Hooves on the Turf

Glasslands seems like the kind of place where interesting things are just waiting to happen, like some hippie collective’s tree house where you build your own furniture and create things all day; and there’s something warm about its minimal appearance. But when it’s super-packed, like it was yesterday at the Suckers and Heeb Magazine’s release party, its eccentric layout can be quite a challenge to mobility, which is probably just as well, but if you were by the merch table, which was at the inside end of the room, and you wanted to head to the bathroom, which has a shower and hangs from the wall on the opposite side of the room, wading through that sea of people was going to be a decision you want to toss in your head for a while. I know, it add charms to the whole experience. By the time Suckers ended their set, though, shoving yourself out on the street seemed like a terrific idea, even though Chris Keating from Yeasayer, a band I like so much, was about to DJ.

Download “Easy Chairs“

The room was darkly lit and Suckers played against the backdrop of some Brazilian parade. It turns out I have a terrible luck when it comes to filming this band, as I don’t have a single satisfactory footage to date. Yesterday I was holed up in an entirely impractical spot to shoot from (sound-wise), so I won’t even bother posting the clips (but there was a crew filming). I don’t know if it was where I was standing (probably was), but I couldn’t hear the two voices very well, which was sad because I love their voices. The first time I saw them was at Music Hall of Williamsburg, where the sound was pristine and the effect was incredible when Quinn Walker got into the explosive part of “Save Your Body”, so of course there’s some disappointment that the microphone levels were a little weird overall. The trumpet sounded great though, and it was probably a test of the band’s resilience that the muddiness didn’t entirely swallow up the details. What all this means anyway is I guess I’ll have to catch at least one show at their upcoming four-week residency at Pianos, where I’m sure the sound will be clear and crisp.

[PS: I forgot to mention how exciting it always is when they play "Roman Candles". And that it was Pan's birthday. And that during the part in "It Gets Your Body Movin'" when Quinn hits the floor tom (I think is what they call it?), it tumbled, so he had to hit the cymbal instead, which gave his hand bruises.]