Free Energy w/ Miniature Tigers and Jukebox the Ghost at First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia 5/28/2010

Friday night saw the hometown debut of Philadelphia’s own Free Energy, playing their first concert in the area since releasing their fantastic debut album Stuck on Nothing. Yours truly was on hand for the show (thanks to some help from Girlie Action Media), and while Free Energy was everything anyone in the crowd could have hoped for, it was another local band opening for Free Energy that caught my attention first.

The show (which really was in a church basement) started off with Miniature Tigers, touring with Free Energy in support of their second album Fortress, due out in July. I come not to trash anybody, but if any band really brought the hipsters out to this show, it was Miniature Tigers (seriously, there was the “ironic” request for “Free Bird” during their set). Their sound struck me as the sort of overdetermined, fringe style music that exists solely to be different, which is fine, if not for the fact that they seemed to try to not be catchy at all. As friend of the blog and fellow concert attendee Cole put it “they’re like Vampire Weekend, only you can understand them”. I get the sentiment, and they definitely leaned toward that end of the spectrum, but I disagree in that I found Miniature Tigers to be far less enjoyable than anything Vampire Weekend’s done.

But after their short set came a trio by the name of Jukebox the Ghost. On the way to the show, Cole and I joked that theirs was an awesomely terrible name, but attention grabbing all the same. I knew nothing about the band prior to their set, but based on the population of the crowd excited to see them, I was in a minority. They led off their set with “Static” from their first album Let Live and Let Ghosts, which, after seeing Miniature Tigers try their hardest to not look like their having fun, provided some genuine fun to the proceedings.

Jukebox the Ghost – Static [iTunes]

From there Jukebox the Ghost tore through a terrific set of upbeat, danceable tunes that sounded like Franz Ferdinand trying to escape the Warped Tour. It was loose, it was carefree, and it wasn’t trying to do anything other than have a damn good time. Usually if I don’t know a band or artist I try to stay back and take in the music and let the fans have all the fun. For the latter half of Jukebox the Ghost’s set I couldn’t resist getting in on the awkward dancing near the front of the stage (something Cole felt compelled to tell the internet about). In addition to playing a large helping of tracks from their first album, the band debuted  a few new songs from an as-yet-untitled album due out later this year. In one of two moments that solidified their status as a good times rock band, they dedicated a new song about tidal waves (their description) to the late Gary Coleman, whose passing we’d learned of just hours before. The other moment was a cover of Donna Lewis’ “I Love You Always Forever”, a strange but welcome addition to the night. In short, I came to First Unitarian Church to see Free Energy, but I left that night itching to get my hands on some Jukebox the Ghost.

Then came Free Energy. In between the first two band’s sets I got a quick chance to talk to lead singer Paul Sprangers by their merch table. Nothing on-the-record and nothing revelatory, but I complimented him and the band on the “Bang Pop” video, and we talked about their just-ended European tour and the US tour that had started a few days earlier. In all, he seemed excited to be on what was essentially home field, but composed. Once the lights went out and drummer Nick Shuminski went to town on cowbell to kick off “Free Energy”, that composure turned into unbridled ecstasy. I guess Paul didn’t get a chance to see how big the crowd was from the merch table, since repeatedly during Free Energy’s set, Sprangers appeared stunned by the numbers and excitement of the couple hundred people packed into a small church basement to see the band. But that stunned energy translated into a damned good time on stage as the band played through nearly all of Stuck on Nothing, as well as a B-side and a new song written after the album’s completion. In concert, songs like “Bang Pop”, “Bad Stuff” and B-side “Something In Common” transcend their 3-minute pop song nature and grow into honest-to-God rock that’s perfect for any party you could ever hope to see. Free Energy provided the crowd with exactly that, and the crowd reciprocated, with the result being a truly exciting musical experience.

Prior to this show, my only other concert experiences (save for Paramore last October and Billy Joel/Elton John in July) had been huge outdoor festivals or the “coffeehouses” my college did where every John Mayer clone on the East Coast went to pick up a paycheck and hit on co-eds. I’d never been to a mid-sized show in close quarters like this one, so maybe what I saw was fairly common. But I’d like to think that Friday night brought something unique, where two truly incredible Philadelphia bands got one hell of a homecoming, and a crowded church basement saw a relentless, unstoppably fun night that serves as a reminder that music can be both about saying something and having a good time.

Setlist: Free Energy at First Unitarian Church, 5/28/2010
Free Energy
Hope Child
Dream City
All I Know
Light Love
Something In Common
New Song (Possibly titled “Come On”)
Bad Stuff

Encore:
Dark Trance
Bang Pop

Free Energy – Something In Common

Advertisement