And now the latest report from Emily Currier from last weekend.
The Biters, The Booze, The Midnight Beat, and Mean Streets
JR’s Bar on Saturday May 28th
Report By: Emily Currier
In the removed nook of deep south Philly, JR’s Bar is known by some as “that venue across from a Goodwill” but those in the know can rely on it for gritty punk shows. Through a duct-taped door in two pieces then another door with roughly seven deadbolts, you find your way into the small, smoky interior of JR’s. Considering the bar’s location and ownership, it was surprising that there was nothing even vaguely Italian about the décor, music selection, available beer, etc etc. Instead, JR’s is a dive bar like any other, supplying particularly cheap beer and crowded with the Philly punk scene.
Being naive and grappling with the onset of a summer cold, I showed up at JR’s around 8:45 pm, hoping against hope the estimated 8 – 11pm show times promised by Facebook were correct. Predictably I suppose, this wasn’t the case. My cold prevented me from enjoying the ability to smoke inside and the $2 Lionshead and PBR as much as I would’ve liked to. The bouncer gather the $5 cover around 9pm and the first band, Mean Streets, didn’t start up until around 9:30pm. In the meantime, Top 40 hits blared through the speakers, unaware of their surroundings.
The tattooed crowd remained subdued during the Mean Streets’ power pop set. A trio from Philly and Jersey, Mean Streets elongated fast-paced punk chords across five-minute songs. By frequently drawing out the end of one song straight into the next, Mean Streets created a surprisingly cohesive punk set. Self described as “the only garage punk band left in Philly,” The Midnight Beat continued to rep the Philly punk scene. With a more muscular sound, The Midnight Beat, like Mean Streets, performed energetic, almost playful punk. With a crowd that could easily take itself way to seriously, the night’s tone was of fun over pretense.
The friend I went with, who somehow knows everyone there is to know in Philly, tried to convince me to stay, promising a killer after-party at her place. I decided, though, that having a nose like a dripping faucet might not be the best look for winning over the mod Booze and Biters crowd so I was inclined to dip out early, unfortunately. I know The Booze and The Biters, up from Atlanta, put on a hell of a show, so I’ll keep my ears out for their future visits.
Emily Currier
http://twitter.com/chimneytulip
http://culturemob.com/blog/philadelphia
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