BalletX begins their summer series next Wednesday at The Wilma Theater, featuring two world premiere pieces and visuals from the lighting gurus at Klip Collective. The music in the program was created by Philadelphia composers Josh James and Julian Grefe.
The series, which runs through Sunday, July 17, is the culmination of BalletX’s ten-year anniversary season. The company was founded by Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan as an alternative to the traditional ballet offerings, presenting new pieces and avant-garde and experimental work. They launched at the Live Arts Festival in September 2005.
Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa will premiere a piece inspired by the surrealist painter Rene Magritte. Neenan created a piece that was inspired by writer Toni Hamilton, who was a longtime supporter of BalletX until she passed away last year.
Our G.W. Miller III attended a rehearsal and then spoke with Neenan about his latest project and the future of BalletX.
What was the process of creating this piece?
Toni was an avid supporter of BalletX and a good friend of mine. When she passed last year, I was intrigued to do a piece that would honor her memory.
While doing that, her husband gave me some of her manuscripts that she wrote about 40 years ago at an artists’ residency at a place called Ossabaw Island, which is off the coast of Georgia. She went there twice. I read all of her journal entries, which also turned into a real manuscript. It went back and looked at her life, when she was growing up in the 40s and 50s. At the time, she was my age now. It was kind of interesting to get to know her at that age. That was a major inspiration. She was a beautiful writer. I got a lot out of it. I learned a lot about her that I didn’t know.
What surprised you? What didn’t you know?
I found her very similar to myself.
In what way?
She was a very generous woman, very compassionate and very easy to talk to. She loved conversation. But there was a side of her that really kept to herself. Her time of solitude was very important to her. Even with her husband and children, her time to think and be by herself and have her own thoughts and not be manipulated by everyone else really mattered to her.
I think that’s why she did these two residencies, so that she could have that time to write and reflect. She always kept a part of her heart that was for her. She was the kind of person who really kept her own secrets.
I’m very much the same way. My alone time is very crucial to me. She was more of a closed book than I thought, as am I.
The production itself is very dramatic. Is that based upon what you learned about her or based upon her work?
Through her work. Also, she suffered through Alzheimer’s disease. How she dealt with it was very honorable and brave. She accepted it. She didn’t like it. She did all the research she could. She wasn’t a person who wondered why the sun came up. She gets to the bottom of things. She’s very regimented in knowing her facts.
When she was diagnosed, she needed to know and wanted to know everything about the disease so she could cope with it and live with it. She didn’t screw around with it. That, I really admired about her.
How did the collaboration with Klip Collective come about?
This is our first collaboration. I sent them all of the manuscripts and all of my notes that I took from the manuscripts that I thought were important to know or be inspired by.
From their perspective, it’s all about memory and what’s inside our inner most luxuries and turmoil. So, the piece is going to have a very atmospheric tone to it, a little bit dark. Toni was always a fan of my work that was a bit more on the eerie side, a bit more risky, especially when I’d take some risks with the music I chose. She always applauded me and found those works more fascinating rather than the works that were more clear, that were meant to be enjoyable to the audience. She liked the work that I did that had lots of moments of stillness or music that might not be agreeable to everybody.
I stayed true to that. It’s not a super happy piece.
When you started BalletX 10 years ago, could you have imagined it still being around and thriving today?
That was the goal. For the first couple years, things were going well. Christine and I agreed that if it doesn’t seem like it’s working or if it seems like it’s killing us – which it kinda has – then we won’t do it. Our health is more important. But we’ve been very blessed. It’s been very arduous but the company has done very well.
Once things started to happen – some great touring and being invited to all these really wonderful dance festivals – that kind of sealed the deal. It was like, ‘Yeah, this is happening and the company is going to continue.’
If we produce strong work and we have strong dancers and we know the important people, it works. It’s an art form but it’s a business as well.
It seemed like you started from modest beginnings. And now it’s an institution, a part of the city.
Absolutely. The Wilma Theater and our whole relationship with the William Penn Foundation, it was the right place at the right time. The Wilma people were like, ‘Why don’t you perform here three times per year?’ That was huge.
Christine – it’s all really due to her. She’s a hustler. She makes things happen. She’s solely directing the company now and that’s because that’s her passion. She gets things done. She doesn’t sit on things.
That’s the attitude you have to have if you want to get a small, nonprofit dance company to survive.
Has that allowed you to focus on the artistic, creative end?
Yeah. Three years ago, when we starting another strategic plan, my career as a choreographer was starting to take off. I was getting more commissions from other companies. I’m also the resident choreographer at the Pennsylvania Ballet. You can only do so much.
Christine did choreograph a little bit in the beginning but she was kind of sliding away from that and dealing with more of the business end of things. It was the right time to shift and stir the pot a little bit.
What are the next goals for BalletX?
I think to continue as we are. I’d love to see the company have the residency at the Wilma. We love that theater. It’s perfect for us.
Everyone is always like, ‘You need a bigger theater.” I’d rather stay in a smaller venue and let the dancers perform more rather than try to sell the Academy of Music out for only two nights. Dancers only improve when they perform more.
I think international touring is a major goal.
Since 2007, we’ve had our own theater base. But we don’t have our own studio base. The company needs its own home, with offices and studio space. We’re kind of running around from different venues but that gets kind of difficult.
After the tragic shooting at Orlando’s Pulse night club, Orlando residents Adam D’Angelo and Sean Rice, like many other people, wanted to do something to help but didn’t know what to do. Orlando residents had already come out in staggering numbers to donate blood, food and other resources, so the two friends had to think of what they could do that hadn’t already been done.
After building relationships with artists and bands across the country, they decided they could raise money for the OneOrlando Fund by creating a compilation album – 49 tracks in all, representing the 49 victims of the shooting.
“The community coming together at the drop of a dime was so nice to see, just to see people coming together during a tragedy in solidarity,” D’Angelo said. “So [the Monday after the shooting], Sean and I were in a group chat with some friends, and of course the topic was what happened. Like, is this where I live? It seemed so scary, you know? We were talking and someone actually came up with the idea, like, ‘Hey, you guys should get some bands together and put out a compilation.’ Before he even finished his sentence, I was reaching out to friends, friends of friends, or bands with some social outreach that I knew. So I just ran with it. This is awesome, and we’re going to raise money, and we’re going to give it back to Orlando.”
Through friends in bands up north, namely Ben Russin from Title Fight, D’Angelo and Rice received tracks from multiple Philly bands, including The Menzingers, Hemming, Thin Lips, Cayetana and Modern Baseball.
“A song to them is not a big deal but the message is so much stronger,” D’Angelo said. “For other people, it’s like, ‘These are my favorite bands, and they also support this great cause for LGBT and gun violence and stand together.’ I feel like it resonates more than just music. It just speaks volumes to their character as band members and artists.”
Our Brendan Menapace spoke with some of the artists who offered their work for the cause.
Tom May, The Menzingers
How did you get involved in this compilation?
I was reached out to by one of the organizers, Sean Rice, who used to live in Philadelphia and lives in Orlando now. I also heard from Ben Russin from Title Fight. They were tying to get it done quickly. They basically sent me all of the information really fast. They were looking for b-sides or unreleased material, whatever we could give to support.
So how did you settle on the acoustic version of “Deep Sleep?”
We were trying to find something. We did record recently but none of that’s ready for us to use. We did have that version of “Deep Sleep” sitting on someone’s computer that we recorded sitting in a kitchen that we all used to share. We all used to live together in the same house. We just recorded that version in the kitchen and we just never released it or anything. So we just brought it up and brought it to the studio, remixed and mastered it, and sent it off.
Were there any other songs you considered using?
We thought about finding a cover and recording it real quick but it’s really difficult to find something appropriate for something so intense that would be reflective of what actually happened. There are plenty of songs about love and loss and picking yourself back up, but it just didn’t seem like we could find something really appropriate. And writing something? You don’t really want to make it about yourself, you know?
What did you feel like you all as a band got out of this?
I guess what we got out of it, personally, was feeling like we got to help out. Of all the places that we play in this country, and in other countries that we play in, Orlando has been one of the best places for us as far as shows go, as far as friends go. There are a lot of our friends who have moved down there from the Philadelphia area who have since set up and have introduced us to a lot of people in that community. So, knowing that we could help out even a little bit was a reward.
Allegra Anka, Cayetana
What made you guys want to be involved with the compilation?
We were all extremely devastated and heartbroken by what had happened. It was a few days after that that [Sean and Adam] had asked us about it. [The band] had just been together every day because we were in the studio recording our record at the same time, and it was literally all we could really think about and talk about. And I think that we also felt really helpless.
Obviously, when things like this happen, it’s hard to know what to do to make it better immediately or directly. Obviously, raising money to support the people and the community was one way that we felt we could actively do something besides having conversations and being really sad, and that kind of thing. It’s just issues—multiple issues, really—that are important to us.
Could you tell me about the song you submitted?
We submitted a song called “Freedom 1313” because it’s a song that, in sort of content, has similar themes within it. And it was a song that we had recently released in January of this year, and just wanted to put that song onto the compilation.
Did you talk to any of the other bands on the compilation during the process?
We have a lot of friends who are involved—Katie Ellen, Worriers, Thin Lips. When it happened, we were just sort of in touch, you know, out of the community and sort of, like, just reaching out to each other. So, I think, for the same reasons I just described, everybody was happy to do whatever they could to be involved at this time and be present.
What kind of impact do you think compilations like this have on social issues?
I think that, first and foremost, as somebody who is queer and was … am … really hurting over this as a part of my queer family and queer people all over the place.
I also empathize through being part of the music community in a really strong way. And it’s just nice to see that, you know, when stuff like this happens, it does kind of unite everybody across all communities, and it’s just nice to see people come together over it.
And I think when people see that bands that they care about really care about these issues or do have openly queer members, or are talking about the shooting that happened or anything related to any of this—gun violence, homophobia, Islamophobia—I think it’s a really important thing. It just has this much larger reach and can get people invested and involved who may not already be or may not necessarily know how to talk about it or how to get involved.
Chrissy Tashjian, Thin Lips
How did you get approached to be on the compilation?
We’re on tour with Modern Baseball right now. So, Sean [Huber of Modern Baseball] just said, ‘Hey, I have this friend who’s doing this thing,’ because he knew I was really upset about what happened while we were on tour. And Augusta [Koch of Cayetana] just messaged me and asked if I wanted to be a part of it. Because, in my group of musical friends, I’m one of the very few homos, so it was really nice that they reached out to me.
What does it mean to you guys as a band to be a part of this?
I just wanted to do whatever I could, which doesn’t ever seem like a lot. People come out to shows all the time. And when we get a chance, we play a benefit or we’re on this compilation. We’re actually doing a benefit in New York to benefit Orlando in August. It’s the least that we could do.
So what can you tell me about the song you guys submitted?
It’s called “Never Again.” It’s about me going to a bar and being met with a bunch of, kind of like, misogyny and bros. And then I leave and come back with a bunch of queers that are mostly women and we kick them out. I just thought it was funny and fitting.
What kind of impact do these compilations have, in your opinion?
I feel like people really felt compelled after what happened in Orlando especially. I’m not saying that other causes aren’t equaly important, but I really felt like it was a good way for people to get something and give whatever they could. That’s the cool part. There are so many cool bands on this compilation. I love PWR BTTM. It’s so cool to be on a compilation with them about something I really feel strongly about.
I don’t know. I just feel like 8,000 bands, donate what you want, like, you can’t really beat that. It’s such a good business model to get any amount of money, because really, at that point, any amount helps. It’s a good group.
Is there anything else about the compilation or your involvement that you want to talk about?
I think that it’s important to note that what happened in Orlando happened to a group of people that were, like, almost all people of color. So, I think it’s just important that it not get whitewashed, you know what I mean?
There’s a lot of press surrounding it, and it’s like, ‘This tragedy happened,’ but there’s so much racism in the world and hate that led up to that.
It’s awesome to see, especially because sometimes when things like this happen to people of color, sadly, it is not in the media at all. And I don’t even have too much to say about that, other than that it’s just tragic.
Everybody should be doing what they can, but I also think it’s important for white folks and allies to talk to their friends who are white folks and allies and educate them, so that queer people don’t have to do that, so they can just live.
Vacationer @ Haddon Lake Park with Melissa Menago.
Vacationer threw a very chill party under the stars and surrounded by trees last night in Haddon Heights as part of the neighborhood’s Sundown Series in Haddon Lake Park.
The host for the evening introduced Vacationer to the crowd of around 300 people by saying, “I’ve never heard of this band but I heard them during sound check and you’re in for a treat.”
The sedate but appreciative crowd swayed along as the band from Chilladelphia grooved with their beachy sounds and dreamy lyrics.
Midway through their 75-minute set, frontman Kenny Vasoli said, “For this next song, we want you all to get up and dance!”
He received blank stares in response – many in the crowd were older and even the younger folks seemed reluctant to be the first to stand up.
“I’m just kidding,” Vasoli continued. “You’ve probably been working all day. You don’t have to dance.”
His banter was often met with simple, quiet applause. It was so peaceful that at one point, he had a little conversation from the stage with his dog, who was sitting next to Vasoli’s girlfriend in the crowd.
When the band performed “Trip,” you could see a healthy contingency singing along. One fan was especially vocal, belting out lyrics and hooting between songs all evening. He bounced up and down the whole set until finally, Vasoli acknowledged him, saying, “Hey, what’s up, Fitzy?”
It was a lovely night to sit in lawn chairs and drink beers in red cups, listening to the gentle sounds from Vacationer as lightning bugs flew around.
The Sundown Series has, apparently, been in existence for 16 years. They run a very professional operation, with great sound and lighting. Lisa Loeb performed the previous week.
Melissa Menago opened last night with a short set made up of songs she played on her ukelele. Her debut solo album drops in July and she’ll celebrate with a show at World Cafe Live on July 22.
Menago, who also fronts June Divided, performed a few original tracks, as well as an acoustic version of June Divided’s “Other Side of You.” She also sang a blend of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “Under The Sea,” which was absolutely delightful.
After the show, fans met with Menago while others took pictures with the guys from Vacationer. The Vacationer guys whipped out a birthday cake for guitarist Greg Altman, who will perform tonight at The Barbary with his other band, Ratkicker.
Text by Joanne Caruso. Images by Patrick Clark.
Modern Baseball landed in their hometown on Sunday as part of their current U.S. tour, eponymously named after the newly released Holy Ghost. Their setlist ran the gamut of their catalogue, with fans never missing an iconic line or a well-pointed expletive.
The night was an unrelenting display of some of punk/pop punk’s finest of today with tight, quickly moving sets that left the crowd just enough time to come up for air before screaming back the lines that have defined both the bands and their fans through their relatability and emotional conjuring.
Opening the show was fellow Philadelphia-based Thin Lips, boasting a sound that was both melodic and hitting, with enough of a sting and substance to stick with you. The band played a number of tracks off of their May 2016 release Riff Hard such as “My Mouth Is Skinned Like An Apple,” which is about just “how weird Tinder is.” Their sound evoked steady waves of head nodding and body swaying. Lead singer Chrissy Tashjian’s voice carried above the crowd at all the right moments as members jumped in place to keep time with the songs in a punctuated, emphatic performance.
Philly’s own Frances Quinlan of Hop Along joined them for “No Obituary,” one of a few songs on which she provides vocals on Riff Hard. Tashjian also took a moment to remember those of the Orlando shooting and called on those in the room to step up “and show the people that you love that are queers that you love them and help them feel safe.”
Before launching into their closer “Divorce Year,” Tashjian thanked everyone for hanging out.
“I can’t wait to hang out with you guys and drink whiskey and not be nervous anymore,”Tashjian said.
Yet Thin Lips’ performance came across as all energy, with no hint of the nervous variety.
Up next was Joyce Manor, from Torrance, California who dove right into “Beach Community,” igniting the crowd to life as they fervently shouted back every word. Their set, much like their records, was an unremitting deliverance of direct, fast and heavy lyrics and sounds reverberating through the flurry of crowd surfers and raised hands and arms. Not taking repose, they played right into “Derailed,” another track off of their self-titled 2011 release.
They performed at full tilt, running through a number of tracks such as “Heart Tattoo,” “Housewarming Party” and “Constant Nothing,” yet never skimping on an ounce of rawness and rage. “End of the Summer” evoked a heavy melancholy longing with the still quintessential Joyce Manor punch with an absolute crowd blowout at the start of Never Hungover Again’s “Leather Jacket.” The night also saw a cover of The Murder City Devils’ “Midnight Service At The Mütter Museum.”
The penultimate “Constant Headache” garnered a strong sing-along, with fans tearing through—in their own solo of sorts—the latter part of the line, “It’s such a stubborn reminder one perfect night’s not enough!” Though, it could be argued, this was one perfect night that certainly delivered.
“What’s up, fam? We’re home!” shouted Modern Baseball singer and guitarist Jake Ewald to an erupting crowd after the four-piece walked out to the recorded version of their latest album’s opening track “Holy Ghost.”
They segued immediately into “Wedding Singer” and then again into “Note to Self,” bouncing back to You’re Gonna Miss It All’s “Rock Bottom” with an ever uproarious and impassioned “Whatever, forever!” from the crowd.
“If you can’t tell, we’re trying to play a lot of songs really fast,” said singer and guitarist Brendan Lukens with a laugh early on in the set, having played through a number of tracks such as “Tears Over Beers,” “The Weekend,” and “Alpha Kappa Fall of Troy The Movie Part Deux (2 Disc Director’s Cut).”
Modern Baseball never showed any signs of slowing down as fans sang lyrics the whole way, a sort of rallying cry and celebration of all who had known the words and lived or related to them.
Their performance was fun and inviting, heartfelt and effusive, each lyric a release of the emotions inside. The members interacted with each other throughout the set from high fives to playing near one another and sharing laughs. After playing their “final” song “Just Another Face,” Ewald appeared again to play the acoustic “Pothole.” The rest of the band filtered back out to close out with the great “Your Graduation.”
Moments in, members from the show’s opening acts and others from the band’s touring coterie ran out onto the stage, some picking up instruments and microphones to add to the commencement celebration.
Dashboard Confessional @ Festival Pier with Taking Back Sunday, The Starting Line, Saosin and The Early November.
Text by McCall Cox. Images by Erin Marhefka.
The Taste of Chaos tour passed through Philadelphia last week, bringing Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, The Starting Line, Saosin and The Early November to Festival Pier.
The Early November kicked off the night of music. Hailing from New Jersey, the five-piece rock band is made up of Arthur Enders on vocals, Sergio Anello on bass guitar, Jeff Kummer on drums, Joseph Marro on guitar and Bill Lugg on guitar as well. The Early November played an energetic set to an excited audience, performing songs such as “Tell Me Why,” “Narrow Mouth” and “I Want To Hear You Sad.”
Saosin rolled on stage next, ready to play an energetic set filled with tracks both old and new. The rock band featured Anthony Green on vocals once again, as well as Beau Burchell and Phil Sgrosso on guitar, Chris Sorenson on bass and Alex Rodriguez on drums. The band had been relatively inactive for about four years, from 2010 until 2014, until Green rejoined the band and they recently released the album, Along The Shadow, this past May.
Green was very interactive with the crowd, passing the microphone to an audience member to sing along and even crowdsurfing the length of the entire audience at the conclusion of the band’s set.
“We’re so grateful to be here on this tour. It’s fucking awesome,” Green said. “I’ve got to say, this is the best fucking show of the tour so far. I know I’m a little bit biased but for me, it’s the truth.”
Saosin also performed songs such as “Translating the Name,” “Racing Toward a Red Light,” and “3rd Measurement in C.”
“Thanks for being so nice to us today. We’re Saosin. We’re so happy to be able to play music for you again.”
The Starting Line was welcomed to the stage with cheers of support for the local act. The Starting Line, which features Kenny Vasoli on vocals and bass, Matt Watts on guitar, Mike Golla on guitar, Tom Gryskiewicz on drums and Brian Schmutz on keyboard, had announced its hiatus in 2008. Though the band continued to tour occasionally, they announced their return to music with the EP titled Anyways, which was released December of 2015.
As the band was beginning the first track of their set, “Up & Go,” Vasoli stopped the song.
“Hang on, hang on. Somebody’s in the wrong tuning,” he said, adding jokingly, “That’s what happens when you take seven years off.”
Vasoli then thanked the crowd, mentioning that it was the largest audience The Starting Line has played for.
“We put out a little seven inch this year. I hope you all check it out,” Vasoli later said, referring to the Anyways EP.
“I just really want to say thank you to everyone who has been listening to us since 2001. I hope the new stuff lives up,” he continued before performing the track “Anyways.”
“This is amazing. I don’t really have enough time to talk about it but this means so much,” Vasoli added between songs.
The Starting Line also played tracks such as “Leaving,” “Are You Alone,” and “Almost There, Going Nowhere.”
Taking Back Sunday rocked the stage next as the sun began to set, appearing on stage to the opening song from “The Lion King.” The alt-rock group features Adam Lazzara on vocals, John Nolan on guitar and vocals, Eddie Reyes on guitar, Shaun Cooper on bass and Mark O’Connell on drums.
“Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen,” Lazzara said after the band performed a few songs. “We’re called Taking Back Sunday. It’s a pleasure to be here this evening. Are you enjoying yourself?”
Lazzara continued to engage the audience, recounting a show the band had performed in Philadelphia years ago during which the audience had overrun the barricade, causing the show to be shut down.
“So anyways, all that to say, I fucking love it here,” the singer concluded the story.
“Now ladies and gentlemen, I understand that most of you made it out here for nostalgic purposes,” Lazzara later said, eliciting cheers of agreement from the audience.
“But you know what that means—we’re in this together. I was there when you skipped your freshman high school classes. I was there when you went to that college. I’m 6’2” and I’m standing right here in front of you. And I’ve learned some things and I want to share them with you. And that means a new song.”
Lazzara interacted with the audience, bantering with the band as well as the audience and also wishing a bride congratulations, saying, “It’s a world of hurt but it’s worth it.” The frontman also roused the crowd to show support for the other bands performing that evening.
Taking Back Sunday also performed another new, unreleased track.
“We’re going to play a new song and I know what you’re thinking—‘I didn’t come out tonight to hear new songs, how selfish of you Taking Back Sunday.’ But the reason we want to play this new song is because it’s that damn good,” Lazzara said of the new song, “Tidal Wave.”
Taking Back Sunday also performed songs such as “You’re So Last Summer,” “Flicker Fade,” and “Liar (It Takes One To Know One).”
Dashboard Confessional wrapped up the night of rock, taking the stage just before 9:30 p.m.
Dashboard Confessional is comprised of Chris Carrabba on vocals and guitar, Scott Schoenbeck on bass, John Lefler on guitar and Mike Marsh on drums.
Dashboard Confessional performed many songs from early albums, Carrabba’s voice matched by deafening support from the audience as the crowd sang along.
“We’ve all grown up together I think,”Carrabba said.“We’ve been growing up together and this song kind of feels a bit like that. It’s something that I think we have a different point of view on a certain thing now and it’s simple—if you love somebody, you’ve got a real simple duty to allow them to be who they are and who they’re going to become. And to do that, you just have to agree, ‘I’m going to be the safe place for you,’ and that’s it. That’s what this song is about.”
They then played a new song, “Heart Beat Here.”
After performing “Stolen,” the band exited the stage.
Dashboard Confessional returned for an encore of “Hands Down,” which Carrabba prefaced by saying, “This song is about the best day I ever had in my whole life.”
Dashboard Confessional’s setlist also consisted of “Vindicated,” a brief cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You,” “Screaming Infidelities” and “The Best Deceptions.”
Tunji Ige @ The Foundry with Michael Christmas and More.
Text and images by Justin Swan.
Philadelphia native Tunji Ige returned home to perform at The Foundry at The Fillmore last Wednesday. This was the seventh out of ten stops on his tour with Michael Christmas.
There was no shortage of talent with the likes of Asher Roth showing up, as well as Grande Marshall, another Philly local and Fool’s Gold artist.
The show also brought out up-and-coming artist Tobi Lou of Chicago/Los Angeles, who just released his new track “Hopefully” at the beginning of this year.
PUP, Rozwell Kid and Pkew Pkew Pkew @ PhilaMOCA.
Text by Brendan Menapace. Images by Sydney Schaefer.
PUP frontman Stefan Babcock looked out over the sold-out crowd of raised hands, drenched T-shirts and smiling faces in front of him at PhilaMOCA last week.
“Congratulations, Philadelphia, this is the most disgusting I’ve ever felt in my life,” he said.
It was a full night of guitar-heavy punk, gang vocals and so much sweat that the air was heavy and tough to breathe in. And it reminded everyone there why they started going to these shows in the first place. It was loud, it was crowded, it wasn’t perfect and it was fun as hell.
The night started with Toronto’s Pkew Pkew Pkew, a four-piece punk band whose set consisted of sing-along punk songs, usually featuring three singers at once. The band’s debut album just dropped this month. It clocks in at about 21 minutes long and features songs about drinking beers to suppress the fear of skateboarding when you’re in your 20s, pissing off your neighbors by playing music too loud and ordering pizza to soak up some of the beer you’re about to puke up.
It wasn’t a perfectly polished set. The band had a slight hiccup during “Bloodclot,” the first track off the album, but recovered pretty seamlessly and the crowd played right along. It’s fun and easy punk. No frills. No gimmicks.
West Virginia’s Rozwell Kid, who recently became SideOneDummy colleagues with PUP, followed. Rozwell Kid fills the Weezer-sized hole in the world. The combination of harmonized guitar solos, the occasional gratuitous shredding and themes of early adulthood lethargy and confusion (usually with some humor thrown in) would make someone who constantly talks about how much they love Weezer’s Pinkerton forget all about it completely.
Their set featured songs spanning their three full-lengths and latest EP, including “Van Man,” “Halloween 3.5,” which discusses the merits of DIY Halloween costumes, “Baby’s First Sideburns,” a tale of the hardships of growing facial hair mixed in with heavy riffage, and “Kangaroo Pocket,” a hopelessly catchy ode to the simple things in life, like Simpsons reruns and hummus.
They even took the time to freeze mid-outro, letting the crowd take some blur-free photos of frontman Jordan Hudkins holding the neck of his guitar high above his head with a high, bent note “ringing out.”
Finally, PUP took the stage, and the crowd surged forward. Fans started yelling back to Babcock at the first syllable of “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will,” the first track off their new album, The Dream Is Over.
It’s fitting that the chorus of that song is “Why can’t we just get along?” because getting along was a theme of the set. Before they even started playing, guitarist Steve Sladkowski, clad in a Toronto Raptors jersey, explained the ground rules for the night.
Basically, don’t be a dick.
Babcock chimed in by asking the crowd to please direct crowd surfers toward the back, rather than to the tiny stage.
Through a blistering set that mixed songs from both of their LP’s, including “Mabu,” “My Life Is Over and I Couldn’t Be Happier,” “Guilt Trip,” “Sleep in the Heat” (aka the only song about a Chameleon that can make you cry), the crowd was in a constant state of motion. The weird time signatures, switches and acrobatic guitar riffs their songs are known for on the album played out perfectly on stage. The vocal cords that Babcock shredded in the past—an episode that prompted a doctor to tell him to call it quits (the new album’s title is the doctor’s exact wording)—were doing their job. They absolutely are not the product of studio magic.
The already warmed up PhilaMOCA became a sauna. Sladkowski commented on the literal puddle of sweat at his feet and Babcock said even he was never crazy enough to be in a crowd that sweaty. He also complimented the group of women in the very front who made sure his monitor stayed in place.
In keeping with their own rules, the band stopped in the middle of “DVP” when a circle opened up in front of them and people started scanning the floor with iPhone flashlights. After someone found their glasses (unfortunately smashed), the song continued. Afterward, Sladkowski recommended he buy a pair of Croakies, like the ones he has to keep his own glasses on.
If the smiles and looks of amazement at the crowd’s devotion weren’t enough to show that PUP was happy to be in Philadelphia, they straight up said it.
“One time, we played to about 30 people at Golden Tea House,” Babcock said. “And that was the first time that we were like, ‘Holy shit. We made it!’”
They also took time to thank their Philadelphia friends, like Cayetana, Modern Baseball and The Menzingers, many of whom were in attendance.
Babcock said that Philadelphia has always felt like a second home to them. If the brutal winters of the Great White North become too much, the fans at PhilaMOCA showed that we’d be happy to take them in. They’d sure be among friends.
Pop/ska/reggae/rock legends The English Beat will perform at The Trocadero on Saturday, July 2 and we’re giving away tickets. Soul Asylum, another great band from back in the day, will open.
Like us on facebook and email us at FreeJumpStuff@gmail.com to enter to win a pair of tickets (give us your name and put “The Beat” in the subject line).
If you want to play it safe and get your own tickets, find details for the show here.
Ginger Coyle @ The Penn Museum Summer Nights Series.
Text and images by Michele Zipkin.
New Jersey-born songwriter Ginger Coyle played a solo show this past Wednesday evening as part of the Penn Museum’s Summer Nights Concert Series. Every Wednesday through September 7th, the museum will host local musicians in the Stoner Courtyard garden from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. They also offer short free tours of the museum during intermission.
Coyle’s soulful voice atop bluesy piano and guitar rock made for perfect accompaniment to an outdoor summer evening. She started with songs from her upcoming record Higher Frequency, including “Do what you Feel.” The song includes the line “Do what you feel, ‘cause nothing’s real, except for the love,” after which she said, “That was a true story because all we have is our love.”
Maya Angelou’s words “Still I Rise” inspired Coyle’s reggae-infused “Rise Up.” She got the copyright and quoted Angelou in her song.
“I collaborated with Maya Angelou,” Coyle said with a smile before playing the song.
Tunes like “Homeward Bound” and “The Big Picture” provided stylistically lighter fare in contrast to other more downtempo, introspective songs like “Moon and Back.”
Not only did Coyle play original songs, she sang a long list of covers, including “Dock of the Bay,” a medley of “Back to Black” and “Careless Whisper,” “Moondance” and “Crazy in Love,” among others.
Coyle has vocal and piano chops – she effortlessly belted beautiful melodies and danced her fingers across the piano keyboard, hitting a healthy dose of blue notes. Her new record is set to come out in August, and she will play in Wiggins Park on July Fourth with her band The Peace Freqs. She is definitely an artist to watch for.
The Penn Museum’s next concert features the bluegrass and country-forward Four Prophet String Band.
Hardwork Movement Shows How To Sell Merch.
On the eve of Hardwork Movement‘s FREE performance at Spruce Street Harbor Park with New Sound Brass, the group put together a video about how they move that merch.
OK, maybe not exactly the best example of “how-to,” but you get the idea. If you want to cop your own T-shirt, they will probably have a few on hand tomorrow night.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 