Briskets Sell Like LCD Tickets at GoogaMooga Festival

[caption id="attachment_40282" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="James Murphy, Aziz Ansari and David Chang speak (and eat) on a panel at the Great GoogaMooga Festival. Photo: Ben Lozovsky for MTV Hive"][/caption]

“Is food the new rock and roll?”

When presented with that question from an audience member during a round-table discussion at the Great GoogaMooga Festival this weekend, former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy was adamant. “No, that’s just stupid. You can’t download food.”

Lady Gaga and her sirloin couture might disagree. Chefs and bartenders have approached rock star status in recent times, and Bonnaroo organizers Superfly Presents brought just as much culinary fire power as music to their sort-of free, two-day celebration of tasteful debauchery this weekend at Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Filled with vendors from some of New York’s most beloved and respected food institutions, plus massive, well-curated wine and beer gardens, the emphasis was definitely on eating and drinking -- only if you could get your hands on any of it. Day one was a monumental exercise in patience, as large crowds led to even larger lines and many vendors selling out quickly. But even the snobbiest and most famished of foodies could revel in some well-balanced musical offerings. Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Bear Hands brought home the bacon at the Hamageddon stage (in an area devoted exclusively to pork and flanked by a giant rotisserie pig construction), both debuting new songs. The Roots started their headlining slot off with a raucous, drum rattling tribute to the late Go-Go pioneer Chuck Brown and crescendoed steadily up through a jam heavy set (that included a Donna Summers cover as well).

For those willing to pay for some extra perks in the VIP Extra Mooga section, Murphy finished off the night with a mix of disco deep cuts. It was almost as funky as the cave-aged camembert.