Jukebox the Ghost + Via Audio + Dynamite Walls at the First Unitarian Church 12/10

Setting: Sitting on stage watching and listening to Dynamite Walls’ sound check.  Sucks for all of you who had to wait out in the cold… Mmmm, warmth.

Venue: Basement of The First Unitarian Church, or as I like to call it, The Church.  This is a rather unique all ages venue in Philly.  If you’re not from Philly, this probably sounds pretty weird.  I love shows here.  As for the all ages aspect, not so much.  My favorite part is that the carpet on stage repeats "H8R," no joke.

Dynamite Walls, a five-piece indie/rock band from San Diego, took the stage first.   The Philadelphia Parking Authority was even kind enough to welcome them to our city with a $76 ticket, isn’t that nice?  These guys have been together for about five years, and I think it’s time everyone knows about them.  I was pretty pumped to see their set; because their sound check sounded pretty damn good as far as sound checks go.  They didn’t use set lists, but I was able to compile one for myself: Delicate Thing/That Girl/Keep Spinning Around/Making Out/Stay Awake/Only Words/The Pages

My advice?  You should definitely keep an eye out for these guys.  Or should I say ear…?  Check them out here and buy their new single, Keep Spinning Around, here.  (I was lucky enough to get my hands on their Stay Awake EP, which they were kind enough to sign for me, before they ran out.)

The Meligrove Band had some car troubles, so Jukebox the Ghost called their friends, Via Audio, to come out and take their place.  Apparently this isn’t the first time that they’ve stepped in to help out Jukebox.  I mean, what are friends for?  This four-piece indie/pop band from Brooklyn sure knows how to put on a show at the last minute.  If I didn’t know any better I’d have thought that they had been on tour with Jukebox the whole time!  Their songs were diverse, and kept me entertained for their entire set.  Best part: Two-thirds of Jukebox the Ghost, Tommy and Ben, joining them on stage for their final song, taking care of the tambourines.  Check them out here and buy their new album, Animalore, here.

I saw Jukebox the Ghost open for Free Energy back in May, also at The Church.  It was very cool to see these guys headline only a few months later.  They did extremely well with their increased set, allowing them the opportunity to really pull the audience in.  Their sound?  It's hard to say.  Unique piano rock comparable to Ben Folds is the best I can do.  They opened the show with the song Victoria.  This brought the crowd energy level up within seconds, where it stayed for the remainder of the evening.  My favorite song of the set was Schizophrenia, the first track off of their latest record, Everything Under the Sun.  This song has a lot going on, hence the title, and was tons of fun to see and hear live.  

They closed their set with three encore songs, but didn’t leave the stage until they filled it with every single performer of the night.  If you’ve ever been to The Church, you know how small the stage is.  And for some reason, everyone was wearing space suits…  Yeah I know, I thought it was odd too.  You can check them out here, and buy their new album here.  You should probably see them live as well, since they’re pretty fucking awesome.  Tommy, vocals and guitar, was super kind enough to answer some questions for me.  Enjoy!

Q: So tell me the meaning behind the name, Jukebox the Ghost?

When it comes down to it, a random combination of words.  We operated under a different band name (The Sunday Mail) for a few years in college and were looking for a fresh start.

Q: What made you guys decide to relocate to Philly?

Originally, cheap rent -- None of us knew anyone in Philly, but we knew we couldn't afford to live in DC and still tour (and Philly had been recommended by some folks we knew).  But over time, we fell in love with Philly.  Living in the Northern Liberties area was an especially great place to be between tours.

Q: Jukebox has toured quite a bit over the years, what group was your favorite to play with?

Hard to say --- Touring with any band gives you a bond that never really goes away, and we've toured with some amazing people.  Via Audio, Drink Up Buttercup, Miniature Tigers, Jenny Owens Young, the Winter Sounds, Adam Green, and Nightmare of You are some of our favorites.  I'm sure I'm forgetting bands.....

Q: What did you learn from the extensive touring?

Musically?  Every night you learn how to put on a better show.  As a big setlist geek, I'm always learning more about what works and what doesn't.

Q: What does your new album, Everything Under the Sun, mean to you?

For us, it feels like our first real studio effort.  Our first album was recorded with limited time (9 days) and limited financial resources, so we didn't get to flesh it out in the ways that we wanted to.  The newest one was recorded over the course of two months, so it doesn't feel as 'unfinished'.  We all think our best studio work is still ahead of us, but I think we also feel good about the amount of time and effort that went into the new record.

Q: What was the inspiration for the album?

Difficult to pinpoint.  There's some new wave-y elements (Schizophrenia, Half Crazy), some Beatles-y songs (Nobody, Carrying, Summer Sun), some prog stuff (The Sun, The Sun Interlude, The Stars), and some campy broadway material (Popular Thing, This Year)....We're all over the place as songwriters and I think the songs reflect that, for better or worse.

Q: What’s next for the band after this tour?

A break!  We've been on the road for almost four months and are excited for a few weeks to decompress before some scattered touring in late January and early February.  We're particularly excited about opening for the recently-reunited Dismemberment Plan (one of my favorite bands of all time) and the Ships and Dip cruise ship that we're playing on (a cruise ship filled with rock bands -- Should be insane).

Q: You guys have known each other for a long time, are you sick of each other yet?

It's so beyond being 'sick' of eachother --- At this point, it's familial.  We all enjoy hanging out generally, and we know how to not piss eachother off, so that helps.  It really helps that we were friends long before Jukebox became a serious thing --- The friendship runs even deeper than the music.  I can't imagine any of us not being in the band at any point in the future.  It would be too weird, like getting a substitute sister or brother....

Q: What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you guys while performing?

During our last show of the Barenaked Ladies tour, Ed Robertson came onstage in a towel and proceeded to full-frontally flash all three of us, individually...  During the song "Summer Sun".  Horrifying.

[Oh my, that is hilarious.]

Q: What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever asked/done?

Six of them (that we know) have gotten our ghost logo tattooed on them.  That still blows my mind.

[I don't find this crazy, but then again, I do have a tattoo of the 30 Seconds to Mars symbol...]

Overall: A fun-filled night of fantastic indie/pop/rock music.  One of the better shows that I’ve been to, hands down.

Stay tuned:  Best shows/concerts of 2010.


Edited by: Becky S.