We teamed up with BuzzChips to put on a killer rock show at Brooklyn Night Bazaar on 5-31.
Sun Club ignited the night with an infectious and energetic set of grooving and tribal rock. This young band from Baltimore are a real treat to see live and had the audience pogoing along with each of the charismatic musicians. It was happy music which made you feel good but with an edge, complete with screams and hoots+hollers. The five piece unit was impressively tight and had an affinity for bouncing notes off one another while dancing and jumping around. Everybody was highly impressed with this young outfit and it should be exciting watching this promising group in the future.
Cruiser followed up with a set of straight forward indie rock with mellow hooks and dreamy choruses. A lot of the perky tunes reminded me of an older time in music and would fit well into a 50’s rock hall except for the booming basslines which would probably freak a few of the older folks out. The dance floor was seen swaying around and singing along with the catchy lyrics as the band gave away a solid set.
Guitar rock with a dancing back groove followed next with Fort Lean. The Brooklyn band was super fun and lead singer Keenan Mitchell, with his crowd interaction and happy demeanor had the crowd involved early and often. The range of the band was impressive, able to go from a gentle rolling beat to a near on grunge jam within the same song. Near the end of their set Mitchell took to the audience and sang a song up close and personal to the surprise of the nearly packed floor.
Around midnight, with nearly a packed house, Yellow Ostrich took the headlining spot and showed why they are one of the best acts to come out of Brooklyn in recent memory. Fresh off a Europe tour the quartet blazed through an hour long set filled with incredible danceable tunes. What separates this band from the thousands others like it is the near genius lyrics, and when silky smooth lead singer, Alex Schaaf, belts them out you feel it to the core. All the songs were tight including “Elephant King” but “My Moons” with its devastating words “Your smile brings me sadness, but I do long for it” blew the room away and made me miss my high school girlfriend. After an hour of pulling on our heartstrings, the night gave in to the Williamsburg streets and while walking home we knew it was a really special night in Brooklyn.
Article and photos by Shayne Hanley
Sun Club
Cruiser
Fort Lean
Yellow Ostrich
