the liner notes and saw my mistake.

Teeth is available next month, and you can hear a few songs now.  The bandcamp page says Magana describes the album

as “Witchy Rock,” … unlike any of her past works. An album about “regrowth and a new view on the world,” its sound touches on Acid Folk, Alternative Pop, and even Krautrock as she tackles the bleakest and most brutally honest subjects of her songwriting career.

I liked the album a lot and although I haven’t had time to write about albums so much anymore, I wanted to give this indie label a shout.

All other instruments: Jeni Magaña

The album opens with strummed guitar that sounds slightly-off–in an intriguingly (minorly) dissonant way that I found really intriguing.  Then “Garden” introduces Magana’s lovely full voice.  Keys float in to flesh out the sound as it builds somewhat.  It’s not really an indication of what will come next, but it does hint a little at the unusual music within.

“Beside You” introduces a starkly fuzzy guitar line and what sounds like electronic toy piano.  But most of the music fades back for the verses as an electronic drum (the snare is close to a clap sound) keeps the music going.  It’s like eccentric bedroom pop, but it sounds really clean.  The song is about 3 minutes long and half way through it’s like a full band joins in and the song explodes into fullness–with some terrific harmony vocals.

More unusual instrumentation follows on “Matter” which features not one but two (I think) clarinet melodies to introduce the song.  Then comes in a cool electronic bass sound to propel the song.  Incidentally, Jeni Magaña plays everything on the record except for drums (Jonathan Smith) and strings: Violin: Jenna Moynihan and Cello: Marie Kim.  The mixing of the clarinets and the big synth sounds works wonderfully together–in one of those moments where when the bass notes return after the middle part it’s like an old friend returning.

“Paul” strips the music back to a quiet, prepared-sounding guitar and her beautiful voice.  Magana’s voice sounds familiar in a way that I find very comforting (although I can’t place who I think she sounds like).  After a verse the song builds up with a few flutes and strings.  The melody is lovely.   And I love the return of the clarinets. Continue Reading »

Posted in Arthur Conan Doyle, Australia, Blackmail, Lady Lamb, Magana, Mitski, Murder, Mystery, Regrets, Robbery, Sherlock Holmes, Short Story | Leave a Comment »

The Dead Milkmen (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 18, 2024)

February 20, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 18, 2024] The Dead Milkmen

I don’t know exactly when I first heard The Dead Milkmen.  It was obviously in college, probably when I was working on the radio station.  I think it was Instant Club Hit, which hated on all kinds of other bands that I liked.  By the time they released Beelzebubba, I was a die-hard fan.

And yet in 35 years I’d never seen them live.  True they were broken up for a chunk of that time, but still…

So, I’ve tried to see them a few times over the last few years and things always fell through.  But this time I was determined to go.  And what a great show it was.  I admit that I haven’t listened all that much to their newer records.  Although their latest album, Quaker City Quiet Pills is really good.

I thought they’d play a bunch of new stuff and a few oldies, but holy cow it was like a greatest hits night for me (although I like a lot of their songs, so I guess that would be true for any old songs, but they played songs I really like).

Opening with “Dean’s Dream,” a classic from their debut, it featured Joe Jack Talcum singing and Rodney Anonymous hiding out behind the curtain.

I had deliberately placed myself to the side of the stage as I assumed there would be a massive pit for this show.  And I was 100% wrong.  There was no pit.  Maybe some pushing, but mostly it was just everyone wanting to sing along.  But this meant that I never saw bassist Dan Stevens or drummer Dean Clean.

Oh and Kurt Vile (and his brothers) was standing right in front of me.

One of the fantastic new songs is “Grandpa’s Not a Racist (He Just Voted for One)” and that got Rodney out on the stage doing his thing.  Despite not being the young bratty punk any more, he still has a ton of charisma and knows how to get a crowd going.  And his young bratty voice hasn’t changed all that much. Continue Reading »

Posted in Flag of Democracy, FOD, Philadelphia, PA, The Dead Milkmen, Underground Arts, YDI | Leave a Comment »

Flag of Democracy (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 18, 2024) [THE DEAD MILKMEN]

February 19, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 18, 2024] Flag of Democracy

The only thing I knew about Flag of Democracy was that The Dead Milkmen song “Nutrition” ends with Rodney saying

And Mom and Dad say if I eat all of my foodI can go to the hard core show and see F.O.D

So The Dead Milkmen and F.O.D. have been friends for a long time.  F.O.D. writes intense political hardcore songs and, impressively, they’ve had the same line up for almost their entire existence:

Jim McMonagle – vocals, guitar (1982–present)
Dave Rochon – bass guitar, vocals (1983–present)
Bob Walker – drums (1986–present)

So Bob (who payed barefoot and held the sticks like a jazz drummer) is the new guy since he’s only been in the band for 38 years.

Most of their songs are 2 minutes long (except for “Aberration” (ha!) which was 5).  Even their most recent (2018) album has the same style of short intense songs like “Let’s Build a Wall” Continue Reading »

Posted in Flag of Democracy, FOD, Philadelphia, PA, The Dead Milkmen, Underground Arts, YDI | Leave a Comment »

YDI (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 18, 2024) [THE DEAD MILKMEN]

February 18, 2024 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: February 18, 2024] YDI

I couldn’t make the show last night, but there was no way I was missing tonight’s show.

I really didn’t know anything about YDI before this show.

I still don’t really know that much about them.  There’s very little information about the band at all.

It’s not even clear who the band members were (in one article I only saw first names).   But the summary is that in 1983 Y.D.I. (pronounced: Why-die) put out a 7” EP “A Place In The Sun” (a blistering nine-track blast of american-hardcore fury). Two years later, the band had changed to a more filthy, metallic, damaged punk. The “Black Dust” (a concoction of PCP, heroin and formaldehyde) 12”- LP in 1985 was YDIs’ final recording. Continue Reading »

Posted in Flag of Democracy, FOD, Philadelphia, PA, The Dead Milkmen, Underground Arts, YDI | Leave a Comment »

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