Problem Solving At Abilene's
Yesterday, I took a suprise trip to Phildelphia. I figured it would be fun because; I had not been up to Fowler Street for a couple of months. It was a good time to take a trip. Rob's band, Problem Solving, had a gig at Abilene's on South Street. They also have a link on My Space. I have not caught on to this trend, but that is for another post. I originally planned on driving straight to the bar, but the run up 95 was quick. I met up with Dave, Jeff, and Mark in Manyunk. After we exchanged some Christmas gifts (Mark has a new running outfit), we rode down to South Street.
The bar is a dive. No denying the truth, but we like it. The beer was cheap and cold. Rob didn't take the stage until 1230pm so, we occupied our time for three hours. (dangerous) Generally, the bands before Problem Solving. We sat at the upstairs catching up on the past couple months. Mark had been to Jamaica. He had some tall tall stories to tell. Jeff had been to Dublin, and spoke highly of the taste of Guinness from that side of the ocean. Soon, the backroom pool table called our name. Dave and I ran a few games on Mark and Jeff. We even took a few other teams. I'm shaky at first, but I love to play. This quality time was interrupted by karaoke. Only a few are brave enough to sing David Bowie. Lucky for us those few include Brian and Mark.
We love to sing in falsetto to each other
After enduring a few sets upstairs, it was time to checkout some more of the downstairs bands. A young young group was on the stage called Tea. They really rocked out and had great stage presence. The crazy part, they're still in High School. The next band was horrible. Tea should have opened for the Problem Solving. They took the stage after 1230pm, and were set to play until closing.
Philadelphia's Problem Solving
I was hoping the sound in the club would get better, but it continued to be lackluster. This was my only compliant about the show. It was hard to hear Jim and Brian's vocals. Well, you could hear them, but you couldn't distinguish words. Besides that, they rocked. I have seen them play a few times, and each new time the band is tighter then the last. They play rock 'n roll with their own flare. It is also great to see the enthusiasm from the band. Their energy moves through the entire room. I hope they get some gigs down in Baltimore.
They played until the manager said no more. It was a shame because; we kept calling for another encore. I really enjoyed the entire evening. Abilene's had plenty for us to do while waiting for the real music. Tea rocked, and Problem Solving was even better. I was even able to pick up some new music from both bands. The night was finished off at a diner. You can't go wrong with banana pancakes after a long night. If you life in the Philadelphia area, go see Problem Solving. You will not be disappointed.
all pictures courtesy of dave
