May 24 : "Unshakeable Things: Gen Z and the New Great Awakening" - James Talarico

Every 70 years or so there’s a major awakening in the country. These often come following a time of upheaval. The last one was in the 60’s, so we’re due for another soon.

That was one of the observations made in an inspiring commencement address given by James Talaraico a couple weeks ago at Paul Quinn College. He talked about our current state of affairs with a hopeful look towards the future.

James Talarico is running for U.S. Senate in Texas. No, I don't live in Texas, but a U.S. senator from another state would still be making decisions affecting life here in PA. I like his moral compass.

May 20 : "Day In Day Out" - Mars Rodriguez (New York)

On my recent trip to Berlin Under A, I saw New York artist Mars Rodriguez do a show. She's a solo performer, all instruments blended into her one performance. A multi-talanted artist, here is the description from her Bandcamp page : MARS RODRIGUEZ is a Nicaraguan - American singer, songwriter, producer and a one person band: vocals, guitar, keyboard and digital drums/ drum machine. Her music incorporates elements from post punk, blues, indie rock. pop and electronic music.

Her instrumentals have very strong bass lines that operate as a foundation for the tension in her vocals. Here is "Day In Day Out", which is the seventh track on her most recent album, "Manana Nobody Knows" :::

The album has eleven tracks altogether, two of which are instrumentals. Here is one of them,"Raw Pwr". No need for vocals here; the instrumentals speak for themselves. We start off with the full raw pwr, putting on an aggressive front, but then the curtains are pulled back a little as the clock hits 2:44. Slightly more relaxed but still an agitated undercurrent. We take a look behind the scenes at some background elements. About 4:00 the song then switches back to its more aggressive mode, but this time including some of the underlying qualities that we heard in the previous segment, that we see are now seeing as components of raw pwr :::

Mars Rodriguez has another show coming up on July 31 at Alphaville. In the meantime here is the click to her Facebook page ::: Mars Rodriguez on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(pics are from artist's Facebook page

May 13 : "Smoke" - Office Hours (Brooklyn)

I recently went to Berlin Under A one night after work and saw Brooklyn "noisegaze" band Office Hours. I liked their show; it was my first time seeing them.

Their self-description on their Facebook page says Office Hours is a post-punk/indie rock band based in Brooklyn, who have recently escaped Orlando, FL. Now, they repent for their home state with loud guitar sound therapy that helps heal their audience.

And, yes, they kept their promise. We got very loud guitars at the show at Berlin, almost blasting us away! :) At the show, they were operating in their more "indie + punk" persona.

But if you take a look at the music they have posted on Bandcamp, you'll see a wide range of styles. On their linktr.ee page, they describe themseles as being a "noisegaze" band, and that more aptly describes their latest work on Bandcamp, which is the 2025 album "China Latino", which is quite shoegaze! Here is their song, "Smoke" which is from that album, "Chino Latino" :::

And get ready for a jolt! You won't believe it's the same band. Traveling a few years back, we find a much more mellow vibe in their 2019 album, Late Night Korean BBQ. Here is the song "Car" from "Late Night Korean BBQ" :::

Office Hours has another show coming up on June 11 at Wonderville. In the meantime, here is the link to their Facebook page ::: Office Hours on Facebook (CLICK HERE) and to Bandcamp ::: Office Hours on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).

Here is the link to lyrics for "Car" ::: "Car" lyrics.

and below are the lyrics to the songs on "Chino Latino" :::

(both pics are from band's Facebook page)

May 06 : "What Is/What Is Not" - Fleet (New York)

After work on Thursday night I headed over to Bushwick and saw New York band "Fleet" play at Alphaville. They are a four-piece and are named after the band's mastermind, Anna Grace Fleet. This was my first time seeing them.

I was immediately impressed with the band's stage presence and the way Anna related to the audience. She drew us in at the start of each song by making a few comments and throwing the topic out to the audience about whether we had experienced anything similar. Ever feel indifferent about something, unable to see it one way or another? Ever go to a place with a dramatic climate change? The audience members shouted back, fully engaged on each theme. Free-flowing exchanges that enveloped the audience in a way greater than what we usually see.

So right now we're in a relationship whose longevity seems to be a little dicey. We want it to last but how are we going to handle it? What are we going to do? What are we going to say? Here is "What Is / What Is Not" which was released in the summer of 2025. What are we going to say? :::

Fleet doesn't have any other shows coming up in the next couple weeks, but here is the link to their Instagram page where you can keep watch: Fleet on Instagram (CLICK HERE).


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In addition to her musical endeavors, Anna did a short video titled "Wage Gap" about pay inequalities between women and men. This is from 2017.

(Pic at top is from band's Instagram page)

Mar 11 : Mother Hubbard (Jersey City)

VERY HIGH RECOMMENDATION TO GO SEE THESE PEOPLE! >>> A couple weeks ago I heard Mother Hubbard play at Milkboy. It was my first time hearing them. I was blown away. It's very rare that I like every song a band plays during a show. They are a rock band which was a four-piece at Milkboy that night. (even included a trumpet, which I liked).

I usually post a pic of the band in my writeups. In looking at their pics on line, it seems that they have a fluid list of personnel. While they were a fourpiece at Milkboy, some of their shows feature a much larger lineup. (For their pic at the top of this writeup, I tried to include one that showed as many members as possible, so everyone would be shown, even if every person didn't play at each show).

I'm not posting any music sample here, as the only music I could find on line wasn't representative of what they sound like now. They did a great show at Milkboy; I'd urge you to go see them if you can. Stage presence was way more evolved than what we see in their online videos. Tempos were generally faster-paced.

At the Milkboy show the band played much of their own music but also did a cover of The Beatles' song "Drive My Car", which proved to be stiff competition for the original.

Mother Hubbard doesn't have any other shows coming up in the near future, but here is a click to their Facebook page where you can keep up with what's going on ::: Mother Hubbard on Facebook (CLICK HERE).