A Summer Music Mix With Aimee Mann and Superchunk

July 2, 2018 by
Aimee Mann _Jonathan Coulton_-photo by Ray Fontaine

Aimee Mann and Jonathan Coulton/photo by Ray Fontaine

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Superchunk Celebrates Brooklyn / photo by Ray Fontaine

Celebrate Brooklyn! welcomed an eclectic group of musicians to the Prospect Park Bandshell stage on Thursday, June 21st, opening the evening long before sunset with Brooklyn native Jonathan Coulton. A giant LED marquee displayed his name from behind while he sang youthful silly songs such as “Mr. Fancy Pants,” that he masterfully mashed up with Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” and the Nintendo 64 Mario Cart theme song. This quirky singer song-writer seemed to have little in common with the next act on stage, Superchunk.

The high-energy ’90s punk rock band hasn’t lost any steam over the past three decades. Lead singer Mac McCaughan jumped and kicked all over stage to the fast tempo of Jon Wurster’s drums, alongside Jim Wilbur on bass. Superchunk kicked off with songs of protest such as “Reagan Youth” and “What a Time to Be Alive.” McCaughan called to the crowd, “Let’s start this one off with a clap!” The whole audience clapped to the beginning of “This Summer,” led by McCaughan’s epic guitar solo. The sun set over the Bandshell to the band’s summery new song “Hello Hawk.”

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Aimee Mann and Paul Bryan On Stage / photo by Ray Fontaine

Finally, Aimee Mann came to the stage, joined by bassist and producer Paul Bryan. She described her latest album, Mental Illness, to the audience as “sad and depressing.” She said, “I don’t mind if you take a nap, that’s the goal.” She kicked off with “Humpty Dumpty” from her Lost in Space album, and played other heavy-hitting acoustic songs, both old and new, including “Patient Zero” and “The Moth.”

Jonathan Coulton returned to the stage to play three songs he co-wrote on Mental Illness, which showed a very different side from his solo performance. Together, Coulton and Mann sang “Goose Snow Cone,” a song Mann told the audience was about winter, homesickness, and an Instagram cat she loves to follow. Surprisingly, it was one of the most upbeat songs of the set, with its cheery jingle bell percussion beat. Mann answered the call for “Encore!” with “One is the Loneliest Number” and “It’s Not Going to Stop,” finishing with one of the first songs she ever wrote: the classic “Voices Carry.”