Bubblemania on pier — well, first night, at least

Above, MTV V.J. Susie Castillo announcing the arrival of the band Cartel on Pier 54 last Thursday night. Below, Cartel onstage before entering the bubble.

By Jefferson Siegel

It didn’t exude quite the electricity of Ed Sullivan’s classic introduction, “Ladies and gentlemen...The Beatles!” But there was excitement in the air, and on the pier, when a band named Cartel bounded from an SUV onto a stage on Pier 54 late last Thursday night.

The perfectly choreographed event marked the beginning of a 20-day interactive odyssey that will find the five lads locked in a two-story “bubble” where they will live while simultaneously recording their next album.

Purchasers of Dr. Pepper, the event’s main sponsor, will find codes with their sodas enabling fans to log on and watch the band in action as they eat, sleep and create their music.

Thursday night’s premiere found a selection of fans amped up as they awaited the group’s arrival. One young woman held a sign reading, “I’m Michelle and I love Cartel.”

The group sat through an interview with an MTV V.J., answering questions and accepting a clutch of women’s underwear tossed from a fan in the audience, which might help tide them through their isolation.

The only spontaneously funny moment came during a commercial break as a handful of wire-service photographers yelled for the band to look their way. The made-for-TV musicians seemed unaware of the concept of looking at the camera, prompting one frustrated photo agency shooter to yell at them, “You’ll be unknown in two years! Get off the stage and let some real musicians up there!”

After a few more softball questions from the perfectly coiffed V.J., the five band members entered the “bubble,” actually an oval-shaped metal construct adorned with sponsor logos and a clear front. Come June 12, the five will emerge either as musical wizards or mortal enemies.

Pier 54 is a public-use pier at the end of W. 13th St. in the Hudson River Park. Anyone is welcome to go up and look at the band in the bubble. There is an intercom allowing people to communicate with the band, and also a sliding drawer allowing objects — fan love letters, etc. — to be passed to them.

Free cans of Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper are being given out at the pier while the band inhabits the bubble.

Early last Saturday afternoon, a group of four young fans from Rhode Island stood at the top of a small staircase looking into the structure’s window. One band member was singing a new song he had composed and accompanying himself on guitar while explaining the song and his creative process to an interviewer. Cameramen were filming the interview, as the rest of the band sat on stools near their kitchen.

According to one of the fans, Cartel’s sound is similar to Blink 182. She said she was disappointed more people weren’t there.
“Judging by their local fan base, they’re not very popular in New York,” she said, looking around the empty pier and shrugging.

Slightly more fans were on hand Sunday night, sitting on deck chairs outside the bubble watching Cartel eat their dinner inside. Someone had just passed the band their meal through the drawer. It was another sponsor of the event — KFC.

With reporting by Lincoln Anderson