I'd never been to South Street Seaport before the night of this show.

The entire day was fantastic, and getting downtown and finding this entirely new and adorable place to hang out was just the icing on the cake. When I stepped out of the subway with friend in tow, we weren't quite sure where to go, but I had makeshift directions inmy pocket and we took a chance. At that point there were tall buildings surrounding us and construction everywhere, so I wasn't hopeful about our prospects. I should have been -- two blocks down, the construction gave way and the buildings opened up and revealed a cobblestoned street lined with shops and museums that was crawling with people and things to do. We walked by the Bodies Exhibition, countless restaurants, an ominous-looking Abercrombie and Fitch, and we headed toward the flags at the end of the road that we were pretty sure would lead us toward water.

We were right. We hit the pier and couldn't have been happier -- sun was out, water smelled nice, and there were smiling people all over. I wanted to get myself a balloon animal but refrained. Since we showed up (what we thought was) an hour early, we hung out for awhile, met a friend, and waited for the show.

Though slated to start at 6, the show didn't really get underway until around 7:10. I missed the very beginning of Bachelorette because the friend we met got lost and we had to find him, so when we returned to the venue (a stage set up in front of boats on the pier -- perfectly awesome) I was faced with someone on stage. I wasn't sure if it was Bachelorette, but it turns out that it was. Annabel Alpers is a solo act who performs under the name Bachelorette. She's from New Zealand, and while sheherself was adorable, her stage show was a little bit lacklustre. She had a keyboard and guitar and used pre-recorded tracks to aid her with drum beats and synth tracks. The music was interesting and I would probably listen to it again happily, since the recordings have more of a professional feel. She definitely has the potential to be fantastic, but her live show needs some polishing.

Here We Go Magic was up next. A band of 5 people (Luke Temple, Peter Hale, Michael Bloch, Kristina Lieberson, Jennifer Turner), they were definitely the reason the crowd had gathered. They've gained at least a little bit of underground recognition after being named in various places as an up-and-coming band, and they are currently on tour with indie darlings Grizzly Bear. Their name is definitely out there. I thought they were great. Their opening number was lovely, if a bit ill-chosen (a little bit too slow for my tastes in opening songs). Their music is grounded with strong harmonies and loud keyboards/guitars, and the combination of male and female vocals together is what helped to make it interesting for me. I would love to see them in a slightly different setting -- a small club, maybe, or as an opening act. This was fun to watch, and they did their job well: I'll probably go check them out later today.

It was a beautiful day at the South Street Seaport, and the weather was a welcome break from the hurricane like conditions New York City has lately experienced. I decided to take a leisurely stroll from my apartment to Pier 17. Unfortunately, the pier is actually a much further distance than I had hoped. Eventually, I did get there. Performing were Here We Go Magic, and Bachlorette . When I arrived at the Seaport I found it bustling. The stage was situated on the edge of a dock, with an audience sitting quietly on the unpolished wooden deck floor.

The aptly named Bachlorette is Annabel Alpers, a one woman band from New Zealand; she alternates between keyboards and guitar, and performs with the aid of prerecorded drum and synth backing. Alper’s singing and lush synth tones remind me of Stereolab, or Krautrock, but the programmed drum tracks she employs have the 808 snare kick of classic hiphop. The show was marred by a myriad of technical difficulties. At one point Alper’s had to retune her guitar between songs which gave her act an amateurish feel. Although receptive, the crowd was extremely placid, remaining seated throughout the entireity of Alper’s performance. On songs like “My Electric Husband” and “Do The Circuit” Alper’s displayed a cool musical sensibility, but overall her live show needs work.

Here We Go Magic is a project of singer songwriter Luke Temple. The group has gained a lot of momentum after being featured on Pitchfork and other taste making music sites. Temple played a part of a six piece band, kicking things off with a down tempo number that did not feature vocals until over a minute in. The band played in a sometimes hypnotic swirling style on songs like “Tunnel Vision” as red hulled ships undulated on the sea behind them. The band was talented but had a too cool to care about entertaining the crowd vibe to it that almost made the performance seem like an onstage practice. The band was minimalist at times with only keyboards, and drums hammering away as Temple silently crouched on the stage. Towards the end Temple switched to an acoustic guitar for “Feast Your Eyes” which was a standout track. Overall it was a satisfactory but not stellar performance.