One of my favorite things about music festivals, is that you can discover so many new bands. Despite the fact that Low Cut Connie is from Philadelphia, I wasn’t familiar with them until we went to the Sea Hear Now Festival in September. You can read more about all of the bands we saw at that festival here.
Low Cut Connie was playing the smaller side stage at the festival. Our friends – who are huge music fans and have a lot of the same tastes in music we do – told us to be sure to check them out, so we did. Wow! I fell in love with their music and their energy immediately.
So when Low Cut Connie announced a show at Union Transfer, our same friends said “let’s go”! Seeing the band in their hometown and in a pretty small venue sounded like a great idea to us, so here we are!
Was Low Cut Connie as good as I remember them at Sea Hear Now? Keep reading to find out.
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THE VENUE
Union Transfer is one of my favorite venues in the city. First, it’s not owned by Live Nation. I think we can all be happy about going to a show and not putting more money in Live Nation’s pockets.
Second, it’s a small enough room that there really isn’t a bad place to stand. Personally, I like to be on one of the elevated platforms on either side of main floor area. Not only can you see over everyone on the floor, but if you get there early enough, you can get a spot along the railing, which has a convenient shelf for you to set your drink on.
You can learn more of my tips and tricks for going to Union Transfer here.
THE SHOW
THE VAUGHNS
ABOUT THE ARTIST
The Vaughns are based out of Springfield, NJ and feature lead singer Anna Lies. Growing up in the same town, the members of The Vaughns crossed paths several times as they were growing up. But it wasn’t until 2014 that they got together and formed The Vaughns.
The Vaughns recently went through some line up changes, but are ready for some big things in 2020!
The band released their first EP – Tomfoolery – in 2015. Earlier this year, The Vaughns released their first full-length album – F.O.M.O.
THE PERFORMANCE
The Vaughns were the first artist of the night to take the stage. This was my first time seeing them. I really love their sound and Anna Lies’ voice. Definitely a little quirky, but lots of fun.
Unfortunately, with two openers the format of the show didn’t allow either opener to have much time. The Vaughns only got a chance to play five songs over the course of about 20 minutes. I definitely would have liked more time from them.
The Vaughns had a short set on Saturday night, but I loved it!
I spoke to The Vaughns’ press agent, and she promised that they have big plans for 2020. Be sure to follow them on Facebook to make sure you are the first to know what’s coming!
KINGSLEY IBENECHE
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kingsley Ibeneche is from Camden, NJ. He started his professional career as a dancer after studying dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He’s performed as a dancer on the VMA’s and Saturday Night Live. Ibeneche has also performed as a back-up dancer for artists like Travis Scott and Halsey.
Even with his success, Ibeneche felt limited being a back-up dancer. So, Ibeneche expanded his artistry into singing. His EP – Realms – was released and the songs on the EP formed the basis of the theatrical production he created of the same name.
THE PERFORMANCE
Kingsley Ibeneche was the second opener. Like The Vaughns, he didn’t have a lot of time and was only able to perform 4 or 5 songs.
Ibeneche was an interesting choice for this show. While he has the local Philadelphia connection, his musical style is much different than The Vaughns or Low Cut Connie.
Ibeneche has more of a soulful style. He was accompanied by a guitarist and two back-up singers. The rest of his music, including the drum beats, came from a computer.
Kingsley Ibeneche with his band on Saturday night.
Ibeneche has great stage presence. He really draws in the crowd. You can also tell that his music is very personal to him. Ibeneche is one of those artists, where you can sense that he feels every word that he’s singing. We even got to see a few glimpses of Ibeneche’s dance talent throughout the set.
Kingsley Ibeneche’s set was also short, but really drew the crowd in.
Again, it was tough to get too much from such a short set, but Ibeneche definitely connected with the audience and was a big hit!
You can keep up with what Kingsley Ibeneche is doing on his Facebook page.
LOW CUT CONNIE
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Low Cut Connie started in 2010 and is based out of Philadelphia. The founder, songwriter, front man and pianist of Low Cut Connie is Adam Weiner. Prior to starting the band, Weiner performed as a solo artist in NYC. Weiner played piano everywhere from karaoke bars to ballet classes.
Low Cut Connie was started by front man Adam Weiner.
In 2010, Weiner recruited Dan Finnemore and Neil Duncan and started Low Cut Connie. They recorded their first album – Get Out The Lotion – in 2010 and self-released the album in 2011. To the band’s surprise, the album got quite a bit of attention and praise from music critics.
With the newly found attention, Low Cut Connie decided that they better put a little more effort into their next record. The result of that work was their 2012 release – Call Me Sylvia. The album was again highly regarded by critics, yet the band was still struggling to gain commercial success.
After Call Me Sylvia, Neil Duncan left the band and James Everhart and Will Donnelly joined. Low Cut Connie released their third album – Hi Honey – in 2015.
The band’s next album was released in two parts. Dirty Pictures (Part 1) was released in 2017 and Dirty Pictures (Part 2) was released in 2018. The year 2018 also saw Low Cut Connie’s national television debut, when they appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Not only has Low Cut Connie continuously received praise from music critics, but they also have big fans among their fellow artists including Elton John and Bruce Springsteen. In 2015, then President Barack Obama even included their song “Boozophilia” on his Spotify playlist!
Low Cut Connie is known for its high energy live shows. Their performances at festivals like Bonaroo and Bottle Rock have gained them lots of new fans!
THE PERFORMANCE
After two openers, the sold out crowd was ready for Low Cut Connie to take the stage. When the road crew rolled the piano onto the stage, we knew it wouldn’t be much longer.
The band – including the band’s two electrifying back-up singers – took the stage first, and then Weiner made his entrance decked out in a shiny silver jacket.
Adam Weiner giving fans high fives and welcoming them to the show.
The show immediately kicked off with a ton of energy, and that energy never stopped. Weiner himself is a great performer and knows just how to get the crowd involved and into the show. But the rest of his band are equally good – particularly his back-up singers who danced the entire night.
I have to admit that I wasn’t overly familiar with any Low Cut Connie songs prior to the show other than “Dirty Water” (which Weiner reminded the crowd that it was pronounced as “wudder” in Philly), but you didn’t need to know the songs to enjoy this show. While there were plenty of fans around me that knew all the words and were singing along, there were also plenty of us that were just dancing and having a great time.
In fact, the show was such a dance party that Weiner invited a bunch of fans to come up on stage at the beginning of the show and dance with them. So much fun!
There was an actual dance party on stage with a bunch of Low Cut Connie fans!
Low Cut Connie is so much fun, that it’s almost easy to forget how talented this band is. And boy are they talented! While Weiner carries the show with his personality, voice and crazy antics on the piano, the rest of Low Cut Connie makes this a fantastic musical journey to go on. The band is tight. It’s clear they love to play and perform together.
The band was having a blast on stage from beginning to the last bow!
After a great main set, Weiner kicked off the encore by himself and brought things down a little bit. He was then joined by one of his back-up singers – Abigail – who also plays violin (and guitar) before bringing the whole band back on stage to bring the energy level way up again to close out the show.
Adam slowing it down a little to start off the encore.
Low Cut Connie can do it all – from their own rock n’ roll tunes to covering Prince’s “Controversy”. By the end of the show, Weiner was shirtless and drenched in sweat, and had clearly left every bit of himself out on that stage for the hometown crowd.
Adam Weiner put everything he had into the show!
Low Cut Connie has officially been added to my “must see” concert list!
Low Cut Connie doesn’t have any new shows planned, but Adam Weiner will be hitting the road for some solo shows in 2020, including two appearances at City Winery in Philadelphia. Check out their website for more info!
Have you seen Low Cut Connie before? If so, what did you think? Let us know! Comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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