Concert Review- Dehd w/ Starcharm

I first heard Dehd on local public radio in 2024 (from their most recent release- last year’s Poetry album) and was immediately interested. 

When they came in town for a tour, I immediately put it down as a possible date. 

Dehd are somewhat hard to describe. Allmusic uses a combination of Jesus and Mary Chain, the Gun Club and the B-52s. While they don’t particularly sound exactly like those bands, the description is otherwise strangely accurate. 

Reviewers also tend to find a surf influence or a similarly to the Flying Nun bands. I can’t put my finger on it, but I hear these too and I am sure that is why I like them better than some of their peers.

I generally don’t go to shows alone, so there is an aspect of selling other people to going to see a band. I am probably overthinking this but I know the reason I like Dehd is that they remind me of bands like Yo La Tengo or Superchunk, to name a couple, from the glory days of indie rock. In those days, there was a clear line between college radio and mainstream radio. These bands made a catchy pop rock sound that existed in a parallel universe to what was on Top 40. Fifteen years later, (roughly the age difference of me and my friend) Pop was no longer a dirty word. Artists like Carly Rae Jepson, Robyn and Taylor Swift became critical favorites. Gatekeeping never went away, it just changed, but “indie” became a more of a description of the music than a label designation. 

I am simplifying (my friend, like my old college roommate is an expert in multiple genres) but Dehd feel like they would easily fit in the Lollapalooza/120 Minutes landscape of my young adulthood but also are going to appeal to The Needle Drop/Pitchfork/Tiny Desk crowd that exists now. 

The band is even better live. I saw good Internet buzz but it’s accurate. They are a top tier live band. On record, the band splits vocals between bassist Emily Kempf and guitarist Jason Balla. In concert, they seem to be a couple like few others.

 

I can’t help but think of the band X. Yes, Exene is probably the lead singer but it’s impossible to separate the duty she shares with John Doe. Likewise, calling Emily or Jason lead singer and the other secondary in the way you might differentiate Tanya Donnelly in Throwing Muses, Lou Barlow in Dinosaur Jr. or even say Mick Jones in the Clash. The interplay is one reason that they are so good. They don’t sound like X but I can only imagine if Exene and John had formed their first band in this decade, they would sound like this. 

One may even catch on a song like “Lucky” that Dehd would be a great alt country band if they chose to ditch the noise. There is no doubt either front person could lead a band, but they are better together. Kempf could be (and let’s just state as a fact- is) as an elite level front person. Her voice is incredibly strong. Her presence more magnetic than the bands promotional materials imply. 

Balla is incredibly energetic as counterpoint. He’s Townshend level committed to rocking the stage. Closer to Blink 182 and Green Day energy than probably most of their peers, without ever feeling like rock n roll cliche. Eric McCreedy is the third member of the trio and compliments them with Velvet Underground/White Stripes minimalist percussion Dehd has definitely hit the mark with some singles - “Dog Days”, “Bad Love” and the kind of sound that can go viral, but they also put on one of those shows that might convince you they can save rock n roll.

I didn't plan on posting video but I took a 20 second snippet of the encore (where the band switched instruments) and the sound was so clear.  
 

Opening act was Chicago band Starcharm. This all female trio are just starting out. This is their first tour and they really only have one song on streaming platforms, Bandcamp and YouTube.

I see a lot of potential in this band and a lot of the words I used to describe Dehd fit here too. Strong frontwoman. Minimal percussion. A mix of 90s indie rock and 80s/90s dream pop but also a good mix of modern day confessional indie pop a la Mitski or Clairo. There’s not a ton out there on Starcharm but I would not be surprised if they took off.  Check out the new single here

Also the benefit of seeing these bands in a town that is a bit off the main route is seeing them in a small venue and even getting to briefly talk to Dehd’s Balla and Starcharm singer Elena Buenrosto. Although a bad experience wouldn’t affect what I think of the music, I found both of them charming and accessible. Good luck to both bands, though with their talent, I don’t think they will need it.

Album Review- Xordox- Terraform

JG Thirlwell had a revolutionary career as an early participant in the industrial genre. Recording under various pseudonyms- his albums as Scraping Foetus Under the Wheel particularly 1984s Hole and 1985s Nail are well respected. 

While he was quite prolific for a time, his art is all over the place and outside the two aforementioned albums, you will see different opinions though everyone will agree there’s good work in the catalog. I personally think 1995s Gash is a top record - a surprising “of the time” signing to the major label Columbia Records. (Online talk tends to prefer the more aggressive “Thaw” from 1988.)

Foetus recorded less often in the 21th Century but he’s still put out quality product. It became much harder after Gash to find his records and I resorted to Amazon but I can say I have faithfully purchased everything. 

2001s Flow is an amazing end-to-end record if pushed to plug one here. But Foetus seems to be on the back burner now. 2013s Soak was the last album we got from the Foetus moniker. 

While juggling Foetus projects and various collaborations, he’s had three split off bands that have kept him busy. 

There’s Steroid Maximus - three albums from 1991 through 2002. A take on spy movies and crime noir with over the top action and big band sounds on steroids. Although no one knew it then, it created the perfect route for what has kept Thirlwell busy in recent years (and surely his largest paychecks) by soundtracking the cartoons The Venture Bros (collected in two volumes as JG Thirlwell in 2009 and 2016) and Archer (released in 2024). 

There is Manorexia- a much harder to classify Freeform project that Wiki calls Modern Classical. There are four albums which were exclusively offered through his website from 2001 through 2011

Finally, there’s Xordox. As much as I love Steroid Maximus, I think Xordox is even a funner listen- all synths providing a science fiction sound. For those who haven’t checked on Thirlwell in awhile, it will likely be a nice discovery. Terraform is the third album, following albums in 2017 and 2021. 

While it would be easy to throw it in with video games soundtracks, songs like “Anthrobot” seem to have a bit of a punch that you might not expect. “Moonrise” is a climactic motion picture without the motion picture. “Planet Xordox” harkens back to Gary Numan, Afrika Bambaataa and Fad Gadget - those early 80s visions of the Future, except with modern synth technology.

Album Review- The Chop Tops- Fabrikate

The Music Industry has changed so much in the last couple of decades. While undoubtedly it’s been bad for some, I am also impressed by some of the changes that could be seen as positive. 

One of those is that it is probably easier in general for bands to get heard. Getting the sound of your garage (or these days, bedroom) to a listener who could be located anywhere on the planet. On Pandora (or any number of similar sites) you can make a radio station based on your favorite artists. Or genre. Or mood. There are infinite variations of discovering new music. Websites spit out “similar artists”. Algorithms churn out streaming radio on stuff you like. Lest we forget, albums are more available than ever before. 

A recent news item said there’s more albums released in one day now than in the whole year of 1989. I don’t know if the Chop Tops has any of this in mind when they reunited and decided to release album number seven Fabrikate after 15 years since their last new studio album. 

 The Chop Tops are proudly sponsored by Murray’s Pomade- the only other band to win that endorsement was the Stray Cats. The Strays are a good starting place but the band throws in some horror and surf influences. Fabrikate shows some unusual detours- there’s a cover of the classic (made famous by Led Zeppelin) “Gallows Pole” and maybe the only Rockabilly song to be based on Nick Cave’s “Stagger Lee” (called “Bucket of Blood”). Surf, blues and horror punk inform the proceedings when it strays from Rockabilly. 

 Here’s a band who recorded their debut in 1997, recorded their second album with Adele Dickerson in 1999 and played on a Brian Setzer album in 2001. Now recording and touring again, may they find additional audiences.

Album Review- Iggy Pop- Live at Montreux, Jazz Festival 2023

A friend gave me his copy of “Metallic KO” the famous 1976 Iggy and the Stooges live record that was allegedly from their final concert (Side 2 is from that final 1974 concert. Listeners would years later find out Side 1 was actually from a separate 1973 show) I found it then (and still now as) the most captivating live punk album of all time. 

Of course, it seems like almost every Stooges live performance seemed to find its way to disc. Iggy, like his fellow punk godfather Lou Reed, is almost as defined by his live albums as his studio work. There’s plenty of the Stooges stuff (up to 2005s much loved Stooges reunion album Telluric Chaos). Although not official releases, I would run into (and repeatedly bought on CD and vinyl) the concerts from the Ritz in New York 1986 and The Channel in Boston 1988, both seeing mass distribution starting in 1995. 

Corresponding to albums that have since fallen off the radar -86s Blah Blah Blah and 88s Instinct- freed from slick production from David Bowie on the former and Bill Laswell on the latter, the songs are rough as the classic pre punk songs they sit by on the setlist. I won’t go into a deep dive of other Iggy live releases which are so numerous that I am surprised that Discogs and Allmusic can keep up, and nearly all eras and years can be found. 

I will say I do particularly love the songs off of the 1977 tour with Bowie (like the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland show in March of that year) which were finally given the cleaned up treatment in 2020. I also saw Pop in the 90s and still consider it one of the best concerts I have ever seen. That said, it certainly felt like he was at least 60 years old then- the godfather of Punk. But he was younger then than this writer is now. He was in his late 40s but still had the energy of someone half that age. 

We probably don’t need a new live Iggy album but “Live At Montreux Festival 2023” comes out to rave reviews and it’s a nice addition to the catalog. Iggy is backed by guitars, bass, drums, trumpet and trombone. He hits an expected Stooges heavy playlist with nods to the Berlin period (“Mass Production” from The Idiot being a nice representative of that time) and the most recent album. (“Frenzy” and “Modern Day Ripoff” may be even dumber than songs like “Tuff Baby” and “Squarehead” from that Instinct-era setlist but it doesn’t matter when it’s all about aggression and energy. 

 The brass instruments on Search and Destroy does give some “Iggy in Vegas” vibes but nothing can tame that song, and more often than not it gives a nice Fun House vibe on songs like “Loose” or augments the proto-industrial sound of “Mass Production” Artists evolve over the ensuing years but it’s hard to believe Iggy ever did. On “I Wanna Be Your Dog”, as tensions increase, Iggy baits the crowd with as much intensity as he did when he was a Stooge. This is without the question, the same guy from Metallic KO from over 50 years back. 

I also don’t want to discount that “Iggy in Vegas” would be a bad thing. There’s never really a chance to reel him back in. This is the perfect Compact Disc length setlist. There’s a nice mix of Stooges, Berlin era and Solo songs. Where do you even cut? I mean I love American Caesar and Post Pop Depression which get no tracks here. To be honest neither do popular moments like Brock by Brick or anything from 1980 on that isn’t the new album. That said, it’s nice to see the underappreciated New Values get its two songs and you surely can’t cut out stompers like Gimme Danger. 

At this point, fans probably have as many Iggy albums as they need. This one is a pretty great “career capper” though that is worth the price of admission.

Album Review- Pete Doherty- Felt Better Alive

The Libertines remind me a bit of the Strokes. Formed a year earlier, their debut released 15 months later. Critics could have no issue with such blatant ripping off of their on-their-sleeve influences. Yet in many ways, it felt fresh and there was no denying their melodic ear. It was a rip off of 70s/80s NYC and 70s/80s UK fashion and sound but it was so cool.

One suspected Pete Doherty was either going to die an early death or if he survived find himself a Costello or Morrissey style respected elder lyrical statesman. Neither really quite panned out. Doherty was hard to love for awhile but he seemed to find some middle aged magic. 

His fifth (by most counts) solo record comes off two well received works- 2022s Frederic Lo collaboration Fantasy of Life and Crime and 2024s Libertines reunion All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade. 2025s Felt Better Alive comes out to some glowing reviews. 

As a fan, I agree with the take that he’s making some great music. I am less enthralled by the new record though. That’s probably explainable -11 songs at a mere 28 minutes. Doherty always was capable of just plugging in a guitar and churning out an enjoyable half hour and that’s what this feels like. But I also think it’s an odds and sods album. (At least I thought I read that at least a couple of songs were previously heard. Danged if I can find that now). 

Most songs feel like fragments. “Pretre de la Mar” is a standout with its sea shanty-ish charm. “Pot of Gold” offering happy domestic life. These are highlights that could fit on any Doherty playlist- rarely but sometimes making it past the three minute mark. The goofy “Fingee” is one I would skip but it seems popular so what do I know. Which may be where I land. 

Most reviewers think more of this album than I do. I am not willing to bump many of Doherty’s other albums off my favorites list for this. That said, it’s still a decent listen if you’re a fan.