I’ve missed the opportunity to see Catfish Haven about 5 times now.  I missed them when I was in Washington DC, and I missed them when I was recently in Toronto, but I knew upon arriving in Philadelphia that I would not miss their performance at the Khyber along with new Muzzle of Bees favorite Pink Mountaintops.

The show started out with a great set by Secretly Canadian’s very own Windsor For The Derby.  This was my first time checking out the group, and I really enjoyed the majority of their set.  You can check out an MP3 of their song Giving Up, for an idea of what their sound is like, and also be their friend on Myspace.

After a few moments the guys from Catfish Haven took the stage.  The band played a nice balance of songs that I was familiar with from their debut EP, along with a few songs from their upcoming full-length release due in September.  The band has just been added to this years Lollapalooza line-up, in their hometown of Chicago.  Hearing this band live and hearing them on a record are two different experiences.  I’ve been a fan of their recorded music since first hearing “Please Come Back,” a while ago, but as I suspected the songs mean so much more in a live setting.  The urgency of lost love brings itself to the forefront in a way that when each song is over, you can barely bring yourself to clap your hands because in your head all you can say is, “fuck”—meaning “I get it” or, “I’ve been there.”