On Wednesday night, City Sips was just starting out for 2014. The night began with tacos at the renowned venue Milkboy in Philly. While waiting for The Kickback to take the stage, I make small talk with the bassist Matt Parmenter from Quiet Company. I then saw Billy Yost from The Kickback run past. He looked almost in a panic but was probably looking for a way to get back upstairs. The stage area its self is a small space, but pretty intimate for its observers. Most of everyone was talking in small groups and the atmosphere was mellow. The blues tunes that played overhead while waiting for the bands to go on had everyone in a pretty harmonious mood. Somehow, in the midst of calm, you could sense a great deal of energy that was going to erupt in a short time to come. You could smell anticipation in between the casual chatter and it started to become contagious.

Out of nowhere, the guys from The Kickback jumped on stage and picked up their instruments. Just like, “OK-we’re here let’s get started”. Loved it. They began with a fierce energy right away. There was no warm up. Even after continuous nights on the road you could tell they keep the music coming at full force. After a first couple songs, they went into their new tune, “Stings Teacher Years”. This is one of those songs that has a catchy summer rift that brings you to summer nostalgic times. You just want to rock out.

In between songs, Yost started talking to the audience. This was really great considering a lot of bands don’t always take the time to get to know the crowd. Being a Philadelphian, we always appreciate when someone takes a second to acknowledge us while on stage. He started asking us about our day, telling us crazy stories, and it was a nice connecting moment between us-the viewers and the band. This was an unanticipated preparation for the emotion that was about to happen. Let’s just say there was a ferocious energy, perfunctory commotion and lots of feeling going on. There were a couple times I thought Yost was going to take out everyone up there with his jumping, but he didn’t. He was very aware of his surroundings and took full advantage of the stage. All the while, drummer Ryan Farnham stayed focused and didn’t miss a beat. For some reason, their sound reminds me a little of The Strokes, it has something to it that just makes you just move along without recognition.

After the Kickback’s set, Driver Friendly took the stage. These guys had a different type of charisma about them. I immediately dug lead singer Tyler Welsh’s Wolverine t-shirt. It gave way to their quirky style and killer swag. Their sound was a power-popish punk style that had a steady rhythm. Something I feel really added to their performance was the trumpet player, Juan Lopez. It gave a sort of diversity that made you rethink the essence of the music. It was fun watching them dive into it and get crazy on the stage.

Lastly, Quiet Company performed. These guys were equally enthusiastic. The singer, Taylor Muse, was backed up by the band and they had a really interesting harmony that hit different pitches at a synonymous level. The latest addition to the band is drummer Evan Smoker who actually lived in Philadelphia once upon a time. His beats were tight and quick; they played some songs off their upcoming album, Transgressor, including “Mother of Deal” and it was interesting to see everything culminate and come to life in their performance.

What was really admirable is that Muse continuously gave shout outs to The Kickback during the performance and made a statement about how great it was traveling on the road with them. You could tell the bands meshed well together and had enjoyed one another’s company while on tour. All in all, the bands each had a certain liveliness to them that really animated their performance got the audience involved. The entire show had a common vibe throughout and really brought everyone into the present moment. This really is what music is all about; engagement & enjoyment.