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Last Sunday, I was grooving to the retro soul of JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound at MASS MoCA—it was the last day of Wilco's Solid Sound Festival—when the band tore into an R&B rave-up called "Baltimore Is the New Brooklyn." No kidding. The crowd went nuts (at least, me and my wife and kids did), and the band certainly played it like they meant it. For proof of that, check out the video clip above, which was shot with my cheap camera, so the audio isn't so good.
If you can't make them out, here are the lyrics...
Baltimore is the new Brooklyn
It’s just a short train ride away from where you really want to be
Baltimore is the new Brooklyn
But no one really wants to be down in Washington DC
Baltimore is the new Brooklyn
It’s just a short train ride away from where you really want to beListen to what I’m saying
You’re gonna be, be by the bay
Well it’s much better than New Jersey
A few hours later, I ran into Brooks at the Solid Sound record shop and asked about the song. "Well, it is the new Brooklyn," he said, and I mentioned that it was pretty much the premise of our 2008 Fall Arts Preview, which was titled "If You Lived Here, You'd Be Cool By Now."
Brooks told me he's actually from Jersey, but his guitar player hails from Baltimore, so that's the connection.
He also mentioned that the band's on tour this fall, and they'd love to add a Baltimore date. It sure would be a shame if they didn't come to Baltimore.
And here's a clip of JC and crew playing the song on Chic-a-Go-Go. I love the dancing Fidel!
