The conventional image of old-school Kensington seems to lean heavily in the working-class Irish direction. I can’t think of anything more un-old-school Kensington than the art-rock, stoner band Bardo Pond, and yet from the early 90s on, that group has made Kensington their home.

Walk one block sort-of east, and another block sort-of south of the Berks stop on the Market-Frankford line, and you’ll come across a building—a typical Kensington warehouse—with a gated, fortress-like entrance. Look a little closer, and you’ll notice there are curtains, potted plants, and lots of artists.

This particular warehouse/studio building is still home to many artists and musicians, and dotted throughout the battered landscape of the mid-90s were countless such warehouse enclaves where bands could live, practice and put on shows. There was the infamous practice spot on Shaxamaxon Street, near Johnny Brenda’s, where many bands practiced: The Photon Band, Steve Phoenix, Audible, Future Tips, Valsalva, Leftys Receiver, to name a few.

The neighborhood was pretty different, then. Instead of coffee shops and new construction, there were a whole lot of empty lots and half-abandoned warehouses. There wasn’t all the activity that you see today; streets were much more desolate, but rent was cheap, and there was tons of space.

Those days may be behind us, as the migration of musicians to this area is a factor in all the great changes that have been taking place around here lately. Long before there was Kung Fu Necktie, before Johnny Brenda’s and the El Bar, even before the Fire, there was still quite a lot going on in Fishtown.

The neighborhood, like all of Philly, was a little more rough-and-tumble. There were warehouse parties, some the stuff of legend—Like the one where punk rockers got into a full-on brawl with neighbors that escalated so much that shots were fired.

There was the party at a warehouse on Master Street where Urge Overkill—who were into town recording their album, Saturation, with the Butcher Brothers—managed to pick a fight with the entire party. The rumor spread that they would play at the party; but instead, they showed up, got super drunk and refused to play.

There was the odd show at RUBA, the Ukrainian social club behind Silk City, so much fun and so elusive. Being able to book a show at the RUBA was like being inducted into a secret society, while now you can join the RUBA for $35 a year. It used to take, literally, months of Sundays sitting at the bar and sweet-talking the cranky old bartenders until they finally relented and let you rent the hall.

Silk City, before it became the restaurant and beer garden it is today, was a diner with a dive bar next door. They mostly had DJ nights but occasionally there would be an awesome show, like when The Toilet Boys from NYC nearly burned the place down a few times. The old Barbary, if you can imagine it, was even less up-to-code than the establishment is today.

I liked going to The Barbary: It was scary. The place was just falling down, and the inside felt like you were on a pirate ship. A REAL pirate ship—the kind with holes in the floor—not some watered-down, Disney version of one. Logistically, it was a project. If you were going to The Barbary, you needed to have a dependable ride home, it was impossible to get a cab home.

Clubs just didn’t come to Delaware Avenue until the mid 90s. Before that there was just nothing around, nothing at all.

Sure, people get nostalgic for times “back in the day” but I don’t think for one second that things were better back then—different, but certainly not better. There are a ton of venues now, nice ones, with working PAs, and somewhat personable sound engineers to operate them. The scene seems nicer, and people are not as too-cool-for-school as I remember (or maybe I’ve just aged out of my sensitivity to that). So, that seems like progress to me.

I’m excited to help out here at The Spirit, and will be contributing a monthly column about the local music scene. If you have a local neighborhood-related show, band, or record release you feel is too good to be missed, let us know! We’re excited to tell your story in these pages.

You can read more by Sophy at www.dipintoguitars.com/blog/