It’s straightforward to get a bit cynical in regards to the very idea of CBGB Fest. When one of many facet levels — the Younger Punks Stage — is introduced by Ed Hardy, it’s even simpler. Is company integration and model licensing actually “punk?” Certainly another person can write that dissertation. In addition to, the concept of counter tradition in 2025, the place monoculture is so fragmented it barely even exists, is never decoupled from capitalism.
So, is gathering a bunch of punk followers one thing to actually diminish as a result of they’re taking footage in entrance of a duplicate CBGB awning? Allow them to rock, we are saying. And hey, a minimum of the unique bar and wall segments on show had been actual.
For certain, the inaugural version of the competition at Below the Ok Bridge in Brooklyn, New York, had its points. Though beverage stands had been ample, the meals choices had been inadequate; you can not anticipate 4 meals vehicles and two little stands to comfortably feed a competition crowd, and nearly everybody needed to cope with brutal wait instances. But when we’re judging on the music alone, CBGB Fest knocked it out of the park — and it was the Godfather of Punk himself who put an exclamation level on the daylong occasion with an outstanding set.
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At 78 years outdated, Iggy Pop continues to be one of many biggest stay acts on Earth, and he proved that tenfold together with his headlining efficiency. Taking the primary CBGB Stage at 9:30 p.m., Iggy and his band tore proper into the Stooges traditional “TV Eye” — nearly 20 minutes North West from the Brooklyn venue named after the music. Together with his pores and skin weathered and leathered, and a twisted backbone from all of the injury he’s finished to himself onstage through the years, Iggy is punk personified.
Extra Stooges gems adopted, like “Uncooked Energy,” “Gimme Hazard,” and “I Wanna Be Your Canine,” in addition to solo favorites like “The Passenger,” eliciting a “la, la, la, la” sing-along from the packed crowd, and “Lust for Life,” with the viewers soaking all of it in underneath a light-weight rain coming down in between the quilt of the Kosciuszko Bridge above.
Backed by a really cool band, together with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner on guitar, Iggy sounded as nice as ever. And seeing the best residing punk headlining a competition honoring probably the most iconic punk venue of all time gave off a really historic vibe, even in actual time.
The transient drizzle through the Iggy’s set was the one moist climate on a day that was comfortably overcast and delicate. Which is nice factor, contemplating the competition’s largest sin: The “water station” — that place each competition has to supply free refills to maintain attendees hydrated and secure, often whereas lowering waste — was not more than a desk handing out 8 oz. plastic bottles of water and somebody yelling, “One per individual!” A scarcity of NA beers felt lazy; the water scenario felt like an afterthought.
Fortunately, these ready within the ridiculous meals strains a minimum of had been proper subsequent to the Younger Punks Stage, which featured lots of the day’s greatest units. Former CoSigns Pinkshift, buzzy British band Lambrini Ladies, rising Cali punks Scowl, and everybody’s favourite kids-turned-pros The Linda Lindas all introduced really deafening vitality to the small stage. Having it tucked within the smaller courtyard Below the Ok Bridge gave it a fittingly intimate feeling — not as intimate as a tiny Bowery bar, certain, however shut sufficient that Pinkshift and Lambrini Ladies had been capable of management the gang into joyful moshing.
Lots of these Younger Punks both took half in signings on the close by Marshall tent or met with followers ready by the facet stage rails after units. That amplified the group feeling of the occasion, and true monoculture or not, punk has all the time been a group. Above all else — even above the transcendent Iggy Pop efficiency, the exhilarating Jack White set, The Damned’s UK punk classics, and Johnny Marr’s Smiths-friendly setlist — that’s what felt most CBGB about CBGB Fest. Individuals had been there to have a very good time and catch some nice music; whereas extra care may have been given to the consolation of attendees, the followers introduced sufficient positivity that the gathering was largely profitable.
Not even the delay on the mini-amphitheater Hilly’s Stage (YNWH Nailgun’s set was a minimum of 20 minutes late, pushing again a lot of the afternoon — however well worth the look forward to vocalist Zack Borzone’s bizarro vitality and drummer Sam Pickard’s percussive creativity) may dampen the temper. It was over on that stage that followers witnessed throwback performances from such acts as Cro-Mags, Marky Ramone, and Murphy’s Legislation — together with a shock look by Jesse Malin, recovering from a spinal situation he suffered two years in the past that left him paralyzed from the waist down — providing probably the most old-school CBGB vibes of any of the levels all through the day.
If organizers can determine find out how to throw a really sturdy competition Below the Ok Bridge, which would come with fixing a number of sound points and overhauling their strategy to concessions, CBGB Fest may simply flip right into a landmark annual gathering. The placement is nice (they actually have the bodily house to make these changes), the bookings had been unimpeachable, and the viewers was open to all of it. Who is aware of if it would fall to the slop and licensing complexities that CBGB is notorious for, however for someday, the dirty spirit of the Bowery felt alive underneath a Brooklyn bridge.