We took our pleasant time driving and made it to Philadelphia by 5PM, giving us just enough time to walk around the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall before load-in. The girls knew way more that I expected about America's founding fathers.
Bo-Peep played at the Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art, an aptly named art gallery that is housed in the remnants of a 19th century tombstone manufacturer's office. The facade of the building says it all.
One of the bands on the roster, Banned Books, was easily the most exciting and unique band Bo-Peep has shared the stage with on this tour so far. The group is a three-piece trio with the guitar doubling on keyboard. Both the bassist and guitarist used a plethora of noisy bugged-out electronic effects. The drummer had a minmal kit with just one cymbal, hi-hats, snare, and bass drum, but somehow he managed to make a thunderous cascade of noise like Keith Moon.
Bo-Peep took the stage sometime around 9:30. The crowd wasn't bad for a Monday night.
The bassist/guitarist in J. Fox, the first band on the roster of the evening, has a brother in Tokyo who is one of our good friends. He has a friend in Philadelphia who said we could sleep at his band's rehearsal studio.
This was the biggest surprise of the tour so far. We were expecting to crash in a small dirty warehouse with moldy couches. When we walked in, all five of us were blown away. The space turned out to be an enormous converted warehouse shared by 7 artists and musicians. It was something of an artists' collective slash hipster hang-out, complete with numerous lofts, a recording studio, and even a swing.
We finally got a good night's sleep. The ladies are doing their make-up now before we hit the road to Boston. We are playing at O'Brien's Pub at 9PM.
approximate mileage: 620
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