Clearview!

It was an afternoon that would prove to be one of many firsts. It was the first time I had ever witnessed an international yo-yo competition at South Street Seaport in NYC (which was the setting for this particularly magnificent Saturday afternoon in August) and some other firsts that I'll get to later, don't be pushy... let me set it up first. There they were, dozens of professional yo-yoers from all around the world competing for the 1A division title, and let me just say that the competition was FIERCE. Yes.. really. It was some seriously mind-blowing shit. A crowd of around 1000 people had formed to get along under the sun, drink some Samuel Adams, and root for their favorite yo-yo... uh.. person. The mixed crowed consisted of tourists, yo-yo pros and enthusiasts, a bunch of New Yorkers... and a band call that called themselves Clearview. The sun had just started to dip behind the buildings in the financial district and at around 6 o'clock, the MC of the competition (a fun-loving yo-yo dude of Chinese heritage named Pat) announced with an ever-widening smile "...from Long Island... the rock and roll band... CLEARVIEW!" Just then, five dudes that looked like they rolled in from a Packers tailgate party, took the stage... and what ensued was little bit of fucking magic. Without warning, these guys proceeded to rock the faces of every person in the crowd... and this was a group of guys, that in middle school would have probably beaten the shit out of ANYONE that played with a yo-yo! But none of that mattered now. However these guys landed this gig, legal or not, it did not matter. Their first song "Birds" was a blistering, up-tempo, rock jam that really grabbed the crowd by the balls with it's power and downright catchiness. A throw-back to the days when REAL rock music was honest and raw, and you didn't have to be some skinny, emotional dweeb in tight jeans singing half-assed songs about anal beads, like the lovable hipsters of today. But I'm getting off track. Clearview proceeded to rip through the jams... and with the exception of a mis-cued drum click and a slightly mis-tuned acoustic guitar, played a near perfect set of completely original, completely moving rock tunes. After the third song, an older woman that was in the front row shouted out: "From a Grandmother... YOU GUYS ARE REALLY GREAT!" To which the lead guitarist responded: "Thanks to the granny in the font row". And at that very moment, whatever dignity this event had brought to yo-yo lovers around the world... had just been drowned in a bottle of Jameson and snorted off of a backstage pass. These boys DESTROYED. They tore through a half a dozen tunes that would have had Johnny Cash begging for an encore. "This is our last song... then we're gonna go home and get wasted... (pause for effect) ...this is 'Junkies' " said the confident (and now sunglass clad) lead singer, referring to the cocaine ballad 'Junkies Fairytale' that starts off with the lines: "We stayed awake for days / chopping lines with razor blades". Sheer brilliance. A sediment so brutally honest, so chilling and raw (not to mention completely shocking considering the nature and age group of the event) that it can only be described as: RADICAL. After the songs had been sung, a sweet late-summer breeze found its way to the Seaport, little Andrew Bergen won the New York 1A yo-yo division title, and for the first time... a group of honest, blue collared musicians got to play for the best city in the world... but wound up playing for themselves instead. We just got to enjoy the phenomenon.

- Syd Valenti Freelance Writer