There are many places in New York City to kick off your summer but McCarren Park or the rooftop of Our Wicked Lady during the Northside Festival are definitely two great choices. In its ninth year, Northside is Williamsburg’s (Brooklyn) answer to SxSW, a 5-day-long celebration allowing industry folk and fans to discover visual content, new start-ups, and up-and-coming bands. It culminates with four packed days and nights of music on two outdoor stages and in 32 other clubs spread out around Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick.
Now with over 300 bands, many unknown even to the most stalwart of the NYC music scene, how do you know where to go? Of course you can do the work and sample most of the bands through Spotify or SoundCloud or festival sponsor TIDAL. There’s the time-honored tradition of just going to the bands you know, being sure to arrive early enough to hear the artist before and staying to at least give the next act a chance. Many bills are curated by a label or band management team, so you can choose based on that. Or pick your favorite Northside club and hope for the best; at least you’ll know the bartender. But honestly, with sets under an hour and most clubs within a 15-minute walking radius, you won’t have to suffer a band too long or you can vote with your feet.
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Northside’s music opened with an eclectic lineup at McCarren Park with poppy singer-songwriter Jay Som followed by the full-band jazz of Kamasi Washington and closing with the incongruent sounds of Dirty Projectors . Opener Jay Som called it “a strange bill”, and she was right. Som played a short set, and her songs spanned a wide range themselves, but each built and resolved with dramatic pauses, changes in tempo and solos. Though Som plays all the instruments on her recent CD Everyone Works, she was supported here by a guitarist with soaring solos, a drummer and bassist, and she clearly enjoyed the stage camaraderie. Rising jazz star and saxophonist Kamasi Washington brought a seven-piece band with him including his dad on soprano sax and flute. Again, he was only granted a short set (especially in light of his recent almost-3-hour release The Epic), but each of the songs extended and featured lengthy solos including an excellent one on upright bass by Miles Mosley that seemed to end with the softest single plucks only to rebuild to a final crescendo. Many featured singer Patrice Quinn who otherwise patiently and happily swayed to the side during the instrumental songs. Kamasi made the most of his night in Brooklyn, hanging out on the sidewalk after his show chatting up fans and sitting in with Soulive later that night at Brooklyn Bowl. The night closed with the oddness that is Dirty Projectors, Dave Longstreth and his eight piece band. They must be an acquired taste but at least made for good visuals. The music continued in the clubs into Friday morning, including an excellent set by Kiwi Aldous Harding in a nearby church.
Saturday and Sunday, Northside takes over one of the main commercial drags of Northside Brooklyn, Bedford Avenue, with a 5-block-long street party featuring art, opportunities to make art, a few vendors, the smaller Sine Metu Stage and the bar scene spilling onto the street. Sunday’s show featured two New Orleans bands – singer-songwriter Kristen Diable (who has logged her hours at small NYC clubs) and funk outfit Cha Wa who introduced the crowd to Mardi Gras Indians. Whether it was a game of Jenga, live or piped music, an icy beer, or just soaking up the thriving hipster-family vibe that is Williamsburg, a stroll down Bedford in the summer heat was a fine way to spend a few hours.
Deep in an active industrial area reluctantly turned over to the music/club scene after hours, DC-band Den-Mate hit the small stage on the rooftop of Our Wicked Lady, as the Saturday afternoon faded to evening. They played a sadly-too-short six-song set drawn from their former label CD, newish EP Entropii and a soon-to-be-released CD, but from the opening notes of mesmeric “For Free”, the crowd was enthralled. Charming front-woman and songwriter Jules Hale pranced the cramped stage and implored the sizeable crowd to move closer, “I want to dance with you but you’re making it a little tough.” Her huge eyes were as mesmerising as the music. Den-Mate includes a bassist/back-up singer, two guitarists, and a drummer who filled out the eerie rock veering into electronica sound. Den-Mate is why you go out to see new music. As the sun set over the industrial park, Peaer, a Brooklyn 3-piece band of 2 droning voices backed by poppy guitar took over the stage, and the Arepas food truck pulled up in front of the club.
The Northside Festival closed Sunday evening with a free show at McCarren Park with an excellent driving rock/punk bill headlined by Thursday and also including Tony Molina, Jeff Rosenstock, The Hotelier and PUP. Each band referenced the others with Stefan Babcock of PUP gushing, “This is bucket list stuff to be on the stage with these other bands.” Driving rockers four-piece The Hotelier played a rousing set ending with “Sun” and then bringing it down for the beginning of “Dendron” before taking it right back up to a frenzy resolving to a slow release.
The biggest crowd was for Canadian punk rockers PUP. From the moment they launched into “Guilt Trip”, the crowd was singing along and by the fourth song had started to hoist their own above their heads. Despite a rabid crowd crowding the rail, screaming along with the band, crowd surfing, dousing each other with water, and losing their shoes and shirts in the process, the burly security men (and woman) seemed mainly concerned with preventing the surfers from dashing headfirst onto the pavement of the pit (or the photographers), ensuring a maximally fun yet safe crowd experience. “Old Wounds” was a highlight mid-set. On the next song, “Reservoir”, Jeff Rosenstock joined PUP to scream along with lead singer Stefan Babcock and do his best rock jump. Babcock later climbed down off the stage and briefly surfed the crowd himself. To this PUP rookie, each song surpassed the last; they finally closed with “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will” morphing into “DVP”, similar to how their CD The Dream Is Over opens and “the best song transition, bar none” according to one fan. The thoughtful festival organizers then made an offer of free water to all the sweat-drenched, sun-scorched fans, and the fans rushed the water tent.
Closer Thursday, together again after 5 years and playing one of their first shows since reuniting, kept the energy on stage maxed. Playing a highly political yet positive show, Geoff Rickly began by telling the crowd about his walk across the park from his apartment noting the beautiful diversity that is New York City before launching into “Autobiography of a Nation”, a condemnation of American hegemony. With Refugees Welcome Here and Protect Immigrant Communities banners as their backdrop, Rickly kept it political by introducing or dedicating virtually every song. White dove balloons were released and caught up under the stage during “For The Workforce, Drowning”. Later a few dozen red balls were tossed into the crowd, and at some point streamers appeared. Mid-set Rickly dedicated “Signals Over the Air” to empowered women everywhere. Thursday closed the show with their first single “Understanding in a Car Crash” leaving the guitarist on stage for some closing distortion. After the obligatory but genuine crowd chant for an encore, the band returned with Rickly joking “Do we have time for 10 more?” and finally closing with “War All The Time” and “Into the Blinding Light”.
And just like that it was over. Yet Nashville-based Ron Gallo was playing at Baby’s All Right and local Verdigrls at Sunnyvale. Just because the Festival ended doesn’t mean that the party stops in North Brooklyn.
