The Good Time Dispatch: Roll Me Over and Turn Me Around, Philthy Exhumes Thin Lizzy for Halloween Benefit
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Philthy bringing the spooky jams to the Hilltop. Band from left to right: Emily Madden on fiddle and vocals, Charlie Burns on guitar, Sasha Landis on drums, Scott Summers on Bass, and Seth Raymond on guitar [/caption]
Event reporting by Nigel O’Shea
What: Philthy, a Thin Lizzy cover band with Pistil playing the songs of Weezer,
followed by a costume contest and DJ Darsco playing punky dark disco
Where: The Hilltop Tavern, 2510 W Sims Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368
When: Saturday, October 26th at 8:30 pm
How much: Donation with proceeds to help with North Carolina hurricane relief
Drank: Bodisafa Ipa and a Corona
Ate: A turkey mighty bite and a mini reuben moments before falling asleep
Sat: Adjacent to the stage right speaker in a witch hat
Can I get a beer? Relax buddy it’s crowded in here
Evening weather: <Meme> “I remember when October was cold” “sure you do grandma”
Winners of the costume contest: Two oysters in bloomers
Overall time had: Great 9 outta 10 (Halloween always a boost!)
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Musical wizards Helen and Rico Vinh bring Weezer to life with their band Pistil [/caption]
Atop the hill, in a humble red shed, festooned with lights above wood-paneled walls, two bands costumed themselves in the guise of two other huge hitmakers, though from two vastly different eras.
First off Pistil, adorned in wizard hats, scratched the millennial itch with Weezer favorites, jumping right into the angular arpeggios of Undone (The Sweater Song). Also included were Buddy Holly and Say it Ain’t So, getting to the heart of Weezer’s atonal melodic phrasing, overall more than passable and danceable. Vague about their Instagram information, they only offered two t-shirts for sale, one drenched with the sweat of band member Adam.
Philthy brought an ambitious project with a certain amount of seasonal kismet. Thin Lizzy and Halloween or Allhallows Even or Oiche Shamna are the pride of Ireland. American Halloween, with the notions of spirits and disguise and tricks, owes most of that to the emerald isle. Similarly, Americans owe a lot to Phil Lynott and the boys of Thin Lizzy.
Philthy opened with the crisp riff of Jailbreak. The two guitar players and the fiddle for a third (one more adept nod to Ireland) had a compact high-wire act cut out for themselves when guitar interplay is the signature of Thin Lizzy’s sound. Backed by a rhythm section of three Frankenstein’s, Philthy’s frontwoman Emily Madden was charismatic and subbed fiddle in for guitar in a natural fashion. Whisky in a Jar and Little Girl in Bloom were great features. Lead guitar player Charlie Burns had a soft enough touch to express some of the more familiar solos and had solid counter-melody backing, making sure he wasn’t alone out there. Favorite moments included Romeo and the Lonely Girl and the noble and anthemic Cowboy Song. Boys are Back in Town had the whole place stomping, of course!
DJ Darsco took the crowd from 80s Halloween favorites into throbbing dance beats until the end of an evening I did not see. A supernatural show that will erase from memory like dissipating stage fog, it was a deep loss to those who missed out. May your FOMO rest in peace.
All photos by Nhatt Nichols
