Written by Angel Park

Philly’s indie-rock powerhouse four-piece, The Districts, performed to a packed crowd last night at Union Transfer to celebrate their final stop on their Great American Painting tour.

Supported by fellow acts, Francis of Delirium, and Vanillaroma, the evening served as an energetic, fun, yet bittersweet close to their six-week run of shows across the coast.

The crowd began to slowly straggle in, as the members of Vanillaroma took the stage to kick off the evening. In stark contrast to their self-deprecating description of their group as, “a music band that plays semi-mediocre rock and roll,” the members of Vanillaroma were anything but. Quirky, fuzz-filled tracks like “Leave Me Be” and “Check Your Optimism,” quickly had the growing crowd dancing and nodding along, and at one point, the band even gave some quick kudos to their family members and brought them on stage for a last-song dance.

Following Vanillaroma was the Luxemburg-based trio, Francis of Delirium, consisting of vocalist/lead guitarist, Jana Bahrich, drummer/producer Chris Hewett, and the most recent addition to the band, bassist, Jeff Hennico. Bahrich greeted the crowd with warm enthusiasm, as she set up to play, and filled in the time between songs with funny quips about her experience with food in Philly and how it was okay if no one in the crowd knew where Luxemburg actually was. The trio captivated the crowd’s eyes and ears with stunning renditions of their singles like “Let it All Go,” jump-worthy “Quit F—ing Around,” and the solemn, “I think I’m Losing,” which featured The Districts‘ lead vocalist, Rob Grote.

The venue room amplified with excited cheers once The Districts‘ crew stepped on board. Grote is quick to grab the microphone and thank the crowd for coming out that evening, and the band begins playing their opening song. There wasn’t a minute that the crowd wasn’t jumping or singing the words along to favorites such as “No Blood,” and “Do It Over.” The same whimsical vibes were portrayed heavily throughout the Great American Painting tour and translated perfectly into their final live performance in their hometown.

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