Their / They’re / There

A weirdly warm December night welcomed me into Philadelphia to see a band I was excitingly awaiting; Chicago’s Their / They’re / There is a brand new musical outlet for Evan Weiss (Into It. Over It.), Mike Kinsella (Owen, ex-American Football), and Matthew Frank (ex-Loose Lips Sink Ships). Having only nine tracks on two officially released EPs since their formation earlier this year, I wondered what the turnout would look like for the band’s first time playing Philadelphia.

Opening the show was Brooklyn’s Birthmark, the solo project from Nate Kinsella. If I had to describe Birthmark to a friend, I’d say that it would be the live band I’d hire to play in my groovy lounge or the band behind your family game night (Monopoly, mostly). The music had a soulful vibe while still clinging onto the emo backbone and it kept me interested.

Next up were Seattle’s Mansions. It appeared that most of the room was there to see the indie rock duo (live, trio). The singalongs provided by the crowd made watching Mansions all the more enjoyable for never having seen them live before. Playing tracks from their acclaimed sophomore record Dig Up The Dead and a few from their latest Doom Loop pleased their fans and made a new fan out of yours truly.

Lastly, it was time for T/T/T to take the stage. Immediately, the crowd erupted into moshing, surfing, diving, and every other possible aquatic/punk homonym once the opening line of “Their / They’re / Therapy” was yelled out: “THIS SUUUUUCKS! / I SUUUUUCK!” Any negative thoughts I may have had regarding the crowd and their response were rightfully squashed. Everyone in the room just got so happy to see these three talented musicians play together for the first time. In regular Evan Weiss fashion, he mingled with the crowd between songs, keeping our interest while tuning for following songs in the increasingly hot room. While the band played all nine of their songs, they also dug out covers from Superdrag, The Lemonheads, and Superchunk, making the golden age of punk music undeniably proud. Leaving the show, I only hoped for more out of Their / They’re / There; more shows, more music, more anything.

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