You could tell it was a late-summer Sunday. Warm sunlight slanted through the Yard’s canopy of trees, sparking on the motionless surface of the Gowanus Canal and combating the slight chill creeping into the air. The audience lounged at picnic tables amid the foliage, nursing hangovers with cups of sangria and slices of watermelon. In the shadow of the silo that once contained experimental music venue Issue Project Room, hamburgers and sausages sizzled on a grill, their aroma wafting out and across the lot to the stage. Yes, the triple-birthday-party concert for Brooklyn rock promoter Todd P and sidekick/interns Natasha and Maggie (also of Showpaper fame) was a languid day, the sort of day on which the summer eases out at last.
The bands seemed to feel it too. Their sets tended to seem a little looser and more laid-back than other recent performances, perhaps in keeping with the general mood. This played to the strengths of some acts, as (I’m told) in the case of the High Places’ arboreal psych-pop set from a spot in the Yard’s forest, while undercutting the impact of some of the others.
