[ATTENDED: October 1, 2026] Labrador
I hadn’t heard of Labrador before this show. Turns out they are a solid Philly rock band. Their blurb on bandcamp says Maximum Alt Country which I assumed was a joke as they don’t sound country at all. But even in the review of their new album, it says “The latest LP from Philadelphia rock quartet Labrador turns up the heat on the alt-country and mod influences forged on their previous records.” I can certainly hear the mod influences, but I don’t hear any alt country at all.
Especially live, where they rock pretty hard and singer and guitarist Pat King has a powerful rocking voice. And Steve Kurtz’ drums were simple but punctuated the songs nicely.
And what I really liked, in addition to his pleas for the Phillies to win, was his passionate belief in justice. As the rest of that blurb says
Labrador are a barn-burning bar band bringing influences from the storied, intersecting legacies of anti-war punk, blues, folk, and soul music into the 21st century. Labrador’s weathered, vintage sound isn’t indicative of a desire to return to some idealized fantasy version of the past, but to learn from the history that created destructive forces dominating the present—worker exploitation, corporate greed, rampant xenophobia, genocide in Palestine.
Their songs are simple. The three chords of Kill Kill Kill were instantly catchy and the progression to the chorus was obvious but satisfying. The mix was a little off in the beginning with Kris Hayes’ guitar being a little too loud. But his solos were really tasty. We couldn’t reallu hear bassist Will Hochgertel at all–maybe that’s why the set sounded less full that Ted Leo’s.
Later the chords to We Drew Straws was similarly three chords. But again, catchy and fun. And then the chorus takes a pointed turn
Shout these words out loud
War crimes for genocide
Cease fire now
A slower song like Slow Down King (where King played acoustic guitar) was really simple but effective
If I’m hollow by the sunrise at least I’ll know I’ve tried
I’m going to keep on fighting I’m gonna fight for what I know is right
I got some people I love in my life who could use me on their side.
They sang a song that was popularized by Joan Baez, No Man is and Island but was actually an old soul song–Labrador certainly reference soul roots, but i didn’t really hear it in this set.
People Like You and Me was another thoughtful song.
People like you and me
we’ll never smash guitars on stage
think of all the money we’ll save
don’t it seem like such a waste
of a beautiful thingPeople like you and me
we see the world differently
don’t it get hard to breathe
when evil stalks the streets
by different names.
The band has a few albums out but they only played songs from their last two. Their newest one just came out and introducing The title track of The Rosy Red World, half of the crowd got a kick out of it when he said “this next one is the first song on our new album.”
My favorite song of the night was Your Home is an Eyesore which Pat started out by saying, have you ever looked at Philly’s skyline to see all the old buildings and then that chrome and steel monstrosity. If people knew this song, having a room full of people shout IS. AN. EYE. SORE. would be very satisfying. The song
On record they have a number of slower songs, but I guess since Ted and the Pharmacists were going to blow the roof of, they played mostly their faster songs. They were really fun and I hope they make it big(ger) but not big enough to smash guitars.
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Heavy Hearts ♥
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Kill Kill Kill ®
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A Favor to Someone ♥
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People Like You and Me ♥
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We Drew Straws ®
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Slow Down, King ®
(Lead singer on acoustic guitar) -
No Man Is an Island ® (cover)
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The Rosy Red World ®
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Someday I’ll Pay ®
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Your Home Is an Eyesore ®
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Dry Out in June ♥
® The Rosy Red World (2026)
♥ My Version of Desire (2025)
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