While clearing out my inbox (8083+ unread emails, yikes) and staring out my office window into the hazy overcast of impending shitstorm, I came across this video of the super awesome Rock Yard shows that came into existence this summer as a welcomed throwback answer to the Jelly Pool Parties of ‘yore.

So get out your calendars and start marking down the days to Summer 2011– and for now, just get half-depressed and half-turned on by running girls in bikinis:

Jelly’s Rock Yard was in full swing yesterday. Below is Slip ‘n Slide footage as well as performances by Zaza and Sport of Kings. There will be two more Saturdays of free shows at the Rock Yard on 09/04 and 09/11. Don’t miss out on those.

Have a good night, e’rybody:

For 5 seasons, Brooklyn has enjoyed their summers because of Jelly. We’ve laughed, danced, slip ‘n slided, made out, gotten rained out, and been beyond hammered in their honor and because of their hard work. We all knew the Pool Parties were coming to an end, but not like this:

We are saddened that we were not given the contractual 24-hour notice of the final cancellation so that we could prepare our partners and bands that have supported this series and were booked for this date.  Instead, we were met with calls last night from press entities asking for statements on a press release issued by OSA lawyer and board member Adam Perlmutter only hours after The Open Space Alliance rejected our offer for the non-contractually laid out extraneous fees brought up throughout the course of this summer. [...]

We regret that we are not being allowed for the reasons outlined above to give Brooklyn the “thank you” we’ve been planning all year—our five year anniversary finale show. With all our planned special guests and unannounced surprises, it was sure to be a day no one would soon forget.

After the jump is Jelly’s statement in full about the abrupt ending of the series, along with final words to you for your continued support, as well as couple of checked facts mainly about how much OSA is the worst. Now it’s up to all of us to rage harder than we’ve ever raged before this Sunday, preferably in home made I <3 Jelly shirts. We’ll be there for the next chapter and we’re all excited to see what these awesome kids will come up with next summer. Until then, we’ve got Rock Yard to hold us over– which is filled with good vibes from the days of yore.

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We all agree that the Pool Parties have become kind of a bummer. Ok, so they’re still pretty fun but seriously lacking that special Jelly flavor that was recently replaced by rules, regulations, and the fear that a slip ‘n slide is way too dangerous. That said, we’re on our way now because Future Islands are a band everyone should get into.

Also, the Nicky Digital hosted after party with Deluka should be pretty rad.

The signs are pointing towards this being the last summer for Jelly’s Pool Parties. It’s expensive to produce (~$500,000), takes too much time & effort, they’re not making any more money, and they’re no longer a monogamist beast — Jelly’s been refocusing efforts on the smaller and more DIY events they used to know and love (see Rock Yard).

But while Jelly’s profile in the community has risen along with the popularity of the concerts, they haven’t made more money. And Hooper says the process of booking and producing the free concerts has become more difficult. The move to East River State Park meant a doubling of the fees Jelly pays to rent the site, along with the loss of revenue from beer sales and increased security demands. “It’s been a tough year for everyone,” Hooper says. “This summer has been about digging ourselves out of the hole of last year’s Pool Parties.”

Then, there’s this quote, also from Sarah Hooper, a Jelly co-founder, given recently to NPR’s The Record: “I kind of hate the Pool Parties now. They make us all really sad when we go on site. And then I go to a Mad Decent block party or our things at Rock Yard, and it’s exactly how it used to be.”

Come to think of it, I get kinda sad too. The beer drinkers are locked in an alternate concert experience, the stage backdrop is all condos, and the magic is just…gone.

What do you think…is this it? Would you be happy to see Jelly let the Pool Parties die and re-focus on the Rock Yard and/or Mad Decent collaborations? Crystal Ball of the Internet! What does our future hold?!

We’ve been investigating all week, and now we’ve got a flyer as proof. Starting this Saturday the awesome folks who bring us the Waterfront Pool Parties will be throwing a new series of outdoor events on the South Side.

Seems like Jelly is digging back to their roots with Rock Yard, because we sure do miss the good old days when we were partying in the frying pan (a.k.a. McCarren Park Pool), Chuck Schumer didn’t care about the hipsters, and we didn’t have to go through turnstiles to buy a beer.

We’re also digging the collabo with Less Artists More Condos, and hoping the DIY feel keeps the party local… considering the lot hits max capacity at 800 people.

As usual, the shows are FREE. Oh and did we mention the official return of the Slip ‘n Slide!? Hells yes.

A tipster / FREEwilly contributer stopped by the Wythe and South 2nd lot this weekend and spoke with a few artists painting up the wall. They hinted that it’s where the second Jelly concert series will go down.

If true, it fits the hints Jelly & Gothamist dropped last week — it’s South Williamsburg, not on the water, and big enough to fit a crowd. We reached out to Jelly for comment but have no word yet.

Check out some shots of the street art at RWK Street Spot and Robots Will Kill.

[Above photo c/o RWK.]

After yesterday’s false alarm, here’s your official 2010 schedule for the Pool Parties at the Williamsburg Waterfront (East River State Park). This year’s lineup includes Deerhoof (playing Joy Division?), Cut Copy, Lightning Bolt, No Age, Cut Copy, Restless People, Future Islands, etc. etc. etc.

Dodge ball is back. Something called “The Allsaints Pub” will be keeping everybody hydrated.

First up is Sunday, July 11: with Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof play Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, Why?, Fang Island, and Pictureplane.

Click the flyer to the right to enlarge.

The Pool Parties V : The Kingdom of the Christal Skull from The Pool Parties on Vimeo.

Full line-up is after the jump:

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