Thursday, May 31, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Philly Music Ambassador Failure
We Are the Ocean, Twin Atlantic, You Me At Six & The Swellers: The Barbary, Philadelphia, PA (January 31, 2012)
First show of 2012 for me (I know, I got off to a late start). Although I’m running a little behind, I assure you, this show made up for the entire month of January where I was clearly sitting on my bum and neglecting the live music scene. Considering that tickets were purchased the day they went on sale, I had what seemed to be a ridiculously long period of anticipation building until this caravan finally made its way to town.
I hadn’t really been exposed to You Me At Six or We Are the Ocean at the time of purchase, so I did a little music perusing and investigating in the weeks leading up to the show. Conclusions: We Are the Ocean: talented, young and have a bright future ahead. A little harsher than I usually opt for on a regular basis, but they definitely made it to my running playlist. You Me At Six: Their music is a little more mainstream than I expected, but it’s catchy, gets stuck in your head (not in a bad way) and in the weeks since the show, it has been making its way into quite a few of my Spotify playlists. Did you know they did a song with Chiddy, and it’s good!? Oh, and Josh Franceschi’s Twitter is hysterical
Upon arrival, there were approximately 50 teenage girls lined up outside in various stages of undress, reflecting unseasonable 60 degree weather. “Please let there be a bar nearby…” Thank goodness, down the street, a neon Pabst sign beckoned me and my companion to wait out the female pubescent energy currently surging around the entrance to our destination.
First, the Barbary: I have never experienced the Barbary prior to this event, and was terrified when I walked into what looked like the equivalent of small bar with a large stage crammed into it. Due to optical illusions cast by one large mirror, I honestly believed the staging area was the only part of the venue. To my excitement, what had originally appeared to be another mirror was actually the alcove where the merch tables were hiding. Lo and behold! Stairs… to the “over 21” section. You know how much I love the “old people section.”
The upstairs bar is a fairly quiet refuge for those of us who want to attend the show, but refuse to sit with the mandatory parents that lined the walls of the lower level.
Merchandise, a quick rundown: All parties were represented, and since I have a serious obsession with framing vinyl, Swellers “Good For Me” was coming home to find a place on my wall. I definitely embarrassed myself by not recognizing Anto Boros (seriously, when did he start looking like Stephen Dorff??), but I did compliment his Descendents sweatshirt, so, hopefully I still get points for not being a complete moron.
We Are the Ocean played a pretty energetic set and riled the crowd up for Twin Atlantic. My recently-converted TA fan boyfriend was geared up for the set, both taking bets on the first song. I was set on Ghost of Eddie, he was banking on Edit me. Both wrong. The first song was Beast of Myself, followed by Ghost of Eddie (yep, I got the closest, so, by default, I win). Three quarters of the way through the set, Sam McTrusty felt the need to adjust the lighting, enabling him to see the crowd.
Shortly after Twin Atlantic’s set, I walked out the front door to run my Swellers album to the car… Only to walk smack into Sam McTrusty, effectively deteriorating my ability to speak, and unknowingly squeaking out his name.
Unluckily, he heard me, making it impossible for me to walk away with my dignity intact. Sweaty and obviously tired, he wiped his face and told us that we had made his day to find someone who knew who they were. All the while, I was rudely pointing at and blurting out the names of Ross McNae, Barry McKenna and Craig Kneale in complete disbelief that they were loading their gear themselves directly in front of the Barbary… The entire band was incredibly gracious introducing themselves and even entertained what we had to say.
Sam and Craig both took time out to speak to us for an extended amount of time, sincerely asking us questions about Philly, how we started listening to their music, etc. People say this about bands every day, but they are, collectively, the nicest band I have ever met.
You Me At Six
After meeting the band, Joe and I retreated inside to listen to You Me At Six, from the old people section. I blame this on being blonde, but I was completely unaware that they were British.
Lover Boy was really the song that stuck out for me. It sounded almost exactly like the record. Based on the few minutes I spent within the small performance area, it was clear that You Me At Six was the draw for the majority of attendees. As teenagers screaming in a tiny, tiny space is not very appealing to me, we took solace in the 60 degree weather while waiting for the Swellers to take the stage. Surprise! The Swellers were outside, standing in a circle and waiting to go on.
The Swellers
And.. that’s when Anto decided to announce to the band that I was “the girl who didn’t believe [he] was in the band!” earlier at the merch table. Greaaat… They signed my record anyway.
The crowd had thinned a bit, and allowed Joe and I to move up closer to the stage, which revealed one incredibly zealous fan actually screaming lyrics in Nick Diener’s face. About five songs in, my internal school-night clock went off and I was ready to go home. I had met Twin Atlantic and the Swellers. I was still grinning like an idiot, and knew this night really couldn’t go anywhere but down.
Upon exiting the building, we noticed a swarm of teenage girls circling a tour bus across the street… Assuming they were stalking You Me At Six, I commented how the “silly girls were missing a really good band…” and how I was “super stinkin’ happy that the guys from Twin Atlantic were so nice, because it’s really disappointing when you like a band and they turn out to be unfriendly.” Little did I know, I was walking past Ross McNae on his cell phone as I was complimenting his band. He waved to us and wished us a good night, and I’m pretty sure I accosted him with an uninvited hug. What did I say? Down. I’m pretty sure I succeeded in making a fool of myself with that one.
In closing, as a representative of Philadelphia, I may have scared Ross McNae and insulted Anto Boros.
First show of 2012 for me (I know, I got off to a late start). Although I’m running a little behind, I assure you, this show made up for the entire month of January where I was clearly sitting on my bum and neglecting the live music scene. Considering that tickets were purchased the day they went on sale, I had what seemed to be a ridiculously long period of anticipation building until this caravan finally made its way to town.
I hadn’t really been exposed to You Me At Six or We Are the Ocean at the time of purchase, so I did a little music perusing and investigating in the weeks leading up to the show. Conclusions: We Are the Ocean: talented, young and have a bright future ahead. A little harsher than I usually opt for on a regular basis, but they definitely made it to my running playlist. You Me At Six: Their music is a little more mainstream than I expected, but it’s catchy, gets stuck in your head (not in a bad way) and in the weeks since the show, it has been making its way into quite a few of my Spotify playlists. Did you know they did a song with Chiddy, and it’s good!? Oh, and Josh Franceschi’s Twitter is hysterical
Upon arrival, there were approximately 50 teenage girls lined up outside in various stages of undress, reflecting unseasonable 60 degree weather. “Please let there be a bar nearby…” Thank goodness, down the street, a neon Pabst sign beckoned me and my companion to wait out the female pubescent energy currently surging around the entrance to our destination.
First, the Barbary: I have never experienced the Barbary prior to this event, and was terrified when I walked into what looked like the equivalent of small bar with a large stage crammed into it. Due to optical illusions cast by one large mirror, I honestly believed the staging area was the only part of the venue. To my excitement, what had originally appeared to be another mirror was actually the alcove where the merch tables were hiding. Lo and behold! Stairs… to the “over 21” section. You know how much I love the “old people section.”
The upstairs bar is a fairly quiet refuge for those of us who want to attend the show, but refuse to sit with the mandatory parents that lined the walls of the lower level.
Merchandise, a quick rundown: All parties were represented, and since I have a serious obsession with framing vinyl, Swellers “Good For Me” was coming home to find a place on my wall. I definitely embarrassed myself by not recognizing Anto Boros (seriously, when did he start looking like Stephen Dorff??), but I did compliment his Descendents sweatshirt, so, hopefully I still get points for not being a complete moron.
We Are the Ocean played a pretty energetic set and riled the crowd up for Twin Atlantic. My recently-converted TA fan boyfriend was geared up for the set, both taking bets on the first song. I was set on Ghost of Eddie, he was banking on Edit me. Both wrong. The first song was Beast of Myself, followed by Ghost of Eddie (yep, I got the closest, so, by default, I win). Three quarters of the way through the set, Sam McTrusty felt the need to adjust the lighting, enabling him to see the crowd.
Shortly after Twin Atlantic’s set, I walked out the front door to run my Swellers album to the car… Only to walk smack into Sam McTrusty, effectively deteriorating my ability to speak, and unknowingly squeaking out his name.
Unluckily, he heard me, making it impossible for me to walk away with my dignity intact. Sweaty and obviously tired, he wiped his face and told us that we had made his day to find someone who knew who they were. All the while, I was rudely pointing at and blurting out the names of Ross McNae, Barry McKenna and Craig Kneale in complete disbelief that they were loading their gear themselves directly in front of the Barbary… The entire band was incredibly gracious introducing themselves and even entertained what we had to say.
Sam and Craig both took time out to speak to us for an extended amount of time, sincerely asking us questions about Philly, how we started listening to their music, etc. People say this about bands every day, but they are, collectively, the nicest band I have ever met.
You Me At Six
After meeting the band, Joe and I retreated inside to listen to You Me At Six, from the old people section. I blame this on being blonde, but I was completely unaware that they were British.
Lover Boy was really the song that stuck out for me. It sounded almost exactly like the record. Based on the few minutes I spent within the small performance area, it was clear that You Me At Six was the draw for the majority of attendees. As teenagers screaming in a tiny, tiny space is not very appealing to me, we took solace in the 60 degree weather while waiting for the Swellers to take the stage. Surprise! The Swellers were outside, standing in a circle and waiting to go on.
The Swellers
And.. that’s when Anto decided to announce to the band that I was “the girl who didn’t believe [he] was in the band!” earlier at the merch table. Greaaat… They signed my record anyway.
The crowd had thinned a bit, and allowed Joe and I to move up closer to the stage, which revealed one incredibly zealous fan actually screaming lyrics in Nick Diener’s face. About five songs in, my internal school-night clock went off and I was ready to go home. I had met Twin Atlantic and the Swellers. I was still grinning like an idiot, and knew this night really couldn’t go anywhere but down.
Upon exiting the building, we noticed a swarm of teenage girls circling a tour bus across the street… Assuming they were stalking You Me At Six, I commented how the “silly girls were missing a really good band…” and how I was “super stinkin’ happy that the guys from Twin Atlantic were so nice, because it’s really disappointing when you like a band and they turn out to be unfriendly.” Little did I know, I was walking past Ross McNae on his cell phone as I was complimenting his band. He waved to us and wished us a good night, and I’m pretty sure I accosted him with an uninvited hug. What did I say? Down. I’m pretty sure I succeeded in making a fool of myself with that one.
In closing, as a representative of Philadelphia, I may have scared Ross McNae and insulted Anto Boros.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Happy Birthday, Bono!
Rolling Stone compiled their readers' favorite U2 songs in honor of Bono's birthday yesterday...
You're welcome....
py Birthday, Bono: RS Readers' Favorite U2 Songs | by rsedit
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
This Wild Life: Brilliance In The Making
I have never seen anything like this and, to be honest, these guys are brilliant... I'm still in the process of checking out their music, but from what I've heard so far, I probably would have jumped all over the guest list for life option.
Unless, of course, they end up at the house of a sixty year old man with human heads in his freezer.
Watch it. You'll love it. And then check out their music. You won't regret it.
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