The Districts in Philadelphia at Unions Transfer with Openers Vanillaroma and Francis of Delirium

Written By | Jared Lopez

After 6 weeks of touring, The Districts ended their run with Vanillaroma and Francis of Delirium on April 16th in Philadelphia at the Union Transfer.  The tour was marked with unforgettable memories and firsts for the entire lineup, as it was Vanillaroma’s first time being on what they considered to be a “real tour”, Francis of Delirium’s first time touring in the U.S., and The Districts themselves facing health concerns with COVID earlier in the tour.  This show was the culmination of weeks of hard work and a lot of fun.  The performances all had a very somber feeling to them, as it was the last show with everyone.  Going home after being on the road with your best friends is always something that’s difficult.  

To start things off, Vanillaroma hopped on stage and got the crowd’s energy pumping with their energy and humor.  They had their friend, Billy, fly over to Philadelphia to watch them play.  Billy brought about 5 of his cousins and the singer invited two of them on stage to dance during one of their songs.  While it may have been awkward and terrifying for Billy’s cousins to hop up on stage in front of a few hundred people, they did not disappoint with their stiff and mechanical dance moves.  Vanillaroma had a swag to them that was unmatched.  If you ever heard your uncle talk about a “cool cat”, the guys in Vanillaroma are the definition of that.

See more photos of Vanillaroma HERE

Next came Francis of Delirium.  The singer had on some of the coolest pants, and it really got the attention of a lot of people in the front row.  A lot of the girls in the crowd shouted “you’re so cool” to her which you could see made her crack a soft smile.  The band had a booming sound.  Their mixture of ambient and effect driven clean parts mixed with their distorted and sludgy riffs was really something to behold.  They even brought out The District’s singer out for a song.  They also got the crowd excited when they mentioned they had cheesesteaks at a spot called Dalessandro’s.  Philly people are passionate about their cheesesteaks.

See more photos of Francis of Delirium HERE

The Districts came out and the crowd was electric.  For a band that has a lot of softer sounds, you would’ve thought you were at a hardcore show.  A mosh pit in the middle of the venue broke out which was great to see.  Performers love to see stuff like that and they feed off of the crowd’s energy which results in a better show.  They brought the singer from Francis of Delirium out on stage to sing a song with them and the energy they had together was unmatched.  After that song they proceeded to talk about who smells the best and worst on tour which really got the crowd’s attention.  Later in the set, their guitarist switched over to bass and the singer stepped on the cable twice unplugging the bass at the very beginning of the song which made those in attendance erupt in laughter.  To finish the night, they had a three song encore.

See more photos of The Districts HERE

Photos By | Jared Lopez