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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 »

Death Cab for Cutie (The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, July 17, 2026)

July 18, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 17, 2026] Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie has put on consistently excellent shows. This is my fifth time seeing them–they’re also one of the few bands that my wife and I have seen the same amount of times.

We saw them about a year ago when they opened for My Chemical Romance.  I still think it was an odd choice for an opener, but the crowd responded well, and it was almost like a rocking greatest hits set from DCFC.

But this show was touring for thier new album. I hadn’ listened to it a lot, but, like with most DCFC albums, I could listen to the whole thing and simply enjoy it all.  This made for a funny realization in that the band played a few seriously deep cuts and I assumed they were from the new album.  It’s interesting when you think a 28 year old song is new.

The stage was interesting.  A series of four foot tall panels were behind them.  When they started the first song, Riptides, the panel lit up in interesting ways, although there was nothing specific about any of them.  Then about half way through the song, the giant wall behind them lit up as well.  So they had a pretty wild and intense visual show going on behind them while they played.  I realized that I hadn’t listened to the previous album, Asphalt Meadows, all that much either (fake fan).  So I thought Roman Candles was a new song but one that I’d internalized in my recent listen through.

I always feel bad when a band plays new songs and the crowd is pleased, but when they play an older song and the crowd goes berserk.  It almost feels like we’re saying don’t bother making new music.  So when they started The New Year, the crowd went wild.  We all also knew the new single from the album, Punching the Flowers, which has been getting a lot of airplay on WXPN.

I’m rally bad with song titles, particularly DCFC titles, so I never remember which songs are the hits from the album.  I hadn’t thought of The Ghosts of Beverly Drive, even though they’ve played it three of the four previous times we’ve seen them.

The woman behind me was a pretty big fan and it was interesting when she sang along to Black Sun.  Most of the songs were pretty loud, but this one is quiet and she sang in a somewhat professional manner–high with vibrato.  It was almost annoying, but her voice was really pretty, so….

I don’t know why the new album has two songs with the album title (an a and  a b).  They played the a version, a pretty song.  It seemed like every time they played a new song I marvelled at how short it was.  Most of the new album’s songs are about three minutes long.  And some of their songs (arguably the best ones to see live) are really long.

In three of our shows, they played a song from their second album, one I don’t know well, enough (again, fake fan).  This one was Company Calls.  And it really shows how consistent they have been over the years.

One of the great longer songs is You Are a Tourist–catchy and with a great riff.  It’s fun watching Ben sing and play guitar because he never sits still for a second.  He’s always rocking back and forth and when he’s not singing, he walks around to either guitarist Dave Depper or bassist Nick Harmer.

Both Depper and Harmer have keyboards at their disposal and each ones plays from time to time.  And main keyboardist Zac Rae plays guitar from time to time too. I wonder how the roles get divvied up.

I realized midway through the set something that I have realized from time to time but it really stuck out for me–when Harmer has cool bass parts, the songs always sound great.  Like the amazing bass intro of I Will Possess Your Heart.  This song is one of the best DCFC songs to see live.  It starts slow and quiet with that bass riff and Ben making interesting sounds from his guitar.  Then after a few minutes, Ben runs to the piano in the back and plays the quiet parts as the progresses.  The song runs to at least 9 minutes and could go longer if they’re into it–and it was clear that Ben was really into it as he danced behind the piano before returning to the front of the stage for more guitar.

From the loud, long rocker, he moved to the quiet I Will Follow You Into the Dark.  It was just Ben and his guitar and it sounded beautiful.  So much so that he said it was amazing having 11,000 people sing back to him.  He had us all sing the chorus to him and then he finished the song.   He said that the next song-Grapevine Fires-seemed appropriate to play given that we were currently inhaling toxic air from the Canadian wildfires.  We really should all have been masked up, but I couldn’t find any in my house!

Then came two new songs, the quiet and delightful Stone Over Water and then the super intense How Heavenly a State–it opened with a thumping bass and the jagged guitars.  It was really heavy and then after a minute or so the song dropped away and sound effects played through the venue before the bass thumped back in again.  I immediately fell in love with this song and look forward to seeing it live again some time.

This show was also amazing for me because no one sat in front of me and the people in the row before that didn’t stand up.  So I could sit and see everything perfectly.  It was awesome.  Finally with about three songs left, the woman in the row in front of us stood up and moved in front of me.  So I had to stand for the last few songs, but that was totally fine–it is fun to stand too.

Ben dedicated Cath… to Japanese Breakfast and told us not to listen to the words for the dedication, just the vibe.  The crowd was super excited for Cath and even more so for Crooked Teeth.

One more new song Trap Door was followed by a song from the previous album that I like a lot.  In fact I have the chorus “I want to know the measure from here to forever and I want to feel the pressure of god or whatever” running through my head much of the time.  They ended the set with Soul Meets Body and the place erupted.  Everyone loved singing the “ba dat da dat da dah dah” part and this is one of those great

They left for an encore break and weren’t gone very long when they came back and opened the encore with a quiet song that I didn’t really recognize.  I thought it was part of a new “trend” of bands starting an encore set with a new song.  But I couldn’t have been more wrong.  This was a Champagne in a Paper Cup from their debut.  It was a short song that segued into Ben jumping behind the piano and playing a slow melody.  Once again, I thought, encores are supposed to be fun and bouncy.  I didn’t recognize Different Names for the Same Thing at first, but once I realized what it was I was pretty excited to hear it.  It was the first time I’d seen them play it and it was a tour debut.  And that’s a cool thing about DCFC, their setlist is mostly the same every night, but they do mix it up here and there and maybe your town will get a rarity or an old favorite when other towns won’t get the same one.  And after the quite intro, Ben ran to the front and Harmer played the bouncy bassline and the song took off.

There was s light emergency right after they started the next song, but it was quickly taken care of and they easily jumped back into No Sunlight which is a super fun song (despite the lyrics).

They ended the set with another really long buildup of a song.   I told my wife that when we saw them at the Tower Theater and they ended with this song, it absolutely blew me away. It didn’t affect her the same way, but she promised to pay more attention this time.  So, when they ended the show with Transatlanticism (a song I recently found out they don’t play at every show), I was thrilled.  This version had the same impact on me.  I love that it starts slow (and the visuals behind it were of waves crashing down) and that the song continues to get louder and louder as they played.   I was very aware of drummer Jason McGerr– their “new” drummer who has been with them for 22 years after seeing him on the screens when they opened for MCR.  He began the song by tapping everything gently, keeping time.  And by the end, he was smashing the hell out of the cymbals.  The intensity is incredible.  As new elements are added (the guitar line) the “I need you so much closer” and finally the “come on”‘s.  It was magical and my wife agreed.

Incidentally, I love DCFC’s music, but their visuals are just consistently underwhelming.  This image to the right is the album and was the basis of the poster and Tshirts.  I mean, boring.  My wife bought a short from them which is just black with the band’s name in big letters on the front.  Surely they must have a visual artist friend who can make their stuff a little more exciting?  At least for merch?  And album cover can be stark and visually boring but still effective, but for a poster?  Not so much.

July 17, 2026 Mann Center 2025 MetLife [open for MCR] September 29, 2022 Met Philly
Riptides ♦ TAPE: Our Prayer (Beach Boys song) I Don’t Know How I Survive ¿
Roman Candles ¿ [3] I Will Possess Your Heart ⇑ [4] Roman Candles ¿
The New Year ™ [3] The New Year ™ [2] The New Year ™
Punching the Flowers ♦ Roman Candles ¿ [2] Cath… ⇑ [2]
The Ghosts of Beverly Drive ℘ [4] Here to Forever ¿ [2] A Movie Script Ending ∏ [2]
Black Sun ℘ [5] Black Sun ℘ [4] Here to Forever ¿
I Built You a Tower (a) ♦ You Are a Tourist ⊗ [3] Black Sun ℘ [3]
Company Calls ϖ Cath… ⇑ [3] Northern Lights ¥ [3]
You Are a Tourist ⊗ [4] Soul Meets Body ¶ [4] I Miss Strangers ¿
Pep Talk ♦ Transatlanticism ™ [3] Crooked Teeth ¶ [3]
I Will Possess Your Heart ⇑ [5] Rand McNally ¿
I Will Follow You Into the Dark ¶ [4] I Will Follow You Into The Dark ¶ [3]
Grapevine Fires ⇑ Your Heart is an Empty Room ¶
Stone Over Water ♦ Asphalt Meadows ¿
How Heavenly a State ♦ You Are a Tourist ⊗ [2]
Cath… (dedicated to J Brekkie) ⇑ [4] The Ghosts of Beverly Drive ℘ [3]
Crooked Teeth ¶ [4] I Will Possess Your Heart ⇑ [3]
Trap Door ♦ Soul Meets Body ¶ [3]
Here to Forever ¿ [3] Foxglove Through the Clearcut ¿
Soul Meets Body ¶ [5] encore
encore Pepper ¿
Champagne from a Paper Cup ⊄ 405 ϖ
Different Names for the Same Thing ¶ I’ll Never Give Up on You ¿
No Sunlight (restarted after brief audience emergency) ⇑ [2] Bixby Canyon Bridge ⇑
Transatlanticism ™ [4]

 

June 10, 2019 Sayreville October 9, 2018 Upper Darby
I Dreamt We Spoke Again ¥ [2] I Dreamt We Spoke Again ¥
Summer Years ¥ [2] Summer Years ¥
The Ghosts of Beverly Drive  ℘ [2] The Ghosts of Beverly Drive  ℘
Long Division ⇑ [2] Long Division ⇑
Title and Registration ™ [2] Title and Registration ™
Gold Rush ¥ [2] Gold Rush ¥
Crooked Teeth ¶ [2] A Movie Script Ending ∏
No Sunlight ⇑ Crooked Teeth ¶
What Sarah Said ¶ [2] What Sarah Said ¶
60 & Punk ¥ [2] 60 & Punk ¥
I Will Possess Your Heart ⇑ [2] I Will Possess Your Heart ⇑
Autumn Love ¥ [2] Title Track ϖ
Black Sun ℘ [2] Autumn Love ¥
Expo 86 ™ [2] Black Sun ℘
Northern Lights ¥ Expo 86 ™
You Are A Tourist ⊗ Northern Lights ¥
Cath… ⇑ [2] Doors Unlocked and Open ⊗
We Looked Like Giants ™ Cath… ⇑
Soul Meets Body ¶ [2] Soul Meets Body ¶
encore The Sound of Settling ™
I Will Follow You Into The Dark ¶ [2] encore
When We Drive ¥ I Will Follow You Into The Dark ¶
Tiny Vessels ™ [2] Near / Far ¥
Transatlanticism ™ [2] Tiny Vessels ™
Transatlanticism ™

⊄ Something About Airplanes (1998)
ϖ We Have the Facts And We’re Voting Yes (2000)
∏ The Photo Album (2001)
™ Transatlanticism (2003)
¶ Plans (2005)
⇑ Narrow Stairs (2008)
⊗ Codes and Keys (2011)
℘ Kintsugi (2015)
¥ Thank You for Today (2018)
¿ Asphalt Meadows (2022)
♦ I Built You a Tower (2026)

Posted in Death Cab For Cutie, Japanese Breakfast, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Patty Griffin (Musikfest Cafe, Bethlehem, PA, July 16, 2026)

July 17, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 16, 2026] Patty Griffin

I have Patty Griffin’s first two albums.  I liked her first album (folkie) and really liked her more rocking second album Flaming Red.  I’d always thought she had kind of a weird voice but it was a cool voice. And then after those two albums I’d basically forgotten about her.  My wife really liked one of her songs (Where I Come From).  That one’s from 2019 and seems more likely that it would have been played.

Patty Griffin came out on stage with two musicians-a percussionist who was wonderful to watch–he had so much gear and hit all kinds of things.  I was very happy we were on his side of the stage.  And a guitarist who made some amazing sounds come from his guitar.  She announced their names but I didn’t hear either one.

Patty stood front and center and began singing.  And she didn’t sound anything like I thought she would.  I realized that the albums I liked were 30 years old, but I didn’t expect her to sound so different.  And when she spoke, it was practically a whisper.  Well, I have just learned today that Patty Griffin had a battle with breast cancer in 2016 and lost her voice.  She started singing again in 2019.

So I guess that explains why she sounds different.  And probably why she doesn’t sing any of her older songs–at some other recent shoes she did sing a song from her debut but clearly not at every show.

As she started All the Way Home, the guy in front of us whooped.  Really loudly.  I admit that I don’t like whoopers at the best of times.  But this was a small, quiet crowd.  In no way was any whoop necessary, but certainly once you did one and the crowd didn’t react, it’s time to read the room dude.

I enjoyed these first two songs from her latest album.  Back at the Start had s cool surf-guitar sound that sounded great with her whispery voice.  She played The Wheel from that 2019 album (my wife liked the wrong song, I guess).Then she played a bluesy song called Standing.  I don’t really like the blues as a genre, so I didn’t love this one.  Up next was a song about her mother’s passing.  Indeed, her whole new album is about that.  Born in a cage was a very pretty song.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Kathleen Edwards, Musikfest Cafe, Patty Griffin, Steelstacks | Leave a Comment »

Japanese Breakfast (The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, July 17, 2026) [DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE]

July 17, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 17, 2026] Japanese Breakfast

The world was burning down.  Well, not exactly, but Ottawa wildfires were sending particulates throughout the country and on this night, they were particularly bad.  Well, they weren’t too bad at our house, but by the time we got into Philly–jeez!  The skyline was barely visible.  I wished I had brought masks and was a little surprised (but happy) that the show wasn’t cancelled.

For some reason, this show was supposed to start at 7:30.  On a Friday night.  So we should have left a little earlier, but the last few times I went into Philly on a Friday night there was no traffic.  Well, tonight it was crazy backed up. I accepted that we would not be seeing Japanese Breakfast at all, and was settling in to being happy if we didn’t miss the opening of Death Cab for Cutie.

We had seen Japanese Breakfast last year, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world to miss them.

The Mann Center had switched to paid parking, but the parking attendants were no better than they were when it was free.  So we got an okay spot and as we got out of the car we could hear Japanese Breakfast playing Road Head (a favorite song).  By the time we got into the venue, we needed the bathroom.  I am usually annoyingly needed about getting in to see the band. but I assumed that the set was almost over (it was easily 8 by now) so I casually filled up our water bottle and assumed they’d be finishing up the final song.

But as we walked across to our seat they were playing Mega Circuit. Continue Reading »

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Kathleen Edwards (Musikfest Cafe, Bethlehem, PA, July 16, 2026) [PATTY GRIFFIN]

July 16, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 16, 2026] Kathleen Edwards

When I saw Kathleen Edwards in 2021, I traveled to NYC to see her because I thought that this was a one and done kind of thing.  That she had basically retired from music but was going to do this show and I’d finally get to see her.

Who would have guessed that five years later I would have seen her seven times.

I didn’t necessarily need to go to this show, but I knew that a Kathleen Edwards set would be enjoyable and Musikfest Cafe is a delightful place to see a show.   I was also vaguely curious about Patty Griffin.  I have two of her albums from the 1990s but otherwise know little else about her.

We arrived way too early because the last time, parking was a struggle.  There was something going on downstairs–I wonder if it was supposed to be outside.  Because of the fires in Ottawa the air quality was terrible today.

When I bought tickets I had purposefully bought ones where no one was around us and it paid off, we had a nice buffer around us.  So we relaxed and waited for Kathleen,

I had no idea how this show would work.  It seemed like a double headline bill.  But, in fact, Kathleen was the opener.  For this set it was only her and Matt Sucich.  I think I’ve seen this combo before, but I always marvel at how every one of her shows has been different in some way.  Kathleen played acoustic guitar and Matt played various guitars adding solos and riffs and of course backing vocals.

I had asked on two social media channels if she would play “I Make the Dough You Get the Glory,” my favorite song by her, which I have never seen her play.  But she obviously didn’t get the memo.  But this turned out to be a kind of greatest hits set and it was fantastic.  Interestingly, my wife also had a “wanna see” song (Hard to Everyone) and she didn’t play that either.

With it just being the two of them, Kathleen was looser and the songs sounded different (not better or worse, just different). Continue Reading »

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Kathleen Edwards, Musikfest Cafe, Patty Griffin, Steelstacks | Leave a Comment »

American Football / Ian Sweet (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, July 10, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 10, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 10, 2026] American Football / Ian Sweet

There’s so much about American Football that I should like (except their name, which instantly made me not like them).  But the description of their music and even their posters–I love the way they mess with their name on the posters) should really make me a fan.

Back in 2019, American Football did a Tiny Desk Concert for their then new album LP3.  They have just released LP4 and all signs suggest that this is a band I would like.  I mean, I see that “their self-titled debut album became one of the most acclaimed emo and math rock records of its era.”  Emo and math rock, yes please.

Back in 2019, I had written,

I really enjoy the music of the songs…. but I find the song a little dull.  Maybe I’d just prefer this song as an instrumental.

And that’s how I felt about this new album too.  I find it a little dull and I don’t like the singer’s voice.  So I didn’t get a ticket (Plus I wouldn’t want to see them at FMH anyhow).

I hadn’t heard of Ian Sweet, and I see that Ian Sweet is the stage name of Jilian Medford a musician from Los Angeles.  I am mistaken, back in 2023, Ian Sweet opened for Protomartyr, at a show I didn’t go to.  I wrote then that Ian Sweet’s music is predominantly synth and dancey–bright and shiny, something never attributed to Protomartyr.

Their latest release is still upbeat and poppy–perky even.  But it rocks a bit more and, to my mind, is even more fun.

Posted in American Football, Franklin Music Hall, Ian Sweet, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

POPPY (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 9, 2026)

July 10, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 9, 2026] Poppy

When Poppy announced this show, I managed to get a ticket for $20 off, which was great.  I hadn’t realized that this would be my third time seeing her in less than a year and a half.

But each show has been different in one way or another.  Tonight’s show featured the giant cubes that were in use for Landmvrks.  But these were special for Poppy.  Each cube had a platform on top of it, so when the show started, Poppy was on top of one  and the drums were setup on top of the other–easily fifteen feet high.  And on the stage were three masked musicians.

A recording of Constantly Nowhere played and then Poppy appeared on top of the cubes and sang have you had enough (which I see she has opened the show with all three times that I’ve seen her).

I’m so intrugued by Poppy because she started as a seriously Pop pop singer and just a few years later, she is beloved by the metal community.  And why not?  Her songs are heavy as anything and she screams with serious intensity.

She mixed up the rest of the set.  Climbing down to the stage, she sang The Cost of Giving Up.  This song has serious pop chops and is really catchy, although the middle section has some of her most intense screaming.

As I mentioned for Landmvrks, the place was packed.  And, I hate to say it, I’m not sure how I feel about Poppy fans.  A trio in front of me was pogoing and bouncing into everyone even though there were several circle pits in the area.  And that’s not cool to crash into others but to be afraid of the circle pit.

I was really surprised she played Concrete third.  I love this song, it is so bizarre, with that weird guitar lick and then the insane J-pop section that shifts into a rocking section and then shifts again into a more or less sixties pop song.  All within 90 seconds.  And then what a riff!  It’s an insane and great song–straight out of the Babymetal playbook.  Any question about her metal bonafides are put to rest with the new song Bruised Sky–heavy and noisy with great screams.

Her band was a little different this time around.  Actually the lead guitarist might be the same, but for this show one of the masked guitarists was a woman.  This worked really well, when the guitarist sang backing vocals or even an occasional lead part.  The masks were really different this time too–scary Japanese theater type masks. Continue Reading »

Posted in LANDMVRKS, Philadelphia, PA, Poppy, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Thousand Below | Leave a Comment »

Greg Mendez / American Football [FREE AT NOON] (World Stage, Philadelphia Pa, July 10, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

July 10, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 10, 2026] Greg Mendez / American Football [FREE AT NOON]

I had a ticket to this Free at Noon but decided that I didn’t want to go.  Free at Noon is wonderful but it is a huge pain in the butt for me.  And while this was two bands (and presumably an hour of music), I had listened to American Football’s new album and decided I didn’t like it enough for the effort.

I also just realized this would be my first time at the newly named World Stage.

I also had to laugh because Greg Mendez is constantly being thrown at me as someone I should see.  I have nothing against the guy, in fact, I’m not even sure if I know his music.  But, as I wrote in 2024

At the end of last year, I had not heard of Greg Mendez until he was the opening act for two different bands a few weeks apart.  I didn’t go to either of those shows, so I still haven’t seen him.

Now, in fairness, I haven’t heard anything about him since then, but here he is opening for a show that almost never has two artists playing.  I gather he did an acoustic set and them American Football came out.  He is described as:

one of the Philly DIY scene’s best-kept-secrets, the soft-spoken songwriter with a preternatural ability to craft brief yet powerful songs is enjoying a raised profile with the release of his self-titled full-length. On the strength of a few early singles, the initial run of vinyl sold out within a month of the album’s announcement, but with releases and demos dating back to 2006, Mendez is hardly an overnight success.

Back in 2019, American Football did a Tiny Desk Concert for their then new album LP3.  They have just released LP4 and all signs suggest that this is a band I would like.  I mean, I see that “their self-titled debut album became one of the most acclaimed emo and math rock records of its era.”  Emo and math rock, yes please.  They announced a show at Franklin Music Hall, which I wouldn’t have wanted to go to because of the venue.  But when they surprise announced this Free at Noon, I grabbed a ticket and then listened to LP4.

Back in 2019, I had written,

I really enjoy the music of the songs…. but I find the song a little dull.  Maybe I’d just prefer this song as an instrumental.

And that’s how I felt about this new album too.  I find it a little dull and I don’t like the singer’s voice.  So I didn’t go.

I meant to listen to it at work, but I forgot.  I’ll try to check it out when it’s online to see if I made the wrong choice.

Posted in American Football, Greg Mendez, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live | Leave a Comment »

LANDMVRKS (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 9, 2026) [POPPY]

July 9, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: July 9, 2026] LANDMVRKS

When Poppy announced this show, I managed to get a ticket for $20 off, which was great.  I hadn’t realized that this would be my third time seeing her in less than a year and a half.

I didn’t care about the opening act, Thousand Below, a post-hardcore band from San Diego.  I mean, I’m kind of done with post-hardcore at this point.  They do have interesting vocals, but I didn’t really care if I saw them.

After a stressful day, in which my wife bore the brunt of the tasks, I wasn’t sure if I should go out, but she was going to chill, so I went, but left a little later than usual.  And, as happens when I’m not in a hurry, I made it to the Fillmore in plenty of time.

There was no line, so I assumed I’d saunter up near the front and listen to the two openers before enjoying Poppy.

Well, I walked in and it was PACKED.  I couldn’t believe so many people wanted to see Thousand Below.  I found an okay spot and then lights dimmed and a guy ran on stage and as they started, it was clearly LANDMVRKS.  Evidently Thousand Below went on at 7.  Oops.

The stage had two large cubes with video screens on them.  The image for LANDMVRKS was their name and a collection of statues.  Music sounded from backstage and then Florent Salfati ran out on stage wearing an Eminem shirt and rapping in French!  His flow was fast (although I think French might lend itself to fast rapping).  And then the rest of the band came out and they played a blast of a chord and they were off.

LANDMVRKS are from Marseille and have been around since 2014 (first album 2016).  Their later albums are heavier and have some rap elements and serious growling.

The three guys on stage were so mobile, they were almost exhausting.  I’m not sure which guitarist was which, but whether it was Nicolas Exposito (a founding member) or Paul Cordebard (joined in 2017) he kicked really high, ran in place and was always in motion.  He also had a great low growl and surprisingly good harmony vocals when needed.  Bassist Rudy Purkart was similarly active, going back and forth around the stage and singing too.  And Kévin D’Agostino on drums was a beast, but he was tucked in between the boxes and was kind of hard to see, but his drumming was fast and intense.

They had a really heavy sound, but they also had some very pretty moments as well.   I was really impressed with Salfati’s voice which was at times really lovely and delicate and could also descend into a crazy guttural growl.   I couldn’t detect an accent in his voice at all.  Even when he spoke to us (saying how excited they were to be in the U.S.), his accent was barely noticeable.

There was a guy in front of me who was clearly a huge fan.  He knew the beats and filmed the whole thing. Continue Reading »

Posted in LANDMVRKS, Philadelphia, PA, Poppy, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Thousand Below | Leave a Comment »

Paul Simon: A Quiet Celebration (Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY, July 3, 2026)

July 3, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[CANCELLED: June 29, 2025] Paul Simon: A Quiet Celebration

Last year, my wife and I had tickets to see Paul Simon at The Academy of Music–a small space and we had very good, close seats (I could have gotten closer tickets, but we weren’t sure we wanted to get TOO close).  We have seen just about everyone that we really want to (I have a list of bands that I still want to see but it gets shorter all the time).  But one person on her bucket list was Paul Simon.

So when he announced this Quiet Celebration tour, I grabbed tickets immediately.  Then two days before our show, Paul announced that he would have to cancel the shows because of terrible back pain.  He was going to have surgery and hoped to get back on tour.

As it turns out, he was able to make the next night of his tour (which was about a week later).  So he only missed two shows and ours was one of them.  He never rescheduled that location, but instead, did another round of the tour.  The Philly show was at the Mann Center (a very different venue from The Academy of Music (and it turned out a rainy night).

But we didn’t get tickets for the Mann in part because I didn’t think it would be easy, but mainly because it was my son’s birthday.  So instead, we got tickets to the show in Bethel Woods, a 2 and a half hour drive away.

We got a room for the night and were excited to check out the area.  Especially when I learned that the venue was on the site of Woodstock.  And there’s a museum dedicated to the 1969 event.  I was three months old when Woodstock happened and my parents were as far from hippies as you could get, so there was no love for this event in my house growing up.

However, I understand its cultural significance as well as the musical significance.  And while I’m not someone who thinks it was the most amazing thing to ever happen, I still like the music and thought the museum would be cool.  The museum is pretty cool.  I enjoyed the memorabilia, in particular the woman who wrote down the music she saw and her thoughts about them–I’d love to see everything she wrote.  It was also fascinating to see that no one really had an idea of what each band played–they had to look at various documents to ensure the playlists.  But there’s even discrepancies in the museum itself.  One sign says The Who played 24 songs, but the other sign lists 21 songs.

So the museum was a little underwhelming, but because we were there when we were, we were able to buy one of these limited edition posters, which is pretty cool.

So the weather that morning was unreasonably hot (day 3 of a 5 day heat wave).  But on the way to the venue it started raining (and thundering).  I was first concerned that they might cancel the show from the heat (Paul Simon is old, after all) and then I was worried that they would cancel it because of lightning.  Either way would have been too much for us to bear, I fear.  But the rain stopped and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and it was quite lovely.

But they delayed the opening of the gates for some 20 minutes and the line was INSANE, so we hung out in the (air conditioned) museum until just before 8.

The walk from the entrance to the venue is REALLY long.  Like, holy cow you have to walk a long way–easily ten minutes with the crowds.  But Paul didn’t go on until 8 and we found our seats and waited.   One complaint is that we brought refillable water bottles but there were no places to fill them.  I suppose if we were earlier, we could have spotted them, but they assured us that the show would start at exactly 8 and it was like 5 of as we got near our seats.

But soon enough, the lights dimmed and the band came out. Continue Reading »

Posted in Edie Brickell, Paul Simon, Philadelphia, PA, Simon & Garfunkel, Simon and Garfunkel, The Academy of Music | Leave a Comment »

Weird Nightmare (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2026) [WEIRD NIGHTMARE]

June 27, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 26, 2026] Weird Nightmare

I first heard about Weird Nightmare on the radio.  WXPN played one of their songs, saying the guy behind the band, Alex Edkins, was the former lead singer in Metz. I really enjoyed Metz and was bummed that I only had one chance to see them before they went on hiatus.  Metz is super noisy, so I was really curious what this new “radio friendly” song would sound like.  And it was great–super catchy with a cool fuzzy guitar solo and a Dinosaur Jr sound.

It became one of my favorite songs of the year so far.  And when this show was announced I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Later on, I had the choice between this show and The Breeders (who I loved in the 90s) and I chose  this one.  I don’t know how the Breedersd were (probably pretty good), but I really loved being in this small venue right up against the stage.

I assumed that Weird Nightmare had one album out and they would play the whole album.  Turns out this is their second album and they played songs from both releases.

They opened with Headful of Rain a bouncy, catchy song that totally belied the background of Metz!  I’m not sure who the live band was, although on record Loel Campbell is on drums and Roddy Kuester is on bass.  I have no reason to think anyone else is playing with him.  Campbell sang great backing vocals on the first song and then his unnamed rhythm guitarist sang fantastic harmonies with Campbell on most of the rest of the set. Continue Reading »

Posted in Golden Apples, Metz, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Weird Nightmare | Leave a Comment »

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