Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Guided By Voices Bring The Fist Pumps To McCarren Park
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 19, 2011
Modified Jun 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 19, 2011
Modified Jun 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Photo by Ben Yakas/Gothamist
Northside Festival took over Brooklyn this weekend, with film screenings, food events, and over a hundred bands flooding the borough with culture and outdoor fun. The highlight of the entire weekend for us was the triumphant Saturday evening Guided By Voices show at McCarren Park. They may have been drinking Miller Light onstage, but there was nothing "less filling" about the thrilling, pummeling 40 song set from the "classic" lineup.
The reformed band brought boundless energy to the park, with the bulk of their set stemming from their classic albums (including Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes) and EPs from between 1992-1996. The set was a giant blur of highlights, mixing exuberant crowd pleasers such as "Game of Pricks," "Exit Flagger," and "Echos Myron" with obscurities and rarities—the chunky "Expecting Brainchild" was particularly revelatory. There were the mighty drum rolls of "Shocker in Gloomtown", the chirpy "yeahs" in "A Good Flying Bird," and the epic time shifts of the glorious "Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox." The evening ended the only way it could have, with weary bodies slowly slamming against each other to "Weed King."
The continuing "Hallways Of Shatterproof Glass" reunion tour has sharpened the band without dulling the songs—and they sounded even tighter than their last two NYC shows in the fall and winter. Robert Pollard charmingly slurred his way through the three-encore evening, enthusiastically introducing nearly every song, slamming Cuervo Gold, and effusively praising Brooklyn. Bassist Greg Demos thrashed his drenched head, drummer Kevin Fennel made endearingly creepy drummer faces, demure guitarist Tobin Sprout provided a calm presence, and guitarist Mitch Mitchell was the quintessential badass, cigarette dangling perilously from his mouth during the entire show.
But the best part of any GBV show is the sincerity with which their fans give themselves over to the live experience—this is not a band for standing around feeling self-conscious. Many have said you can't entirely get the band without seeing them play out their classic rock fantasies onstage—they carry an infectious joy, which seems to ensnare even on-the-fence observers. As Matthew Perpetua of Fluxblog so eloquently points out, Pollard inspires the inner fist pumper in his fans: "most everyone sings along, people move and point and jump and flail about, and...people sing along to each other, to total strangers. It seems like you're all suddenly friends and bonding over these impossibly catchy, ineffably weird, incredibly sad rock and roll songs."
Below, you can check out a surprisingly excellent sounding video of "My Impression Now" and "Some Drilling Implied," as well as the complete 40 song set list:
Tagged
brooklyn
guided by voices
mccarren park
Music
northside
northside festival
robert pollard
rock
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain
Gothamist went behind the scenes to learn how the NYC landmark keeps its majestic waters flowing.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 23, 2026
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings
By
Hannah Frishberg
A new film invites you to eavesdrop on one of the greatest conversations in NYC history
By
Sonia Rao
The Knicks are NBA champions. Now they have to start dressing the part.
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .