Support Underground Shows

Above: Meredith Godreau AKA Gregory and the Hawk

This weekend I had the priveleged of playing a couple of underground-type shows in the City.

On Saturday I began my stint (stumbling more than a little) as a temporary guitarist in Ava Luna, at Rats of NIMH's "Fck CMJ" show in Cooper Park (Williamsburg, Brooklyn). Thankfully, the weather was great and there were some tremendously talented acts, including, but not limited to Fiasco (virtuosic indie metal with shades of Pavement, Trail of Dead, and older Modest Mouse) and Say Hello to Symphony (psychedelic prog rock with a lot of happy synths courtesy of the absurdly talented Vasu Panicker). It was fantastic to play out in the park amidst all the kids playing, old folks sitting on benches, and other passersby on a Saturday afternoon. The gig was free and entirely non-exclusive, basically the exact reverse of the CMJ fest going on in NYC’s established venues, which you can’t really enjoy unless you either a) buy a really expensive weekend pass, b) are a member of the press, or c) are well-connected. Essentially it’s a pretty misguided annual event that really ticks off everyone on the outside. Come to whatever conclusions you will. Personally, I think it sucks.

Today, I played perhaps the coolest gig I’ve ever been privileged to participate in since I started in the often frustrating and always unbalancing, game of playing live music. It was at Propensity, a quaint little venue/home in Brooklyn. I played a support set for Kyle Gilbride (a charming suburb folkie) and Gregory and the Hawk (think Emiliana Torrini, Ramona Cordova, and Isobel Campbell all rolled into one). It was outdoor again, this time in a backyard around sunset, complete with candles, cheap (but still gross) PBR’s, and the friendly sounds of a living neighborhood winding down at the end of a busy weekend.

Incidentally, I was supposed to play another show with KC Quilty and Ava Luna on Saturday night, which never happened because of an upsetting debacle regarding drinking laws. Apparently, the band isn’t even allowed to play certain places if some of the members are underage. It’s really depressing to see the way venues are forced to become completely lifeless holes at the hands of unreasonable laws that have the effect of stripping our live music culture of its once-famous for its vitality. I know it’s such a common complaint, but when are lawmakers going to come to their senses and lower the legal drinking age to eighteen? I’m not a rabid liberal by any stretch, but I cannot understand how you can be considered an adult (i.e. you’re not tried as a minor, you can go to war, you can vote) at eighteen years old, but you can’t drink until you’re twenty-one. It’s got to be understood that legalizing the use of alcohol over eighteen will not have the effect of causing rampant alcohol abuse. It already happens illegally. It will happen no matter what the laws. Better to let young people be full-fledged citizens with all the same rights than patronize an important age group with laws that really don’t make much sense.

Relevant links:

Sleep When Dead NYC a great blog by Joe Ahearn, who books awesome DIY shows in Brooklyn, with frequent posts about awesome, cheap concerts by up-and-coming independent artists.


Gregory and the Hawk’s Official Website Check out her new CD, In Your Dreams.

Also, check out the links for Ava Luna and KcQuilty on the left while you’re at it.