Freedom in Philly

We kicked off our "Beneath The Surface" tour in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. It was July 4th, Independence Day, and Philly seemed like the center of the universe, with a huge street fair raging in the Museum district. It took us almost a half-hour of circling to find parking near our eternally gracious host Nandi's house.

We arrived to find a BBQ already fired up in Nandi's yard and, as the afternoon wore on, the crowd swelled and the food and drink were flowing freely.


We were told that the Roots, Sheryl Crow and others would be playing the big July 4 party that night, but we had a show of our own to put on....

We made it out to The Tritone around 9pm and old friends Seizure 17 and Radio Eris were already in the house. Seizure 17 took the stage first and, as always, we enjoyed their grungy-punk snarls. Their new(ish) drummer rocked it behind the kit.


We took to the stage second. We were anxious about how it would sound as the acoustics of the room were bouncy and we weren't going to be miked. But things sounded surprisingly good and we got a great reception from the lively crowd. Thanks to Moni, John and Rich for the extra loud claps and hoots.

Radio Eris was third and passionately laid down their raw and primal poetry-rock, which sounds something like early Patti Smith mixed with Beefheartian weirdness. They freaked the crowd out a bit when they suddenly donned shockingly realistic Monkey masks for a tune or two. But we had $3 whiskeys and beers to ease our nerves....


After that it was back to Nandi's for a great night's sleep, followed by a big diner-style brunch in the morning. And, with that, another successful trip to Philly was in the bag.

Next up: Charlottesville!