Ok, so first I have explain the venue. Shea Stadium Brooklyn is, uh, not the ballpark, which used to be a few miles north in Queens, until it was demolished in 2009. It’s actually the opposite of a stadium: one cozy room with comfortable couches scattered around the edges and affordable drinks. The vibe is very punk-rock clubhouse, largely because that is what it is; it was founded by members of the SoSoGlos, also in 2009. It’s also unlike other venues in that every performance is recorded and made available on the internet for free. The process takes about a week, so if you’d like to hear the show I went to, check their website this weekend.
Now, onwards to the show. Note: the one thing Shea Stadium Brooklyn does not have is strong stage lights. So some of these postcards are very blurry postcards.
Phone Home was first, and they played what I can only describe as a torrent of heavy jammy-psychedelic noise. If you clicked on that link back there, and I encourage you to do so, know that they are 200% louder and more viscerally intense live. Here they are in action:
Next was Weird Womb, who yanked our collective chains a little bit every time they told us their name, so towards the end I was briefly convinced they were called Pretentious Peach. (Which, how awesome is that name, for a punk band? I’d go to that show just to see what they did when they came out on stage.) Anyway, they were more on the garage-punk end of the spectrum, and heavy enough to cause a two person circle pit. There was also some vigorous head nodding and metal-swaying going on.
And then: The Dirty Nil. They are from Toronto and this was their fourth (!) show in America and second in New York. I was at the first show, too, which was at a different tiny venue (Glasslands), and both times I’ve left feeling like I’ve been given a special treat/got away with something. They are so good, you guys. They also got the front row to dance. By “front row” I mean “two people” and by “dance” I mean “hard-core two-step/skank,” but still, dancing, it was happening. And the general rate of head-nodding and metal-swaying increased a notch as well.
And then I slipped away into the icy night, thus missing Le Rug who played last. Perhaps next time!
