Attention, New York. As if you need an excuse to don little canvas sneakers and wear your hair in varying degrees of Mary Tyler Moore: starting Thursday (May 20) the NYC Popfest is serving up delicious helpings of hooks, bells, twinkles, and of course, plenty o’ cute. With an emphasis on ‘hooks,’ this year’s lineup includes sunny acts like Tender Trap, For Ex-Lovers Only, Very Truly Yours, Sweater Girls, and the painfully-punctuated Hearts! Attack, to name a few. Cute overload? Never fear. Counteract the surfeit of squee with post-punk underdogs The Wake (Scotland) or the curious poetics of New York’s own Secret History. Be there or be square (or be ironically square).
The festival boasts a total of 32 bands from New York to California to the UK (and a few odd ducks in between). On a scale of one to Williamsburg, your hosts for the 2010 Popfest top the list of Venues Most Likely to House Hipsters: the Cake Shop, Bell House, Don Hill’s, Littlefield. No need to worry about saving a few bucks by purchasing a 4-day pass (sold out!), but individual tickets can be found at http://www.nycpopfest.org/.
This is the Wake’s (Myspace) first visit to America: the promised land, so it’s your duty, NYC, to make these fellas feel right at home; or at the very least, like non-tax paying, foreign consumers (in other words: pretend to be likable). The Wake have been playing music together since the early 80s and may very well be the most silently revered band you’ve never heard of, depending on who you ask. Brooklyn darlings the Pains of Being Pure at Heart list the Scottish trio amongst their influences; the Depreciation Guild, who Pitchfork dubbed “solidly wispy”, also share in Wake love (no surprise as the band is led by Pains drummer Kurt Feldman). If that sounds mildly incestuous, welcome to indiepop.
The Popfest kicks off this Thursday at the Cake Shop (152 Ludlow St., NYC). Poverty-afflicted New Yorkers should be sure to check out Saturday’s free show in Williamsburg. For a full listing of bands, dates and times visit the festival’s official website.
05/20/2010 02:21:18 ♥ lara (
) ♥ nycpopfest.org
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