Theater of Living Arts – 12/10/17
What better way to wrap up our live coverage for 2017 here at Neostar Media than at a live show in Philly that highlights some acts which could make waves for years to come?
Tonight’s event was a co-headlining tour between The Interrupters and SWMRS.
Starting things off was Mt. Eddy, a pleasant rock & blues band that the younger audience members seemed to eat right up. The frontman was mostly clad in a coat and a thick hat with earmuffs and predictably drove the females wild when he removed his hat by the end of the set. They seemed to have a respectable following in this crowd of early attendees but their merch offerings indicated that they are very early on in their musical journey.
The Regrettes took the stage next and increased the energy level significantly. Their debut full-length Feel Your Feelings, Fool! has really made waves and has been appearing on a number of year-end lists. As good as the record is, the live show is really where it’s at with them. Frontwoman Lydia Night (more on her later) bounced around the stage, howling into the mic and often playing guitar while the rest of the band was locked in musically. Despite their youth, they are all products of School Of Rock. If you have heard the song “Hey Now” in Dunkin Donuts commercials, that’s them.
Next up was The Interrupters who seem to always be on the road. If there were tired or homesick, it sure didn’t show. The energy was there as always and they constantly interacted with the crowd. An added bonus for someone like me who has seen them three times within the last year and a half was the fact that they dug deep into their modest catalog. While their shows before were to celebrate ‘Say It Out Loud’, this time, they seemed to be a little more rooted in their self-titled album. They also played one of my favorite (and slightly obscure) songs of theirs “Treat The Youth Right.”
Allegedly, they have a third album recorded and it’s probably being mixed or mastered as we speak. To say that I’m looking forward to it is an understatement.
Being a co-headlining tour, SWMRS closed out the show. To be perfectly honest, I knew very little about them beforehand aside from their origins as Emily’s Army and the drummer being the son of Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day.
With my admission of not being in the band’s target demographic out of the way, I can say that they were more energetic and louder than I expected. After the fact, I caught up with some of their songs online and the recorded output doesn’t really do justice to the live show. Most importantly, the young crowd seemed to know the words and sang along like crazy. There were copious motivational messages and speeches delivered to the audience which did slow the momentum down at times, but everyone was on board, in the crowd.
Before all of this, I had the opportunity to speak to Lydia from The Regrettes’. We talked a little about ‘Feel Your Feelings, Fool!’, how they have grown, being under the microscope and living up to expectations, and what’s next.
Words: JJ Ellis
Photos: Jared Lagler
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