Summer In Philly Can’t Start Without You Revisiting The Old City Memorial Day Block Party of 1983

BY JOEY SWEENEY | Like many Philadelphians, we’ve watched this video several times over the years, each time in a kind of benevolent stupefaction at the way this particular block party, held nearly 40 years ago, is a timeless study in real-deal Philly goofball style. 

Oh let us count the ways: The Spoon Man! The discussion of “hamburger music!” Some dude dressed up in really rather elaborate Howard Cosell drag. The impromptu roller boogie street performance! (Bring this back, please. If we can walk around South Street in 2022 fully wrapped by snakes, surely we still have this level of stuntin’ still very much within us.) And the reason for all of it: No bigs, just another block party in Philly. 

I think part of why I watch this thing every year is because it feels like a dare: This summer, remember what you come from, this video says to me. You come from a city born without fucks. You come from a place where a harmonica and two spoons is a band. You come from a place where all you need is a street, a cheap permit, and two barricades to jam out with hundreds of best friends you haven’t met yet.