The Triangle

Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Andrew Clark

It's infuriating to pump "Love City" into Google only to find a dating web site as the first choice. The band's Myspace page finds habitation as the second Google hit. It's not awful, since under this "Internets query," all other music hits line up after Love City - who is one of the most exciting newer-yet-established bands playing in Philadelphia. This phenomenon of new bands coming together isn't necessarily a new one. The city breeds bands involuntarily; similar to bodily functions like the beat of a heart or incontinence.

By the time you have read this article, a band of under-21 tweens has broken up in our City of Brotherly Love. Even bands with esoteric names like Hakuna Matata follow something resembling the circle of life. This circle of life is hardly an abstract one: the Khyber, M Room, the Fire repeated ad infinitum. Maybe the Northstar, if your band gets lucky. Not that these venues aren't worthwhile - a gig's a gig. But, it takes a truly weathered and talented band to break this awful cycle.

Weathered bands can get over awful sound guys and prove to be consistent enough to roll with the punches, rather than against them. It doesn't matter if you're old enough to buy cigarettes. If you can't drink, your proto-post-whatever-wavecore band is as good as tween-riddled to promoters, who are sure you can't draw 21+ attendees who will buy alcohol. Truth is, most under-21 bands don't survive this frightening achy-breaky middle verse of Philadelphia venues, for various uninteresting, red-faced reasons.

Love City, who are all of legal drinking age, have played enough shows not only to break the cycle, but are playing at better venues with better beer. Their talent has always been there - it was just a matter of riding it out and paying their dues.

"Most of us have been playing in bands most of our lives. We all grew up as militant punkers," Joey D'Auria, the drummer of Love City, explained.

The members of Love City started off as young, hapless musicians, but have matured a great deal with an unrelenting work ethic to match. They would never admit it, but their work ethic, inside the studio recording songs, outside the studio creating songs, or just practicing together, loosely resembles something like a job. Yet they manage everything - all while keeping their day jobs.

Love City's flyers are nearly ubiquitous online and offline, but there's nothing mystical or uncanny about it.

Continued...

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