We Went to a Full Moon Party

Last Thursday MATTE threw a full moon party at Beekman Beach Club. The full moon actually fell on Friday, and it was wasn’t just a full moon, but a blue moon, the second full moon of the month, and the last blue moon until July 2015. I suppose Thursday was chosen because weeknight parties are always more fun in New York. On the weekends we sleep.

Inspired by the full moon parties of Asia, the event featured performances by Tesla Boy, Yacht, and Sneaky Soundsystem, as well as DJ sets by JDH & Dave P and Gigamesh. It was my first time to South Street Seaport since many summers ago when I was living in New York for a college internship. I took my boyfriend at the time for a beer at Heartland Brewery like the newbie I was. Additional tourist trap jokes aside, the venue was perfect. Plastic couches glowed in the sandy lounge mimicking the bright moon. It was a clear night with temperatures in the low 70’s, the ocean breeze rippling across the water sparing sweat off bodies.

JDH & Dave P started with an enjoyable DJ set to a rather scarce crowd. I moved backstage just as the masses began to arrive. I suffer from occasional social anxiety that is easily extinguished with a beer or a puff of a magic cigarette, but I loathe crowds and strange bodies pushing against me. So, I thank MATTE for making the press passes all access. The VIP section was dotted with models in leather skirts (summer’s over; get your leather on) and club kids in expensive tops and faces streaked with body paint, pausing conversations to pose for dreadlocked photographers.

It was my first exposure to Tesla Boy, a new wave band from Moscow. A power trio that doesn’t really sound like a power trio, the boys both aroused and confused me with their Russian synthpop. Just when they seduced my hips into following their rhythm they burst into “Eye of the Tiger” and my brain exploded with foreigner jokes, and I lost my boner.

Next up was Yacht, my main motivation for attending the party. Yacht is the joined forces of Claire L. Evans, and Jona Bechtold, and they make brilliant electro-pop. Claire stole my heart with her beautifully awkward legs protruding from ying-yang pattered bicycle shorts as she squatted and vogued in a retro-theatrical performance.

The party ended with Sneaky Sound System, a bizarre and beautiful Australian duo made of producer Black Angus and singer Connie Mitchell. I owe the two an apology, my photographer had to leave right before they took the stage. I took a stab at the photo pit (I’m trying to learn music photography so I don’t always have to fuck with photographers, insert “you do” jokes here) but I fear I have a lot to learn, so the only photographic evidence of Sneaky’s stage presence comes in a blurry image from my digital camera. You’ll have to take my word that they looked amazing.

The event curators deserve applause for the artist selection. The bands complemented each other wonderfully, like a three-course meal from a Michelin star restaurant. My horoscope had predicted a romantic evening for Scorpios the night of the full moon. While I didn’t get laid, I replayed the songs of the night over in my head with the fondness of recalling a great first date.

@TheBowieCat

Photos by @timthegiraffe