THE SHOW: Teens for Phillippines

Set-up started at 4 p.m. just as the Harvest Festival in JJ Byrne Park was packing it up. As the  bands brought their instruments upstairs, there was still a fenced in area for ponies, a llama, a goat, as well as a group of bunnies in a big cage in the green outside the house. Apparently, more than one hundred kids took pony rides during the day.

After the set up, there was a sound check with Tomas, the uncle of a RATR band member, who did sound and ran a tight show. Food and soda tables were set up, as was an information table and slide show about the Manila street kids the concert was benefiting.

At 6 p.m., the crowd began to pour in: more than 140 people showed up eventually. Plenty of friends of the bands, parents, grandparents, siblings, even two teachers from Winston Prep, there to support their student in the band, RATR.

First up: Zachary Fine and Aman Modak, on sitar and tablas. The 13-year-olds dressed in beautiful Indian robes performed a stunning, improvised raga that lasted for 20-minutes or so and  thoroughly impressed the crowd.

Artful music.

Next up was RATR, a really fine band that describes itself this way: "David Pollack outa Manhatten writes the songs Donker from 125th gives
it soul and Tim from The Slope in Brooklyn gives it Heart. We all come
together to kickass on occassion."

The crowd loved ’em.

Somewhere There’s a Fix was up next up and talk about kick ass. They screamed, they wailed, the singer even took off his shirt. They were also really goooood. Here’s their My Space blurb: "Forming in 2005 and including current/former members of Calibre, Cool
& Unusual Punishment, and Butcher The Bridesmaid, Somewhere There’s
A Fix is made up of a bunch of awesome dudes playing music that’s
pretty melodic, yet tastefully brutal and in no way generic.

Tastefully brutal.

Cool and Unusual Punishment, the band that organized the show, played a great set, one of their best. Their tight musical sound, entertaining stage presence, and awesome songwriting abilities, make for a great trio that’s developing a very unique sound. To describe themselves the band put it like this: "While we all share the influence of bands such as Queen, Bright Eyes, and Arcade Fire we also have a wide range individually."

Heart throb.

Tetsuwan Fireball, who play under the influence of Television, Gang of Four, The Pixies, The White Stripes, and The Pillows, capped the show with power and panache.

Rock out.

A good night for a good cause. The audience was well-behaved, polite, and very supportive of this great effort by local teens to support teens in a place very far from Brooklyn.