Philly punk band Open City returns for benefit show supporting immigrant advocacy group

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Open City returns to the Philadelphia stage for the first time in five years — headlining a Sunday benefit show for Juntos, the Latin and immigrant advocacy group.

Supergroup overcomes busy schedules to return to the stage

The supergroup features members of Philly’s Paint It Black alongside musicians from Ceremony, On the Might of Princes and Titus Andronicus. The four-piece formed in the last decade and managed to release its debut album in 2017 despite their packed schedules.

Sunday’s fundraiser at First Unitarian Church will also double as a delayed album release show for their 2023 record, “Hands In The Honey Jar”. Vocalist Rachel Rubino said that while the band was hoping to return to the stage sooner, the pandemic and conflicting schedules led to the delay.

“As we returned to doing things together in public and playing shows, unfortunately it was hard to overlap our lives … and our schedules,” Rubino said. “We just kept staying connected to each other, and staying motivated to try to make something happen when we could … and here we are.”

How Black Flag and a broken wrist created a band

The band first materialized when Paint It Black bandmates Dan Yemin and Andy Nelson connected with drummer Chris Wilson while performing a cover set of Black Flag songs.

“It was just a lot of Dan and I kind of like fantasizing about stuff,” Nelson said. “Watching Chris play drums at shows and being like, ‘Man, can you imagine how cool it would be if we got to like do a fast punk band with him?’ That would be amazing.”

While playing guitar in Bridge And Tunnel, Rubino broke her wrist — pushing her to grab the mic in 2010 for a covers set.

“Seeing Rachel front that set … being like, ‘Damn, it would be so sick if we could somehow convince her to do something like that,” Nelson said. “And then, it just worked out.”

Rubino said the band sent “a whole LP’s worth of music” when they approached her.

“I wasn’t sure what the three of them would sound like together, or what I’d add to it,” she said. “But it’s been a really fun project to see through and create something together.”

Sunday’s show putting community first, providing safe space while aiding local organizations

The band’s music explores a range of issues through Rubino’s “stream-of-consciousness lyrics,” with a particular focus on the oppression of marginalized communities, including queer people and people of color.

“It feels vital to provide space for folks to congregate, to celebrate, to feel safe, to feel seen, to feel a part of [the] community together,” Rubino said. “And that’s something that’s at the core of what punk means to me is sharing in that community.”

When asked what led to the fundraiser gig, Yemin flipped the question: “Why aren’t they all benefits?”

“There’s no reason for us to not be able to use what little sort of influence we have to do some good, especially in a time that is politically one of the darkest times that I’ve lived through,” Yemin said.

Ticket sales for Sunday’s show will go directly to Juntos, a Philly-based organization that has been advocating for community members affected by ICE operations.

“Once you’ve got a militarized response to a fabricated problem, you’ve got the foundations of the unravelling of whatever elements of a democratic republic we have still functioning,” Yemin said. “[We] feel like supporting an organization that’s trying to do its part to turn that tide and to keep people safe.”

The band will also trade copies of their first album to anyone who brings a nonperishable food donation for the Share Food Program community fridges.

Ticket prices start at $13.48. Doors open at 3 p.m. and the show starts at 3:30. Supporting Open City will be The HIRS Collective, Disappearances and Taurus Judge.