ARTICLE JUMP
What would a year be without shows? Here's a listing of some of the favorite shows we caught in 2008.
- Sunn 0))) @ The First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia, PA)
- Bullet Fest @ Charm City Art Space (Baltimore, MD)
- Young Widows, Gods and Queens @ The Barbary (Philadelphia, PA)
- USAISAMONSTER @ The Danger Danger Gallery (West Philadelphia, PA)
- Boom Boom Kid, Chromeblower, Hail Hydra, Bogus Machine, Dynamite Arrows @ Lost & Found (Brooklyn, NY)
Hands down, Sunn 0))) played the loudest show I attended in 2008. Faced with at least seven full-stack amps, the audience sat in pews in the enormous church and felt the performance more than it heard it.
Within a couple of hours, I got to see seven or eight bands. MANS and Men as Trees impressed me the most, but I also witnessed the talent of Three Faces of Eve, Werewolves, A Farmer's Daughter, Ygramul, ROTA, and Castillus. This was the only "fest" I attended in 2008, and I was glad to have seen it at the intimate Charm City Art Space.
I went to this show alone because almost everyone I knew was watching the Phillies try to seal their World Series title (but the game got rained out). Both Gods and Queens and Young Widows played energetic sets and I didn't miss any Philly baseball history in the making.
Two floors of performances made this show at the Danger Danger Gallery a standout in my mind. I mainly went to see USAISAMONSTER but caught Miami Night's set (member of USA playing solo drone) and British Lit's last performance as well. It was my first time in the gallery and I hope it won't be my last.
I took a trip to Brooklyn to see my friend's band, Chromeblower, play their first show. I had no idea I'd see an acrobatic Argentinean punk band that literally surfed on the crowd (board and all), people climbing on arcade games, $15 pitchers of Blue Moon, and a skee ball machine. This night undoubtedly deserves to be in my top shows list.
(Tohm)
