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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 »

The Teeth / Lindsey Noel (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

March 27, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 27, 2026] The Teeth / Lindsey Noel

It was nearly two years ago that I first heard of The Teeth when they played Johnny Brenda’s and sold out before I even knew who they were.  But this year I managed to score a ticket for their second of two nights.  For this show that I didn’t go to, they had Lindsey Noel opening for them again.

Here’s what I wrote in 2024.

I had never heard of The Teeth before I saw that they had sold out three nights at Johnny Brenda’s months and months before these shows happened.

So who were they?

The Teeth was an indie rock band from Philadelphia consisting of twin brothers Aaron MoDavis on rhythm guitar and Peter MoDavis on bass.

After abruptly breaking up 15 years ago The Teeth are reuniting for a pair of special shows at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia. Twin brothers Peter MoDavis (Bass) and Aaron MoDavis (guitar) will reassemble with Jonas Oesterle (drums) and Brian Ashby (guitar) on their favorite stage in the City of Brotherly Love.

Opening for this show was magician Lindsey Noel.  I watched a clip of her performing in front of Penn and Teller and it was quite good.  But what a weird opening act!

Here’s some more about The Teeth: Continue Reading »

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Lindsey Noel, Philadelphia, PA, The Teeth | Leave a Comment »

Mae Martin (Kimmel Center/Miller Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

March 27, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 27, 2026] Mae Martin

I decided I would like to see my favorite Taskmaster contestants if they came to the United States.  I have seen a few of them already and Mae Martin was a favorite contestant for me.  But we had recently watched Mae’s TV show Feel Good and it was funny but very dark as well.  I didn’t really investigate any of Mae’s standup, but I kind of got the feeling that it was all kind of dark and I didn’t think I wanted to go to that kind of comedy show.

It turned out to be on the same night as the Lucius show that I was super excited to go to, so it was a moot point anyhow.  I might reconsider if they come back around–but I will have to see just how dark the show gets before I commit.

Of course I have just watched a few clips and it looks very funny and not dark at all, so what do I know?

Posted in Mae Martin, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster | Leave a Comment »

Orcutt Shelley Miller (Solar Myth, Philadelphia PA, March 23, 2026)

March 24, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 23, 2026] Orcutt Shelley Miller

When I saw Thurston Moore about a decade ago, Steve Shelley was drumming for him.  I thought it would be fun to see each of the Sonic Youth members since I never got to see the band.  Then I saw Kim Gordon a few years ago.  And while I saw Lee Ranaldo decades ago, that doesn’t feel like it counts for various reasons.  But heck, an opportunity to see Steve Shelley again is not to be missed.

I didn’t know who Bill Orcutt was (and shame on me, I guess–he is best known for being in the band Harry Pussy).  I thought I didn’t know who Ethan Miller was, but then I realized I had seen him with Heron Oblivion about 8 years ago and I loved that set and I loved watching him.  But yes, the main draw of this trio for me was Steve Shelley.  Then I listened to their album and I loved it.

Bill Orcutt plays a loose, but great-sounding guitar.  It was fascinating to see that he has literally one pedal in front of him.  A small box which he stepped on from time to time.  I couldn’t really tell what the difference was after he stepped on it (maybe more distortion?), but overall the sound was great.  He played some wild solos–some seemingly on the verge of just nonsensical noise and yet he never let the sound get away from him.  But he also held back when there was a chance for Miller to play some soloing stuff.

Ethan Miller plays a small violin-shaped bass (a Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass) and the sound he gets from it is fantastic.  Unlike Orcutt, he has a bunch if gear.  He’s got some pedals that he messed around with and, in a moment of technological genius, I saw him turn on his phone and hold up a photo of his amp so he could set the dials to the exact specifications.  Miller is the only person who spoke (it must be 9 o’clock) and he seemed to having a really good time.

But not as good a time as Steve Shelley.  He smiles through the whole set, just seemingly thrilled to be playing drums.  It was such a treat to watch him.  And while his kit is pretty sparse, he really conveys a lot.

It was cool to watch Bill check in with Steve with a nod or glance that it was time to change tempo or end the songs. Continue Reading »

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Gogol Bordello / Puzzled Panther / Boris and the Joy (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, March 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

March 24, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 24, 2026] Gogol Bordello

I saw Gogol Bordello at Union Transfer almost exactly ten years ago.  I re-read my post about it and I said that I had a ton of fun, but my memory of it was that it was chaotic and crazy.  I haven’t really wanted to see them again even though I have a lot of respect for the band and I know that they live shows are amazing.

It was kind of a busy concert week so I didn’t even think about going.  It sounds like this show was all about their brand new album which I hadn’t listened to.  But I really should try to see them again one of these tours.

Puzzled Panther are from New York City.  Their debut EP was produced by Eugene Hütz.  The band is Led by Gen Z rockers Victoria Espinoza and Kay Bontempo, and often play as a duo (not sure if they were a fuller band for this tour).  Their bio says they are

generating a new wave of infectious blissed-out psychedelic mix of Madchester with the danceable frantic attack of New York post-punk

I don’t really hear that–they seem more of a simple punk sound.  It doesn’t really grab me, but maybe they’re more fun live.

Boris and the Joy is Boris Pelekh guitarist from Gogol Bordello who has a side project of indie-folk-electro-pop band Boris and the Joy.

Boris, the Ukrainian/Russian singer, composer and guitar player has toured the world as the guitarist of gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello for a decade and fronting his own unit Hey Guy. His life’s journey and the philosophy of joy are the fibers of the emotionally colorful Boris & the Joy.

It’s pretty mellow–a stark change but probably a nice warm up.

Posted in Boris and the Joy, Gogol Bordello, Philadelphia, PA, Punks, Puzzled Panther, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Hanabie (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, March 21, 2026)

March 23, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 21, 2026] Hanabie

I saw Hanabie [花冷え。] a year and a half ago when they opened for Jinjer.  They were great and they blew me away with their heaviness and with their mixture of heavy growls and J-Pop moments.

Hanabie [花冷え。] cpmbines loud and heavy music with Harajuku aesthetics in a style self-described as “Harajuku-core.”  They have been around since 2015 (when they started as a Maximum The Hormone cover band).  They have clean vocals and unclean vocals and the most fascinating thing is that singer Yukina does both!  She can sing in an incredibly high pitched voice and then shifts to a growl that would impress anyone.

Guitarist Matsuri also sings–and has a lovely voice.  She often sings super catchy chorus and bridge parts while Yukina adds to them.  Bassist Hettsu sings too and she has a lovely clean vocal style.  The three of them together are a dynamic force.  Drummer Chika is the newest member (they’ve had several drummers over the years).

Last time I wrote: Their fashion sense was pretty great too.  They were a great opening act and I would absolutely see them again–I hope as a headliner.

And here they were headlining.   They said it was their first time in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia was ready for them!  They had sold out the show and the crowd was 100% into it–pits and crowd surfing galore. Continue Reading »

Posted in Enterprise Earth, 花冷え。, Hanabie, Nekrogoblikon, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

What is Now (Solar Myth, Philadelphia PA, March 23, 2026) [ORCUTT SHELLEY MILLER]

March 23, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 23, 2026] What is Now 

I was excited to see Orcutt/Shelley/Miller and was made even happier when Chris Forsyth was listed as the opening act.  I’ve seen Chris in various forms five times and I love that he is creative and virtuosic but also experimental and noisy.  This show was with another group that he has recently gotten together with.  They are called What is Now and it’s a trio with double bassist John Moran (Bark Culture, Daniel Villareal Trio) and drummer Joey Sullivan (Florry, Bark Culture).

Solar Myth is a small venue and I’ve seen some loid shows here.  But this trio proved to be pretty quiet.  The played two pieces which I think were entirely improvised.

The first was about 20 minutes.  I enjoyed watching Chris wrangle his guitar–occasionally making pretty sounds, but largely making interesting experimental noises.

Joey Sullivan was fun to watch because he had a whole selection of gear on the piano next to him.  These included metal pieces that he put on his drums, a kind of spring that he hit and which rattled, and various other things that he put on the drum heads.

I was a little bummed that John Moran faced the other two guys because I was standing sort of in front of him and I never got to see him doing anything–except from the side.  So I could see his bow going back and forth (at one point he made a really noisy scraping “solo” that seemed to introduce a new part of the song.

After about 20 minutes the song wrapped up.  Chris said they would do one more–a quickie.  He asked Bo the sound guy how much time they had and Bo said “enough.”

So they started up a new song.  It was much the same but very different.  I really enjoyed the way the double bass seemed to be the component that held everything together while the guitar and drums seemed to roam around.

Is this jazz?  Maybe.  It’s noisy, occasionally gorgeous and mostly really interesting to watch.

And it’s always fun to chat with Chris after the show–he’s such a nice guy.

 

Posted in Orcutt Shelley Miller, Philadelphia, PA, Solar Myth, What is New | Leave a Comment »

An Evening with Geordie Greep (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, March 22, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

March 22, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 18, 2026] Geordie Greep

Geordie Greep was one of the vocalists in Black Midi (who are no more and I’m really glad I got to see them when they came to the States).  He’s a fascinating dude with a fascinating voice.  When I saw that he was doing a solo tour, last year, I was really intrigued, but the shows sold out before I found out about them.

When this show at Ardmore was announced, I assumed it would also sell out in a second, so I quickly grabbed a ticket.  And as the show got closer, I realized that it was part of 1 of 5 shows I had in 5 days.  And it was also the night my son was going back to school.  So, I sacrificed this show for the greater good.

On the bright side, he is going to be playing Asbury Lanes in May, so I’ll get to see him there instead.

 

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Geordie Greep | Leave a Comment »

Nekrogoblikon (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, March 21, 2026) [HANABIE]

March 22, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 21, 2026] Nekrogoblikon

My son and his friend went to see Nekrogoblikon back in 2023.  I had wanted to see them, but opted not to tag along.  So I was pretty happy that the goblin band were opening this set.

I didn’t know much about them except that they had a goblin in the band.  And, indeed, they do.  They inflated a giant goblin head in the middle of the stage and after a few minutes the band came out.

I couldn’t see the keyboardist on the far side at all (because of the goblin head), but I was on the perfect side for seeing John Goblikon.  Evidently the band has changed over the years.  I assumed that John Goblikon was just a mascot or something.  But now he actually sings.  And the really surprising thing is that he sings clean vocals while the human singer sings insanely unclean vocals. And, actually that’s where the problem was for me.  Dickie Allen doesn’t growl or sing in a deep way.  Instead, his vocals are at the higher end of things and sound kind of strangled.  On record it’s weird and maybe a little funny.   But live, he sang so fast that I genuinely didn’t know if he was singing words or just making off-putting goblin sounds.

But when John Goblikon sang, he had a really good voice and his parts were surprisingly catchy.  In fact, most of the songs were pretty catchy. I just hated hearing the main singer sing.

Because John Goblikon was pretty funny–a convincing goblin mask and hands and he danced around and made rude gestures.  There was someone near me with a Nekrogoblikon hat (green with pointy ears), so there were definitely some fans.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Enterprise Earth, Hanabie, Nekrogoblikon, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

Enterprise Earth (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, March 21, 2026) [HANABIE]

March 21, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 21, 2026] Enterprise Earth

I was surprised that this show was scheduled to start at 7.  I made it to South St and realized I hadn’t been to a show on South St on a Saturday night in a really long time. On a weeknight it’s usually not too hard to get a decent spot, but on a Saturday night–yikes.  I was lucky to score the last ADA spot a few blocks away.

By the time I got to the venue it was like 6:45.  I had actually thought that if I missed Enterprise Earth it would be fine, but the place was PACKED, so I’m glad I got there so early–I was able to sneak up to near the stage on the side safely away from a potential mosh pit.

I didn’t know Enterprise Earth who are from Spokane WA.  They are a deathcore band and have been around since 2014.  Huh, interestingly, none of the original members are in the band anymore.  And their singer and bassist joined in 2021.  And their drummer joined in 2024.  Fascinating.  The longest tenured member joined in 2017.

They are very heavy with growled vocals, but a lot of high guitar riffs thrown into the overall heaviness.  The crowd was properly into them.

They were pretty great as an opening band because they did everything they could to get the crowd moving.  During every song singer Travis Worland, encouraged or demanded either horns up, or a circle pit or crowd surfing or whatever else he could demand of people. Continue Reading »

Posted in Enterprise Earth, Hanabie, Nekrogoblikon, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts | Leave a Comment »

Zeta (Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, March 20, 2026)

March 21, 2026 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: March 20, 2026] Zeta

I’ve been a big fan of Zeta since I encountered them about 3 years ago.  I’ve now seen them 4 times and they never disappoint.  This was a tour for their tenth year of touring the US (when they left Venezuela).  I spoke to drummer Chino (who is their merch guy too) and said I was impressed that they were doing this for ten years and he said, they’d been touring the US for ten years but they’ve been a band since 2003 (which by my calculation, means he started the band when he was 13).

My son came with me to their previous headline show and really liked them.  This time I didn’t get him a ticket because we were going to Hanabie the next night.  But his plans changed and he wanted to come with me to this show, which was awesome.

By the time Zeta went on, the crowd had filled in somewhat (but, oof, what a large venue to have about 50 people show up).  Despite the small crowd, the band put on a killer show.

But the first surprise was that they were playing as a trio.  After a song, Bassist Antonio Pereira told us that Dani (their exciting guitarist/keyboardist) was staying in Venezuela because of the new T**** immigration policies.  Fuck, man, that guy ruins everything.  So, that meant the band had to redesign their songs for the stage without their most versatile member. Continue Reading »

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sodaseas, The Ukie Club, Zeta | Leave a Comment »

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