The band Headlights hails from Champaign, Ill., but director Jacob Ganz and I met them at Brooklyn's Union Hall. We were first attracted to their boy-girl harmonies and full sound. The press notes namecheck Phil Spector and his 60s doo-wop groups, and we hear some classic mid-90s indie rock bands in the Headlights' sound as well — but we're happy to discover that they're five of the nicest people we could have hoped to meet.
We have musical guests on Bryant Park Project all the time, but sometimes our little studio just can't fit all the musicians in a band. That's part of what moved us to take our cameras to Union Hall.
It's an intimate music venue in Brooklyn, N.Y., with furnishings that remind you of a 1920s hotel. The upstairs has rows of bocce courts and a fireplace, and the downstairs holds a small, low-ceilinged stage. The walls are lined with vintage wallpaper and portraits of people who look like your great-grandparents. The Headlights more than filled the space, playing songs like "School Boys" from their album Some Racing, Some Stopping. It was worth the trip.
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