Across the Narrows: Day 2

I didn’t expect much from the second day of "Across the Narrows". By this point I figured that there wasn’t going to be any "special guest" and that the possibility of an even smaller crowd existed. Also since I knew that I would be seeing Beck two more time this week I wasn’t even that excited for his set. But I headed out early anyway because the weather was perfect and unlike most hipsters and indie rock kids that loathe the sun, I enjoy spending time outside. Most hipster and indie rock kid tend to melt in the sun’s warming glow. The crowd was again very small when I reached Keyspan Park and hipster were already begin to wilt and melt but that didn’t stop me from getting to the music.
The first band I caught was Gang Gang Dance. They play sort dark syn pop that is better suited you dark smoky nightclubs or warehouse shows. So there set didn’t go over that well with the cross-armed I think too much about music crowd that was there. The sun continued to shine very bright on this beautiful day as sexy pop rock band the Dragonette took the stage. After their first song their very attractive lead singer announces, "Who do I have to fuck to get those people (people in the bleachers) to come down here". I yelled back "me". To which she seemed to ignore me and shrug me off by saying, "If you get them done here we will see". I wish this review were now going to go in a sort of "Dear Playboy" direction but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the people in the bleachers to join the rest of the crowd. Dragonette were mostly just kind of amusing their music was just o.k. Yes it music that would be very easy to dance to but it wasn’t very inspiring and the band's best assets are the lead singer looks and wit.
Listen to Dragonette MP3s:
I Get Around
Shock Box


The Raveonettes were the third band in a row to have a female lead singer and they were by far the best. I have seen them a few times before and I knew that they always put on a good show and again they didn’t disappoint. They paid a very short set of hardcore garage rock and roll. Even though their set was very short they managed to time slip in a cover the 50’s classic "My Boyfriends Back". For some unknown reason their set was cut short by one song. They even kind of taunted the audience by saying that they had planned to play a "really awesome song".



Is that Wayne Coyne dressed up like he is in some type of cult? No, it is just the lead singer of The Polyphonic Spree. The Polyphonic Spree is a sort weird mixture between the Flaming Lips, The Arcade Fire and some sort of weird cult. At any given time during their performance they have close 20 people on stage dressed in full body robes. Their lineup includes an entire chorus of singers, multiple guitar players and drummers, and very friendly lead singer. Polyphonic Spree definitely won over the audience with their happy go lucky songs. And as night drew closer that helped the audiences say good-bye to the sun. They also played some new material from the soundtrack to the movie "Thumb sucker".


When I mentioned to my girlfriend that Belle and Sebastian were playing "Across the Narrows" she flipped out. She proceed to tell me all about how she used to listen to them all the time and that they were one of the few bands left on her list of bands to see live. So I was excited that she showed so much interest. I think I kind of understand why. To back her up there must have been a couple thousand other girls there that had similar experiences with the band because very girl range in age from teenager to adult was singing along to such songs as "I am a Cuckoo", "If you find yourself caught in Love". At the beginning to show the lead singer mocked Yankees fans by wearing a Mets’ T-shirt. Also to recognize that they were in a baseball stadium they hit wiffle balls into the audience. They closed their set with "Judy and the dream of Horses"

When I first heard "Guero" I thought immediately that this was going to be a great album for Beck to tour behind. It was his return to party music but it was maintained his newer vocal style. But when an East Coast tour never developed I became a little disappointed. Beck has always been on of my favorite live acts. Over the past 11 years I have seen him 25 times and loved every show, and even though I will be seeing him two more time this week my expectations for yesterday’s show were very high. Beck's very short "secret" show at the Hiro Ballroom earlier this year only left me wanting more. So by the time Belle and Sebastian had ended I was ready for some of Beck's classic postmodern hip-hop rock.
The "Sea Changes" tour with The Flaimg Lips had been a monumental tour for Beck. He had broken up the classic lineup of his backing band and brought in the Lips to help turn his album about loss and broken hearts into a celebration. The music preformed on this tour was never better but for many reasons this tour didn’t go as well as planned. And Beck was again left without a back band for the second half of the "Sea Changes" tour. This new band lacked the celebration element of the Flaming Lips so it was no surprise to see an entirely different band on this tour. Beck’s new band is amazing each member brings so much to the party that Beck is having on stage. They all compliment the face melt licks that Beck has been laying down on lead guitar. Beck also brought along a few surprises for the audience but since many New Yorkers haven’t seen this show yet I will wait until after the Hammerstien show to fully review these shows. In my opinion Beck’s upcoming shows at the Hammerstien are not to be missed.