Hunter Hayes @ The Vogel - Red Bank
December 5th, 2023: Hunter Hayes @ The Vogel - Red Bank, NJ
Hunter Hayes - Photos Courtesy of: Mandy S
Tonight’s Flying Solo tour stop started off with the talented Abby Anderson, a Country singer from Southlake, Texas. Opening with a wonderful Acoustic rendition of ‘Circles’ (Post Malone).
The Flying Solo tour was meant to be a tour to connect with fans on a more personal level as well as experiment with live music. Both performances of the night were primarily acoustic except for a few songs where Hunter’s friend Alex came out and played a few songs with him.
Hunter started his set off with ‘Wallflower’ (Red Sky Continued). This tour was unlike any I’ve seen, it was interactively crowd-based. During the show, there was a phone number you could text and have a chance to go on stage with Hunter. Three Lucky fans were invited on stage for a few songs.
Hunter said earlier in the night that the setlist is never the same, making this a multiple-visit type of tour. Ending the night with a deep sigh, Hunter played his top hit (personally, not in my eyes) ‘Wanted’ (Self Titled).
Nightly @ Brooklyn Bowl - Philadelphia
November 12th 2023: Nightly, Knox @ Brooklyn Bowl - Philadelphia, PA
Nightly - Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Lederach
Nightly made their hometown return to Philadelphia on November 12th at Brooklyn Bowl. Their latest tour supports their sophomore album, wear your heart out. Although they now reside in Nashville, Jonathan Capeci and Joey Beretta, grew up in the suburbs of Philly (in case you also couldn’t tell from Capeci’s Flyers shirt). It has been great to see their project Nightly gain speed as they get to play to larger and larger rooms across the US. They also curated a special stage design complete with a payphone and park bench to incorporate through out the set. Opening the set was the equally incredible Knox, who came out to join Nightly for the bop they released together, “Miss When You Missed Me”.
Setlist
Wear Your Heart Out
Shirt
On Your Sleeve
The Feeling
the movies
Radiohead
it's not your body
my boys
Miss When You Missed Me (feat. Knox)
whiskey part 2
Dirty White Chucks
Black Coffee
older
navy blue
pink starburst
love somebody
love somebody (reprise)
Twenty Something
hate my favorite band
like i do
Knox
Slaughter Beach Dog @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia
November 18th, 2023: Slaughter Beach Dog @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia, PA
Slaughter Beach Dog - Photos Courtesy of: Mandy S
On Saturday Nov, 18th 2023 Philadelphia welcomed Slaughter Beach Dog home with open arms at the Fillmore in Fishtown. Start off with the opening song - “Bobcat Club” from their most recent release Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling. Before the third song of the night - lead Jake Ewald heard the crowd scream out something about the chandeliers at the Fillmore. Which sparked up a conversation, the team at the venue decided to light them up. It was a beautiful sight. (If you’ve never seen it try screaming it during a silent section of a gig too.) The rest of the show was stunning, the lights, crowd interaction, and the energy of everyone in the room was remarkable. One of the four (yes four) encore songs they played, they dedicated the song ‘Fish Fry’ to @SlaughterBeepDog who was in attendance—an absolutely amazing night. I highly suggest catching them at another hometown gig.
Jeremy Zucker @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia
November 4th 2023: Jeremy Zucker, Sam MacPherson @ The Fillmore- Philadelphia, PA
Jeremy Zucker - Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Lederach
Jeremy Zucker brought his “is nothing sacred?” tour to Philadelphia on November 4th, in support of his latest EP. Like most of the crowd, myself included, it was the first time catching Jeremy post-pandemic after love is not dying began to make its rounds. The tour shows the new era of Jeremy as he looks to define his moody pop sound with the latest tracks like “OK”. Completing the atmospheric feel was a carefully curated light and projection show surrounding a homey patch of grass. The set included the latest EP tracks, including deeper tracks such as “talk is overrated” and songs from the ever-popular release, Brent.
Opening the show was our favorite local songwriter, Sam MacPherson, kicking things off with a solo set.
Setlist
i need you (in my life)
OK
all the kids are depressed
better off
lakehouse
somebody loves you
julia
internet crush
comethru
scared (solo on piano)
brooklyn boy (on piano)
not ur friend
desire
cindy
oh, mexico
i-70
Cry with you
you were good to me
this is how you fall in love
talk is overrated
end
(encore)
always, i'll care
supercuts
Sam MacPherson
Del Water Gap @ Metro - Chicago
October 31st, 2023: Del Water Gap, Kristiane @ Metro - Chicago, IL
Del Water Gap - Photos Courtesy of: Emily Nava
On Tuesday, October 31st, 2023, Del Water Gap brought his I Miss You Already Tour to a sold-out Metro Chicago with opening act Kristiane. This tour follows the recent release of Del Water Gap's second album I Miss You Already + I Haven't Left Yet. Del Water Gap is the solo project of New York City-based songwriter S. Holden Jaffe.
Kristiane opened the show with a set full of soft folky pop songs and won over the crowd with a Lana Del Rey cover, followed by an unreleased song about getting older.
With an apron and chef hat on, as well as a pizza box in hand, Del Water Gap took the stage and drew the crowd in with energetic rock/pop songs and a presence to match. The audience sang along all night to songs like "All We Ever Do Is Talk" from the new album, as well as ones like "Sorry I Am" from self-titled and old favorites like "High Tops," from his first EP.
Although the night was bursting with energy and entertainment, Del Water Gap made space for more vulnerable moments. Towards the end of the set, DWG touched on his connection with fans over time and shared an anecdote about growing up with them. Throughout the night, DWG engaged with fans while on stage and even got into the crowd during his song "Perfume."
Del Water Gap's concert may have been sold out in Chicago and many other cities, but some tickets still remain at https://delwatergap.net/Tour
Kristiane
The Hives @ Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn
October 30th, 2023: The Hives, Olivia Jean @ Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY
The Hives - Photos Courtesy of: Edwina Hay
The Hives blessed fans with another dozen new songs on The Death of Randy Fitzimmons back on August 11th and kicked off their tour with a sold-out show at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY the eve before Halloween (Monday, October 30, 2023). Who is Randy Fitzsimmons? He may or may not exist, but has been credited as discovering and managing The Hives as well as being an unofficial sixth member of the band. With their first new record in over a decade, Fitzsimmons is now dead…or perhaps he is still alive?
The long-running garage rock band recently announced on social media that there would be prizes awarded for costumes for their Brooklyn show plus Washington, D.C. on Halloween. Naturally, there were people dressed up like The Hives, including one person up front who referenced frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist accidentally hitting himself in the face with a microphone during their performance at a festival.
Another garage rock act, Olivia Jean, and her band were selected to open the tour. The four members took the stage promptly at 8 PM and played a solid and fun set for 40 minutes. Olivia Jean and her band seemed truly excited to be on tour with The Hives and engaging with their fans at the tour opening show.
The Hives came on stage about 9:15 PM after Frédéric Chopin’s “Marche Funèbre” played over the speakers and frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist jokingly and accurately declaring, “It is good to have us back!” before the group kicked off their set with the first track of Randy Fitzsimmons, “Bogus Operandi,” and subsequently launching into “Main Offender,” “Walk Idiot Walk,” and “Rigor Mortis Radio.” Almqvist announced that the new album made him feel like a proud parent before the band performed the fifth song from the aforementioned record, “Stick Up.”
All evening, Pelle’s banter was witty and sharp: “I looked at the setlist and you people love this song. You’ve loved it for 20 years!” before he introduced guitarist (and his brother) Nicholas Arson to begin “Hate To Say I Told You So,” from their 2000 sophomore album Veni, Vidi Vicious. “Yeah, we’ve been practicing!” he later noted when expressing how good they sounded. When he announced the last song of their set, people loudly expressed their disappointment and he immediately quipped, “Do we have a customer complaint?” The Hives selected “Countdown to Shutdown,” another single from the new album, as the final song of their set before they left the stage, only to return to us a few moments later. We received a two-song encore of “Come On!” (from 2012’s Lex Hives) and “Tick Tick Boom,” (from The Black and White Album). Before the Swedish gents sent us off into the night, we heard Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better” over the house speakers as the band took a bow to a cheering audience.
I caught my first performance from the Swedish quintet back in 2001 and saw them a few months ago in May at a smaller venue. I can always count on The Hives to deliver an energetic and fun performance and I’m so grateful I got to see them twice in a year after a long hiatus. They’re scheduled to return to NYC again in 2024 to open for Foo Fighters at CitiField and I’m very glad I got to see them in a medium-sized venue before they bring The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons to the home of The New York Mets.
Olivia Jean
The Paper Kites @ World Cafe Live - Philadelphia
November 3rd 2023: The Paper Kites @ World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
Christina Lacy of The Paper Kites - Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Lederach
Australia’s The Paper Kites continued their roadhouse band tour through the states, stopping at Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live on November 3rd. This was my second time catching the band, but my first time as a full 8-piece. I have to say the set was flawless and amazing. The band split their set a bit, playing the first half as a more chill, stripped-back, and sit-down set. All accumulated into the set's second half, which was plugged in and rock.
The Paper Kites’ latest album, At The Roadhouse, has easily become one of my favorite albums of this year, and quite possibly my new favorite Paper Kites album. There’s something utterly soothing and captivating about this album and a rare one you can sit and listen to the whole way through without wanting to skip any tracks. Seeing it live, and with the full roadhouse band, it was truly something amazing. Lead vocalist Sam Bentley touched on the making of At The Roadhouse, which was also something unique. The band curated their own bar to play the tracks from this latest album and it was open to anyone to stop by and listen whenever they were playing. Those songs were perfected over time and turned into this latest album which we can now all cherish forever.
The Japanese House @ Union Transfer - Philadelphia
November 1st 2023: The Japanese House, Quinnie @ Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
Amber Bain of The Japanese House - Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Lederach
Amber Bain, otherwise known as The Japanese House, kicked off her first US tour in almost four years at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer. Amber and the band played to a packed house of very eager fans who have been anxiously awaiting Japanese House's return to the stage. This latest tour is in support of The Japanese House's latest album (and one of my personal favorites of this year) In The End It Always Does, Bain’s first album since 2019.
The set was everything we wanted, including the latest tracks off the newest album, and all the bops we’ve come to love from Bain over the years. Included in the flawless set was a touching dedication of “One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones”, for her dog who was sitting back in the greenroom during the set.
Setlist
Sad to Breathe
Touching Yourself
Something Has to Change
Morning Pages
Follow My Girl
Saw You in a Dream
Boyhood
You Seemed So Happy
Baby goes again
Over There
Friends
Worms
Chewing Cotton Wool
Maybe You're the Reason
Dionne
Encore:
One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones
Sunshine Baby
Quinnie
