In 2009, L Magazine opened up Northside Festival, showcasing the music in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. It’s grown since then, including a large ‘Innovation’ portion that can sometimes seem to make the music feel like an afterthought, but there still was music, Thursday-Sunday, June 8th-11th:
TNT Backstory Studio @ Kinfolk 90
Sneaks
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Press picked up their badges at Kinfolk 90, which also meant a chance to check out Sneaks. It all happened at the ‘TNT Backstory Studio’, branded by the basic cable drama network. Big sponsors are generally necessary, but also welcome, to keep events like Northside going (no doubt the loss of them crippled it’s late big brother, CMJ), but the big screen behind Sneaks, with her band name and TNT logo, made it all look a little like a launch party for a new TNT series, Sneaks (there was the classic 1992 Robert Redford & River Phoenix movie, Sneakers, which one could see TNT rebooting as a series…).
Sneaks herself was just her bass, laptop, and voice. Normally she has a band, and while it was neat to see her, a lousy set-up.
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Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn benefit @ McCarren Park
Jay Som
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The main Northside Music action always takes place at McCarren Park (note: not McCarren Park Pool, however much your correspondent wishes that place was a music venue again – QRO venue review). It’s a mix of free shows and paid ones to benefit the non-profit that helps take care of New York’s open spaces, Open Space Alliance.
Opening the ticketed show on Thursday was Jay Som, with their relaxed art that was nice, but not exactly gripping.
Kamasi Washington
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Somewhere between too artistic and accessible is Kamasi Washington. He’s an alt-jazz artist, but perhaps the most accessible art-jazz artist. If you don’t like Bitches Brew, not for you, but for modern jazz, a great act to get people into. Outdoors at McCarren Park, they did spend what felt like an inordinate amount of time jamming, and not even together, just looking at one person (not even saxophonist Washington) while only the rhythm section continued performing.
Dirty Projectors
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But this was an ‘art’ night, thanks to headliner Dirty Projectors. Once upon a time, Projectors was a band created by David Longstreth, but also featuring the likes of Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian. However, Deradoorian left and was replaced by Bell, and more recently Coffman left, and at McCarren Park Olga Bell was just a part of the large semi-circle that stretched behind Longstreth, focusing all attention and action on him.
Longstreth /Projectors played his/their new self-titled album, which is one that’s out-there even for him, but it was a big crowd for a ticketed show by three non-mainstream artists.
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Other notes:
–Reaktor had an RSVP party event at Brooklyn Brewery, but it was only one beer token each, hardly worth it.
-Meanwhile, Perkins Coie party on the rooftop at McCarren Park Hotel, overlooking the park, was for badges only, and had full open bar & hors d’oeuvres. Would literally go there, head down to shoot McCarren Park act, and then back to the rooftop.
-Also, press got free drink tickets when entering badge entrance to McCarren Park, encouraging leaving-and-reentering…
Unfortunately missed:
-Lætitia Sadier @ National Sawdust
