A Real Fest in Brooklyn! Woodsist/Captured Tracks Fest: Saturday July 04!

Sorry bros, sorry it took me this long to get my shit together and tell you about how amazing my 4th of July was!

Wow, it was super amazing. First of all, a little weird fact about me: I love holidays. All holidays. I even love the holidays I hate... and I especially love dressing up for holidays! So what if I'm bitter and lonely? I'm wearing fucking cutsie pink bows on Valentines Day. So what if I'm Jewish? Let's have a Christmas party! Anyway, the fact that this awesome fest was going on the same day as Independence Day was just the icing on the cake. Here is the awesome outfit I wore for the 4th... (Pic by my awesBro Cassie)


Let me start by saying that 979 Broadway Backyard was a fucking perfect place to watch some music. It's just this huge empty lot below the JMZ train, but I doubt I've ever done anything cooler than watch many of my favorite bands play while the subway rolls by overhead... there was also tons of cheap beer and Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits.

The line-up was:
9:45pm : THEE OH SEES
9:00pm :: VIVIAN GIRLS
8:15pm ::: Kurt Vile
7:30pm :::: Woods
6:45pm ::::: Tyvek (CALLED OUT SICK)
6:00pm :::::: Dum Dum Girls
5:15pm ::::::: the Fresh & Onlys
4:30pm :::::::: Brilliant Colors
3:45pm ::::::::: Ganglians
3:15pm :::::::::: the Great Excape —— reunion, pre-Home Blitz
2:45pm ::::::::::: the Beets
2:15pm :::::::::::: Real Estate
1:45pm ::::::::::::: German Measles
1:15pm :::::::::::::: Beach Fossils

It was really, really awesome. There wasn't much I didn't like (although Vivian Girls are whatever and I find Kurt Vile pretty snooze-worthy). I was bummed that Tyvek called out sick but it was an awesome show anyway. Here are too many YardBerry pixx! Highlights explained after them!

Beach Fossils

German Measles

Real Estate

The Beets

Great Escape

Ganglians

Fresh & Onlys

Dum Dum Girls

Woods

Vivian Girls

Thee Oh Sees

So I guess I should say something about the bandz...

-Beach Fossils were adorable boys with good vibes. I like this trend that is all over the place now. I really think this band is going places!

-German Measles were very drunk. I love that band, I think their sloppy style and strange visual aesthetic is charming. I think their songs are catchy. They're pretty polarizing. But let me just say: The singer, Nick Curtin, is dedicated to drunkeness in a way that inspired me to amp up my own weekend bender. Thanks, German Measles.

-Real Estate were just delightful. Pure good vibes... made me proud to be an American.

-The Beets were The Beets. Brooklyn loves this band, they always perform, they always bring it. The kids were going crazy. They played "I Think I Might Have Built a Horse" sans bass (via technical difficulties). They sound checked with a Beatles cover. <3 that band!

-Great Escape was the funniest band I've seen since Brian's Dirty Business. That is high praise.

-Ganglians are just wonderful! I got the chance to spend a lot of time with this charming Sacramento band and I just kept liking them more and more. This was the second time I saw them and their songs are super fucking catchy... psychy and jammy without losing sight of the pop. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

-Brilliant Colors kind of faded into the background for me... I was just tired... everyone else said they rule, and I like the recordings I've heard... I'll need to give them another chance.

-Fresh & Onlys were enjoyable. Somehow they were different live than I had imagined them... I imagined them a little more garagey... but they're kind of... weird? I don't know. Definitely good though.

-Dum Dum Girls sounded fucking amazing, and made Mike Sniper look good :). As Shirley Beans put it... they were kind of "twee goth", pretty cool stuff.

-Woods sounded good. They declared their independence from the monitor, which was inspirational. I still think they'd be better if they did less jamming and more popping, but you know, I love them.

-Kurt Vile bores me I guess? Sorry everyone.

-Vivian Girls played music.

-Thee Oh Sees oooooooooommmmmmmmmmggggggggggg! Seriously, best band. So good. I went into Dwyer withdrawal after that.


It was fucking intense and it wasn't even over.... there is still the after party.... which was the craziest part of the weekend.... oy oy oy!