The music at Northside Festival kicked off Thursday June 8th with a pair of Canadian indie-rockers – Land of Talk and Wolf Parade – at the outdoor stage in McCarren Park, and continued into the wee hours of Sunday night. (Northside Content and Northside Innovation preceded, each two days, hosting a series of talks, expos and networking events.) Set in a corner of a sprawling urban park where old meets new and hemmed in by glass apartment buildings, a massive eighty-year-old high school building, the odd looming boutique skyscraper hotel, and the still industrial garages and aluminum-side walkups, the setting gave you a flavor of the gentrified North Brooklyn community. On a beautiful night, with a penned off area to drink and food trucks for dinner, it was a nice place to kick off summer as the day turned from dusk to evening. It was clear lead singer and guitarist Elizabeth Powell of Land of Talk was happy to be back on stage after a long hiatus and survived a broken string and other guitar mishaps early on for their set of their atmospheric rock. Also back from a long break, harder rocking Wolf Parade, who just dropped a short EP of new music, EP 4, were thrilled to be there saying “this is the largest crowd we’ve played for in NYC.”
Then it was off to the clubs – about two dozen of them participating this year – to check out the diverse extensive roster of established performers and up and coming bands, “a snapshot of [Brooklyn’s} musical climate”. Northside Festival, around since 2009, was originally an opportunity to showcase independent music with a coordinated series of curated shows at the clubs flourishing in the Williamsburg area, coordinating with the rest of the local arts scene, and has grown since to encompass music, film, technology and industry presentations.
I missed Sweet Crude, a septet of percussion-driven pop out of New Orleans at one of the larger venues, Brooklyn Bowl, but Acid Dad, just noted as The Deli Magazine’s best NYC emerging artist, had just hit the stage. Rockers with a touch of spacey punk, their energy pumped up the crowd. They were followed by Diarrhea Planet who had just taped their appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers but had plenty of energy for their guitar-driven punk. Described by a fan as “a Nashville band with four lead guitars who are crazy but really skilled”, that about summed it up. As soon as they began, the crowd was pushing with enthusiasm and within seven minutes a fan had surfed up to the front, was thrown on stage, and was playing air guitar with the band. Alternating lead guitar and vocals, and with each member maxxing out their theatrical band moves – hanging over the crowd, falling to the stage, playing behind their head, surfing themselves – they were a delight to watch and push along with.
It was a full but not overcrowded house at Music Hall of Williamsburg for Steve Gunn and the Outliners. Expecting a singer-songwriter, I was pleased to find that with a full band he was that and more and had all the features that make a great band – well-crafted songs that build and resolve, guitars galore with a touch of psychedelia, pedal steel and an substantial bass line. His set drew heavily from his new album Eyes on the Lines including “Park Bench Smile” that alone is worth the price of the CD, and ended with a killer “Way Out Weather”. So then on to the midnight show of Revel and Dimes, one of the few bands I had seen before, at House of Yes. And just like that, you saw six bands. And just as quickly, you missed ninety-eight!
So how do you figure out who to see? With 400 bands and no guidance or write up from the festival or bands themselves (a major shortcoming despite a program, a website and an app), where do you go? You can Spotify some, or check out each band’s Facebook or website, or ask around, but likely many other don’t know the breadth of these emerging bands. But the best approach I think is just to buy a badge and go see live music. There will be talent. They’ll be some misses. Go make your own discoveries.
On Sunday, I decided to pick my music by venue and check out some of the clubs I hadn’t been in before. The day started slowly, but as soon as I exited the subway car at the Bedford Avenue L, there was a gal with a guitar playing to greet me. And when I hit the street, I was in Williamsburg Walks, a regular street fair of sorts where Bedford Ave, the main commercial venue, is closed to cars and opened to art installations, participatory art and games, vendors, food and drink and some of the merchants move out onto the street. I used the day to just wander into the showcases beginning with the earliest bands at Matchless catching Origami Sun, a 3-piece roots rockers. They were followed by Kidaudra, electronic dance music. While not my cup of tea, it was upbeat and pleasant and she had a clear voice and a nice stage presence. The showcases are brief, so why not sit tight with the other two dozen in the audience and give them a real listen. I moved on to AVIV, in the midst of the industrial park, with an unmarked door but luckily in broad daylight and in a deserted area, the door guy and even the few people moving in and out was obvious enough. Kal Marks was playing a solo show on guitar with a plaintive voice; he encouraged us to buy his merch, but said it “was nothing like I sound right now”. Boston-based Horse Jumper of Love followed, seeming still dazed by their commute, their lyrics “I’m not going anywhere” mirroring their feel. And then suddenly they were going somewhere; as they launched into “Spaceman” they began to rock – hard and dreamy at the same time. Wandering further into the industrial park, which now hosts many small venues, I dropped in at The Paper Box, a former factory now outfitted as a venue with an indoor and outdoor stage, vendors, food purveyors and a small bar. I caught Cheek Meat, or half of Cheek Meat, who was called in to replace Grace Kelly All Day. They played solid driving rock and I loved the sincere approach of the female lead singer/guitarist but found the drummer seeming to be playing a different song too often. I had a soundtrack on my trek back to the Northside as I passed many a park and street corner with barbecues sizzling and salsa blaring in celebration of the Puerto Rican Day parade. I caught the last few minutes of punk-influenced Dentist, with the lead singer-guitarist dancing around in the soap bubbles created by a few of her fans.
The headliner on Sunday night closing the McCarren park stage was Brian Wilson, the musical genius behind The Beach Boys, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his masterpiece Pet Sounds. The site was packed, the line to get in snaked around the park and there were three generations of festival-goers ready for the sounds of summer that is The Beach Boys. After days of unknown (to me) bands with unfamiliar songs, it was a nice change of pace to give in and sing along with the crowd to the upbeat classics. Wilson kicked right into “California Girls,” “I Get Around”, “Surfer Girl”, “Don’t Worry Baby”, “Wild Honey” and “Sail On” before launching into “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and the rest of Pet Sounds. While not the voice we all remember, he was significantly stronger than when I had seen him in 2012 and was comfortable on stage and engaging with the crowd. He carried most of his songs well with help on the higher register, and the band was solid. It was summer indeed.
It was a nice way to end a music-packed weekend. Others presumably continued the night in the Northside clubs; I hummed the whole subway ride home.
