Beach Slang @ Union Transfer with Positive No, Dyke Drama and Potty Mouth.
Text by Joanne Caruso. Images by Sydney Schaefer.
When Beach Slang played Union Transfer on Saturday, closing out their month-long tour, the night felt just as much like a welcoming home celebration as it did a family party, like the place where everyone wanted to be and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
The show opened with Richmond-based, alternative pop Positive No.
“Thank you for actually coming up front. That’s really nice,” lead singer Tracy Wilson said as the floor was slowly filling up and coming to life.
Sock-clad and full of punchy energy, Wilson alternated between singing into the mic and directly into the crowd, amplifying the band’s sounds.
Next up was Dyke Drama, the solo project of G.L.O.S.S.’s Sadie Switchblade, playing songs off Tender Resignation such as “Thelma & Louise,” “I’m Just Sayin,’” and the direct, catchy, and undeniably relatable “Crying In A Bathroom Stall.”
Switchblade jumped around and smoothly glided to match the sounds emanating out of her guitar. During the last song, members of the soon-to-perform Potty Mouth dashed onto the stage, showering Dyke Drama in an array of Silly String.
Bands playing the show flanked both sides of the stage, radiating support, positivity and sincerity. Throughout the set, members would fill the space between songs with heartfelt confessionals, talking about how their band and tour mates meant so much to them and how much they had impacted their lives.
Northampton’s Potty Mouth delivered their straightforward alt-rock sound with a cool edge and attitude, opening with the heavy and consuming sound of “The Bomb” off their self-titled EP released last August. They also performed “Truman Show” and “Cherry Picking.”
The alt-rock/punk shindy continued when the crowd broke out in unison to sing “Happy Birthday” to bassist Ally Einbinder—with balloons anchored in the background.
Shortly thereafter, Beach Slang took the stage and as if he even had to say it, lead singer and guitarist James Alex Snyder shouted, “We are Beach Slang and we are here to punch you right in the heart!”
The band dove directly into the guitar-blaring, compelling fury and honesty of “Ride The Wild Haze” off The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us. The crowd filled in the blanks of “Noisy Heaven” when Snyder’s voice left the mic, emphasizing the anthemic line “Good love is not safe.”
The night saw a variety of covers such as Jawbreaker’s “Boxcar,” Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl,” and “Territorial Pissings” by Nirvana, with the members of Potty Mouth leading. Beach Slang also played a song that will be featured on their next record, to be released in September. They performed their songs dynamically and cohesively, with a full and tight sound, throwing even more life into each one. They were constantly waving to the crowd, calling out to friends and family members present, and inviting people they knew on stage.
As the night and tour was drawing to a close—though the crowd got to enjoy a few extra songs as Beach Slang played past the final call time—members continued to punctuate the set with genuine divulgence.
Drummer JP Flexner came up and addressed the crowd, “It’s the beginning of more fun stuff … Not the end of it.”
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
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