Written and photographed by : Max Bennett
A three-band bill at Ortlieb’s in Northern Liberties on July 20 offered up moody post-punk, blistering three-guitar rock, and a very funny Midwest screamo set to officially welcome hometown rockers Rat Jester to the Philly music scene.
The night kicked off with Blood. The band originally hails from Texas but now calls Philly home. Blood launched into their set with two fiery tracks.
Singer Tim O’Brien’s intensity on stage is very apparent. He delivered lyrics with such fervor it almost seemed like he was angry at the mic, the words, or something else in the ether us audience members couldn’t — or wouldn’t — understand.
Their third song in the set toned down the energy, coming in with just guitar and vocals. Eventually, the whole band joined in and brought the same energy as their first two tracks. That song ended quietly, however, on a somewhat somber note.
The last two songs of Blood’s set were powerful, driven tracks. Their final song came in like a wrecking ball, with the band slamming their way into the closer. It featured dreamy keyboard work when it slowed down. But the song’s conclusion was electric and ended abruptly, putting quite the cap on Blood’s short but sweet set.
And shout out to Blood’s guitarist, who showed up with a large pedal board that featured just two pedals. The trend of all three bands doing on-stage bits would continue.
Next up was Magic Rockers of Texas. And, well, the name says it all.
My interest was immediately piqued when I noticed their set-up accommodated three guitarists. As a kid raised on the guitar bands of the 70s, like Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Outlaws, I knew the next set was going to be powerful.
Their set exploded with a wall of sound and pure energy.
Two of the guitarists and the bassist were contributing to the vocals, giving the five-piece an even larger sound, something I didn’t think was possible based on how big they sounded.
The guitar work from all three axemen was phenomenal. From ripping solos, crafty leads (even a slide was busted out for a few tracks), and power chords being banged out like the guitars needed to be taught a lesson, this band was cranking out their songs.
At one point between songs, frontman Jim Campo threw out a joke that they saw a rat king before the show. For those unaware, the rat king is a seemingly mythical phenomenon that is very real: it’s when a large group of rats get their tails entwined to become a rat king. A reference to headliners Rat Jester.
After several songs that were so intense, Magic Rockers performed a song that reminded me of Jesse Welles, who has recently been getting heaps of attention and praise for his modern-day, acoustic protest songs on social media. That folk-protest vibe didn’t stick, as the track went into a more traditional pop-rock structure.
Toward the end of the set, Campo broke a string on stage, but it didn’t matter as he powered through the rest of the tracks in the set, one of which featured some amazing arpeggio work from two of the guitarists.
Rat Jester then took the stage for their first-ever hometown show (they had only played live once before and it was in Brooklyn).
Before they went into their set, singer Matt Decaro called out someone celebrating a birthday in the crowd. The band then played “Happy Birthday” in the sloppiest way possible, which made us all realize there was no one celebrating a birthday and the whole thing was a bit. Oh, and there was even one of those party poppers with streamers and whatnot included in the bit. And the bits continued throughout their set, which was jangly, exciting, and all-around positive and fun.
Rat Jester is rooted in the Midwest emo tradition, and laced their songs with guitar harmonies and bouncy riffs and chord progressions, taking the maudlin emo tradition to a much more fun and accessible level.
Breaking out of that style, the band ripped into the track “Doomsday Shuffle.” The song had strong vibes of “Rock Lobster” by the B52s, getting groovy with a surf-rock style that wasn’t like anything else heard earlier in the night. And it was during this track that Decaro was showing off his zany dancing on stage while still pounding away at the drop D chords.
At some point in the song, Decaro, guitarist and sometime singer Jack Alexander, and bassist James Harris paused to tune up. But the tuning process went on. And on. Again, this was one of the many bits Saturday’s show offered up. Decaro and Alexander a few times shouted out “Give it up for Ian!” as drummer Ian Staley kept the beat going during the tuning joke.
The next song was a headbanger of a track, and at one point Decaro and Alexander began singing “The First Cut is the Deepest.” I told you this show was full of bits. Then the next song opened with a quote from a movie or TV show, I wasn’t sure. That’s a classic emo/post-hardcore band trope that was employed very well here.
Then, the Rat Jester itself made its way through the crowd and onto the stage to sit in on a track on violin. The violin coming in at the end contrasted the earlier parts of the frenzied song perfectly.
Rat Jester closed out the night with the song “Supermarket,” which they said will be released soon as their first single. The track ramps up and has an anthemic chorus about making a tough realization while shopping. It’s unclear if the lyrics are sincere or part of Rat Jester’s comedic stylings, but the song is a bop for sure. It ended with either some odd time signatures or syncopation, perfect for that math-rocky emo vibe.
Keep up with Rat Jester’s social media to be sure you catch “Supermarket” when it drops.
Rat Jester
Magic Rockers of Texas
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