Upcoming Shows: Northside Festival

There are so many good shows coming up at the Northside Festival, it's tough to pick what to recommend. This is going to be an amazing weekend for music in Brooklyn. Luckily, a lot of the shows are pretty close together, so it may be possible to dash from one to another. I will certainly try and so should you. Here are the highlights, but check out the entire schedule because like I said, it's just hard to pick.


Thursday, June 24

The show to see is...

Wavves, Cloud Nothings, DOM @ Knitting Factory * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $12/$14

Wavves get some hate now, which is the natural backlash after the sort of hype they got around winter/spring of 2008 and 2009. But despite a bad choice in drummers and a lot of bad choices with drugs, Nathan Williams is keeping it real. He brought some sense back to indie rock and he deserves some damn credit. [myspace]

Close runner-up:

Aa, YellowFever, Air Waves, PC Worship, Coasting @ Union Pool * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10

After finally getting a chance to check out Aa live, I found they are rather overrated – for a band dependent entirely on rhythm, they drum like the white boys they are. By which I mean their rhythms are mired in an unshakable European sense of halves and quarters and downbeats. HOWEVER, the other bands on the bill are among NYC’s most interesting experimental bands and are very worth checking out. [aa myspace] [yf myspace] [aw myspace] [pc myspace]

Other highlights:

Au Revoir Simone @ Warsaw * Greenpoint, Brooklyn * $15/$17

Anni Rossi, ARMS, Ball of Flame Shoot Fire, Shark?, Miniboone @ Matchless * Greenpoint, Brooklyn * $6

My Teenage Stride, I’m Turning Into, German Measles @ The Charleston * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $5


Friday, June 25

The show to see is…

Grooms, Snakes Say Hisss, Darlings, Sisters, Tough Knuckles @ Death By Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10

Tough pick Friday night, but this one wins it. Death by Audio roster mainstays Grooms and Sisters are awesome, albeit in different ways – Grooms are a dark, experimental post-punk trio while Sisters are a jumpy lo-fi noise-punk pop duo. Darlings are more towards Sisters if you pretend that’s some sort of spectrum. They play unpredictable, loveable indie rock. As for the other bands on the bill, we’ll find out together! [grooms myspace] [snakes myspace] [darlings myspace] [sisters myspace] [knuckles myspace]

Other highlights:

The Fiery Furnaces @ Brooklyn Bowl * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10

The So So Glos, The Beets, Asa Ransom, Electric Tickle Machine, Shilpa Ray (solo) @ Shea Stadium * Bushwick, Brooklyn * $10

We Are Country Mice, Eternal Summers, Grooms with DJ Sets by Jemina Pearl & John Eatherly (Be Your Own Pet) and Pete Feigenbaum (Dinowalrus) @ Cameo Gallery * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $8

Real Estate, Woods, The Fresh & Onlys @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $15/$17

MEN (feat. JD Samson of Le Tigre) @ Knitting Factory * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $15

Shark?, blair, DOM, Darlings, The Grates, Dinosaur Feathers, MiniBoone, The Sundelles @ Public Assembly * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10


Saturday, June 26

The shows to see are...

AFTERNOON (1 PM): Titus Andronicus, Male Bonding @ Newtown Barge Park * Greenpoint, Brooklyn * $10/$12

Titus Andronicus are the second most inventive hardcore band of our generation (and the second most inventive hardcore band playing Newtown Barge Park on Saturday). They are passionate and sing about history and art and war and they will make you want to jump around and crash into people. Male Bonding play catchy, manic lo-fi punk with sick pop tunez and hella fucking energy. They are as fun as they are tight. Which is very. [ta myspace] [mb myspace]

Liars, Fucked Up, High Places @ Newtown Barge Park * Greenpoint, Brooklyn * $16/$18

The ever nervous, edgy Liars make skittering, experimental noise rock with a lot of yelping and fucked guitars. They’ve got appeal for the casual listener though – driving rhythms, well written songs and a great stage presence. Fucked Up are the number one most inventive hardcore band of our time. They’ve simply demolished boundaries and definitions of what punk can be. [liars myspace] [fu myspace (unofficial)] [hp myspace]

Other highlights:

AFTERNOON (2 PM): Gold Lake, She Keeps Bees, The Shivers @ Matchless * Greenpoint, Brooklyn * FREE

Ducktails, Big Troubles, WOOM, No Demons Here (Luka Usmiani of Fluffy Lumbers), Andrew Cedermark (ex-Titus Andronicus) @ Shea Stadium * Bushwick, Brooklyn

Memory Tapes, Twin Sister, DOM, ZAZA @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $15

The Zookeepers @ Glasslands Gallery * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10

LATE (12 AM): Reading Rainbow, The Beets with DJ sets by Kip (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart) & Jed (My Teenage Stride) @ Knitting Factory * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $5


Sunday, June 26

The show to see is...

Les Savy Fav, Polvo, Grails @ Newtown Barge Park * Greenpoint, Brooklyn * $15/$18

Melodic hardcore punx Les Savy Fav would make this show worthwhile alone, but they are joined by 90’s indie legends Polvo, whose math rock keeps it raw-nerve edgy but whose sense of craft lands them among the most accessible of their mathy peers. [lsf myspace] [polvo myspace]

Other highlights:

My Teenage Stride, The Shivers @ Cameo Gallery * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $8

Islands, Steel Phantoms, Active Child, TV Carnage @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $16/$18