by Matt Kelchner

After being out on the road since the beginning of July, local shoegazers Nothing finally made their way back to Philadelphia last Friday night. Tired of Tomorrow, their excellent new album was released even before that – back in mid May. While being out on the road held them back from throwing a proper record release show earlier, Nothing made up for it with their performance at Union Transfer. Joining in on the fun were tourmates Culture Abuse along with Citizen and locals Mary Lattimore & Jeff Zeigler.

“You guys keep breaking my shit every time I’m in Philly,” singer/guitarist Nicky Palermo told the crowd during a longer than expected tuning break. This of course came right after he leapt into the crowd, guitar in hand, during one of the many Tired of Tomorrow tracks “Eaten By Worms”. The album was put on full display in front of a packed and energetic crowd.

Nothing’s night began with the album’s blistering opening, “Fever Queen”. From that moment on, the band fed the crowd their blend of lofty, heavy shoegaze and buzzing ’90s alternative. With all of the excitement rushing around the building, there was not much staring down at one’s feet done on stage. Even more uncharacteristic of shoegaze bands, but very common for Nothing, were the dozens of fans climbing onto and stage diving off of the stage.

While songs like “Vertigo Flowers” and “A.C.D. (Abscessive Compulsive Disorder) put Tired of Tomorrow in the spotlight Friday night, that isn’t to say the past was ignored. The latter half of the set featured hits from Guilty of Everything like “Bent Nail” and “Get Well” before ending another, “Dig”.

The encore was kicked off with something Palermo nervously admitted to, a solo performance of “Tic Tac Toe” (with vocal help from fellow guitarist/singer Brandon Setta. Nothing then pulled out their fantastic cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” before ending with one final number from Tired of Tomorrow, “Curse of the Sun”.

From start to end, Nothing’s record release show felt like one giant family affair. Towards the beginning of their set, Palermo gave a shout out to all of his family who come out, and then gave shout outs to the family members of his band members as well. All throughout the night, the bandmates would see or hear friend after friend in the middle of the crowd. Even as their stage was set up, they took the time to chat with fans who crowded towards the front. Not only has Nothing become one of the best bands to come out of Philadelphia, but they truly embrace the city’s spirit as well. Friday night was the crowning example.