After the Jump '08: The Recap

For several months, 20-New York City music bloggers conspired to bring Brooklyn a day of music it would not soon forget. Yestrday was the culmination of all that conspiring and from my vantage point it was quite a success. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people floated in and out of our four different stages, witnessing a variety of acts from across the country (and one from Denmark!) that absolutely floored us all with inspired, passionate performance. It seemed everyone brought their A-game yesterday and the people in attendance reaped the benefits of a lot of people's hard work.

The day kicked off with a performance from L.A.'s Evil BBC, the final band added to Saturday's roster. They had won the contest our sponsor Stereofame.com had run and showed why they were the winners with a resoundingly strong set. It may not be the music I run to most often, but their brand of pop music soared through North 6th Street and only began the day of great music! It was an awesome kick off and soon people from all over Brooklyn were flocking to North 6th to see what all the noise was about.
Inside of Galapagos, Bell and Phil and the Osophers got the darkest of our two stages going. It was a little tough adjusting from the bright light outside to the darkness inside, but once you got acclimated you were treated to some of the cooler bands from around the five boroughs. Bell's set was solid (though I only caught a couple of the songs) and Phil and Osophers showed that I rightly picked them as a Band of the Week. The duo pounded out songs after song, and the couple that I saw were absolutely awesome. Just so you know I didn't catch more then three or four songs from any band, one of the draw backs of running such a venutre, but I loved everything I did get to see.
Music Hall of Williamsburg was probably my most anticipated stage of the day! It was packed with noisy, aggressive bands that I knew would either drive the crowd towards deafness or completely rock their asses off! It all started with the Jersey punks known as Alex and the Horribles who were on for all of their early set. It kicked off with a pummeling punk anthem and then just kept on going. Alex was magnetizing with his Tom Cruise like sunglasses and the Horribles could shred despite their collectively young ages. Seeing as this was the first of a handful of teenaged bands it appears that the younger generations are picking up the rock torch and running with it.
Dinowalrus were up after Alex and the Horribles, and the band seemed to be riding a wave of good press into the fest. Every band I talked to about the fest mentioned wanting to see this noisy trio and as far as I'm concerned they didn't let anyone down with the set they put on. It was rollicking and powerful and a shit load of fun, and it definitely rates high on my favorite sets of the day.
The first act of the day that I had actually seen before was Bridges and Powerlines, and act I love to death and will book for any show until the day I die (well maybe not every, that might get boring for them). For some reason when they took the stage at Galapagos the band took on a new life, playing by far the best set I've seen them do so far. Considering the amount of times that I've seen them and the fact that I've loved them every time, that's truly saying something! They were awesome yesterday and I think they may be evolving into something much bigger.
In the past I have written a lot about The Austerity Program and how much I love their metal flavored rock, but I had never witnessed the Astoria based duo. Seeing them yesterday though issued further proof of why I love these guys. As loud and ferocious as they can be on record, they take it up a couple of notches when they get in front of the fans! They absolutely floored me with both their volume and their skill and I think everyone in attendance for their set will echo those sentiments!
I've seen Wakey! Wakey! so many times that there is very little he can do to surprise me, yet when he hit the main stage yesterday he seemed to channel all the energy flowing from the crowd and the power of the sun on all of us into something magical! The set was powerful right from the start and I even caught myself singing along more then once! I love Mike's music, even if it's not the normally noisy stuff I tend to listen to, there's something soothing and emotional to it and I love every minute of the rollercoaster ride he takes us on.
Our sole international act this year was Denmark's Snake & Jet's Amazing Silver Bullit Band. I've been listening to their new album all year and have posted a lot about it and live the band does nothing but solidify themselves as a solid two piece rock group! They were pretty outstanding and I only wish I could have seen the whole set!!!
Some of you may recognize Noveller from her work as a new member in Parts & Labor, but as a solo artist she stands pretty tall as well! Her work with a double necked guitar on a stand is remarkable. She produces such a cool sound that it's tough to walk away from, but unfortunately I had to and my time with her was far too short!!!
Another band that I was seeing for the first time was Autodrone, who fit in perfectly in the darkness that was Galapagos! The band has this sort of dark vibe about them and it comes through in buckets when they hit the stage. It was a very cool sound though, something I need to catch a lot more of next time around!
I don't know of any more word to use when describing The Antlers that I haven't used to describe them already. They are my favorite New York City band right now and each time I see them they get tighter and better at what they do. I heard they did a few new songs yesterday, but I only got to see two of their older ones! Still, I know I'll see the new stuff soon and the older songs are still so awesome that it really didn't bother me at all!
Out of all the bands that played the fest yesterday, Cursillistas may just have been the most determined. The four piece drove all the way from Maine to play the show and then drove all the way back up north in the span of a day. Considering the amount of time they spent in the car I was thoroughly impressed with their set. It's a cool, natural sound that is bombarded by percussion and lovely. It's almost like a noisier Port O'Brien! Very cool stuff, I hope they come back down soon!
The Shackeltons are a live band that hit the stage with a lot at stake. They have garnered a reputation that demands they be on the top of their game at every tour stop and luckily they did not disappoint on North 6th. They brought trees with them, and wore them, and rolled around in them, and rocked the entire neighborhood so freakin' hard! It was awesome and it was one of my favorite sights of the day!
Extra Life brought something a little different then what we've seen from them in the past. Performing as a two-piece with just a guitar and violin, the band toned down their songs a bit for the crowd but still managed to rock us. I'm always impressed by the number of ways a band can create their sounds, and Extra Life proved on Saturday that they don't always have to be conventional to make it work.
The young guys of Fiasco put on a really strong set to close the day at Galapagos! Their punk sound was a fitting finish to a stage that had seen so many different acts prancing around, and despite their young age they showed up and proved that kids can rock just as well, if not better then everyone else.
I only got to see one band from out night show due to taking apart the outside stage, but lucky for me it was the band I wanted to see the most out of the 40-bands we had booked! Titus Andronicus has been a huge part of my 2008 so far, their awesome album has been ringing in my ears for weeks, and so I was desperately wanting to see them for the first time and they did not disappoint in any way! The band played a rocking set at the Music Hall, covering most of the material off The Airing of Grievances and giving the crowd way more then their $10 worth! It was an awesome set, I didn't see the whole thing though, and I'm definitely going to see them again on Saturday!

After Titus I was shot. My legs were wobbly from a day of running around and from drinking one too many Brooklyn Brews! After a day like yesterday I am invigorated, though a bit tired, and really looking forward to next year! Thanks to everyone who was involved in this event, my fellow bloggers, the bands, the sponsors, the sound guys, the venues, the security staff, everyone and especially all the people that came out to have a good time in the sun! We'll see you all next year, if not sooner!!!