Admittedly the title for this post is borrowed from the sophomore effort by the band Bloc Party which compared side by side to Silent Alarm isn’t even close, but does reveal a gem in the closing track of SRXT. Definitely worth a listen but not an epic album.

The reason for the trip was to experience a show at the First Unitarian Church Sanctuary on 21st and chestnut in downtown Philadelphia.  The artist performing was Olafur Arnalds.

En Route I performed the obligatory check of Phillytapfinder based on the hotel where I was staying.  I say en route which is accurate, but the check really occurred while sitting on the slowest highway possible in route 76 heading into Philadelphia. Anyone who has ever travelled this road can share in my pain. Those who haven’t, consider yourselves informed.  Happily I stumbled upon an event fairly close to our hotel that was considerably appealing.  The Prohibition Taproom was featuring Cigar City brewing taps.  The featured drafts were Jai Alai, White Oak Jai Alai, Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake, Dry-Hopped on the High Seas, Right-Side Up Pineapple Cake.

Having sampled both of the Jai Alai offerings before.(and both are worth trying assuredly)  I dove straight into the MCCP.

Cigar City Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake – The dark bodied potion hits the nose with a maple syrup sweetness and subtle maltiness.  True to the description the brew graces the palate with decadent semi-sweet chocolate and pancake breadiness with a well rounded maple flavor. It is literally what you would get from chocolate-chip pancakes drenched in maple syrup and allowed to sit on the counter until the pancakes are completely saturated and then the whole thing is liquified. Amazing. 9.5/10

Cigar City Right-Side up Pineapple Cake – Truly a candy sugar dessert cherry topped ambrosia. This is exactly what is says it is. And it is amazing.  Apparently this is actually a lager but the departure from, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, is substantial.  I had thought that the MCCP was good but this is wildly delectable. 10/10

Dry-Hopped on the High Seas – This was crisp and refreshing and quite the departure from the prior two brews. Bitter and piney with a crisp hoppy nose. It is billed as an imperial pale ale though it struck me as more of a hoppy amber. Not poor just not as delectable as the prior two.  6.5/10

I would like to take a brief opportunity to review the Prohibition Tap Room.  This place is truly a madhouse. I’m confident that it wasn’t just the tap list that generated the insanity associated with this place.  I have been here on a prior occasion and the atmosphere was very similar.  There seems to be no distinct type of clientele that visit this establishment as anyone from the two seemingly pre-pubesecnt girls that took 20 minutes to order lowball mixed drinks to the sleeve-tat black tee toughs drinking yuengling from a bottle were present.   The location is a 40 by 20 box with an oddly shaped bar protruding awkwardly from the rear wall.  It takes an average of 5 minutes to get a drink in this place as getting the attention of a bartender is like winning the lottery via a scratch off ticket.  Some times you pick one and get a winner right away, sometimes you scratch 10 and win nothing.  When not frantically trying to figure out who to serve or taking an order and forgetting the order(the guy next to me took 15 minutes to get his beer because our stellar bartender completely forgot him or his beer existed) these bartenders have other tasks.  The poor bartender wearing the short white dress and shin high boots was not only red faced and sweaty from the sauna she had to work in, but she had to run up and down a ladder with changing food and tap lists that were updated multiple times in my hour stay.  Not to mention this place feels like a sports bar on sunday with random utterances at maximum volume that have no discernible cause.  The cacophony in this place is truly deafening. If it were not for the quality of beer on tap I would have vacated much sooner.

Leaving the Tap Room and embarking on  a 1/2 hour walk quickly resulted in profuse perspiration.  Though this is October the weather was uncannily sticky and therefore necessitated a quick detour to Nodding Head Brewery.  The location had as many patrons though with a substantial amount of space and a less raucous crowd it was far more inviting.  The second floor location was cool and inviting. Low lighting and an empty bar, along with that old building comfort that so many places in Philadelphia have was perfect for a respite from the heat.  The food was slightly over-priced but well worth it given the rumblings of my stomach. Nice well spiced Mahi-Mahi with pomme frites and bourbon-jalapeno mayonnaise coupled well with my choice of Nodding Head Harvest ale.

Nodding Head Harvest Ale – A true testament to the benefit of drinking fresh and local. This couldn’t have been kegged more than a week prior. Really upfront hop flavor, specifically from Columbus which happens to be one of my most enjoyed types of hops. This one reminded me a great deal of Sierra Nevada’s Celebration or Southern Tiers Harvest Ale. A very nice nose tingling smell harkened the scents of the first days of fall experienced by a walk in the forest.  Taste was so clean and refreshing with a mouth tingling bitterness.  A nice accompaniment to to spiciness of the bourbon-jalapeno.

Nodding Head LAVA – A fusion blonde ale brewed with Lavender and Vanilla. Another dessert-like drink that I had experienced for the first time a few weeks prior in my first trip to Nodding Head.  The lavender is noticeable but not too overpowering.  Vanilla is muted but there is a subtle powdered sugar and cinnamon tinge on the aftertaste. This has an almost liquid doughnut taste to it. 9/10

Departing Nodding Head, the weather had cooled substantially and refreshingly. A nice evening stroll passed by the liquor store to pick up a bottle of Jim Beam Rye to consume at the show.  All shows I have attended at the First Unitarian allow attendees to bring alcohol into the show. The promoters have a unwritten policy that you are allowed to do so just don’t “act like an asshole.” This always seemed reasonable to me especially as that avoids the exorbitant costs of drink associated with major venues.  Winning scenario in my book.

Disappointingly, my email confirmation gave incorrect times for the show inaccurately listing 8:00pm as the door opening times.  Apparently at some point the opening was changed to 9:00pm.  The lackadaisical approach to hosting these shows carried over to running the event as no one came out of the venue to inform anyone of any adjustments , let alone why the random work party occurring in the basement was running behind.  At 9:20 we were finally introduced to the “Santuary.” This venue is truly unique in that the room is a high vaulted ceiling location with an old pipe organ on the left and wooden pews for seating.  This is a church but strangely lacks obviously religious presentation or objects. There are no crosses or holy water basins.  The most significant religiously influenced items were stained glass windows but they didn’t depict any blatant religious reference.

The cool fall night air was unfortunate replaced by a stagnant tepid air.  This is unfortunately one of the few drawbacks to the venue, no air conditioning.  A small price to pay for the experiences for sure.  I have seen the Low Anthem, and Low at this same location and loved both shows.  At approximately 9:40pm the show finally began.

I would describe Olafur arnalds as Neo-Classical.  He predominantly plays the piano and utilizes beat generating programs to provide bass/Dj style beats.  Accompanying him are a violinist and a cellist.  Most songs are relatively simple as far as music structure goes but in this simplicity lies the beauty of the music.  Each note is punctuated, each tone shift pronounced. The deep pathos of the cellist is harmonized with the melancholy whine of the violin.  The piano rhythm and melodies maintain the structure and accent to tonal direction of the music. Each portion plays its role and weaves in and out of mirth and breath arresting sadness. The sweat beading down the back of my neck and through my hair seemed a small compensation for the catharsis that the music brought to my soul.

Olafur was engaging and a humorous communicator in between songs. His bared soul in his music was equally accessible in his demeanor as his simple stories and dryly dictated jokes captured my attention and affections. For those who aren’t familiar with his music please seek him out.

My trips to the First Unitarian are rarely complete without a visit to this tiny bottle shop about 2 blocks away.  I usually attend this shop post-concert and select a few bottles.  Once the scarcity of beers at this shop was much more impressive, but over the course of time I have found that while the selection is decent for a craft beer neophyte, I look for some more variety.  Regardless I was able to find a few that I hadn’t had before.

The whiskey had done its job and so the two selected bottles served as a suitable night cap for a tremendous day.

Heavy Seas Oak-Aged Big Dipa – I was really looking for a crisp, fresh, double ipa to drink but the Firestone Walker Double Jack that was in the cooler was 4 months old. So I selected this one.  It was slightly malty and little of the aggresive bitterness or uber malty sweetness from a overcharged ipa was appreciable. I didn’t expect much as it was oak aged which usually mutes those features. My benchmark for aged ipas is Hebrews RIPA on Rye, in my opinion the best barrel aged ipa I have ever tasted.  This was ok though oak aging was present and it had the ipa properties which was all I needed. 5/10

Southern Tier Warlock – This bills itself as a pumpkin stout.  It smells like pumpkin golden grahams with vanilla ice cream and dark roast malts.  It taste like a thin stout with pumpkin pie and graham crackers. It’s not unpleasant, I just expected it to be substantially different from Pumking. It tastes like a dark bodies Pumking. In that regard I question why the need for a totally different beer. It seems like a blend of Pumking and Oat. 7/10

Humbly yours,

J