By Therese Maher and Maria Gotay
If you’re an indie music lover with a soft spot for industrial aesthetics, I hope you got yourself over to Brooklyn Fire Proof last weekend for the Bushwick Walkabout Festival. In its second year, the fest was back with a huge line-up of bands and a whole lotta booze. Here’s what went down: two days and nights of great rock music, all the Sixpoint you can handle, hearty burgers, and a relaxed crowd. The weather alternated between drizzling and balmy, but the great local talent was more than adequate distraction.
The folks over at Sixpoint proved they weren’t only a tasty bunch, but generous too. Free beers, anyone? Yes please!
Maybe you’re the competitive type? You like to think you know your Bengal Tiger from your Sweet Action? Punters put it all on the line at the Sixpoint Blind Tasting Station. It was good clean, competitive, drunken fun.
Fire Proof proved to be a great venue for a small festival like this one. Positioned between two four-storey warehouses, the sound is channeled from the stage through to the backyard perfectly – there’s not a bad seat in he house. The back room in Fire Proof also doubled as a VIP lounge.
Did we mention there was whole lot of music? Here are some of the excellent bands we caught Friday night.
Viva Mayday
New York funk-rockers Viva Mayday have a touch of Sublime in their otherwise energetic rock’n’roll. The lead singer showcases sexy and smooth vocals over smart and catchy guitar parts.
Slam Donahue
Slam Donahue was one of the hottest bands on Walkabout’s bill. The fourth time I’ve seen them, I got just what I expected- some scratchy lo-fi-americana-punk-pop-rock. Yes, that’s a lot of genres smooshed together, but when you listen to this innovative trio, I think you’ll understand. Dominantly catchy and pop-ridden repetitive choruses interlace with understated verses of pure street poetry. Download their mixtape for free at their soundcloud.
Team Spirit
Team Spirit got the crowd fired up with their jangly punk rock hits. Along the same high-energy rock vibes as all of the bands on the bill, Team Spirit stood out for their stage presence- a great group dynamic, they were truly rocking out and giving it their all. Look out for these guys and their hot guitar riffs.
Town Hall
Some truly lovely music spilled out of gentle-yet-beautiful Town Hall. Beat-driven folk-pop songs with soaring two-part harmonies made this band a hit. Nostalgic, intelligent, story-based lyrics make this young band sounds years older than they appear in person.
Beast Make Bomb
Another band that was also on Walkabout’s bill last year is the much-improved Beast Make Bomb. I was so impressed with their new sound that I didn’t realize I’d seen them before. It’s a shame that they have decided to end their union as a band – news they shared on their website yesterday. They embody the lo-fi fuzziness that punk bands have perfected in recent years with a badass frontwoman who brings the right about of grudgey-sparkly.
On both Friday and Saturday half the neighbors from the studio space next door were catching the show from their overhead balconies. Charming, just charming.The only excuse I’ll accept for your absence is that you were getting down and dirty across the road at The Well. But then, there’s always next year, Bushwick- here are some of the beautiful faces we hope to see again next year.
