Category Archives: TVD Philadelphia

WORDS AND IMAGES: TODD JUDD | Matisyahu’s Ancient Child Tour is a masterclass in live performance, blending hip-hop, reggae, and soul into an unforgettable experience. Following the release of his eighth studio album, Ancient Child, Matisyahu took the stage at the Brooklyn Bowl in Philadelphia, delivering a show that radiated energy, love, and spirituality. With a setlist featuring new tracks alongside fan-favorite classics, Matisyahu and his incredible band created a dynamic and immersive atmosphere that left the audience breathless at shows end. It was one of the best shows I’ve seen all years and that’s saying something.

The night began with the Aaron Dugan Band, featuring longtime collaborator Aaron Dugan on guitar, One Hemyah on drums, Jason Alexsandre on keys, and Ben Zwerin on bass. Their flawless performance set the tone for the evening, showcasing their mastery of jazz, dub, and reggae influences. It was a perfect fit to get the crowds juices flowing and Aaron knocked his set clean out of the park.

As the crowd buzzed with anticipation, Matisyahu took the stage, opening with “Pro-cess,” the first track from Ancient Child. The hip-hop-inspired beat had the audience dancing and vibing immediately, with Matis seamlessly blending singing and rapping.

The set continued with “Rockets” and “Crosswinds,” where the band truly shone. Matisyahu’s powerful vocals, beatboxing, and mixer effects elevated the performance, while Dugan’s intricate guitar work added depth and texture. A highlight of the night was “Son Come Up,” a collaboration with Matisyahu’s son Laivy, who joined him on stage. Their chemistry and Laivy’s impressive vocals brought an extra layer of heart to the performance, making it a standout moment.

The crowd erupted with joy when Matisyahu transitioned into the classic hit “Sunshine.” Fans sang along to every word, proving that while the new material resonated deeply, the older songs still held a special place in their hearts. The energy remained high with tracks like “Rockin’ Tempos” and “Ritual,” where Matis explored themes of resilience, inner strength, and boundary-setting. His passion and emotion were palpable, captivating the audience with every note.

Read More »

Mott the Hoople always seemed the kind of band that would implode at any moment, and such was the case when they pulled into New York in the middle of their 1974 U.S. tour, becoming the first rock band to play a week on Broadway. That achievement didn’t pay off for the band (any more than introducing Queen to open their shows that year did). And by the end of the year, they were done.

Now, apropos of nothing but a random 45th anniversary of the album they had out at the time, The Hoople, the band is back playing the U.S. for the first time since then. Only eight stops were scheduled for the beloved glam band—the connective tissue between T-Rex and the New York Dolls. Who among the 1,300 at the 1928-era, 1,300-capacity Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA, near Philadelphia Monday would have expected this great good fortune, to see this storied band once more in 2019?

Mott the Hoople had reunited famously only once, a decade ago, for a couple of shows at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. That one featured the earlier version of the band whose names were memorable from being part of the lyrics of its “Ballad of Mott the Hoople”—Verden Allen, Mick Ralphs, Overend Watts, Dale ‘Buffin’ Griffin. That lineup didn’t include two who were part of the ’74 Broadway stint (and the subsequent live album issued that year), ex-Spooky Tooth guitarist Ariel Bender and pianist Morgan Fisher.

But the two were on hand for the 2019 touring band, officially being called Mott the Hoople ’74, adding quite a lot, with Fisher doing a lot of tuneful musical introductions to some songs (including a teasing approach to “All the Way from Memphis”), and Bender taking off on some extended solos (although going bare-chested at 72 may not be the greatest idea).

Read More »

If you had told me in the early ‘90s that Radiohead would be selling out arenas, I would’ve never thought it possible. Perhaps I underestimate people and their taste for something grand. Or, perhaps I just never wished Radiohead to be music for the masses, but here we are.

Radiohead has started its recent tour with four NYC dates at Madison Square Garden, and closed it with two dates at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center—and to packed houses everywhere in between. I always thought (and still do) that Radiohead has a more intimate relationship with its audience, and the fact that it’s been six years since Radiohead have toured the US—die-hard fans have been truly and deeply excited.

The band’s 2018 tour pulls from a myriad of material from throughout their catalog, focusing heavily from albums OK Computer, Hail to the Thief, and Kid A, with room for The Bends’ favorite “Fake Plastic Trees” and “Pyramid Song” from the Amnesiac album.

Read More »

On Thursday evening at Festival Pier in Philadelphia, a perfect storm materialized when the “From Boston to Berkeley” tour rolled into town, bringing with it 4 solid acts to remind Philly concertgoers that “Punk’s not dead.” The package tour which includes Stiff Little Fingers frontman Jake Burns, Bouncing Souls, Rancid, and the Dropkick Murphys, brought with it intense circle pits, as well as frenetic pogo-ing and sing-a-longs galore.

Jake Burns, frontman of the legendary Belfast, Ireland punk band Stiff Little Fingers played a short set of acoustic selections from the band’s catalog which stretches thirty-nine years, but stuck to early-era Fingers hits. Burns talked and joked in between songs which included takes on “Gotta Getaway,” “Nobody’s Hero,” before closing with their first single, “Alternative Ulster.” Burns ran out of time to tell his story about the band’s most well-known song, but promised fans that he would tell them all about it in a few months when the full band would be returning for a fall tour.

After a very brief pause, the Bouncing Souls tore into a fast paced set which included fan favorites like “Hopeless Romantic,” “Sing Along Forever,” and “East Coast F*** You.” Souls’ frontman Greg Attonito told the crowd that they always have great shows in Philly, but they wanted this show to be the best one yet.

Read More »

Heavy metal giants Metallica brought their “WorldWired” tour to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia last Friday laying claim that they are still the best at what they do—music that’s faster and heavier than any other band in the business.

Metallica is one band that needs no introduction. They are perhaps the biggest metal band on the planet and their name is synonymous with thrash and metal. Through their 35+ year career, Metallica has been truly a pioneering force in music, almost solely responsible for bringing the metal genre to mass audiences in the ’80s and ’90s. And in 2017, they have only gotten better with age.

Touring for the first time since 2009, Metallica’s “WorldWired” tour kicked off in Baltimore, MD last Wednesday and was followed by Friday’s night two in Philadelphia. The band is touring to promote their 2016 album, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, their first studio effort in eight years and the band’s tenth studio album, released as a double vinyl set on Blackened Recordings.

Read More »

Having been to a few live hip hop shows, I don’t have much desire to see more. There’s a DJ not doing much, one or two rappers, and maybe a hype man. So even if the music sounds good, the shows are usually really boring. Public Enemy defies these norms. Their live show is electric, politically-charged, and visually very entertaining.

There’s so much happening onstage that it’s hard to know where to look. The S1Ws moving in unison, posing militaristically and periodically doing push-ups, DJ Lord spinning from on high, live guitar, bass, and drums, Professor Griff prowling the stage with his customary stern glare, Flavor Flav being goofy and wild cementing his reputation as the greatest hype man ever, and Chuck D bouncing around, swinging his mic like a bat, all the while commanding the stage like the hip hop preacher the world still greatly needs. At one point he reminded the crowd that Pennsylvania is spending more money on prisons than education. Angry boos followed.

For all the gravity of the politically charged show, Flav closed the show with a message of love. He encouraged the crowd to raise their hands and first make the sign of peace and then make a fist. “This stands for peace and togetherness. Make a fist like this, this stands for power. With peace and togetherness, we will all have so much power. If we all stuck together and built a wall of unity, it would be so strong, no others could drop in and tear down what we got.”

Read More »

I was excited to attend and photograph this show for a few reasons. First, it meant a road trip from DC to Philly. I love road trips. Second, I’d enjoy a cheese steak. And third, I’d get some quality photo time mere feet away from Dave Navarro, a talented and beautiful man.

Everything was going according to plan until I arrived at the venue. The tour management made some last-minute changes. The security barrier near the stage was removed, so there would be no up-close photography, which meant no seducing Dave from the photo pit. Alas. On top of that, photography was limited to the sound board, which was not elevated. The other photographers left. They were either too short to even attempt to shoot over people’s heads from the back or they didn’t have a big lens. I doubled down, determined to make it work.

Living Colour opened and they sounded great. They were very clearly enjoying themselves and in turn, the crowd was engaged and feeling it. I had to stop shooting after the third song and instead of watching the rest of their set, I put on my hustling shoes and tried to work with various members of the Fillmore event crew to finagle a better spot to shoot. A fellow named Eric was particularly helpful, trying to find me at least a stool to stand on. No dice. I gave up and returned to see the last song, “Cult of Personality.” It sounded exactly the way I wanted it to. Tight musicianship, dynamite vocals.

Read More »

The Tower Theater in Philadelphia played host to some of the world’s greatest guitar talents this past Thursday. Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, and Tosin Abasi are Generation Axe.

The night began with all five guitar gods on stage together for an all-star jam, then up first was a solo set by Animals as Leaders guitarist Tobin Abasi which really got the crowd primed. For the last song of his set Nuno Bettencourt came out and played alongside him. Seamlessly it transitioned to Nuno’s solo set which included classics from Extreme’s catalog as well as his iconic rendition of “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee.”

Next was the always entertaining Zakk Wylde. Zakk changed things up a bit when he decided midway through the Sabbath classic “NIB” that he was going to play from the audience. Zakk spent almost half of his solo set in the middle of the crowd walking up and down the aisles of the crowded Tower Theatre. Wylde was truly the crowd favorite, and I must say if Zakk Wylde wasn’t such an amazing player, he should look into stand-up comedy because he has some of the funniest on-stage banter I have ever heard.

Read More »

Jonathan Richman has been known to play some pretty unpredictable shows over the years, but few as unusual as his appearance Wednesday at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. There, the onetime founder of the Modern Lovers was wrapping up a series featuring bands, including Television and Luna, whose DNA could be traced directly to the band Warhol helped shape, the Velvet Underground.

Richman, appearing on a stark stage with his longtime percussionist Tommy Larkins, said he met Warhol about a half-dozen times when he was a teen, a fan of the Velvets and curious about Warhol’s art.

“I’m afraid I don’t get it,” the young Richman told the pop artist of his work.

“Yes, you do,” Warhol replied.

And so he did, certainly grasping, he says, the colors of the soup cans and Brillo boxes (he marvels at supermarket aisles for product colors too, he said). In the museum, he said he finally understood the floating Mylar pillows in his “Clouds” piece. And though he didn’t understand the films of stationary objects at the time, he says he now gets their textures and subtlety.

Richmond says he was spooked by being in the museum amid so much Warhol work—and spooked too about saying he hadn’t seen some of it for half a century. He was also likely rattled by being interviewed by museum staff earlier in the day—he’s not a guy who takes to interviews well.

Read More »

For any of the naysayers out there who think that rock is dead, Rock Allegiance just proved you wrong. Saturday’s festival in Chester, PA hosted two side by side main stages and a tent stage featuring some of hard rock and heavy metal’s finest.

Rob Zombie, Korn, Godsmack, and Five Finger Death Punch topped the evening’s bill and was rounded out with support from Papa Roach, Butcher Babies, PopEvil, Bring Me the Horizon, and my current favorites Atreyu and In This Moment. This line up had something for everyone—including an on-site after party hosted by Steel Panther.

Gourmet food trucks provided nourishment for the event which was a huge breath of fresh air compared to the usual festival afterthoughts. An outdoor music festival in the cool autumn air of October was also a refreshing change from the sweltering heat of other rock festivals like Mayhem and the Warped tour.

This was easily one for the record books and it was great to hear that they plan on doing it again next year—and given sold out crowd, they would be crazy not to. This was hands down one of the best-managed festivals this reviewer has ever gone to. Check out some of the sights below and support this festival next year. You will be glad you did.

Read More »

We sent TVD’s Doug Seymour to the Langhorne Slim & The Law’s show at Union Transfer in Philadelphia on September 16th to shoot the band who are currently on the road promoting their brand new release, The Spirit Moves—available on CD and vinyl from Dualtone Records. 

Frankly, these guys put on one of the best live shows out there—miss them at your peril. Check out Seymour’s photos taken during sound check and the show. —Ed.

Read More »

Fresh off their Lollapalooza performance in Chicago, the Delta Spirit & Friends tour performed on the World Café Live / WXPN stage in Philadelphia on August 5th, 2015. Our own Doug Seymour was there to cover the evening and capture moments during sound check, backstage, and the performance itself.

Delta Spirit was joined on stage by Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Eric Slick of Dr. Dog, and Mike Weiss of Mewithoutyou. Former drummer for Rosu Lup, Jonny Miller made an appearance as well.

Read More »

After a hiatus of almost 20 years, May 15 marked the return of Faith No More to the Electric Factory in Philly.

Opening the set with their new single “Motherfucker,” Faith No More, clad in all white and surrounded by an ocean of flowers, showed no signs of being 20 years older. The band supplied cuts off of every album in their catalog and still managed to fit in a few covers, such as the Commodores’ “Easy” and the Bee Gees’ “I Started a Joke,” which ended the night. New songs like “Sunny Side Up,” ” Superhero,” and “Sol Invictus” where scattered amongst fan favorites like “Midlife Crisis,” ” Be Aggressive,” and “Surprise You’re Dead.”

They even managed to throw in “We Care A Lot” from the 1985 album of the same name, which originally featured Chuck Mosley on vocals before long-time frontman Mike Patton joined the band.

To put it mildly, Friday nights show was nothing short of epic. (Pun intended.)

Read More »

The Boston, MA record label has put together four of their brightest up and coming bands for their first ever label tour and things kick off tonight at the Barbary!

It’s hard to believe that until now, Topshelf Records has yet to sponsor their very own tour. The relatively young upstart from New England has kept themselves very busy seemingly since Day 1. In only a few short years, they have become one of the most well-known and beloved labels in the punk scene. A number of their releases have already become wildly regarded to as classics.

For two weeks in September and October, Topshelf Records are sending A Great Big Pile of Leaves, Diamond Youth, Prawn, and Field Mouse out on the road together. In celebration of the occasion, a special 7″ featuring one song from each band has been pressed and will be available at every stop. Check out every song from the split at the end of the article!

Read More »

“I think people who really love and are passionate about music often times want the process of listening to it be more physical, like actually having to take a record off the shelf. I know I’m that way…”

Austin emo legends Mineral released two albums, The Power of Failing and EndSerenading, before disbanding in 1997. The four piece were at the beginning of their relationship with Interscope Records when the friends from Texas decided to go their separate ways. In the years since, numerous bands have cited Mineral’s lone pair of records as influences, their songs providing a cornerstone in the emo and punk music scenes.

2014 marks the 20th anniversary for the band and to celebrate they have regrouped to hit the road again. Mineral have not shared the same stage in 16 years and it’s been almost as long since some members have spoken. However, Chris Simpson, Scott McCarver, Jeremy Gomez, and Gabriel Wiley have been practicing and rehearsing since the beginning of the year in preparation for hitting the road which will keep them busy through the beginning of November. Mineral never properly toured behind their second album EndSerenading as they broke up before the opportunity arose, so fans will finally get to hear those songs live for the very first time.

The band kicked off their current tour with four consecutive sold out shows in New York City, and as they make their way down the East coast this week, they will play Union Transfer on Thursday, September 11 with Into It. Over It. I was caught up with singer/ guitarist Chris Simpson to get the scoop behind Mineral’s reunion.

Read More »