“Thank you so much for having us; we are so happy to be here!” exclaims BOAT front man David Crane, Thursday night at West Philly’s Pilam. “You guys are so lucky to have such a positive place like this. I’ve never seen such a positive place before—even the bathroom graffiti is positive! Someone wrote on the wall in there: ‘FLING PISS.’ It just seemed so positive, like it was telling me ‘Be happy! Let it go.’”
The crowd—a mix of plaid-clad college students and 20-somethings—chuckles and Crane grins. There’s certainly an attitude of “Be happy” and “Let it go” in the air, as the audience dances and bobs around to the quirky party tunes. It’s an evening of rousing indie rock from Philly and beyond: Boston’s Pants Yell! and Seattle’s BOAT joined by local music-makers Brown Recluse and Post Post.
Post Post kick off the show, wowing everyone with their intimate, exuberant and (yes!) slightly rebellious brand of shimmering pop. A quartet formed just over a year ago in the dorms of Bryn Mawr (front woman Michelle Zauner, vocalist/keyboardist Marisa Helgeson and drummer Casey Sowa are all students there; bassist Kevin O’Halloran goes to Haverford), Post Post have already shared bills with the likes of Beach House, Gillian Grassie, Neon Indian and more—and it’s easy to see why. There’s an energy and honesty to their performance that’s impossible to ignore—I’m looking for big things from these guys!
BOAT take the stage next and—after Crane’s urination tale—fill the space with big, messy garage rock pleasers with names like “We’ve been friends since 1989” and “(Do the) magic centipede”—and ample loads of confetti. For one number, they hand out small metal “blow tubes” (their words) and ask the audience to help out on percussion.
“We wanted to bring a theremin with us on tour, but unfortunately we couldn’t,” explains Crane apologetically. “So basically what we need is for about 8 people to blow their hearts out during this next song, so it sounds like the recording.”
Philly dream-pop sweethearts and Pilam regulars Brown Recluse (formerly Brown Recluse Sings—“we just think it sounds better without the ‘Sings’”, explains guitarist/vocalist Herbie Shellenberger. “Plus it’s easier to say”) are up next, full of delicate, breezy, summer pop tunes that lure you in with twinkling guitars, breathless vocals, and ample tambourine. Their short set is stocked with new material—“we’re actually working on our debut album right now,” says front man Timothy Meskers after the show. Score!
Pants Yell! close out the night, winding down with a ramshackle set of understated pop tunes, off the recently released Received Pronunciation, and earlier albums. Wistful, literate, laid-back and earnest, with lyrics like “when you take your lunch in the breakroom/ at 10 past or at noon/ they can tell by your shoes/ your boyfriend’s an asshole” Pants Yell!’s rolling melodies are quietly and effortlessly addictive, and as front man Andrew Churchman pushes his nose against the mic, I can’t helped but be charmed.
Unfortunately, this is one of their last Philly performances ever—the band has already announced they will be breaking up next year. “It just came to be that time,” says Churchman candidly, when I ask him after the show. “All good things must eventually end.” I’m happy to be catching them while I still can!
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