By: Katie Harmon
Read all posts by Katie
Before driving back down to Maryland for spring break, my sister wanted to take advantage of being in the Philadelphia area by checking out South Street and going to a concert at the Theatre of the Living Arts to see Copeland on their last tour. After she and our friend Mel picked me up from my Sugarloaf dorm, we decided we were craving pizza and began our search for a good pizza place. After our GPS led us to two different non-existent places, we found Toto’s, which we quickly established to be THE BEST PIZZA PLACE EVER. We ordered a cheese pizza pie and watched as someone behind the counter started making it and brought it to our table in just a matter of minutes. After finishing our awesome meal we headed over to South Street to explore before getting in line for our concert.
Teaser picture below. This is how close we were. : )
We browsed music in two different record stores and even ended up buying several $.50 records of old school artists that brought back childhood memories (my sister and I listened to Rupert Holmes and the Smothers Brothers when we were little, believe it or not!) before stopping to get yogurt at Phileo yogurt.
We stood in line for about half an hour before doors opened at 7pm and we ended up getting a killer spot right by the speakers in front of the stage. The venue was PACKED because this is Copeland’s last tour together. Rumors have started circulating that they might be trying solo careers but who knows? I just know whatever else they might do in the future won’t be the same Copeland I know now. Other acts performing were Deas Vail, Person L, and I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business. Every band put on a fantastic show, my favorite performance being Deas Vail (aside from Copeland, of course). I’d say the lead singer of Deas Vail (Wes Blaylock) had a vocal range comparable to Freddie Mercury or Ben Gibbard and his wife (Laura Blaylock) rocked the keyboard/synth and backup vocals. The guitarist (Andy Moore) was so passionate and intense when performing, and the band’s bassist (Justin Froning) added excitement and fun to the stage with his head banging and jumping around. The drummer (Kelsey Harelson) did an awesome job of keeping the beat and holding the group together, all while looking like an absolute rock star. I couldn’t believe I had never heard of this group before and haven’t stopped listening to their songs on their MySpace since I discovered them. I thoroughly enjoyed the performances of Person L and I Can Make A Mess too, but they didn’t have as strong an impact on me because I’d heard them before. I still highly recommend checking out all the bands’ music and you won’t be disappointed.
The Theater of the Living Arts was a great venue, but if you’re 21 years old be sure to bring your ID so you have the option of sitting in the bar area upstairs in case you want to give your legs a break. I unfortunately left my purse in the car (there was a parking garage nearby for concert parking for 22 bucks) so we couldn’t get upstairs to the seating area and second floor view of the stage. It would have been so awesome to check out the bar too, since I just recently turned 21 and haven’t really taken advantage of its perks yet. Despite the comfort of being able to sit down, bar seating definitely would not have compared to being right next to the booming speakers and just inches away from all the amazing performers on stage.
March 25th, 2010 at 6:37 am
Man, who took those awesome looking pictures? Must’ve been someone awesome.
March 28th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Right- credit for the awesome pictures goes to my awesome sister, Christa!