Throw 20 music bloggers in a brainstorm, what do you get? A hail of indie rock. With a chance of weird. Luckily it was a beautiful day for an outdoor stage, and the After The Jump team filled their’s (on North Sixth in Williamsburg) with a slew of confident, melodic bands. The ones I got to see, at least. Some of the noisier stuff was tastefully tucked into Galapagos back room (see Extra Life, Fiasco), while some of the best rock-based music being performed today was showcased at Williamsburg Music Hall (see Ponytail, tomorrow’s post about the night show.)
Juggernuts definitely were not an official After The Jump act, but they roped in a bigger audience near the Bedford L then most who played on North Sixth, with scream-rap choruses like “A WOMAN’S ASS!” and “PILLS!” The MC (not pictured) looked like a young Al Gore with a redder neck and the giant penis/dancer/hypeman/keyboardist actually decked both my friend and that foreground guy in the hippy costume who spent all day approaching anyone who made eye contact with him, pleading with these unfortunate saps to tell him it wasn’t evil that he wanted to turn the world into a circus. Yes, it’s as evil as Charles Manson and The Hamburgler, combined. But you seem to be enjoying yourself so keep at it.
Our Art Director’s comments on Fiasco: “Wow, they can actually play their instruments. Look at those little possessed teens!”
[Our photographer’s comments on Fiasco: “Wow, I’m really glad we’re putting out their record.”]
I had the chance to see Ponytail twice in two days, first on Friday at Less Artists More Condos, a posh loft in the West Village. People were polite and threw their beer in the trash cans. People still danced wildly for Ponytail. This day performance at Music Hall of Williamsburg was my first experience of Ponytail on a raised stage.
There are some bands that lose a significant degree of performer-to-audience unity when they’re raised five feet above their crowd. Ponytail isn’t cursed with that problem. In fact, they seemed completely natural playing at a respectful distance, probably because they’ve always been such deft musicians.
Extra Life has whittled down to two members for the summer, which if anything allows for Charlie Looker’s intricate vocal lines to breath and his rich guitar tones to resonate, with the tasteful accompaniment of Caley Monahon-Ward on violin
