Goodbye Mad City (Roof Deck)

This is the first in a series of posts about events that could only happen in Philadelphia. Since I will be moving to New York in August these stories hold an extra bittersweet charge for me. 

On Friday I made my tired and allergy-ridden tail stay awake for a midnight show, something I haven't done in years. It still took a combination of coaxing from my Gentleman Friend and judicious face-pouncing from my cat to get me out of bed and onto my bike, but once combed and vertical I remembered the lovely anarchic feeling of riding out late and perked up. 

The show was at Lickety Split, which is a South Street bar. I'd never been there before, because it is a South Street bar and they tend to be terrible, awful and bro-full, which is the worst. 

Yes, they are dressed as zombies. But they always look like that anyway.

This time, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I recognized half the faces upstairs, and not a bro among them. And of course, the music was great. 

Roof Deck is a folk-pop trio made up of Jaime Pannone, James Kirkland, and Geoffrey Waterman. This is their official portrait:

Born and bred in the Bikery

And another official portrait:

See above.

On a side note, I've drawn all their portraits (which you can see here, here and here) and displayed them-- at the Bikery. That's the thing about Philadelphia-- there's about one degree of separation between everyone, or at least everyone cool. 

Roof Deck has only been around for a few months, but you wouldn't know it. The three have a lovely cohesive sound, as if they have been together for years. They only play original material, which tends towards the melodic and thoughtful. Their mood is so delightfully relaxed and warm that I wondered why I have subjected myself to so many shows that left me dented and deafened. Jaime does much of the singing, and her sweet, clear voice matches the material perfectly. My favorite song was 'Oh Seattle'. 

After the show we hung out with the band and random bar-folks, trading stories. We stayed till closing (I haven't done that since college) and rode home smiling. 

Roof Deck will be playing at the Woolly Mammoth this Saturday at 9.00. You should go. It's worth it. 

Only in a relatively small city like this one could you find a scene like that. 

--Isis