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| Tweens were impressive during their set at Rough Trade NYC on Friday night. |
Warsaw / Bar Matchless / Rough Trade NYC
Yesterday was a typically busy Saturday for us. CoolDaughter #1 had her 7:30-9 AM swim practice. CoolDaughter #2 had her 9:30-10:15 AM swim lesson and a softball game at 11. Their summer camp had its annual pre-camp "Day of Fun" yesterday afternoon, and CD1 had a birthday party from 6-8 PM.
I had some driving / breakfast-getting duties for CD1's swimming, and I like to help out at CD2's games. I love pitching and coaching at the softball games, and CD2 is definitely getting better. There was no way that I'd miss it so that I could wander around Brooklyn alone in the early part of the day. I did want to get there in time for The Blind Shake, though. That meant squeezing in some photo editing before I had to leave and no writing about the events of Friday night at Northside.
So, I'm doing this thing today where I'm writing about two nights ago. Then, one day from now, I'll write about two nights before that. Let's see if I can keep things straight.
Just as I pulled up to my parking spot next to McCarren Park on Friday night, the skies let loose with a biblical downpour. Little kids playing baseball and soccer in the park scattered, along with their parents, to their own cars; and the gutter quickly flooded with several inches of water. Scary thunder and lightning, too.
Never good at preparation, I hadn't brought an umbrella or a camera bag; so I moved the car closer to Warsaw where I'd spend the first part of the night at the Captured Tracks showcase. Things let up enough that it wasn't so bad standing out front in the drizzle with all the mindie kids there to see Craft Spells and Beach Fossils in about three or four hours. I'd come to see openers Donovan Blanc (pronounced "blahnk"), the new-fangled version of New Brunswick's Honeydrum, who will be releasing their debut LP for Captured Tracks on June 24th.
Warsaw is a big performance space in Greenpoint's Polish National Home: "Where pierogies meet punk." You can get pierogies, kielbasa, and bottles of Żywiec from a lady behind a plastic, checkered tablecloth-covered folding table in the "Warsaw Bistro." The venue holds about 800.
Donovan Blanc did a set of easy-going, laid back, quiet pop. As with Honeydrum, there were similarities to the hook-filled, lo-fi pop of Ariel Pink; but things weren't lo-fi anymore. Frontman Joseph Black put out kind of a chill and lounge-y vibe. The group concocted a drink for the evening called "Summerly Heaven," which should give you an idea of their whole schtick.
I left after the set -- to the incredulous "No Re-entry!" exclamations from the door people -- so that I could head down the block to catch Sharkmuffin at Bar Matchless. Fronted by Holmdel native Tarra Thiessen, Brooklyn's Sharkmuffin are a band I've been following for a while. Their short set of garage pop provided a nice jolt of energy following all the chill vibes from up the block. The band room at Matchless is a wonderfully small and tomblike space where no phone reception shall enter; and Thiessen's coffin-shaped, rose-topped guitar case at the foot of the stage was just right.
It is my new mission to bridge the divide that exists between our own local scene and the other thriving metropolitan area scenes like Jersey City and Brooklyn. As I'd been doing at every show where I got the chance, I told Thiessen that we'd love to see her and her band down in Asbury Park soon. She was more than receptive. Baby steps.
From there it was off to Williamsburg to catch Tweens and Marnie Stern at Rough Trade NYC. After a bit of an ordeal trying to find parking, I made it into the really nice performance space at the back of the huge record store just in time for Tweens. I loved them.
Featuring Peyton Copes (bass) and Jerri Queen (drums) of Vacation and fronted by Bridget Battle (guitar / vocals), the Cincinnati trio play high-energy, snotty, 60s girl group-inspired pop punk. Single "Be Mean" had the whole place screaming the chorus.
Guitar shredder extraordinaire, Marnie Stern, followed. She played solo, accompanied only by backing tracks from her Mac. Stern said the performance was a first for her; but after a few initial hiccups, she got into the groove and mesmerized those who remained with her unique combination of experimental guitar riffage and pop rock.
When it was done, I headed back to my car and drove home to get what rest I could for the full day that would start early the next morning. Words and pics on that one on Monday, I guess.
I won't be heading back up to the festival today. That means I'll miss some bands like Ovlov, Creepoid, Alvvays, and Hey Anna. But in order to be a cooldad, you've first gotta be a dad. I'll be reveling in that with my lovely girls today.
Here are some shots from Friday. Flickr for more... blah, blah...
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