Pool of Joy

The McCarren Park Pool was the perfect venue for the double-whammy, both-bands-are-awesome lineup that this show had goin’ on. While certainly there are plenty of people out there who are fans of both Built to Spill and Cat Power, this enormous former public pool provided the chill vibe and spacious comfort-zone atmosphere in which adorers of either act could easily enjoy the band they came to see, and then relax a bit and be exposed to the offerings of another awesome act.  The mellow, early evening sun provided a nice backdrop for the soulful sounds of Cat Power and the Dirty Delta Blues band. This was my first time seeing the rather tan-looking Chan Marshall and that remarkable voice of hers, and her fabled shy demeanor and somewhat awkward stage-presence made itself immediately clear.  Not that this was a deterrent — to her credit, I found her bashfulness to be charming rather than annoying or performance-ruining. Certainly her vocal presentation did not suffer for her squeamishness or fear of thousands of people watching her in a once urine-heavy, public tub of water.

There were definitely lots of random, jerky hand motions, funny little kicks, and constant hair tossing on her part, but despite this flailing about that sultry yawl came across seemingly nerve-free. Marshall belted powerfully through her numbers in a way that gave due credit to her captivating voice, and her cute antics lent her a humility that sorta made you grin. People in attendance were most receptive to familiar tunes from her adored The Greatest, including “Could We” and “Willie.” As an exit number with adequate space for the band introduction, the gang played a funny version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which was featured on the appropriately titled The Covers Record. Utilizing the power of cats, Marshall and band put on an excellent show and opened the dancin’ doors for the headliners.

In anticipation, I excitedly made my way up to the very front for the fabulous surge of awesomeness that is Built to Spill. You see, I really like this band. I secured a spot right up against the railing, and was first pleased to hear a few words from everyone’s favorite liberal radio persona Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. As the BTS boys stood encouragingly on the sidelines, Amy spoke briefly against the jerks who run the biased, truth-altering media and encouraged us young folk to choose a news source that “covers power, not covers for power,” and also to check out her new book Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back. Among the throngs of half-drunk and eager concert goers, this was an appropriately timed and important reminder for all the fun-loving kids out there to take an active part in the political side of life and not remain numb to all that important, world issue stuff informed people are always talking about.

Soon Built to Spill began their magic and the crowd was definitely in the mood to rock, especially this one chick next to me who was thrashing around insanely as if BTS had her in some sort of music-induced trance.  Well, they are pretty good. This was my seventh time seeing these fellows live and while surely they’ve never disappointed, I was thrilled anew by their choice of songs this time ‘round. Many intense, intricate jams were played off the amazing Perfect from Now On, and there were also of course some favorites from Keep it Like a Secret, for which the crowd went wild. A few surprises were “Nowhere Nothin’ Fuckup” of their first album Ultimate Alternative Wavers, which was kickass and unexpected, and a cover of Brian Eno’s “Third Uncle” (take that, Bauhaus!), whose quick lyrics and punky chorus brought the audience to a dancing frenzy. Another highlight was the fact that they played “Time Trap,” a number that has eluded me in the past at live performances but that totally, like, rocked my world back when I first heard it in college. I loved every minute of this wonderful show, as apparently did all the persons around me, and the night almost came to a perfect close when Doug Martsch threw the crumpled set list in my general direction.  For one slo-mo second I thought I might actually catch the thing, but alas the girl next to me grabbed it. Ah well, she was kind enough to let me fanatically snap a picture, which is pretty sweet anyway. It’s not listed on there, and the usual encore spectacle was avoided due to time restrictions enforced by the pool’s security dudes, but they did actually tack “Carry the Zero” onto the set. In the end, my ears were saying “What’s that ringing?” while my head was saying “That rocked.”

Meanwhile, Laura and Chris were lucky enough to catch the Boredoms’ “Boadrum” 77 Drummers spectacular.