Sonic Youth / Feelies Battery Park Pix and Thanks

We'll credit Gaylord Fields' onstage Feelies intro invocation/namedrop of Bud Costello as the positive vibeage that kept big rain away from Battery Park yesterday, but it was a great atmosphere all around for the thousands who attended the WFMU-supported Sonic Youth/Feelies show  put on by River To River and Downtown Alliance. We should say upfront that both bands' soundmen were geniuses, it's the best I've heard either act, and a big shout to our own Irene Trudel, Bill Bowen, Scott Williams and Diane Farris for swinging WFMU's first ever big-venue live broadcast for the Sonic Youth portion, which went out at 5:00 PM on Friday. SY put in a set leaning heavily on some classics, opening with "She Is Not Alone", tossing in "Silver Rocket", "Cross the Breeze", "The Sprawl" "Making the Nature Scene", "Schizophrenia" and more, with Thurston at one point calling FMU "America's Only Rock and Roll Radio Station". The band, which carved this event out by inviting the Feelies and helping us on board in the first place, even went above and beyond by having their merch company Tannis Root create a limited edition WFMU/Sonic Goo commemorative shirt (pictured above with SY drummer Steve Shelley) which they donated all the proceeds of to the station. Enormous thanks to Sonic Youth and the Feelies (who we couldn't broadcast, but were also fantastic beyond belief despite the fact they had to condense their set into an hour timeslot), and also Ken and Ben Walker for pre/post show remote, Liz Berg, Tony B., Joe McGasko, Jason Sigal, Dave Cunningham, and all our volunteers that helped with and staffed the merch/Free Music Archive giveaways, Hot Rod for running board at FMU, River to River and Downtown Alliance staff who helped out (especially Jody, Chris and Dylan), Jay Weissman, SY manager Dan and Silva Management, Eric Dimenstein, Feelies manager Bob, Bill at Tannis Root, and everyone who jumped the ticket hurdles to get down. And thanks as well for the park's resident turkey for allowing our intrusion, and to the bomb-sniffing dogs who ensured that any lack of Crazy Rhythms-era material would not provoke a terrorist attack. Hopefully some live video to come shot by our documentarians, here's some pix on my Flickr page to check out now; feel free to add your own links to your pics or You Tubeage in comments below. Don't forget, WFMU's next Free Concert Series event happens August 20th at Damrosch Park in collaboration with Lincoln Center: The Ex (as a 10-piece!) with Getatchew Mekuria and more!

Comments

[saucerful]

Awesome show! Does anyone have a complete set list? That would be greatly appreciated!

Also for the WFMU staff: are there any t-shirts left? I meant to stop by the booth on my way out after the show but the crowd was insane... Thanks!

[jeff]

She is not Alone
Bull in the Heather
Silver Rocket
Skip Tracer
The Sprawl
World Looks Red
Cross the Breeze
Hey Joni
Jams Run Free
The Wonder/Hyperstation
Drunken Butterfly
--------
Making the Nature Scene
Pink Steam
--------
Schizophrenia
100%

[Ben]

Excellent show! Thank you thank you! It was like a 20th high school reunion only everyone looked great. 2nd that request for a play list. Was there a legal issue that prevented the Feelies set to be broadcast? I hope audio/video will surface as a pledge drive premium...

[Brian C.]

Hey BT, nice pix--I'm jealous of your behind the scenes shots! I enjoyed Sonic Youth, they're always great, but LOVED being able to see the Feelies for the first time! (Anybody have their set list? It seemed to be a couple of new songs, maybe one from "the good earth" and the rest from their 1st, 3rd & 4th records?). Here's a shot of the Feelies from a ways out http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2638619617/ (my elbows aren't as sharp as they used to be!).

Big thank you to SY for inviting the Feelies! Hopefully some day my 10-yr old will brag to his friends that his mom & dad were pretty cool after all for bringing him to this show…

[Parq]

Did anyone else notice a hopelessly confused dragonfly orbiting over the front of the crowd during SY's encore? No doubt thinking "Man, what the hell happened to the grass?" Either that or just surfing the sound waves crashing out from the stage.

[jeff]

01- On The Roof
02- The High Road
03- Nobody Knows *
04- Let's Go
05- Higher Ground
06- Away
07- Time is Right *
08- Slipping (Into Something)
09- Doin' It Again
10- Raised Eyebrows
11- Crazy Rhythms
encore
12- Outdoor Miner #
13- Fa Cé-La

* new song
# Wire cover

[Norm]

You could hear Sonic Youth all the way from Liberty Park. They were loud!

Thank you WFMU for broadcasting the show. :-)

[woid]

Bud Costello?

Sure it wasn't Lou Abbott?

[Brian Turner]

Actually, the original plan was for Gaylord Fields and I to both do the required stage announcements as Derek and Clive, but that was of course before we found out we'd be on the radio.

dragonfly - yes! saw it.

what an awesome show.

[Parq]

>>the original plan was for Gaylord Fields and I to both do the required stage announcements as Derek and Clive<<

First one to say anything about Kim Gordon and lobsters has to do the dishes.

[DefChef]

Waaaaaah! I wanted to go, but I got shut out online AND when they gave out the extras! So: how about hooking me up with an FMU/SY tee shirt? That would go a long way towards soothing my hurt feelings...boo hoo for me!

[brianne]

---oooooh! i'm so sad i had to to miss this- work kept me from this show.
someone please tell me that there are more t-shirts left from this event. I'll bake 4 dozen homemade cookies of your favourite kind for one. maybe even cash.....anyone? bueller?

[Walkathon]

That 3rd, behind-the-stage pic is fantastic. Nice one.