CMJ 2013 – Day One Recap

CMJ 2013 started off with a big Day One....
CMJ 2013 Preview

CMJ 2013 - Day One Recap

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:

 

 

Paper Garden Records showcase @ Living Room

The City and Horses

The City and Horses

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

There are a few key things on every Tuesday of CMJ.  One picks up ones badge during the day, getting whatever schwag bag they’re giving this year (see below) – and that one should go from getting badge & bag to the annual Paper Garden Records showcase at nearby Living Room (QRO venue review).  While not as many people were there as in years past, the same could be said for CMJ as a whole.  The City and Horses had a country sound with a bit of light funk (including saxophone & even flute), but really special was new Paper Garden signee ARMS.  A longtime favorite of QRO’s, they’ve got a new EP out on Paper Garden (QRO review).

ARMS

ARMS

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

~

 

Banners/What Blog showcase @ Piano’s

Ghost Wave

Ghost Wave

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

Another facet of CMJ, especially daytime, especially the first day, is going between a few venues that are all located on the same block in the Bowery.  While the Paper Garden Records showcase at Living Room was running on time, the Banners/What Blog showcase at Piano’s (QRO venue review) wasn’t, making it hard to manage bouncing from one spot to the other, band-to-band.  Also making it hard was Ghost Wave, a highly-hyped outfit from way down in New Zealand – sixties/seventies derivative and overrated, it’s also difficult to take seriously any band with a guy just on tambourine in the center.  Better was the much more local Milagres, some dance wa-wa, even if they had some god-awfully ugly shirts…

Milagres

Milagres

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

~

 

Southern Exposure showcase @ Piano’s

Gossling

Gossling

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

Upstairs at Piano’s was Australia’s Gossling, some sexy music with a cutesy voice.  She praised New York City, “You have bagels & Banksy…” (see below)

~

 

Deli Mag showcase @ The Delancey

Night Panther

Night Panther

Click image for full gallery – Danielle Sheridan

The Deli Mag took over all floors of The Delancey with artists like Night Panther and New Myths, and while that worked great in alliteration, the bottom floor of The Delancey is a space to avoid at CMJ.

New Myths

New Myths

Click image for full gallery – Danielle Sheridan

~

 

CMJ showcase @ Mercury Lounge

Panama Wedding

Panama Wedding

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

The major labels do get involved in CMJ as well, since ‘major’ doesn’t mean what it once did, and with dance music getting big in alt-circles, there’s a natural overlap.  Warner Brothers brought two acts to Mercury Lounge (QRO venue review) on Day One of CMJ for a high-draw showcase (Mercury maxed out on CMJ badges).  Panama Wedding was Phil Collins/St. Lucia-like, but in a good way (so more Lucia than Collins…).  Meanwhile, one could easily see why NONONO are a hot commodity (with yes, a hot singer).  Their dark, epic music was like White Lies done through CHVRCHES, and have a single that sounds like Icona Pop’s summer hit, “I Love It”.

NONONO

NONONO

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

~

 

True Panther showcase @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Glasser

Glasser

Click image for full gallery – Bashira Webb

Cameron Mesirow, a.k.a. Glasser, is the daughter of a member of the Blue Man Group and a member of minor New Wave hit Human Sexual Response, and had a stage presence at Music Hall of Williamsburg (QRO venue review) somewhere between those two (if without the Y chromosome or blue body paint…).

~

 

CMJ showcase @ Terminal 5

Placebo

Placebo

Click image for full gallery – Levi Pervin

While CMJ is always light on the ‘big name headliners’, just due to the festival’s very nature, there are always a few who play west Midtown’s massive Terminal 5 (QRO venue review) for the festival.  That’s a bit out of the way (especially the long walk from Columbus Circle subway stop), but worth it for the likes of veteran British alt-act Placebo, who came to CMJ behind their new Loud Like Love.

~

 

Ernest Jennings Record Co./Arts & Crafts Records showcase @ Cake Shop

Grandchildren

Grandchildren

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

While CMJ is mostly about catching new bands with new albums, it’s also great to see someone where one actually knows what is being played.  After the alt-folk collective Grandchildren (reminiscent of Freelance Whales, though don’t hear a female…), QRO favorite MiniBoone rocked off of songs from their great self-titled full-length (QRO review).  The band is undergoing some transitions, having already changed bassist & drummer and soon losing guitarist James Geary, but Craig Barnes & Doug Schrashun are still keeping it active.  What’s more, new bassist Joe Reichel & drummer Drew St. Aubin were super into it, like if the band recruits fans of MiniBoone, who could also play.

MiniBoone

MiniBoone

Click image for full gallery – Chris Becker

 

Wild Yaks

Wild Yaks

Click image for full gallery – Chris Becker

The showcase closed with Wild Yaks, who are only slightly less wild than they were at CMJ 2008 (QRO photos).  It’s actually kind of nice that a band from so far back is still around, whatever the lack of stardom (and they had crowd surfers at the small, low-ceilinged Cake Shop).  The split-label showcase at Cake Shop (QRO venue review) was supposed to close with Arts & Crafts’ The Darcys, but they never showed up.

~

 

Other notes:

-Performers at CMJ got a great JanSport backpack free, but press got far less – except for one person at QRO who was accidentally given the ‘Official Performer Backpack’.  JanSport seems to be making a move into indie-dom, like a recent VICE/Noisey event in Brooklyn with Parquet Courts (QRO photos).

-Wall art by Banksy on the other side of Ludlow Street was being moved during the day, and seemed to draw more attention than any of the acts actually playing inside the venues on Ludlow.

-Great press mixer at Hotel Rivington in the early evening, meeting everyone from long-standing locals to South American first-timers there from www.rockassonline.com.  Though you know you’ve been doing music press for too long when you enjoy schmoozing with other press people more than any of the actual shows…

-The press mixer with NYC skyline view was classy with the free drinks, like bottles of Italy’s Peroni beer – but Peroni’s on tap at the far more down-to-earth (and not just because it’s in a basement) Cake Shop!  Who knew that Peroni could even come on tap?

 

Unfortunately missed:

-Caveman (QRO album review) @ Rockwood Music Hall (QRO venue review).  But QRO just caught them the week prior (QRO photos).

-Mark Lanegan (QRO live review) @ Gramercy Theatre (QRO venue review).

-Cults (QRO album review) @ Brooklyn Bowl (QRO venue review).  Showcasing their new album Static.

-Sondre Lerche (QRO live review) @ Bowery Ballroom (QRO venue review).  Headlining showcase by Talkhouse, the new online magazine by noted music writer Michael Azerrad (QRO book review).

 

Categories
Concert Reviews

Album of the Week