Tucked away on Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia (born and raised / on the playground’s where I spent most of my days…) sits Millcreek Tavern. In addition to having great drink specials and even better beers on tap, Millcreek has a small stage and an amazing sound system. Last Friday night I headed over to West Philly to catch foreign acts Skybombers (Australia) and People In Planes (UK).
Skybombers possessed the most endearing Australian accents and a massive amount of energy that kicked the crowd into high gear. They covered “Money (That’s What I Want)” with more zeal than I’ve ever heard that song performed. They smoked on stage (smoking in Philadelphia bars is a big no!), brought some ladies on stage to dance and had the crowd sing a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” to and toast bassist Ravi.
Skybombers voraciously took over the bar with a wild intensity and totally tight sound that got the crowd more than amped for People In Planes.
Skybombers
Not to be outshone by their tourmates, People In Planes also put on a high energy show and held the crowd rapt rather than causing them to bounce off the walls. The crowd sang along loudly, moved around and watched with admiration as the Wales 5 piece raged on stage.
Guitarist Peter Roberts plays a sweet flying V, which are too rarely seen these days, churning out hooks for dance jams like “Moth.” The band slowed it down a bit with a tune featuring a heavy melody played by newest addition Ian Russell that could easily appear in film or commercials. Led by vocalist Gareth Jones, who also plays rhythm guitar, People In Planes plays radio friendly rock that will no doubt take them far.
People In Planes: Gareth Jones
Peter Roberts
Ian Russell
Skybombers: website | myspace
People In Planes: website | myspace
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