what a weekend!

The great time that began on Thursday with our orchestra recording just got better and better as the days progressed.

On Friday, a large contingent of friends, family and fans gathered in The Salt Mines, our capacious DUMBO rehearsal space, for a memorable evening of music. Photos here

Minor Planets, a new band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, led by ex-Jenifer Convertible frontman Lenny Zenith, heated up the room with a rockin’ set of tunes informed by New Wave, surf and rockabilly.

The Sharp Things followed, bringing the love as only we can, with a set culled from both our studio albums, plus new songs from the upcoming A Moveable Feast (our first-ever performance of a sad new song, “Stockholm Street,” was a highlight, with several audience members visibly moved to tears).

Last up was the only band with the audacity to follow The Sharp Things: the reunited Jenifer Convertible, the mid-’90s East Village noise-pop band featuring Zenith, Sharp Things guitarist Jim Santo, bassist James Pertusi and original JenCon drummer Andy Moore, who drove down from Maine for the occasion. Performing for the first time in NYC since 1995, the Convertibles blew the doors off the Salt Mines, leaving all in attendance amazed and satisfied. And drunk. :-)

The Salt Mines show would itself have made for a great weekend, but the next night topped it, as The Sharp Things shared the stage with an impressive line-up of artists gathered at Supreme Trading in Williamsburg for Bar/None Records 20th Anniversary celebration.

An action-packed program of two- and three-song sets by They Might Be Giants, Freedy Johnston, Mary Lee’s Corvette, Mendoza Line and many more reminded the packed house of Bar/None’s legacy of great music. The affection for the artists for their current and former label was evident as each thanked label founders Glenn Morrow and Tom Prendergast for “making it all happen.”

With a mixture of humility, pride and excitement, The Sharp Things closed the show with an unexpectedly extended seven-song set (the show had run so smoothly ahead of schedule that our planned 11:30 set began an hour early) that brought roars of approval from the crowd. It was an honor and a thrill that none of us will soon forget.

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