So I went to see The Church last Wednesday.

[Swish]

I wasn't supposed to be there, but my best bud's wife has a herniated disk so she couldn't go and my bud pulled out his 'you owe me one' card. I really don't like going to Philly on a work night, but what the hell. I'm was never a big fan and really only know 'Metropolis' and 'Milky Way', sorry to say. I've heard a lot more, but I don't recall the tracks and so forth. Bob told me he read a recent interview where they said they were touring in a van (no more tour bus) but were having a great time. Yeah, sounds about right.

The venue was the Trocadero, a smallish, old and kind of cool theater in the Chinatown section. I've been here for a few shows, most notably Luna, and it's a decent place for live music. Since The Church is no longer a big draw, they didn't even open the balcony for the show, and we were able to get a high-top table on the floor with a great view of the stage.

The opener was Adam Franklin and the Spent Bullets. Some of you will remember Adam as the front man for Swervedriver. They did about 7 or 8 songs and were pretty decent, and it's obvious that Franklin hasn't missed a step and nailed some nice solos on this vintage Fender Jaguar. I'd give my right....never mind. We saw lead guitarist Marty Wilson-Piper walking past us with a huge beard and really baggy shorts, looking akin to a street person. He then appeared in the balcony to the left of us (we could see him from the floor) watching the Spent Bullets.

The Church came out about 9:30 and sounded exactly as I remember them. Steve Kilby's voice is still silky smooth and the band was pretty tight, weaving its way through their deep catalog. Bob wrote down the tracklist since he knows everything about them, but he has yet to forward it to me. They did play "Under the Milky Way', their biggest hit, but I was disappointed they didn't play 'Metropolis'. Anyway, it was a pretty good show and a darn shame they only drew about 200 or so people.

Swishdaddy

[Mr MidFi]

I probably would have enjoyed that show. I still like to hear them, now and then. Never saw them back in their 'Heyday'... too bad they're struggling a bit now. Oh well.

[bobsticks]

I liked "The Church" though I'm no more conversant on their material than you. I was given an evaluation copy of one of their discs...of course, no song titles. I view their pseudo-shoegaze jingly stuff as a taste that I have, from time to time, acquired.