Written and Photographed by : Eric Sperrazza

  Picture if you will a once vintage theater in the suburbs of Philadelphia that became a forty-year venue staple in the music industry; still adorning the lightbulb-lit marquee atop the entrance. Now imagine that same boutique venue packed with 500 fans on a warm spring night. Creating hot fusion and practically melding those in attendance together, as the imprinted energy of “David Bowie,” “The Ramones,” “Eric Clapton,”and “Pink Floyd” ooze from the pores of the walls. That was exactly the scene in Ardmore,  on Monday evening as fans took up every inch of real estate inside the legendary Ardmore Music Hall for a chance to see the elusive-faced guitar virtuoso that is Buckethead.

Born Brian Patrick Carroll in the heart of Orange County, CA, the persona of Buckethead was designed in the face of anxiety issues coupled with heart conditions. The “it-list” guitar hero wanted people to focus on his music and less on the man. An amalgam of “Michael Myers” and a night of good drive-thru chicken, the avatar was born and has stayed as Carroll’s alter ego.  From soundtracks to movies such as “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation”, “Last Action Hero”, and “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” to collaboration work with “Les Claypool”, “Bootsy Collins”, “Iggy Pop”, and “Guns & Roses”, “Buckethead” has stood on his vibrant talent and his quiet mystique in the realm of rock and roll for thirty-six years. 

As the packed-in Ardmore Music Hall became a human-powered convection oven, Buckethead silently took to the stage with Dan Monti (bass), Brian” Brain” Mantia (drums) and Madeline “Cyrille” Miller (vocals.) The scuttlebutt around the audience was that some fans had been lining up for prime general admission vantage points as early as noon, that day. As Buckethead and friends ripped into the song, “Fountains of the Forgotten,” that same passionate crowd came alive, making the temperature spike almost immediately to levels only rivaled by Arizona summers. Throughout the set, a potpourri of song offerings was delivered with as much surgical precision as the venue and subsequent equipment would allow. A venerable tour de force with the likes of Iron Maiden’s cover, “Wrathchild,”  Buckethead original “Night of Slunk” and even the Cyrille collaboration song, “Solar and Lunar Rain” were given up as a tribute to the rabid attendees. What’s more, was the covers of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and even the Rick Springfield classic, “Jessie’s Girl.” Without uttering a solitary word, Buckethead finished the almost two-hour event with his single, “Jordan.” Despite the enigmatic axe-man’s talent spilling over in abundance onto the powder keg of the crowd, the night was fraught with issues. For the songs Cyrille had offered up vocals for, it seemed like her microphone was inoperable, and thus even those in the very front of the stage could not hear her. At one point, fans were telling her, “Your mic isn’t on!”. Even Buckethead, himself, wasn’t immune to technical difficulties as his amplifier feedback was that of a garage band’s first practice on a second-hand Marshall box. At least a half-dozen times, roadies took to the stage, being whispered concerns in their ear by Buckethead and scurried about to try and save the day. Even Cyrille got down on her knees to try and ameliorate difficulties with floor pedals and wiring. 

Then there was the accommodation of the press, we were told moments before the show by the band to shut down the press photography area. The staff of AMH, photographers, and writers who were there to cover the show were forced to navigate the general admission crowd. The media that was there were met with militant ticketholders either too packed in to move or uninterested in giving an inch of the space they fought to imbue. The staff tried to accommodate and came off wildly apologetic, but it didn’t make the night any easier.

As the show ended, the live audience spewed out into the streets of Ardmore, drenched as if they spent all day at a summer festival during a heatwave. However, the chatter amongst concertgoers was, by large positive. Space and technical difficulties aside, Buckethead gave the crowd the experience of a living guitar legend in full-costumed regalia. Showcasing his untouchable talent and delighting those who came to bask in awe. 

As for those of us who frequent Ardmore Music Hall, there is plenty that could have been mitigated differently, but the vibe given was that it wasn’t missed by those working the venue. Hopefully, the next time a Monday night sold-out crowd arrives looking to satiate their desire for music, the famed Hall will be more than ready to accommodate.

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Written & Photographed By: Eric Sperrazza

It was 1998 and I was in the fledgling stages of my love affair with punk music. Freshly moved from Queens, New York where I spent my time discovering the East Village and the full breadth of the Bowery, I was given a ticket to join a friend for the Vans Warped Tour on the Camden, New Jersey Waterfront. There, I would hear the sounds for the first time of Bad Religion, Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, NOFX, The Bouncing Souls, The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, and a band called Save Ferris. I was taken aback by this continuation of my punk journey, so far from Greenwich Village. As we drove back to my apartment, sweaty, dirty, and with bags of vendor swag, I asked my friend if she had any CDs of the bands we saw to play in her car. At that moment, she pulled out a copy of Save Ferris’s album, It Means Everything, and proceeded to listen to it, all the way home. It wasn’t long after that I began a hunt to own all the music that touched my soul, on that day. What St. Marks Place started in lower Manhattan, a scorching day under the summer sun in Camden had finished.

By Killian O’Neil Photos By Lead Photographer Liv Foltiny

I walked into AMH around eight that evening and people were slowly starting to file in. The attendance at the beginning of the night was scarce while We are Minka was playing on stage. The lead singer was initially dressed in a silver sequin blazer and silver pants dancing and hitting the keys like they owed him money. But by the end of the set, he was stripped down into silver boy shorts and doing top tier crowd work to keep the energy up. They are a funk synth band from Philadelphia who sound like The Talking Heads and David Bowie. If that is something that tickles your fancy, I suggest you check them out, they are a hell of a time. While We are Minka was wrapping up, the venue started to fill up. 

We Are Minka

AMH was getting so packed that the air was turning humid and damp. If you’ve never been to this venue, think of a smaller version of the TLA and that is exactly what it is. It didn’t take long for We Are Minka to exit the stage and for Dry Reef to set up. In total about a 20-minute exchange. It was right around 8:50 when the lights did a strobe flicker and the boys filed onto the stage.

For those of you who don’t know who Dry Reef is, they are a local band from the greater Philadelphia area. I had the pleasure of interviewing them this last month and finally got to see them play again. Except this time, they were dual headlining and I was able to catch a full set. Friday kicked off a string of shows that they have lined up on the east coast in the coming weeks. This particular night was an extremely intimate setting with it being a hometown show. Friends and family were riddled throughout the crowd in support. It’s easy to be in support of this band when they are that good.

DR went right into the first song New Soul off one of their Ep’s titled, “Alright Revival” that was released in 2018 and immediately drew the crowd in. They played a mix of older songs as well as some newer songs that haven’t been released yet. Mid-set the band mixed it up a bit and threw a bonus cover of “Shadow People” by Dr. Dog in. At first, I was extremely taken aback by hearing the song. Mainly because it’s next to impossible to sound like the lead singer from Dr.Dog and Pat Gillen nailed it. Which goes to show the level of talent he possesses. The rest of the band also was impeccable while playing that song. For a few short moments I thought I time traveled back in time to Denver when I saw Dr. Dog perform. It was so good. 

Being immersed in the music the entire night was the only way to be, there wasn’t a single moment where I wasn’t moving my body. Not a single person was standing still, everyone was dancing to the beat of their own drum while singing along. Dry Reef takes you on a journey when you see them live. They have a magic on stage that draws you in and keeps you there. The Jammy reggae vibe which invades the airwaves is something that puts them ahead of the curve because it is their own sound unlike so many other bands these days. 

The night was wrapped up with “Checkpoints”, a song they released in 2017. The crowd was going wild and the dancing intensified. The atmosphere at this point of the night was what you would expect at a Lotus show. It was a solid three-minute song with a bunch of airy breakdowns riddled throughout. I kept thinking to myself how talented this band is. Each and every one of them are intricate pieces of this band, which comes through when they play. The synergy they share onstage is unmatched. During “Checkpoints” is when I really took notice of Joey, their drummer. Who’s stick handling had me hypnotized on drums and he didn’t fall off click once. He even got the memo not to wear shoes, which is a pro move. Once that song wrapped the crowd begged for an encore. Dry Reef seems to be in the business of making their fans happy, so that is exactly what they did.

It took all of four minutes for the band to not only come back on for the encore but to have an outfit change as well.

Remember when I said that the birds were in the Superbowl? Well, each member of the band came back out in an Eagles jersey. Collin, one of their guitarists, came out sporting an OG Eagles flag worn as a cape along with a helmet and a Jersey. 

The entire room was lit up green from the lights and Eagles chants started to ensue. One second the venue was chanting and screaming. The next second everyone fell silent once Collin hit the first chord of the famous Eagles Fight song on his electric guitar. The shredding that happened during that was absolutely incredible and ended with the building practically shaking while going into the E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES chant. 

 As soon as the chant ended DR made a smooth transition into a wonderful rendition of, “Fly Like An Eagle”and closed out the night. Which couldn’t have been more appropriate seeing as current events. During the encore you could see the fun they were all having up on stage. It was a contagious energy in the building on Friday night. Yes, we were playing in the Superbowl but Dry Reef was able to harness that energy and use it in their performance which is a rare thing to be able to do. They closed out the show with that song. Soon after they ended, the music hall pretty much cleared out. As much as it was a dual headlining show it was very apparent that the majority of people came out to see Dry Reef.

The band had this to say about Friday’s show:

     “[We] definitely had some pre-show jitters [because] it was our first show in a few months, but we definitely felt the love from the Ardmore crowd pretty early on, and kept the energy up for the whole set. Gotta give a huge shout-out to Keliann’s Bar and Grill in Philly for letting us borrow the helmet at the last minute…the crowd ate it up and it made the Eagles fandom real.”