Last week saw another christening of a massive hall in Bushwick, this one in a two-story, unmarked building hovering alongside the intersecting J and M elevated subway lines. If “Silent Barn” is an apt if ironic ode to that space’s squat, square interiors (where you could potentially cram crowds like cattle), then Market Hotel suggests a more elegant affair, with molded interiors, jade-colored walls and a four star restaurant in the rear.
But let’s not get carried away. It’s still a rough empty space intended for loud shows and shit-loads of people (it’s probably twice the size of the aforementioned Silent Barn). Also, like many hotels’ Sunday brunches, it’s all you can eat if you’re shooting video, as we at Impose counted three different crews present: a few for No Age, a crew for Todd P and a platoon for Pitchfork, including six separate audio lines coming into a Pro Tools setup. That meant about ten or twelve videographers in the crowd.
[Update: Thanks to trusty commentator and friend of Impose Julian Bennett-Holmes, we can safely add PunkCast and Vice to the taping and pillaging army of video-people.]
Was this an historic night that begged that much documentation? No Age kept its songs carefully contained (perhaps because of earlier technical difficulties) while High Places’ own PA system (always an integral part of their set) may have found a new friend in the triangular space, which was filled densely with their delay n’ reverb. It was perhaps a moment, as High Places catapults forward towards greater national recognition and No Age continues its gradual ascendancy towards punk’s pantheon. It was also good timing, as Todd Patrick’s currently making a documentary the subject of a documentary and Pitchfork is launching its online TV station in March.
Rings sounded a little shaky in the face of those two powerhouses, but their repetitive, raw attacks kept the attention of the Market-goers. Also, I personally missed Skint, but I heard only warm, excited words regarding their horseplay set.
