I know the difference between a Boscoe and a Bruno

Here I am with Frank Boscoe who is sporting his NYC Popfest t-shirt. I hadn't seen him since 2001? or 2000? yet I still knew the difference.

Thursday night at the Cake Shop.

So as I mentioned in the previous post, I went to New York during popfest and I thought I would sum up my trip and the shows I saw.

For those who have never been Cake Shop, is a coffee and pastry shop on the main floor with a tiny record shop on wheels and a downstairs bar and venue. Thursday night featured the New York band, In Interview. I have been obsessed with finding more out about this band since about 3 or 4 years ago they played with Ladybug Transistor and Walker Kong and I found out they were former members of the band Toulouse. As with Toulouse, In Interview separates themselves with the fantastic bass lines and they also had nice female vocals with strummy bossa nova guitar. I thought their greatness was understated and rewarding. I even overheard someone complimenting their wardrobe. I was pleased as punch to actually be able to pick up a cd-r demo of 6 songs at the merch table. Why so few songs after so many years? Already can't wait to hear more.

Oh Custer! from Sweden were next and sounded good though i missed a lot of their set catching up with friends though I do remember liking what i heard.

The Secret History played next. I think they were basically My Favorite with a new lead female vocalist. I love My Favorite so I was excited to see them play. Michael Grace Jr was the same old self with a new set of songs and suave fashion sense he was only challenged with the Cats on Fire guy for fanciest dressed. It was pretty great to have the Secret History if we no longer have My Favorite.They were sort of less new wave more dramatic in a Prefab Sprout way. I missed Andrea's energy but I was warming up to this.

Love is All were my favorite band I saw at SXSW 3 years ago and they skipped Portland on their subsequent tour. So I can only hope they lived up to how i remembered them. Unfortunately I had moved out of the front to hang out and chat with others. So i was stuck near the back trying to get to a decent position to see them. The Cake Shop was sold out and let way more people in that were suppose to be in that space. So while I wasn't in the most enjoyable spot ie craning my neck to see anything it was the lively high energy sax blarring chaotic fun. In celebration of their tour 5 song cover ep they played Flock of Seagull "I ran" . My main complaint with the popfest was maybe overselling small venues. I know it wasn't their fault with Love is All as they requested Cake Shop but it wasn't the most comfortable place to see them.


Amazing to witness this as Pant Yell! played a fantastic set. I had never seen them before and was really impressed. Nick Underwood filled in on trumpet which added that nice touch. I know you east coast people get to see this band all the time and I will continue to be jealous.

The Besties played a fairly tongue in cheek slapstick set. I like a lot of their songs but was a little put off by their antics. Though they did bring the energy level up to a repectable level.


Tullycraft play "Twee" at NYC Popfest from Magic Marker on Vimeo.

Tullycraft took the stage and people could not leave the room for fear of not being let back in. Really really great set. Super tight and they just exuded pure joy. Older hits included: 8 great ways, Josie, Superboy and Supergirl but the newer ones seemed to get the biggest reactions like Our Days in Kansas, The Punks are writing love songs and of course Twee. The Besties and some others almost had a mosh pit
going with one of the Besties actually crowd surfing. One of the best Tullycraft sets i have ever seen.

Onto later after decompressing and getting a cab to Don Hills and an actual indiepop dance night including a performance with Cats on Fire. I wasn't actually dancing but the DJs were fantastic. I was catching up with friends I never get to see. Though I am completely jealous as this is an awesome idea and with amazing execution. There were a lot of people there and it was more spacious than Piano's so there was room
to dance. Cat's on Fire took the stage around 1am and the main guy is just dramatic looking. He looked like a cross between Morrissey and Postcard era Edwin Collins. I really loved their record and their set was pretty fantastic. We stayed for their set then I booked it back to our friend's place and a couple of subway trains later and peaceful sleep.

Saturday I decided to go to the Market Hotel show in Brooklyn and see Cause Commotion, The Vivian Girls and Love is All rather than the popfest show. I wanted to see the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and I wanted to see the Orchids but wasn't really into their new album and the people I was with weren't familiar with them. So we went to what was a rundown ballroom in a hotel with a decent stage and no air
conditioner. Cause Commotion opened with punky pop in a herky jerky clever sort. Only heard a few of their songs before this and was happy to hear more.





The Vivian Girls were next and were utterly fantastic. I am not sure why they weren't on the popfest bill but they should have been. Their reverb soaked vocals created the wall of utter brilliance. This is easily my new favorite band. I bought the record but it doesn't capture what they do live. It is good and i need to listen to it more
but this was really bliss. fans of the Aislers Set, Black Tambourine "throw aggi from the bridge" and Phil Spector girl groups beware.




We went outside the place to pick up beer and ended up with Colt 45s and since it was so hot in there that we were pretty much soaked with sweat. We just kept drinking more beer. So by the time Love is All went on I was pretty drunk and it was nice not spending $4 on a Pabst. They were great at the Cake Shop but the Market Hotel was so much better/spacious a place to see them than an over crowded Cake Shop. It seemed liked 150 people had shown by the time Love Is All went on. The saxaphone player came on wearing a Vivian Girls shirt so they seemed like instant coverts. By this time for me that I determined this was one of my favorite shows and between this and the Friday Piano's show that I had clearly made the right decision to fly to New York for a long weekend. Pretty drunk in the middle of brooklyn and seeing one of my favorite bands clearly enjoying themselves on stage. I know this stuff must happen all the time in New York. I mean why would only 150 people be there if it didn't right? I mean the Orchids must have been making dreams come true filling so many Sarah Records fantasies over at the popfest.

I missed the Sunday show with the Hermit Crabs and Silent League, and
Cannanes but I had to get back. Hope you all enjoyed yourself and had as much fun as I did.


I also spotted Thurston Moore at Starbucks, ate large slices of pizza,
saw awesomeness at MOMA, and hit the Renegade Craft Fair.

Just wanted to say thanks to the organizers. So much work. I really
appreciated it. Great job!