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This weekend I had the opportunity to check out a band at a venue I’d never been to before. I’m usually extremely skeptical when it comes to new music venues, especially when they are small. There is always the risk of bad sound, angry drunken brawling metal dudes, way overpriced drinks, and of course, a plethora of terrible local bands.

However my experience at The Khyber, a bar / music venue in Old City, was simply fantastic.

The Khyber, which is located near the crossing of Chestnut and South 2nd Street, offers up an array of incredible cheap drinks, a list of talent that is sure to impress even the most pretentious indie rock snobs, and was, on that night, full of incredibly friendly people who were more then welcoming to a Khyber newbie.

The staff was equally amiable. I wasn’t in the mood to drink that night, and when I asked for just a soda, I was shocked at the enormous beer mug I was given, spilling over with Coca Cola, and even more surprised when the friendly bartender charged me a dollar. Amazing!

The concert area holds maybe 300 people and was sold out on Sunday night. The sound was beautiful, and the dedication of the sound guy was incredible, running through the crowd to fix little things here and there while the band rocked out.

If you think the Khyber is only for your standard cliche college grunge bands covering Nirvana, then you’re sadly mistaken. While the Khyber’s calendar does have a lot of unknown talent listed on the bill, a lot of signed, up-and-coming indie groups are scheduled to play there in the coming future, such as Dear & The Headlights and former Epic Records artist, Val Emmich.

Oh, and Richard Llyod, from the 70s band Television, will be there in May. Amazing.

Check out the Khyber’s official website for listings, photos, and more.

The Khyber
56 S. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA