After the Jump

Yesterday was the After the Jump music festival at Studio B. I hit up some of the free day shows, of which the only band I knew before hand was Ra Ra Riot. But like a good little blogger I did some research to figure out which bands I wanted to see. Here is how my day went:

It was super super hot outside, so the walk to Studio B from the G train (that's right, the G train) seemed a million miles long, but when we got inside the relatively spacious club it was fairly empty and air-conditioned, so it was heavenly (as opposed to hot and crowded like the last time I was at Studio B for the CSS concert). When I arrived around 3:15pm - I've already seen the Teenage Prayers so I took my time getting up to Greenpoint even though the festival started at 2pm - I could only find one of the two stages -the main stage, which was currently empty - until I asked someone where the second stage was. Turns out everyone who was there was watching Jukebox the Ghost in a small, slightly hidden, hot room (so much for that empty air-conditioned feeling). I couldn't see them because I'm short, the room was pretty full, and the stage wasn't very elevated but I enjoyed the last few songs that we happened to come in for.

Next up, in the larger, air-conditioned room was Locksley. Locksley was the only band I went in thinking I was really excited to see (besides Ra Ra Riot) based on the stuff I had listened to on their myspace and whatnot. They seemed the most like my favorite kind of music (poppy rock 'n' roll). And I was right. I think they were my favorite band of the day. I immediately had a good feeling about Locksley before they even started playing because they just looked so good as a band. They all have really great style (in my opinion) and their sense of style is very unified as a group. They seemed like nice guys the way the talked to the audience beforehand and they were all pretty good-looking. As soon as they started playing I liked them even more. They were really good and I really did love their music.

My favorite part of Locksley was probably when, in the interest of "music education" (the charity theme of the festival), they brought the idea of "audience participation" to a new level and literally brought audience members onto stage to play with them for a cover of The White Stripes' Hotel Yorba. That was fun, although they had a lot of trouble getting people on stage. It was a relatively low-key and apparently shy audience. They couldn't get anyone to come up and play harmonica, but they did get a mildly reluctant guitar player (who's girlfriend volunteered him) and a much more exuberant tambourine player.

After Locksley, Bling Kong played in the hot, stuffy room. I also really liked their aesthetic (they had fun costumes). They chose to play their set list based on a "choose your own adventure story" that they told between songs, which I thought was a neat idea, and a great way to force the audience to participate. I didn't actually stay for their whole set because it was just so unbearably hot in that room. But I did like what I stayed for. They were a lot of fun. My only complaint (besides the heat) was the distracting visuals being projected on the wall next to us while they were performing. Their performance was interesting enough, and the flashy (and occasionally pornographic) images were more an annoying distraction than anything else. Stick to performing guys. You don't need porn and seizure-inducing visuals to make you cool.

Back on the main (air-conditioned) stage was Golem. While their Eastern-European/ klezmer-esque music is not normally the type of music I listen to often, I was still a little curious to see them perform. I actually pretty much loved them. They were so much fun, and they were all very talented and such characters. My two wishes: that the violin player would've shown more of his personality and seemed like he was enjoying himself at least a little, and that the upright bass player had more solos. But the lead singer was so entertaining and energetic, and most of them looked like they were really having fun. The bass player was possibly my favorite. He would bounce up and down fervently with the music and his poofy hair would bounce with him. It made me giggle.

Last in my concert day (I didn't stay for the whole festival) was Ra Ra Riot. Like I said, they were the only band I knew before I found out about the festival. I liked them even more than I thought I would actually. They had a really great band chemistry - probably one of the best band chemistries I have ever seen. Not only did it seem like they were all really having fun and really getting into their music, but they all seemed to genuinely like each other. They were joking around and shooting each other smiles all the time. It was almost like we, the audience, weren't there and we were observing the intimacy of a band practice session or something. Plus they get major props for utilizing two of my favorite instruments - violin and cello. And they were really cool-looking electric ones too. Overall, it was a great way to end a day of concerts.

Heiroglyphs [mp3] - The Teenage Prayers - "Everyone Thinks You're The Best" (iTunes unavailable)

Good Day [mp3] - Jukebox The Ghost (iTunes unavailable)
Why Can't I Be You (Why Not Me) [mp3] - Locksley - "Don't Make Me Wait" (iTunes)
Enter Bling Kong [mp3] - Bling Kong - "Do The Awesome" (iTunes)
Warsaw is Khelm [mp3] - Golem - "Fresh off Boat" (iTunes)
Each Year [mp3] - Ra Ra Riot - "Ra Ra Riot - EP" (iTunes)

I'd say it was a very good day - especially considering it was free. Although I did spend $5 on raffle tickets and not win anything... Sadness. But it went to a good cause. I'll finish up with some more pictures (I'm definitely getting a new camera soon because the focus doesn't work half the time - sorry most of these are kind of blurry - and it also wouldn't turn on at one point):

Locksley

I had to get a picture of his awesome white patent leather shoes.

The guitar player going over the guitar part with the random audience member that got pulled on stage.

The lead singer tries to entice someone up to the stage to play harmonica

"Music education"

Bling Kong

Golem

Ra Ra Riot

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Shout Out Out Out Out Out Out Out Out Out Out...

Friday night was a free concert at Studio B. The bands playing: Dirty on Purpose, Shout Out Out Out Out, and CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy - Portugese for "[I] got tired of being sexy"). Because it was a free concert, the line was a million miles long when I got there at like 9:15. (Doors were supposed to open at 9pm, and I had my friend Amanda's goodbye party to go to beforehand, plus I got a little lost in Williamsburg...). Now, Studio B is a nice venue and it's fairly big but it holds 1000 people and 3000 people or so RSVPed online. Luckily, a friend of mine who is super cool got me in VIP style (the same friend who embarrassed me at Anni Rossi, so maybe that makes up for it) so I didn't have to wait in line behind 500 or so people like I thought I was going to have to. Regardless of that, though, Studio B was packed.

Dirty on Purpose was... boring. And I hate to say it because they seemed like nice guys and their music was even decent. I'm sure I'd like listening to their recordings. But, as performers, they looked bored. Or maybe really really really high. But, by my criteria, if you're performing live, you'd better not look bored (high or not). Because that makes me bored. You have to look like you're having a blast and you need to have energy. The band member with the most charisma was the drummer (who was also kinda the lead singer I think) and I thought so even despite the fact that I couldn't see his face most of the time due to an inconveniently placed symbol.

Shout Out Out Out Out was actually quite enjoyable. While I knew I would like their music, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of performance. I've never really seen any electronica band perform live, and I didn't really think it would be all that entertaining due to the repetitive nature of electronica and the fact that so much of it is often done on a computer. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of energy and fun they brought to the stage. As I suspected, some of the band members didn't always have that much to do, but they just danced around stage and had fun, so I was still quite pleased with them. I liked when they were like "this song goes out to anybody with student loan debt." That made me happy. Unfortunately, the lighting sucked so I couldn't really get any decent pictures (plus my camera sucks, which doesn't help...).

For the first two bands, the crowd was relatively tame (and therefore pleasant). A little moshing that spilled over into our area occasionally, but mostly everyone danced and had a good time and chilled. During CSS, however, all that changed. The mosh pit grew and spread, people were crowd surfing, and I got separated from my friend. Nothing like an obnoxiously rowdy crowd to ruin a good concert (for me). CSS was still good and had a great energy, but it was so hard for me to even pay attention to them as I was focusing on not being knocked over or kicked in the head. I'd much rather just dance in my own minuscule space and enjoy the music than mosh. I really don't understand the appeal of moshing. (and yes, I gave in and used flash... but I hate these pictures).

CSS is a Brazilian band, composed mostly of girls (which makes me happy because there aren't enough girl rock bands). The annoying thing was they took forever to set up and get ready. They covered the stage in balloons, which normally I might think was cool, but it made them start so late and so I didn't even get home until almost 3am (and I had to get up early the next morning). Anyway, they had a pretty awesome energy and it was great dance music. The lead singer crowd surfed at one point. And I don't know what possessed her, or how she even put up with it but she started out wearing a flannel shirt, two spandex body suits and then something underneath that. Periodically she would strip down a layer. I must've gotten stuck in the mosh pit between one of her costume changes because all of a sudden I looked up and I was like "that's not the same spandex body suit she was wearing before..." and I was a bit confused. But I don't know how she did it at first. It was so hot in that place. I can't even imagine wearing two spandex body suites. She is gorgeous though and she had awesome charisma. I kind of wish I was as cool as her. The guitar player also had really great presence. Once I got out of the mosh pit (which just seemed to keep spreading to engulf me no matter where I went), I enjoyed it a great deal.

I apologize for only having CSS, but you can listen to the other bands online with the links I provided you. I also apologize for not realizing that the link for the song Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above didn't work... I have reposted it for you guys. So here are a few songs by CSS:

Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above (mp3) - CSS - Cansei De Ser Sexy (iTunes)
Music is My Hot, Hot Sex (mp3) - CSS - Cansei De Ser Sexy (iTunes)

In other news, I auditioned for a game show today. Yup. Little ol' me who has no desire to be in front of the camera and have her 15 minutes of fame. But I want to win lots of money, so I did it. I am not really sure how it went. I did well (I think) with the physical audition part - which is ironic since that is the part I was most worried about - but there was a written test too, which I bombed. So we'll see. Either way though, I had nothing to lose by auditioning, so I went in just thinking "screw it." And I'm glad I did it. It's a story to tell and it was a good opportunity to challenge myself. Unfortunately I missed the free Blonde Redhead and I'm From Barcelona concert/pool party (and it was the perfect weather for a pool party too...). Oh well. Que sera sera. Tata dahlings.

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