For the second day of Hillstock–Brooklyn’s D.I.Y. weekend festival–there was a day of music and barbecue in a backyard in Fort Greene that was scheduled to start at 10:30 in the morning (sure the neighbors loved that). We got there in time for The Toothaches. Two female vocalists fronted an extremely tight five-piece reminiscent of The Pixies. It was an interesting transition from them to Stupid Party, rocking some lengthy guitar solos and rapid-fire drumming cut up with occasional screaming vocals. The Max Levine Ensemble were down to their bare minimum – just Spoonboy, drums, and bass – but the missing members did nothing to hurt their set’s energy. Lots of dancing, and the fact that the vocals were under-mic’d and hardly audible didn’t keep anyone from singing along, including to their new material, which sounded great. Bomb the Music Industry had the requisite bad jokes that come with any ska band, but brought a crowd of loyal fans also singing along during this ideal setting for a no-frills d.i.y. show.
