A couple of weeks ago, I attended the opening of the latest exhibit at Drexel’s Leonard Pearlstein Gallery. The Philly Radness installation, which runs until May 22, has transformed the gallery into a dual exhibit – one half akin to your typical photo and object display, and the other half a small-scale, interactive pop-up skate park. The opening night featured numerous skateboarders wheeling across the floor and doing tricks, illuminated by the bright, moving colors of the projections across the entirety of the space. Photos and videos in the more static half of the exhibit show skateboard culture in Philadelphia through photos, video, and even skateboards themselves.
On April 19th, though, something a little different happened in the gallery space. Teaming up with MAD Dragon Media, the Pearlstein Gallery hosted three bands to perform in the skating space. Local bands and artists Queen of Jeans, Hemming, and surprise opener Abi Reimold played short sets in the intimate venue, illuminated in the same way the skaters had been during opening night.
From haunting atmospheric aesthetics to sassy retro styles, each artist and band gave something new to the show as a whole, while somehow not deviating so far as to seem completely detached. Reimold (who has recently been featured on Stereogum and Pitchfork) opened the night with her brand of spooky, genre-bending, highly personal music and effectively gave me the shivers more than once. Singer and songwriter Hemming (aka Candice Martello) performed some of her normally acoustic songs with a four-piece band, giving each piece just that much more electricity. The last group, Queen of Jeans, played a slightly more upbeat and poppy set, including a fun cover of The Bangles’ ever-popular “Walk Like An Egyptian.”
Was the show small? Absolutely. Was the gallery an unexpected place to have what was essentially a house show? Sure. I’ve got to say, though, the effect sure was cool. The static-like projections especially enhanced Reimold’s performance, and in general gave everything just a touch more sensory oomph. While this show was a one-off event, I’d definitely recommend popping into the Philly Radness exhibit if you have a spare moment on campus, (it’s free!), and definitely check out all of the bands and artists online.