Friday night Jeanne and I headed out to see CYHSY lead singer Alec Ounsworth perform at the Kensington South Forum in north philly. We had a hell of a time finding the place and drove past it about three times. We found it eventually and paid the $5 cover. The neighborhood was a little run down, so it was cool to see artists renovating that particular building. New paint, lighting, wiring, and plumbing turned the forum into a usable and interesting space for music, dance, whatever. We thought about this for a while because we were there really, really early.
We were starved so we headed out to get a bite to eat before the show. I highly recommend you try out Las Caszuelas on Girard Ave, between 4th and 5th street. It’s a great, tiny, mexican BYO about two doors down from The Fire.
We made our way back to the Kensington South Forum just as Alec Ounsworth was getting ready. The whole show had a very living room like quality to it. The 20-25 people in attendence were all sitting on folding chairs we took from a pile in the corner.
Alec’s set consisted of a bunch of material he’s working on for a solo album and no Clap Your Hands Say Yeah songs. That was ok with me, since most of his songs were great. I especially liked one called Dr So and So about seeing a shrink.
We didn’t stick around for the other bands, mostly because we planned to get up early the next day for Live 8 (hah, more that later).
Check out some of Alec’s solo stuff here.
Cecil Stick With the Story
Wide Awake
The great thing is, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah just announced a gig at the First Unitarian Church on August 17th! I also heard This Home on Ice this morning on my Sirius radio, which I was really psyched about until I backed my car into a trash can.
Update: And yes I do know this is the fourth Clap Your Hands Say Yeah post in a row.
Comments
2 responses to “Alec Ounsworth @ the Kensington South Forum”
I’m going to have to mark my calendar for the 17th, and find out if these guys are really all that, by that I mean the bomb, and what-not.
that show’s going to be fantastic, let me know if you’re definitely going. it’ll be sweet if they move it to the actual church and not the basement but heck, i’ll go see the magnolia electric company (songs:ohia) anywhere. i’ve really been getting into that record.