The Bell House opening party

The New Pornographer's Carl Newman

The folks behind the equally indie-rock and leisure-sport-obsessed Union Hall and Floyd have effectively bridged the (un-gentrified) gap between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens with the opening of The Bell House on a desolate block in Gowanus. Wednesday's private launch party started with sets from Brooklyn heroes The Mugs and social critic/white boy rapper Tim Fite. Then things got really interesting. Nada Surf was scheduled to headline (!!!), but frontman Matthew Caws was inexplicably unable to show—word is he was stuck on a plane or something. In the end, The New Pornographer's frontman Carl Newman saved the day and played a couple improvised NP tracks with help from some friends. Yay Carl! Yay Gowanus rock club!