1000s Attend Boredoms' Drum Circle In Brooklyn

Posted almost 5 years ago
This past weekend, while millions watched Live Earth from their air-conditioned homes or took gasoline powered cars to the New Jersey/New York concert, thousands of cool kids bridged the gap between hippie and hipster beneath the Brooklyn Bridge at the Bordom’s 77-person drum circle. Drumming out! Photo by Charley Rogulewski The line to get into the Emprie Fulton Ferry State Park, billed as 77Boadrum, stretched practically from DUMBO to Williamsburg. A rumored 12,000 people replied to the Vice e-vites that went out about the lucky 7/7/07 show, which was to start at 7 and go for 77 minutes (see a pattern here?) We think we spotted one of the guys from HBO’s Flight of the Concords, but that could have been the 7% in the Sparks talking. Under the bridge. Photo by Charley RogulewskiRight before the drummers and band took their places the state park police closed down the venue. People on the outside, still adamant to see the show watched above, from the Brooklyn Bridge walkway and from nearby rocks. Watching from the bridge. Photo by Charley RogulewskiMost of the Boredoms show was psychedelic rushes and swarms with the participating drummers including Andrew WK and members of Modest Mouse, Man Man, Gang Gang Dance, Soft Circle, Oneida among others beating rhythmically together. The drum circle was arranged in a serpent-like pattern (thus we presume the tag BOA DRUM) with drummer Number Zero, aka the Boredums EYE at the centre and the rest spiraling out next to one another.Dancing to the rhythms. Photo by Charley RogulewskiThere were only a handful of times where each drummer was allowed to go manic on his or her drum kit. It was a really well organized drum-circle, but nothing more than 77 people pounding their kit at the same time. The all instrumental set, complete with a little Gregorian chanting, seemed too long. After an hour my ADD kicked in and aimless wandering to see the performance from the different angles off the circle ensued. The highlight came when EYE took to his stand-up xylophone-like percussion instrument, and crashed each note down a scale producing a cascading effect with the drummers providing a nice back-up beat. I left feeling glad that I went, but not necessarily feeling like I helped the 7/7/07 cosmos align more perfectly or even that I would go on being lucky for the rest of my life. The AC train back into the city wasn’t running and my 15-minute train ride back into the city took over an hour. All that for nothing.

Comments (3)

  1. Cody B says I tried to go to the new Swimming barge down by that park, but the line was too long. Too many peoples here in NYC.
    Permalink posted 07/09/2007
  2. AbzPunkPhoto says I was over it about 20 minutes into the set. Definitely not a transcendental experience. They started 3 hours after the press release said they would, and it was so packed we couldn't even leave. Everyone was crowding around where the program said Andrew WK would be, but they moved his kit! Glad I went, but I can't help but think that the people on the bridge might have enjoyed it a bit more. Simian Mobile Disco killed it later that night though at Studio B!
    Permalink posted 07/18/2007
  3. wassonii says audio is available "here":http://take-off-your-shoes.blogspot.com/
    Permalink posted 07/19/2007

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