Day two of the 18th annual NON-COMMvention brought a slew of exciting talents to World Cafe Live in West Philly, including Courtney Barnett—who recently toured with Philly’s own Kurt Vile—Mt. Joy, Titus Andronicus and Low Cut Connie, the energetic Philly glam rockers even President Obama loves. Check out some photos and five highlights from the day below.
1. The awesome force of youthful rockers Starcrawler (pictured up top).
Led by the agile Arrow de Wilde, the quartet ripped up all expectations for NON-COMM. With their “About” statement on Facebook stating “we will kill you” fresh on everyone’s mind, De Wilde aimed straight for the bodies of the crowd. She got in people’s faces, drank their drinks and finally ran for the bar and then straight out of the venue to end the set. We nabbed them before the show for a quick portrait session.
2. Courtney Barnett wowed with guitar and lyric ingenuity.
Playing songs from her Friday release, Tell Me How You Really Feel, the Aussie rocker proved why she is one of the finest musicians around—one hair swoosh and guitar strum at a time.
3. Jacob Banks came bearing powerful soul.
With a rich voice, the soon-to-be-known by everyone artist delivered “Unknown (To You)” from his forthcoming 2018 release, The Village, and the hit “Chainsmoking.”
4. Jeff Rosenstock delivered one of the few direct political moments thus far at NON-COMM.
He introduced the song “USA,” from his 2018 release POST-, by stating that the song is for anyone “disgusted to live a country” that is only for “rich, white or male” people. Throughout the song, he jumped and uttered the repetitive refrain “tired and poor” for all to drink in.
5. Mt. Joy delivered a rich, five-piece folk-rock set.
The L.A.-via-Philly band’s eponymous 2018 release provided the backbone for the set, which had a dreamy and poppy sensibility to match a stunning lighting display.
And we cannot forget all of the rest, namely…
Titus Andronicus’s rocking Free at Noon performance
Ricky Hell and the Void Boys’ punk rock
White Denim’s funk rock
Natalie Prass’s soaring vocals from her newest work
and Philly faves Low Cut Connie, who, true to form, ended the night on a high note
Also, the non-cropped version of this Starcrawler photo, because that pose!
