Car Seat Headrest @ Union Transfer | Philadelphia, PA (9/18/2018)

Photos and words by Pete Troshak

A sold out crowd at Union Transfer on Tuesday night was thrilled by a trio of bands capped off by a magnificent set by headliner Car Seat Headrest. Car Seat Headrest is led by the prodigiously talented and prolific Will Toledo, who by age twenty-six has already released a Bob-Dylan-in-the-60’s like output of eleven albums in eight years. Toledo’s work has matured from his early lo-fi days to a more produced and complex sound that reached next level status on 2016 indie guitar rock insta-classic Teens of Denial. The band is currently on tour to support this year’s Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) release, a reimagining of Car Seat’s 2011 ode to heartbreak album Twin Fantasy featuring a more fleshed out sound with more guitar muscle and a shiny sprinkle of new wave sheen.

Opening band Don Babylon warmed up the crowd with a short set of crowd pleasing and stomping bluesy rock songs. Singer Aubrey Neeley belted out the blues and fired off some impressive solos while Leland Bickford (Bass) and David Gaither (Drums) laid down a rock solid foundation. The peak of their set was a sad but true life blues moment as Neeley recounted in story then in song how the band moved to Philadelphia earlier this year and had their house robbed during the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl victory. That’s some real blues for you.

Up next were Seattle power trio Naked Giants who provided a half hour of thundering psychedelic rock featuring songs about aliens and brainwashing machines. A lot of heads were banging in the crowd during this set, which ended with a long jam that found guitarist/vocalist Grant Mullen on his knees firing out solos locked in a musical battle with drummer Henry LaVallee and bassist Gianni Aiello.

Car Seat Headrest arrived on stage next and they were greeted with a roar of approval from the packed house. The wiry framed Toledo was dressed in a black t-shirt and pants with a shaggy head of hair that hung down to his eyes, making him look like a long lost Ramone brother. Toledo was joined onstage by the rest of Car Seat Headrest – Seth Dalby on bass, Ethan Ives on guitar and Andrew Katz on drums. The band was also joined onstage by the three members of Naked Giants who provided extra guitars, keyboard, and percussion to the performance. Car Seat Headrest kicked off their set with a droning cover of Lou Reed’s ode to anxiety “Waves of Fear.” Toledo and company created a dark tension with the song, delivering a swirling audio panic attack set to music. The darkness didn’t last though, as the band next punched a tractor trailer sized hole in the darkness with a jaunty almost electro-pop rendition of “Bodys” from Twin Fantasy that turned the crowd into a frenzied mass of pogoing bodies that rarely came up for air for the duration of the hour long set. Throughout the performance Toledo twerked and danced like no one was watching. He air drummed and clenched and unclenched his fists like they were the valves that controlled his emotions while singing. He delivered his songs, full of broken love and frustration and wandering souls like they were songs of redemption and not pain. The middle of the set provided one of the highlights of the night with an exquisitely beautiful “Sober to Death” that flowed into a roaring cover of Neil Young’s “Powderfinger” that was drenched in feedback and featured some Neil Young style decayed tone guitar solos that had the crowd hooting and hollering. Late in the set came a joyous performance of “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales” that seemed like a hymn of salvation that bathed the screaming, exhausted and smiling crowd in light both physically and spiritually, promising the crowd and everyone an opportunity for a fresh start. “It’s not too late / Turn off the engine / Get out of the car / And start to walk.”

Setlist:
– Waves of Fear (Lou Reed cover)
– Bodys
– Fill in the Blank
– (Joe Gets Kicked Out of School for Using) Drugs With Friends (But Says This Isn’t a Problem)
– Cute Thing
– Sober to Death / Powderfinger (Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover)
– America (Never Been)
– Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales
– Destroyed by Hippie Powers
– Something Soon/Tell Me When My Light Turns Green (Dexys Midnight Runners cover)
Encore
– Beach Life-In-Death

See more photos from the show below.