Posts about South Street Seaport
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The last of the free summer shows at South Street Seaport was a celebration with an eager mass of Battles and Deerhunter fans. Though I missed much of the latter, who opened, much love was shown towards both bands, with traversing through the crowd a task as daunting as it had been when Animal Collective played the first of these shows. Battles, with their drummer up front (and why not, he was their gem), performed much like architects. This impression may have been influenced by their clean-cut appearances (not too mention all the colors – yellow drum set, pink and green shirts, a red-bodied keyboard – and the unusual layout on the stage itself). The performance itself seemed equally clean-cut, though the structurally sound foundations were padded by a feeling of loose explorations.
More photos after the jump
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Download “Rain” (from the upcoming The Broken String)
Download “Click Click Click Click” (from the upcoming The Broken String)
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Bishop Allen’s The Broken String is being trumpeted as a soundtrack to the summer. Almost all songs from it were showcased at the band’s first stop this tour, a free summer show at Pier 17, where they sounded true to the claim. The touring drummer was introduced to us by his first name, Colin, and had much to do with the impressive energy of the performance, as did Justin Rice’s singing (especially when they decided to end with a cover of C.C.R’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”). Also present for the occasional use of trumpet and saxophone was Brooklyn’s Jon Natcez, who played three Bowery Ballroom shows with Beirut. The Ballroom also happens to be Bishop Allen’s next New York stop, on August 18th. Virb is streaming the new album in full.
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If you’re at South Street Seaport for the music, you’ve really got to move upfront. From afar it may have seemed like British trio Fujiya & Miyagi was vaguely happening, but closer to the stage they had their seductive groove on. At the receiving end of matching moves, rolling R’s, guitar scratches and stiff faces was an enthusiastic audience. Next week is Menomena with Beat the Devil, and the free festival has just added Suicide for a July 27 show.
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Following a brief break after the untimely death of 23-year-old drummer John Pike, Ra Ra Riot hoisted their spirits up for an outdoor summer show at South Street Seaport. Sam Champion played before them, as did the one-man Bikini Carwash Company, who generally sounded unimpressive but was enthusiastically joined by members of Ra Ra Riot for a goofy, sleep-over song. Everyone played short sets, and Ra Ra Riot’s swelled with sincere energy they’ve come to be known for (on their myspace they posted a message saying they’d been jogging and playing in the pool to counter some “band fluffiness”). They unveiled some new songs, and though there was no other mention of John, they introduced “St. Peter’s Day Festival” by saying, “This song was written by our dear friend John Pike.” Unlike John’s heartwarming solo version online, this one was given a full band treatment. Both versions are some of Ra Ra Riot’s best (it’s a great tune!). Check out the schedule for more free shows at Pier 17 this summer.
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Photo: logan takahashi
Pier 17 is not my favorite venue, but Seaport Music Festival has an exciting line-up this year. I made it to the opening night just in time to catch the uniformed Danielson wrapping up, and not sounding very spectacular. An early drizzle had cooled things down a bit, but by the time Animal Collective took stage, the weather was holding up and there was enough body heat to make for a sticky night. The turnout, for the first of the many outdoor shows coming up this summer, was impressive. Afterwards we loitered across the street from the Broadway Nassau train station, and the stream of concert-goers heading home seemed endless. There was barely any space between people at the show, but several of my neighbors showcased some inspired dancing anyway.
Continued after the jump.
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Colorado-based quartet DeVotchKa, who recently made some wonderful contributions to the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack, are in New York City this weekend as part of the Absinthe variety show. They played a fabulous set at midnight last night, and will play their second date at midnight tonight.
Jeanie Schroder
Tom Hagerman
Nick Urata and Jeanie Schroder
Shawn King
Nick Urata
Shawn King
Tom Hagerman
Jeanie Schroder
Shawn King
Nick Urata
Jeanie Schroder
Alex, a dancer at the show, performs with DeVotchKa
Tom Hagerman
