all words and photos by Will Mullady
This past Sunday marked the 3rd weekend of the Waterfront concert series at the East River Park in Williamsburg Brooklyn. The outdoor party/slash musical showcase has way too many sponsors to list, but don’t have to have a great imagination to get the ball rolling (think, energy drinks, cell phones, alcohol, sneakers etc. etc.). The bill for Sunday was pretty impressive; Health, The Black Lips, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The venue is a huge piece of waterfront property in Williamsburg, allowing for party goers to either mash themselves into the huge crowd in front of the stage or to just set up a blanket on the lawn and enjoy the stunning view of the city’s skyline. Besides the obvious attraction of FREE live music there was also dodge ball, basketball, and people watching (I chose the latter Williamsburg has plenty of kooks). Thanks to generosity of some friends I was able to enjoy V.I.P. status (free beer and ice cream) and press status which allowed for some decent photo opportunities. Shouts go out to Nick Pandolfi and Claire Roudabush for the hook up. (check out Claire’s coverage for FREEWilliamsburg here)
So let’s get down to the bands Health- an L.A. band I wasn’t too familiar with played a rather mellow set pretty ambient stuff with not a lot of vocals. All in all good background music to lurk around to, but nothing I would rush the stage for.
The Black Lips killed it! There sound is diverse they can shift from surf rock to grunge to punk to psychedelic and it all comes of natural. They really got the crowd amped up and had a wonderful energy and sense of showmanship. Kids were going nuts during their set but in the most positive of manners with heads jumping on the stage and crowd surfers left and right a great performance.
Unfortunately shortly after And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead got their equipment set up the park rangers announced the rest of the show would be cancelled due to some afternoon heat lightning and everyone had to clear the grounds. Not to long after vacating the premises I had to take shelter in a near by business to avoid the heavy but short lived shower. Even though the event was cut short it was still a great experience and I suggest to anyone who is gonna be in N.Y. this summer to check out the concert series it’s a blast.
I’ve noticed that crowd surfing seems to be making a comeback. I have mixed feelings about this-
On the one hand: I get really annoyed by them. I used to do it as a kid, but past 13 I realized it was just annoying for everyone else. How can you really enjoy the show when you are constantly worried about getting kicked in the head or having an entire body land on your neck.
On the other hand: Live crowds have been so dead for so many years, at least compared to how it used to be in the 90’s when some form of a mosh pit was popular at most rock shows. I’d take some crowd surfers if it meant people were moving again at shows and actually doing more than the “standing-still”.
July 29, 2009 at 12:49 pmok. so health… ambient yes in that ear bleeding kind of way. mellow not at all. this particular performance was brought down by shitty sound but they raged through a ridiculously high energy set. words like angular, aggressive, harsh, industrial, metal, brutal, etc are fitting.
i was somewhat disappointed to see one of my favorite new bands have such difficulty translating their ferocious live show to a big outdoor stage. the new material sounds amazing though.
July 29, 2009 at 1:08 pmA plethora of previous HEALTH coverage on BYT:
interview: http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/interviews/byt-interview-health/
photos from a tiny Civilian arts project show:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/first-and-maybe-lasts-civilian-art-projects/
live review with Crystal Castles in Baltimore:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/live-crystal-castles-health/
and velvet lounge review (and amazing photos) with apes and true womanhood:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/live-dc-apes-health-true-womahood-velvet-lounge/
I was there for Health but had to leave due to a trip planned further north…only my car broke down. Lesson: always stay for a free black lips show
July 29, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Dude. 2nd photo from last. That’s Tiffany. I randomly met her at Savalas a couple of years ago. she and her girls do this thing called bumspooning, where they literally walk around wasted (or not) before dawn and spoon bums sleeping in the park, the subway, where ever. We were supposed to head out on a spooner shoot session one night/morning but, alas … here are some of her own photos. Fucked up? Yes. Funny as shit tho.
July 29, 2009 at 12:44 pm