[ATTENDED: April 24, 2023] 2nd Grade
I could have seen 2nd Grade play with Kiwi Jr. last month. But I went to a different show that night instead.
Originally, Gladie was supposed to open this show. But at the last minute, 2nd Grade took their place. I had been looking forward to seeing Gladie again as I thought they were great. But I was happy to see 2nd Grade since when I looked them up last time I found
They are a gentle boppy indie pop band. Super catchy and poppy with delightful harmonies and a childlike quality (as befits their name). Most of the songs are around two minutes.
And that’s how they played fourteen songs in some 30 minutes.
“Favorite Song” is a fun song about how people’s favorite songs changed during their relationship. “W-2” is, as he said, a song about taxes.
They have some fun titles. “Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider” is super catchy with lyrics that are not challenging.
The band is lead by guitarist and vocalist Peter Gill (who actually played bass at our show). Catherine Dwyer played second guitar and had a nasty word for the PPA who had recently thrown “3 hour limit” parking signs all over the area. The applause wasn’t as strong as it could have been, probably because most people walk there. But for me, I was 100% in agreement.
On lead guitar was John Samuels who also played at Johnny Brenda’s the night before with someone else. His guitar was a little too loud (or I was standing too close to the amp), but his solos were interesting.
Gill had a good rapport with the audience (for a Philly band, they seemed largely unknown, although there were definitely some fans–one of whom even requested a song). “My Bike” was supposed to come after Sharona but he said they were going to skip it–you don’t want to hear that. But later on someone did request it, so they dropped the last song on the setlist “Work Til I Die” to fit it in.
They had fun with Controlled Burn which has a big chant at the end: “if you know the title “Controlled Burn” you can chant along. Which we did.
Most of the songs were indeed under two minutes, with a couple running a little longer. They were delightful pop nuggets that ricke da little harder than on record–but not much. A delightful opening band.
- Favorite Song ⊗
- W-2 ∇
- Strung Out on You €
- Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider ∇
- Me and My Blue Angels €
- Superglue ⊗
- When You Were My Sharona ∇
- Controlled Burn €
- Made Up My Own Mind *
- Velodrome ∇
- Hands Down €
- My Bike ∇
- Shooting From the Hip ∇
- As Long As We Can Talk About It ⊗
€ Easy Listening (2022)
∇ Hit to Hit (2020)
⊗ When You Were Here Tour Revisited (2018/2021)
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