Mice Parade at Mercury Lounge

The Mercury Lounge
217 E. Houston St (at Ave. A)
Lower East Side [near F train and 6 train]
New York, NY 10002
212.260.4700
website
Note: 21+ only.

I saw Mice Parade there and thought they were quite interesting. Never saw electronica live and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot. This was my first live music experience in NYC after I've been here for a year. Quite sad no? I guess NYU kids just have more fun.
music link: WNYC show back in 2004 featuring Mice Parade

Cover was $12 and included two other acts that performed before Mice Parade. We did not catch the first one since we arrived late. The second act was Tom Brosseau who sounded more folk than rock. We all agreed that the man could play and write music, but when it came to lyrics and singing...we were not so crazy about him.

One interesting note about music venues is that I always find out about them from free daily newspapers on the subway. Back in DC my first music venue was Black Cat where I saw Rasputina live as well as some other interesting bands. I write about their cello techno rock and awesome costumes on Express (DC free subway paper) and raved about it to my friends who agreed to go with me. This time I had read about the Handsome Furs who played the day before Mice Parade. I recall reading something about electronica and harp when they advertised Mice Parade. I then looked up Mercury Lounge and listened to some Mice Parade stuff on itunes and was pleasantly surprised. Yea, I was disappointed that a week full of Bright Eyes concerts had sold out in town and wanted to see what other music events I could find.

With the cover charge already paid at the door, drink prices at the bar were not too bad. Remembering that J. and S. loved Blue Moon, I grabbed one on tab. Others got Brooklyn Lager (pretty decent), Stella (oops, the bartendar had mixed up my order but oh well), Rum and Coke (coke was just a food coloring in this one. strong!). Later on K. actually ordered a LI ice tea which tasted better than I thought. Two sips were enough for me though.

This is a somewhat disorganized review but I should end with some final thoughts:
-intimate space. I can probably touch the band if I were three rows ahead.
-ok acoustics. the drums sounded a bit loud, almost overpowering the singers.
-happy bartendar. almost too happy.
-tame crowd. Yea, I really thought NYers would be rowdier than DCers but I guess it depends on the night and band. People were generally nice and didn't go crazy when the music got more interesting. Rasputina had its many fun crowd watching experiences. This one, not so much.
-good space. as K. mentioned, "it's not in a basement".