Lucero Ferry, July 2010 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

The Converse-presented 'Gone to Governors' free concert series comes to a close this weekend, but not before going out with a bang. Details and ferry instructions below...

Continue reading "2 more free shows @ Governors Island, both this weekend "

words by Rachel Kowal, photos by Andrew St. Clair

Though the forecast had been calling for thunderstorms all week, the weather turned out to be perfect for the opening night of the 'Gone to Governors' live music series. With shows from the likes of The Morning Benders, Passion Pit, Caribou, Phantogram, M.I.A., Sleigh Bells, Grizzly Bear, and Neon Indian all scheduled for the coming months on Governors Island (some free, some not), it's a pretty sweet line-up. The only trick is getting there.

The actual ferry ride over is brief - just four minutes, but my wait to get on the ferry took far longer... though I was lucky to get on a ferry at all. At around 7:30 on Saturday night, the ferries stopped running to the public since the show space was already at capacity for the 8:00 show time. As I approached the ferry pick-up point, hundreds of confused, would-be concert-goers were barked at by cops and show officials who screamed through megaphones, "Clear the area! Go home! There are no more boats!" It was all fairly chaotic and pretty distressing. (I mean were they really only expecting a few hundred people to be interested in seeing Yeasayer?) Luckily, however, the actual show was not marred by poor planning and haphazard execution.

Since getting to the island took much longer than expected, the only thing I heard from Delicate Steve, the first opener, was a song or two that I caught while waiting to get let into the space along the waterfront.

When the second opener, Keepaway, walked on stage, one member immediately commented on the setting. "This is the perfect time to play a show." The sun was just dipping below the horizon, and a refreshing breeze rolled in from the water. Keepaway's music lies somewhere in the vein of surfer stoner rock. Following their first song, Keepaway's keyboard player astutely likened the surroundings to Pleasure Island (a la Pinocchio). It was a pretty fitting observation. We had all been taken to an island by boat and provided with free music, fun, and food and beverages (if you paid for them). It all had quite a magical feel. But luckily, Governors Island did not seem to conceal a sinister secret. Though brief, Keepaway's set was surprisingly enjoyable. With their electro beats, strange guttural vocals, delightful harmonies, and lyrics about Sonic the Hedgehog, topiaries, and getting high, their music definitely livened up the crowd.

By the time Yeasayer launched into their set, the sky had fallen dark, and the Manhattan skyline twinkled across the water. On stage, multi-colored, blinking screens were strategically placed in the background and under keyboards, synthesizers, and mixing boards. Yeasayer began their set with "Wait for the Summer" from their 2007 release All Hour Cymbals, which, given the idyllic setting, seemed rather perfect.

Both on stage and in the pit, everyone seemed to be having a good time. With the help of their buoyant album Odd Blood, Yeasayer kept things light and danceable. Not even getting hit in the face with a beach ball did much to dampen lead singer Chris Keating's mood. He paced around the stage with great energy and at one point, he confessed in a rather jubilant (but surprised tone), "I'm having fun out here. I don't always have as much fun as I'm having right now." The crowd responded to the energy on stage by enthusiastically clapping, cheering, and singing along to songs like "2080," "Madder Red," and "Ambling Amp."

Then, without so much as an encore, the show ended promptly at 11, leaving the crowd to scramble over sand and discarded plastic cups in search of the only way off the island - the ferry. If the trip over contained a fair amount of scrambling, the departure was even more chaotic as hipsters were herded like animals and sporadically released in clumps to charge toward the ferry. Waiting for nearly an hour, surrounded by a sweaty mass of people may have sucked, but riding back on the upper deck of the ferry at midnight with the Manhattan skyline in view was a pretty fantastic way to end the evening.

A bit more about the show and the ferrys and a full set of pictures HERE. Another set of pictures (featuring all three bands) and Yeasayer's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Yeasayer, Keepaway & Delicate Steve @ Governors Island - review, setlist & more pics"

photos by Ryan Muir

Yeasayer, Keepaway and Delicate Steve kicked off the "Gone to Governors" series of free shows on the Beach @ Governors Island Saturday night (6/5). The capacity of The Beach is 3500 and that number was hit by 7pm, a full hour before the first band went on. Any one who showed up for the ferry after that, or who was on line already when that number was hit, was unfortunately turned away (though I heard that maybe at some point some people may have been able to get on when others left early)... that system is going to hopefully be improved in the future with the help of Twitter and more experience. Ultimately though, capacity is capacity and it's a free show (ticketed shows are more straightforward - anyone with a ticket gets on the boat).

People that did make it on the island experienced a unique outdoor NYC concert venue with sand, amazing views of the Manhattan skyline, lit-up colorful palm trees, and lots of people dancing. Ease of getting food, and of getting home, were common complaints that the promoters hope to improve as the summer goes on. That said, it's inevitable that there will be some waiting when the only way to leave a "sold out", 3500-capacity concert is on a ferry. A full review and more pictures from the free show are coming soon. In the meantime, check out this photo set by Ryan from the event...

Continue reading "pictures from the Yeasayer show @ Governors Island"

Yeasayer @ Webster Hall in May (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

"All concerts are accessible via New York Water Taxi. The Water Taxi's will leave every 15 minutes from the Battery Maritime Building Slip 5 on the Southern Tip of Manhattan, located next to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The first ferry will leave at the published show door time. Additional pickup locations may be added.

The closest subway stations to the Battery Maritime Building are: 1 at South Ferry, W at South Ferry, and 5 at Bowling Green. It is also a short walk from the Wall Street Area. Various city bus lines also service the Battery Park Area with stops near the ferry terminal.

Taxis and car may pull directly in front of the terminal for drop offs only. There is NO parking at the terminal.

Your Concert Ticket is your Roundtrip Ferry Pass, no additional tickets are needed.

See individual show pages for ferry times and schedules, as they are subject to change." [from the Governors Island concerts Directions]

Those are the official instructions posted on www.thebeachconcerts.com. They're from the point of Water Taxi who runs Water Taxi Beach which is the same beach that becomes "The Beach at Governors Island" for concerts, including the free ones this summer. And for nighttime events (like most of the free "Gone to Governors" events), it may be the instructions you have to follow to and from the shows. But that's okay because as it points out, Water Taxi/ferry service is included in your concert ticket price which also means that, for the free shows, it is free. As it mentions, the first ferry leaves at the show's posted "doors" time (6pm for Yeasayer).

ALSO NOTE THOUGH: you can also get to and from Governors Island on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with the always-free ferry service from the same-or-close-to-same exact location (Battery Maritime Building @ 10 South Street), and from the new Brooklyn location at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The schedule for those is HERE. They start running MUCH earlier (and from Brooklyn!). Only problem is that they stop running by 7pm on the weekends, so you will need to take the Water Taxi that runs special for the concerts at that time (that isn't actually a problem though).

UPDATE: There's also show-specific ferry info posted on the left side of the beachconcerts site. Right now it says this:

For Yeasayer on Saturday June 5th:
Public ferries will be running from Slip 6 at the Battery Maritime Building when The Beach is open to the general public from 10:00am to 5:30pm.

Once doors open at 6:00pm, ferries to The Beach will be running continuously from Slip 7 at the Battery Maritime Building.

Currently, ferries will only be running between Manhattan and Governors Island. Our new ferry service between Brooklyn and Governors Island will be in place for our upcoming shows!

I think that clears up some of it, but to clarify, there is a Brooklyn ferry in the day, but not at night. You can go in during the day from Brooklyn, but still have to go back to Manhattan at night.

Don't be scared. Governors Island is an amazing place. Get there early and walk around. Saturday's free Yeasayer show is "doors at 6, bands at 8". There are two openers (Keepaway and Delicate Steve). Then late-night there's an afterparty with Chris Keating DJing at Tribeca Grand (free with RSVP). New Yeasayer tour dates below...

Continue reading "more Yeasayer tour dates - free show Saturday, an afterparty & Manhattan/Brooklyn Governors Island ferry instructions "

view from the APW ferry - July 31, 2009 around 4pm (Emily Meyer)

during Fleet Foxes @ APW - July 31, 2009 around 4pm (Trey Many)

All Points West is underway. The rain has held off so far, but looks like a big storm is on its way. Fleet Foxes are playing on the main stage as I type this with The National up next. An early afternoon highlight was Seasick Steve (who also played a set at Mercury Lounge the other night).

The All Points West festival is dominated by young bands. But one of the best early sets came from Seasick Steve, a sixtysomething journeyman bluesman with a big gray beard.

Steve, who has received a lot of media attention in the United Kingdom over the last few years, appeared solo, accompanying his gruff vocals with simple but propulsive guitar riffs, and stomping out a beat with his left foot. He did sing one tender ballad, directed to a young, female volunteer from the audience, who sat beside him. But mostly this was raw, almost primitive blues in the tradition of Hound Dog Taylor and John Lee Hooker, and the crowd ate it up.

"Boy, there's enough of us here to fill a bar. So we're gonna make it a bar," he said.

He played a few different low-budget guitars. One was made out of a cigar box. Another had only three strings. [NJ.com]

Hearless Bastards, Shearwater, Eugene Mirman and Telepathe have all already played as well. Seasick Steve has another show coming up at Southpaw. Videos from Mercury Lounge below...

Continue reading "APW is underway, but check out those clouds!"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

After finally finishing the day three recap, now here finally is the rest of day two (8/9)...

Continue reading "Chromeo, Sia, the Black Angels & other APW day 2 pics"

the ferry line behind Bao

the ferry line in front of Bao

Bao's view on the ferry

Bao got on line for the ferry in NYC around 12:55, waited around 30 minutes for the boat to come, and arrived at All Points West in Jersey City at 2:00.

Kyle Dean Reinford is also there taking pictures for BrooklynVegan today.

All Points West Friday Ferry Tickets
Pier 11, New York, NY

Pier 11 is located in downtown Manhattan on South Street between Wall Street and Gouveneur Lane. Take MTA subway #2 and #3 to Wall St. Walk down Wall St 2 blocks to South Street. Turn right on South Street and Pier 11 will be on the left.

Advance tickets are $20 each, tickets are $25 each beginning August 2nd and $30 each when purchased day of show.

Those prices are per day. All Points west is three days long. It's not as scenic, but a much cheaper alternative would be the Path to Jersey City.