by Holli Stephens

The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia has always had a good reputation in my book. I’ve caught The Districts and Fly Golden Eagle in the same show and the intimate downstairs venue space serves as a stage to many Philadelphian and non-Philadelphian talents alike. This breezy Sunday evening brought two opposites in style but equally distributed in energy bands: White Fang and YACHT.

I can easily say that the Los Angles based guys of White Fang were one of the most amusing acts that I’ve seen in a long time. Even though the audience was sparsely populated the band brought the energy of a sold out show and were all shirtless by the third song. The topics of each song varied from smoking bongs, drinking Bud Light, and feeling “shitty” the night after partying and having a bad hangover. They really seemed like they wanted to connect with the millennial culture and succeeded with a good amount of the adolescent crowd. Lead singer Eric Gage told the crowd a very important life lesson.

White Fang (all photos by Harrison Brink)

Before tossing his sweat dripping hair to the right of his face Gage announced, “Don’t listen to anyone who has a stupid ass haircut,” referring to his guitarist’s unique approach to the mullet. White Fang did what a lot of openers fail to do. They got the crowd awake enough for the main band while having fun. I would say that is a success in itself.

Prior to YACHT coming on stage a booming game announcer voice bellowed rules that encouraged flash photography, warned people in the front of physical contact, and to “beware the hashtag”. Dressed in leather high-waisted shorts and a cropped sweatshirt that read “Tom Boy” topped with her signature platinum blonde pixie hair cut, lead singer Claire Evans’ appearance dominated the stage.

YACHT is the combination of Evans, multi-instrumentalists Jona Bechtolt and Bobby Birdman, and drummer/percussionist Jeffrey Brodsky. A good sized audience by this time had gathered as YACHT had made it very clear that they were going to deliver them a pumped up set whether they were a good fan or not. After playing through “Beam Me Up”, Evans suddenly jumped down from the stage and snaked her way through the crowd during the next song, “The Afterlife”. I saw one of my friend’s get shoved backward by one of her hands and shortly after, various other audience members getting handled by Evans. She then asked if anyone was a fan of Wawa. If you live in Philadelphia or the surrounding area, chances are Wawa has become a daily part of your routine. Evans began singing “wawawa” instead of the “ayayaya” as the chorus of “Psychic City” and the room became an explosion of hands in the air.

Bechtolt told the crowd that something special was about to happen in Philadelphia and it suddenly got very quiet, except for a drumroll. “Jeff’s Corner” was in action and the Brodsky told a short anecdote on how he met Pussy Riot on the street. After playing their last and newest song “Where Does This Disco?”, YACHT got calls of encore and meekly asked the audience, “Can we play one more song for you guys?” before ending the show on a loud note and thanking the crowd for a funky night of music.

by Holli Stephens

The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia has always had a good reputation in my book. I’ve caught The Districts and Fly Golden Eagle in the same show and the intimate downstairs venue space serves as a stage to many Philadelphian and non-Philadelphian talents alike. This breezy Sunday evening brought two opposites in style but equally distributed in energy bands: White Fang and YACHT.

I can easily say that the Los Angles based guys of White Fang were one of the most amusing acts that I’ve seen in a long time. Even though the audience was sparsely populated the band brought the energy of a sold out show and were all shirtless by the third song. The topics of each song varied from smoking bongs, drinking Bud Light, and feeling “shitty” the night after partying and having a bad hangover. They really seemed like they wanted to connect with the millennial culture and succeeded with a good amount of the adolescent crowd. Lead singer Eric Gage told the crowd a very important life lesson.

White Fang (all photos by Harrison Brink)

Before tossing his sweat dripping hair to the right of his face Gage announced, “Don’t listen to anyone who has a stupid ass haircut,” referring to his guitarist’s unique approach to the mullet. White Fang did what a lot of openers fail to do. They got the crowd awake enough for the main band while having fun. I would say that is a success in itself.

Prior to YACHT coming on stage a booming game announcer voice bellowed rules that encouraged flash photography, warned people in the front of physical contact, and to “beware the hashtag”. Dressed in leather high-waisted shorts and a cropped sweatshirt that read “Tom Boy” topped with her signature platinum blonde pixie hair cut, lead singer Claire Evans’ appearance dominated the stage.

YACHT is the combination of Evans, multi-instrumentalists Jona Bechtolt and Bobby Birdman, and drummer/percussionist Jeffrey Brodsky. A good sized audience by this time had gathered as YACHT had made it very clear that they were going to deliver them a pumped up set whether they were a good fan or not. After playing through “Beam Me Up”, Evans suddenly jumped down from the stage and snaked her way through the crowd during the next song, “The Afterlife”. I saw one of my friend’s get shoved backward by one of her hands and shortly after, various other audience members getting handled by Evans. She then asked if anyone was a fan of Wawa. If you live in Philadelphia or the surrounding area, chances are Wawa has become a daily part of your routine. Evans began singing “wawawa” instead of the “ayayaya” as the chorus of “Psychic City” and the room became an explosion of hands in the air.

Bechtolt told the crowd that something special was about to happen in Philadelphia and it suddenly got very quiet, except for a drumroll. “Jeff’s Corner” was in action and the Brodsky told a short anecdote on how he met Pussy Riot on the street. After playing their last and newest song “Where Does This Disco?”, YACHT got calls of encore and meekly asked the audience, “Can we play one more song for you guys?” before ending the show on a loud note and thanking the crowd for a funky night of music.