Oops. Little late on this review. July 30th wasn’t that long ago, was it? Either way, this day is fresh in my mind because it was the closest I’ve ever come to drowning in an empty pool. By the time I arrived at Mccarren Pool it had already been raining for a billion years. It was the kind of rain that makes an umbrella useless because the water is everywhere, all the time. Nonetheless, looking down in the pool – it was a mass of hundreds of moving umbrellas. Luckily the friends I was looking for were in the company of a bright rainbow umbrella – made them easier to find. Soon I’ll be done talking about the rain, but first I have to comment on the effect it had on the whole day. Previous to the day of the show, mostly in reaction to what happened at the Boredoms, people were nervous about the line – there was RSVPing and lots of rules about time. The weather though, turned all that on its head. People trickled in all throughout the day, the pool which never quite reached full capacity.
While Celebration played we walked around the perimeter of the pool, helping each other hold umbrellas beers and cell phones. We stopped by and talked to the guys at East Village Radio for a while and ate some hot dogs, then watched some crazy intense dodge ball, waiting for TVotR to take the stage. It took a while.
By the time TV took the stage the crowd had fleshed out quite a bit and rain was letting up. They started off a little rusty it seemed, but as the set went on, the band picked up some serious momentum. Every song, the energy level was raised and the crowed threw it right back. They played a bunch of great dance songs, “Wolf Like Me”, “Young Liars”, “Dirty Little Whirlwind”, and “I was a Lover” all stuck out for me. Although we were taking it easy after Sonic Youth the night before, a lot of people in the crowd were getting their drink on. Four reasonably trashed chicks to the left of us got naked and were running around screaming. I’m sure that’s the closest I’ll ever be to spring break. They were charming.
Although it was a great day, I remember it being a little bittersweet. We were coming to the end of the pool parties, and it was sad. And soggy, a little.
