Concert review/photos: Cheers Elephant and Toy Soldiers @ Union Transfer
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Union Transfer got a double dose of Philly rock and soul when Cheers Elephant and Toy Soldiers co-headlined on Friday night. The show served as both a homecoming for Cheers — the band members moved to the West Coast last fall — and a farewell for Toy Soldiers, which recently announced an indefinite hiatus.
Cheerleader, also based in Philadelphia, kicked off the night, with a sound slightly reminiscent of surf rock, updated with a more electro-pop feel.
Cheers Elephant came back from California with a pocket full of sunshine and new songs, though the set kept a great mix of their entire catalog. Front man Derek Krzywicki jumped and danced, bringing enough energy to charge up the entire audience, which included a number of friends and family of all three bands that night. Crowd favorites from the set included “Doin’ It, Right,” “Leaves” and “Jumbo Shrimp.”
Cheers closed out the show, but it really was Toy Soldiers’ night. When the band took the stage, lead singer Ron Gallo poked fun at the fact that it would be their last performance in the city. The group opened with a cover of the chorus of Semisonic’s “Closing Time,” which they revisited later in the set, parodying their own end. Soldiers’ set included guest performances by Joe Fletcher and Andrew Combs, who are currently touring alongside Gallo as he promotes his solo album.
The highlight of the night was the eulogy for Toy Soldiers, read by a friend of the band, Greg Rosen. Dressed in a black suit and red shirt, Rosen bid a final Philly farewell to the band, explaining how “bands tend to stop playing when all the members die.” Thankfully, Gallo and the army behind Soldiers didn’t actually die in the trenches, but are just going off to focus on separate projects.
