Empty Shell Casing

Spy headlines the First Unitarian Church of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, October 20, with support from Empty Shell Casing and No Guard. The night is presented by FYA Fest and is open to all ages, so you can bring whoever you want. Empty Shell Casing comes to Philadelphia from Dallas, Texas, and they play a mix of nu metal, hardcore, and rap metal—the kind of heavy, crossover sound that sits right at the intersection of those three styles.

The venue itself is a bit of a local landmark. The First Unitarian Church of Pennsylvania, at 2125 Chestnut Street, is a Unitarian Universalist congregation that doubles as a community center. It dates back to 1796, when twenty Philadelphia intellectuals founded it as the first continuous church in the United States to call itself 'Unitarian,' following the lead of the polymath and minister Joseph Priestley. It was led by a layman until 1925, when the twenty-two-year-old William Henry Furness became its first minister.

The congregation gathers in the third building on the site, built between 1883 and 1886, which features a hammer-beam ceiling and stained-glass windows by Louis Tiffany & Co. Over the years, the church has counted some notable members: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, the first African American woman published in the United States; Laura Matilda Towne, who opened the Penn School, the first school expressly for freed slaves; and actor Kevin Bacon.

Doors open around 6:30 PM, and the show starts at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $25.10.