by Jonathan Singer

After hanging out with punks at an ABC No Rio Punk/Hardcore Matinee, I thought I’d hang out with hipsters at a McCarren Park Pool Party. The show in Williamsburg was free and the bill included The Ting Tings, Black Moth Super Rainbow and MGMT. I packed my pair of Wayfarers and hopped on the ‘L’ to Bedford Avenue.

Arriving at 12:30 a.m. was a good idea; entry to the venue was granted on a first come first serve basis. Apparently hipsters have no regard for rules, because a “rogue line” formed on the other side of the pool’s entrance, creating two lines that would funnel patrons into the abandoned pool turned music venue.

I didn’t mind the wait, or the lengthy lightning delay that occurred after a set of dark clouds moved in from New Jersey. After all, it was a “scene” to be at one of these Pool Parties, and I was able to be a “scenester,” albeit for just one day. I made friends with a group of hipsters, offering to share some of my umbrella space, but not in exchange for marijuana.

For some reason everyone put their umbrellas away when The Ting Tings took the stage. I guess it’s fun to get wet at a concert, although I don’t go to enough concerts to begin with. At a larger (and not free) event one month earlier, the guy from Modest Mouse almost got struck by lightning.

The girl from The Ting Tings, along with the guy performed a solid power-pop set, reminding me that the UK definition of “pop music” is vastly different from the US definition. As a two-piece, the singer was visibly uncomfortable through numerous technical errors on stage. But the drummer was as chill as ever. Decked out in red Wayfarers despite the cloud cover, he had no trouble keeping a beat to whatever pre-recorded tracks they would play.

It wouldn’t hurt the band if they got some more members, as relying on canned back up music is lame. A Ting Ting’s record is a multi-track success, mixing catchy vocals with drums, guitars and synthesizers. Why not hire some more musicians to play Moogs on stage? You can dress them up as chickens if you wanted to.

On the subject of analog synthesizers, I was looking forward to the second act, Black Moth Super Rainbow. The Moth’s use 1990s synthesizers. I don’t know where they get their equipment from, and the band took a risk by playing on a day with rain. Or, perhaps, they shouldn’t have played at all.

I had seen Black Moth Super Rainbow before at an album release party for Dandelion Gum. That show was a lot less boring than Sunday’s McCarren performance. Some kids put in a good effort when they started dancing, but the crowd wouldn’t respond. It was hard to dance when every song sounded the same and this was the point that I realized. Every Black Moth Super Rainbow song sounds the same. The band’s singer sings into a voice modulator, making him sound like a robot on every single song. Perhaps the band’s lyrics are deep, but a lot of people can’t understand them.

But, hey, at least I stayed for the headliners, MGMT, formerly known as The Management. I have a bad memory, but I saw The Management more than two and a half years ago, and their top song was their current mainstream hit, “Time to Pretend.” I left before they got to play that song. When I saw Management the first time, they opened for Of Montreal as a two-piece. Unlike the aforementioned Ting Tings, MGMT pulled off the two-man show with style, turning the stage into a mini-studio, showing the audience how to make beats on a drum machine while playing with multiple instruments.

I must have missed the memo when MGMT tuned into a psychedelic rock group because that’s who ended up taking the stage on Sunday afternoon.

Once again all the songs sounded the same, except for their hit “Electric Feel,” which sounded like radio single. I found myself waiting patiently for the set to end, figuring that it would be disrespectful to leave in the middle. I was also part of the sea of people gathered in front of the stage and mobility was kept to a minimum.

But when I saw two guys plowing through the crowd with “excuse me,” I followed them out. I got a chance to explore the rest of the pool party, which featured advertisements for Scion, Red Bull, Fuze and some open space shit. I didn’t even buy a t-shirt on my way out and I love t-shirts. That gave me the rest of the day to enjoy being a scenester in Williamsburg.

Hopefully my review of Sunday’s concert wasn’t too pretentious. I can’t wait for my freedom scarf to arrive.