We Were Promised Jetpacks

There’s nothing I love more than going to a loud rock show. Feeling the bass vibrate in my bones, ticking my head to the drums, and screaming out loud with the other show goers, acting as backup vocals for the band. Now at the age of 35, the mid-week concert isn’t as easy as it once was, but that didn’t stop me from checking out We Were Promised Jetpacks (WWPJ) at Ardmore Music Hall. After bopping along to opener Breakup Shoes, who were surprisingly moving, WWPJ took the stage.

It took a few tracks for the crowd to warm up to the band. And the band to warm up to the crowd. But then, we had a rock show. I watched gen-zers try to start a two-person mosh pit on the side of the stage, so ecstatic from seeing this band they couldn’t contain their bodies. I saw men from older generations play air guitar, pretending they were the ones on stage. And then there was me, swaying along, earplugs and all.

WWPJ rolled through their hits, including a personal favorite, “The More I Sleep, the Less I Dream.” The crowd hollered as Adam Thompson started the opening riff for “Quiet Little Voices” and then mouthed along the words, remembering each lyric from its initial release over a decade ago. As the show started to feel like it was reaching its end, Thompson mentioned how there wouldn’t be a separate encore. Side note: this made me like them even more. Why do bands do encores? If the house lights and music stay down, we know the band is coming back. The jig is up. Just let us stay in the groove of the show. But, the band did play one more before sending us out into the balmy Wednesday night air—“It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning.” The perfect track for us to scream our lungs out to before heading home.

Right foot followed by a left foot
We’ll guide you home before your curfew
​And into your bed