.new pornographers @ union transfer

Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee

I don't own any New Pornographers albums or cds. My friends used to put songs of theirs on my mix tapes back in college. Liking what I heard I figured this would be a really great show and it was. Waxahatchee opened and performed songs off of her new anticipated album, "Out in the Storm." XPN has been playing a lot of "No Curse" lately and it's so good. I discovered Waxahatchee when Sleater-Kinney played their 5 nights in NY. The Crutchfield sisters are both super talented and amazing. It's funny because I see either one or both of them in the audience of concerts my friend and I attend in Philly. It's awesome to see them support other local bands.
 

Outer space or Union Transfer? You decide!

There were signs outside of Union Transfer claiming no photography during the performance. Even before the band set foot on stage there was an announcement reminding the audience of this. I didn't mind because I really enjoyed the show and it gave me the chance to really focus in on their performance. I know a lot of us get lost in our phones and taking the perfect shots. Recently I've gotten better at this and only take a couple 2-3 times during the performance. The audience was amazing. What a bunch of super friendly, chill, and low-key fans. Nothing beats that. When all of the members of New Pornographers came out it was mesmerizing! It honestly felt like I attended a concert in outer-space, really out of this world. I still cannot stop thinking about it. Before their encore I had to nab a quick picture of the stage since the lighting and neon colors fit the atmosphere of their new album. Another bonus, when I purchased my tickets for this concert, you get a free download of their new album. Excellent! Here is the set list...

SET LIST:
HIGH TICKET ATTRACTIONS
THE LAWS HAVE CHANGED
TWIN CINEMA
MOVES
COLOSSEUMS
DANCEHALL DOMINE
THE FAKE HEADLINES
WHITEOUT CONDITIONS
CHAMPIONS OF RED WINE
ADVENTURES IN SOLITUDE
ALL THE OLD SHOWSTOPPERS
THIS IS THE WORLD OF THE THEATER
BACKSTAIRS
TESTAMENT TO YOUTH IN VERSE
SING ME SPANISH TECHNO
PLAY MONEY
SWEET TALK SWEET TALK
AVALANCHE ALLEY
MASS ROMANTIC
-----------------------------
CHALLENGERS
BILL BRUISERS
THE BLEEDING HEART SHOW

Neko Case recently tweeted someone's pet bird rocking out to "High Ticket Attractions" if you want a really good laugh. I've only listened to Whiteout Conditions once in it's entirety before the show and it's like I know all of the lyrics singing them back during the show. The songs are *that* catchy.

.juliana hatfield @ boot & saddle

Laura Stevenson, you were wonderful!

 I've been a fan of Juliana Hatfield for a while. Most heavily in my late high school / early college days. This was my first time seeing her live so I was really excited. I was also excited to have Laura Stevenson open for her. The stars never aligned in seeing Stevenson because other shows always interfered. What I discovered is we apparently share a birthday and enjoy breakfast at the Silver Dollar in Cherry Hill. It was just Laura and her guitar, her songs about depression and break-ups. She politely squeezed in between me and another person to get to the stage. I failed to say "Great set" when she passed by me a second time. Words escaped me :(

In all her glory

There was an asshole couple in the crowd during the show. The girl clearly intoxicated and kept bumping into me. Finally they moved but to no avow got an extremely disapproving scolding from another fan in the crowd for being annoying. I could literally hear him shouting at them over Juliana's singing. As hoped, they stopped and moved back. Anyway, I arrived a little late because of parking and felt awkward squeezing up front. Literally I was four rows back but it looks like much further away from my pictures (which look grainy). Juliana kicked into "No Idols" and I was transported back to the early 90s, those carefree days. The woman still has it! She played a mix of older and then songs off of her new album "Pussycat." Her response to Donald Trump as President. Being good I restrained myself from merch and albums even though her tee-shirts were stylish. Looking at the tags on Instagram she has a handful of fans following her on this tour; taking pictures from the venues every night practically. Thanks Juliana Hatfield for making my 90s dream come true. I will read your book soon! Promise.

.pj harvey @ the fillmore

And there she is again

Barely getting any sleep, to put a damper on things my train was delayed almost an hour getting back home from New York! Felt like I was waiting at Penn Station forever. I literally drove home from Hamilton Station, bought 2 donuts and an iced tea from DD, showered, and slept until it was time to go to The Fillmore. A concert friend from Virginia was driving up and was kind enough to hold me a spot in line. She was second in line and got to the venue around 3:00. I didn't get to the Fillmore until closer to 6:30-ish where I met up with my other friends too. It was nice having a group of people at this one. Inside they always have two lines of people by the doors entering the actual room where the stage is. We nabbed front spots towards the center. Perfection. Polly was literally in front of us all night. 

This time I tried to get a video of the entire band but it wouldn't come out that great when uploading it on Instagram. Since all the band members are in different positions on the stage, some of their heads got cut off in the video edit. Bummer. The fans in the audience were so great though. The one woman near us said this was her first time seeing Peej,that she's been a fan for twenty some years. I love when people see her for the first time. It makes me happy. 

As for the set list, it was pretty much the same. As for the encore I felt we got the better songs of "Highway '61" (yaaaas Rid of Me!) and "The Last Living Rose" (which always chokes me up). The concert went by so quickly but again stellar performances. A shout out to Terry Edwards on sax. That dude is killer. There was a moment where Polly and others started laughing on stage playing their instruments as he was wailing away. And playing two saxophones at one time? That is some hardcore Tori Amos playing two pianos shit! You go Terry!

SET LIST:
CHAIN OF KEYS
MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
COMMUNITY OF HOPE
ORANGE MONKEY
A LINE IN THE SAND
LET ENGLAND SHAKE
THE WORDS THAT MAKETH MURDER
THE GLORIOUS LAND
MEDICINALS
WHEN UNDER ETHER
DOLLAR DOLLAR
THE DEVIL
THE WHEEL
THE MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS
50FT QUEENIE
DOWN BY THE WATER
TO BRING YOU MY LOVE
RIVER ANACOSTIA
---------------------
HIGHWAY '61 REVISITED
THE LAST LIVING ROSE

After the show we got to hang around since we had backstage wristbands. I saw Mick Harvey but he was talking to Kurt Vile most of the time. I wanted to ask him about his cat haha! Then Kenrick came out and he was super nice and polite. As much as we were excited to talk to him and ask him questions about the album and Polly he really wanted to know a lot about us! Asked us where we were all from, if we played any instruments (I claimed my Fender is collecting dust for 2 years in the corner of my room, he laughed). I told him I liked the picture of him and Nick Cave on Instagram and told him I will see Nick Cave in June. We asked about the process of making HD6P and he told us some interesting facts about Polly. The first word he used to describe her was "extremely creative" and how she changes up the songs when they play them live compared to the album. I also found it interesting that she felt isolated from the rest of the band since she's up front and wanted to have points where she was in the background jamming out with them. Kenrick mentioned the band did not have downtime to explore Philly because we talked about all the interesting places around the venue the band could seek out (they would've loved the Barcade!). Before Kenrick left I said I might see the band one last time in Central Park and he gave me a look like "Maybe? You better come!" He was so nice he gladly obliged to get in a picture with all of us. All of my friends were ranting and raving how amazing the experience was. Best night ever! 

.the coathangers @ ortlieb's

Awful pic I know!

I was surprised The Coathangers played Ortlieb's. It's such a tiny venue and last summer they played the smaller area of Underground Arts (which is still larger than Ortlieb's). Arriving at the show kind of late there was really no room to stand inside of that tiny room. I've seen Louie Louie twice now and the Renegades (?) were not my cup of tea but nearing the end of their set. My friends were brave and got front row spots. There was no possible way to push through in order to reach them. If there's anything I learned about Ortlieb's it's no air and one panel fan blowing. Talk about being overheated! With PJ Harvey the next two days in a row it was best to hang back and not risk passing the eff out. Some people in the crowd were really obnoxious. Rusty and Julia made an announcement to be cool because the girls up front were practically face plowed into the monitor by overly-obnoxious guys. That said things began to get better and obnoxious guy moved to the back. He kept head butting people which was super annoying. The set went by pretty quickly. Jealous because this is the second time Julia got in my friend's face with the mic for Squeeki Tiki! Lucky. On my way out one of the fans complimented my Coathangers tee I bought back in July from when I last saw them. Hopefully next time they tour it's at a bigger venue. As always my friend nabbed the set list. It came out blurry so if you can read it, be my guest!

.priests @ everybody hits

My woman crush in action

Priests are a punk / riot grrrl band from Washington DC that formed back in 2012. The band consists of Katie Alice Greer on vocals, Daniele on drums and back-up vocals, Taylor on bass and back-up vocals, and GL Jaguar on guitar (he's freaking phenomenal). I have been obsessed with them since 2014 when they opened for The Dismemberment Plan. This is the first time I would see them headline so hooray!

Their new album "Nothing Feels Natural" dropped at the end of January. Since I wanted an element of "surprise" I didn't listen to any of the songs ahead of time. I figured I'd purchase the album after their set and would automatically like what I heard. Of course this was very true and so much more.

Bands Ursula and Snail Mail opened. Each unique in their own way one more angry / edgy, the other more like Sunflower Bean in their sound. Katie came out in almost a prom dress ensemble with boots. My friend complimented her ensemble and she said she hoped dancing around would make her less cold.

Katie in the moment

The band basically played almost all the songs off of their new album. The only two older songs I remember hearing off their first album was "Right Wing" and "And Breeding." She cleverly changed the lyrics in that song to "Fuck Donald Trump! I'm gonna get him for it!" Their new album should really be an anthem for 2017. I equate Katie to the likes of Nadya Tolokonnikova from Pussy Riot. She's very politically aware and not only a musician but an activist in my eyes. On the mic she's very intimidating and powerful (several times I thought she was going to crash into us during the performance!) but behind the merch table she is very sweet and soft spoken. There was a cool moment when the lead singer of Snail Mail and her friend started skanking during Priests set. Katie encouraged it. Katie also had a moment when she climbed on top of the drum kit and played around with the hanging lights. 

Sadly I didn't have a lot of cash on me and just purchased their album. The zine for sale looked pretty amazing though. I told Katie I saw them open for Ought at PhilaMoca and she said, "Thanks for coming back!" Ahhhh I love her. Today I played their new album non-stop. My favorite stand-out tracks are: Nicki, No Big Bang, Suck, and Nothing Feels Natural. The whole album is mind-blowing. I have a soft spot for their first album but this one exceeded all expectations. I highly recommend all my Sleater-Kinney fans to check out Priests. Lance Bangs is a fan so I'm assuming Corin is on board too. Here are some more shots from the show....

.grimes

It pains me to say I have waited SO LONG for this opportunity to see Grimes in concert. I became a fan back in November or December. I own just about every album. When she cancelled her Philly show due to injury it sucked. The only hopes of seeing her live were in NY opening for Florence and the Machine (I really did not want to see her in a big venue) or taking a chance with StubHub at the 9:30 Club in DC. When she announced her Philly date I was so elated! However it was in my least favorite venue, The Electric Factory but still. My friend Cole got our tickets and a group of us girls went. Before the show started three of us bought matching tee shirts. We will flaunt those babies soon. Hana was just stellar. Her voice was killer and cut through the room when she hit the high ones. She joined Grimes on stage a lot during her set. Let me just tell you this was the most fun I've had at a concert this year. The four of us were just dancing the night away. It was one big Grimes dance party. We knew just about all of the lyrics. There was a guy up top at the balcony just killing it hardcore with all of his moves. The girls behind us noticed him as well and we tried to get his attention. I think he saw us. He needs to go to all of the concerts with us. Her back-up dancers were wonderful. They used everything from dagger-like weapons, ribbon dancers, and gloves that had laser beams shooting out of the fingers. Incredible. Grimes wore what many fans referred to as MC Hammer pants, a sparkly fanny pack, and hot pink glow-in-the-dark barrettes. My pictures didn't turn out too hot and the top shot was the only good one. The videos were hard to take because everyone around me kept jumping so keeping a steady hand was not easy.

SETLIST:
REALITI
FLESH WITHOUT BLOOD
VENUS FLY
ARTANGELS
GO
BE A BODY
GENESIS
BUTTERFLY
SCREAM
AVE MARIA
OBLIVION
WORLD PRINCESS PART II
KILL VS. MAIM

Grimes is so cute though! I know she has stage fright / anxiety but handled it like a pro. She told us she was just going to do the encore right then and there because if she went off of the stage she wouldn't want to return on the stage. The crowd just roared in cheers for at least over a minute after she said this. Apparently everyone screamed too loud the sound reverberated in her ears and was burning her hearing! Next time I see her I'll try and get closer spots to the front. She's amazing and everyone needs to go see her. I described her to Cole's friends as an anime character come to life and they agreed.  

.saved by the 90s

I started off inviting a small handful of friends to this but it ended up just myself and my one friend in the end. We honestly had no clue what to expect, just that this show seemed interesting and fun. This was the first time I saw a show at the Trocadero. I totally get what my friend said about the stage being annoyingly high and the barrier. However, I thought it was a really awesome venue. Around 8:00 DJ Suga Ray kicked into all of these 90s songs while people danced. It was a mash-up of some of my most beloved songs from middle school and high school. Because of the freezing weather I didn't get all decked out in my floral dress and opted for jeans, a flannel, and a denim jacket with 90s pins. This is ironically my wardrobe 80% of the time so I guess I'm just stuck in the 90s forever.

The "Bayside Tigers" didn't come out until 9:15. They have a drummer, guitarist, bassist, and singer on the tambourine. The lot we parked in closed at 10 so we only got to stick around for some of the songs. As soon as the crew came out they shot glow stick bracelets into the crowd along with confetti. They kicked into hits such as "All Star" "Crazy" "Save Tonight" "I Got Friends in Low Places" "Feel Like a Woman" etc. Everyone sang along. The stage was amazing. They had the Guts trophy, all these posters of 90s bands, blown up pizza dangling from the ceiling, feather boa mic stands, and just over-the-top things that reminded us of our high school years and tweens. The crowd was pretty amazing. Everyone was decked out in 90s apparel. Some of the guys had Legend of the Hidden Temple shirts on as though they were contestants on the game. It was rad! Since the show sold out, they are coming back to the Troc again on July 9th. My crew will hopefully make this one because it's more fun with more people.

.metric

I honestly thought I would not make this entire show because of feeling crizappy earlier but so happy I made it through! Woo! This was my first time visiting the Fillmore in Philly and I liked the venue. It's massive and modern. The crowd was excellent with a great mix of people who just enjoyed the performances and were stoked to be there. Opening band was Joywave. They hail from Rochester, NY. The lead singer was extremely funny and cracked jokes in between songs. When Metric first came out on stage I was taken back to the early 2000s of my college years. Of course they didn't play much of their older songs but I still had a good time nonetheless. Emily was really great and very charismatic with the audience. She had a small choir on stage at one point and pulled a few of the younger girls up front to sing with her. They were elated and so grateful. Towards the end of the show she jumped down in and ran in front of the barrier. I was in the second row and managed to stick my hand out along the rail with the tons of others. She ran down and touched each of our hands smiling at us. The reaction of the girl next to me was priceless when this happened. Here is the set list....
 

IOU
HELP I'M ALIVE
YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH
TWILIGHT GALAXY
CASCADES
RAW SUGAR
TOO BAD, SO SAD
ARTIFICIAL NOCTURNE
DREAMS SO REAL
BLIND VALENTINE
SICK MUSE
COLLECT CALL
OTHER SIDE
BLACK SHEEP
SYNTHETICA
COMBAT BABY
GOLD GUNS GIRLS

ENCORE:
EMPTY
CELEBRATE
GIMME SYMPATHY
BREATHING UNDERWATER 

I tried to contain myself and restrain from posting 10 million pictures on Instagram. Here are some I did not post. I am amazed with all of the cape changes! Of course I bought a tee and a copy of Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
 

.st. lucia

Seeing St. Lucia this weekend in concert was totally unplanned and last minute. Here is a band I recently (and I mean recently) discovered thanks to Vinyl Me Please. When I listened to them on Spotify they have a very distinct 80s sound. I just thought, "Hell they'd be fun to rock out to!" Researching the band, the lead singer Jean-Phillip was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. Makes complete sense with their sound and stage decor.They currently reside in NY but have a lot of 80s influence in their sounds.

The crowd was mostly 20-somethings with an even mix of guys and girls. I arrived 10 minutes before the concert and nabbed a spot second row, center. The opening band is called "Tigertown" and they are from Australia. Two guys (one on guitar, one on drums) and two girls (one the lead singer and the other on keyboard / synths). Unfortunatly St. Lucia experienced technical difficulties after their second song. It took them close to 15 minutes to reboot a computer or keyboard. They felt bad but troopered on. Here's the setlist...

RESCUE ME
DO YOU REMEMBER?
CLOSER THAN THIS
WAIT FOR LOVE
DANCING ON GLASS
ALL EYES ON YOU
LOVE SOMEBODY (he actually jumped out in the audience to sing this)
THE WINDS OF CHANGE
HOME
SEPTEMBER (my FAVORITE!!)
PHYSICAL (another favorite)
HELP ME RUN AWAY

ENCORE
TOO CLOSE
ELEVATE

I would describe their sound as a modern day 80s band playing at the Pretty in Pink prom. Definitely check them out if you want good work out music. It's very "get up and go."

My favorite tracks: Rescue Me, Dancing on Glass, Home, September, Physical, Elevate.