50 shows in 50 days for free

Team 50/50 chillin' at MHOW

Williamsburg faced a Canadian invasion last night with The Rural Alberta Advantage playing at MHoW.  Team 50/50 had a great time listening to this group of Canadian imports.  Check out what they had to say:

Nick:  ”Canada is famous for a lot of things: Wayne Gretsky, maple syrup, funny accents– rock bands not so much. However, a new crop of stars including Arcade Fire, Feist, Hollerado and Rural Alberta Advantage may be changing that. Last night Rural Alberta Advantage from Toronto, and Hollerado from Montreal invaded the Music Hall of Williamsburg along with local group The Dig to play a free show for a receptive crowd of young Brooklynites.”

Katharine:  ”It was a hilariously awesome treat when Edenloff came out on stage for the first encore song and explained “we’re kind of new to this encore thing, so bear with us,” before launching into a slow and kind of creepy acoustic version of a very familiar song. It took me half a verse, but then the entire crowd caught on: he was singing “Eye Of The Tiger.” It was amazing.”

Read their full recaps and share yours on SuperGlued.

Fresh faced Matt Jaffe rocking Pete's Candy Store

NYC squall season thwarted Team 50/50’s plans again!  Amped and ready for Deerhunter at t the Williamsburg Waterfront, they were greatly disappointed to find it had been moved to Brooklyn Bowl (which was filled past capacity by the time they got there).  Fortunately, good old Pete’s Candy Store came to the rescue with a great show, preserving 50/50’s streak of 38 straight shows!!

Nick:  ”Matt Jaffe is a fourteen year old singer songwriter from California… “He looks like he is ten years old,” a man in his fifties sitting near me confided in his wife. While most guitarists his age are still struggling with bar chords, Jaffe is touring America and performing his own folksy originals.”

Read their full recaps and share yours at SuperGlued.

Jane Holzer brushing for the camera

Dean and Britta performed to Andy Warhol’s silent films on a summer evening in Prospect Park. Fascinating characters from the past were brought back to life through original scores and Dean’s storytelling. And through it all, KSH just experienced her favorite show so far!

Katharine: “…but the intricacies of this performance made it, for me, one of the most beautiful shows I’ve seen, from the subtle rebellion of “Teenage Lightning” played with Paul America’s video or the half-smiles that Dennis Hopper gave the screen during his test. It’s definitely my favourite of our lineup so far.”

Nick: During the screen tests of Lou Reed and Nico, the band played covers by Lou Reed and Bob Dylan respectively, injecting a reminder of the decade’s own aesthetic into the musical experience. The set provided both a concert and a history lesson; between songs Dean shared vignettes about the lives (and sometimes deaths) of the subjects.

Read their full recaps and share yours on SuperGlued.

Vivian Girls at Whitney Museum

The NYC monsoon struck again! Team 50/50 was originally scheduled to see Polvo and Obits at South Street Seaport. But it got nasty before show time so the organizer’s moved it to Brooklyn Bowl in Billyburg. Cool idea except it was 21+ and started later in the evening. Fortunately, the equally awesome Vivan Girls were playing an  show up at the Whitney Museum. The packed show had a raw, DIY feel to it.

Katharine: “It was hot and over-crowded inside and there was no way that I would be able to see, so the experience I had watching the show was a little bit different. I saw it happen from behind the bands, looking through the glass window at where the audience was facing me and the rest of the people outside. The sound was muffled and I had to step inside to hear it clearly, but it added a really interesting dynamic to the whole show.”

Check out their full recap and add yours to SuperGlued.

(Photo courtesy of Qbertplaya’s Gigoblog)

BUrning Spear burned bright at Prospect Park's Bandshell

Reggae legend Burning Spear took the stage at Prospect Park Bandshell and shined his bright light on Brooklyn.  Now in his 60’s, Burning Spear is still as spry and full of vigor as he was many years ago.  Check out how Team 50/50 enjoyed the show:

Nick: “The group jammed a bit sans Spear -its offbeat accentuated reggae rhythms punctuated by crisp lines from the horns. Then the band built tension with sparse instrumentation, a hiss of symbols prominent; lights flashed on and off, and Spear finally burst onstage. The crowd applauded wildly while Spear bounced on his toes and rotated his shoulders like a seasoned boxer entering the ring.”

Katharine: “There were quite a large number of die-hard fans in the audience at the bandshell last night, dancing through the entire set and calling out to him, even when Burning Spear hadn’t started a call-and-response with the crowd (though that did happen, at one point). From tiny kids to older fans, New York turned out in full to see Burning Spear in concert. With credentials and music like his, it’s easy to understand why.”

Read their full recaps and share yours on SuperGlued.

(Photo courtesy of Celebrate Brooklyn’s Album, taken by Ryan Muir)

Químbombó @ Stuyvesant High School

Due to the coming squall, Cuban dance legends Químbombó got moved from their original venue, Wagner Park, to the auditorium of Stuyvesant High School.  Thankfully, the flashback of high school recitals didn’t stop music lovers from shaking their stuff, Team 50/50 included.  Check out what they had to say:

Nick: ““Please feel free to dance. They are not giving out fines or tickets for dancing,” implored director/composer Nick Herman between songs. The bashful crowd initially abstained, but the infectious rhythms lured a gradually increasing number of people onto the dance floor in an aisle section as the show continued.”

Katharine:  ”The members of Quimbombó were obviously very proud of each other and what they were playing. After every song, someone would inevitably be praised, their name called out in recognition of what talent they had leant to the song they’d just played. Given that there were 11 or 12 people on stage, it was a lot to recognise — but everyone got mentioned, from the young Brooklyn guy on guitar to the guy from Rio de Janeiro on percussion in the back of the ensemble.”

Read their full recaps and share yours at SuperGlued.

King Britt @ World Financial Center

The World Financial Center has been the perfect setting to experience electronic and experimental sounds.  Last night was no exception with King Britt using video and jazz to create a space age tribute to Sun-Ra.

Nick: “The video vacillated between shots of Sun-Ra performing, a point of view shot of flying over a bizarre planet, Sun-ra walking in ceremonial Egyptian clothing and abstract images as the music went from cacophonous and abrasive to a finely tuned improvisational free jazz session.”

Katharine: “They brought out a saxophone player for a long solo in front of the audience, and it was easily my favourite part of the night — the gorgeous tone of the saxophone complemented everything perfectly, from the video on stage to the sounds of the keyboard and flutes behind it..”

Check out their full recaps and share yours on SuperGlued.

Anita Baker

Team 50/50 got a real treat at Wingate Field in Brooklyn.  Brooklyn’s MLK series brought back the old school slow jams, with Charlie Wilson and Anita Baker taking the stage for an eager audience.  Check out how our explorers enjoyed the change of scene and pace.

Nick: “Her music is hypnotizing; she lulled me into a dreamy state that made my eyelids a little heavy, but it was a soulful performance regardless. “This dress is just a dress. This stage is just a stage. We do this for you,” Baker said between songs. It was a night that proved the rightness of Baker’s successes-her eight grammys, her platinum records, her decades of touring –old school love songs never go out of style.”

Katharine: “I wasn’t sure what to expect from the venue, so when we walked up to see barricades and a line to get in, I realised it would be a little bit different than what I imagined. The stage was huge, there were people by the thousands, security was doing bag-checks, and the field itself was centered around a track that people had set up chairs on. Considering that many of our venues, while they draw huge crowds, are very small stages, this was a newer experience.”

Read their full recaps and share yours on SuperGlued.

Threatening clouds @ the Williamsburg Waterfront struck fear in a girl's heart

Team 50/50 got rained out of their first show this summer!  After enjoying two sets at Williamsburg Waterfront, lightning forced security to close up shop and send everyone home before the Trail of Dead took the stage. Given all the rainy nights throughout the summer, was this abrupt ending justified?

Nick: “Rain has cancelled very few free shows this summer, and most of us expected the music to continue. Then abrupt and visually astounding streaks of lightning began to light up the sky as the crowd looked on, amazed. The call of green shirted waterfront security signaled the end of the entertainment, and spectators were quickly herded out of the gates before headliners Trail of Dead had performed a single song.”

Katharine: “The rain wasn’t so bad, it was warm, and there was no reason to move. Turns out: security thought otherwise. When the lightning started over the water, we were kicked out of the park and the show was cancelled, meaning: we didn’t get to see …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Total bummer — maybe next time!”

Read their full recaps and share yours at SuperGlued.