It’s Friday night and there’s incredible live music everywhere. Some of your all-time favorite musicians are playing all over the area at the same time. What show are you going to?
Some prefer an arena show, others prefer the intimacy of a small music venue, like the Keswick Theater in Glenside, where they can sit down and listen to their favorite music. Big Star Songs played by members of their other favorite bands.
Big Star Quintet | Photo by Lisa Schaffer for WXPN
The Big Star Quintet consists of Big Star’s only original member Jody Stephens, Mike Mills (REM), Jon Auer (The Posies), Chris Stamey (The dB’s) and Pat Sansone (Wilco). To mark the 50th anniversary of Big Star’s second album, Radio CityThe band played songs from all of the band’s albums, changing instruments throughout and playing just enough cowbell.
This five-piece rock band had loyal fans who listened to every word, every guitar riff and every story told to them. Between songs, they were so quiet that the band commented, “It was so quiet you could hear a cheesesteak drop.”
Big Star Quintet | Photo by Lisa Schaffer for WXPN
The band members shared stories about how they were not only fans of Big Star songs and deceased band members, but also how much they admired each other. This collaboration was “the highlight of their careers” and they were honored to keep these songs alive.
The whole night was warm and cozy, and the quiet crowd stood to their feet after each song, clapping and cheering. Below are photos from the show; their tour continues through the U.S. into the fall before the quintet heads across the pond for some European performances. Check out their full schedule here.
