So, I finally made it down to one of the JellyNYC Pool Parties at McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn and let me tell you; it was uber awesometastic! I have heard about these events for a while now, and I know JellyNYC had a great presence at SXSW '08, so it was quite cool to actually experience an event for myself. Plus, I was already in NYC for an engagement party on Saturday, and I wanted to see the bands and DJ playing, so it was not a difficult commitment; not one bit.I went on Sunday July 13th and saw The Whip (great band from the UK, very cool electro-indie-rock sound), Matt + Kim (super catchy and fun; I like their stuff and wanted to catch em - they brought out a street marching band, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra [who I have seen before in Boston, funny enough], to play a few songs and that was just crazyness), and The Breeders headlined and played a good set, bringing lots of 90s nostalgia to many concertgoers, I could tell. Franki Chan (of iheartcomix - my last blog...) DJed between bands and was good, but he just played mainly mainstream band's stuff - he didn't really do a DJ-electro-mash-up-interesting set, like I had hoped for.
The bands were cool, but I really went for the overall experience, and I was not disappointed! This really was one of the coolest events I have ever been to, for a few important reasons: (1) it was FREEEEEEE - always cooler and hard to do for promoters, (2) it had fun activities going on that some people cared more about than the music itself: dodgeball, a slip-n-slide blowup thing, and a of booth for sampling products, and (3) the overall vibe and the indie/trendsetting/hipster crowd. It really was the biggest "hipster" crowd I have ever seen in one place (only maybe competing with SXSW) and it was actually a bit comical; so many people trying to look cool with their short shorts, faded vintage Ts, bright boxy sunglasses and Chuck Taylor's. It definitely significantly fits my generalizations about the "hotness" that is currently Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY, where so, so, so many bands and hipsters dwell these days, while onlookers voice their disgust in trendyness. But, I like these people because they are the ones supporting upcoming indie bands, indie art, and hopefully encouraging dancing, grooving, and the general importance of embracing dorkyness/having a good time at shows and events! I also didn't feel as strong an aura of pretentiousness that many shows have, with this sort of demographic, which was nice. There were also plenty of kids, families, and older people; so there was some diversity among the supposed 13,000 Pool-Party-goers. Overall, people were there to have a good time and chill and I loved the atmosphere that it created.
Now the brands. I was lucky enough to have a connection and got a gold wristband (and also didn't have to wait in that insano 1-mile-long wait...wowness); which allowed me to enter the VIP area. This meant FREE Dewar's drinks, free Red Bulls and Fuze drinks, and $2.00 beers, which was a true blessing! The VIP element of this event was interesting, as it was a lot of people in one area, but nothing overwhelming. I met some cool people in this area and one could tell it was definitely NYC-influencers/fashion/music-marketing types who were tied into the NYC hip-marketing world, which I some times fall victim to thinking should be my goal to infiltrate and absorb! Scion was there was a booth doing nothing special - just giveaways; their people didn't even know about the iheartcomix Scion Sampler #21, which happened to feature two of the artists playing that very day (Matt +Kim & DJ Franki Chan). Must be a different company running that campaign; ha. TopShop/TopMan was there doing giveaways and photobooths - pretty cool, Saucony had a tent and ran the dodgeball games, which was quite excellent, and Red Bull & Fuze were there giving away small sampling, but selling drinks. Sixpoint was selling beer! Dewars was there making specialty mixed drinks in the VIP area - they are always involved with hip music endeavors; they impress me immensely. THE POINT IS THIS: I expected more interesting marketing initiatives at this event. These are some of the coolest, hippest influencers in the country and if they embrace a brand - they can explode it in the NYC area (and even the rest of the USA) very quickly with their word-of-mouth cred and even some blogging. They are harder to reach because of their cynicism, but if a company uses their brains and creates engaging, interesting marketing initiatives with possible incentives/givaways/fun-ness for these hipsters (that they would actually like/want), that company can have a HUGE effect and see lots of positiveness come from this. Why was there no company there that impressed me in such a way? Well, I think it could possibly be because no one hired me to run a promo campaign. Ha...it's that...or just that people/companies are lazy! Overall, it was a great experience and a magnificent time; hopefully I can make it back down to the see the upcoming MGMT Pool Party show - that will be extremely splendid!
JELLYNYC POOL PARTIES '08 @ MCCARREN PARK POOL IN BROOKLYN, NY:
www.jellynyc.com
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