Union Pool’s free Summer Thunder series continued on Sunday with a fantastic triple bill of rising indie rock talent from all over the country. It was hot and steamy — a two minute rain shower early in the afternoon just made it worse — and the Euro Cup finals were happening at the same time (congrats, Spain!) but Union Pool’s patio was full for what was a very fun day. Photos by Amanda Hatfield are in this post.
Things stared with Brooklyn’s Mei Semones, who played a set of bossa nova-inspired songs backed by violin and viola. Normally she has a bassist and drummer, but she sounded wonderful accompanied just by strings, playing songs from her debut EP and more.
Next up were Chicago’s Lifeguard who drew the biggest crowd of the day. I like their records but they were even better live, I thought. Even with singer-guitarist Kai Slater sitting the whole show thanks to a broken foot, they were high energy with a propulsive punk/postpunk groove powering things. They played new single “Ministry / Energie,” which sounded great, and said they were finishing up their debut album.
Austin’s Font did not lack in energy either. Sporting two drummers and lots of synthesizers, they are custom-built for dancing and the crowd obliged despite the heat. The band also just released their terrific debut album and played the lion’s share (if not all of it) on Sunday. I look forward to seeing them again in cool environs.
I was the DJ for the afternoon and had a blast hanging out and spinning tunes to open the day and in between sets. Check out photos from the whole day below.
This Sunday’s Summer Thunder (7/21) is Mary Timony (Helium / Ex Hex) with Whisper States (the new project from Chad Molter of Dischord’s Faraquet).
