Village favorites
Abracadabra Trip
gets their musical
bus back on the road
L-R Laura Newman, Sebastien Gonzalez, Juan Gallego of the Abracadabra
Trip feeling it at Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Nov. 7, 2020.
BY BOB KRASNER
You can dance in the street without
music, but it doesn’t hurt to have a
great band on hand.
It was more good news for Brooklyn
when the Abracadbra Trip jumped on the
bus for the fi rst time since December to
provide a soundtrack for revelers celebrating
the election results over the weekend.
Although the group, led by Laura Newman,
usually gives free concerts in the East and
West Villages, but they decided to stay
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
closer to home this time.
Most of the band lives in Brooklyn, and
they determined that performing in that
borough would feel like they were playing
for their neighbors and hopefully avoid
larger crowds that would likely greet them
in Manhattan.
Playing a mix of originals — a blend
of psychedelic rock, funk and a touch of
reggae — and some timely covers (such as
the Bee Gee’s “Staying Alive” and Queen’s
“Another One Bites the Dust”) the Abracadabra
Trip never lost their energy as they
played from the afternoon into the night.
“We hadn’t done any shows in the city
since December,” Newman explained.
“Normally we would have started up again
in April but COVID happened.”
Sometime on Friday night, she decided
that it was time to get back on the bus, so
she called the musicians to organize the
day, having no idea that the election results
would be announced Saturday morning as
they were putting the key into the ignition.
“We were ecstatic!” exclaimed Newman.
The group started at Domino Park in
Williamsburg before moving on to Marsha
P. Johnson State Park and then McCarren
Park in Greenpoint.
“Everywhere we went, people were already
lit!” she said. “We provided a space to
celebrate and dance, and it was absolutely
amazing.”
Singer Elliott LaRue took a minute on
stage (that is, the top of the bus) to say how
he felt.
“This is a day to celebrate America and
democracy,” he proclaimed. “It doesn’t
matter who you voted for, it’s a celebration
for all of us.”
Newman was succinct in summing up
her experience on Saturday: “It was the
most alive I’ve felt all year.”
The band can be followed on Instagram
@abracadabratrip and on their website
AbracadabraTrip.com.
14 November 12, 2020 Schneps Media
/AbracadabraTrip.com
