Read previous – Pom Pom Squad @ The Church // Bartees Strange @ Union Transfer
Bartees Strange and Pom Pom Squad are two must-see acts that I’ll drop everything for to see live and I was just so lucky that they were coming through town together. I’ve been a humongous fan of Bartees Strange since the release of his genre-bending 2020 debut LP Live Forever. He followed that up with Farm to Table earlier this year and it’s a strong contender for my favorite album of the year. If you frequent this publication with any regularity, you’ll know that we’re also enormous fans of Pom Pom Squad. This being our 4th time catching Pom Pom Squad in the last year, we’ve been at nearly every Philly/Jersey-area show since they began touring. This tour almost didn’t happen, though. At the beginning of November (while they were on tour in Europe), their van got broken into and all of their gear was stolen. Through an outpouring of support from their fans (via GoFundMe), they were able to replace their gear in time to jump on Bartees Strange’s mid-November dates.
Opening the night was Silver Spring, MD-based band Spring Silver (the project of musician K Nkanza). Their sophomore LP I Could Get Used to This was released earlier this year and the track “Plead Insanity” features Bartees Strange, as well as Sadie Dupuis (of Speedy Ortiz).
Pom Pom Squad released their excellent debut LP Death of a Cheerleader in 2021, but their prior EP releases are not to be overlooked. Their set skewed heavy with Death of a Cheerleader tracks, but they threw in Ow EP standouts “Again” and “Heavy Heavy”. Their brand of grungy rock fits squarely in my musical wheelhouse, but their more sentimental ballads like “Forever” and “Be Good” keep me coming back for more. While this was the longest set I’ve seen them play, an even longer one where they perform more songs from their back catalog would be the bee’s knees. It was another amazing Pom Pom Squad show, but it left me wanting more. Alas, the yearning is endless.
Pom Pom Squad will be continuing on tour with Bartees Strange through the end of the year – see all of their upcoming tour dates here. Check out the music video for Death of a Cheerleader track “Head Cheerleader” below and keep scrolling to see more photos from the show.
