by Mandy McGee

Since I live in Seattle I don’t get to review shows in Philadelphia much but this past Friday night I had the pleasure of seeing Jay Som and The Courtneys co-headline at Boot and Saddle. I unfortunately missed the openers, Little Junior, but was told they were really good and now I am curious to check them out. It was sold out! I have never seen Boot and Saddle so packed; the audience was super engaged.

Rain and traffic made me late to the show, but I got in as Jay Som was starting his set; I was already blown away by the sound. Hearing 22-year-old Melina Duterte’s vibrant, spaceful melodies swirling inside my ears whisked me away to an astral plane. The song “Baybee” had fierce bass hooks and the last song of the set, “Lipstick Stains”, made me have the feels as lyrics took hold of my heart. This Bay Area song bird released debut album, Everybody Works, early this past month on Polyvinyl.

From the first note The Courtneys strummed I was dancing with their hypnotizing melodies. They made me feel like I should be on the beach watching the waves. This Vancouver-based lo-fi, jangly punk band has been on tour the past few weeks with Jay Som and recently signed with Flying Nun Records who released their second album, The Courtneys II. They opened with the album’s first track, “Silver Velvet” and continued to play almost the entire new album in order (though that left me feeling a bit bored). The song “Lost Boys” was my favorite song because it is about vampires and is an ode to Kiefer Southerland’s character in the movie Lost Boys.

Sometimes having two different genre bands on the same bill can be a refreshing combination; these two bands compliment each others’ sounds. I had a lot of fun seeing this show and recommend taking a listen to both. Try to catch them before the tour is over in a couple of week.