Milo and Old Gray at PhilaMOCA 6/25 By Susan McLean

I took a train into Philadelphia to see a friend for the weekend and noticed that my timing was perfect and there was a show in the area. After a short Uber ride from around Powelton Village to the venue, PhilaMOCA, I was there. (An hour and a half late, but still there.) I caught the very end of Milo’s set, and all of Old Gray.

Milo (Rapsmith) was very impressive. With no prior experience, I had started listening to him earlier in the day to get a taste of what the show would be like, and I was impressed. His very lyrical rap style is superimposed onto chill, mellow beats. He tends to refer to this as the growing genre of ‘art rap.’ Live, he was just as good as I had hoped, the new poster boy for intelligent rap. Lately, he has been very involved in attempting to foster respect for similar artists, encouraging them to apply for subsidized artists’ housing. In my uneducated (in regards to music) opinion, in the next few months, he’ll be headlining his own tours. His music is unpretentious, but gently suggests listeners to challenge their perspectives and broaden their horizons. I’m definitely a fan now.

Old Gray has always been a favorite and seeing Cameron Boucher preform live is always a lovely experience. I’d seen them a few months ago in North Haven, CT at Broken World Fest 2015, and had been listening to them for a while afterwards, so seeing them again was great. It was surprising to see them touring again, despite it being just a short Northeastern tour. The members are very involved in various side projects, including Youth Funeral, Sorority Noise, White Lodge, Ellie, Madeliene, SPF 420. Sorority Noise just released a new album, titled ‘Joy, Departed,’ Boucher will be on tour again soon. Old Gray’s fairly angry and forlorn tone has always resonated with me, and those who aren’t scared off by the sadder side of punk would definitely enjoy them.

The venue was a bit tight, there were around 100 people, but the intimate atmosphere always breeds well for punk shows. It was well kept and clean, everyone working was very nice. Photos were very generously provided by Douglass Dresher (ddresher@gmail.com), and more of his work can be found at showpicts.com 
Originally posted at Her Looking Glass.