Another scorching Sunday, another visit to Williamsburg’s McCarren Park. This week we were treated to the always-delightful sounds of The Thermals & Ted Leo, respectively.

While I’ve seen Ted more times than I can recall over the last six years, I have to declare that yesterday’s show was probably the best I’ve witnessed of him and The Pharmacists, to date. Performing a bevy of tunes from each of their studio albums (focus on Living With The Living), Ted & the gang failed to falter under the excruciating Brooklyn heat.

Including Music Slut faves – ‘Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone? + ‘Me & Mia’ – early into the set, those in attendance were even graced with an impromptu & undeniably fabulous cover of Daft Punk’s ‘One More Time’ (something tells me that the track will be a mega-success on The Hype Machine as soon as it’s properly ripped)! Superb.

View Ted Leo + The Pharmacists’ upcoming tour dates here at TL’s MySpace page.

MP3: Ted Leo – Bomb.Repeat.Bomb

The Thermals came out to a rapturous applause sometime around 4:30 and performed an impressive best-of 45-minute set. The last time I saw The Thermals, they wowed me with an abbreviated stint during CMJ at Studio B (read my mini-review here).

The Portland-based trio have truly carved a great niche for themselves since their formation, back in 2002. The Sub Pop signees produce some of the most engaging post-punk/straightforward indie-rock anthems in recent memory. I predict a long and well-respected career for The Thermals. Yesterday’s show only confirmed my postulation.

Keep up to date on all things Thermals here at the band’s official site.

Next week’s final McCarren gig features Ghostland Observatory & Yacht, amongst other unannounced acts. Keep an eye on ThePoolParties.com for more info as it’s released.

MP3: The Thermals – No Culture Icons

What a beautiful day at the pool! Not only did Blonde Redhead wow me yet again (do they ever disappoint?), but I’m From Barcelona’s confetti-fueled mega-set may have officially staked its claim as the highlight of my summer, thus far. Positively phenomenal.

To say that I adored every second of I’m From Barcelona’s 40-minute show would be the understatement of the century. Each of the band’s twenty-nine members brought enough kitsch, energy, flair and merriment to fill Madison Square Garden, Giants & Shea Stadium twice over. I was smiling from ear to ear for the totality of their McCarren visit.

Opening with an exemplary version of We’re From Barcelona‘s ‘Treehouse’, the band wasted little time storming through most of their debut LP, all the while treating us to (my favorite) b-side (ever), ‘Britney’, and a mindblowing cover of Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’. The vast majority of the healthy crowd was eating out of their respective palms.

The Music Slut highly recommends demands your attendance at the band’s only other New York area gig tonight at Brooklyn’s Southpaw. Purchase a pair (or multiple pairs) of tickets HERE! Enjoy some more photos & an I’m From Barcelona MP3 below.

To learn more about the Swedish ensemble follow this link to their MySpace page.

MP3: I’m From Barcelona – Chicken Pox

Blonde Redhead’s hypnotic 75-minute set included a bevy of tunes from their most recent full-length, the melancholic, 23, in addition to a handful of tracks from earlier releases – most notably Misery Is A Butterfly & Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons.

Although the pairing of today’s show seemed rather random at first, in the end, it worked out better than fine. Up next week: The Thermals & Ted Leo. More info can be found here.

MP3: Blonde Redhead – Misery Is A Butterfly

What a beautiful day at the pool! Not only did Blonde Redhead wow me yet again (do they ever disappoint?), but I’m From Barcelona’s confetti-fueled mega-set may have officially staked its claim as the highlight of my summer, thus far. Positively phenomenal.

To say that I adored every second of I’m From Barcelona’s 40-minute show would be the understatement of the century. Each of the band’s twenty-nine members brought enough kitsch, energy, flair and merriment to fill Madison Square Garden, Giants & Shea Stadium twice over. I was smiling from ear to ear for the totality of their McCarren visit.

Opening with an exemplary version of We’re From Barcelona‘s ‘Treehouse’, the band wasted little time storming through most of their debut LP, all the while treating us to (my favorite) b-side (ever), ‘Britney’, and a mindblowing cover of Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’. The vast majority of the healthy crowd was eating out of their respective palms.

The Music Slut highly recommends demands your attendance at the band’s only other New York area gig tonight at Brooklyn’s Southpaw. Purchase a pair (or multiple pairs) of tickets HERE! Enjoy some more photos & an I’m From Barcelona MP3 below.

To learn more about the Swedish ensemble follow this link to their MySpace page.

MP3: I’m From Barcelona – Chicken Pox

Blonde Redhead’s hypnotic 75-minute set included a bevy of tunes from their most recent full-length, the melancholic, 23, in addition to a handful of tracks from earlier releases – most notably Misery Is A Butterfly & Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons.

Although the pairing of today’s show seemed rather random at first, in the end, it worked out better than fine. Up next week: The Thermals & Ted Leo. More info can be found here.

MP3: Blonde Redhead – Misery Is A Butterfly

What a beautiful day at the pool! Not only did Blonde Redhead wow me yet again (do they ever disappoint?), but I’m From Barcelona’s confetti-fueled mega-set may have officially staked its claim as the highlight of my summer, thus far. Positively phenomenal.

To say that I adored every second of I’m From Barcelona’s 40-minute show would be the understatement of the century. Each of the band’s twenty-nine members brought enough kitsch, energy, flair and merriment to fill Madison Square Garden, Giants & Shea Stadium twice over. I was smiling from ear to ear for the totality of their McCarren visit.

Opening with an exemplary version of We’re From Barcelona‘s ‘Treehouse’, the band wasted little time storming through most of their debut LP, all the while treating us to (my favorite) b-side (ever), ‘Britney’, and a mindblowing cover of Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’. The vast majority of the healthy crowd was eating out of their respective palms.

The Music Slut highly recommends demands your attendance at the band’s only other New York area gig tonight at Brooklyn’s Southpaw. Purchase a pair (or multiple pairs) of tickets HERE! Enjoy some more photos & an I’m From Barcelona MP3 below.

To learn more about the Swedish ensemble follow this link to their MySpace page.

MP3: I’m From Barcelona – Chicken Pox

Blonde Redhead’s hypnotic 75-minute set included a bevy of tunes from their most recent full-length, the melancholic, 23, in addition to a handful of tracks from earlier releases – most notably Misery Is A Butterfly & Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons.

Although the pairing of today’s show seemed rather random at first, in the end, it worked out better than fine. Up next week: The Thermals & Ted Leo. More info can be found here.

MP3: Blonde Redhead – Misery Is A Butterfly

It’s been just over six weeks since I last saw Erasure, on the surprisingly entertaining True Colors tour stop at Radio City Music Hall (mini-review here). Last night, the British synth-pop duo brought along three back-up singers, a dazzling (if not superfluous and/or trite) stage set-up, multiple outfit changes, and a healthy mix of new tracks intertwined with Erasure classics. All in all, a lovely Brooklyn summer evening.

It’s been twenty-two years since Erasure first broke into the mainstream, and nineteen years since they topped international charts with a series of mega-singles: ‘Chains Of Love’, ‘A Little Respect’ & ‘Ship Of Fools’. Thankfully, all of the aforementioned tracks were included in last night’s crowd-friendly 90-minute setlist (see below). You have to appreciate an epic band that knows what its fans want to hear.

One personal highlight was the beautiful live interpretation of current single, ‘I Could Fall In Love With You’. Other ditties from their latest LP, Light At The End Of The World, shone extraordinarily brightly throughout the entire hot & humid soiree.

Erasure ends their North American tour tonight at Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ. For all forthcoming European dates, head to Erasure’s official MySpace page here.

Setlist: Sunday Girl/Blue Savannah/I Could Fall In Love With You/Fly Away/Breathe/Storm In A Teacup/Chains Of Love/Breath Of Life/Love To Hate You/Sucker For Love/Victim/When A Lover Leaves/Ship Of Fools/Chorus/Sometimes/A Little Respect/Oh L’Amour/Glass Angel//Stop!

MP3: Erasure – Oh L’Amour

Opening last night’s show was Brooklyn’s very own (Def Jam recording artist), Young Love. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Dan Keyes and I’m happy to report that in spite of a slightly lackluster full-length (read Jen’s review here), his live shows are still positively engaging. Performing a variety of tracks from his debut, Too Young To Fight It, he may have been the ideal support act for Erasure.

MP3: Young Love – Find A New Way

With temperatures soaring dangerously close to triple digits, Baltimore’s reigning electro-king, Dan Deacon, brought the pool to an absolute frenzy with a rousing (albeit short) set this afternoon @ Brooklyn’s McCarren Park.

With an iPod shuffle, mini-keyboard and myriad other beat-ready devices in tow, Dan’s unique dance/shout-friendly tunes generated the most smiles, cheers and dance-offs I’ve seen at a live gig in quite some time.

Truly stellar. Click here to view Dan’s summer schedule via MySpace. I strongly recommend your attendance should he be headed to a city near you. Fun fun fun.

Purchase Dan’s Spiderman Of The Rings here at his (rarely updated) official site.

MP3: Dan Deacon – The Crystal Cat

San Francisco-based trio, Erase Errata, took to the stage shortly after Dan Deacon somewhere in the neighborhood of 5pm. The post-punkers put on an impressive show, which – in all honesty – would have probably sounded even stronger if it had not been immediately following Dan’s positively mesmerizing set. Learn more about Erase Errata here at the band’s MySpace page.

MP3: Erase Errata – Tax Dollar

DJing for the better part of the day was UK sensation, Mark Ronson. I am not extremely familiar with his recorded material but his back-to-back-to-back punch of Radiohead’s ‘Just’ + Amy Winehouse’s ‘You Know I’m No Good’ alongside Britney’s ‘Toxic’ scored himself some major points in my book today. Kudos!

The JellyNYC Pool Parties might just be the best thing about summer in New York City. Totally fun and totally free. This year’s roster of bands is particularly good, especially this past week’s with Man Man headlining. The evidence of corporate sponsorship this year around was incredibly more evident, with huge banners at the entrances and booths set up. It sort of felt like you were trapped in a commercial, but it is still a great event.

One unexpected irritant were the fans up front acting strange in hopes of getting on camera. L.A.M.E.

Man Man were as great as ever, strange and joyful. Their albums are equally as good as their live show and well worth the purchase.

This Sunday: Octopus Project, Erase Errata, Dan Deacon, OCDJ and The Rub DJs featuring Mark Ronson (!)

Here it is!

June 24
SUPERCHUNK
Oakley Hall
Special guest

JULY 1
MAN MAN
Dengue Fever
Illinois

JULY 8
OCTOPUS PROJECT
ERASE ERRATA
Dan Deacon

JULY 15
Details coming soon!

JULY 22
Details coming soon!

JULY 29
Details coming soon!

AUGUST 5
BLONDE REDHEAD
I’m From Barcelona
Special guest

AUGUST 12
TED LEO + THE PHARMACISTS
The Thermals
Birds of Avalon

AUGUST 19
GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY
Plus special guests

MP3: Birds Of Avalon – Set You Free

Better yet, it’s a free show at McCarren Pool (the first to be announced officially) on Sunday August 5th.

This is one of only two US dates for the band – the other is at Lollapalooza in Chicago.

Will all twenty-nine band members fit on stage? Will they engage in a wild game of dodgeball before the show? Will they have to wait on the absurdly long beer lines like the rest of us? We can’t wait to find out.

MP3: I’m From Barcelona – We’re From Barcelona

Better yet, it’s a free show at McCarren Pool (the first to be announced officially) on Sunday August 5th.

This is one of only two US dates for the band – the other is at Lollapalooza in Chicago.

Will all twenty-nine band members fit on stage? Will they engage in a wild game of dodgeball before the show? Will they have to wait on the absurdly long beer lines like the rest of us? We can’t wait to find out.

MP3: I’m From Barcelona – We’re From Barcelona