Sometimes, it’s easy to be consumed by personal circumstances, to feel that your individual situations are unique. Hence, you justify insulating yourself, turning your back on the outside world, when that may be the remedy to breaking the cycle. The portal of connection that you forge with others, via empathy, is a vital component in establishing a sense of community. Thin Lips find a way to maneuver through personal trials and tribulations, exposing vulnerability and insecurities in an unflinching emotive fervor. Harnessing that raw force with a melodic, pop-punk orientation, the plots play out in heavy yet refined swells; controlled, explosive songs tear down self-imposed walls, revealing that we’re all in this together. Billowing with emotion, the quintet of State Champs rolls ahead in composed, impactful waves, setting the stage for the collective, anthemic outpouring of local legends The Starting Line this Saturday at Franklin Music Hall. – Michael Colavita
Other places where you can avoid shoppers this weekend…
Franklin Music Hall (421 N. 7th St.) SAT The Starting Line, Thin Lips
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SAT Photon Band, American Trappist, Mt Vengeance
Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Dreamswell, iAlive
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Charley Coin/DJ Lil Dave, DJ Shango, SAT The Fleeting Ends/DJSC, SUN Full Bush, Dear Forbidden, Babe Grenade
Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) SAT Automatic 253
The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) SAT The 8th Annual Philly Hip Hop Awards, SUN Screamcloud, Big Handsome, Tiger Oil, Ascension Drive, Social Ruins, Dinosaur Diner, Mrs. Kitching
The Foundry (1000 Frankford Ave.) SAT Danny & Mary
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) Toby Lightman, SAT (Upstairs) School of Rock Philadelphia/Dukes of Destiny
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI The Virus, Batallion Zoska, Stolen Wheelchairs, The Asthmatix, SAT Last Minute Hero, Moonflower, SUN Earth7, Familiar Things, Voltheque
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) SAT Civil Holdup
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI The 1910 Chainsaw Company, Joey Sweeney, SAT Hotbed, Tetra, Dolphin Hotel
The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) FRI Full Bush, Grace Vonderkuhn, SAT Adventure Lost, Mirrorsigns
Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) FRI DJ Sylo, Astro 8000, SAT DJ Deejay
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SUN Rusty Cadillac
Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI Stella Ruze, Pete Hill, John Gilbride, SAT 56 Men, SUN Tiffany Janell, Séana Bailey
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI The Eighth Fish of Christmas, SAT The Eighth Fish of Christmas
Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI Royale, SAT Ed Christof, SUN A Celebration Of Nerds
Century (1350 S. 29th St.) FRI Secret Cutter, Bandit, SAT Thorazine, The End A.D.
The Tusk (430 South St.) SAT Wrong Planet, No Nothing, Belt Fed
The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Stealing From Thieves, Delmont, Bohemian Mule, Goodthief, SAT Atomic Sky, The Band Sheep, Sonny Knockout, The Phazers
Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Morgan Pinkstone, SAT Jeff Washington Band, SUN The Newspaper Taxis
Creep Records (1050 N. Hancock St.) SAT Goalkeeper (EP Release), Midfield
Green Line Cafe (4426 Locust St.) SAT Swanning, Greg Electric, Psychic Flowers
The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18th St.) FRI No Mere Machine, Snakes & Vultures, The Year End, SAT Overeasy, Blue Velvet
LAVA Space (4134 Lancaster Ave.) SAT Pinkwash, Iffy, Todd Killings
No Face Studios (5213 Grays Ave.) FRI Inspector Moon, Noera, In Trouble, Scyphozoan
The Music Ward (5101 Grays Ave.) FRI Port Arthur, Elaine Rasnake, SAT Internal Rhyme, PRLM CHLD
Living Room Show (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SUN Alec Ounsworth