Local Natives @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia
August 24th 2022: Local Natives & Jordana @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia, PA
Local Natives - Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Lederach
Sometimes we can forget the magic of a live show, especially one as special as a Local Natives set. This is around the 4th time I’ve been lucky enough to catch them live, first time since the pandemic, and they still do not disappoint. The setlist was a perfect ebb and flow of classics and their newer tunes. Along with a guest appearance from the lovely opener, Jordana, joining the guys on ‘Lemon’. As I entered into the crowd for the packed show it was hard not to soak in the joy of the fans who have been waiting to see Local Natives again. They are truly one of the best live bands to experience and never miss a beat or harmony.
Jordana
Pitchfork Presents @ Knockdown Center - Maspeth, NY
August 21st 2022: Pitchfork Presents ft. Big Freedia, Dawn Richard, Billy Woods, Soul Glo, Jane Remover, Mega Bog, Water From Your Eyes, and Katie Alice Greer @ Knockdown Center - Maspeth, NY
Photos and Coverage Courtesy of Edwina Hay
On Sunday, August 21, 2022, the first Pitchfork Presents concert took place at Knockdown Center in Maspeth, NY. The stellar bill featured acts from a wide range of genres performing on indoor and outdoor stages and concluded with two performers from New Orleans, LA: Dawn Richard and Big Freedia.
The show began indoors with Katie Alice Greer (formerly of the Washington, DC punk band Priests), who was accompanied by Forest Juziuk performing songs from her June solo record, Barbarism. This was Greer’s first time performing live on the east coast in three years. Water From Your Eyes was up next on the outdoor stage and performed as a trio. Jared Ashdown also played guitar with Nate Amos and Rachel Brown. Mega Bog was backed by Zack Burba (iji), Aaron Othiem on keys, and Greg Fox (GDFX) on drums.
Jane Remover were up next on the outdoor stage and at one point, their DJ used a GameCube controller, which I can say I have never seen during a live set before. Soul Glo performed my favorite songs from their newest album Diaspora Problems (their debut for Epitaph Records), “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?)” and “Driponomics” and, predictably, a mosh pit broke out up front during their set.
Rapper billy woods was backed by DJ Mo Niklz and remarked that he spent seven hours in a car to return home to NYC for this show. woods performed songs from his new record with Preservation, Aethiopes, along with older material. At one point he joked that the audience at the outdoor stage was for Big Freedia so he would get out of the way soon. He was later joined by his Armand Hammer partner, ELUCID, for a couple of songs.
Dawn Richard was the last performance on the indoor stage and most of the songs she performed came from her Second Line album that was released in 2021. Her set seemed to be an abbreviated version of the Electro Revival show she did at BAM earlier this year and was wonderful again.
Big Freedia closed out the show, accompanied by a group of dancers and a DJ, by beginning with her recent single “Big Diva Energy” and moving on to older material such as “Explode” (which has the lyric “release your wiggle” that was featured by Beyoncé on her latest single, “Break My Soul”). Freedia also performed her remix of “Judas” by Lady Gaga and brought people from the audience on stage for “Azz Everywhere.” Speaking of Beyoncé, Freedia did her part from “Formation” before launching into her song “Play” which features Goldiie. Before Freedia closed her set, a sing-along to “Break My Soul” plus dancing to other songs ended the fantastic show before the 11 PM curfew.
Big Freedia
Dawn Richard
Billy Woods
Soul Glo
Jane Remover
Mega Bog
Water From Your Eyes
Katie Alice Greer
Courtney Barnett & Friends @ The Salt Shed - Chicago, IL
August 16th 2022: Courtney Barnett, Alvvays @ The Salt Shed - Chicago, IL
Courtney Barnett - Photos Courtesy of Timi Ikene
The crowd sang along loudly to Courtney Barnett's lyrical prose, and she matched the energy. Hailing from Australia, Barnett put on an electrifying show last night at Chicago's newest outdoor venue, The Salt Shed, and moved the crowd with her music. This stop on her Here and There Festival also brought along indie rock band Alvvays. Their soft indie rock was well received. I'll be catching both artists the next time they're in Chicago!
ALVVAYS
Bad Bad Hats @ Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia
August 7th 2022: Bad Bad Hats @ Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA
Bad Bad Hats - Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Lederach
MUNA @ Headliners Music Hall - Louisville, KY
August 5th 2022: MUNA & Jensen McRae @ Headliners Music Hall - Louisville, KY
There is nothing quite like attending a sold out show and basking in the incredible love, energy, and joy emanating from the entire crowd of fans. This was the case on the evening of August 5th in Louisville, KY, when the LA indie-pop band MUNA brought their current tour to Headliners Music Hall in support of their recently released self-titled album. Comprised of Naomi McPherson, Katie Gavin, and Josette Maskin, the trio released the album on Phoebe Bridger’s Saddest Factory label. Opening the show this evening was LA-based singer, songwriter, and poet Jensen McRae. Although she was onstage with nothing but her soft, yet powerful voice and an acoustic guitar, she is the kind of artist that can command the room with her funny and witty banter, endearing personality, and stories behind her songs. She had many fans in the crowd this evening who were cheering with each song and singing along and it was apparent that she loves her fans as much as they love her. She ended her set with a song that had been requested by a fan, telling the crowd that she hoped that fan was here this evening. She went on to say how she had taken a songwriting program at USC at the age of 19 and how the professor had the class write letters to their 8th grade selves, which in turn became the song “Make You Proud”.
As the lights went down, signaling that MUNA was about to come out on stage, the crowd went wild! As the band came out on stage, it was apparent it was going to be an incredibly fun evening, as both the crowd and band were in high spirits and radiating a fun energy! What I noticed right away was how much fun Gavin, Maskin, and McPherson have together onstage with each other and how engaging they are with the crowd! Starting the evening off with “What I Want” from their new album, they proceeded to perform a nice setlist of older songs, such as “I Know A Place”, “If U Love Me Now”, “Number One Fan”, and “Stayaway”, to new songs such as “Runner’s High”, “Kind of Girl”, and “Shooting Star”. Thanking the fans for selling out the show this evening, they talked about how they had performed at this venue a few years ago, opening for Miike Snow. Asking how many people were seeing MUNA tonight for the first time, many people raised their hands. Singer Katie Gavin thanked everyone for coming out and for listening to their new music. “Ending” the set with “I Know A Place”, Gavin talked about how it was one of the first songs the band wrote together and how sometimes it can be hard to find moments of joy and release so when you find those moments, just go for it! After leaving the stage briefly, the band came back out for a two-song encore, both songs being off of the new album. Starting off the encore with “Shooting Star”, the band ended the evening with their recent smash hit “Silk Chiffon”, with Jensen McRae coming out to sing the part that Phoebe Bridger’s sings on the album. It was a really amazing end to a really amazing evening! Aside from the incredible evening of music, MUNA is very welcoming to the LGBTQI+ community and cultivates a warm and safe space for those within that community. At the band’s request this evening, the venue’s restrooms were made gender neutral. They definitely left the crowd eagerly awaiting their return to Louisville!
Jensen McRae
Sasha Alex Sloan @ Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia
August 2nd 2022: Sasha Alex Sloan, Jessie Murph, slimdan @ Theater of Living Arts
Dan Smith | Bastille - Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Lederach
Sasha Alex Sloan set out this Summer on her I Blame The World tour in support of her latest record. If you’re a fellow fan, you’ll know Sasha’s unique brand of songwriting which emulates her sad girl persona, partnered with a stark look at what is going on in the world.
I Blame The World touches on subjects of global warming, shootings, relationships, growing up, and basically anything not great going on in our world today. This tour consisted of the new bops, along with other classic sad girl Sloan tunes like “Dancing With Your Ghost”, “Is It Just Me?”, “Older”, and more. I may be biased as I’ve been waiting to finally catch a Sasha Sloan show, but she sounded perfect and fully lived up to my expectations.
Jessie Murph
slimdan
Machine Gun Kelly @ Honda Canter - Anaheim, CA
July 16th 2022: Machine Gun Kelly, Avril Lavigne, WILLOW - Mainstream Sellout Tour @ Honda Canter - Anaheim, CA
Machine Gun Kelly - Photos Courtesy of Ali Stevens
Machine Gun Kelly brought his “Mainstream Sellout” Tour to the Honda Center in Anaheim accompanied by Avril Lavigne and WILLOW.
Willow was first to the stage opening with her smash hit “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” and captured the audience’s attention with her colorful jumpsuit and amazing vocals. Not to mention shredding guitar during multiple songs throughout the set.
Avril Lavigne was second to hit the stage playing many of her classic hits we all know and love! First up was “Girlfriend”. As the drums began the intro to the song the crowd went wild with excitement. Avril made her entrance by floating up from under the stage with 4 balloons and the hype was real!!! One of the highlights for me was hearing everyone singing “Complicated” at the top of their lungs while they were stuck in line to buy food and merch. It was the ultimate sing-along I didn’t know I needed, and just shows the power of Avril.
Up next was the man himself, Machine Gun Kelly!!! Making one of the coolest entrances to a show I have ever seen. Similar to Avril, MGK was pulled from under the b stage by a rope ladder that was attached to a helicopter and flew around the arena for the entirety of the first song “Born with Horns”. MGK landed on the main stage and went right into “Rockstar” mode. Backed up by his band, MGK and crew brought the heat for the rest of the night.
Special guest appearances were made by Landon Baker, WILLOW, Avril Lavigne, and JXDN.
AVRIL LAVIGNE
WILLOW
Wet Leg @ Empty Bottle - Chicago
July 29th 2022: Wet Leg & Modern Nun @ Empty Bottle - Chicago
Wet Leg - Photos Courtesy of Timi Ikene
Wet Leg sold out the Empty Bottle venue for their after-show in 34 seconds. It's no surprise, given how their music has recently blown up. The duo put on an eclectic, high-energy show that showcased just exactly who Wet Leg is. Next time they're in town, be sure to grab tickets to the show!
