Other festivals might rise and fall, but year-in, year-out, CMJ comes to New York City every October. It doesn’t have the intensity of an outdoor festival such as Coachella or Bonnaroo, and isn’t the must-be-at industry event that is South-by-Southwest, but has the ease of being in the greatest city in the world, running from noon until bars close, with free drinks galore – and 24/7 subway service to taken your drunken ass home every night. The line-up of acts and parties may not have been the most impressive in 2013, but that just gave more time to catch the unknowns, long before they get huge (or break up), Tuesday to Saturday, October 15th to 19th:
Planetary/The Great Escape showcase @ Pianos
Palehound
Click image for full gallery – Derek Klevitz
One special one-time-only CMJ performance this year was the legendary Blind Boys Alabama, who played a daytime set at the small Pianos (QRO venue review), along with Palehound.
Blind Boys of Alabama
Click image for full gallery – Derek Klevitz
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Canadian Music Week showcase @ Fat Baby
Bombay Show Pig
Click image for full gallery – Bashira Webb
Click image for full gallery – Derek Klevitz
Our neighbor to the north is always well represented in anything indie, thanks to the state support for music in the Factor Program, and Canadian Music Week brought Bombay Show Pig to Fat Baby.
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M Is For Montreal showcase @ Arlene’s Grocery
Kandle
Click image for full gallery – Derek Klevitz
Meanwhile, Canada’s Francophone side brought a series of acts from Montreal to Arlene’s Grocery (QRO venue review), including Kandle, Yamatanka//Sonic Titan, and Tops.
Yamatanka//Sonic Titan
Click image for full gallery – Derek Klevitz
Tops
Click image for full gallery – Derek Klevitz
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Planetary/The Great Escape showcase @ Pianos
Pianos was very active on CMJ Friday, with a big showcase that included Wilsen, J Fernandez, Total Slacker, and TEEN.
Wilsen
Click image for full gallery – Bashira Webb
J Fernandez
Click image for full gallery – Bashira Webb
Total Slacker
Click image for full gallery – Bashira Webb
TEEN
Click image for full gallery – Bashira Webb
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Other notes:
-Yes, Arcade Fire played the first of their two intimate, album preview shows on Friday. Remember when ‘intimate Arcade Fire album preview show’ was in the dead of February at Judson Memorial Church (QRO live review), online tickets only to stop scalpers, five nights in a row so lots of people could catch a performance, and they did a full set? Well, obviously they couldn’t play Judson Memorial Church (that’s where one picked up your CMJ badge), but did it have to be just two nights during CMJ (forget all those little bands trying to get attention – like Arcade Fire was at CMJ a decade ago), where they played shortened sets that included covers – and you had to dress up?
Oh, and the Friday night show started with the band tricking people with a fake stage, only to have the crowd run over to the other side of the space when Arcade Fire actually started (and screwing over anyone who’d endured waiting at the very front), something they later did on Colbert Report and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Thus has begun the serious Arcade Fire backlash, when the indie darlings morphed into the over-promoted megastars you were sick of before you even heard Reflektor…
Unfortunately missed:
-Crocodiles (QRO live review) @ Arlene’s Grocery.
-Small Black (QRO album review) @ Brooklyn Bowl (QRO venue review).
-Deerhunter (QRO live review) @ Converse Rubber Tracks.
-The Long Winters (QRO photos) @ Bowery Ballroom (QRO venue review).
