Philly native punk rock band, Left & Right, concluded their back-to-school tour this past Saturday with a head-banging performance at The Thought Lot. The band recently celebrated the release of their new album “Five Year Plan” and a tour was soon underway. The 24-day road trip kicked off with a show in Montclair, NJ, with performances reaching as far as Texas.

Saturday night kicked off at 8 p.m. with opening sets from two local bands, while audience members mingled in anticipation of the main performance. As Left & Right took the stage, listeners crowded the floor.

Giving their second performance at The Thought Lot since the release of their second album, the band’s guitarist and vocalist, Phil, said that they were “stoked” to come back. “We had a blast, last time. Hopefully we’ll get people off those dope couches and moving around.”

And getting people off those couches they did. The back-to-back playing of their first single “Harry’s Code”, along with “Five Year Plan”, from their new record got the musicians moving just as much as the crowd.

Phil explained that their overall “song writing has definitely improved over the last couple of years just from playing together so often.” He said that the band was fortunate to be able to collaborate with “recording genius” Justin Pizzoferrato, compared to the freedom of their basement, for the sheer quality of sound.

When asked to share one of their most memorable experiences as a band, they said, “One that sticks out the most is a show we played on our first tour in Boston. We were the last band to play and there were like three people in the bar watching us. We began our last song and, somehow, seemingly out of nowhere, the bar filled up with about twenty young Turkish men who were there to party. They demanded two encores, tried to sing along to our songs, moshed around and took pictures with us while we were playing. When we finished, they said, ‘All of Turkey loves your band!’ and left abruptly without buying any merchandise.”

Not giving any explicit explanations as to what their future plans may entail, Phil said that they hope to be “doing the same thing we are now, if we can sustain it.” The band explained that they would love to be on tour everyday, if possible, because “you never know what to expect and you develop pretty cool relationships with people all over the country.” As for now, they are headed back to their home in Philadelphia.

For more of Left & Right, check out their website and merchandise at http://www.leftandright.bandcamp.com. Follow them on Twitter at @LeftandRightva and “Like” them on Facebook.

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