Matt + Kim @ McCarren Park Pool

If there’s one thing that makes living in New York City absolutely awesome, it would probably be the summertimes. Hot and muggy, yeah, but also jam-packed with free stuff – free shows, free movies, free everything. One of the greatest traditions we’ve had here over the past few years has been the McCarren Park Pool Parties, sponsored by JellyNYC. The McCarren Park Pool was built by Robert Moses in the 1930s and abandoned by the 1970s. Artsy Brooklynites repurposed it as an event space, and Jelly came in a few years back to throw free concerts in the empty pool, which is about the size of a football field. It’s more than a concert, really – there’s dodgeball, cookout tent, a slip n’ slide, football (better known as soccer), and so on.

On July 13th, the space was graced by Brooklyn’s own Matt & Kim, one of the most enthusiastic bands I have ever seen.

These guys had the whole place dancing and their joy at being on stage in their own neighborhood was infectious. Everyone around me was grinning ear to ear.

As if there weren’t enough warm fuzzies going around, two girls Kim used to babysit were onstage in the giant sound-cancelling headphones dancing around like everyone else.

And THEN they brought out the Rude Marching Band to accompany them on the last few songs. It was brilliant. Kim even joined them for choreography on “Yea Yeah.”

It was pretty hard to walk away from that show and not feel happy. Here’s a little taste of what you missed out on: