I’ve been to a lot of McCarren Pool Parties in the past two years, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band who so perfectly embodies the event’s essence more than King Khan and His Shrines. For the uninitiated, this incarnation of King Khan’s traveling rock spectacle (the other, King Khan and the BBQ Show, is a throwback garage rock outfit) is a nine piece soul-freak-out group complete with go-go dancer and enough outrageous stage antics to make even Tim Harrington blush. “I Wanna Be A Girl” was a furious whirl. It’s rare and refreshing to encounter a band who values the performance aspect of their live show just as highly as their song craft. I can safely say, without hyperbole, that King Khan and His Shrines stole the show.

Unfortunately, it was up to Deerhunter to follow King Khan’s explosive party, and in comparison they were a bit dull. Their set was tight, though it lacked energy and character. Until the final climactic moments of their performance, where they go into a Sonic Youth-style noise jam, the band’s stage presence is mostly inanimate; which would be a serious problem if the band’s songs weren’t so good. Crytograms tracks like “Hazel St.” and “Strange Lights” had a new shoegaze sheen, but the real standouts were from the group’s forthcoming Microcastle, which will surely make it onto many critics' end-of-year top ten lists.

As for headliners Black Lips, I used to think they could only put on a good show in an overcrowded humid basement, but their set at McCarren last night proved me wrong. They may not have the stage antics of King Khan (even though the Lips’ reputation was built on such showmanship), but they were engaging and seemed to be having just about as much fun as the audience. Their energy was sincere and infectious. Songs, like “Buried Alive” and “Not A Problem” were played as though they were about to fall apart at the seams, but in a fun way. And when King Khan (who’d been haunting the stage since his band left) came out to do a BBQ Show song with the Lips, the whole thing devolved into a pillow-stuffing-throwing debacle by the end of their set. It really felt like a party, which is what the McCarren Pool Parties are all about.

Oh and sorry for the crappy pics—camera malfunction and all that.

Check out Brooklyn Vegan’s King Khan pics here.