It is a balmy summer night in Philly and we are headed to local punk rock live music watering hole called MilkBoy . If you are ever in town pop in for a beer and catch a gig.

The Ataris have often been a summer soundtrack for me, for some reason I feel their music just echoes all the things I love about summer. So I am more than keen to get my summer vibe on here tonight in the city of Philadelphia. Combine that with the fact Smoking Popes are playing I’m in for a night of nostalgic punk rock.

The venue is narrow space and in it we stand shoulder to shoulder, the band themselves just amongst the crowd having pre set beers. The Ataris make their way to the stage and open things up with In This Diary. From then on out it’s all business as they delve into some of the songs that made my summers sound so great they even play a cover of Jawbreakers Boxcar and close out with the classic So Long Astoria.

The Smoking Popes are a band I’ve never seen live so I am pretty excited to finally see them. They take to the stage and open with Before I’m Gone .These charming Chicago punk rock crooners sound amazing live. They jam their way through a multitude of fast toe tapping tracks that get the crowd dancing and nodding along. They deliver a sweet set that is loved by the crowd with a huge response coming from a personal favourite of mine Need You Around.

These two bands have been mates for a long time and deliver a perfect evening of great rock tunes that had the whole crowd singing laong .

Review – Chad Heard

Photos – Christian Ross