Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel @ Shea Stadum, February 15, 2011

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It was a chilly night but Lewis and the boys were heating things up in Brooklyn last night. Shea Stadium is a DIY vinue next door to Emandee Studios on the edge of Bushwick just off the Grand Stop on the L train. The sound was surpisingly good for a space like this and the 2 weeks of touring really seemed to have helped the fellas gel. The sold out tour kickoff show at The Cake Shop, back in January, was plagued with sound issues, but last nights show was a delightful mixture of old and new, kooky Stampfel songs and collaborations with the odd Lewis tune and historic video. It was a bit of a super group, including Spencer Chakedis (Deep Sound Diver) on mandolin, John Kessel on bass, Anders Griffen and Lewis' current drummer, Dave Beauchamp, switching back and forth between drum kit and conga/percussion duties. Stampfel switched between banjo and fiddle while Leiws continued to pluck away on his taped together, road weary, acoustic 6 string. The whole evening had a nice loose "Rolling Thunder Review" kind of a vibe. A highlight of the show was a tune about Stampfel's extensive bottle cap collection called, "Bottle Caps Are Cool." Scan's of some of the more choice caps from his collection were projected behind the band during the song. A new historical "Low Budget Video" projection about The Renaissance showcased some really nice colorful new illustrations by Lewis. The fellas even managed to get in a version of the Holy Model Rounders classic tune: "If You Wanna Be a Bird" (as featured in the movie "Easy Rider" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW42PzDyPmA). It was a genuine knee slappin' good time, which is probably a sight all too rare at such Brooklyn hipster venues as this one. I'm still trying to get the hang of this new camera so sorry for all the fuzzy pics.