Brooklyn’s Northside Music Festival begins this week, featuring a lineup of over 300 musical acts including Liz Phair, who is touring in support of her new box set, “Gurly Sounds to Guvyville.” There is also an innovation festival focused on online marketing. Popular indie band Parquet Courts will play at the Festival’s first-ever boat party on the last day of the festival. Regretably, there are no free shows in McCarren Park this year (although there will be a block party on Bedford Avenue) and it’s been over two years since there was a film component.
There is one film-related event, though, a NNA Tapes showcase of label acts performing (mostly experimental) music accompanied by cinema projections at Film Noir Cinema. Qasim Naqvi is my pick from this evening of cutting-edge composers, which also includes Lea Bertucci, Jake Meginsky and harpist Marilu Donovan. The venue is small so get there early! NNA is also presenting a showcase at Union Pool featuring Tredici Bacci, known for their gorgeous instrumentals —sometimes featuring guest vocalists like Jennifer Charles— inspired by Ennio Moriccone and other 1960s film soundtracks.
Here are our other picks from the festival, which runs June 6-10 in Williamsburg…
Liz Phair: Girly-Sound to Guyville, Soccer Mommy at National Sawdust (Thursday, June 7)
Last month a 25th anniversary box set was released featuring not only Liz Phair’s classic 1993 album “Exile to Guyville,” but also remastered recordings of the “Girly-Sound” demo cassettes she self-released prior to that album. Opening for Phair is a young indie artist clearly influenced by her, Sophie Allison (Soccer Mommy). Like Phair, twenty-year-old Nashville native Allison began making “bedroom pop” recordings, went to school at NYU and is now on the Fat Possum label. She’s touring with Phair for the entire tour. Check out her single, “Your Dog.”
Pissed Jeans, YVETTE at Rough Trade (Thursday, June 7)
Pennsylvania’s Pissed Jeans have been playing hardcore punk for 14 years now. Currently on the Sub Pop label, their critically-acclaimed latest album, “Why Love Now,” was co-produced by No Wave artist Lydia Lunch. Brooklyn industrial duo YVETTE opens the show.
Pitchfork Music is a dependable forecaster of bands ripe for discovery and this showcase features five talented and very different acts. Headliner Standing on the Corner is “post-genre,” which means there is no name yet for the mix of genres the Brooklyn duo explore. Their unique, warm, highly original sampling and odd tempo changes (sometimes they sound like a very doped up Nina Simone) are fresh and intoxicating. Their song “Vomets” sounds a bit like a slowed-down version of King Krule’s “Dum Surfer,” who, not surprisingly, are fans. Half Waif features the rapturous vocals of Nandi Rose Plunkett in slow, emotional songs like “Silt.” Philadelphia native, ex-model and opiate-addiction survior Chynna is one of the most original rappers today. Check out her single “asia black market,” which samples Alfred Hitchcock! Madison McFerrin (daughter of Bobby “Don’t Worry, Get Happy” McFerrin) takes a capella to new genre-bending delights. Philadelphia noise-rock band Empath opens the show.
BrooklynVegan presents: Protomartyr, Deerhoof + more TBA at Elsewhere (Saturday, June 9)
Like The Fall or Pere Ubu? Then you’ll like Detroit’s Protomartyr. The post-punk band’s 2017 album “Relatives in Descent” was on just about every “Best of” list of albums for last year. San Francisco’s Deerhoof have been together since 1994! They have a huge repertory of sometimes sugary, sometimes surreal (and often both) noise punk/pop. An incredible pairing with other artists to be announced. (Just announced: Renata Zeiguer)
Also recommended:
Snail Mail, Lionlimb, Corridor at Music Hall of Williamsburg (Thursday, June 7)
Milo, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Sammus at Brooklyn Bowl (Thursday, June 7)
Visit Northside Music Festival for full schedule and ticket/badge information.
