iradiophilly | Culture - Jacuzzi Boys, King Tuff and Wavves; Sold Out Show At The First Unitarian Church In Philadelphia

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Jacuzzi Boys, King Tuff and Wavves; Sold Out Show At The First Unitarian Church In Philadelphia

by: SteveKane - Broomall, PA
started: 10/07/13 8:01 pm | updated: 10/07/13 8:01 pm

Last Wednesday, October 2nd brought a night of powerful and vicious rock and roll to the First Unitarian Church on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Headliners were Wavves, Californiaâ€™s Alternative Punk Rock amalgamation between the original project started by Nathan Williams and ex-Jay Reatard bassist Stephen Pope, who decided to play a more intimate venue since their last stop in Philly. Openers were garage rock pioneers King Tuff and the scuzzy young Jacuzzi Boys. At about 6pm there was already a line out front of the venue wrapping around the block for the sold out show. The sense of what to come was in the air early and with much dedicated anticipation.

Check out the interview with iRadioPhilly's Steve Kane and Wavves here!

Take a look at the photo gallery here!
Photos courtesy of Angel Park Photography.

Listen to iradiophilly's Y-Not Radio for Indie Rock

Making it down the steep cement stairs into the large recreational basement of the First Unitarian Church, attendeeâ€™s wrists were marked by the omnipresent R5 Productions staff. By the front entrance of the room were the merchandise tables presented by all three bands. King Tuff was offering some awesome 7-inches including a full-length LP recorded live at Jack Whiteâ€™s Third Man Records in Nashville, Tennessee. Wavves was offering a wide range of shirts, accessories and records including their newest release, Afraid Of Heights.

It was time for Miami, Floridaâ€™s Jacuzzi Boys to take the stage. The straight forward rock three-piece proved to provide righteous guitar work and hard hitting drums. Lead guitarist and singer Gabriel gave his drone-like vocals over a wickedly buzzy electric guitar and fast paced rhythm. It wasnâ€™t long before the already packed crowd became more like a dancing frenzy battlefield. Towards the end of the Jacuzzi Boysâ€™ set they requested the lights to be turned off. The remainder of their set was in complete darkness, with energetic music fueling the crowd to jump and mosh. A definite great way to warm up the audience for a night of raw and wild rock and roll.

Next up was LA-via-Vermont's King Tuff, fronted by Kyle Thomas. Within the past year King Tuff has definitely made a solid appraisal by many rock listeners with his eponymous release of 2012. Loud, melodic and impressively rhythmic King Tuff had the crowd in the thrones of great live music. Before playing the fun and catchy tune, "Sun Medallion" Kyle held up a handmade medallion and offered it to the crowd before inviting a fan onstage to be bestowed the honored talisman. Ending the set with "Bad Thing" with the audience singing along made for a fantastic entry for Wavves.

With an intense eagerness people waited for Wavves to take the spacious stage at the First Unitarian Church. The time was right and at about 10pm Nathan Williams and crew made their way to open the set. First song was a righteous and wild version of "Post Acid" from 2010's King Of The Beach. Nearly instantly the crowd broke out into an ocean of people moshing and singing along to the chorus. What is so great about the First Unitarian Church the unfiltered connection between band and audience, both are enjoyed the show as one complete entity. It was not long until people started hopping on the stage to start crowd surfing the sea of people.

Song after song the set became progressively more active, exciting and energetic. The room reached oven-like temperatures with people constantly dancing and moshing. Playing the first single from Afraid Of Heights, "Demon To Lean On" the crowd started singing the lyrics before the band with great hilarity and appreciation. It was an incredible scene to see the band having such a welcome and comfortable atmosphere within the midst of absolute chaos from within the crowd. Wavves then continued to play the recently released "Nine Is God" which is featured in the new Grand Theft Auto 5 game.

"This is an old song." said Nathan Williams before going into the fan favorite, "Friends Are Gone" which used to be a great set opener for the band. This lead into a rancorous version of "Idiot" leading the crowd into a complete blitzkrieg. The vibrations from the music sent sine waves leading an eruption producing an all-out sonic war between band and audience. Crowd surfing the waves of people was a very popular notion throughout the show. During the entire show fans made a conscientious effort to enjoy the show together, even while total anarchy was active. This gave the show a great characteristic of community. The heat in the room during Wavves had the audience feeling like they just jumped in a pool. Last song played was "King Of The Beach," allowing Wavves to claim their status as kings of the beautiful uprising alternative rock culture which is continually permeating throughout the music scene.

Check out the interview with iRadioPhilly's Steve Kane and Wavves here!

Take a look at the photo gallery here!
Photos courtesy of Angel Park Photography.

Listen to iradiophilly's Y-Not Radio for Indie Rock