After unforeseen difficulties involving cat vomit and my bed, I got into the Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope late last Saturday but well in time to catch evening headliners No One and the Somebodies.
The show was a benefit and trailer release party for director Larissa Simpson’s upcoming thesis film Cassandra, and featured a wide selection of rock bands, few of whom I actually got to see, besides the aforementioned. Also in the audience were two-thirds of Fiasco (Julian Bennett Holmes and Lucian Buscemi), which makes sense given that they’re from the neighborhood and cite No One and the Somebodies as one of their favorite bands.
I hadn’t seen the Westchester-based punk quartet for a couple years, but seeing them again the affinity was unsurprising: both NOATS and Fiasco are basically punk bands with prog asperations. But where Fiasco extend the punk palette with math rock and hardcore references, NOATS fill out their extended songforms with keyboard breakdowns, and mid-song percussion swaps to bang the hell out of an actual chunk of guard rail. All without sacrificing momentum or energy, or getting bogged down in quintessential prog problems like being ungodly boring. I’m glad the two opposing ends of the 70s are talking again. Though that’s a little deceptive, as neither band really sounds like the 70s, whatever their references. Fittingly the set ended with a combining of forces, with the Fiasco drummer and guitarist duetting on keys while the guardrail was dragged out for the finale. Besides being a really solid set, it’s also nice to see good rock shows going on right at edge of Park Slope and Gowanus, where, Southpaw aside, shows can be hard to come by.
