Radio 104.5’s ‘Winter Jam 2015’ (presented by Chevrolet) returned to Philly with a bang on Saturday, January 24th. The outdoor winter concert switched venues in 2015, moving from the Piazza in Northern Liberties to ‘Xfinity Live!’ in South Philly. The new venue allowed for several improvements including a second stage (that featured local bands during set breaks on the main stage), a larger heated VIP area, and full access to the indoor bars and restaurants inside Xfinity Live! (for those 21+).
Our day kicked off at 11am when we arrived at Xfinity Live! in our 2015 Chevy Tahoe for a private VIP brunch in the Sky Box (courtesy of the folks at Chevrolet and Radio 104.5) where we were able to fill our bellies, knock back a few bloody mary’s, and pick up some Chevy swag bags. With pouring rain predicted to hit the area for much of the afternoon, it was nice to start the day off warm and dry. Thankfully, as it turned out, the meteorologists were wrong once again and aside from a few light sprinkles, the showers held off for the majority of the day.
Andrew McMahon kicked off the main stage but admittedly were relaxing in the VIP area behind the stage, speaking with other influential bloggers in the region and sipping hot chocolate, so we opted to listen to his set from afar. We weren’t about to miss ‘Walk The Moon’ however so we headed outside to catch them just before they hit the stage.
This was our first time seeing Walk The Moon up close and personal and front-man Nicholas Petricca and crew had a ton of energy and a great vibe on stage. They encouraged fan interaction (getting the crowd to sing the refrain from ‘Shut Up and Dance’ with them) and capped off their performance with perhaps their best known hit, ‘Anna Sun’.
One of our favorite bands around, and the reason we were most excited for Winter Jam 2015, the ‘Cold War Kids’ were up next. Opening with ‘All This Could Be Yours’, Cold War Kids instantly captivated the large crowd, getting them to dance around and continue the crowd-surfing that had been going on since the music started earlier in the day.
The California rockers, fronted by Nathan Willett, belted out several of our favorite Cold War Kids’ tunes including ‘Miracle Mile’, ‘Louder Than Ever’, and ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’, before concluding their set with ‘Something Is Not Right With Me’. It’s a real treat for us anytime we get to see Cold War Kids in person. We only wish their set had been able to last more than 9 songs so we could have heard more of our favorites!
The headlining set for the event went to the ‘Gaslight Anthem’ who we last had a chance to see when they rocked the Skyline Stage at the Mann Center (with Jimmy Eat World) over the Summer. The Gaslight Anthem opened their 13 song set with 2008’s ‘The ’59 Sound’. The temperature dropped noticeably during their set as it drew closer to dusk but the crowd stayed pumped up even as the thermometer plummeted.
Our favorites during their performance included ‘1000 Years’, ’45’, ‘Sweet Morphine’, and ‘Even Cowgirls Get The Blues’. When their set finally wrapped up with ‘The Backseat’ everyone seemed ready to get out of the cold having stuck around for over six hours to see numerous memorable performances.
We had a great time at Winter Jam 2015 and can’t wait to do it again next year!
[Photo credit: D. Jacob Miller Photography]
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