Monday, October 30, 2006

Philly's Basement

So last weekend I went to Philadelphia to see the Wrens perform in the basement of the 1st Unitarian Church…Yes, I saw the Wrens in the basement of a church. Not an everyday occurrence I may remind you. I mean there were literally Sunday school drawings on the walls of a room that could not possibly hold more than 200 people. I arrived early enough to see the first opener, Palomar, pump out some good old fashioned pop-punk, complete with awkward sideglances during time changes and choreographed guitar dueling. They were beaming the whole time and I couldn’t help smiling as well; I felt like I was back at a high school battle of the bands.

Next up was +/- , who played what I'd like to dub as “post-emo” (please ignore my inventing another pompous music genre), which consisted of a little more talent (the drummer was the standout) and layering than your typical emo sound. They had a bunch of prerecorded synth material, which did sound pretty cool, but I get the feeling that if you took all that electronic gimmickry away they wouldn’t have much.

But I’m getting distracted, I came to see the Wrens rock Philadelphia. And rock they did. First, Charles Bissell (guitarist/singer) and Greg Whelan (guitarist) crept onstage to a growing applause while one provided some rhythm guitar and the other doodled around on a loop machine. Eventually, they built their guitar layering into a familiar but not quite recognizable song. They brought it up and broke it down a few times, creating a tension that was only relieved when the drummer, Jerry MacDonald, and bassist, Kevin Whelan, joined them onstage and the band erupted into “This Boy is Exhausted”. They hushed up for the haunting “House that Guilt Built” and then brought it back up for an hour of pure energy, mixing material from Secaucus and The Meadowlands.

The Wrens demonstrated an intensity and love for the crowd that made this concert one of best I’ve seen in a long time. Halfway through the set they invited the crowd onstage and handed out drumsticks for them to play with. People were banging on anything they could get their hands on and everyone in the whole place was yelling along. When they played one of the faster and more intense songs from Meadowlands, “Faster Gun” I thought the basement would explode. As if to prolong my separation from reality, between the encores, someone in the crowd proposed to his girlfriend. The Wrens ended the night with “She Sends Kisses” and they gave it their best with a final sweaty sing along and the audience belted out every word. I left with a feeling of pure euphoria and a renewed faith in rock.

If you don't know the Wrens I'd recommend "Hopeless" off The Meadowlands.

-John

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