Full of whimsy, poignancy and a whole lot of talent, today’s double header with The Swimmers and Fanfarlo was match made perfection.

As one of the most exciting acts to hit the Philly circuit, The Swimmer’s inventive and playful style has garnered significant attention across the city. Following their debut Fighting Trees, the group has recently released People Are Soft, a collection of catchy electro-pop instrumentals that mask a profoundly mature exploration of the most basic human emotions. Despite their onstage humbleness, you can tell that they are completely at home here. Their pulsating bass lines form the beating heart to their playful rhythms, melodic guitar lines and jangling electronics. Meanwhile their catchy tunes feed the audience with poppy, handclapping optimism. But it is the contrasting urgency of their vocals that sets these guys apart from the rest.

As if that wasn’t enough to brighten your afternoon, London’s Fanfarlo completely swept the stage with their charming arrangements. Every member is incredibly versatile, switching between several instruments at a time, like some sort of musical hot potato. With mandolins, violins, trumpets, drums, glockenspiel, bass, guitars, electronics and gorgeous vocals zooming in and out of the picture, this band looks as exciting as they sound. (There was a reason they were XPN’s Artist To Watch in November!)

Tiffany Ortiz
University of Pennsylvania
Class of 2011

Here’s the Swimmers Setlist from the show.
1. Shelter
2. What This World Is Coming To
3. Anything Together
4. Hundred Hearts
5. Save Me (From The Brightness)
6. Give Me The Sun

From the Band…
Many thanks to all the fans in Philly and everywhere. We’re really excited about our new album People Are Soft and hope you will be too. Check out our myspace page (www.myspace/helloswimmers for all the latest info. Philly fans can look forward to our January 29 show at Johnny Brenda’s – a benefit for the JMML foundation. And keep an eye out for our brand new video for “Hundred Hearts.” Later!

FANFARLO Set List
1. Drowning Men
2. I’m A Pilot
3. Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time
4. The Walls Are Coming Down
5. Comets
6. Luna

From the Band
This tour is the equivalent of Iron Maiden’s 1984 “Live After Death” tour, except on a much smaller scale. Oh, we’ve also got an advent calendar at www.fanfarlo.com whereas the Maiden didn’t even have a website at that point.

Have a Great Weekend!
Tiffany Ortiz