The Endless Summer show on Saturday, September 16, was the cherry on top to a massively successful season of concerts provided by Radio 104.5, Philadelphia’s leading alternative music station. Starting back in May with a set of 10th Birthday shows, followed by many Summer Block Parties, today’s show spotlighted a high-energy group of acts which did not disappoint. Xfinity Live! was the location, which provided top-shelf facilities, and was the perfect layout for this type of event.
Starting the day was ‘Magic Giant’ who provided a unique sound blending different instruments; never did a banjo and synthesizer sounds so right together. Just imagine an updated Mumford & Sons, but with only three players. The lead singer, Austin Bisnow, really connected with the crowd, figuratively and physically, by jumping into the pit to hug some of the lucky fans in the front row. Starting a performance at noon can be tough, but the crowd was beyond ready. The set concluded with each of the band members beating the drummer’s kit in unison. The setlist included: ‘Let It Burn’, ‘Hideaway’, ‘Jade’, ‘Shake Me Up’, ‘Set on Fire’, and ‘Window’.
Wearing an Allen Iverson jersey, and self-proclaiming that he was pandering to the local crowd, vocalist Landon Jacobs of ‘Sir Sly’ drew a huge laugh from the audience. Sir Sly has seen success with their debut single ‘Ghost,’ which has been in the video games Assassin’s Creed IV and MLB 14. The song, which has a very ethereal sound against a great drum beat, was a highlight of the set, with Landon standing on, and then leaping off of the bass drum of Hayden Coplen. The set was briefly interrupted with a technical sound glitch, but Landon quieted the crowd through various forms of charades, and finally announced when the sound came back “Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em”, jumping right into their song called ‘High’. The Sir Sly set list included: ‘You Haunt Me’, ‘Ghost’, ‘Altar’, ‘Change’, and ‘Run, Gold, High’.
‘New Politics’, the trio from Copenhagen, Denmark, were next to take the stage. The band has been described as a blend of punk, pop, and electronically induced dance rock. They are best known for their hit ‘Harlem’ where the lead singer has been known to break dance on stage during their live performances. This, however, did not happen today. Instead, lead singer David Boyd decided to jump into the audience and sing in the middle of the crowd, to the delight of the fans. The band ended with ‘One of Us’, which was written about the band’s friendship, and told the crowd they were all “one of us”. “You guys are a Rock ‘n Roll city,” stated guitarist Søren Hansen. The New Politics set list included: ‘Everywhere I Go (Kings & Queens)’, ‘CIA’, ‘West End Kids’, ’15 Dreams’, ‘Color Green’, ‘Harlem’, and ‘One of Us’.
Opening with ‘Winter of Wolves’ provided a stark Game of Thrones vibe while the band ‘Biffy Clyro’ stood still on stage. Then, the fun began. The opening song allowed lead singer/guitarist Simon Neil to make grand facial expressions between every resting note. The Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, has seen great success in the UK. They even had one of their songs covered on Britain’s X-Factor (which strangely wasn’t played this day) by a contestant. They created a tremendous big sound from just three people. Simon, with taped up fingers like a boxer, attacked the guitar drifting between many different rhythm styles while still producing skillful guitar fills and solos. The Biffy Clyro set list included: ‘Wolves of Winter’, ‘Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies’, ‘Howl’, ‘Bubbles’, ‘Re-Arrange’, ‘That Golden Rule’, ‘Black Chandelier’, and ‘Mountains’.
When the headliners, ‘Dirty Heads’, began their set, Xfinity Live! was packed all the way to Pattison Avenue. The crowd erupted when the band from Huntington Beach, California finally took the stage. After the first song ‘Burn Slow’, lead singer Jared “Dirty J” Watson said, “Philly, you guys fuckin’ get it. Philly always shows up. It’s always in the top three shows of the tour, always.” Dirty Heads set list included: ‘Franco Eyed’, ‘Burn Slow’, ‘My Sweet Summer’, ‘Dance All Night’, ‘Your Love’, ‘Vacation’, ‘Stand Tall’, ‘Too Cruel’, ‘Red Lights’, ‘Medusa’, ‘Sloth’s Revenge’, ‘Spread Too Thin/Lay Me Down’, ‘Oxygen’, ‘That’s All I Need’, and ‘Oxygen’ Remix’.
The Radio 104.5 Endless Summer Concert was a great way to say goodbye to the warmer months, and we cannot wait to see what Radio 104.5 has in store for the Fall lineup!
[Photos by Brockswell Photography]
[Article by Bob Linneman]
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