by Dan Emmons
What do you get when throw a bunch of Philly Chivers in the TLA, with live rock music, DJs, and hip hop, on the weekend of Halloween? One of the most epic events the eye has ever seen.
Being a writer and manager, I have been to MANY shows and when something special pops up that is more than just a music event I get really excited. This show, orchestrated by up and coming promoter, manager, and Chive affiliate Nick Sylvia, and partners Edwin Ramirez, Double V Bookings, Dennis Hamburg and Justin Wood made every cent of the ticket worth it!
First to hit the stage was Philly rock band Cold Roses who brought their blues-infused rock to a crowd of about 400 fully decked out Halloween Chivers. After they set the tone for the night, host DJ Sev One, resident DJ at Parx Casino and Hip Hop DJ extraordinaire got the crowd shakin’ their booties like you would expect at a Chive event.
But I said there was more than music! What a better way to get the crowd excited than to throw some semi-nude women on stage dancing Burlesque? That’s right, the Pretty Poison Burlesque and Cabaret put a smile on everyone’s face with their classy-sexy performance.
Following the dirty dancing was Kid Felix, who I have seen a few times now. They bring it better and better each time. I have yet to describe the sound of Kid Felix, which is one of my favorite parts about them. Plain and simple, they are show-stoppers.
Bringing it back to that classic rock sound was Stolen Rhodes. I was not sure what was more epic with this band, their absolute prowess in their musicianship or the “long hair don’t care” attitude they brought to the stage. Frontman Matt Pillion was all over the stage playing bass and saxophone while his roaring vocals completed the old school rock wall of sound that engulfed the room.
Absolutely the best intro of the night goes to Black Stars, a band that incorporates elements of hip hop, hard rock and ska tempo to their show. By having bassist Freshy come out first to the stage in a Jason mask and upright bass dropping the line to a Black Sabbath song, the rest of the band members assembled on stage and began to rock. Maniac lead Nik Greeley put on one hell of a show while running all over the stage and jumping on the barrier to have the crowd sing along.
Closing the night was Hip Pop act CJ & Evan with DJ Sev One bringing that head nodding, hip shaking and feet moving music that they do so well. With sing-along choruses brought by the immensely talent singer Evan Rotunno, the crowd was treated to a mix just right to get freaky one last time before the show ended. Culminating in a costume contest and a happy audience, I am very excited to see what other shows these Chivers can bring to Philly. You can bet I will be attending again.
