Dec 20 : "Memorytraces" - Dead Leaf Echo (Brooklyn)

Headlining at Ortlieb's on December 3 was Brooklyn band "Dead Leaf Echo". I've been watching them for several years. I've seen them do shows in both New York and Philly.

They did a good show at Dec 3. Ortlieb's is well-suited to them. They were also well-matched with Aster More, which played right before them. (See previous blog past). Although Dead Leaf Echo seems to have had its own genre, originally called "nouveau wave" when I first started watching them, they have shown more shoegaze stylings in recent years.

Here is "Memorytraces" from their album "Thought & Language", released in 2013.

Dead Leaf Echo doesn't have any more shows on their calendar in our area, although their page shows that they do have plans to head to SXSW. ... If you would like to follow Dead Leaf Echo, here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Dead Leaf Echo (CLICK HERE)

Dec 13 : "Stuck" - Aster More (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (last week!)

Philly Music!

I wasn't on time getting to the venue; had to work a little later than expected. It was the first time I saw Philly band "Aster More" do a show. This was at Ortlieb's on December 3. Unfortunately I got there just as they were playing their last couple songs, so I missed most of their show. But I liked what I did hear and want to go back to hear them again.

It's not expected to see many shoegaze outfits in evening lineups, and it's even more rare to see a women's shoegaze band. (To be specific Aster More has 5 women and 1 man). While the music on the band's web page did venture off into some punk, it seems to stay grounded pretty much in the shoegaze genre as did the music I heard at Ortlieb's back on the 3rd.

Here is "Stuck", the second track of the band's album, also named "Aster More", which was released on December 6. :::

Aster More's web pages don't show any additional concerts at the moment, but here is the click to their Facebook page, so you can follow what they're doing ::: Aster More on Facebook"

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Dec 06 : "How A Mouse Could" - Spenser Colmbs (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (Sept 2016)

Philly Music!

Lots of non-sequiturs in the lyrics of Philly musician Spenser Colmbs. A rich carpet of unrelated and non-sequiturs. In his performance last week at Kung Fu Necktie he managed to work in "sharp provolone", "chopped garlic", and "antifreeze" all into the same piece. Unrelated? Maybe or maybe not. They were all imagery in defining a personality. No apparent connection at first, but, a few lines later, it may all come together.

Spenser opened up the night with his solo act, playing guitar with some background help by electronics. On some songs he would start to play by recording a rhythm which would then be played back as he layered on a melody over the previously-recorded portion. He did this with a few songs; I counted up to about three or four layers in one of the songs! Very smooth and agile in putting it all together in front of our ears and eyes.

Most of the pieces were musical, although he did put down the guitar at one point, picked up a book, and read some of his poetry. He had the whole house with him, bringing us all along. Very good stage presence and interaction with the audience.

Spenser writes about many every-day topics and struggles as well as some more macro issues. A lot of the writing is done standing at a little distance and making observations usually with humor that's immediate, or delivered two or three lines later. One song that touches on several topics is "How A Mouse Could", the seventh track on his cd "Spider Kingdom", recently released just this past September.

He writes about roommates, girlfriends, credit cards from parents, not fitting in, and running out of money. While he appears to find or tries to find the humor in many of life's situations, there are some moments of poignancy that sneak through to show some underlying struggles or feelings that much could be better. In the song "Highway Life", he says "I don't think we should all be happy to be born." In "Gas + Cigarettes", he chillingly lets us wonder "I know what to do with gas and cigarettes." Here is "Nine Dollars" that talks about getting to the end of the credit :::

And some of his songs are quite whimsical. Here is "Philadelphia Drive (feat. @1chillboy)" :::

Spenser Colmbs is a versatile artist and tomorrow night, December 7, will be doing a reading of his work at The Hatchery. Four other writers will be presenting their work as well. Here is the click to hat event ::: Spenser Colmbs at The Hatchery.

If you would like to visit Spenser Colmbs on line, here is the click to his Facebook page ::: Spenser Colmbs on Facebook.

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7/5/20 ::: OOPS. Facebook page seems to be deactivated.

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