Loose Record Summer BBQ - Love As Laughter, The Picture, Shade @ Union Pool, 10 June 2006

After much rest Friday night I got up and decided I needed to see some live music. Daytime live music with beers. Luckily, I knew just the spot. The Loose Record Summer BBQ at Union Pool - three bands, lots of grilled food, cheap beers, and a sweet $3 entry. Fun times were sure to be had.

Shade
Shade was the first band up and I caught half of their set. They hail from Pittsburgh and brought some very nice British infused neo-shoegaze to the stage. That's got to be a genre by now, no? I enjoyed Shade's set but ultimately felt like they lacked that certain something that makes a band a very special band. Still, worth a listen (see below) or a visit to their MySpace page. Sorry about the crap photo.

Listen - "Dragan Stajic"

The Picture
Next up, The Picture. This is the band I would've come to see if I had actually heard of them before. Apparently my head was stuck way too far up my ass to have taken note. My ears perked up before their set, though, when Jerry said they had a brit-pop/James kinda thing going on. Uh, that's like RIGHT up my alley. And it was. They was. Were. Whatever. As many of you already know, The Picture rocks. And they've got something you don't see a whole lot of these days...a singer who can definitely sing (the rest of the band rocks socks off too). Word up. Go see The Picture on MySpace.

Listen - "Rise"

Love As Laughter
Love As Laughter is the band I'd actually heard of before the show and I was looking forward to checking them out. Who are they? They're the vehicle of Sam Jayne who has done work with Modest Mouse, Beck and J. Mascis. They're on indie giant Sub Pop and make some sweet ass home-groove indie-rock a la Malkmus, Neil Young, or many many others. I enjoyed every song they played and the instrument trading but my favorite part was seeing a band in a small Brooklyn venue and actually listening to, and finding myself interested in, the lyrics. I will definitely be checking them out live again. Go see Love As Laughter on MySpace.

Listen - "Dirty Lives"

Oh yeah, so in case you were left wondering...fun times were indeed had. There was an excellent turnout for the BBQ and everyone seemed to enjoy the food as well as the bands.