(Wes) Philly
We arrived mid-afternoon at our billet's house in Philadelphia. From the moment we entered the city, we knew we were entering a much more blue collar environment than what we've seen on tour so far (no mean feat).
The place we stayed was in West Philadelphia. Although I eventually felt comfortable there, it didn't start off that way. My middle class naivete had met its match. I didn't feel too comfortable walking around, but by the end of our stay I probably wouldn't have minded. Ube and I had a very interesting discussion about socio-economics.
We stayed at a party house that regularly holds punk rock shows in their carpeted basement. As people began to show up, the whole scene got more and more surreal. I think seven or so bands played, for some 20 to 30-odd people. A Christian Rock band opened. I only found out afterwards that they were of a religious persuasion, but I remember watching them and thinking "Flanders kids". I guess I was right.
A 3-piece touring band went on next. They were pretty good, but started with a little more energy than they finished with. I don't know if people knew what to make of them. The guitarist inadvertently whacked the singer in the face with his guitar. There were all sorts of other body checks and physical shenanigans. A decent set. An excellent hardcore band from California went next. I volunteered to watch a band's merch (upstairs) during the last part of their set, but I kept the door open so I could listen. Meanwhile, I watched the merch, and Edmonton losing game seven. Bah.
Another touring band went on next, and seemed to make some people happy. I thought they played pretty well. A bunch of other bands played afterward, and all sounded great.
A side note: at one point I went out to the balcony to look for one of my friends, and I was met with quite a shock. A hippie jug band had infiltrated the back deck. They began rocking out a hillbilly country tune on their homemade instruments the second I opened the door. That freaked me out. They later did another set in the kitchen. Unfortunately, they turned out to be less socially graceful than they were musically gifted. It made for a tense evening, actually. It harshed my mellow a lot, and I voted for a quick exit in the morning, which is exactly what happened.
The place we stayed was in West Philadelphia. Although I eventually felt comfortable there, it didn't start off that way. My middle class naivete had met its match. I didn't feel too comfortable walking around, but by the end of our stay I probably wouldn't have minded. Ube and I had a very interesting discussion about socio-economics.
We stayed at a party house that regularly holds punk rock shows in their carpeted basement. As people began to show up, the whole scene got more and more surreal. I think seven or so bands played, for some 20 to 30-odd people. A Christian Rock band opened. I only found out afterwards that they were of a religious persuasion, but I remember watching them and thinking "Flanders kids". I guess I was right.
A 3-piece touring band went on next. They were pretty good, but started with a little more energy than they finished with. I don't know if people knew what to make of them. The guitarist inadvertently whacked the singer in the face with his guitar. There were all sorts of other body checks and physical shenanigans. A decent set. An excellent hardcore band from California went next. I volunteered to watch a band's merch (upstairs) during the last part of their set, but I kept the door open so I could listen. Meanwhile, I watched the merch, and Edmonton losing game seven. Bah.
Another touring band went on next, and seemed to make some people happy. I thought they played pretty well. A bunch of other bands played afterward, and all sounded great.
A side note: at one point I went out to the balcony to look for one of my friends, and I was met with quite a shock. A hippie jug band had infiltrated the back deck. They began rocking out a hillbilly country tune on their homemade instruments the second I opened the door. That freaked me out. They later did another set in the kitchen. Unfortunately, they turned out to be less socially graceful than they were musically gifted. It made for a tense evening, actually. It harshed my mellow a lot, and I voted for a quick exit in the morning, which is exactly what happened.
posted by the baron ash von foolishness at 10:31 PM
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