Sunday was the last day of a busy weekend of shows. Gentleman Jim Norton and I were headed to Philly to see Swervedriver as they began their swing through our area. Also on the bill were LA's Gateway Drugs.
Some Sunday obligations meant that we got a bit of a late start to Philly, but we did manage to arrive in time to catch the second half of the set from Gateway Drugs. We caught enough of it for me to know that the band's combination of shoegaze and garage rock sits squarely in my wheelhouse -- one of its rooms anyway. The venue was crowded but not sold out, and I was able to position myself pretty close to front and center.
I'd been wanting to make it over to Union Transfer for a while. Many of the bands that come through NYC and play Terminal 5 end up playing Union Transfer in Philly. My hatred of T5 is pretty well-documented here, and I've been looking for an alternative. While I can imagine that a sold-out Union Transfer may not be the most comfortable place in the world, there's no way it can be as bad as T5. Pair that fact with a nice early arrival, and it seems like I may have found my spot.
Anyway.
Swervedriver came on at, I think, around 10pm and opened with "Autodidact," the opening track from this year's very solid comeback album, I Wasn't Born to Lose You. The 90-plus minute set ended up covering almost that whole record. The new songs fit in pretty seamlessly with 1990s classics like "Son of Mustang Ford" and "Girl on a Motorbike." Bassist Steve George was unable to join the band for this run of shows, but Mick Quinn of Supergrass expertly filled in.
This was another one of those shows where I had to take a few moments and let the sounds just wash over me. I felt the kick drum hammering my chest and lost myself in the noise a few times. I really love this stuff.
When it was done, Gentleman Jim went to help the band break down and load out (because he can't not work at a show) as I headed for the lobby. I ended up having a nice chat with supremely gracious Swervedriver frontman, Adam Franklin, about the band's upcoming shows in New York and our mutual preference for non-flash photography at shows.
In all, it was a fantastic end to a busy weekend. You have a final chance to catch Swervedriver and Gateway Drugs tonight as they play Brooklyn's St. Vitus. Both bands should shake that 350 or so capacity venue pretty hard.
Here are some photo highlights from Sunday (no flash). The rest are at Flickr.
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