Feeds:
Posts
Comments

So what happened here?

June 10, 2022 by Paul Debraski

For nearly fourteen years I was able to keep up this daily blog of books and music.

About a year ago I got a promotion and that changed everything.  I no longer had the time to post everything I wanted to.  Heck, I didn’t even seem to have the time to read all the short stories I wanted to.  Amusingly (or not), just before this new position, I had gotten a print subscription to the New Yorker.  This now means that I (like many others) have a two-foot stack of New Yorker magazines that I haven’t even looked at yet.

For a few weeks I was limiting myself to only the concerts that I went to because that was a little easier to write about.  Although back in the good old days, I used to include photo and links, and I pretty much have neither now. And I’m several shows behind as well.

So I’m still reading books and I think I may try to post some thoughts about them from time to time.  I’d also like to think I have time to write about my concerts, but even those are proving to be challenging.

So let’s consider the blog on hiatus more or less, with occasional posts about things I’ve read or listened to.

The good thing is that I like the new position and wouldn’t change it for the world. I guess I never realized how much down time my old position gave me!

Posted in Paul Debraski | 3 Comments »

Faetooth / Latter / Bosses (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, August 23, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 23, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 23, 2026] Faetooth / Latter / Bosses

I didn’t know Faetooth at all, but I saw that they were opening for Die Spitz in October and headlining this show in August.  I didn’t really think about going to this because I figured I’d see them with Die Spitz.  Then my friend Max said that a bunch of them were going to see the show, so I investigated more.  I couldn’t go, but it got me more excited to check out Faetooth, whom they said were really good.  The band describes themselves as a fairy-dOoM trio from los angeles.  The group is composed of Ari May as guitarist and vocalist, Jenna Garcia as bassist and vocalist, and Rah Kanan on drums and have been around since 2019.

Latter was the middle band and Max said they enjoyed them even more than Faetooth.  I’m listening to their (shirt) album now and it’s really cool.  Slow but intense.  Heavy and intense.  LATTER is a Chicago-based experimental noise rock project formed by Jon Alvarado and Meredith Haines, known for dynamic live performances.  Haine’s vocals are screamed in a way that I really like–clear but raw.

Bosses are also from Chicago.  Originally conceived as a solo project by singer and guitarist Harlee Young, Bosses is now a five-piece featuring erstwhile members of Old Coke and Dead Sun.  Their bio says the group takes influence from grunge, shoegaze and early 2000s alt rock. Layering melodic, ambient leads over distorted rhythms, bosses creates a sound that is heavy, atmospheric, and highly emotional.

Sounds like a great night.

Posted in Bosses, Faetooth, Latter, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Modest Mouse (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 19, 2026)

August 20, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 19, 2026] Modest Mouse 

I saw Modest Mouse open for The Flaming Lips last year.  I was right up front and really enjoyed the intensity of the show.  I asked my wife if she’d like to see them since she never had (this would be my 9th time).  The last 3 times I’d seen them were album tours (Lonesome Crowded West and Good News For People Who Love Bad News) and the opening set with the Lips.  So this would be the first time seeing them in a while when they were just doing new stuff.

And it was a LOT of new stuff.  This makes sense as this was a tour for their new album.  They played 8 songs from the album.

But they played a nice mix of newer and older songs.  In between nearly every song there was an older one.  Some were popular (Fly Trapped in a Jar) and some were deep cuts (Broke, from a 1996 EP).  What was fun about these older songs is that the band dropped from a large 7 piece band to a trio, like on those early albums.

I’m always fascinated by the Modest Mouse crowd because the people around me seemed to know the words to all of the older songs.   And I feel like Modest Mouse is pretty abrasive, so I am always surprised at the amount of fans that they have.  But they do have some really catchy songs (radio friendly ones) like Ocean Breathes Salty–this was only the second time I’ve seen them play it!  And it was the first song of the night that my wife recognized.

There was a dude next to me who seemed to know a lit of the new album as well.  Although I think we all recognized Picking Dragons Pockets since its getting a bunch of airplay.

The crowd went nuts when they played Bury Me With It (as they should) and I was super excited when they played 3rd Planet (the opening track from The Moon and Antarctica–a song I cannot believe I’ve never seen them play live before).

One of the songs my wife wanted to hear was Float On (of course).  I warned her that they may not play it (they did play it the last two times I saw them).  Indeed, the previous show started with 4 “hits.”  But Modest Mouse mixes up their setlists quite a bit, and there were few hits to be had tonight. Continue Reading »

Posted in Califone, Modest Mouse, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Califone (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 19, 2026) [MODEST MOUSE]

August 19, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 19, 2026] Califone

Modest Mouse has very diverse bands opening for them.  Sometimes they’re so odd that I don’t care if I see them.  Other times, its a band I’ve heard of.  Like tonight. I’d heard of Califone–they’ve been around for years.  But I had no idea what they sounded like (or really anything about them).  

Califone is basically the project of Tim Rutili who was a founder of the band Red Red Meat (I also don’t know anything about them either).

For this show, he had a guitarist and bassist and two drummers (one was more percussion).  It’s possible they shared a member of two with Modest Mouse, but I can’t be sure.  Turns out Tim Rutili was part of Isaac Brock’s Ugly Casanova project.

The first two songs were slow and kind of country like.  Tim was seated and on an acoustic guitar.  The first song was a Red Red Meat cover and was quite short.  Before introducing the second song, someone on the crowd shouted Freebird and Tim was so disgusted he said, Did you just shout Freebird, god, anyone who shouts that just shows they are a dick.  They show that they are a cunt–this is Philadelphia I can say that).  Wow, I was so happy to hear it said out loud (Freebird is not funny anymore) and I’m so curious what happened to that guy from his friends.  I also thought it was a massively bold move for an opening band.  But Tim has been doing this since the 90s so he’s heard it all. Continue Reading »

Posted in Califone, Modest Mouse, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

“Weird Al” Yankovic / Puddles Pity Party (Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza, Bethlehem, PA, August 4, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 4, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 4, 2026] “Weird Al” Yankovic / Puddles Pity Party

This show was announced at the same time as the one in Holmdel.  I chose NJ because it was closer and I wasn’t sure how chaotic it would be to see Weird Al during Musikfest (which can be pit of control).  We had to blow off the Holmdel one because both of my kids were away.  But this show happened to be right during our vacation week, so we wouldn’t have been able to go anyhow.

Last year, almost to the day, my wife and I saw this “Weird Al”/Puddles show.  My whole family was supposed to go but my daughter wound up working and my son wound up going to a concert in Wisconsin!   So, when this show was announced at the very handy PNC Bank Arts Center, I grabbed four tickets for us to try again.

Well, once again, my daughter was working and this time, my son went to the shore with his friends.  Since we had seen the show last year and I’m sure it didn’t change from last year, we sold the tickets and got on with our day.

I would have liked to see Al for the 11th time and to have my kids enjoy him once more (I somehow doubt he’s going to tour again), but ten times is pretty good.

I would have genuinely liked to see the entire Puddles Pity Party set.  We walked in during his set last time, and I was looking forward to seeing the whole thing.  But oh well, you can’t have everything.

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Bethlehem, PA, Puddles Pity Party, Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza | Leave a Comment »

Tori Amos / Bartees Strange (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 1, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

August 1, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 1, 2026] Tori Amos / Bartees Strange

Back in the 90s, I was a die-hard Tori Amos fan.  Over the years I’ve moved on.  But I did see her four years ag (I can’t believe it has been that long).

I enjoyed that show, but I complained that she hardly played anything I new (yes, she has a like a dozen albums out but still).  And for my show she only played 17 songs.  For this one it was only 15!  After the last show I said “t was like seeing a friend who I had grown apart from.  We had a few things in common, but there were far more differences.”

So I had no intention of going to this show.  Looking at the setlist, she played these songs that I know

A Sorta Fairytale [really like this one]
Bliss [forgot about this one, but it rocks]
Putting the Damage On [she didn’t play anything from this, my favorite Tori album, last time]
Little Earthquakes [of course]
Spring Haze [she played it last time too]
Pretty Good Year [that would have been great to hear]

Fascinatingly, she didn’t play Precious Things.  And she did play Streets of Philadelphia [like last time]–next time, how about Philadelphia Freedom.  So, that’s 6 out of 15.  Not a great ratio.  

Bartees Strange opened up. I saw him 3 times in 3 and a half years and really didn’t need to see him again.  I really liked his earlier stuff, but the newer stuff I got sick of.  I realize I saw him last just over a year ago, so it’s not like the early stuff was super long ago.

 

Posted in Bartees Strange, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Tori Amos | Leave a Comment »

Babe Rainbow / Sam and Louise Sullivan / Sam Blasucci (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 30, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 30, 2026] Babe Rainbow / Sam and Louise Sullivan / Sam Blasucci

I know of The Babe Rainbow because Levitation Records (who put out all kinds of cool psychedelic music) released a Levitation Sessions album and I like to check out any band that plays a session with them.  They played The Foundry three years ago and I wrote:

Babe Rainbow is from Australia.  They do play psychedelic music but it lands squarely on the delicate 60’s folk side of psychedelia.  Meaning it’s fun to have on, but I don’t need to see them live.  I felt the same way, although listening to more of their stuff, they might be more fun live than I realized.

Sam and Louise Sullivan are a family band. They grew up  playing traditional Irish and Old-time music as their parents moved them back  and forth across the country between Brooklyn, NY, and Portland, OR, usually  driving alongside a Ryder truck. Though they never stopped playing music,  Sam and Louise studied literature and visual arts. Louise started her own  ceramics business and Sam became a high school literature teacher to pay the  bills. Later, Louise joined Sam in Philadelphia and ended up working at the same Quaker prep school as an elementary classroom teacher. Louise is the visionary and the talent, holding  Sam accountable, making sure he doesn’t get too corny.  Interestingly, they have such a clean, earnest sound that it seems like it should be really corny and yet it isn’t.  Louise’s voice is wonderful and at least in this recording, I love the sound of their instruments.

Sam Blasucci is an American singer-songwriter based in California.  He’s one of the two members of Mapache, who I also do not know.  It sounds like his music is well suited to Babe Rainbow, with reviewers talking about his “easy Beach Boys-sounding pop”  and songs with “light percussion, a Caribbean feel, and a smooth groove”  as well as “R&B-inspired pop”  as well as “electro pop.”  Sounds like a very pleasant night.  Maybe next time I’ll rethink seeing them.

 

Posted in Babe Rainbow, Mapache, Philadelphia, PA, Sam and Louise Sullivan, Sam Blasucci, The Foundry | Leave a Comment »

Metric: All the Feelings Tour (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2026)

July 30, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Metric

When this tour (dubbed All the Feelings) was announced, I knew I was going immediately.  Stars, Broken Social Scene and Metric?  Three great Canadian bands who have all played with each other?  It sounded wonderful.

I saw Metric back in 2022 and thought their show was fantastic.  Their album Fantasties was one of my favorite albums of 2009.  I hadn’t listened to their subsequent albums as much, but I really enjoyed that show.  And I was excited for this one.  Their new album is much more synth poppy, which I didn’t love.  But I figured it sounded like a great opportunity for a live show.

I was somewhat taken aback when the stage setup was revealed for Metric.  In hindsight it didn’t look very different from the last time–dark and spare with lots of room for walking around.  But it was such a stark difference from the warm, crowded stage for Stars and Broken Social Scene.

The drums were straight back on a riser.  On either side of the riser were electronic gadgets.  Full sized gear that was lit up with colorful lights.  In the center of the stage was a small table with a keyboard and a light.  It was perfectly symmetrical.

The band came out and, holy cow, they had banks of lights al around the stage, including right at the front and those lights shone right at the people in the front row.  I felt like the family in front of me was really unhappy about that.  At any rate, they left about half way through the set for whatever reason.

I was front and center for this show so, I was right in front of Emily Haines.  Joules Scott-Key on drums in the back–but so dark that I could barely see him for most of the show.  Joshua Winstead was on to my right.  He often went back to that bank of electronica to do whatever he had to do.  I always enjoyed watching him play bass because he seemed to play very hard–even if sometimes the electronics drowned him out.  On the left was James Shaw playing guitar and also doing whatever to the wall of dials and gears he had back there.

They opened with their new single Victim of Luck, a song I love.  It sounded great.  I enjoyed that Emily would move her table of gear around the stage–sometimes parking it up front, other times pushing it out of the way to give her more room to more around.  Up next was Formentera, with a thumping bass and ringing guitars.

Youth Without Youth is another new song with some jagged guitars and a propulsive beat.  I wondered how some of the sounds were being generated.  Sometimes Emily played the keyboard, but other times, I’m guessing that James had manipulated the sounds so that his guitar sounded more like a synth.  I also enjoyed the Go Go Go Go part.

Then they played two songs from their second album. The bouncy Monster Hospital and the more moody Poster of a Girl.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Broken Social Scene, Metric, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Pollyanna / Little Hag / father’s daughter (Baronet Rooftop at the Asbury Hotel, Asbury Park, NJ, July 30, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 30, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 30, 2026] Pollyanna / Little Hag / father’s daughter

Two years ago, Pollyanna played a show at this very venue.  But our vacation wound up being this week.  So no Pollyanna, yet again.  This was actually the 6th time that I’d failed to see them. I was planning on going out the following night and then we were off to vacation, so it felt like a bad idea to head out to Asbury Park on a July night.

Fortunately, they are playing a show in October.  I hope I still like them by then.

Little Hag is a from Asbury Park.  They opened for Blvck Hippie back in May and I wished that I havd been abe to get to that show for all of the bands, but especially Little Hag.  They formed in 2016 in the suburbs of central Jersey by Avery Mandeville, guitarist Matt “Fern” Fernicola and drummer Owen Flanagan; joined in recent years by bassist Mitchell Warren-Devlin and keyboardist/vocalist Cara Introcaso.   Narc Magazine says “fans of opinionated, unflinchingly explicit, female-led punk rock should jump straight into this one.”  Musically they’re a bit softer than one might expect with more synth than feedback.  But the lyrics to Show Me Your Head alone make them worth checking out

Remind rich men that they’re ugly
Remind rich men that they will always be ugly
Remind rich men that we hate them
Remind rich men that we can and will kiss them

Mark, show me your head
Elon, show me your head
Jeff, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it
Donald, show me your head
JD, show me your head
Ben, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it

father’s daughter lists themselves as “your dad’s new favorite band.”  I can’t find much out about them, but they are from New Jersey and have two songs out.  Kind of a shoegazey/heavy vibe with restrained vocals that I really like.  I hope they play around the area, I’d like to check them out.

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Baronet Rooftop at the Asbury Hotel, father's daughter, Little Hag, Pollyanna | Leave a Comment »

Broken Social Scene (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2026) [METRIC]

July 29, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Broken Social Scene

When You Forgot It in People came out back in 2002, I listened to it quite a lot, but then Broken Social Scene fell of my radar.  I knew about a couple of projects over the years, but had no idea that they were still a going concern.  Earlier this year WXPN started playing a new song by them.  Indeed, the band put a new album out this year.

Two years ago, Broken Social Scene toured You Forgot It in People.  I grabbed a ticket and then lost some interest as the show drew closer.  I had a show lined up for the following two nights.  So I blew off the show.  Reviews made me realize I missed something fun and interesting.  Indeed, the family in front of me at this show said they have seen Broken Social Scene some 25 times.  So I was glad to finally get to experience them live.  And wow, what a fun spectacle.

Broken Social Scene is a loose collective of musicians who come and go.  For this show, the fewest number of people on stage at any given time was 7.  With it maxing out at around 15.  The main components of the band are Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning and drummer Justin Peroff.  We learned midway through the set that earlier this summer, Justin was injured in Vancouver.  They had cancelled some shows, but Justin fully recovered and was playing with them tonight.  Two other guys have been with the band since almost the beginning, Andrew Whiteman who was on the far side of the stage.  I couldn’t see him too well, but he sang lead a few times and did some solos. Right in front of me, and most intriguing to me was Charles Spearin who played a double neck guitar/ bass.  I’d never seen one quite like this.  It was really small, but Spearin jumped back and forth between bass and guitar throughout the set.  Sam Goldberg also played guitar but switched off to bass once in a while.  During the first song, Cuase= Time, all three–Goldberg, Spearin and Whiteman all played the solo together.  Brendan Canning mostly played bass, but occasionally played guitar and keys.

Kevin Drew was center stage wearing a baseball at that said Captain, which I found amusing.   He was definitely the captain, introducing new people and telling stories between songs.  He also sang most of the songs, but not all of them. Continue Reading »

Posted in Broken Social Scene, Metric, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Tomahawk (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 27, 2026)

July 29, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Tomahawk

I’ve seen Mike Patton with two bands: Dead Cross and Mr. Bungle. I enjoy anything he does and am always happy to see what he comes up with (Although I didn;t like the Avett Brothers/Patton country sound all that much).  St this point, there’s realistically only two other bands I’d like to see him front live, Fantômas (which I doubt will happen) and Faith No More (which could happen).  I’d also like to see Mr. Bungle again, since the show I saw was their debut album only, but whatever.  Tomahawk is a Patton-fronted project that I was into for a bit and then it just felt like there were too many Patton related bands to keep track of at the time (Lovage, Peeping Tom, Fantômas, Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) so I stopped following them.  Which is a shame because their music is quite diverse (I mean, all Patton music is diverse, often within the same song, but…oh forget it).

So anyhow, Tomahawk put out an album in during the pandemic but hadn’t toured it.  Then, a few months ago, they announced this tour with the Melvins: a huge waste of your time and money (hilarious).

Even though I wasn’t a huge fan, I knew I had to see them.  In addition to Patton, the band featured Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard, Firewater) on guitar John Stanier (Helmet, Battles) on drums and Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, tons of other things) on bass.  A great lineup.

The lights came up and the stage was fairly sparse. Drums in the back (with Stanier’s outrageously tall cymbals), a table of some sort out front for Patton and amps on either side. Because of the table, I couldn’t see Trevor Dunn very much (he hung back) until he came up to sing backing vocals.  But I had a great view of Denison and it was amazing watching him play.  He’s not flashy at all, but he does al kinds of interesting things to generate interesting sounds.

In fact, the whole show was not flashy at all.  There were no fancy lights or projections (just the band’s logo on a curtain in the back).  In fact, half way through the set I realized that the setlist was taped to Patton’s table.

They opened with the first song on their first album.  Rather appropriate, I think. The squeaking sound of some kind of effect opened the set as Patton whispered the lyrics to Flashback and the crowd went berserk.  The song took off and the mosh pit started.  Tomahawk is a hard band to mosh to, because their songs go at varying tempos and intensity.  But people managed it.

Tomahawk never toured that 2021 album, so they finally had a chance to play it live.  I suppose old school fans wanted to hear their earlier stuff (although, I mean this album is 5 years old, it’s not exactly new), but I really enjoyed this new stuff.   And the played 9 of the ten songs from it.

SHHH! has lots of vocal parts and I really enjoyed at the end of the song when Patton whispers the title.  It seemed like he was trying to get everyone to stop yelling things (which they did during the quiet parts), but I realized it was part of the song.  Predators and Scavengers has a cool riff and simple chugging guitar parts.  It was fun being in front of Duane Denison for this one.  I loved turning my head from Patton to see what he was doing and he was inevitably calmly playing some cool thing or other.

I had listened to the setlist before the show since I didn’t really know the songs that well (if at all) and one of my favorites was Business Casual.  It was really fun watching Mike and Trevor scream the lyrics and then whisper “bad cholesterol, business casual.”  Dension made interesting quiet guitar sounds while Dunn’s bass rumbled along.  I liked that Doomsday Fatigue had quiet moments–because Patton’s (and the whole band’s) range is tremendous and it’s fun to see them really show off what they can do. Continue Reading »

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Melvins, Tomahawk, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Older Posts »