In Case You Missed It: Silvertide at the Fillmore
The last time we checked in with Silvertide, Northeast Philadelphia’s great rock-and-roll hope, it was 2002, they’d just signed with Clive Davis’s J Records and were bidding their hometown goodbye at South Street’s Theater of Living Arts, where most of the band members weren’t old enough to drink. Much has changed since then — the TLA is now the refurbished Fillmore, and backstage before their show on Saturday, singer Walt Lafty (pictured at Saturday’s soundcheck) exuded a sense of been-here, done-this calm as he chain-smoked on a couch. Then he stretched out his long legs, and his knees crunched like Rice Krispies in a bowl of milk. “Did you hear that?” he moans. “That’s what I get for jumping off amp stacks every night.”
Four years on the road (and marriage to his high school sweetheart) has brought some maturity, but Lafty hasn’t lost a drop of his high-energy stage presence. Swilling from a complimentary bottle of champagne and prowling the stage later that night, Lafty led his bandmates through a rousing set that, like his crackling joints, showed a band in the midst of some growing pains.
Lafty’s high-energy partner in crime, guitarist Nick Perri, was in Los Angeles scoring an indie film, and his electric solos were missed. Lafty also wasn’t shy about giving the eager crowd an update on the band’s completed but unreleased new record, which is stuck in a legal tug-of-war with their label. As a result, the set was light on new material, which was a shame, considering the promise of “What Are You Made Of?” — Lafty’s been soaking up a lot of Radiohead lately, and it shows in both his vocals, now unafraid to dance with falsetto, and the song’s atmospheric guitar work.
Standards like “Mary Jane” and “California Rain” sounded road-honed and tight, and “Ain’t Coming Home” made for an ironic finale. Six years ago, that song was a bittersweet farewell to their hometown fans. Now they’re back, stuck here, waiting for the business of music to work itself out so they can get on the road and take the next step in their career, creaky knees and all.
PHOTO: Jared Polin, youguys media
March 14th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Talk about a disappointing follow-thru from these guys. First time I heard Ain’t Comin Home I almost kicked my foot through the floorboards stomping along, and have had 3 copies of their album from wearing it out.
Although, after years of not hearing anything out of them; occasionally looking at their never-update, never-finished website; and seeing nothing change I’ve lost most hope that any follow-up will be worth it.
I’ve moved on and am way more excited by other new rock groups like Black Stone Cherry–who not only play hard and loud, but tour often and keep releasing little bits here and there.
I’ll catch Silvertide if they every tour again–provided they come close–but I doubt I’ll be as excited by them as I would have hoped a couple years back.