After releasing their 11th studio album Quaker City Quiet Pills last June, Philly icons The Dead Milkmen filled up Underground Arts on Saturday night for a chill, fun, and fully local punk show. The band sold out back-to-back hometown shows last weekend, with two other local groups, YDI and longting friends Flag of Democracy, opening the night.
YDI | photo by Ellen Miller for WXPN
YDI (pronounced “Why-Die”) kicked things off with so much energy that you would never guess the show was promoted on the AARP events calendar. Those vibes continued throughout the night as well as F.O.D.’s drummer Bob Walker lost his glasses mid-song as they went flying off causing a brief stage search by the other band members before the next song. So it’s safe to say that it was a good and somewhat unhinged gig.
The Dead Milkmen | photo by Ellen Miller for WXPN
In typical Philly style, there were nonstop smiles around the room both on and off stage all night, especially when The Dead Milkemen got their set underway. Quaker City Quiet Pills mixes their energetic guitar / drums / bass / keys drive with the band’s satirical lyrics, making an extremely fun listening experience. That pretty much sums up the vibe Saturday night at Underground Arts. However, there were actually only a couple new songs included in the set list: “Grandpa’s Not a Racist (He Just Voted For One)” and “Philadelphia Femdom” (which was saved for the seven song encore). The rest of the setlist featured everyone’s old favorites covering their whole discography.
Obviously midway through, the band’s MTV hit “Punk Rock Girl” had its time to shine, followed by “Bitchin’ Camaro” from the 1985 album Big Lizard in My Backyard. At the transition point between the main set and the encore, vocalist Rodney Anonymous told us he doesn’t like when bands leave stage to pretend they aren’t coming back, and with that the band proceeded straight into a six-song encore, including Milkmen favorites “Life Is Shit,” “Smokin’ Banana Peels,” and “Big Time Operator.” Check out photos from the show below.