Pinhead Gunpowder
First Unitarian Church
2125 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia
Oct. 16, 2026
R5 holds a very sacred power in its ability to regularly provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Though the Church and the Bay Area legends are no strangers to each other (Billie Joe’s band The Longshot visited in 2018) the group’s convergence with DC legends Hammered Hulls and LA rockers Night Shop made for an unforgettable evening. The sheer amount of music history contained not only in the historic building, but in the lived experience of the performers as well, was crazy. Hammered Hulls are members of The Faith, Fugazi, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Titus Andronicus, while Pinhead Gunpowder, of course, are 924 Gilman Street alumni and members of the Green Day extended universe. Drummer Aaron Cometbus bears additional distinction for founding Cometbus, a long-running punk zine started in 1981 as well as the deeply influential band Crimpshrine.
I was on staff for the gig, and I’d been beaten there by a crowd of around 30-40 people when I pulled up around 2:30PM. Fuck the bullshit, I’m not too cool to admit at all that listening to their (albeit closed) soundcheck and hearing that unmistakable voice at the independent venue I work at gave me the prickly feeling I’ve been hooked on for the last 20 years. The heavy rains that hit right at doors meant less than nothing to the crowd, considering that this was the absolute closest that pretty much any of us would ever get to the Green Day frontman during a performance. For a group of people who would soon ignore security’s warnings that getting onstage would mean prosecution, the audience was chill as hell until it was time to dance. Even then, each set was able to transpire without incident.
Legendary gig. I wonder if The Inquirer is kicking themselves for missing this? Here’s a cover Pinhead did of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.”
