After the Jump is a collection of New York bloggers (currently numbering seventeen, including themusicslut.com and poptartssucktoasted.com) who band together to put on events, featuring some of their favorite undiscovered talent. Most notable are their showcases at CMJ (QRO recap) and SXSW (QRO recap), but they also throw ‘After the Jump Fest’, a three-day Brooklyn event, this year at Park Slope’s new Littlefield venue (QRO venue review). Friday-Sunday, August 28th-30th, saw twenty-two bands play Littlefield, and QRO was there for (almost) all of it.
After Day One (QRO recap) kind of went against expectations, Day Two was more in line – though not necessarily a bad thing. Yes, there were wild Brooklyn bands – and an awful noise-band – but it all ended with indie-Brooklyn’s favorite hip-hip duos:
Bottle Up and Go
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Guitar, drums… and sax? That was the make-up of Bottle Up and Go, and the sax-a-ma-phone wasn’t as out of place as you might expect. Still, with a frizzy-‘fro-headed singer/guitarist with a shirt, and nobody in the band wearing shoes or socks, you knew it was going to be freaky (the singer also began his set by wearing headgear like for a hands free harmonica, but with a mike – however, it proved too difficult and he took it off after one 
song). Like the sax, Bottle Up and Go actually weren’t over-freaky, like freak-garage/blues – such a simple bass sound can’t get that freaky (though singer/guitarist later did – was kicked out of Littlefield…).
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Talk Normal
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The first outright bad band of After the Jump – and not just saying that because their only lighting was a single, red floodlight, placed on the stage, facing up (though the side light show from last night was finally back). The all-girl guitar-and-drums duo (first girls on stage for ATJ…) played noise-rock that wasn’t unlistenable, but not something you’d sit down and listen to, either. Still, for the low level of the acts that have played ATJ so far, farther in than you might expect to get your first bad band.
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Wild Yaks
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It was also pretty far in to After the Jump before one of Brooklyn’s wild garage-rock bands first took the stage. Wild Yaks are one of the more highly-touted, and while they didn’t quite live up to the hype, they also didn’t seriously disappoint (unlike, say, pow wow! – QRO photos). Reminiscent in look to O’Death (QRO album review), they took O’Death’s group-shout energy approach, but apply it to garage-rock. Definitely good if you like energetic garage-rock, there’s more ‘there’ there than other such acts.
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Drink Up Buttercup
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Wild Yaks (see above) said they loved Drink Up Buttercup, and it’s easy to see why, with a group-shout energy very similar to the Yaks, albeit with less 
guitar, more crashing rhythm. However, the band relies less on beating garage cans than they used to (still use them as keyboard stands, though…). Another wild Brooklyn band with a great deal of hype, Drink Up were pretty good at spreading it to the crowd – though even people up front, singing along, were on their iPhones. But what happened to good music, as opposed to good shows? In this internet piracy age, wild live shows are more-and-more important, especially in Brooklyn.
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Free Energy
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If, going in, you knew the band’s name and that they’re on dancetronic label DFA (LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, YACHT), Free Energy was not at all what you’d expect. Instead of dance-friendly beat & keys, Free Energy pull out some seventies party-guitar rock, Southern-fried. Not that this means they aren’t good – in fact, they were quite refreshing, after 
so much ‘new’ 
Brooklyn. Free Energy even looked seventies/eighties, including the singer’s skinny acid-wash jeans, long, straight hair (the guitarists went curly), and hi-tops. Not amazing, but fun without being forcibly wild – just let it happen. Plus, did actually get some girls dancing…
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NinjaSonik
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NinjaSonik have become the indie-hipster scene’s favorite hip-hop act, but at After the Jump, one could start to see why. Despite few people among the sparse crowd really into it, the duo (and the rest) gave it their all – actually, kind of the hip-hop equivalent of wild Brooklyn indie bands, 110% from the start. What’s more, at no point was there an ‘I’m better than you’ attitude so prevalent in hip-hop, which turns 
so many into alternative music off. Even with all the talking about sex, like "Somebody’s Gonna Get Pregnant" (and yes, they did invite ladies on stage at one point), there’s no negativity (though is it okay for white hipsters to mouth along when NinjaSonik says the n-word – and what does the white DJ do?).
Maybe it all works because they’re just so damn funny. NinjaSonik joked about the ‘hit song’ from the following Das Racist (see below), "Combination Taco Bell Pizza Hut", saying, "Why didn’t we make that song?", then adding that they were going to do a remix, and tell everyong that their remix was the original, and Das Racist’s the remix. And speaking of remixes, they did one of "Daylight" (QRO video) by Matt & Kim (QRO spotlight on) that was better than what that other Brooklyn duo did on Jimmy Kimmel Live 
that week (QRO Indie On Late Night TV). They also had a great ‘True Blood moment’, trying to glamour a girl by asking her out for tea (which the other shouted, "Means sex!").
One should naturally be hesitant to say, "I don’t like hip-hop/rap, but I like this…" (see rapper Kenan Bell’s reaction – QRO interview), but there’s a reason NinjaSonik has played with friends like Matt & Kim (QRO photos, with NinjaSonik opening) and Japanther (QRO photos, with NinjaSonik opening) – and a Japanther joined them on stage at one point – or why they can get even indie-hipsters shouting the response to, "We are NinjaSonik!" "We are Sonik fucking Ninjas!"
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Das Racist
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Opinions are easily divided on Das Racist, and generally, that’s not a good thing. Pretty much the sloppiest hip-hop you’ll ever see, the duo (plus another guy who doesn’t do much but sit or lie on the stage) were practically falling over each other, and everything else, including monitor & standing drum (which was worn as a helmet at one point, before falling, like a monitor, onto the stage floor). However, they are funny, and kept their lyrics going the whole time.
Certainly better than the much-trashed free performance they did the night after at Public Assembly (QRO venue review) after the last Pool Party at Williamsburg Waterfront (QRO venue review), which saw Brooklyn Vegan himself – i.e., Dave – step out from behind his anonymity and call Das Racist’s "’performance’" "the worst live show you’ll ever see"…
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Other Notes:
-Day Two actually began at 3:00 PM, with another free beer hour before that, but between a hangover from last night & there being no act at 5:00 PM, it was very easy to just skip the 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM bands, Shark? and Captain Ahab & The Sea Crackens. Turns out many did that (and one person who was there said, "You didn’t miss much"), so many that there were few at Littlefield at 3:00 PM, so they bumped every act back a half-hour.
-However, the light attendance kept up pretty much throughout Day Two. Some of that was most likely due to last-minute competition from the Spike Lee-hosted Michael Jackson birthday party at nearby Prospect Park Bandshell (QRO venue review) the same day, but there was also little in the way of press covering (including no one from Brooklyn Vegan, who gave no love to his fellow bloggers – guess he thought he could catch Das Racist (see above) on Sunday…). So you have to give it even more to headliners NinjaSonik & Das Racist – the biggest bands to play all of After the Jump – for not letting the light turnout phase them.
-Between bands (and sometimes during), it could get a little boring, what with the all-day slog. The large tables at Littlefield did encourage unfamiliar people to start talking, but still time for reading, texting, doing The Onion‘s crossword puzzle… However, just when you feel awkward about your social isolation, a pretty woman sits next to you, and starts reading Hemingway (now you just feel awkward about your choice of reading material…).
-Aussie burgers even better in the daytime (though it was relatively overcast) – and not only was Mark from Top Chef on an episode of Iron Chef that night (as a sous-chef), but the other guy serving (though not an Aussie, like last night) was playing poker on ESPN that night!…
