This weekend Seth, Kitty and I took in the Erasure concert at McCarren Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and I can honestly say, it was one of the best shows I have seen in a long time.
The doors opened at 6 and the first of the two opening acts were supposed to start at 7 so we decided to head to the newly remodeled pool hall on 7th and Flatbush for a little pre-game warm-up. This was all of our first times at the pool hall so I can’t say what it looked like before the renovations. To be honest, the decor didn’t really impress me that much, it was comfortable and the bar had a bunch of over-sized booths, which I really liked. What did impress me was the food, we devoured a plate of wings and some of the best nachos I have ever eaten. Plus, the happy hour two-for-one special and surprisingly super-friendly service sealed the deal for me to return there soon.
After chowing down and throwing back, we decided to head over to the concert and grabed a cab on Flatbush. Once again, we were met with incredibly uncharacteristic friendly service. Our cabbie was so pleasant that he turned off the meter when drove he past our turn (which meant driving an extra couple of blocks – not a big deal where we were) and took us through Williamsburg to the park for free. That’s basicly unheard of in this city, especially when you ask a cabbie to take you somewhere in Brooklyn.
McCarren Pool is by far my new favorite place to see a show. In case you have never been, as the name might tip you off, its a pool. An old outdoor, public, city pool to be exact. The pool itself is a giant sunken concrete pit with all the remnants of it’s water-filled days, including spots of the original bottom paint job. We strolled around for a few minutes grabbed some beers and had a seat towards the deep end for what we assumed would be an hour or more wait before Erasure took the stage. A few sips later and Erasure was out and playing. We quickly hopped up and headed to the stage where we spent the rest of the evening in sweat-viewing distance of Andy Bell.
The show itself was amazing with Erasure singing everything we could have asked for and sounding incredible while doing it. It seemed like the only album they didn’t sample was Abba-esque, which is just a collection of covers and technically not Erasure’s own music. Since we were outside, there was great breeze blowing throughout the show and an incredible light show took place as the sun set. Since everything took place in this giant pool, we could buy a beer and even visit the port-o-potties while never missing what was happening on stage. All in all, it was a perfect evening!
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