When we think of a jam band, we think of Phish or Grateful Dead. When we think of a bowling alley, we think of a basement venue in a suburban shopping center with lots of lanes, fluorescent lights, cheap beer and crappy food.

Last weekend, we flipped all of that upside down. We were in a bowling alley and there was a jam band. Just not what you think.  No juke box. No stale food. No shopping center.

The venue was Brooklyn Bowl and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you need to make those plans immediately. Set in Williamsburg (obviously), this bowling alley is also a concert hall and also a serves Blue Ribbon fried chicken. Yes, that is a fact and freaking awesome. Especially with some honey on top!

After woofing down a 16 piece and enjoying the beer selection that you would expect at a Williamsburg establishment, we walked over to the concert area slash dance floor where BoomBox took the stage. We also would like to note that Brooklyn Bowl has live coverage of the concert on TVs everywhere you turn. So, whether you’re bowling, eating fried chicken or waiting at the bar for a drink, you can see the show.

If you don’t know the band, the best way we can describe them is an electronic jam band which makes a lot of sense. We started our piece mentioning the Grateful Dead. Well, one of the two members of BoomBox is Zion Godchaux who is the child of Keith and Donna Jean of the Grateful Dead. How’s that for a childhood?  We’d say pretty exciting. And certainly influential.

You never know what you’re going to get from the band as they change their set’s direction based on the crowd’s energy. And, we can vouch that the energy from the crowd on Saturday night was off the charts!  BoomBox kept everyone grooving and swaying all night. The party went into early Sunday and the guests were locked in and connected with the band.  The other member of the group is Russ Randolph who performed in a top hat as usual.  Godchaux sang and swayed the night away with his guitar on lead vocals.

It was a cold and rainy night but that had no impact on what was going on in Brooklyn Bowl. We wish we could recreate the evening but the best we can do is YouTube BoomBox (Midnight on the Run is our fave) and groove in our office.  You can do the same and book your next outing at the bowling alley that is so not what you think.

@newyorkeventsco