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Wilco at the Pool
Wilco
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It was easy to get used to McCarren Pool as a whimsical concert venue and overall hipster wonderland. For a couple of years there going to Williamsburg at least once during the season for a free Sunday show, a weekday movie or a Bowery Presents headline gig was a must. But after memorable dodge-ball showdowns, slip ‘n slide debacles and sets from the likes of the Beastie Boys, Blonde Redhead, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars and Yacht, the rumors appear to be true. Yes, it seems as though Mayor Bloomberg’s desire to make the venue a pool again, instead of a playground for the largely white indie rock community with questionable facial hair, is the new reality. Sonic Youth is slated to play the “last show ever at McCarren Pool” August 30th, their third appearance there in three years. But along with Ween’s recent weirdo throw down in July, the upcoming set from Wilco may be the true capper at the pool. A band’s band from Chicago, Wilco plays what is essentially classic rock with shimmering ghosts and odd time structures careening through the fabric of their sound, and have been releasing amazing records for years now. The show sold out almost immediately, but as some of McCarren’s disgruntled (and soon to be relieved) neighbors will tell you, the sound does not exactly stay confined to the pool. So pull up a park bench or romp in the fountain outside the walls and listen to the end of one hell of a Brooklyn party. But then again, if other local projects are any indication, this thing could go on another year.