Dad’s rockin’ the Ridge. Sunday is Father’s Day, and there’s nowhere better to hear music much loved by “men of a certain age” than Bay Ridge — the home of the dad rock cover band.
On Friday, get started at Schnitzel Haus (7319 Fith Ave. between 73rd and 74th streets) at 9 pm, where Potentially Unstable will perform a rock-solid set of tunes your dad no doubt jammed to when he was working on his beloved Trans Am — before you came along and made him get a minivan.
Then take Pops to the Greenhouse Cafe (7717 Third Ave. between 77th and 78th streets), where Long Island’s Sound Chaser will chase the 1960s starting at 10 pm. They literally play the song “Those Oldies, but Goodies” by Little Caesar & The Romans — Dad will love it.
It’s a dad rock hat trick (probably some kind of moth-eaten baseball cap with grass stains), because we have a third band to cap off your Friday night. Take the pater familias to the Wicked Monk (9510 Third Ave. between 95th and 96th streets) at 10:30 pm for the Robert Santa band. But brace yourself, because when Santa and his band mates take the stage, Dad will ask the burning question: “Why doesn’t your band have a saxophone player, son?” No Dad, just no.
Find common ground at the Hideout (8415 Fifth Ave. between 84th and 85th streets) on Saturday, where the Social Zoo will be playing a mix of old and new-ish tunes ranging from Sabbath and Zeppelin classic rock to ‘90s-era grunge like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Sound Garden.
After you’ve cooked your dad his ceremonial three pounds of bacon for Father’s Day breakfast, fly over to Owl’s Head Park for free music during Make Music New York’s annual city-wide concert series. Get there by 3 pm to catch Staten Island dad jammers Snugs. Pops will leap out of his Dockers when he hears these guys play the trinity of dad rock genres — classic rock, blues, and folk. Broaden your father’s horizons after Snugs, and stick around for traditional Palestinian music from Zafer Tawil at 3:45, and an “interactive rhythmic experimentation” with PaulomM at 4:30 pm.
