There were other concerts/shows taking place in Philly on Wednesday, May 14th, but we didn’t care. We’d had the night circled on our calendar for months because one of our favorite acts, ‘Chromeo’, was heading to Union Transfer. We weren’t alone in our excitement, the show, with ‘Oliver’ as the opening act, sold-out well in advance, assuring that the venue would be packed for their performance.
The night started off with a bit of a hiccup. Union Transfer was scheduled to open at 8pm with the show starting at 830pm. When we arrived at 8pm, there was a giant line, stretching far down the block, of people waiting to get inside. The doors opened shortly after 8pm but no one was allowed into the theater. Instead, patrons had to wait in the bar or the lobby until almost 9pm. We heard rumblings that there was a technical issue with Oliver’s gear. When everyone was finally allowed to enter the showroom, there was a bit of a rush to secure spots close to the stage.
On the whole, we love Union Transfer as a venue. In the early going, it’s ranking very high in the voting for favorite music venue in Philly, in our poll. You can vote for your favorite venues by clicking here. The one gripe we have, is the lack of a photo pit for photographers. For a sold out show it is often very hard to navigate through the crowd with expensive camera gear and rowdy, dancing fans hit our cameras on several occasions last night.
Oliver was a wonderful choice for an opening act but it was clear something wasn’t right during his shortened set (we say ‘he’ because only one half of the duo was in attendance). Oliver’s track selection was fantastic and well in line with what a Chromeo fan-base would enjoy. It was an eclectic set of both old and new tracks. It was deep and funky, but there was a notable train-wreck between two songs and, although the crowd cheered for most of the tracks, Oliver kept motioning to the DJ set up apologetically. Despite the late start, shortened time, and technical errors, what we heard, we really enjoyed. We would love to see Oliver perform again in optimal conditions.
There was a lengthy break while the staff prepped the stage for Chromeo. The set-up featured their signature ‘legs’ as well as giant chrome mirrors at the back on the stage. Even the guitars and drums were made from a silver chrome-like material. Around 10:15pm, the chants of “O-E-O-Chomeo!” began to get louder from the audience, the lights dimmed, and ‘P-Thugg’ & ‘Dave 1’ hit the stage. As ‘Dave 1’ told us in our interview back in 2011, Chromeo shows have “lots of funk, lots of fun. Lots of sing-a-longs. Lots of crowd participation. It’s a crunk show and we try to be as generous as possible with our audience”. He wasn’t lying. Chromeo opened with ‘Night by Night’, instantly elevating the venue to full on party-status from the very first song.
Chromeo is the complete package. They are total showmen who know how to work the crowd and pander to their fans at every turn. Their sound is infectious; it’s cool, it’s funky, it’s sexy, it’s downright dirty. They will give you “Bonafied Lovin'”, and as evidenced by “Over Your Shoulder”, they adore you just the way you are. Get your self-esteem on, girl.
Chromeo is everything that is right with music. They have two speeds: upbeat, and more upbeat. If you find yourself standing completely still during a Chromeo performance, check your pulse, you might be dead. Speaking to the crowd, ‘Dave 1’ apologized to Philly for the groups lengthy absence from town. Their last show here was all the way back in 2011, on Halloween at the Electric Factory (another epic show). We wish Chromeo would come to town more often. Daily would work for us. Later, during another loud roar of cheers, ‘Dave 1’ told the audience that he understands Philly, “It’s like New York but with more energy”. Using a talkbox, ‘P-Thugg’ expressed his love for Philly in his electrified voice.
Touring in support of their latest studio album ‘White Women’, Chromeo played a stellar selection of older favorites like ‘Tenderoni’, ‘Needy Girl’, and ‘Don’t Turn The Lights On’, with a mix of fantastic new songs like ‘Sexy Socialite’, ‘Come Alive’, ‘Jealous’, and ‘Frequent Flyer’. We’d be remiss to say there was a single song in the entire performance that we didn’t want to end. The show was sweaty, it was sultry, and we wouldn’t be surprised if several babies were conceived in the hours after it ended.
We are going to go out on a limb and say that this was the best concert/show in Philly (so far) in 2014. During the show, Union Transfer was filled with people just letting loose and getting down. Once the show ended, the only comments we heard from fans were beyond positive. “That was awesome!” was the crowd’s mantra as everyone filed out of the building. We highly suggest that if Chromeo is coming to your city that you check them out immediately. The guys will be in New York for the next two nights for back-to-back sold out shows (also playing DJ sets at before heading to Europe until mid-July. Take us with you Chromeo, take us with you. We get jealous, we’re not too cool to admit it, when you fellas leave our town, we ain’t with it.
[Photo credit: D. Jacob Miller Photography]
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Please let us know what you thought about the show in the comments box below the photo gallery!
You can view additional photos in the gallery below (click thumbnails to enlarge):
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