Writer/Photos: Jonah Dworkin

On February 17th, I made my way to the city for a weekend of music and fun. Poolside, a modern disco band, was playing at the Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY. The venue, a Bowery owned enterprise, was contained in a warehouse that once operated as a steel manufacturing plant. Named one of the ten best venues in America by Rolling Stone, the building featured three floors and three bars. The show was sold out but not crowded, which owed to the open design of the concert area. Patrons were able to walk around the crowd temporarily through fire lanes in many spots, which greatly eased movement. 

The doors opened at 8 and the show began at 9, with a full lineup of three bands. The two openers, Munya and Paco Versailles, added a matching yet unique sound to the evening. While Montreal based Munya delivers ethereal and danceable synth-pop, Paco Versailles has a sound which mixes French indie with an electronic dance sound and flamenco guitar rhythms. They call this style “dancemenco”. Both of these danceable, upbeat arrangements fit perfectly with the headliner, who blends chill wave and nu-disco in a style they call “daytime disco”. The resulting lineup had the crowd in high spirits and dancing throughout the night. The lineup was representative of many different nationalities and musical influences, with Munya switching between French and English in her singing, Paco Versailles combining French and Spanish influences, and Poolside bringing a California grown sound to the stage. The night felt like a journey through different cultures.

Munya started the night out right, with airy yet energetic vocals to accompany her songs which seamlessly shifted between rock and roll, dream pop, and dance music with a disco tint. She brought a bright and grooving energy to get people on their feet and amped up for the acts to come. With a strong finish, she handed the night off to the remaining acts.

Paco Versailles kept up the positive mood and dance party energy with original songs and stylized covers, including a rousing rendition of “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones which had the whole crowd singing along. The blend of bouncy, upbeat electronic and classic Spanish guitar brought a warmth to the stage, keeping the crowd moving and smiling throughout their performance. They concluded with a note of gratitude to their fellow musicians, noting that the three acts have been on tour together for several dates and experienced many musical highs together.

The crowd was full of energy as Poolside hit the stage, all warmed up for the main attraction. The band paints a picture of not just their influences but also the way they hope their crowd will receive their musical energy. Disco is a style that encompasses the crowd as much as it does the band, and Poolside’s “daytime disco” is no different. We were transported to a beach party or poolside villa, a classy yet relaxed sound with uplifting energy that got the crowd bounding and bubbly. Even the security guards couldn’t help but smile and bob to the beat, as the positive mood was infectious. There seemed to be not a dour face in the joint. 

The feeling of a true collaboration between the three acts was cemented with Poolside bringing a member of Munya on stage to perform a track they collaborated on, “Lonely Night”, as well as calling up a member of Paco Versailles to perform a track. With mostly original tracks, they peppered in impressive covers of classics like “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young and a surprising cover of “Shakedown Street” by the Grateful Dead. These versions were wildly unique, the rolling disco sound permeating the music with as much creativity as respect for the originals. 

As the set ended the crowd demanded an encore, and Poolside delivered in spades. A lengthy encore lasted a half hour and concluded with another unique cover of “Feel Your Weight” by Rhye. The band expressed their gratitude to the crowd, and the crowd could not have been more satisfied. The music lasted almost until 1 A.M. and kept up the energy throughout. This music fan highly suggests all three bands to anyone who has an opportunity to catch them. Don’t sleep on these acts!

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