Pavement, Ratboys – Make The World Better Concert Weekend
The Dell Music Center
2400 Strawberry Mansion Dr.
Philadelphia
July 24, 2026
What a cosmic confluence: yesterday was officially christened LeBron James Day across our fair country of Philadelphia, harkening the 41-year-old King’s decision to join the Sixers next season, and meanwhile, the 37-year-old Pavement – still arguably the coolest band in the world – touched down to rip a gig at The Dell Music Center. I’d never been to The Dell before, had barely even heard of it; a cursory glance at their calendar indicates there’s not a lot of rock shows there, and a pretty sparse schedule in general. But what a beautiful outdoor amphitheater! Surrounded by treeline concealing all but a few distant buildings, the weather perfect, I felt like I’d slipped away and out of the city altogether; the venue, owned and operated by the city, is definitely one of Philly’s best-kept secrets. Pavement and Ratboys was night one of a weekend-long Make The World Better concert (tonight featured Kurt Vile, TAGABOW and Twisted Teens), put on by former Eagle Connor Barwin’s foundation, with their mission of revitalizing Philly’s parks and public spaces, The Dell itself showcasing the immeasurable value of high-quality recreational spaces. Shouts out to the foundation, the venue staff and to R5 for teaming up to make this happen.
As much as I love and often prefer small shows, there’s obviously something to be said about big concerts with big crowds, especially in comfortable, scenic spaces like this, with the sheer luck of great weather amplifying everything. The atmosphere was like wandering around a massive party at a park, constantly running into friends and folks I know from the music scene. Ratboys stormed out the gate like they always do, playing their ebullient brand of twangy rock and sounding the best I’ve ever heard them – late-afternoon sunshine and verdant green suits them – as the Pavement-inclined crowd petered in and gradually filled the seats and lawn space out. As great as it was when I caught the band’s headlining set at First Unitarian last March, The Dell simply has more sonic firepower, really capturing Ratboys’ energy and muscle in all its glory, with details I’d missed or found imperceptible last time: Thin Lizzy-ish guitarmonies from Dave Sagan and Andy PK; Sagan’s ultra-fine electric guitar work with a deep bag of unison bends, pinch harmonics, tapping and pedal fuckery; PK’s exceptional and vivid pedal-steel mastery; Julia Steiner’s immaculately tuneful voice front and center and clear as day; Sean Neumann’s robust bass and high harmonies undergirding and haloing it all; Marcus Nuccio’s playful, downright flawless drumming. (A particular non-musical highlight: two guys up front, strangers coincidentally wearing the same NRBQ shirt, framed themselves near the stage to take a selfie with Steiner’s NRBQ baseball cap visible in the shot.) These guys will be back in Philly in September for XPoNential Fest, don’t sleep on getting tickets for that.
This was my first time seeing Pavement, who’ve been reunited and touring again the last four years, and the most wonderful thing about it is exactly how similar it felt to what the band was like in their heyday, just on a different scale. Everyone onstage was sloppy and slack-y in exactly the same way; they're a deeply-connected, high-experience group that plays with an inimitable combination of qualities that is hard to pin down and describe. Is it a casual disregard for traditional showmanship and professionalism that transcends that into a kind of ecstatic fan service, fulfilling an expectation of ironic humor and looseness and fun and irreverence? Whatever, it works – because the songs are so good! Pavement played almost all the hits I really wanted a chance to hear – “Frontwards,” “Cut Your Hair,” “Range Life,” “Harness Your Hopes,” “Spit on a Stranger,” “Summer Babe,” “Here” – in a 22-song career-spanning (career! career! career!) set that flew by joyfully. To go sports-analogy with it – and why not, Malkmus was wearing what looked like a homemade Eagles hat that just said “BIRDS” on it – they haven’t lost a step. Bob Nastanovich really chewed the scenery, taking his tambourine and wandering around the wide stage (reminded me of Fred Armisen’s impression of former New York governor David Paterson, at risk of dating myself) and finding people to dance with, lying down at the edge of the stage, and eventually making his way into the crowd (and my section, the C section, even though he professed on-mic at one point that “the Z section is my favorite”) for a moment of truly giddy communion. Thanks, Pavement: it was a LeBron James Day to remember. I’ll close by echoing something Stephen Malkmus’ daughter, an Eagles superfan and soon-to-be Drexel student, told us all when she and Barwin introduced Pavement: “Fuck Dallas.” You shine with an evil light.
