The Semi-Attractive Undertow

Last night I ventured out to Williamsburg for the second go-round of The Gorgeous Undertow. The name is borrowed from British Sea Power’s song “Carrion” (my favorite song of theirs), and they’re advertised as “a club night of new British music for New York ears,” but if you go expecting that, you’ll be disappointed.

When we got there, the Royal Oak was sparsely populated, dimly lit, with music playing in the background. I checked the back room where I have been to a party previously with a dj and lot of people dancing, and it was empty. I re-joined my friends at the bar, and one of them asked the bartender what the deal was. He pointed at these people at the end of the bar who were fiddling with some things and indicated that was “them.” iPod djs extraordinaire. We waited for a bit to see what they had in store, and after a few songs I couldn’t place, the familiar strains of the Kaiser Chiefs’ “I Predict A Riot” started playing. A nice string of songs followed, during which a friend and I got up and jumped around a bit, being the only ones there doing so. Some requests of ours were played, and more jumping around ensued. Eventually we just sat down, the djs switched, and the music got bad, and we left.

Really, The Gorgeous Undertow is a glorified listening party at a nice local bar that filled up as the night went on, though there was no way of knowing if it was just locals coming out or people coming for the “festivities.” If I hadn’t been all geared up for a night of dancing to music that I love, and instead had been expecting a chill night of drinking while listening to that same music, I probably would have had a great time. It’s a bit out of the way to go just to be able to drink to good music, but it is only once a month. We’ll see if the fancy strikes me again next month.

But can someone now make an actual British indie club night? Anyone? Please? I’ll be your best friend.