There's nothing like a McCarren Park Pool show to get rid of a serious Sunday hangover. Although, a thanks is definitely in order to the HUGE Turkey's Nest margarita & the miniature sub par chicken empanada that escaped from a duffel bag only to make a new home in my empty half drunken belly. No matter the headache, this was a concert I had been looking forward to all summer. And as luck would have it, the last pool show I will ever attend-- sadly, my job is sending me out of town with no room for some Yo La Tengo love.
I've heard a million great things about Panther & Chin Chin, but I was busy having a little too much fun with water guns to really pay any attention to their sets. Not to mention, my love for the Slip 'n Slide and free VIP Dewars (thanks to my real life guardian angel-- and I'm not talking about Bernie Mac here, kids). My favorite quote of the day definitely came early from some dude who screamed out something along the lines of 'Nice white pants, asshole!' during the Chin Chin parade. Let's face it, we were all there to see the man himself-- Aesop Rock.
The crowd seemed younger than usual, and if I had to guess... I'd chalk it up to the heavy Myspace marketing blasts from the Aesop camp in the last few months. I'd say Mr. Rock, no matter how profane, could be considered a poetry teacher of sorts to the young ones. A few songs in, the beat to "Nightlight" dropped, and I had a mini-Jeff Tweedy breakdown. The lack of movement in the crowd was slightly unnerving. Immediately following, Aesop gave the crowd what they wanted-- his self proclaimed Vegas song, 'Daylight'. This was deserving of a phone call to my little brother, 13, who will come home from summer camp to a drunk dial message from his big sis.
The last time I saw Aesop Rock was at the small in comparison, Slim's in San Fransisco. The Pool substituted that intimacy for drunken madness, and Mr. Lif for a special appearance by El-P (who supposedly DJed at the Union Pool After Party-- maybe I had a few drinks too many, but I didn't see him in that fairly empty room). The soon to be a pool again was truly appreciated by the prolific hip-hoppers. That sentiment was brought to a bright & shiny light as Aesop yelled to the anticipating crowd, 'this is one of the best days of my career, right here'. It always feels good when the artist is just as happy as us to be there.
The 'After Party' definitely didn't live up to its promotion of 'telling Monday to shove it'. But, after hopping thru 3 Lorimer local bars to find Red Bull for my vodka, and some free pizza at Alligator Lounge, only to eventually find myself back at Union Pool... my Monday was definitely shoved.
As always, I had a wondrous time, and the sunburn to prove it.
Peep this for some real photo footage.
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