Day 41: Philadelphia, PA
Nau mai,
Yesterday we played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Our day began in the parking lot behind Union Transfer, the very fine 1200 capacity venue that resides about a kilometre northeast of Philadelphia’s city centre. Opening the door of the bus and stepping out into the morning air we were met by the sounds of The Beths and other indie bands of our ilk blasting from the courtyard speakers of the Mexican-Chinese fusion restaurant next door. This was a standard behaviour, we were assured by the venue staff, and we welcomed the welcome provided by this astute restaurant staff.
I found breakfast a block away at Café Lift, an establishment with a pleasant, airy atmosphere and a firm commitment to the art form that we know as brunch. I ordered the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes which were topped with strawberries, honey, whipped cream, and powdered sugar.
We loaded into a familiar space, this venue having hosted us two years earlier when we were touring Expert In A Dying Field. Mighty wooden arches and beams hold up a tall ceiling that encloses this music space. Hanging chandeliers contribute to the feeling that you are in a centuries old great hall, and it is only the stage with its lighting grid and the bars with their brightly lit bottles of spirits that break the illusion.
This is one of Gabe’s favourite rooms to mix in. It sits in the sweet spot of venue sizes and feels both large and intimate. The wraparound balcony provides great viewing, and the floor fills in a way that makes it feel like audience is right there with you.
Our set was high energy and thrilling. The residents of Philly town were rolling into their Saturday evening with gusto and we did our best to present a musical match for this vigour. They were great to banter with and provided many fine recommendations of ways to spend our downtime the next morning.
In particular I was grateful for the support displayed by these fine people for the copy email address button on this website, a feature which I talked about in great length. I spent quite a while trying to get this button to work, and I will admit that I was mortified yesterday to discover that even though the button was functioning correctly, at some stage during the many attempts to copy and paste revised code segments my email address got switched to hello@example.com.
This has now been replaced with the correct email. Thank you Philly for your enthusiasm and your meticulous attention to detail.
We caught an Uber to the hotel after the show. The vehicle was not factory spec. Every upgrade that you could imagine had been applied to improve the performance of this Toyota minvan - Christmas light trim on the front doors, Christmas trees, baubles and Christmas eagles on the roof, the flag of the United States on the hood and wing mirrors, and a laser light display to bring the interior to life. As soon as we began on our short journey the driver handed a pair of wireless microphones to the backseat and cranked Wham’s Last Christmas on the stereo - “these are hooked up to the speaker on the roof” he said as we cruised through the quiet Philly streets, breaking into song.
I’ll leave you with a small piece of Christmas cheer. Happy Holidays!
