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Live Review: Howard Jones w/ Haircut One Hundred and Richard Blade @ The Mahaffey Theater (St. Petersburg, FL) — 9/6/25

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Howard Jones
Howard Jones performs live at The Mahaffey Theatre on Sept. 6, 2025. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

In heartfelt remarks in a recent performance at The Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida, Howard Jones recalled how his mother accompanied him on tour and helped to sell merchandise. His mother and father become known figures among the tour faithful in the heyday of Howard’s pop chart success, and fans often gathered at shows early in part to see them!

Howard shared the remembrance while introducing the song “Look Mama” from his seminal album Dream into Action, which he is touring as a 40th anniversary celebration across the United States throughout September. Although “Look Mama” wasn’t about his own mother (she was crestfallen to think the lyrics might have been a pointed criticism of her parenting), Howard nonetheless dedicated the rarely performed hit single to her memory at The Mahaffey Theater.

Live Review: Pulp @ The Anthem — 9/6/25

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Pulp
Jarvis Cocker fronts Pulp at The Anthem on Sept. 6, 2025. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)

I had the best Britpop weekend ever last weekend, starting with Pulp’s triumphant return to the District of Columbia a mere 27 years after their last performance. If that wasn’t enough I flew out to LA first thing on Sunday to see Oasis for my fourth show on their Live 25 tour, this time at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena (it was fucking mega).

As such, I am jet lagged and a bit fried, so I will once again lean on the crutch of random thoughts fashioned as bullet points.

Snapshots: Se So Neon @ 9:30 Club — 9/5/25

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Se So Neon
Se So Neon performs live at 9:30 Club on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Micaela Cerball)

SE SO NEON recently transformed the 9:30 Club into a vivid soundscape, drawing heavily from their latest album NOW while reaching back through their catalog to keep the set unpredictable and dynamic.

Micaela Cerball was there to photograph the show.

Preview: Dummy @ Songbyrd Music House, 9/14/25

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Dummy
Dummy (Photo by Vincent Arbelet)

Dummy — the Los Angeles band comprised of Alex Ewell, Emma Maatman, Nathan O’Dell, and Joe Trainor — released a new album, Free Energy, in 2024 via Trouble In Mind Records. They allowed that up this year with a remix album, Bubbelibrium DLC!

Now, Dummy play live at Songbyrd Music House on Sunday, Sept. 14.

Live Review: Swans @ Howard Theatre — 9/5/25

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Swans
Swans perform live at the Howard Theatre on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Marc Shea)

Trying to describe a Swans concert to someone who has never seen the band is like trying to describe some place you’ve never been to someone who speaks a different language. That’s what happened to me when security at the Howard Theater asked me to prepare them for what was in store.

“I’ve only seen them once before”, I warned, “so I can only speak to that experience.” They nodded their understanding.

Preview: Garbage w/ Starcrawler @ The Anthem — 9/17/25

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Garbage (Photo by Joseph Cultice)
Garbage (Photo by Joseph Cultice)

Garage released a new album, Let All That We Imagine Be Light via BMG, in May. The famed alt-rock quartet have hit the road in what frontwoman Shirley Manson is saying is likely their last significant US headlining tour ever!

In DC, Garbage perform at The Anthem on Wednesday, Sept. 17, with openers Starcrawler — an appropriate match!

Live Review: The Darkness @ Lincoln Theatre — 9/7/25

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The Darkness
The Darkness perform live at Lincoln Theatre on Sept. 7, 2025. (Photo by Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography)

There’s something about walking into the Lincoln Theater in Washington, DC, on a Sunday night that already feels a little surreal. It’s a room built for a different era, all velvet seats and golden trim, the kind of place you’d expect to host a gospel revival or a jazz orchestra. But on this night, it wasn’t gospel or swing — it was The Darkness, England’s most gloriously unashamed defenders of guitar theatrics, falsetto wails, and rock and roll excess. And believe me, the place shook like the plaster might crack at any moment.

Snapshots: The Waterboys w/ Anna Tivel @ 9:30 Club — 9/4/25

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The Waterboys
The Waterboys perform live at 9:30 Club on Sept. 4, 2025. (Photo by Nalinee Darmrong)

The Waterboys opened their North American Life, Death and Dennis Hopper Tour at the 9:30 Club recently with a set that felt both ceremonial and loose-limbed — Mike Scott’s band dialing up heart, grit, and a storyteller’s sense of lift-off.

Nalinee Darmrong was there to photograph the show!

Live Review: Masango @ New Prospect Theatre (Bellingham, WA) — 9/2/25

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Masango, Bham, 2025-09-02
Zivanai Masango and Helen Masvikeni-Masango perform at Bellingham's New Prospect Theatre, Sept. 2, 2025. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)

Zivanai (Zi) Masango and Helen Masvikeni-Masango, on a short Pacific Northwest tour, turned the New Prospect Theatre into a Zimbabwean dance party on a recent night. With help from friends Rujeko and Napolean, and members of Bellingham’s own Ukama, Zi and Helen delivered a sampling of the rich tradition that is Zimbabwean music.

Live review: Oasis @ Metlife Stadium — 8/31/25

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Oasis
Liam Gallagher fronts Oasis at MetLife Stadium on August 31, 2025. (Photo courtesy Big Brother Recordings)

I have seen Oasis in small clubs (The Cat’s Cradle, The Abyss, Hammerjacks), medium-sized venues/theaters (Roseland, Hammerstein Ballroom, Radio City Music Hall), amphitheaters (Merriweather, Meadowbrook), and festivals (Reading, Virgin Fest) — but it took until I finally saw them in proper stadiums, performing to 80,000+ fans at Wembley Stadium in London during their Live 25 tour, for me to truly get my favorite band. 

Oasis is football as music. And everyone is cheering for the same team. Every single person in attendance singing along at the top of their lungs to every line of a 23-song, two-hour set is just like being at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Old Trafford, Anfield, or St. James Park. We’re all in it together and we’re all doing the Poznan.