DIE SPITZ
Die Spitz, First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA 11/19/2025
I’ve always wanted to see a show at First Unitarian Church because of its reputation for chaotic, sweat-drenched gigs is legendary. I missed Die Spitz when they opened for Viagra Boyz in Philly a couple months back, but I already knew they were unhinged in the best possible way. This felt like the perfect chance to finally witness it.
The night kicked off with Babe Haven, a high-energy queer punk band from Durham, North Carolina. Their raw, joyful chaos matched Die Spitz’s spirit perfectly, and within minutes they had the crowd moshing, crowd-surfing, and bouncing off the walls. It set the tone for what would become an absolutely wild night.
When Die Spitz hit the stage, they immediately detonated the room’s energy, starting a wall of death within seconds and turning the entire floor into a single, swirling pit. Frontwoman Ellie Livingston was a force of nature. Early in the set she dove straight into the crowd to mosh with the Philly faithful, and later climbed onto a stack of amps which were the highest point in the room and then launched herself off. She continued sprinting across the stage, and leaping straight into the audience to surf from front to back, mic still in hand.
At one point someone from the crowd passed up a set of matching frog hats, which the whole band put on. Ellie led the room in a comical “frogs, frogs, frogs!” chant that somehow felt like the most natural thing in the world.
After a brief encore, drummer Chloe took the mic to sing “Groping Dogs Gushing Blood.” She couldn’t play guitar due to a recently broken hand, but the crowd made up for any missing noise with pure volume. Then Ellie called for all the girls in the room to come to the front for “Riding With My Girls,” sparking a cathartic, all-girl mosh pit.
For the final song of the night, Ellie brought out the infamous Die Spitz sword and knighted several audience members, including someone dressed as an actual knight, which sent the room into one last frenzy. The band closed the night by thanking the crowd and pulling each other into a big group hug before stepping offstage.
If this was my introduction to First Unitarian Church shows, it was everything I could’ve hoped for; loud, sweaty, chaotic, and unforgettable.
Shot and Written by Jonah van Bemmelen
