Preteens Tiny Masters of Today and Magnolia, new mom Kimya Dawson, Alice Smith, Tamar-Kali, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah got noisy for a cause, the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. The Bowery Ballroom ruckus, aside from a marathon rock show, was also a charity auction benefiting the New York nonprofit summer camp that teaches girls to play instruments and write their own rock music.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah may have been the headliners, but pint-sized punks Tiny Masters of Today stole the show. With hair disheveled beyond their years, they vented pre-teen angst through their three-chord rants, bringing Fred Schneider of the B-52s and Kimya Dawson onstage as guests.
The event brought out more than just the typical Bowery crowd, as parents, teachers, and high rollers came to invest in Rock Camp's future Nicos and Regina Spektors by buying autographed Beastie Boys action figures and Marc Jacobs handbags, and sticking around to enjoy the noise. LAVINIA WRIGHT / PHOTOS BY ERIC NOWELS
On SPIN.com:
Willie Mae Rock Camp Benefit Show
Girls About to Rock: We Salute You
>> Listen to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on Napster
>> Listen to Kimya Dawson on Napster
>> Listen to Tiny Masters of Today on Napster
We asked: Did you go to summer camp? COMMENT
Name: Bia Parente
Age: 25
Hometown: Connecticut
Occupation: Production assistant
"I didn't go to camp and I wasn't jealous of the kids that did."
Name: Chad Walsh
Age: 22
Hometown: Washington, DC
Occupation: Restaurant worker
"I went to space camp -- no rocking but I liked the pools they dropped us in."
Name: Andy Eisberg
Age: 30
Hometown: New York, NY
Occupation: Photographer
"I went to a socialist summer camp called Mohawk. I wasn't a good socialist, though."
Name: Paul Belovikavek
Age: 25
Hometown: New Jersey
Occupation: Carpenter
"I never went to rock camp. I'd probably want to go, if I were a girl."
Name: Jeanah Hong
Age: 30
Hometown: New York, NY
Occupation: Science teacher
"Yes, I really enjoyed the outdoor challenges. We had singing, but no rocking!"
Name: Ramdasha Bikceem
Age: 31
Hometown: New Jersey
Occupation: Homeless youth shelter coordinator
"If I could have gone to camp I would have loved Rock Camp!"
Clap Your Hands' Robbie Guertin
Rocking for the girls, Alec Ounsworth
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Divine in denim, Ounsworth
Kimya Dawson delivers one loud punch
Kimya Dawson and friends
Tiny Masters of Today's Ivan
Raising funds for Rock Camp
