The Breeders at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
photo by Ester Segretto

The Breeders & Speedy Ortiz @ BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! (pics, setlist, review)

“Did you know it’s National Hawaiian Shirt Day,” Breeders bassist Josephine Wiggs, dressed in all black and sometimes wielding a bubble gun, asked the Prospect Park crowd. “Well, this what Hawaiian goths wear.” Josephine may have also had something to do with her band’s walk-on music, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by fellow 4AD group Bauhaus. It was a darkly funny touch for an otherwise cheery, fun show by the indie rock greats, which was also the final free show season of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival. While it had poured buckets earlier in the day and the forecast called for more, the rain thankfully held off, making for a cool but muggy evening.

Kicking things off appropriately with their “summer is ready when you are” anthem, “Saints,” Kim Deal, her sister Kelley and drummer Jim MacPherson were all in a jovial mood for this show which was also the last date of The Breeders’ summer tour. The played pretty much everything you’d want to hear (well, except “Divine Hammer”) and they fired off “Cannonball” early in the set. New material from All Nerve, like “Wait in the Car,” “Nervous Mary,” and “MetaGoth” sounded great and went over like gangbusters, too. There were a couple special guests during their set too (“Yeah, we know people!” noted Kim), bringing out violinist Carrie Bradley to play on a few songs, including “Drivin’ On 9” which was originally by Carrie’s old band, Ed’s Redeeming Qualities. The also brought out Sadie Dupuis of openers Speedy Ortiz, to play on Title TK‘s “Off You.” As they’ve been doing for a while, they also played Pixies’ “Gigantic.” You can check out the setlist, and a few fan-shot videos, below.

NYC councilman (and Indecision guitarist) Justin Brannon introduced The Breeders — noting he may have been chosen to do so because of his resemblance to Frank Black — alongside fellow councilman Brad Lander. Check out pictures from the whole night in the gallery above.

The Breeders will be back in the NYC area to play Asbury Park’s House of Independents as part of their fall tour. While their show was the last free one of the season, there’s one more ticketed concert left for BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! 2018 — the rescheduled Decemberists show on Tuesday with Hamilton Leithauser (tickets).

 

SETLIST: The Breeders @ Prospect Park Bandshell 8/11/2018
Saints
Wait in the Car
No Aloha
Divine Hammer
All Nerve
New Year
Cannonball
When I Was a Painter
Skinhead #2
Fortunately Gone
Howl at the Summit
Drivin’ on 9
Off You
Glorious
Spacewoman
Nervous Mary
S.O.S.
Do You Love Me Now?
I Just Wanna Get Along
MetaGoth
Gigantic

Encore:
Huffer
Invisible Man
Iris

photos by Ester Segretto