Somer Pride Round Up
On Saturday ONCE/Boynton Yards in Union Square played host to SomerPride, a musical festival celebrating queer diversity, good friends, and proto-summer vibes. The weather gods smiled on the daylong lineup as a fresh breeze rolled through the proceedings, cooling the sometimes scalding industrial lot to a pleasant simmer. It was a family friendly affair while the sun shined, with a touch of scandal after dark.
Redd Haring, drag dynamo, served as MC, carnival barker, and karaoke legend throughout.
The music started around noon with a kid-friendly set by Matt Heaton. Crow Follow followed, along with some indie folk-rock tunes from Baltimore-based Lady Ro.
Last minute add Tory Silver (filling in for last minute subtract Sweet Petunia) delivered a gorgeous set: shaggy guitar, bouncy bass, drummeling pums combined into a set that showcased tight musicianship (nice rhythm section jamout toward the end) and sweet songwriting chops that defies reductive genre description – but you’d probably find them in the indie rock section of the record store.
Boston’s own Muzzins brought party-rock energy. The trio opened with some delightful electro weirdness before transitioning into a more straightforward funk/punk, keg-tapping three-piece. This is the band (along with the headliner) that you want closing out every Rodney Dangerfield movie.
The alt rock Phantom Ocean revved up the proceedings with buzzy, growling, aggressive minimalist pop constructions. The assembled crowd appreciated the genre shift into hip hop in the late afternoon. DJ WhySham dropped beats and backing tracks while Cakeswagg and Brandie Blaze dropped bars. Brandie Blaze performed a cutting meditation on domestic abuse that may have been the emotional gutpunch of the day.
At night fell headliner Walter Sickert and Army of Toys took the stage. The set opened with an extended, tension amping introduction during which Walter Sickert worked the crowd with volleys of funny money. Onstage the Army of Toys is a motley crew, flashing all sorts of instruments and noisemakers. There was a Parliament vibe to the performance, a sort of Revolution thing, a kind of Gogol Bordello joint. You felt like anything could happen in one of these sets. So the two burlesque stripteasers that climbed onstage early in the performance fit right in. After all, what’s Pride without a little good-natured nudity?
