There were dueling block parties in Williamsburg yesterday: one featuring Les Savy Fav and The French Kicks amongst other bands, which was located across the street from a large cement mixer on 4th and Wythe; the other featuring The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Liars, Oneida, Broke Revue, Oakley Hall, and I think one other band, which was located in a parking lot over on Wythe and Broadway.

We picked the parking lot party because our pal Julie was going to be there, and because the first party scared me because there were so many hipsters. Turns out it didn't matter, because there are hipsters everywhere in Williamsburg! Though I do admire the girls who can wear heels to a party in a parking lot. That takes a lot of guts. There was grass and stone all over the lot. I kept joking that I would get lime disease, which shows you what I know about nature at this point.

Anyway, the show, yeah, the show. I really, really liked the Broke Revue a lot, and it wasn't so crowded yet that we couldn't see anything, so that made it even better. And they rocked and made people want to dance at three in the afternoon, which is not so easy to do during these cynical days.

I started to like Oneida a little bit more during their performance, but they had these dancing bee girls (someone said they were known as "The Mimes") who were all dressed up and doing inappropriate things over on the walkway near the stage, right in front of the abandoned Dodge that hosted the turntables and some other equipment. We wanted to throw things at them, but we didn't. OK I did once, but my weak arm couldn't get the empty beer can all the way there. Those girls really sucked. They picked out a bunch of ugly thrift store clothes and then wore thongs on top of it and they just kind of sucked. I have already wasted too many words on them, so I shall move on.

The Liars came on, and they are apparently the second most important new band in the world, because that's when the press showed up and started taking pictures of them, and especially their white trash lead singer who was rocking trucker chic like he was born in Oklahoma and liked meth or something. I didn't really get why everyone loved them so much but maybe it was because by then all the photographers were blocking my fucking view and I couldn't see anymore.

And who was leading the charge, you may wonder? Why it was Mr. Gideon Yago, of course, with his little fancy MTV news crew and his cute little velvet jacket. He was pretty adorable, even though he is a big smoker. We all ogled him a bit. But that does not mean I forgive him for starting this "let's get up on stage and get footage and block everyone's view trend." Bastard.

Suddenly everybody was up there, photographers, camera crews, a couple of people who just wanted to watch the show, and of course, the fucking dancing bee girls. Same shit happened with The Yeah Yeah Yeahs except I thought there was maybe a little bit less hoopla because, dare I say it? They are almost old news by now.

So overall I liked Broke Revue and Oneida the best because there was less of a frenzy around them, and I could see and hear everything really well, and while it's fun to go to shows that are "events," it is also fun to go to shows that are just about the rock. Of course. Obviously. By the end of it, people were hanging like monkeys on the walkway on the bridge above and on the surrounding buildings, they were just climbing all over the place to get a free show and great view. There were even a bunch of Hassidic Jews hanging out across the street on their roof deck. I will admit it: It was just so much fun, all the people and the bands and the fashions, and man, it was great, baby, Zeitgeist all the fucking way. Good stuff.

Later we went to Yabby's and watched Julie's boyfriend's bandmate get even drunker and pee in public and proclaim his massive love for her boyfriend repeatedly and endlessly, and we ate food and had fun until I started bitching about men and taking pictures of everyone's chests and then it was time to go home. Great fucking day, though.

archives | w-w home | mail