Jelly NYC Pool Party With Health and The Black Lips July 26, 2009 Wrottem by Joshua Williams Photographed by Amy Davidson Opposite Photo: Health

…And You Will Know Them By The Trail Of Dead

Sometimes it is just not meant to be. Sometimes the forces of nature conspire against you, and in the eternal battle of man against nature, nature usually wins. Such was the case when we went down for another pool party bash on the Williamsburg waterfront.

I was excited with the prospect of seeing …and you will know them by the trail of dead. It has been a few years since I have seen them live, and I wanted to see if my memories of that show lived up to my expectations of this one. However, being what seems to be the stormiest summer ever, bolts of lightning decided the show would not go on.

The Bartenders

Health

Health

At least the day was not a total waste. It was nice to see our friendly bartenders again, in what has become our Sunday tradition. If only they made Bloody Mary’s. We also caught two acts before nature asserted itself. First up was Health. Out of L.A., the music is a base of industrial noise, with droning vocals riding on top of like a cyborg surfer rat. Elements of noise mixed with old new wave and post punk, it’s kind of a bastard mix of early 70’s Eno, Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine and The Boredoms. It is so weird to see a band like this play during the day.

Black Lips	Black Lips

Black Lips

Afterwards the Black Lips took the stage, and pandemonium struck the first few rows of the crowd. The Black Lips are a garage-rock revival band at heart, and they rocked their set until the crowd broke the barricades and rushed the stage. The set ended with confusion and pissed off security guards, which I enjoyed. Shows are so micromanaged these days, it is good to see a little mayhem from time to time. No one was hurt, and I’m certain some folks will always remember they tore it up at a Black Lips show.

Then the big disappointment. After what seemed like ages, trail of dead was seconds away from beginning their set. The anticipation was palatable and heavy. The skies were foreboding. The lightning struck, the call made. Show over. What can you do? Some things are outside the realms of control.