For once, The Walkmen seem comfortable enough to take a quick breath and a look back.

Their seventh studio album, Heaven, is just over six months old, they’re heading out on a new round of tour dates in support of it. And appearing at Union Transfer on Friday with twelve years of back catalogue under their belts, the New York / Philly five-piece appeared relaxed moreso than rushed.

This wasn’t always the case. Used to be this was a band where I  could always count on their live shows containing zero material I was familiar with. A Pi Lam set in early 2003 featured mostly songs from Bows and Arrows, which wasn’t released for another year and change. A 2007 show at Johnny Brenda’s happened not long after their homage to Harry Nilsson’s Pussy Cats came out, but it largely showcased You & Me, which wasn’t released until 2008. And so on. The band was always looking forward, and that’s why we loved them.

Taking the stage on Friday following an opening solo set by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth (and after treating a handful of fans to a spaghetti dinner and a warm-up set of covers), The Walkmen were fully in retrospective mode. The songs on Heaven had been in the crowd’s consciousness long enough that we could sing along with “The Love You Love” and rock out to “Heartbreaker” with familiarity. We weren’t trying to parse the unknown, or determine our thoughts and first reactions – we knew we liked it, we knew Heaven might just be the band’s finest work to date, and we could just run with it and enjoy it.

From there, the band pulled from the past – heavily at first from Lisbon and You & Me. “Angela Surf City” was a lively rocker, while the majestic “Stranded” ushered in a four-piece horn section for a stately effect. This was a band, we could see, that had truly grown into its own sound. Earlier, for the rousing “In the New Year” frontman Hamilton Leithauser’s macho falsetto rang from the rafters while a side-stage light created a goliath shadow of him on the venue’s wall, serenading the balcony. “I Lost You,” on the other hand, was a mellower affair, bringing the mood way down.

If The Walkmen’s set on Friday had a shortcoming, it was this introspective, quiet middle section. The band does this very well, and the flourishes of horns make it positively moving. But as I said earlier, for so long we’ve grown used to them galloping forward at a breakneck pace in more ways than one. Having so many somber songs at once get the masses a bit antsy.

With the encore, the band rebounded in force. The nervy “What’s In It For Me” from Bows and Arrows launched into a propulsive take on The Walkmen’s signature number, “The Rat,” its mid-twentysomething ennui and frustration ever ringing true – “When I used to go our I would know everyone that I saw / now I go out alone, if I go out at all.” This was quickly followed by the swinging early hit “We’ve Been Had” that had the capacity crowd singing along with total joy. And this was, in the end, the night’s triumph.

I think “proud parent” might be the wrong metaphor – we’re talking about a band that is either the same age as me, or older. But to watch them grow so gracefully, and to connect with a bigger crowd than I’ve ever seen them play to, was thrilling. The Walkmen should have no qualms about taking this breather (ableit a hard-working breather) – they’ve earned it. And cheers to what’s next.

Some hundred and fifty people turned out for the pre-concert meal (we’ll have a review of the concert itself tomorrow) and, to their credit, The Walkmen did an admirable job recreating the Italian restaurant vibe of Union Transfer’s previous Spaghetti Warehouse incarnation. Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” was piping through the speakers upon arrival at 5. Later, the playlist moved on to Dean Martin: “Mambo Italiano,” “Sway” and “That’s Amore.”

While the Facebook announcement back in the fall said the meal would be prepared by the band itself, it appeared the food was actually catered from La Scala’s Pronto at 15th and Spring Garden. No bother – the spaghetti was thick and tender, the meatballs juicy and mouth-watering. The sauce may have been thin, but hearty garlic bread made quick work of its watery remains. Caeser Salad was a pleasant side, with zesty Parmesan shavings. Short of a garden salad, the options for vegan attendees was scant, but everybody seemed happy to just hang and mingle with the band and other Philly musicians – opener Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Quentin Stoltzfus and Mickey Walker of Mazarin and Light Heat.

Some stood and ate their meals, others balanced their plates along the railing of Union Transfer, others still grabbed tables in the venue’s lobby. The folks from Victory Brewing were on hand to serve up Headwaters Pale Ale – the mildly hoppy, flavorful drink made a nice accompaniment to the meal – and Walkmen frontman Hamilton Leithauser and guitarist Walter Martin toasted each guest at the end of the line with the whiskey of their choice – Maker’s Mark or The Famous Grouse.

Following the meal and mingling, the band took to the stage for the soundcheck, which featured a variety of lively rock and roll covers. Their opening rendition of Bill Conti’s Rocky theme was spectacular – their four-piece horn section made it come alive in way I haven’t seen since Belle and Sebastian played it at The Tower Theater back in 2003. The crowd called out requests; Leithauser protested that he didn’t want to sing “Blister in the Sun,” but it was too late, since the band had already started playing. They got nuggets-y on Larry Williams’ “Bony Maronie,” had a blast with Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” and brought trumpeter Paul Brandenberger to the mic for a rousing take on The Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar.”

The only disappointment? Despite their claims that they would play “half-assed versions” of Coldplay’s “Fix You” and “The Scientist,” they declined to play either (despite my cries of “We were promised Coldplay!”). Instead, they stuck to songs they could rock with their whole ass – which, all things considered, was fine by me – and even brought one of their kids (suit-clad, natch) to the stage for a noise-rocker original to close out the party.

Setlist
Gonna Fly Now (Rocky Theme) (Bill Conti cover)
Holiday Road (Lindsey Buckingham cover)
Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes cover)
Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones cover)
Darlin’ Companion (Johnny Cash cover)
Bony Maronie (Larry Williams cover)
Night Moves (Bob Seger cover)
Untitled

Grimace Federation‘s residency returns to Kung Fu Necktie tonight.  The “blisscore” outfit will be hosting their Popular Science evenings on the second Friday of each month beginning with tonight’s show featuring Sonkin, Wheez-IE, Yikes the Zero and Binary Bits.  In 2011 Grimace Federation stopped by for a Key Studio Session, recording a slew of songs following the release of On Velvet.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here; watch the video for “Ghosts In a Mirror” below and download the track for free here.

Local rock group The Cobbs breaks a long silence, opening for JJL tonight at Johnny Brenda’s.  Formed by brothers Ryan and Paul Cobb, the local five-piece has toured and recorded with BRMC and Kasabian.  Their spacey, dark brand of rock was lightened up a bit with melodic pop hooks on their most recent release, 2006′s The Cobbs Sing the Death Capades, which you can stream in full here (and grab a free download of “Say You Never Knew Me” here).  Tickets and information for the 21+ show with JJL and Mark Feehan can be found on XPN’s Concert Calendar.  Below, watch the video for The Cobbs’ song “Hold On.”

David Uosikkinen’s In the Pocket is at it again, this time celebrating the release of a new track at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville.  The “Essential Songs of Philadelphia” coalition, started by Hooters drummer Uosikkinen, chose to record The American Dream’s “I Ain’t Searching” this time around, taking the 1970 single to new heights with Hooters singer / guitarist Eric Bazilian, Smash Palace’s Steve Butler and singer-songwriter Cliff Hills.  Tickets and information for the show can be found here.  Below, watch the behind-the-scenes video for the song directed by Steve Acito.

Our contributing writer / photographer Rachel Barrish is studying in Rome this fall, and this past weekend took the opportunity to head north for the Pitchfork Music Festival Paris. From Rachel:

I was in attendance on Friday evening with featured performances from Tallest Man on Earth, The Walkmen, Wild Nothing, Animal Collective, and more. The festival took place at the Grand Hall de Vilette, a large auditorium fit with two stages on either end. The room was filled with people excited and eager to catch their next favorite act.

Check out her photos in the gallery above, and watch a video of Tallest Man on Earth playing “Revelation Blues” below.

Cheers from Hamilton Leithauser and The Walkmen!

We can’t tell how seriously to take this offer, but it’s pretty awesome all the same. As some of you may recall, The Walkmen were scheduled to perform at the Electric Factory with Philly space rock luminaries The War On Drugs last month, but the show was unfortunately called off. Each band has made up the cancellation with new dates, The War on Drugs closing off 2012 at Johnny Brenda’s and The Walkmen kicking off their 2013 tour at Union Transfer. But the latter band is realizing that this might not be enough, and today sweetened the deal via a Facebook post.

As we realize it’s a headache for everyone in Philadelphia who bought tickets to the cancelled October show, and we’ve come to understand it’s never a good idea to tick off a large group of our neighboring Philadelphians, we would like to invite anyone with a cancelled ticket stub to our sound check at the Union Transfer on January 11th for spaghetti and meatballs prepared by the band and served by local rockers, and cheap canned beer. Probably around 5 or so…we will get back to you with more details. If you don’t actually have the stub you can just write in and plead your case–I mean, it’s not THAT sweet a deal, so the restrictions are sort of lax. Potential servers may include (none of whom have been asked): Mazarin, Fleet Foxes, Blood Feathers, War on Drugs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Kurt Vile–(don’t actually this last guy, but figured he might be into the spaghetti). There’s a very good chance that none of these people may show up. The band will sound check with half-assed versions of songs like “the Scientist” by Coldplay and “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour…and maybe the “Fix You” song by Coldplay too…and maybe “Salsbury Hill”. Casual attire. Please RSVP to this facebook page. (This is my first facebook post though, so I honestly don’t know if that’s even possible.) See you there!

If even only 20 percent of these claims are true, that sounds like a pretty awesome way to grab dinner before a show. The Walkmen are on tour in support of their excellent seventh record Heaven, available now via Fat Possum Records.

Due to personal reasons we will be canceling our show on October 6th in Philadelphia. We apologize and hope to make it up to you soon! You may receive a full refund at your point of purchase. For online purchases via Ticketmaster you will be automatically refunded within 1-2 business days. Should you have any problems you may contact Ticketmaster customer service at 1-800-745-3000.

War On Drugs, who were scheduled to open the show, weighed in on their twitter @warondrugsjams: “Really disappointed that our Philly show with @TheWalkmen has been cancelled. Definitely not our decision. We’ll make it up to you xoxo”