Black Lips + HEALTH at East River State Park, Brooklyn

Black Lips at East River State Park 7.26.09

Almost a year to the date, the Black Lips destroyed McCarren Park Pool for one of the final shows before The Pool Parties were relocated to the East River State Park. Jess and I finally made it out to the Pool Parties’ new picturesque location at the Williamsburg waterfront yesterday for the packed bill consisting of: Grupo Fantasma, HEALTH, Black Lips, and headliner And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead.

We caught the end of Grupo Fantasma but their tropical salsa-infused tunes seemed to be a hit with the crowd who tried their best attempt at salsa dancing on the lawn. Shortly after, HEALTH crashed onstage powering through a danceable yet heavy and substantial set. HEALTH yanked everyone out of their sun daze and into a riotous dance party, a proper preview as to what was next in store.

Health at East River State Park, 7.26.09

Last year there was no photo pit at McCarren so this year the Black Lips live set was an entirely different experience! From the first drum hit the crowd went nuts. Fans that ranged from tweenagers to the kids you see at every damn show surprised/amazed me with their ability to overpower security and practically crush anyone in the photo pit — it was pretty awesome/overwhelming.

To watch the crowd that Black Lips draws in is a big part of the overall experience, but the true energy and focus always remains on the band who revels in this. They gave the show that everyone hoped for and/or may not have expected.

As soon as their set wrapped however, the sky drew dark and the Manhattan skyline disappeared in a heavy cloud of fog followed by thunder and lightning. JellyNYC made a smart yet hard decision by cancelling And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead’s set — barely missing the heavy downpour that followed shortly after. Bummer!

We’ll be at All Points West and Lollapalooza for the next two weeks but make sure you catch the remaining shows at the East River State Park, click HERE for the full schedule. I highly advise you to attend the Simian Mobile Disco DJ set with Fiery Furnaces.

MP3: HEALTH – Die Slow or zShare
MP3: Black Lips – Drop I Hold (Featuring GZA) or zShare