As Philadelphia knows, on Sunday the Eagles won their game against the Packers. In Fishtown, Johnny Brenda’s at Frankford and Girard was lit up, it’s old wooden walls quaking with the potential energy of a hometown win when concert-goers began arriving for the show. The indie rock crowd upstairs in the venue, though comparably less rowdy than the spectators downstairs, was just as eager to have a transformative night out. The internet-hyped This Is Lorelei was playing, accompanied by touring workhorses youbet, and buzzy local band 22° Halo.
If Pitchfork personified could’ve attended this concert, he would’ve been there. Both 22° Halo and This Is Lorelei have received positive reviews from the website, with Lorelei’s Box for Buddy, Box for Star even appearing on their list of the best albums of 2024. To Halo though, the review came as more of a surprise. Will Kennedy, the project’s songwriter, is a local school teacher and musician who wrote his breakthrough album Lily of the Valley about his wife’s cancer diagnosis, their shared memories, and “documenting and feeling seen in a caretaker role,” as Kennedy told the Instagram account @textinginterviews.
The lo-fi preciousness of 22° Halo’s recorded sound translated appropriately on the Johnny Brenda’s stage, with three guitars interweaving and light-chugging rhythm of aux percussion and bass keeping pace at laser focus. Their energy was no match for Brooklyn’s youbet, however, who are noisier in person, even for a three-piece, than you’d expect from their 2024 album Way To Be. There’s more opportunity to latch onto the clever melodies of Nick Llobet’s writing when you hear the album on headphones, but live in the venue, rocking out is more important.
