Among the many unexpected rewards of last month’s Woodsist Fest was meeting Jacques from Toulouse. My pal Dave struck up a conversation with Jacques between sets on day 2 of the Festival after recognizing him from the Woods show in San Francisco two nights earlier. Dave learned Jacques was a huge Babies fan and oddly enough, a huge Mets fan.

Fast forward to last Tuesday. Jacques is in New York City as part of a lengthy vacation to the US so we went to go see the Mets lose at Citi Field. That was fun.

A week and a half later, me and Jacques hit a conveniently timed Babies show Friday night at Death By Audio in Brooklyn.

As we approached the venue’s entrance, two New York City police officers were on the scene. They appeared to be issuing summonses to people on the sidewalk consuming cans of beer wrapped in brown paper bags. One of the subjects in trouble was probably at least a few ticks shy of age 21. Those who reside in a building across the street from Death By Audio would be the only party with a valid interest in what’s mainly a quiet and harmless activity outside a rock show. Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of attention that can put a live music venue in peril should instances of police involvement accumulate.

It was seven bucks to get in. The woman collecting money at the door appeared nervous about the law enforcement activity outside.

The temperature inside the venue was 90 degrees plus when we first walked in. Eventually, somebody got the bright idea to import some of the cool outside air so people wouldn’t melt.

I have no recollection of time but it was pretty late when The Babies went on. The set list was consistent with what what’s been rolled out at shows here since just before Christmas. What was different and exciting about this performance was the crowd. It was really jacked up. There was moshing from the get-go. Those participating in good-spirited push, shove and surge consumed nearly half the room. The show didn’t sell out but it was near full for a solid triple bill.

Kevin Morby made band mate Cassie Ramone laugh early in the set after going off script with some of his guitar lines. Morby said after the show the sound deviations came from deployment of a new pedal.

The frenetic churning motion in front of the stage didn’t register much with the Babies one way or another while they played. They don’t pay much attention to it. They certainly don’t encourage it beyond taking the lid off the music. I picture myself up on stage worrying about a body surfer falling to the ground. Or a smaller-sized human getting trampled by the bigger, more aggressive participants. The Babies all seem to look at nothing in particular in the back half of the room while focusing on their responsibilities. It’s not detachment. It’s a level of stage professionalism not unlike you see when Woods plays. There’s not a lot of horsing around up there.

The Sundelles and K-Holes played opening slots. The K-Holes are pretty intense. There are lots of layers to their output. We missed the Sundelles.

After it was over, me and Jacques hit the nearby Woods bar for a round. This was a mistake. The scene there has turned south. It’s like a bad wedding reception in there.

The Bedford bus took me to Queens Plaza for a ride on the E. It was after 2 AM. Jacques walked back to his rented room in Greenpoint. He has walked everywhere on his stay here. Miles at a time. He goes back to France in a few days. He’s hoping the Babies play Toulouse sometime next year.