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Since it opened, Beast of Bourbon in Bed-Stuy has proved to be not only an enticing neighborhood bar, but a great venue for events as well, so, logically, it was the spot of choice for New Year’s Eve, with no knowledge of what would be in store. Fortunately, there was one helluva show scheduled, solidifying the bar’s penchant for random excellence on any given night.
First up, The Rewd Ones kicked things off with some tasteful garage rock reminiscent of Bull of the Woods-era Thirteenth Floor Elevators.
The Bowery Boys followed, revving things up with power pop-cum-Fleshtones stylings. As their set progressed, it turned into a real party with numerous guest vocalists, including Gass Wild and members of the other bands.
Brandy Row, the apparent headliner, kicked off his set with an awesome bit of Animals/Rolling Stones garage rock, but then decided to strap on an acoustic guitar and harmonica and bore the audience with three or four long, tedious folk songs. Hey buddy, it’s New Year’s Eve! Save the Bob Dylan-isms for the coffee house and play some rock’n‘roll! Eventually, he did return to the full band, but, by then, the momentum was lost and was never quite regained.
Fortunately, this wasn’t the end of the night, as none other than New York’s original hippy provocateur, David Peel, took the stage and delivered his caustic anthems of marijuana celebration. Unfortunately, he only played three songs, but that was enough for bragging rights because it’s not every day you get to see a true NYC legend remind the kids that others came before them.
