NYC Popfest 2012 Night 2: Saturday Looks Good to Me, Cola Jetset, Wild Moccasins, Orca Team and Catnaps (review, pics, video)

photos by Amanda Hatfield; words by Andrew Frisicano

Saturday Looks Good to Me

Saturday Looks Good to Me played their first New York City show in four years at the Knitting Factory on Friday, as part of NYC Popfest. Since disbanding the group in 2008, Thomas has been focusing on various projects: mainly his dream-pop duo City Center but also touring with upbeat outfit Swimsuit, which shares some members with the new Saturday Looks Good to Me iteration. The six piece band backed Fred and singer Carol Catherine Gray (who also plays fiddle) with synth, guitar, bass and drums. The group's Jonathan Richman-like simplicity and soulful beat carried old favorites ("Empty Room" "Alcohol," "The Girl's Distracted," and encores "Dialtone" and "Money in the Afterlife") as well as promising new songs. Thankfully the band has plans beyond this reunion tour: from the stage, Fred said to expect a new record in the fall.

The rest of Friday night's Popfest line-up included Barcelona's fizzy Cola Jet Set, energetic, wild haired Texans Wild Moccasins, fantastic Seattle trio Orca Team (whose performance we already wrote about), and openers Catnaps who did a glockenspeil-assisted cover of Joy Division's "Disorder," not the type of thing you associate with an indiepop festival.

More Popfest pictures are below, along with video courtesy of Bleary Eyed Brooklyn.