7 PM – Doors
8 PM – Show
THE THING
What is The Thing? It’s a New York band, sure, but it’s also an ethos. A return to rock & roll’s roots — to garage bands toiling between the family minivans, to groups like the Beatles and their unique alchemy, to tape machines and live band recordings instead of slick studios and myriad songwriters. “We’ve kind of adapted the ethos of: with restriction comes creativity — old becomes new. And throughout every part of the process that remains true,” says guitarist/vocalist Jack Bradley.
Never is that more apparent than on their self-titled third record, out August 6th on their own label. A rough and tumble suite of 12 songs that nods to everyone from The Kinks to The White Stripes, The Thing sounds like old New York revivicated and remixed. “It showcases all of us, all of our different personalities,” says bassist/vocalist Zane Acord. “In The Thing, we’re a collective band. We hang our hats on being a true band — where we all have the spotlight. I think that gives us a different edge.” That album follows 2023’s debut, Here’s the Thing, and The Things Is, which dropped the following year.
The four members of Thing came from intersecting backgrounds, lending to their rock-and-roll-as-melting-pot vibe. Acord grew up with a drummer dad who hipped him to bands like Led Zeppelin and Grand Funk Railroad; he met guitarist/vocals Michael Carter — an avid Beatles fan — in middle school. The duo went on to collect Bradley in high school, an aspiring producer with a studio in his basement and a yen for psych rock. Jazz drummer Lucas Ebeling linked up with the band when everyone found their way to New York in 2022. They’ve since played more than 300 shows across the world.
The band’s self-titled work, then, is a culmination of all those influences — and all that hustle. “We threw all of our different various influences throughout — all the decades of rock and roll and adjacent genres — and ended up with something of our own,” Bradley says. “Our contribution to the genre. Our style. Our… thing.”
LONG LIVE THE THING.
| Time | Venue | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babes In Canyon / Camp Bedford | 7:00pm | Nikki Lopez | 21+ |
| Cold Court | 7:00pm | Philly Style Pizza | All Ages |
| Sam Shackleton | 7:30pm | Kung Fu Necktie | 21+ |
| FEM&M / Milky Possum / Astrid /Charloux | 8:00pm | Warehouse on Watts | All Ages |
| Corey Bernhard's Eternity Ensemble | 9:00pm | Johnny Brenda's | 21+ |
| Time | Venue | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WKDU Supports: Countach | 7:00pm | Warehouse on Watts | All Ages |
| Yumi Zouma / Ducks Ltd. | 7:30pm | First Unitarian Church: Basement | All Ages |
| harf. / Andrew Lucier | 7:30pm | Kung Fu Necktie | 21+ |
| Black Eyes / Morgan Garrett / Ibah Baskette / The Wandering Talisman Ensemble | 8:00pm | The Rotunda | All Ages |
| Coke Bust / Commitment / The HIRS Collective / Melissa / Demonstrate | 8:00pm | PhilaMOCA | All Ages |
| The Afghan Whigs / Mercury Rev | 8:00pm | Union Transfer | All Ages |
| Sam Prekop | 8:00pm | Solar Myth | 21+ |
| Time | Venue | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around Your World with Travel Hosts Justine Shapiro and Ian Wright | 1:00pm | Free Library of Philadelphia (Northeast Regional) | All Ages |
| Poison Ruin / The Marked Men / The Serfs / Zorn | 7:00pm | First Unitarian Church: Basement | All Ages |
| Gelli Haha | 8:00pm | PhilaMOCA | All Ages |