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 »

Fishbone (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, April 23, 2026)

April 24, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 23, 2026] Fishbone

A little over two years ago I saw Fishbone open for Parliament.  I had been a big fan of their earlier stuff but hadn’t paid much attention since the mid 90s.  They have gone through an astonishing amount of line up changes.

Back in 2023, the lineup was pretty close to the original with

  • Angelo Moore – vocals, saxophones, theremin, percussion (1979–present)
  • John Norwood Fisher – bass, vocals (1979–present)
  • “Dirty” Walter A. Kibby II – trumpet, vocals (1979–2003, 2010–present)
  • Christopher Dowd – keyboards, trombone, vocals (1979–1994, 2018–present)

The other two guys on stage were

  • John Steward – drums (1999–2016, 2021–present)
  • Mark Phillips – guitar (2019–present)

But evidently last year nearly the entire lineup left for one reason or another and so the only two original guys are Angelo and Christopher:

  • Angelo Moore – vocals, saxophones, theremin, percussion (1979-present)
  • Christopher Dowd – keyboards, trombone, vocals (1979–1994, 2018–present)
  • Tracey “Spacey T” Singleton – guitar (1997–2003, 2024–present)
  • Hassan Hurd – drums (2024–present)
  • JS Williams – trumpet, vocals (2024–present)
  • James Jones – bass (2025–present)

I hadn’t realized this upheaval before this show, but I am glad that I got to see the previous lineup at least once.  Now in fairness, Angelo Moore pretty much IS Fishbone, so he’s the guy that you really want to focus on.  But having said that, the rest of the band was great.  First, it was funny that Hassan’s drumset faced the wall (as if he were in a timeout).  I’m pretty sure this was because of the size of the stage.  But he was a beast on double bass drums (and I could see that he was barefoot).  I loved James Jones’ five strig bass sound.  Fishbone has always had great bass and his was perfect.

Spacey T was on the far side of the stage so I couldn’t really see him all that well, but he played killer riffs and solos. JS Williams was a fine replacement for Walter Kibby–his trumpet was great and he was a perfect hype man. Continue Reading »

Posted in Crossroads, Fishbone, Garwood, NJ | Leave a Comment »

Sir Chloe: Forgiving Tour continued (Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2026)

April 23, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 22, 2026] Sir Chloe [rescheduled from December 7, 2025]

This show was initially scheduled for December, but Dana had appendicitis and had to postpone the east coast shows.  This worked out for me because I couldn’t get to the December show.

I was pretty pleased when I arrived that the people in front of me were (possibly) older than me.  They had gray hair but she was wearing a Sir Chloe shirt.  Sir Chloe is pretty much a TikTok sensation so her crowds tend to be young (my daughter introduced me to her–in fact I think I liked her shows more than she did so I went to this one without her).

I enjoyed being behind the older folks because she was very short.  But she left (bathroom?) at the end of Suzy Clue and a young woman pushed her way into he spot, followed by a much taller woman.  So, my view was blocked, and to make it worse, the first woman was an arm raiser–the worst affliction after loud talkers.  Luckily I was able to schooch over away from them–but I missed seeing how the older woman enjoyed the show.

Sir Chloe’s band came out on stage and by the end of the set I was blown away by them.  Alina Sloan was on bass.  She was the furthest from me, but–especially toward the end–her bass was great–exciting and rumbly.  I was in front of guitarist Soph Shreds and does she ever.  It was really fun watching her rock out and play some great loud chords.  She also had a few tricks up her sleeve which I enjoyed quite a bit.  But mostly I was blown away by drummer Maya Sepansky.  Holy shit, she was fantastic–she played all kinds of fills, played different rhythmic patterns and generally blew me away.

But as they started Squaring Up, Dana was singing from behind the curtain.  She came out on stage midsong wearing a Mannequin Pussy T-shirt and cargo pants.  A very different look from her red suit from the previous tour.  Like last time, she was deadpan and understated.  Unlike last time, she seemed to walked around a lot more, getting close to us on the edges of the stage.  Her on stage persona is so fascinating because unlike say Suzy Clue, she is not doing anything on stage.  No dancing, no writhing, just singing.  And I love that she has the confidence in herself and her music to just sing her songs.  And yet, despite not doing a lot, she is totally engaging–charismatic and weirdly engaging.

This tour was for her relatively new album Swallow the Knife. She played 8 of 11 songs from it (skipping The Hole (the opening song!), Complicated and Too Much).  And the fans were just as into the new stuff–it’s super catchy, like the ahha ahha of Forgiving.

She didn’t speak very much between songs–she’s very hard to figure out.  Although she did ask “who likes to Kiss” as an intro to Kiss (the woman next to me shouted “I volunteer!”)  The catchy “right-ee-ight-ee-ight” is fun as is the end, “I don’t want love, I want revenge.”

She only played 4 songs from her previous album.  But she chose good ones and played three in a row.  I love the noisy squealing of Salivate and that she followed it with the quieter Obsession.  I was really happy that she played Hooves (I don’t wanna hold hands)–one of my favorite songs that seemed well used near the end of the set to get everyone really pumped.

One of my favorite songs is Sedona, which has two catchy parts, the nicotine/amphetamine part and the Sedona/Arizona part gives you two sing alongs in one song.

She played 7 of 9 songs from her first album (Skipping Easy on You and Wrath), which still gets the biggest applause, I think.  People went nuts for July. She ended the set with two songs from the album.  I enjoyed the loud/quiet mix of Untie Me and Animal.  And then she told us she had time for one more song and everyone got excited when the dude who wanted Michelle so badly shouted Michelle!  But she messed with everyone by playing the very mellow Candy

The encore break was short and she came back out for Michelle which made everyone go crazy.  It’s not my favorite of her songs to be sure, although it’s what all the kids like.  I was happy that she ended the show with the ass kickng Too Close which features two great sing along moments, “I think it’s time for you to go ” and the stellar: “Don’t tell me to listen when you’ve got nothing to say.”

Sir Chloe songs feel kind of understated on record, like Passenger, but live, the band really rocks out.  The guitars are loud, the drums rumble and the bass throbs.  And the songs are fairly short so a 21 song set can run about 75 minutes and it feels like a much longer show.  I’m so glad I went and it was even fun to get home early.

Brooklyn Bowl 2026 Asbury Lanes, June 2024 The Foundry, April 2024
Squaring Up ¶ Should I Õ Should I Õ
July ¶ Salivate Õ Salivate Õ
Take It ⊗ Center Õ Center Õ
Passenger ⊗ Know Better Õ Know Better Õ
Kiss ⊗ Mercy ∇ Mercy ∇
Salivate Õ July ¶ July ¶
Obsession Õ Untie You ¶ Untie You ¶
I Am the Dog Õ Animal ¶ Animal ¶
Sedona ¶ Company ∇ Company ∇
Eyes ⊗ Hooves Õ Hooves Õ
Forgiving ⊗ Seventeen π Seventeen π
Forget It ⊗ Obsession Õ Obsession Õ
Company ∇ Over Again π Over Again π
Hooves Õ I Am the Dog Õ I Am the Dog Õ
Holy ⊗ Sedona ¶ Sedona ¶
Mercy ∇ Michelle ¶ Michelle ¶
Untie You ¶ Feel Again Õ Feel Again Õ
Animal ¶ encore encore
Candy ⊗ Easy on You ¶ Easy on You ¶
encore Forgiving ⊗ Forgiving  ⊗
Michelle ¶ Too Close ¶ Too Close ¶
Too Close ¶

⊗ Swallow the Knife (2025)
π Single (2024)
Õ I am the Dog (2023)
∇ Single (2022)
¶ Party Favors (2020)

Posted in Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, PA, Sir Chloe, Suzy Clue | Leave a Comment »

Pallbearer (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026)

April 22, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Pallbearer

I saw I had heard of Pallbearer but didn’t really know all that much about them.  I assumed they were a really heavy growling type of band.  So when Knoll announced that they were opening for them, I checked them out, enjoyed them and bought a ticket to the show.

It turns out that they are a doom metal band and the album that they were touring, Foundations of Burden, is a classic of the genre.

I had enjoyed the first two bands but when Knoll was done, a whole bunch of guys rushed to the stage.  One of them was actually a guy I’ve seen at a couple of shows recently (MMJ and Band of Horses–he even looks a bit like Jim James).  He is a massive headbanger (headbanging to Band of Horses!).  So he was finally in his element and he knew this album really well. There were a bunch of guys together who knew each other and they were all headbangers and fist pumpers.  And  while it was all harmless, I didn’t enjoy the vibe.

And when the band started I realized the real problem for me.  I was standing right in front of Brett Campbell’s guitar amps.  And it was LOUD!  So when he stepped up to the microphone and I literally couldn’t hear him I wasn’t too happy.  Later on, bassist Joseph D. Rowland sang another part and I couldn’t hear him either.

By the third song, when Devin Holt played a solo and I could hear it until Campbell started playing his guitar, I knew I had to move.

So the album has 6 songs which meant I was already half way through.  But I just wasn’t really enjoying myself.  So I left the front and headed toward the back.  And things were much better back there.  The sound was phenomenal–balanced perfectly and still loud as anything.  Mark Lierly was on drums with a fairly small kit net to the wall of amps–but he was certainly loud enough. Continue Reading »

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Type O Negative, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Knoll (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026) [PALLBEARER]

April 21, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Knoll

I saw Knoll open for Agriculture three months ago.  Then I saw that they were returning in three months to open for Pallbearer.  And they are the reason I went to this show (and why I listened to Pallbearer for the first time).

Knoll’s show in January was just mind blowing–intense and wild and loud and a little scary.  And I really wanted to see them again.  Last time I was in front of guitarist Cameron Giarraputo, so this time I wanted to experience it from the other side of the stage in front of Ryan Cook guitarist and trumpet (!) player.

What did I write three months ago?

I have seen a lot of extreme bands, but there’s nothing to prepare you for this.

And the show was largely the same.  Possibly the same songs, but it’s kind of hard to tell.  So I’ll quote from myself a bunch.

Knoll set up their gear.  They had an old-looking end table (I would guess like 100 years old, with all kinds of filigree–but probably not worth anything) and interesting gear on it.  The table also had a little light on it and there were four floor lamps around the stage.

This time I watched as singer Jamie Eubanks asked them to cut all of the lights.

These lights were the only things that lit the stage!  And, most interesting of all, each band member had a step on plug which turned their individual light on and off throughout the show.

All five members of the band were dressed in all black–button down shirts and black pants.  And the lead singer, James Eubanks, has his head shaved, (possibly his eyebrows), his fingernails shaped into points.  He looks like Nosferatu.

Last time I noted that Giarraputo was like a machine with the speed and technical expertise he brought to these incredibly fast songs.  The same was true of Cook–his wrsits moved so fast!

Drummer Jack Anderson must be exhausted by the end of the show playing so fast.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Lástima (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026) [PALLBEARER]

April 20, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Lástima

I hadn’t heard of Lástima.  They are a Philly band who plays blackgaze which may be a term they made up, or maybe not.  But it makes sense.

They play fast, heavy, dark music with mostly growled vocals.  Back in the day we called these cookie monster vocals.  But cookie monster vocals are for fast singers and I think singers of this style of music sing more like real monsters–slow and deep and creepy AF.

What set this band apart was the inclusion of Thuy Nguyen on violin! (!).  From where I was you couldn’t always hear the violin (again, I need to stand further back from the stage) but when the rest of the band quieted down, the violin was a wonderfully mournful component.

I was in front of Eric Mauro on guitars and Hazel Whitman on bass.  I could kind of see Sam Hyla on drums, but really the most entertaining person was singer/guitarist Richie DeVon.

DeVon sang.  Sometimes in a normal voice (during the quiet section) but usually with a growl or a scream.   There were a few songs (or openings of songs) which had quiet piano parts.  DeVon played them and was usually accompanied by Nguyen on violin.  Toward the end he got down on his knees and screamed his head off while messing about with his effects pedals.  It was quite cathartic.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

The Last Dinner Party (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 2026)

April 16, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 15, 2026] The Last Dinner Party

The Last Dinner Party played Johnny Brenda’s in Philly back in 2023 and I really wanted to go.  But we had tickets to another show so I missed out. It’s amusing that they mentioned that show at this show and how they hadn’t been back since then (yes, we know).  I’m still bummed that I missed that one, but my daughter and I did get to see them at All Things Go and tonight, my daughter and my wife joined me for this much much bigger show.  (To go from Johnny Brenda’s to Franklin Music Hall is a huge leap).

The stage was set up simply but with a cool look–fabric draped all along the back wall and a mobile of birds high above the stage.  At one point the mobile spun and the birds, which were reflective, shone lighted birds across the black of the stage–very cool looking.

So The Last Dinner Party is slightly gimmicky with the way dress, but it does look very cool and they transcend that look with fantastic songs and a great stage presence.  And indeed, this was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time.  They didn’t do anything especially fancy, but their engagement with the audience, their presence and their sheer kickassery was phenomenal.  I loved them at All Things Go but this show was even better.

The opening strains of Walking Into the Pyre played over the speakers as they came out on stage.  The four women filled the front of the stage–keys (Aurora Nishevci), lead guitar, mandolin and flute! (Emily Roberts), vocals (Abigail Morris) and guitar (Lizzie Mayland).  Something was amiss though as their bassist was clearly not Georgia Davies.  Well, it turned out that Georgia hurt her back and was being attended to by a doctor.  She would be heading back to England shortly.  In her stead was Max Lilley who is their bass tech (he’s in a band called Slow Team as well).

They have always had a rotating touring drummer.  I think his leg of the tour it’s Davo–he off in the back, essential but not prominent. Continue Reading »

Posted in Florence Road, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The Last Dinner Party | Leave a Comment »

Florence Road (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 15. 2026) [THE LAST DINNER PARTY]

April 15, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 15, 2026] Florence Road

Florence Road is a band from Bray, County Wicklow in Ireland.  I had listened to one song before this show and it must have been Rabbits Can Swim, because I thought that they were a pretty but mellow indie rock band.

They came out on stage right around 8: lead singer and guitarist Lily Aron, guitarist Emma Brandon, bassist Ailbhe Barry, and drummer Hannah Kelly.  And they proceeded to blow our hair off.  They opened with None the Wiser.  Aron’s voice is really powerful.  My wife, who normally doesn’t even really pay attention to the opening band remarked at how strong her voice was.  And the band kept up with her–they rocked hard and were really impressive.  It was also interesting that they just put out their second EP (Spring Forward) but this opening song wasn’t on it–it’s new.

There were a lot of people there who knew the band (apparently) but they won the entire crowd over by the end of the song.  The next song Miss was a bit quieter, but Aron’s voice still soared around the room.  By the time of Storm Warning  which had some really cool staccato power chords near the end, they could do no wrong.  Heavy continued with more loud guitars and then switched to a pretty, quiet ending with drummer Kelly on piano.

They stayed quiet for Rabbits with Barry on acoustic guitar.  Hanging Out to Dry was a mid tempo song showing that they can do it all.  They followed it with another new song 7563–no idea what that means, but it was fun hearing them sing that chorus at the end.  That brought the tempo back up.  And then someone in the audience shouted for Break the Girl, which seems to be one of their dancier songs.

They ended the set with the aptly named Goodnight.

Aron and Emma Brandon were both funny when they chatted to us.  They told us it was their first time in Philly and I have to assume it won’t be their last.  They made a ton of new fans tonight.

2025
None the Wiser §
Miss ⇒
Storm Warnings ⇒
Heavy ♣
Rabbits Can Swim ⇒
Hanging Out to Dry ⇒
7563 §
Break the Girl  ♣
Goodnight  ♣

§ single (2026)
⇒ Spring Forward EP (2026)
♣ Fall Back EP (2025)

 

 

Posted in Florence Road, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The Last Dinner Party | Leave a Comment »

An Evening With Band of Horses (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, April 15, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 15, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 15, 206] An Evening With Band of Horses

My wife and I saw Band of Horses here about a year and a half ago.  The show was great.  When this show was announced, our friend Jonathan who lives nearby asked if we were going.  But it turned out we were going to The Last Dinner Party already on this night.  So we had gotten tickets for Philly.

We actually know a lot of people who went to this show and the consensus was that the sound was pretty bad.  So I guess we picked the right one (even if we didn’t actually have a choice). The did play two songs tonight that they didn’t for us (NW Apt. and Cigarettes, Wedding Bands) but I still think we got the better show.

Posted in Band of Horses, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

Nick Offerman (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 12, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

April 12, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 12, 2026] Wanda Sykes

Whenever I think about comedians that I like, they’re usually British.  Because I receive ads for comedy clubs, I feel like there are hundreds of American comedians and I don’t know any of them. So I forget that there are quite a few American comedians who I really like.  Nick Offerman makes me laugh in anything he does and yet for some reason I have never really thought about going to his stand up show.

I had gone out the night before, but my wife wasn’t really interested in going out on a Sunday night, so we blew him off.  I’ll have to put him on my list of comedians to make sure I see at least once.

Posted in Nick Offerman, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia | Leave a Comment »

Laveda (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, April 11, 2026) [THE BELAIR LIP BOMBS]

April 11, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 11, 2026] Laveda

I hadn’t heard of Laveda, but when I listened to them before the show I was interested in their take on 90s grunge.  Then, as I was leaving the house, I saw that they were going to go on at 7:30 instead of 8.  But I wasn’t going to be arriving until like 8:45, so I was bummed to miss them.

However, traffic was light and for one reason or another the band didn’t go on until 7:45, so I was able to see their whole set and was right up near the stage.  Laveda is from Brooklyn.  They were founded by Ali Genevich (guitar, vocals) and Jacob Brooks (guitars and effects).

They opened with Strawberry, a heavy, crashing song with tons of distortion and feedback.  It was a great introduction to the band.  Ali sang all of the songs and had a quiet delivery that suited the songs.

When it ended, they played a noisy and lengthy feedback filled section. Brooks was on his needs playing with the effects pedals and generating feedback.  The noise resolved into the song Care.  It was this song that full won me over.  *’s guitar chords were great and reminded me a lot of Sonic Youth (their more commercial songs).  The bass was also great–a rumbling low end that propelled the song as much as the drums.  The song rocks for a solid 4 minutes and then ends with a very pretty quiet guitar part.  I actually assumed this was a new song, but I see it’s the end of Care, which makes me like the song even more. Continue Reading »

Posted in dust, Laveda, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, The Belair Lip Bombs | Leave a Comment »

Older Posts »