by Andrew Frisicano

Jemina Pearl @ Union Pool...

The audience was left to wonder exactly what happened when Jemina Pearl walked off stage less than 30 minutes into her headlining set Saturday night (2/13) at Union Pool. The question wasn't the shortness itself, but the abruptness of her departure: after getting increasingly frustrated with something, she kicked the drum set, gave the one-finger salute to her band and left, to the stunned then embarrassed faces of her supporting trio. The show was really just getting started. "As long as everyone had fun, that's what matters," said the bass player sheepishly before getting a lit cigarette thrown at him by the singer, in a brief return to the stage.

They did manage to get through "I Hate People," a cover of "Band on the Run" and a handful of others (though not "Heartbeats" which one of the most enthusiastic fans requested as a not-to-be encore). It was an awkward hometown end to nearly a month of touring.

Openers Harlem were admirably sloppy and enthused (it's hard not to think of a less manic Black Lips). Their animated, banadana-ed singer/guitarist and more straight-laced drummer swapped roles halfway through the set, which brought out a different dynamic for sure - round two was cleaner with more of a focus on pointed guitar riffs and less on effusive vocals. The Austin band's second album is due this summer on Matador, and they'll be touring the West Coast for the next few weeks.

Jemina's next scheduled show/shows are SXSW. The full Ecstatic Peace SXSW showcase lineup (Thurston Moore, J Mascis & Andrew WK included), more Union Pool pictures, a video and Harlem tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Jemina Pearl played Brooklyn w/ Harlem, stormed off stage (pics), playing SXSW w/ Thurston, J. Mascis, Andrew WK"