BC Camplight, Dec. 8, Johnny Brenda's

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BC Camplight, Dec. 8, Johnny Brenda's

POSTED: Thursday, December 13, 2007, 5:29 PM

Filed Under: Music | Philly Bands Song

Photo | Brian Howard

BC Camplight covers The Band.

I promise, you're going to get your 8 dollars worth.

Above: Covering The Band
Below: Blood and Peanut Butter

Fresh off his cover turn in CP, Brian Christinzio's BC Camplight headlined a four-band bill on a night that spit a freezing mist outside. It wasn't a record release (Christinzio's still nailing down a deal to release his big-across-the-pond Blink of a Nihilist), but three of Philly's most vital current bands — BC, Audible and Buried Beds — with NYC's Girl Friday opening, brought a near capacity crowd. Following a big, three-guitar, six-piece power-pop rave up from Audible, BC Camplight began setting up the stage. With Christinzio's penchant for theatrical overindulgence at his hometown shows well known (and a very visible lumpy blanket suspended from the balcony), there was a sense of bristling anticipation in the hot, hot air (seriously, Johnny Brenda's is a heat sink in the winter). Adam Arcuragi — Christinzio's friend and musical foil — planted himself in the crowd right in front of Brian's Christmas light-adorned piano. Brass instruments were tucked away strategically on the stage. And then the five-piece band launched into a set that included their star-making "Blood and Peanut Butter," "Suffer For Two," "Scare Me Sweetly," and a nifty little trick where they went straight from the swelling dirge "Officer Down" into Nihilist's most gripping tune, "Lord, I've Been On Fire." Christinzio took breaks to chat and, at one point, break open two piñata's with his fists and shower the crowd with candy. And then the big surprise. Two trumpeters and a trombonist took the stage and the band broke into a pitch-perfect rendition of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." Horns blared. The hulking Christinzio pounded his keys. Balloons floated through the air, and each time the chorus came around the club felt as if it were about to burst.

Photos | Brian Howard

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