The hot and sweaty crowd, transfixed by Post Malone Friday night.
In a typical year, I go to anywhere from 50 to 80 concerts, spanning a wide range of genres and venues. From Arlene’s Grocery toCarnegie Hall, I am always searching for the brightest/strangest/most unique musical talent New York City can serve up on any given night. But even with all the music I take in each year, it’s rare that I truly get excited leading up to a show, similar to that tingly type of excited feeling you got when your mom dropped your off at your first rock show in middle school. Maybe it’s because I don’t do the summer time festival circuit anymore, which often host those mega-star headliners I don’t usually seek out. But that was the excited feeling I had as I Lyft’d my way over to Randall’s Island Friday night for Governors Ball. I was lucky that my driver was a 22-year-old and happened to be a big hip-hop fan. Ariel advised me on what to focus on and what to avoid over the weekend. Sadly, I missed his favorite act, Vic Mensa! I’m not a typical top 40 Billboard music fan and I can’t tell you the last time I turned on my FM radio for anything other than NPR, but starting on Friday night with mega rap sensation Post Malone and spanning all the way to Sunday night’s closing act Eminem, there was a palpable vibrant energy that permeated the fest and I had no problem temporarily suspending the music snob in me. Continue reading →
We’re approaching summer, and that means it’s time to get your dance on (and your drink on) outdoors. For North Brooklyn, the days of seeing live bands play in the belly of the decaying McCarren Park pool or along the Williamsburg waterfront have been dead for about a decade. Luckily there’s a handful of local venues picking up the torch, where you can groove to some sick jams al fresco. Read on for our top picks. Continue reading →
Crowd chillin’ at Governors Ball 2017. All photos by Dylan Lappin.
Another year passes and another Governors Ball flies by. This year was marked with legendary bands, fantastic emerging artists and others that I hadn’t heard of before, but now know well. With Chance the Rapper, Phoenix, Air, Lorde, Wiz Khalifa and the all-powerful and militant Tool, the 2017 Ball was set to be an amazing weekend. The lines were surprisingly quick and easy, probably the easiest and fastest festival check-in experience I’ve ever had. The wristband technology was also pretty efficient—a bonus was being able to attach your credit card to the wristband, and use it to not only pay for food and drinks, but also access different areas of the festival.
People packed in early each day to max out on sunshine. The weekend held up, bringing ideal weather and positive vibes. I noticed younger (teens, early 20s) crowds at most of the EDM and Hip Hop acts. As a 31-year-old elder, I was asked one too many times to buy drinks for the underage crowd. I gladly declined and went on my way. I have to admit, I was amused watching their faces quickly turn from eager to disappointed, but I knew deep down inside that they’d find a way somehow, just not from me.Continue reading →
Franz Ferdinand played to a sold-out house last night at Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave) on their first tour since 2014 supporting Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. The band’s new lineup is comprised of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar), Bob Hardy (bass guitar), Paul Thomson (drums, percussion and backing vocals) and Dino Bardot (guitar) and Julian Corrie (synth, guitar) replaced founding member Nick McCarthy, who left the band last summer.
After playing Governor’s Ball over the weekend, the band extended their stay in New York City playing the show as part of Governor’s Ball After Dark.The crowd was as electrified as the band, especially when they played dance-beat heavy songs such as “No You Girls”, “The Dark of the Matinee” and “Take Me Out”, dancing, jumping and waving their arms to the music. Franz Ferdinand returned to the stage for an encore performance and ended their show with energy surging, “This Fire” and hand-in-hand the band took a bow.Continue reading →
Dance music DJ, Roosevelt beings his four-piece band to Brooklyn Bazaar for a totally new live experience. (Photo credit: Brian Vu)
Catch the German-based dance music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and dreamy vocalist, Roosevelt, for a late night party at the Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Ave) this Friday, June 2nd following his performance at Governors Ball on Randall’s Island.
For those of you familiar with Roosevelt, it might come to you as a surprise to see the DJ with a four-piece band this time around. He’s amping up his live shows, and just added a new keyboardist to complete their summer tour (Brooklyn is just one of the three stops in the US—Governors Ball NYC, Philly and DC—are also on the list, before trekking back to Europe).
“This is the first time for people to see it as a four piece. A lot of things came from the laptop before, but now everything is live… So that’s exciting for me right now because so many things can go wrong because there’s actually a band. That’s quite a special thing because it’s the first time we’re playing together.”
We sat down with Roosevelt before he dipped into a 5-hour-long rehearsal session in Brooklyn to discuss his new Remixed EP, touring with a girl, and what he means by “the European way.” Continue reading →
It’s summer, y’all (temps almost broke 90 today so we can officially say that now), which means it’s time to get your butts out there and see some live music and DJs. North Brooklyn is awash with options this year, some of them free and some of them not so free, but all of them are awesome. We’ve got rooftop parties, music festival afterparties, soul and rap legends, indie bands, pizza and tacos galore. Also, booze. Check out our roundup of this season’s seriously massive music lineup.
GOVERNORS BALL AFTER DARK | Various venues around North Brooklyn & Manhattan Governors Ball is back again this year on June 2-4, and the epic music fest is also serving up some awesome night shows too, and most of them happen to be right here in North Brooklyn. Some shows are already sold out, so either jump on some Craigslist tickets or try to snag some for the shows with tix still left! Here’s the lineup of shows in our ‘hood:
Thursday June 1: CHARLES BRADLEY @ BROOKLYN BOWL (61 Wythe Ave) // 8pm // Sold Out
Friday June 2: RÜFÜS DU SOL (DJ SET) @ SCHIMANSKI (54 N 11th St) //10pm // Sold Out MUNA @ BROOKLYN BOWL (61 Wythe Ave) // 1130pm // $20 tickets ROOSEVELT @ BROOKLYN BAZAAR (150 Greenpoint Ave) // 11:59pm // $16 tickets WELLES @ KNITTING FACTORY (361 Metropolitan Ave) // 1130pm // $12 tickets MARK RONSON X KEVIN PARKER @ OUTPUT (74 Wythe Ave) // 10pm // $15-25 tickets
Saturday June 3: THE AVALANCHES @ BROOKLYN BOWL (61 Wythe Ave) // 1130pm // Sold Out PARQUET COURTS @ VILLAIN (307 Kent Ave) // 11pm // $20 tickets ROYAL BLOOD @ WARSAW (261 Driggs Ave) // 11:59pm // Sold Out YG, CHARLI XCX & ANIK KHAN @ SCHIMANSKI (54 N 11th St) // 10pm // $25-30 tickets THE ORWELLS @ KNITTING FACTORY (361 Metropolitan Ave) // 11:59PM // $15 tickets
Monday June 5: FRANZ FERDINAND @ WARSAW (261 Driggs Ave) // 8pm // Sold Out
Last night I loaded up the new Chris Robinson Brotherhood album on Rhapsody. It is pretty darn good. But I probably would never have sought it out if I had first heard the band at an outdoor music festival.
Chris Robinson Brotherhood played live in 2012 at Williamsburg Music Hall, and the superior acoustics of that indoor venue made it possible to hear the band’s clever and original harmonizing fretwork. But they usually book outdoor venues, since their boogie-down style, reminiscent of Dr. John, appeals to a wide demographic.
I worry that most people that catch them as part of a large outdoor music festival lineup are going to dismiss them as just another jam band, and not follow them in a regular way. That is why this weekend’s picks focus on bands and DJ’s that are performing in North Brooklyn locations where they can best shine. Continue reading →
