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Fishbone (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 19, 2023) [PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC]

August 20, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 19, 2023] Fishbone

I first heard of Fishbone from John Cusack wearing a Fishbone shirt in Say Anything (1989).

And it wasn’t just a random T-shirt

[Cusack didn’t like the boom-box scene].  In a last-ditch effort to convince his star to try the scene the way it was written, Crowe told Cusack that the song blaring from the stereo would be by the band Fishbone. At the time, the actor was a big fan of the ska group, and their music’s inclusion helped persuade him to give it a try. The shot worked, but the scene was still a long way from reaching its legendary form.

(While sources all agree that a Fishbone song was played from the boombox on-set, which song was used seems up for debate. AFI claims it was “Question of Life, Mental Floss says it was “Turn the Other Way” and Uproxx believes it to have been ”Bonin’ in the Boneyard.” For the sake of argument, we’ll trust Crowe, who said that “Party at Ground Zero” was the song used.)

Anyhow, I liked the logo and decided to check out the band (or at least that’s how I remember it).  I loved their first EP with it’s funky dancey, naughty songs.  And Truth and Soul followed to great success.  Then it was their terrific The Reality of My Surroundings which sold me for good on Fishbone.  They even had a pretty big hit with the very heavy “Swim” from the following album.  So I’d been following Fishbone for about five years and hen kind of lost touch with them.

But those albums received a ton of play in those years and I never forgot how much I loved them.

So when I saw that they were still together (or reunited or whatever) I was surprised and delighted.  There’s been a ton of lineup shuffling over the years, but as of this concert, four of the six original members are now back (or still) in the band. Continue Reading »

Posted in Blue Eye Extinction, Fishbone, Funkadelic, George Clinton, Montclair, NJ, Parliament, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

Pixies / Modest Mouse / Cat Power (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 20, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 20, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 20, 2023] Pixies / Modest Mouse / Cat Power

I saw Pixies for the first time in 28 years at The Stone Pony Summer Stage and it was glorious.  I’ve since seen them two more times and I don’t feel the need to ever see them again.  Even though each show has been very good, and there is some mixing up of songs, I feel like I’ve seen everything they’re going to show me.

I would see Modest Mouse every time they came around.  The shows are totally different and each one feels like a new version of the band.

I have never really liked Cat Power (blasphemy!).  She just doesn’t do anything for me.

With this line up, the nays overrode the yeas.

Recently I looked to see how much the tickets were, just in case I wanted to go and I found out it was sold out.  So good for all of them.

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Cat Power, Modest Mouse, Pixies, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage | Leave a Comment »

Blu Eye Extinction (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 19, 2023) [PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC]

August 19, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 19, 2023] Blu Eye Extinction

I had been looking forward to this show quite a lot.  I’ve loved Fishbone for years and I assumed that PFunk would be a lot of fun.

At the last minute I found out that there was going to be a third band, Blu Eye Extinction opening as well.  I was pretty tired going in so this wasn’t welcome news.

I walked in as they were playing and I rather liked their sound–a rock/funk/rap experience.  Off t the side of the stage was a woman playing keys and singing backing vocals.  But he singing style was… different.  Kind of operatic and not exactly related to the melody.  It was a puzzle for sure.  So I looked them up and found this

Blu Eye Extinction is a NYC-based funk fusion band.  The brainchild of Isotopia Records’ Constance Hauman who brings an unlikely combination of opera, jazz and funk to her keyboards and vocals, is only possible with the funk foundation and masterful grooves of the electric bass of James Jones. His unique style also encompasses his vocals, supporting Henry Ott’s rock guitars…  If that isn’t enough, you add front man and emcee TJ Robinson on trombone, percussion and rap vocals, supported by JS Williams‘s rich trumpet w/ R&B vocals, and last but so not the least, Joshua Keitt’s metal-rock funk drums, it is no wonder that audience’s minds have been blown on the 50 UK and US shows since their debut at New Orleans Jazzfest April 29, 2022.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Blue Eye Extinction, Fishbone, Funkadelic, George Clinton, Montclair, NJ, Parliament, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 18, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 18, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 18, 2023] The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn

My wife and I saw The War on Drugs as our first show after the pandemic.  And it was wonderful. We were seated in a terrible seats at The Met, but the show was chill and mellow and we sat far away and the music swept over us.

I wasn’t sure if we’d want to go to this show, though because Stone Pony Summer Stage is a questionable proposition.  It’s a lovely venue but depending on the crowd, it can be terrible.  Plus, I know that standing around for four bands can be exhausting.  Especially since I wanted to see Lucius, but not necessarily Shakey Graves.

Steve Gunn is a musician who I thought I didn’t know, but I have seen a Tiny Desk of his.  He plays a kind of slow acoustic guitar with an eastern-style drone. It’s slow and addictive but I don’t think I’d want to stand to hear it.

Lucius is a band that I’d like to see live but somehow keep missing, as they play every stage that I’m not going to.

Shakey Graves and Lucius were both at the Guster festival this past weekend.  Which is kind of crazy.  I had said that I didn’t want to see Shakey Graves, but when I re-read my thoughts about his Newport Folk performance from a few years ago, I remembered that I thought he’d be fun to see live–he’s great at getting the crowd psyched up.

But, honestly, we were happy to stay home on a Friday night.

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Lucius, Shakey Graves, Steve Gunn, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The War on Drugs | Leave a Comment »

Margaret Glaspy: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, August 18, 2023)

August 18, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 18, 2023] Margaret Glaspy

I had been wanting to see Margaret Glaspy for a pretty long time.  She last played Philadelphia in 2016, about two months before I heard her album.  (Well, actually, she played Philly when opening for Ruston Kelly, ew).  She was supposed to headline a tour back in 2020, but that show was postponed, so it’s not her fault that it took six years for me to see her.

It also takes her a pretty long time to put out new music.  Her new album is only her third in seven years.  She had been working on these songs for a while because she played a bunch of them when opening for Spoon last year.

She announced a new tour and is playing Underground Arts the same night I have a ticket for Explosions in the Sky. I’m still torn–they’re very different shows.  But then WXPN announced she’d be doing a Free at Noon and I grabbed a ticket.  I’ve often thought it’s not worth doing one of these–I mean it’s about three hours of my ay for a 30 minute show.  But this one was especially fun because her album came out today and she signed them.

And the band sounded great!

I love how loud and brash her guitar sounds.  I tend to think of her as a kind of soft-spoken singer, but her guitars really rock.   Her new single “Act Natural” is so damned catchy with a great riff and a fun chorus.  Like last time she opened with “I Didn’t Think So” and “Act Natural.”  They are a great one-two punch of riffs and melody.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Free at Noon, Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »

Otherworld Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA, August 17, 2023)

August 17, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 17, 2023] Otherworld Philadelphia

I had gotten an ad on Instagram for something called Otherworld.  There was very little information about what it was, but it seemed like an immersive interactive art exhibit.  My kids have both been to Meow Wolf in Denver and I imagined it would be something like that: Rooms where you looked at things and touched things and just marveled at everything around you.

Even some of the proper reviews of the place were deliberately vague.  This was pretty much everything from ABC 6 News online:

“Otherworld” features more than 55 rooms and large-scale installations. Guests of all ages can roam at their own pace through the 40,000-square-foot location. More than 100 artists are working on the project.

So I purchased early bird tickets at a reduced rate and took the day off work and we headed into Philly (there’s AMPLE parking!!!)

We walked in and my first thought was (having just been to a Flaming Lips concert) that this building must be what the inside of Wayne Coyne’s head is like.

It was fantastic. Continue Reading »

Posted in Otherworld, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Sigur Rós with Wordless Music Orchestra (Beacon Theatre, New York, NY, August 16, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 16, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 16, 2023] Sigur Rós

Few bands are as amazing live as Sigur Rós.  I never thought I would deliberately not get tickets to a Sigur Rósshow.

When they announced a limited tour of Sigur Rós with Wordless Music Orchestra (a 41 piece orchestra), I wanted to go immediately.  I saw the closest show was New York, which is a pain in the butt.  But it would be worth it.  Then I saw how expensive the tickets were and I couldn’t bring myself to buy them.  I realize that they are paying a 41 piece orchestra, but I just couldn’t do it.

It will either be the most transcendent thing in the universe or it may be too much–Sigur Rós is able to do some amazing things as a three piece after all.

Perhaps they’ll release a video of it.

Posted in Beacon Theatre, New York City, Sigur Rós | Leave a Comment »

Hank Green–An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018) [audiobook 2018]

August 15, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[LISTENED TO: August 2023] An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Unlike apparently everyone in the world, I had no idea who Hank Green was when I started this book.  This came recommended to me by Chirp as a fun read an the plot sounded good so I gave it a try.

When I told my kids about it they knew who Hank Green was (they knew him and his brother rom Crash Course).  I also didn’t know who is brother was.  Well, that’s not true, I had heard of John Green but didn’t know they were brothers and I’ve not actually read anything by John.  So, no expectations.

I was immediately hooked by the narrator of the audiobook, Kristen Sieh. I had no idea who she was either (evidently she’s in a ton of things as well as doing audio books).  There was something about the vulnerability she gave to the main character April May, that I just couldn’t stop listening.

So the premise is fairly straightforward.  Except for the way the narrative is structured.  The story is told as if it were all true and the reader knows what happened already.  She is telling a kind of personal version of monumental events.  She even talks about the day she died.  So, what?

But aside from that the story is simple.  April May is an art student who is working a crap job in New York City.  She is heading home later one night when she notices a giant statue in the middle of the sidewalk.  She is about to pass it by, but she decides to call her friend Andy, a fellow art student and filmmaker, to come and film this thing.  He does and they make a goofy video which the post to YouTube.

In the video, April talks about this robot which she calls Carl and asks Andy (as if he is a passerby, what he thinks about this.

It’s all weird and who even know where this thing came from–is it an ad for a movie or what?  They put the video up and laugh about it. Continue Reading »

Posted in Aliens, Audiobooks, Death, End of the World, Hank Green, Kristen Sieh, Puzzles, Science, Scientists, Social Media, Technology, The Future, Violence | Leave a Comment »

Kreulty / Outer Heaven / Goetia (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, August 14, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 14, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 14, 2023] Kreulty / Outer Heaven / Goetia

I have a fondness for bands from Japan–they tend to go one step further than bands from other places.

When I saw the ad for this show, I was definitely intrigued

Formed in Tokyo, Japan in the summer of 2017, KRUELTY has emerged as the most notable artist to find that sweet spot where the amalgamation of heavy beatdown hardcore and ‘90s American/Scandinavian death/doom metal become s the blueprint of brutality and slam KRUELTY unleash.

But when I listened to their first song, I realized it was a lot of growling vocals like you;d expect from bands whose logos look like the ones at the right.  Just not my thing.

Outer Heaven is from the backwoods of PA. Pennsylvania-based death metal legion​ OUTERHEAVEN​ immediately left a pulverizing imprint on the East Coast death metal scene with their crushing live performances, old-school ethos and string of releases. 

Goetia is more of the same from Washington D.C.

It would have been a brutal, exhausting night.

 

Posted in Goetia, Kreulty, Kung Fu Necktie, Outer Heaven, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Sylvan Esso (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, August 12, 2023)

August 13, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 12, 2023] Sylvan Esso

I’ve had Sylvan Esso on my list of bands to see for a while, even though I’ve never been a huge fan of the band.  I like a lot of their songs, but I don’t really listen to them all that much.

However, every time they release a new single I dig it.  Plus, I had heard that their live shows were electric.  The last time they camw to Philly it was part of another tour and I’d never even heard of the headliner(!).  Before that was 2018 at a Festival.

The problem, such as it is, is that I didn’t know their new album all that well at all. But that’s fine, because the songs are fun and Amelia Meath, literally the only person to watch on stage is all about being in charge.  Her musical partner Nick Sanborn creates all of the music on a variety of electronic devices.  he stands up in the corner of the stage, occasionally looking up, but mostly very busy making sounds including manipulating and echoing Amelia;s voice as she sings.

Amelia started out wearing a suit jacket long enough to cover most of her body.  She opened the jacket for “Ferris Wheel” (and I love how the whole room shouted the NO! at the right time).

Then she took off the jacket to reveal that she was wearing a leather bikini of some sort (which looked really uncomfortable if I’m being honest).  But she was in her element–dancing some impromptu moves and getting the whoel crowd inspired by her. Continue Reading »

Posted in Califone, Dehd, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Sylvan Esso | Leave a Comment »

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