Make all the Williamsburg hipster jokes you want, but there have been few sweeter deals in recent memory than the Jelly Pool Parties. They’ve resided in parks within Brooklyn’s music mecca for a half-decade now, but are in jeopardy at the moment because the New York State Parks Department and the Open Space Alliance says their current home at the East River State Park may not be available next summer.

Among others, U.S. Senator (and BK native) Charles Schumer is fighting to keep the concert series alive. He even invites you to give him a ring at 212-486-4430 or email him at phil@schumer.senate.gov to support his efforts. So maybe leave out the details about all the stuff you were hopped up on when you saw Girl Talk, but tell him how the Dirty Projectors show changed your life. Otherwise, while No Age and Dan Deacon may be on the same bill at some point in the future, you may ahve to (gasp) pay for it. (Via: Paste)

Day 1: Loads of neon – and why didn’t anyone tell me about taking drugs?

With October hosting major music functions in its 31 days – Austin City Limits, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and the illustrious CMJ – San Francisco’s Treasure Island Music Festival nestles comfortably in between, boasting prestigious acts to grace the island shores as well as maintaining a crowd size that’s not overwhelming or annoying. Good weather afforded people the opportunity to dress up for the occasion and sample the special brownies the guy in the AT&T ballpark parking lot was offering.

Our highlights and lowlights included:

- Witnessing The Streets’ Mike Skinner being adorable: after he opened with “Let’s Push Things Forward,” he reminisced about his last SF experience that left him bruised— a jump off the balcony at The Fillmore. He then proclaimed to the audience below him “I’m gonna jump into the crowd and make love to you all” before punctuating his set with more words of adoration for the city by the bay.

- Missing Passion Pit as a result of waiting to take a shuttle to the island, which we also contemplated swimming to as a result of the delay. When someone started blasted “Sleepyhead” in the parking lot where we were congregating, it was met with “Yeah guys, let’s listen to the band we’re missing as we stand in line. Real smart. Idiot.”

- DJ Krush providing a most excellent soundtrack as we rode the Ferris wheel.

- Having dinner on a pirate ship.

- Girl Talk being all over the place: crowd-surfing during Dan Deacon’s set, jumping around on stage during his own, and then air pelvic thrusting timed to fireworks at the end of his dancetastic set.

- MSTRKRFT still is just two dudes with a laptop.

- MGMT playing “Oracular Spectacular” from start to finish, which is a good idea if the nostalgia factor is there. But having all your singles in the first half of your album – especially the dance-centric ones – guarantees that your audience takes off midway through your show.

- Afterparty with Dan Deacon, who is so rad I just want to hug him all the time.

It’s a strange world when your ex-love’s sister serves you liquor unexpectedly in the beer tent (why, how did you know I needed a beverage for this conversation?). But in all seriousness, at the end of the day when the guy in the penguin suit apologized to me for whacking my ear during Girl Talk’s set, I was glad to be in the company of some fun – and strange – folks. The Treasure Island Festival is fast becoming my favorite out of all the exravangaznas we have to offer, and it’s for good reason: we all just want to have a good time.

The Streets:

Girl Talk:

MSTRKRFT:

MGMT:

Afterparty with Dan Deacon:

The issues surrounding the 18+ show are well-known and long-standing; in Minneapolis, efforts to limit underage binge drinking have prompted City Councilwoman Lisa Goodman to propose restrictions on 18+ events. If the motion passes, two options would be available for live events: all-ages, alcohol-free concerts, or 21+ shows with free-flowing alcohol. Quoted in Minneapolis’ City Pages, Goodman claims, “I just don’t know how I can in good faith look at these public-health people and tell them we don’t propagate youth access to alcohol when we allow 18-year-olds into bars where 21-year-olds can pass them alcohol. If I don’t do something to address this now, I’m going to face something far more onerous.”

Local venue owners have expressed concern about the ordinance, and a petition on Facebook lists performers that would likely forgo performing in Minneapolis should the proposal be put into effect, including the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Girl Talk, and Phoenix. Booking manager James “Taco” Martin says that a ban on 18+ concerts would limit the amount of bands passing through the city, claiming that “A lot of bands require [the 18+ age restriction] because they can sell a lot of merch to people who aren’t buying drinks with the money in their pocket.”

A petition against the measure is circulating online; sign it here.

Among the initial list of indie rock acts confirmed for this year’s Musicfest Northwest in Portland, Oregon, are freshly reunited emo OGs Sunny Day Real Estate and the Get Up Kids, two bands that couldn’t help but pop out at us from amongst a heap of wussy no-names like Mudhoney, Explosions In The Sky, Bad Brains, Dirty Three, Twilight Sad, Pink Mountaintops, Amazing Baby, Girl Talk, Beach House, Monotonix, Grouper, Titus Andronicus, The Long Winters and fittingly, Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Good heavens! One of the Pacific Northwest’s largest, the Willamette Week-founded festival will be descending on PDX’s many venues for four days and nights starting on September 16. Stay tuned for additional lineup additions and snag your wristbands right here before they’re all gone and you feel silly.

[Photo by Daniel Perlaky]

Here’s your second really good reason to head down to Austin this year: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and the Beastie Boys have been announced as headliners for this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, October 2-4 in Zilker Park.
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