Us Against the Crowd: State Radio at the Electric Factory

By Morgan Marzella

On January 30, I decided to take a trip to the city after what seemed like a week that would never end. After walking around in the cold and snow all day in Philadelphia, the last thing I wanted to do was wait in line for another hour outside the Electric Factory. This building seemed vibrant enough with the doors drenched in neon colored graffiti bearing the venue’s name. From the outside, it looked like an abandoned warehouse, except for the marquee which was ingeniously placed on an old water tower.

My green North Face pullover was the only comfort from the wet and cold. As I waited, my hands began to shake, not from the excitement, but from the bad weather. The only thing keeping me sane at this point was the hacky-sack game I joined, purely to keep moving and warm. The other guys in the circle and I swapped concert stories about the band we were about to see. I told them about seeing State Radio once before as the opening act to 311 in November of last year.

The game was short lived and we still had to wait another 30 minutes until the doors opened during which time all I could do was stand there shivering. I doubt I have ever withstood so much pain for a concert. (If you know me, then you know I’d do almost anything for good live music.) It was truly a miserable experience.

At 7:30 p.m., the doors opened to cries of joy and sighs of relief. After an unintentionally (I hope) sensual pat down by a member of security, I ventured inside. The inside of the venue was like nothing I had ever seen. It was basically a club with a stage for bands, but lining the walls were themed decorations, such as a projection system made to display an image of machinery on the wall. Also plastered across the walls were posters from concerts past.

On the second floor that was less like a floor and more like a balcony, was a bar with chandeliers made from what seemed like hundreds of light bulbs. Being under 21, I was not allowed up to the second floor, and after a quick trip to the rest room, I found myself a cozy little spot in the front row.

After a brief encounter with some inquisitive drunks, the band American Fangs came out for a set. American Fangs is a band based out of Houston, TX and played mostly hardcore punk music. I bought their EP after the show, only to realize that they are a lot better live. As energetic as they were, some of the crowd did not return the energy. They left the stage to a sound of mixed cheers and jeers from the crowd.

Dephonic, a Philadelphia-based rap band, was on next, blending funk and hip-hop in a way that I hadn’t heard since 311. The band’s front man connected with the crowd immediately tossing his Pittsburgh Penguins baseball cap into the crowd after the first song. Tons of energy was put into the performance especially during their last tune, which involved a duel between a guest fiddler and the turntables man scratching away at their respective instruments. They took out all the stops.

After Dephonic finished their set, the drum and guitar technicians came out and made the stage ready for the night’s main act: Boston-based reggae-rock band State Radio. After the break-up of the famed jam band Dispatch in 2002, Chad Urmston formed State Radio, which originally contained four members and was more of a punk band than its current incarnation. The band is now a trio and has been gaining popularity since the release of their debut album, Us Against the Crown, released in 2006. State Radio made the Electric Factory one of the stops of their Lefty Rides Again tour in support of their recently released third album, Let It Go.

When the guitar and drum techs finished, State Radio took to the stage, a single spotlight on Urmston. Almost immediately, he began with the opening chords to a popular fan favorite, “Camilo,” a song about a soldier who was imprisoned for being a conscientious objector. Throughout the show, they played almost all of the songs off of their debut album. After their second tune, “Mr. Larkin,” a song that leaned towards their punk roots, Urmston revealed that it was the band’s first time playing at the Electric Factory and that the venue was one that the band had dreamt of playing for a long time.

The band then coasted through an energy packed set, incorporating songs new and old. A couple of the new songs, after seeing them performed live, became a couple of my favorites, such as “Calling All Crows,” a clearly reggae-influenced song, utilizing guitar chords strummed on the upbeat, and the tune “Knights of Bostonia,” a punk song with a clear Irish/Celtic influence reminiscent of Dropkick Murphys