Alvvays entrances the crowd and spurs a moshpit at Union Transfer

Alvvays @ Union Transfer, Philadelphia. Photo by Cameron Pollack

Whenever I walk into a venue, I look around and try to guess the median age of the crowd. Sometimes it’s for kicks, but sometimes it’s very telling about what the nature of the concert will be. I’ve walked into enough shows with the crowd brimming with high-school age teenagers to know that, should the crowd be of this age, the show will involve the bulk of the audience bobbing their heads and pretending to know the words. Alvvays at Union Transfer was very much an exception.

Alvvays commands a following much more dedicated and devoted than I ever would have guessed. From the second “Next of Kin” kicked off, every kid was dancing to every single song. Surprisingly they got their biggest hit, “Archie, Marry Me,” out of the way early, and while always a crowd-pleaser, it was only one of several incredible moments from the set. Alvvays treated us to a slew of covers, including “Nosebleed” by Deerhunter, “He’s On The Beach” by Kirsty MacColl, and “Out of Reach” by The Primitives. Various songs got the crowd singing harmoniously back at Molly Rankin and the band, including “Atop a Cake”, “Adult Diversion”, and my personal favorite song of the night, “Party Police”. Another notable moment of the night was when, unexpectedly for a self-described lo-fi and jangle pop band, a mosh pit broke out right next to me during “Adult Diversion” and right through the encore, complete with older gentlemen by a margin of 20 years (or more!) who wanted to join the fun. American Wrestlers opened the show.

Check out photos and the setlist below!

Setlist:
Your Type (unreleased)
Next of Kin
The Agency Group
Ones Who Love
Archie, Marry Me
Underneath Us (unreleased)
Nosebleed (Deerhunter cover)
Dives
Atop a Cake
He’s On The Beach (Kirsty MacColl cover) Party Police
Adult Diversion
Out of Reach (The Primitives cover)
A New Haircut

Photos by Cameron Pollack.