Missio played in front of a sold-out Sunday night crowd at The Foundry in Philadelphia.
I saw Missio open for Nothing But Thieves last year and loved them! So, I was really excited when I saw they were coming back to Philadelphia on their Loner Tour. Check out my review of the concert from last year here:
The show was on a Sunday night, which isn’t ideal when you have a full-time day job and have to get up on Monday morning. But, I figured I would have an extra cup of coffee in the office on Monday morning and be good to go!
Then, a Nor’easter hit our area on Friday afternoon. What was predicted to be a mostly rain and wind event, turned into a snow event. The snow event turned my 10 mile commute home Friday afternoon, to a 2-hour white knuckled obstacle course in my car to avoid all the downed trees and power lines, as well as the other drivers that don’t know how to drive in the snow and ice.
And then we lost power. Our power was out from Friday evening to mid-afternoon on Sunday. In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person. We were inconvenienced and we were cold, but our house wasn’t damaged. But, being without power and heat is exhausting – mentally and physically. When the temperature in your house is below 50 degrees, it’s hard to sleep.
I’m telling you all this, because neither my husband nor I really felt like going to a concert on Sunday night. But, we had the tickets and that’s what we do – go to concerts!
Was it worth it? Did Missio manage to pick me up after an exhausting weekend? Keep reading to find out.
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THE VENUE
THE FOUNDRY
The Foundry is the smaller room in The Fillmore complex. Holding only 450 people, it’s located on the second floor of the venue.
Tip #1: If there are two shows going on at the complex, there are always two separate lines. If you are heading to The Foundry, make sure you get in the right line. It’s usually much shorter and easier to get through.
The Foundry is located inside The Fillmore in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia.
The Foundry has a small stage, a large bar, and comfortable seating areas around the perimeter. It’s a great venue, because there really isn’t a bad place in the room to see the show. Bathrooms are located in the back on the right (if you are standing in the front of the venue looking towards the back).
Tip #2: If there is any bad view in the room, it’s located around the bar area behind the two poles that are in the middle of the GA floor. While the poles aren’t big, they do make for a bit of a challenge if you end up behind one. You may have to do some dodging and weaving to get a full view of the stage.
The bar in The Foundry is quite large for the size of the room.
There are couches and other seating area on both the sides, and all the way in the back of the room.
The bar serves drinks and a limited food menu. At this show, we just wanted a quick snack, so we ordered the chicken tenders and some fries. The chicken tenders were good. They were clearly “real” pieces of chicken, rather than something processed. If anything, they could have been cut into smaller pieces. The service came with three very long pieces that were a bit of a challenge to eat as finger food at a concert. The fries were also decent – nothing spectacular. The food is supposedly by Wolfgang Puck, which to me normally means you are paying for the name and not really getting anything special. That seems to be the case here.
Tip #3: The Fillmore (The Foundry) is located in the up and coming Fishtown neighborhood. There are plenty of food options for grabbing a bite before the show. If you want to be within a couple blocks, try Frankford Hall (which serves German food and beer) or Fette Sau (which serves barbeque). If you want something a little less pricey and much more down to earth, grab a burger at Johnny Brenda’s. A Philadelphia institution itself, they also have live music regularly. It’s a great place to stop in after a show. There are also a couple of options in the entertainment complex, including Mad Rex Restaurant, which is right around the block.
Tip #4: Parking near The Fillmore is easy. There are two lots located near the venue. The cost to park is typically $10-15. If your timing is good and you don’t mind walking a little further, you can typically find parking on Frankford Avenue or the surrounding neighborhood streets. Most of its free, but be sure to read the signs to make sure you aren’t parked illegally. Also, be aware that the trolley comes down Frankford Avenue. I’ve seen people that haven’t parked close enough to the curb, and the trolley can’t get through. They will have your car towed if you are blocking the trolley route.
THE SHOW
WELSHLY ARMS
Welshly Arms is from Cleveland, OH. Formed in 2013, the band consists of Sam Getz (lead vocals, guitar), Brett Lindemann (keyboard, vocals), Jimmy Weaver (bass, vocals), Mikey Gould (drums), Bri Bryant (vocals) and Jon Bryant (vocals).
The band not only is from Cleveland, but they write, record, and produce all their music there as well. They describe their musical influences as everything from Jimi Hendrix to The Temptations to Otis Redding.
Welshly Arms started when Sam Getz took a break from the road, and invited some friends over for some beers and burgers. The get together ended up as a jam session, and turned into a regular Sunday tradition, which eventually became Welshly Arms.
The band released their debut EP – Welcome – in 2013. That was followed by a second EP – Covers – in 2014. They released their debut self-titled album – Welshly Arms – in 2015. Their latest EP – Legendary – was released in 2017, and contains their break out single of the same name.
Welshly Arms took the stage right at 8:00 p.m. Husband and wife back-up singers Bri and Jon Bryant, looked cool in their shades, while lead singer Sam Getz had that good old rock n’ roll band rock star look about him.
I really enjoyed Welshly Arms. They have a great rock vibe, but you can also hear a little bit of the old Motown influence in their music, as well as even some gospel on certain songs.
After starting out with a harder rock song, the second song the band played was “Love in a Minor Key”. I love the beat of the song!
As the set went on, the music continued to rock. I loved “Who We Are”, which is one of the songs where you can hear their Motown influences. The song has a nice groove to it.
Welshly Arms put on a great show! They are a band I will definitely check out again!
For the fifth song of the set, Welshly Arms played a new song called “Sanctuary”, which almost had a gospel feel to it. Getz said it will be on the new record that he promised was coming out very soon.
Before wrapping up their set, the band played one of the covers off their Covers EP – “Hold On, I’m Comin’” – by Sam & Dave. That was followed by bluesy “Down to the River”, featuring some really strong vocals by Bri Bryant. Welshly Arms wrapped their set with their single “Legendary” off their latest EP.
The blue lighting highlighted the bluesy feel of some of Welshly Arms’ songs.
I love Welshly Arms’ sound and I think the band has a lot of potential. We were so impressed, that we ended up buying a couple of their EP’s from their merch table after the show. Keep an eye on this band. I predict big things!
Welshly Arms has a few more dates in March, before they take a little break. In May, June and July, they’ll be back out on the road, including playing several big music festivals. You can find out more on their website at www.welshlyarms.com.
MISSIO
Missio is made up of band members Matthew Brue and David Butler. They are based out of Austin, TX, and had their first “radio” hit with the song “Middle Fingers” in 2017, which was off of their debut album – Loner.
The band started in 2014 as a side project for Brue, and quickly turned into Missio when Butler joined him after one studio session. The two came from very different backgrounds. Brue was brought up around music, beginning as a young child when he was trained as a classical pianist. Butler didn’t pick up the guitar for the first time until age 16. When the two of them got together, however, they immediately gelled musically.
Last year, Missio released a three-part docuseries chronicling their story. Skeletons (Part I), Skeletons (Part II), and Skeletons (Part III) are all currently streaming at Missio’s official YouTube channel. The docuseries was directed by longtime collaborator Jeff Ray.
The docuseries was released to compliment the release of Skeletons Part I, which is their EP featuring acoustic versions of songs originally featured on Missio’s full-length debut – Loner. In conjunction with the kick-off of their “Loner” tour last month, the band released Skeletons Part II, which is their second stripped down EP.
Missio took the stage shortly after 9:00 p.m., and hit the ground running with hard-hitting “Temple Priest”, and then one of my personal favorites – “Twisted”.
Matthew Brue is always full of energy during a Missio show, and he quickly lost the sweatshirt he was wearing as he danced around the stage.
Matthew Brue started the show with a long-sleeved hooded sweatshirt, but quickly dropped it after the first few songs.
This is the second time I’ve seen Missio live, and one of the things I love about these guys is that they always give 100% and are always appreciative of their fans. We saw several people at the show with their “Missio Mafia” t-shirts on, and Brue gave those fans a shout out after playing “KDV”. He told the crowd that a lot of people had doubted them and the idea of this tour, but here they were playing to a sold-out crowd on a Sunday night in Philadelphia.
While Brue was still impressive, he didn’t seem to have quite the same level of energy he had when I saw Missio previously. Before going into the slower “Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea”, he mentioned something about feeling a little sick, and that he needed the crowd’s help to sing this one. If he was sick, that would explain the slightly lower energy.
Brue’s vocals were highlighted on a couple of slower songs, liked “Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea”.
Brue has always been forthcoming about the challenges he’s had in his life. When he introduced “Everybody Gets High”, he prefaced it by saying that it was the story of his life. He also spoke about how the songs on “Loner” talk about the things he knows – alcohol, drug addiction, and depression. Brue told the crowd that even if they left the show hating it, he hoped people walked away knowing that they weren’t alone.
Missio fans are definitely passionate. Unfortunately, there was one female fan that was so passionate, that she screamed incessantly in between every song. That includes while Brue was introducing “Can I Exist”, when he shared that he wrote it during one of the most depressed times in his life. Constant screaming is annoying at best, and inappropriate at worst. In this instance, the screaming was totally inappropriate, and a true fan should know better and have respect for the artist.
After a few “angry” songs, Brue asked the crowd to help him out with Missio’s hit song “Middle Fingers”. The crowd readily complied holding up a sea of middle fingers and singing the refrain at the top of their lungs.
After a very short encore break, Missio came back to the stage. Brue told the crowd that they were very anti-establishment, which was sometimes good and sometimes bad. He said that they were so anti-establishment, that they hated the whole ideas of encores because they seem so contrived and planned. Luckily, they decided to play one encore song anyway. Brue stated that Missio had recorded 6 new songs back in January, including “Black Roses”. Butler chimed in that the song was dedicated to every man who had cheated on his wife, and then said “This goes out to you Dad!”. Yikes! Missio definitely lays out their hearts and souls in their songs and at their shows!
You won’t be disappointed in a Missio show! Go check them out!
During the tour, the band is partnering with CLEAN Cause, which is an Austin-based beverage company that offers premium bottled waters and organic sparkling energy drinks. The band will be on the road through mid-April. For more information and additional tour dates, check out their website at www.missiomusic.com.
Set List: Temple Priest, Twisted, I Do What I Want, KDV, West Coast (Lana Del Ray cover), I Don’t Even Care About You, DWI, Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea, Animal, Everybody Gets High, Can I Exist, I Don’t Give A…, Middle Fingers, Kamikazee Encore: Black Roses
Have questions about seeing a show at The Foundry in Philadelphia? Want to know more about Welshly Arms or Missio? Comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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