Dec 31 : "You Stole My Bikeage" - Trash Boy (Philly)

Philly Music!

Above pic is not fake and not AI induced. The pic is from Philly band Trash Boy's Bandcamp page and was taken at the time they put out their great 2019 album, "Who Will Take the Trash Out When We're Gone?" They've since had some changes in their lineup, including some guest instrumentalists at the show they did in Philly last week.

Seeing Trash Boy was my main reason for going to Johnny Brenda's last week. Hadn't seen one of their shows in a while. Lots of people there. The band drew a larger crowd than what I've seen at their previous shows.

Trash Boy, as their web page says "is actually 4 people (not one boy alone) who love Philly and its DIY world and hate rules that oppress the marginalized and uphold bogus meritocracy." While many bands sing about personal relationships, Trash Boy zeroes in on situations, times when people experience some type of personal or wider injustice. One such example is in the second track on their album, "Who Will Take the Trash Out When We're Gone?" The song is "You Stole My Bikeage" where the main character leaves his bike out for a few minutes and it's stolen, leaving him with no way to travel any place.

So here's "You Stole My Bikeage". The feeling bounces back and forth between despair and anger, but, as in many of their other songs, there's also some underlying stylistic humor. :::

If you go to any local shows you probably have seen times when a band will do a shout out to one of their friends who's having a birthday. This show was on the Monday before Christmas, which is Jesus's birthday, so they gave a shout out to Jesus for a Happy Birthday! And, as it turned out, yes, Jesus was in the audience! He came up on stage and thanked everybody for their well wishes. ... ... So, I'm thinking about what this all means. I'm thinking that if any right-wing evangelicals have thoughts about embracing any racist or white supremacist shit, they should pause. ::: Because we saw with our own eyes, right in front of us ::: Jesus Is Black!

Trash Boy doesn't have any other shows coming up soon, but here's the click to their Facebook page where you can find out what they'll be doing in 2024! Trash Boy on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

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The crowd last week was way-more animated than I've ever seen at the band's previous shows. Saw lots of middle fingers flying up in the air as the band sang one of its regulars, "Fuck New York" (CLICK HERE).

Dec 24 : "Cavities In My Heart" - Wax Jaw ( Philly)

Philly Music!

Here's an interesting song from Philly band "Wax Jaw". I went to Johnny Brenda's on Monday night where they were playing. They're a new band and have been doing shows for less than a year. This is "Cavities In My Heart", which is on their album, "Between the Teeth".

Wax Jaw doesn't have any other shows coming up soon, but here's the link to their Bandcamp page ::: Wax Jaw on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).

(pic is from band's Bandcamp page)

Jun 27 : My Night Out June 16 - Mavis The Dog, Carlos Truly, Special World

Friday a week ago I went to a show at Lot 49 Books. Great show! 3 great outfits. Had heard about the show on Songkick.

But before the show began that week there was one bad zap, and that was with the flaky venue where the show was originally scheduled to play, Space 1026. I contacted the venue myself when I found that the band's Songkick page for the event had information that didn't match that of the venue itself. I emailed the venue and was surprised to receive a curt reply that didn't entirely clarify what was going on. I was later to learn that the plans and conversations between the bands and the venue imploded, and the bands temporarily found themselves without a venue for the night's shows.

But Lot 49 Books came to the rescue and provided space for the concert. It actually turned out to be a good space, an excellent match for these particular bands on this partiular night. The pic above is from Lot 49's Facebook page.

Mavis the Dog (Philly)

First up that evening was Philly band Mavis The Dog. The sound was much fuller and well-rounded than what I heard on the recorded versions. The music at the show gave the feeling of all elements, vocals and all instruments, moving together cohesively. This was compared to the Bandcamp songs where the vocals and each instrument can be heard more individually, each having its own say without being lost in the whole. The Lot 49 performance was smooth with what felt like a faster tempo, while the Bandcamp version has a little more laid-back (yet firm in its feeling) and with a little more choppy song structure (in a good way). As we moved well into the set the band played their rendition of "You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog", which turned out to be stiff competition for the originals. It certainly had much more texture than either of the two originals.

The band's newest music on line is their album "The Jetsies (Silver Racecar)". From that album is its namesake, "Silver Racecar", the fifth track:

Mavis the Dog doesn't have any shows coming up soon, but here's the click to their Bandcamp page where you can keep track of what they're doing::: Mavis the Dog on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).

Carlos Truly (New York)

Next up was Carlos Truly who did vocals and guitar in person and with percussion and other backgrounds as a recorded backdrop. His songs are about relationships. I noticed that the main character in the songs often uses the past tense in talking to or about his significant other, and I therefore got the impression, after listening to the total work, that maybe some of these relationships were in the past. This was especially evident in the song "Vessel".

Indeed when I listened to the song "Vessel", I got the distinct impression that the main character had either suffered a breakup or loss, and, mindful of the gifts from his significant other, was stoically moving on and forward. ... ... But I had the opportunity to have a brief chat with the artist, and he said that, no, the relationship was still going strong, and that the lyrics reflected the complexities of it.

"Vessel" appears on Carlos Truly's most recent album, "Not Mine", which was released in July 2022. It's the fourth track:

Carlos Truly is on a cross-country tour and doesn't have any other shows lined up for our area in the near future, but here is the click to his Bandcamp page where you can hear the full album as well as keep tabs on what he's doing ::: Carlos Truly on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).

Special World (Philly)

Moving on in the world of complex relationships, and becoming a little more ethereal about it, in the script and the presentation, the final band in the night's lineup was Special World, a new band from Philly. They're very new; just got two tracks up on Bandcamp. At the show, one thing that caught my attention right away was the keys. The band has a lot of keys. The frontman sat with keys in front of him, and then keys to the right which joined in with some melodic enhancements from time to time. One of the guitar players also stood by a third set of keys, which he played in certain songs. Here is my diagram of the lineup of band members (D=drums; G=guitar; K=keys; V=vocals).

I think there was even a starker difference between the Log 49 show and the recorded music than what I found with Mavis the Dog. Both bands were more forceful at the show, but Special World is quite mellow and textured in the Bandcamp recordings with some interesting chords that weren't front and center in the show. Here is "Cloak in the Attic". This is from November, 2022:

Special World has another show coming up on July 23. Here's the click ::: Special World at Black Squirrel Club, but, in the meantime, here's where you can find their new music as they release it: ::: Special World on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).

Lot 49 Books

And special mention to Lot 49 Books who stepped in to save the day, or save the night, so to speak. Here is the click to their Facebook page: Lot 49 Books on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

May 31 : "Mermaid In A Manhole" - Airiel (Chicago)

I was very happy and a little shocked to see notice of an upcoming tour by Chicago shoegaze band Airiel, and that they would be stopping in Philly last Friday, May 26. I hadn't heard anything about them for years. Way back around 2007 I got their album "Battle of Sealand". The music grabbed me, locked me in, and soon became one of my favorites. .... But for some reason I haven't seen anything about them in the intervening years. It seemed like they hadn't been doing any shows, and there is a gap in the dates of the music on their website, or was it that I was just not on the right emailing list?

I bought my ticket as soon as I read the announcemeent and went to Kung Fu Necktie for last Friday's show. The place was packed.

"Battle of Sealand" is quite eclectic, containing a number of styles, bordering on different genres. I have a few favorite tracks on the album; "Mermaids In A Manhole" is one of them. The way the band did this album, each piece has its own personality means each stands out solidly as an individual work, and doesn't become lost in a large list of music with similar sounds. In my opinion it's very difficult to pull off something like this, but Airiel did it successfully. Complex instrumentals always pull me in, and this track's definitely got 'em. Also, a complex relationship is in the works with lyrics that take us out of bounds of what we normally hear, and instrumental melodic lines and tempo that push forward an undeniable feeling of ... . Here is "Mermaid In A Manhole", the sixth track on Airiel's album "Battle Of Sealand" :

Stylistically this album is different from most of the band's others, but it happens to be my personal favorite, maybe because it was the first one that introduced me to Airlel's music. If anyone from the band ever reads these comments, I think they might cringe. ... because I'm saying nice things about the album and I don't think they themselves favor it. Indeed in their new 20th Anniversary album package, no songs from this album appear to even make it into the lineup. Go figure. ... But you can click through the image above to find all of the band's work to judge for yourself. In the meantime, with their big tour having been completed this past weekend, here is the click to the band's Facebook page where you can find out what they'll be doing in the future. ::: Airiel on Facebook (CLICK HERE). (p.s. ... go back and listen to the guitar solo starting about 3:52 on the clock).

(pic is from the band's Facebook page)

Apr 06 : "Several People Are Typing" - Calvin Kasulke

A contemporary office comedy with some people working WFH (working from home) and others in the office itself. The book's promotion describes it as "where WFH meets WTF".

The main story line is how Gerald, who is working from home, slowly experiences his consciousness being disengaged from his physical self and uploaded into the company's Slack app, so he becomes slowly part of the app. Doug Smorin, the office manager, doesn't care because Gerald's productivity is actually going up. But Gerald's co-workers think this is some sort of bit or prank. Gerald enlists a co-worker, Pradeep, to help him figure out his current condition and how he can get back to normal. And, little does he know that the Slack bot is now trying to take over his original self.

All this is going on while the office, a New York PR firm whose main client, a high-end dog food manufacturer, is trying to do damage control as some of their client's product has been poisoned and is killing dogs across the nation. Other sub-plots in the book are relationships, both business and personal, among the people in the office.

The story is told entirely in text messages or Slack messages. There's no other narrative or description. Even so, the author manages to create a vibrant collection of realistic individual personalities and situations that keep the reader engaged. The success is I felt like I was rejoining people I had come to know each time I picked up the book. What will Kerolyn and Nikki be doing today?!

Definitely an enjoyable book worth reading. You can get it here : Free Library or here: at Biblio.

Jan 04 : "Song for a Friend" + "Will Have Been Being Around" - The Slaps (Chicago)

Some strong contrasts in the album "Susan's Room", by Chicago band "The Slaps". Sometimes it's the earlier or first music of a band that grabs me. Such is the case with music of The Slaps. I've listened to the wide range of music they have posted on line, but I keep going back to that early album, "Susan's Room", which, coincidentally, was recorded in the actual Susan's Room.

There's a contrast in the mood of the various tracks in the album. Check out "Song for a Friend", which is the second track on the album. I love the guitar work in this, especially in the intro!

A much different tone is heard in the seventh track of the album "Will Have Been Being Around". This has contrasts within the song itself. While the instrumentals remain smooth and confident, and, in this song, slowing down a little to almost mellow, the vocals, by contrast are fractured, agitated, anguished, and inebriated!

Maybe it was the rough-around-the-edges quality of the first recording, but I like the confident instrumentals in this first album.

The Slaps came to Philly a few weeks ago and I heard them play at Cambridge Room, on the lower level of Warehouse On Watts. They did a good show. Would like to see them again.

But, whoa, I might have to wait. The Slaps doesn't have any other planned shows on the East Coast. Here is the click to the Facebook page where you can keep an eye on what they're doing. The Slaps on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(pic at top is from The Slaps' Bandcamp page)