Upcoming/Recent Shows

Anyone seen TOOL on this tour? I am going tonight in Cbus because I got gifted a free tix and was curious on how much a poster is in the tour.
We’ll this is late but I saw Tool February 5 when they came to NOLA. But I couldn’t tell you how much the posters were.
 
This Monday was my second time seeing Squid, and they thrilled with another electric performance. Got situated smack dab in front row a few feet of Ollie's drumset 🦑

Deliluh

Duo from Toronto fusing drone, post-punk, no wave, and a touch of synthpop. Quite loud, but enjoyable.
Neither member acknowledged the crowd at the start, after a few songs, nor in the final number...not even a wave to the audience.

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Squid 🦑

This set had most of their singles in a shuffled order from the Doug Fir setlist, and they included "Peel St." this time around 🤗
Just like last time, audience chanted for an encore...but it never came (but I knew to expect none this time around lol). So once again, an awkward exodus for the crowd.

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Post-show

Got a tee at the merch table after the show, the only merch item available other than 2xLP black vinyl of their studio album. Already have mine signed last November from meeting them near their van and getting a photo with the gents, so no pressure this time around.

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Billy Strings in Cleveland tonight!

Pretty unbelievable set. 10 cover songs, including some bangers from The Beatles, Litte Feat, Black Sabbath, a REALLY spaced out Dead cover of Dark Star aaaaaaaaaaand Cher. Yes, Billy and the gang played Believe. Packed house. Super fun.

Can't wait for 2 nights in Cincy later this week!

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor was stupendously amazing. There hasn't been a parallel in the time I've gone to concerts that I can think of that was similar in scope and artistic vision. Breathtakingly compelling.

I don't know who these guys are

Opener of three members with 30min of set time, drone music from start to finish. After the ~20min mark, a variation switch on the drones occurred, which was fused with environmental sounds and sampling. Worked well.
The group didn't acknowledge the audience at all other than with a raised hand to the audience following the dissipation of the droning variation.

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Approximately 1hr 40min of organic, dynamic, pulse-pounding, ear-splittingly powerful post-rock. They demonstrated why they are masters of their genre through and through.

The set begun with the introductory drone from "The Dead Flag Blues" which continued to play for roughly five minutes before a single band member took to the stage. One by one, each member of the eight man ensemble took the stage with a brisk walk, with ~30sec of time separation for each band member appearing from the sides of the curtain. The placement of band members in an arch, outside a pair of percussionists, facing each other is juxtaposition that I had never seen before. Also very courteous of the entire collective to be masked while performing, something I've also never seen in person post-lockdown.

At least six gradually ascending fortissimo flourishes existed in this setlist, with many of them extending out for several minutes past what I had remembered them sounding like on the studio LP. On the back visuals, projected by an old school vintage movie camera about 80 feet from the stage, some disturbing scenes of burning fields and buildings were depicted for the length of "Fire at Static Valley," striking a palpably harrowing chord with me...given the conflict overseas.

The closing moments bore equal amounts tension and joy. Like with the opener, not a word spoken by any of the musical collective, with each member ringing out their final note/chord and resting their instruments along its respective amplifier, emitting vociferous feedback. Just as they entered, they then calmly exited the stage on the side nearest their position after a subtle raised hang to acknowledge/thank the audience, one by one. After roughly five minutes of droning/noise following the last musician's stage exit (leftmost guitarist), some of their audio crew took stage to adjust knobs little by little to create the apropos decrescendo to finish off the set, until it was dead silent. The following applause was joyous and unforgettable.

I know my concert count is very limited, but I would file this one in my top3 without hesitation.

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Post-show

Expensive vinyl/CDs at merch table, along with various shirts with all designs being sold out of M size. Just headed home immediately after a quick lookover.
 
Saw Khurangbin at Radio City with Nubya Garcia as the opener on Thursday.
About 25 rows back even though the pictures make it look like I was a mile away lol.
A pure joy from start to finish. Admittedly I am a much bigger fan of Nubya than Khruangbin, but Khru absolutely blew me away. Such a fun show.
Nubya Garcia
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Khruangbin
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Last night of the Ohio run of shows with Billy Strings. Spent tonight in the Pit for the first time. Amazing set. My brother was stoked to get a Peggy-O, but honestly overall I think I'd rate the Ohio sets
1) Cleveland
2) Cincy Night 2
3) Cincy Night 1

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After Billy we took the Streetcar up into Over The Rhine to one of my old hangs, MOTR Pub, where This Pine Box was playing. Those in the know with Soul Step Records will recognize the name. It's probably been 3 or 4 years since I last saw them.

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Went to see Goose on Fri and Sat nights in Philly. I love the Fillmore, but it was insanely oversold, especially on Fri night. Great shows, so much fun! Was shocked to get "This Old Sea" last night, one of my faves, we last saw it at Fred Fest in Virginia last September.
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CHAI warmed my heart on a coldish night in Portland! I love them dearly.

Su Lee

A bedroom/indie pop musician, YouTuber, visual artist, partial comedian, and producer from South Korea. Her set was a healthy ~45min, with a fair number of her originals and a pair of covers (Chance The Rapper's "Cocoa Butter Kisses" and a-ha's "Take On Me"), both in a coy bedroom pop style. I learned during her in between song banter that a few of her songs gained rapid steam from a "casual" reddit upload, which boosted her audience more than tenfold in roughly a week's time.

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CHAI

These girls are a joy. Their music (WINK, in particular) has been a substantial portion of my 2021 listening and still continues to hold true today, as my last.fm charts would indicate. Set was actually quite short, with only ~50min of performance time including encore.
Sadly...YUUKI (ユウキ) the bassist was absent from Portland's set. She was there when CHAI performed at Arlene Schnitzer in Portland a week ago, though MANA (マナ), KANA (カナ), and YUNA (ユナ) explained that YUUKI was away to attend a personal matter. She was actually the last member to join the band when they formed, and so it was explained that the former three are the constants.
The costumes though! 🤗

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After about five songs, the group introduced themselves partially to the tune of "We're All in This Together" SQUEEEEE ❤️❤️❤️



A cover of the GOAT city pop track "Plastic Love," too!!!



YUNA gleefully shared her anticipation before they performed "Donuts Mind if I Do" that the band was excited to get some Voodoo Doughnuts tomorrow before finishing out the California leg of their tour, lol. Someone should pull the ladies aside and redirect them to Blue Star or Pip's, they'll be far more satisfied.


Post-Show

Got a shirt at the merch booth, which I was surprised but thankful to see given their trailer with belongings, original planned costumes, and merch being stolen from touring in Austin with Mitski. I guess Sub Pop may have footed the bill to restock their replaceable items. I learned unfortunately that Doug Fir Lounge changed their policies for no signed merch until around September. 😭 So, my copy of WINK remains unsigned. I suppose that since the group was temporarily down a member, it's for the best to wait until next time.
Still had a blast, of course.

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EDIT: Added a few sentences.
 
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Anyone here heard Acid Dad before? They're playing a show at a local college soon.



 
The Voyeurist Tour, headlined by Underoath and featuring possibly the single greatest metalcore tour lineup to ever exist, swung by Silver Spring, Maryland at The Fillmore on March 18, 2022. Absolutely stunning sets from every band, all four acts were truly spectacular to watch! I'm a fairly casual fan of all 4 bands, with the exception of Spiritbox, who are the reason I bought tickets to this show. That said, all four bands impressed me, I could not stop headbanging and screaming, the atmosphere was immaculate. Tons of mosh pits and crowd surfing through all four sets, and as metal crowds always do, everyone looked out for each other. That didn't stop me from getting knocked around a good bit, but that's rock and roll! 10/10 show, one of the best I've seen in some time. Pictures aren't the best, but I did what I could.

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Stray From The Path (Setlist)

A fairly typical hardcore punk band in terms of their sound, Stray From The Path made their beliefs on the world clear, chanting "Fuck the alt-right!", and proclaiming that everyone, no matter who they are, are welcome at a Stray From The Path show. Right from the very first song, a mosh pit had already opened. Despite being the opener and only playing for 25 minutes, they certainly had some fans in the crowd. I'm glad to now be one of them, they brought back the spirit of early hardcore punk!

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Bad Omens (Setlist)

A fairly new band on the metal block that merges rock, punk, metalcore, electronic, and tons of other sounds into something truly unique. Right as they took the stage, their presence was felt in the atmosphere. Their brief set showcased their range as musicians, from ambient electronic rock, to throat-shredding metalcore. They definitely had some fans in the crowd, I saw many of their shirts from the start of the night til the end. One of my favorite new bands already, absolutely stellar performance!

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Spiritbox (Setlist)

This is what I fucking came for. Spiritbox is another fairly new band, but they've already established their place in metal music and made huge waves with their debut album Eternal Blue. Courtney LaPlante's incredible screams and soft, serene singing makes her one of the greatest singers in metal today, and that came through loud and clear live. The crowd went absolutely ballistic for some of the heavier songs, like "Holy Roller" and "Hurt You." They even brought out a fucking saxophonist to play "Constance" with them. How metal is that?! I truly wish their set could have been longer, but nevertheless, it was everything I ever dreamed of, and so much more. I discovered this band only a few short months ago, and I already own their entire discography on vinyl, and now, got to see them live. Blessed to have witnessed their greatness live!

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Underoath (Setlist)

This was actually my second time seeing Underoath. I first saw them 3 years ago, opening for Korn and Alice In Chains. This was, however, my first time seeing them headline. The former titans of Christian heavy metal may have dropped their faith, but they certainly haven't lost their strength, soul, and incredible heavy sound. Their set consisted of tons of new songs, as well as old fan favorites. I was quite tired after the first 3 intense sets, so I headed to the back of the room and watched from there. Still, an excellent show as always, there's a reason this band can still sell out shows a good two decades into their career. Awesome to see them again, they never disappoint!
 
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