Superchunk & Versus @ South Street Seaport - pics & videos

July 19, 2009

‘Superchunk were awesome. I couldn’t believe how much energy they had onstage. But Versus were good too.’ – ]Anonymous | July 18, 2009 9:21 AM

“Twenty years of Superchunk. Twenty years of Merge Records. Mac MacCaughan and Laura Ballance, co-founders of both, have got to be feeling pretty good about things. And they certainly weren’t at a loss for energy on Friday night. Following a great set from Versus (a sometimes-Merge band that’s back at it after quite a few years off), Superchunk hit the gas and never let up.

As the sun disappeared behind the looming skyscrapers of the Financial District and mist thickened over the East River, the band laid down a set of songs from all over their two decades of existence. Though the Seaport has the potential to kill rock ‘n’ roll vibes with its touristy surroundings, Superchunk was immune to any such bumming-out. Instead they chugged, jumped, squealed and shouted like they were trying to blow the roof off of some smoky and sweaty midsized club.

And, indeed, they even seemed close to blowing the roof off of the dark and cloudy Manhattan sky, as a few errant rain drops hinted at an impending downpour. Fortunately, the deluge held off long enough for the band to bust out an encore of “Slack Motherfucker,” a killer finale for a refreshingly spirited show.” [John Ruscher]

More pictures and some videos from Friday‘s free show, below…