/ As a long-time Philly friend of Donnie Felton, I swear I don’t just post it because we’re bud buds. He’s always ripping out this kind of mellow space jams for years. So proud of him for keeping them fresh and flowing with musical color. Ltd 7", y'all!
ca. 1850s, [stereodaguerreotype portrait of a young lady, by W.L. Germon, housed in a case by John Stull of Philadelphia]
Unlike the more common Mascher case, Stull’s design has lenses integrated into the cover and folding hinges allowing the viewer to adjust the focus. Portrait is under a mat stamped W.L. Germon, for Washington Lafayett Germon, a photographer active in Philadelphia 1848-1860, who also worked as an artist, engraver, and druggist during the same period. There is no record of John Stull as a photographer, so it is not surprising to see the actual image done by Germon, whose studio was listed at 168 Chestnut in 1856, just four blocks east of the address on Stull’s case.
When Sisters – located in what was a row of stables and later a popular nightclub (Frankie Bradley’s) hosting the likes of Charles Nelson Reilly and Lucille Ball before it was a lesbian landing pad – opened its doors in 1996, the LGBT nightlife scene was a different place. Most bars were still hidden in plain site, windowless and a little secretive in their own place in the community. Those who knew where to go – went. But there were no gay marketing campaigns yet. There was no real acknowledgement from the city about the gay community’s positive impact on the overall culture, and the notion of same-sex marriage might have seemed more like something out of a fairy tale – in other words, grim. The gay culture in Philly (and around the country) also still valued a separation between men’s bars and women’s bars that cultivated a safe, fun culture, but one that was soon to evolve right along with the politics we see today.
Before long, things started to really change. First, there was the smoking ban. Many bars initially took a hit when smokers were forced outside or to other watering holes that got a pass. Then came the recession, which it can be argued hit the lesbian community hard. With women still earning less than men, there was a downturn in how women were spending their money – and how often. Sisters was still a good bet (spending money in the community at a bar operated by a woman for women seemed like the right thing to do). But the regular Sisters customers might only show up on the weekend. They would become more judicious with their spending. Times were tough.
Even more significant in recent years were the trends in other gay nightclubs and bars in close proximity. They poured money into renovations that have come to symbolically represent the changing attitudes about gay life today.
Woody’s, the first gay bar in the city to even have windows, took it to the next level by creating an open-air design with outdoor seating. UBar also knocked down its walls to let in the light and modernize the once seedy Uncles. Venture Inn, often the butt of jokes (”Denture Inn”) about its elder clientele (not the least bit of which is accurate) also shaped up with a new dining space and touchups. Same with the restaurant in the basement of Tavern on Camac and Westbury, which went from grungy hangout to cool gastropub with top-notch beers. Tabu also opened as a sports bar with rotating second-floor events that attract men, women and the trans community. And Voyeur, the staple for after-hours antics, has also welcomed mixed crowds, as has Stir, a lesbian-owned lounge where the homoerotic hole-in-the-wall The Post once stood. Knock, with its windows and outdoor seating scene also thrives very much in the light and out from the alleys that once shrouded this underground community.
Beyond the facades, the culture was changing, too. Philadelphia unrolled the country’s first and largest LGBT tourism campaign designed to attract travelers to the region. The 13th Street corridor – once a bastion for crime and prostitution, and a bane for Center City just footsteps from the Avenue of the Arts – also boomed with new restaurants and shops (many of which are owned by lesbian power duo Marci Turney and Valerie Safran who are getting ready to open the new Italian bistro Little Nonna’s where the old Bump – then Q Lounge and Kitchen, then Fish, then Rhino Bar – once was).
There was even a widespread campaign to rebrand the Gayborhood as “Midtown Village,” though most old-timers are loath to use the trendy new moniker even now. To the city’s credit, though, it stuck to its LGBT roots and renamed the corner of 13th and Locust Street as Barbara Gittings Way after the lesbian rights pioneer, paying tribute to these blocks that hold a special key to Philly’s fascinating gay history.
As for Sisters, dwindling customers, dated décor (including peculiar half-women-half-cat artwork that has been a source of well-meaning mockery among regulars for years) and an unreliable food menu ever since Chef Crystal Fox moved onto Giorgio’s on Pine, may have contributed, in part, to the demise of this once beloved hot spot.
But Sisters closing on Aug. 11 also signals a shift in LGBT nightlife in general. Where women may have once craved their own social clubs (there were actually several lesbian bars in Philly by the 1980s, like Sneakers, Mamzelles, Seasons and the Two-Four) more and more watering holes – like iCandy, the newest member of this elusive cadre – not only welcomes a mixed clientele, but also employs a diverse, friendly staff. It’s also not unusual to see women at the renovated Woody’s (where there are now female bartenders – a first for the men’s nightclub), as well as Knock, Venture, UBar, Westbury and Tavern on Camac, some of the most popular gay bars in the city today.
Much of the city’s 20 and 30-something lesbian community has also headed south – literally – to East Passyunk Avenue, a burgeoning gay-friendly enclave where craft beers seem to have replaced any yen for wet t-shirt contests and Jell-O wrestling that punctuated Sisters’ past. The days of drawing the line in the margarita salt over which bars are for the gay men and which one’s are for the lesbians are over. More and more gays and lesbians are frequenting “straight” bars and restaurants where they feel just as accepted, just as comfortable holding hands, celebrating a birthday or anniversary or just being themselves. But that isn’t to say that the Gayborhood couldn’t support a lesbian bar to replace Sisters. It should, perhaps even one that caters to a new generation of queer women with a whole new set of rules.
“I’m having trouble finding the words,” Kristen Hess wrote on Facebook. She’s a longtime bartender at Sisters who followed Cohen from Hepburn’s when it, too, shut its doors in 1995. “Sisters was more than just a place to work,” she said, “and the staff was more family than co-workers.”
While any end of an era tends to create nostalgia for what once was (even if some of the most nostalgic didn’t support Sisters in recent years and months, enough to keep the bills paid and doors open anyway), the closing of a longtime gay bar has a special set of sincerities by nature of it already being a little off-the-beaten-path, a little out of the mainstream and more of a home for people who may have been away from their own families for years.
“This is really sad for a lot of reasons,“ says Anne Ryan, a longtime customer, "because that’s where I spent my 20s, because you could always count on it being there and open – and it’s the only lesbian bar. I don’t feel there are any viable lesbian options at the moment in Philly.”
Last Friday night, British four piece Django Django brought their inaugural US tour to Union Transfer and showed Philadelphians just what their built up hype is all about.
London's Django Django have been making upbeat indie dance meets weird psych tunes since 2009. Ever since meeting at Edinburgh College of Art, the four members have been crafting and shaping their sound in drummer/producer David Maclean’s East London bedroom. Three years later Maclean and company finally released the fruits of their labor to the world. In January of last year, Django Django released their debut self-titled album. Even though their debut full length record out over a year ago, it took Django Django just over a full year to give the United States a full, proper tour. Joining them for the special occasion were Minneapolis' Night Moves.
Night Moves did not share the same experience as Django Django of gracing Philadelphia for the first time. The Minneapolis four piece recently visited the city back in January for a small show at Kung Fu Necktie. This time around they played on a much bigger stage infront of a much bigger audience. While Union Transfer was slow to fill up but about half way through their set, the room was getting close to capacity. Despite being newcomers to an audience of the size of a sold out Union Transfer, Night Moves played like seasoned veterans.
Led by the powerful vocals and entertaining stage presence in lead singer/guitarist John Pelant, the Twin Cities act blazed through their 40 minute without skipping a beat. Their sound had clear influences from ‘70s acts like Neil Young and Dylan but with a modern twist and touches of MGMT-esque psych music blended together. Pelant’s smooth vocals and jangly guitar were met multiple times with harmonies from fellow members Micky Alfano and Mark Ritsema. Tune after tune, this combination produced polished, radio friendly songs. In between songs different bandmates shared stories like how each city they play at always cheers when they were that the band is from Minneapolis. They also described their last visit to Philadelphia, which included the worker at one of the corner stores tried to sell them a taser.
Once Night Moves finished playing, the long process of setting up the stage for Django Django began. For just the four of them, there was a rather elaborate stage set up. Between the stage lights, projector, keyboard world and drum set the band finally took to the stage once all of the proper sound checking had finished. The British group started the night by thanking the sold out crowd for coming out and reminding them that this was their first time playing Philadelphia. They then shared their deep love for the TLC show Trading Spaces and their goal of finding the best cheesesteak in the city.
The group had already given the city a taste of their live sound as they paid a visit to World Cafe Live for WXPN's Free At Noon series. Hours later they continued to show the city just exactly why their debut self-titled album was so critically acclaimed. Once they played through their opening set “Hail Bop”, a slow burner full of lush harmonies, the band set the crowd crazy with dance tune after dance tune.
Songs like the single “Default”, “Love’s Dart” and “Skies Over Cairo” gave the fans plenty of material to get down to. At the same time it demonstrated just how wide-ranged their influences were. “Default” is the clear-cut Britpop gem. “Skies Over Cairo” mixes fuzzy, round synth melodies a la The Kaiser Chiefs with more worldly feel; one that Brooklyn’s Yeasayer have become famous for. They ended the set with “Silver Rays”, which mixes their own vocal harmonies with a dance beat that is reminiscent to The Rapture back in their Echoes-era. Despite all of these dance tunes, they also managed to slow things down with the mellow “Firewater” tune that features lazy, almost Old Western style acoustic guitar to it.
It was impressive seeing the young band able to not only create an array of songs that blended genres to this extent, but to also work them together into a cohesive live set. On top of all of this they played with such energy and emotion, it was almost impossible to not feed off of it. The four guys in Django Django proved to Philadelphia just what they are made of in an excellent debut show for the city of brotherly love. Now let’s just hope it doesn’t take them just as long to come back around again.
