The House of Vans is a skating rink/ performance venue for the people of Brooklyn, New York. The House of Vans is extremely popular as people were flooding inside minute by minute; there was a mixed crowd of both teenagers and adults who were in attendance. The warehouse had a stage on the inside and had seating on the outside for people to mingle while they were waiting for the next performance. As for food, people were able to choose from Phil’s Steaks, Tacos Morelos, and The House of Vans itself. The first performance was by a band from New Orleans called Benjamin Booker. Their band consisted of one drummer and two guitarists. One of the guitarists was singing while playing at the same time. They performed about five songs and gave the crowd a little taste of rock & roll that was unique.
When Mac Demarco approached the stage many of the teenagers throughout the crowd made it obvious that they were accustomed to their music and sang along to many of the hits performed by the band. Mac Demarco performed with three of his talented band members, one drummer, and two other guitarists besides himself. After performing numerous songs, Mac Demarco showed the crowd a great sign of excitement by surfing the crowd, while the audience was carrying him back and forth. After the band’s magnificent performance of nearly a dozen songs, the crowd began to chant “One more song, one more song, one more song”.
The last performance was Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires. Charles Bradley came out on stage with an all red suit that had his initials “CB” written in silver stones. Charles Bradley is a funk and soul rhythm and blues performer that came out on stage singing with much emotion and care for the audience and that he was performing in what he called Brooklyn, “I am Home”. While singing he had some great dance moves that had amazed the crowd along with his band who were playing the saxophone, piano, drums, and guitars. Overall, all of the performances held in the House of Vans last night was a new experience that I can remember for years to come.
-Rasheed Adetunji
