Since 1977, classical audiences have been attending concerts aboard Bargemusic, a peculiar “floating concert hall” that sits at Fulton Ferry Landing in Dumbo. Somehow, in Bargemusic’s long history, it had never hosted a pop concert, rendering this tiny Brooklyn barge stuffier than Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center. Last night, the young chamber-pop singer Chris Garneau broke the venue’s streak, becoming its first performer from the pop world.
It’s a tentative step for the barge. Garneau’s music is well-behaved and festooned with classical touches. He sings in a melodramatic croon, suggesting early Rufus Wainwright fandom and a history of expensive music lessons. If Bargemusic’s overseers were fearful of a “rock” crowd—terrifying images torn from Rock ’n’ Roll High School leading to sleepless nights—their worries were misplaced; the night’s most strident moment came when the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to Garneau’s mother.
Onstage, Garneau played piano and wore ill-advised orange denim that competed with the glorious view of the Manhattan skyline behind the stage. He was backed by a pair of cellists and members of the Brooklyn band Scary Mansion, singing off-kilter songs from his forthcoming second album, El Radio. He’s an artist of promise and melodrama, unafraid to commit to a song. The setting did not hurt: Walking into the cabin-like Bargemusic, especially when a show is in progress, feels like stumbling into some bizarre speakeasy. As the cabaret rocks and tilts, its audience is lulled to compliance, sucked into the sounds. It was a nice first pop show for Bargemusic—but will it be the last?
