Pet Sounds Music Banquet is a Feast for NYC's Indie Music Community
Hot Cue Mag’s review of the inaugural Pet Sounds Music Banquet at Rubulad
Anyone who’s lived in Brooklyn for some time has no doubt attended a number of raves or musical performances. But have you been to a DIY music festival?
On September 13th, the first-ever Pet Sounds Music Banquet took over Rubulad in Bushwick. Organized almost single-handedly by Jake Murray, drummer and lead singer of Diner Pets, the festival packed in seven bands, nine DJs, and about 300 people for its debut year.
I showed up at 5 PM, early by any standards, only to find the place already buzzing. Finding the entrance was tricky: no signs, no posters. I circled the block three times before finally following the faint thump of bass towards an unmarked door.
If you see a bunch of shiny and otherworldly objects hanging from a tree, just know that you are in the right place.
The Space
“Rubulad is like our church. This feels like inviting people into my house of worship.” - Donnie, Diner Pets guitarist
Entering Rubulad feels like sliding down the Rabbit Hole into a whole new world.
After wandering through a corridor lined with naked mannequins and a clown mural, I entered the outdoor patio, which could only be described as the Madhatter’s backyard. A sculpture of a pair of lips with a tongue as a slide that daring revelers could tumble down. A string of lace panties and bras wrapped around what can only be described as a gnome house. Trees covered in streamers, doll heads, wrappers, any object you could think of.
After making my way towards the wooden patio marking the entrance to the indoor venue, I was immediately greeted by an easygoing bouncer who was happy to entertain my never-ending questions about the space.
Run by artists Chris Thomas and Sari Rubinstein, Rubulad has existed for 30 years in various locations around Brooklyn, but found its home on Melrose Street, off the Myrtle-Wyckoff L station in 2017. The venue hosts a hodgepodge of events, from monthly clown raves to a late-night independent film screening series. Decorations for themed parties past still remain, layering over each other to create an extravagant palimpsest in the physical space.
Rubulad also rents out accessible studio spaces to musicians, painters, sculptors, and other creatives. “Every time you come [here], it looks slightly different,” proclaimed Jane, a keyboardist who rents from Rubulad.
While I was taking in the delights of the venue, someone shouted, “Hey! The first band is about to go on.”
Everyone rushed inside. Let’s fucking go.
The Performances
Jake Murray, the driving force behind Diner Pets, has been playing in New York bands for over five years. Faced with rising venue costs and fewer booking opportunities for his band, Jake got the wild idea to throw a DIY music festival - by himself, on his own terms.
His frustration isn’t unique. As venues close or hike fees across the city, musicians are turning to self-created events to keep their scenes alive. The Pet Sounds Music Banquet was Jake’s answer: not just a show, but a community gathering.
Walking into the indoor section of Rubulad (which, in comedic contrast to the outdoor area, did vaguely resemble a music venue) with little knowledge of New York’s live music scene, I was expecting the bands to share a similar indie-rock vibe. Instead, I was surprised by a diverse lineup of sounds.
The opening band Madz is fronted by Madeline Bray, whose relatable and heart-wrenching lyrics reminded me of early Lucy Dacus. Madz’s more upbeat songs channeled early 2000s bands (think Bowling for Soup and Fountains of Wayne, but with a female forward lineup), and sapphic melodies.
Diner Pets took the stage midway through the night. A more hardline rock band, their cheerful and energetic sound embodies the nostalgia of middle school friend groups, the feeling of an endless sleepover at your best friend’s house. It took a second to figure out who was singing as the lead singer Jake, instead of standing at the front of the stage, sang in the back while absolutely crushing the drums. While playing, his smooth baritone and vulnerable lyrics beautifully interjected the band’s grand sonic arrangements and layers of harmony.
My personal standout was THIS HOLY RODEO!, a riotous band that reimagines the typical sound of punk. Experimental would be an understatement to the kind of thrill they brought to the stage. The band is highly technical, yet the range of what they do in one song feels illegal to all the rules of music: seamlessly moving through Jazz to Punk to Screamo to reading a poem the lead singer wrote on the way to the festival. I noticed that the drummer had sheet music, and later learned that it was his first time performing live with the band.
Other highlights included the country-rock warmth of Fawn Ridge and the textured, brooding rhythms of The Wiring.
Jake’s musical compositions for Diner Pets are undoubtedly impressive, but his curation of the bands was simply outstanding. The lineup wasn’t just music—it was a snapshot of a community, a night where friends, producers, old and new bandmates all shared the same stage.
The DJs and Vendors
In between band sets, the crowd congregated under a glowing tent, dancing to energetic beats. Curated by DJ Janky, the DJs spun everything from jersey club to downtempo as friends and family of the band hung out and smoked.
The beats were especially helpful for Beau, bassist of Diner Pets, to keep his spirits up while slinging hot dogs all night long. After playing in almost every band that has ever existed in New York for the last 15 years, Beau has become the most coveted producer in Brooklyn. In addition to playing multiple instruments that night, Beau proved himself a master of grilling. I don’t know what Beau did to the humble hot dog, but they were extra delicious.
The nook and crannies of Rubulad offer many chances to enter into intimate conversations like these with strangers. In the corner of the festival, John, father to one of the Diner Pets crew, was selling hand-designed Skateboards and merch from his skate brand GC7 and serving up wild stories from his youth. A native New Yorker who worked as an MTA mechanic for 28 years, John built GC7 as a callback to his youth: the brand is named after an abandoned “fun park” called Golf City where he grew up riding dirt bikes and skating with his friends “before internet, cable TV and social media ever existed.”
At another point in the night, I was sitting in the tree house while Sophia, the onsite tattoo artist, was inking a dozen or more ants around a guy’s elbow; she had met Jake, the organizer, through another mutual friend in the music scene.
Before leaving, I also had a chance to chat with parents of some of the band members, who were super excited to see their children perform on stage at a festival.
Community organizing of any kind, whether it is a small potluck or an all-day music festival, requires countless hours of invisible labor, personal financial sacrifice, and a whole lot of selflessness. The Pet Sounds Music Banquet almost felt like a love song Jake Murray wrote to the New York indie music community.
And for one night, we all got to sing along.
If you want to listen to the sounds of bands that performed, check out the playlist below:
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