Rose Lamela's Northside w/ Ought, Common Holly, and More, 6/7 & 6/8/18

Ought at Market Hotel

Brooklyn Rookie

By Rose Lamela

My journey into Brooklyn only began a few months ago. I've been hearing about how "cool" Brooklyn is and how everyone who is "someone" has moved there. I have ignored all of the rhetoric for years and just settled for good ol' Jersey. I'm a total Jersey girl who likes to head into Manhattan when I'm in the right space.

I've been hitting random shows in parts of Brooklyn I couldn't even point to on a map. Thank the technology gods for Google Maps. I'm always lost, but I always can get a damn good parking spot.

When I found out I obtained a photo pass to the Northside Festival, I was a little nervous. I would have to wander the streets and find off color venues, but I knew I would get to hear some great music. I looked at the schedule and made my choices. Here we go Brooklyn.

I drove over the Williamsburg bridge on Thursday for the first time ever. I know. I'm a rookie to these streets. I parked the car and walked over to get what would be my first photo pass to a festival. I'm always nervous in until someone says, "You are on the list." When that comes to an end, I feel like I just won some kind of prize. I fear this feeling will die one day!!!

I headed over to the Market Hotel for my first night at Northside. I got right to the front and made sure I smiled a lot as I might be in everyone's way throughout the night. I then opened my ears to some bands I'd never even heard of before. The joys of being a photographer with a badge.

Elle Barbara's Black Space opened the show with their rhythmic sounds and soulful synthesized riffs. The crowd was very responsive, and it was hard to not want to tap your feet or dance along. After their set, Common Holly proceeded with their melodic tunes; and I was taking in the vocals of lead singer ​Brigitte Naggar. Men I Trust received a very welcoming cheer from the crowd. Even though lead singer Bernache apologized for her singing voice as she was fighting a cold, she sang flawlessly accompanied by her bandmates soothing instrumentations.

Elle Barbara's Black Space

Common Holly

Men I Trust

Ought was the one band I did know going in. My Spotify Weekly introduced me to them a few months ago, and they were the main reason for my venture to Market Hotel. I was, of course, not disappointed. I kept thinking to myself, as long as they play "Beautiful Blue Sky," which has been an integral part of my morning commute, I will be satisfied. They did, but everything before and after on their setlist was what I needed after a long work week.

Ought

My second day consisted of walking around Williamsburg (I think that is where I was) and hitting shows at Muchmore's, Wonders of Nature, and the Knitting Factory. From Gustaf to Peaer, I was showered with a variety of music from blues to nostalgic hints of grunge. Being able to be the girl with the camera occasionally doing my awkward headbang dance move was a dream come true. I hope I cross the Williamsburg bridge into a new world of music heaven next year. Thank you guys for being a part of my soundtrack.

Gustaf at Muchmore's

Blushed at Muchmore's

Tongues Unknown at Muchmore's

Peaer at Knitting Factory Brooklyn

Neck at Wonders of Nature

You can check out all of Rosi's pics from Northside and more over at Flickr.

Northside, Night 2 w/ Shellshag, NO ICE, and Prima; Snail Mail w/ The RockNRoll Hi-Fives, 6/8-6/9/18

Snail Mail at Asbury Park Brewery

Weekend Wanderings

Friday

Last week was a pretty busy one. CoolMom left for a business trip to Europe on Sunday. We had the usual swim practices, swim meets, and family activities. CoolDaughter 2's softball team had a stretch of four games in four days as they made up all of the rain-outs from the season. On top of that, it was Northside Festival weekend; and there was the big Snail Mail show at Asbury Park Brewery on Saturday. Thanks to CoolDaughter 1, my very cool coolparents, and some scaled-back Northside plans, I was able to make everything work. It really is possible to have it all.

After the victory by CD2's Her-ricanes on Friday night, I headed up to Brooklyn again for a Northside show at Main Drag Music. This one featured Rose Blanshei of Prima, NO ICE, and our good friends Shellshag. I hadn't seen Shellshag in a very long time, and I was looking forward to catching up and catching their set.

Main Drag is a pretty great place for a show. It's a cavernous, old Brooklyn space with guitars hanging on the walls. The evening had a friendly, communal, non-bar vibe if that makes any sense. In addition to a cooler full of beers ($3 donation), the store also supplied a whole cooler full of flavored seltzers ($1 donation); so my night was made. (Note to bars / venues: Have more interesting non-alcoholic choices than just Red Bull, club soda, and Coke. I will totally overpay you for a La Croix or a Schweppes.)

Rose Blanshei kicked things off with a short solo set. There were a few technical difficulties with the looper, and Blanshei abandoned one song that was too new; but all the friends in the crowd were more than forgiving, laughing right along with her. The set was still mesmerizing. The combination of Blanshei's voice and guitar was haunting, and I'm going to be seeking out her work with Prima.

Rose Blanshei of Prima

NO ICE crowded the tiny stage with their seven members. The band combine power pop, classic, and indie rock into a sound that's always a raucous party. Jamie Frey and Gwynn Galitzer pour their rock and roll souls into every lyric; and, for the duration of NO ICE's set, Main Drag shrunk down to the size of a sweaty bar.

NO ICE

Shellshag closed things out, rattling off some of my favorites like "Resilient Bastard," "Flowers for Julie," and "Face to Face" over a set that -- as always -- went by too quickly. Shellhead and Jen embody everything beautiful and good that playing music can do for people; and, as they ended their set by dedicating "Carry On" to "Shellshag '18 Comeback" and a bright future, I felt my heart warming.

Shellshag

Shellshag

Another short, sweet taste of Northside '18; but -- I gotta say -- even though I only caught two shows, this was my most rewarding year.

Saturday

The Her-ricanes played (and won) their final regular season game on Saturday morning to finish the season 4-2-2. We're waiting for info on the playoff seedings. The rest of the day was, mostly, pretty lazy followed by a huge family dinner for my cousin's 30th birthday. From there, I headed to Asbury Park Brewery for the sold-out show with Snail Mail and my other family, The RockNRoll Hi-Fives.

Snail Mail, the project headed up by 19-year-old Lindsey Jordan, released their debut LP, Lush, on Friday. I spent my drives to and from Brooklyn on Friday night listening to the album on repeat, and Jordan approaches the ups and downs of young love and desire with a maturity and confidence that are rare among those even decades her senior. That, and Jordan also happens to be an interesting and subtly brilliant guitarist with a singing voice that can move between youthful and timeworn over the course of a single song.

Taken together, all of that has positioned Jordan -- fairly or unfairly -- as an indie, guitar rock savior of sorts who's received extensive coverage from NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and lots of other places who talk very seriously about music. At the end of last week, Matador announced that Snail Mail and Car Seat Headrest would be opening for their label-mates, Interpol, at Madison Square Garden this coming February. We'd all be getting to see Snail Mail at Asbury Park Brewery. Just a few days before the show, The RockNRoll Hi-Fives snagged the opening slot.

Asbury Park Brewery has been doing great things in giving a home to shows that, most likely, would have passed by Asbury Park following 2015's closure of Asbury Lanes. This show had been sold out for weeks, and Asbury Park Brewery was paaaacked. I managed to squeeze up front for both sets; but I'd imagine, given the narrowness of the room and the lack of a stage, that anyone shorter than about 6'4" would have had trouble seeing anything if they weren't in the front row. All the bodies filling the space, though, did contribute to some of the best sound I've ever heard at the place.

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives won over the room with their 30-minute set. Saturday was a double-header day for the band as they made their way to Asbury straight from a set at the Metuchen Music and Arts Festival. The effects of touring and consistent playing showed in the band's delivery, and they took full advantage of the opportunity to show a mostly new group of fans what they could do.

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives

Lindsey Jordan and Snail Mail came out right at 9pm, and turned in an hourlong set that validated all the hype for me. "Heat Wave," Jordan's solo take on "Anytime," the band's cover of Coldplay's "Speed of Sound," and the crowd sing-along with "Pristine" were all highlights. Single "Pristine" is just a great song, and the band's live rendition was flawless.

Snail Mail

Snail Mail

Lindsey Jordan and Snail Mail are more proof that there's still life left in guitar rock. It's coming from new voices, with new perspectives, making catchy, accessible music that doesn't rely on re-using old ideas or being "retro."

The future is bright.

Pics from the weekend are up in the Flickr galleries.

Northside Festival, Night 1: Liz Phair Played National Sawdust with Soccer Mommy

Liz Phair. #shotoniphone

One and Done

"You have to balance the cool with the dad." That's what a very wise person (It was Maggie.) said to me last night as we were leaving National Sawdust following Liz Phair's amazing "Girly-Sound to Guyville" set there for Northside Festival 2018. It was only about 10:45, and there were still tons of festival shows happening. I'd mentioned that, in past years, I'd have headed out to another show or two. On this night, though, CoolMom was still on her business trip. CoolDaughter 1 was home holding down the fort, and I didn't want to leave the girls home alone into the wee hours of the morning. I headed to the car and drove home.

As it was, even to make it to the show, I had to leave CoolDaughter 2's softball game early. She'd had a tough game on Wednesday, striking out three times. As I left on Thursday, though, she was already 2 for 2 with a HBP. We spoke as I drove along the Staten Island Expressway, and she finished her night 4 for 4. She was so happy, which made me happy.

Anyway...

This is, I think, my fourth year covering the festival. Dad responsibilities always mean that it's a back and forth proposition for me rather than one where I can make camp in Brooklyn. I've had some great times there discovering new bands, seeing old favorites, and making new friends. This is Northside's 10th year, and something seems different this year. For one, there aren't any shows in McCarren Park. Those were always a big deal; and I saw Brian Wilson, Wolf Parade, Hinds, Luna, The Blind Shake, King Gizzard, and others there. It just seems that, after the last two years, when the festival really seemed to be blowing up, they've kind of scaled back a little this year. That's not to say there aren't some great things lined up, though.

The first trip up to Brooklyn for this year's festival was the usual. All the usual traffic in all the usual spots. I found parking pretty easily and walked over to National Sawdust to see a huge line outside for Liz Phair. The show was sold out, and there would be a limited number of press passes allowed inside (turned out it was only 5). With a little help from my friends, though, I managed to nab a spot on the guest list; and, 25 years after obsessing on Exile in Guyville with CoolMom when we were living back in Seattle, I was finally going to see Liz Phair play the songs live.

National Sawdust is a non-profit arts organization and event space with a capacity of 350 -- super small and intimate for an artist like Liz Phair. It has a look that opener, Soccer Mommy, accurately described as making you feel like you're in the movie Galaxy Quest. The acoustics are amazing. More on that in a minute.

Soccer Mommy (the stage name of Nashville singer / songwriter Sophie Allison) opened the show and did a 40 or so minute set of songs that mixed some older stuff with selections from this year's Clean. Allison is a brilliant lyricist with an amazing voice. I'm always impressed when someone can come out onto a stage alone, with just a guitar, put it all out there, and own the room the way Soccer Mommy did. It's even more impressive when someone does that as the opener for a revered artist.

I'll admit to being one of those who kind of abandoned Phair when she went more pop in the early aughts. I've seen interviews with her where she said that she was always striving for popular success, and I don't blame her for going for it I guess. I also hate to be that person who says, "I only like their early stuff;" but, honestly, Liz Phair's first three records -- and especially Guyville -- are right up there among my favorite albums ever.

As a guy who's pretty much exactly the same age as Phair, I was probably more the target than the target audience of the songs on Guyville; but, even for me, a lot of it hit home -- the overriding theme of being kind of an introvert who talks big in your head when you’re alone, for example.



Last night, it was just Phair and fellow guitarist Connor Sullivan. Phair's guitar was mostly in tune most of the time, and all the songs had a shambolic feel that took them (especially songs like "Whip Smart" and "Polyester Bride") back to their Girly-Sound roots. As I mentioned, the acoustics in the place were fantastic; and as everyone's voices swelled to sing "They play me like a pit bull in a basement and for that" on "Help Me Mary" or "Don't look at me sideways. Don't even look me straight on" on "Never Said," it was magical.

Phair was gracious and funny between songs. There wasn't a lot of "this song is about" kind of banter, but she did introduce "Girls! Girls! Girls!" ("I take full advantage, of every man I meet") by saying, "It was about this time that I thought I could do what the guys were doing."

There was a "no photos" policy for the evening, but that turned out to be a good thing. I'm grateful that I got to experience such an intimate set at all. Not having to worry about "working" made it that much more special. This dad could only pick one show to go to last night, and I ended up at the coolest one.

Northside Festival 2018 Playlist

We first met our sisses in Sharkmuffin back at Northside 2014 when I was even worse at photography than I am now.

Back to Brooklyn

It's an annual tradition here at CDMHQ. Northside Festival comes around, and CoolMom -- no matter what company she's working for -- has a business trip that week. That leaves me to juggle dinners, carpools, and trips back and forth to Brooklyn. I usually seem to manage. This year, Rose Lamela will also be covering the fest for us; so we should be able to bring you some interesting stuff.

In advance of Northside Music, which starts on Thursday, June 7th, I've put together a playlist featuring some of this year's showcasing artists. You'll see lots of friends (A Deer A Horse, Sharkmuffin, Looms, Big Bliss), artists on the rise (Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy), and old favorites (Liz Phair, Lou Barlow, Shellshag). I put this together kind of quickly, so it's heavy on artists with whom I'm already very familiar. I hope to make some discoveries as I do every year, though.

Check this out. Let me know about any of your own recommendations. Follow me on instagram at @cooldadmusic and Rosi at @rosi_music79 to see what we get up to this year.