Ever since 2009, L Magazine has held the Northside Festival in June at a series of venues in Williamsburg & Greenpoint in Brooklyn – and QRO has been there every year. 2013 was no different, with locals and out-of-towners crisscrossing the north side of the borough, Thursday-to-Sunday, June 13th-16th.
Tiny Giant Artist Collective showcase @ Grand Victory
Donald Lee started his third day of Northside at Grand Victory with Tiny Giant Artist Collective, and their showcase with Science, All Sensory Void, Thomas Barrett, and Jim Testa:
Jim Testa
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Thomas Barrett
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All Sensory Void
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Science
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Converse Rubber Tracks Live @ McCarren Park
Phosphorescent
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After terrible weather had plagued NYC outdoor concerts like Governors Ball (QRO recap) and Grouplove at Prospect Park Bandshell (QRO review), it was finally a beautiful day for Northside’s first of two big outdoor concerts. Held near the tennis courts in McCarren Park (and not the late, great, McCarren Park Pool – QRO venue review), these were the big events of Northside ’13.
Lots of people praise Matthew Houck and his band, Phosphorescent, but Ted Chase just could never get into him – he seems full of himself in a bit of a sleazy way.
The Walkmen
Photos of The Walkmen at 2013 Boston Calling in Boston, MA
Photos of The Walkmen at CMJ 2012 in New York, NY
Photos of The Walkmen at 2012 Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, PQ, Canada
Photos of The Walkmen at The Lawn at White River State Park in Indianapolis, IN on July 29th, 2012
Photos of The Walkmen at Louisville Waterfront in Louisville, KY on June 27th, 2012
QRO’s review of The Walkmen at Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY on June 6th, 2012
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The most appropriate band in the world to be headlining Northside is The Walkmen. The Brooklyn locals were establishing themselves as a band just about the same time the borough was as the music scene. Yes, they have mellowed with age, but who doesn’t? And they still played early hit single “The Rat” with vigor – only this time, instead of catching them drinking before the show, one could see singer Hamilton Leithauser arriving at the place with his kid…
Leithauser also remarked on the pitch-perfect weather, and how the band had always had bad weather when outside in New York – including at McCarren Park Pool.
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A Heart Is a Spade, Punk Photo & Cake Shop showcase @ Public Assembly (back room)
Teen Age
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Donald Lee headed over to the back room at Public Assembly (QRO venue review) for the evening showcase from Punk Photo, Manhattan venue Cake Shop (QRO venue review), and QRO favorite blog A Heart Is a Spade, starting with Teen Age, then Turnip King.
Turnip King
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Outside World
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Ted Chase made it to Public Assembly for Outside World. After so much experimental stuff at Northside, it was enjoyable to hear some indie-pop (though still with some rawk) – the production was limited, but that was probably due to the limited sound system in the back room at Public Assembly.
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Northside showcase @ The Gutter Spare Room
Donald Lee headed from Public Assembly to The Gutter Spare Room for The Finks, Vundabar, and Year of Dragon:
Year of Dragon
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Vundabar
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The Finks
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I Rock I Roll & FESTOONS showcase @ Bar Matchless
Ravens & Chimes
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Way back in 2010, QRO put on its own Northside showcase (QRO event page), which ended up being at Bar Matchless, which is not exactly the greatest space in the world, and didn’t get the greatest turnout in the world. Well, Ted Chase did feel better about that after visiting Bar Matchless for Northside 2013 for some great acts and not a lot of fans.
Admittedly, Ravens & Chimes didn’t even have their own full band, forced to play with a replacement bassist and drummer – singer Asher Lack still joked, “We last played Bar Matchless five years ago? I went to see Wolf Parade at Warsaw – that dates me.” But which is more dated – Wolf Parade (QRO live review) or Warsaw (QRO venue review)?…
It was another case of an enjoyable indie-pop band hampered by a limited soundsystem – though who was doing the sound that night? Why, none other than Omer Liebovitz of QRO & Northside favorite Courtesy Tier (QRO album review)! The set, which drew mainly from their 2011 record Holiday Life (QRO review), also could have used more light on singer/keyboardist Rebecca Rossi – not that Asher isn’t pretty as well…
ARMS
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Years ago, before even QRO’s Northside showcase, Todd Goldstein, guitarist for QRO favorite Harlem Shakes (QRO spotlight on), told Ted Chase about his own band, ARMS, and caught their great first record, Kids Aflame (QRO review). Since then, the Shakes broke up and ARMS put out a second record, Summer Skills, that QRO somehow missed. More recently, Goldstein did a great interview with Brooklyn Vegan about the band now being confused with recent dance craze…
Since those long-ago days, ARMS has become an impressive act – and Goldstein an impressive frontman. They’ve got a new EP coming out this summer, EP2.
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Other notes:
-Saturday of Northside is usually the same day as River-to-River’s twelve-hour ‘Bang On a Can Marathon’ at World Financial Center Plaza, but this year construction at the way downtown mall (QRO venue review) not only moved Bang On a Can north to Pace University, but also to Sunday.
Unfortunately missed:
-The Toasters @ Grand Victory. Would have been fascinating to see the legendary NYC ska act in such a small venue – if this was twenty years ago when ska was hot.
-Black Flag @ Warsaw. Yes, this incarnation of ‘Black Flag’ is basically guitarist Greg Ginn plus early singer Ron Reyes (no Henry Rollins, no Keith Morris), but anything to get Ginn back to punk and away from the experimental stuff that ruined his career & his label, SST Records.
