Big Deal: the Breeders Play McCarren Pool!

It's true. The Deal sisters and their current lineup of the Breeders dropped by Brooklyn this afternoon to play McCarren Pool for a free show as part of the summer Pool Parties Series.

It was free. And it was apparently the place to be. The Olympic-sized pool accommodates thousands (and should be noted is a veritable oven in the summer sun), but the line out front moved slowly and there were still folks who hadn't gotten in by the end of the set! Bummer.

The great thing about the outdoor venue is that folks opted to lay out, picnic, watch a soccer game in the park and listen to a Breeders show. Where else can you do all this? Kim Deal's honey-drenched vocals are still as unmistakable as ever, and though they were promoting their newest album, Mountain Battles (their first release in 6 long years), I, like everyone else was happy to hear them play several songs from the alternative touchstone Last Splash . "Divine Hammer" was the soundtrack to this perfect, breezy Sunday afternoon, and when the droning "Cannonball" intro started, the crowd went wild. No doubt, it was '93 in McCarren Pool this afternoon, and people couldn't have been more into it.

As for the new stuff, it's more of the same, loud power-pop with the sensibility that only the 2 coolest ladies in rock could be behind. I was most stoked to hear that for the encore, they chose to play "Saints," a perfectly obvious choice. When Deal sang "Summer is ready when you are," it was official. The summer show-going season is on.

The Breeders continue a European tour for July/August.