friend at PhilaMOCA
No friends of SEO, CEO, or any other uppercase letters, friend are a self-described "goblin punk" band from philadelphia. What do they mean by "goblin punk"? Well they do wear goblin masks for one song but more likely it's about the screechy vocals and guitars on a lot of their songs, especially their earlier ones. They're also pretty wild on stage, which as a photographer I really appreciate. Still, it seems like they've diversified their sound a bit since those early days. Maybe not every song has that "goblin" quality anymore. The punk part's a no-brainer though: their subject matter is punk, full stop, "fuck the cops", etc. Somehow they manage to be both the funnest and the most serious punk band at the same time. Love it!
West Philadelphia Porchfest at West Philly
I think I have lived in Philadelphia for at least six of the nine West Philly Porchfests and I'm pretty sure this is the first one I've been to. I know I thought about it before. Sometimes the weather was the issue because if it rains you're gonna get wet because it's all outside. This year the weather was... rainy, but I decided to go anyway. I only got a little wet. I was singing sea shanties at the time.
In photographing Porchfest I'm trying to get pictures of the porches almost as much as the bands. I mean there are literally hundreds of bands playing over a few square miles. I took a couple of photos of each band I saw, listened to a song or two, and then went on to the next one. I just figure that for people not in West Philly it's as interesting to see the houses and the actual porches as much as the bands. Do I know any of the bands' names? No I do not, though I'm sure I could look them up. A few have tiny signs you might be able to read? Sorry if you're a band but the point was to cover the event more than any particular artist really. That said there were definitely a lot of good bands who I went home and looked up so I can go catch them another time.
Posted: 5/31/2025 at 7:00pm Tags: West Philadelphia Porchfest West Philly
Teen Mortgage at Johnny Brenda's
Still a crazy intense band, now with moderate popularity! I sort of lost track of these guys after I moved out of DC and while I wasn't paying attention they seem to have found their audience. It's skate punks in case you can't tell. The mosh pit at this show was crazy and I know because they kept hitting me in the back while I took those photos. It's all good, or they're all good, my ribs I mean.
Teen Mortgage's Website, Music.
Posted: 5/13/2025 at 7:00pm Tags: Johnny Brenda's Teen Mortgage
El Dingo at Kung Fu Necktie
I knew I was going to get around to El Dingo eventually (took my time though didn't I?) They're a three-piece band from NJ which mostly plays DIY shows, though they've been on a few bills at KFN recently, and they're just fun. They've got that mid 90's hard-rock-but-weird sort of sound. Some songs are a little funky, definitely some Primus influence on those, others are closer to psych rock. I'm pretty sure the ROCK part is what matters most though. They're loud, they're fun, and I wish they were more popular.
Looking at that first photo do you notice anything different about Kung Fu Necktie? They added some lightning on the ceiliing above the stage. That gives the stage a little more light and lets them do some really basic animations. Looks good doesn't it?
Posted: 9/1/2024 at 11:00am Tags: El Dingo Kung Fu Necktie
Supersuckers at Kung Fu Necktie
Just a few photos of Supersuckers because about a third of the way through I decided to just enjoy the damn show. Kung Fu Necktie is known for great booking (natch) and good sound but not so much for beautiful stage lighting.
What can I say about Supersuckers. This is a band I remember hearing about back in college in the 90s, not sure if I ever saw them (probably not). The fact that they are still at and still rocking hard which is impressive in general, but gets insane when you hear that lead singer "Eddie Spaghetti" Daly was diagnosed with throat cancer about a decade ago. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he recovered just fine 'cause he sounds great.
Supersuckers are one of those bands which is rock-n-roll first but also to cross over into alt-country. You know those bands which are rock bands first but clearly country-influenced like Credence Clearwater Revival or Buffalo Springfield? Well, think of that but formed post-Cramps. Supersuckers are the ass-kicking drunken uncle of CCR.
Supersuckers's Website, Music.
Posted: 8/18/2023 at 7:00pm Tags: Kung Fu Necktie Supersuckers
