Here We Go Magic turns water into a sunny set in New York

July 3, 2009, at the River to River Festival

By Adrienne Urbanski
Published: July 7th, 2009 | 12:00am

Despite reliably boasting an impressive lineup of free outdoor concerts every summer, the River to River Festival in New York was plagued during May and June with near constant rainfall, which led to canceled shows and bands that played near empty venues. Luck however smiled on Here We Go Magic and opener Bachelorette for their scheduled River to River show as the dark clouds moved aside just in time, despite yet another afternoon filled with rainfall.

Enigmatic New Zealander Annabel Alpers (aka Bachelorette) started off the show with her own brand of quirky pop that recalled a less sexualized version of Goldfrapp. Despite being a solo artist, she was readily able to sound as full as a multi-member band thanks in part to the use of laptops that provided extra vocals as she also alternated back and forth between electric guitar and keyboards. Between songs that covered such lyrical terrain as making milkshakes for her ideal boyfriend, Bachelorette added to the theme of the day by lamenting on the weather and lauding the uncanny beautiful view in the South Street Seaport location.

Here We Go Magic took the stage just as the summer sun was starting to recede which lit the waterfront with golden hues. The band started out with a rousing number in which lead singer Luke Temple and foxy keyboardist Kristina Lieberson showed great physical energy. After the opening number, Temple seemed dismayed by the still bright sunlight and announced that he “wished God would turn the lights down.”

While the band had a few more energetic numbers, they seemed to slip into lengthy and quieter tracks full of long instrumental stretches. While these slower numbers were pleasing, they also were less discernable and by the end of the show, it seemed to turn into one lengthy spiritual meditation through audio simulation. While the band obviously has skill and physical presence, the last half hour of their one-hour set was a bit too sleepy for the first sunny evening of the summer which left the New York crowd craving something more rousing and dance worthy.

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For more photos from this show visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page

Here We Go Magic official site

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