Because we need Paint It Black more than ever, they’re playing the First Unitarian Church
Last Wednesday afternoon, I sat at my desk feeling numb, despondent and uncertain about the future in the wake of the presidential election. I was certainly not alone in this, and in the midst of a steady stream of outrage and disappointment on my Twitter feed, one Tweet from Philadelphia hardcore heroes Paint It Black stood out.
There's a downside to always having been suspicious of flags and all they represent: we've nothing to fly at half mast on days like today.
— Paint It Black (@pibphilly) November 9, 2016
Paint it Black is, for the uninitiated, one of the most important bands to emerge from Philly in the past decade and a half. A conglomeration of punk scene vets led by vocalist / lyricist Dan Yemin, the band are sharp and incisive social critics and forward thinkers, and across three LPs and a string of 7″ EPs and singles, they’ve pushed conversations forward onto the scene about injustice, discrimination, feminism, animal rights and introspective personal struggles. In short, they’re a band that matters, a band that talks frankly about issues that matter, and does it in punchy, minute-to-two-minute blasts. Their Tweet got me thinking that, god, we need Paint it Black more than ever right now.
Maybe they felt so too. Maybe this was in the cards all along. In any case, Paint it Black just announced a show at the First Unitarian Church on Thursday, April 20th of 2017. Joining them are fellow politically charged crew Downtown Boys from Providence, Rhode Island, who put out the fantastic Full Communism last year. Also on the bill are Baltimore’s Praise, Florida’s Gouge Away and Philly’s Soul Glo.
As PiB posted to Twitter this morning, “This is our first proper hometown show in roughly four years and we do not presently have another one scheduled in the USA. Join us.” And you totally should.
Tickets for the all-ages show are $15 and go on sale Wednesday, November 16th at 10 a.m., more information can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar. Below, revisit some highlights from their discography, via Bandcamp.