CMJ 2010 : Day Five Recap

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/cmj10d5.jpg" alt=" " />The Delancey (?!?) & I Rock I Roll rocked the day of Day Five, while the final evening was mostly about the free drinks... ...

CMJ 2010 : Day Four Recap

What does CMJ stand for?  In literal terms, it once stood for ‘College Music Journal’, but has since evolved to just the initials, a-la ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’ into just ‘KFC’ or ‘British Petroleum’ into just ‘BP’ (and don’t think CMJ doesn’t love those associations…).  But where does alternative/indie music stand these days, where file-sharing, iTunes, iPods and the rest are all yesterday’s news?  QRO might not have figured it over the five-day CMJ Music Marathon at venues across New York City, Tuesday-Saturday, October 19th-23rd, but had fun trying:

 

I Rock I Roll Party @ The Delancey

ArpLine (Main Room)
ArpLine

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I had avoided The Delancey all CMJ-long, after a terrible experience downstairs there during CMJ ’07 (QRO recap – only barely hit it up during ’09 – QRO recap – and not at all in ’08 – QRO recap).  But two things drew me to the club on Delancey Street – the strong line-up thanks to I Rock I Roll, and that the bands I wanted to see there were almost exclusively in the main room or on the rooftop, as opposed to the ultra-cramped basement that is the place’s usual venue space.

I made it too late for the free beer, but there were chips – lots of chips.  More importantly, need a Line around the bassistmade it there for ArpLine.  Have been a fan of the Brooklyn electro-outfit since seeing them (then called ‘The Kiss Off’) at ‘Seaport on Ice’ almost two years ago (QRO photos) – playing while people skated on an outdoor skating rink at South Street Seaport (QRO venue review).  They played the killer songs from Travel Book (QRO review), “Speed (Rush Ah)” and “Fold Up Like a Piece of Paper”, making me very glad I caught them, plus did a cover of Sade’s “No Ordinary Love”.  The only thing marring the show was that playing in the ‘main room’ meant basically being in the middle of the bar area, with people angling by nearly running into the rockin’ out bassist, who had to curtail himself.
ArpLine

 

Ravens & Chimes (Rooftop)
Ravens & Chimes

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Despite it being late October, the semi-outdoor rooftop (literally – there’s half a roof above the space, and the Rebecca Rossi & Dave Dawdaside facing the street is open) had a very nice climate, adorned with a lot of ferns.  It was a perfect setting for a semi-acoustic set by Ravens & Chimes.  When I saw them last CMJ (QRO recap), they reminded me of Bishop Allen (QRO spotlight on), with sportcoats, indie-pop & a pretty female co-singer; this time, they reminded me of (playing next) Savoir Adore, with alt-country-meets-indietronica & a pretty female co-singer.  (Male) singer Asher Lack joked about his & Avery Brooks’ matching leather jackets, and told a funny story about his father (artist/lead in Scanners Stephen Lack) telling someone in an elevator at the Chelsea Hotel, “Don’t you look like Joey Ramone…” – after the elevator rider left with a horrified expression, Lack informed his dad that that was Johnny Ramone…
Asher Lack & Avery Brooks

 

Savoir Adore (Rooftop)
Savoir Adore

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Stuck around in the nice semi-outdoors eating chips (there were even more on the rooftop – bags & bags & bags of them…) and nachos.  The party could have used some sort of free soft drink for all the parched mouths when the free beer ran out, but it was a boon for the venue, forcing people to buy drinks to slake their thirst.  Like Ravens & Chimes before them, semi-acoustic Savoir Adore were a great fit for The Delancey rooftop – though had to deal with the sounds of construction on Delancey the street coming up when they started.
Savoir Adore

 

Milagres (Main Room)
Milagres

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Heard about them since they were The Secret Life of Sofia (perhaps they & ArpLine – see above – changed their names to such non-words for easier Googling?…), even met the singer once (same time I first met Lack of Ravens & Chimes – see above), but had never seen them before.  Definitely good, indie-pop with beats, but didn’t really give them their due, as was full on chips & nachos, and the free beer of nearby FADER Fort was calling me…
Milagres

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FADER Fort

Tanlines
Tanlines

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Everyone had been talking about Tanlines, but when I saw them (QRO photos) open for Yeasayer (QRO review) at The Guggenheim (QRO venue review), wasn’t that impressed.  But they were one of the only bands at FADER Fort I knew anything about, so was good enough excuse to head there and start my final day of CMJ drinking.  Their electro-Caribbean sounds were interesting, but not the right time of day.
getting a lot of attention

 

Dominant Legs
Dominant Legs

fourth Au Revoir Simone??Click image for full gallery

The electro-ish act was reminiscent of a more male Au Revoir Simone (QRO spotlight on).  In fact, the thin, pretty, longhaired, vaguely French-looking female singer/keyboardist looked like she should be in that trio of thin, pretty, longhaired, Francophile singer/keyboardists (QRO photos) – as did the rather androgynous male (?) singer/guitarist.
Dominant Legs

 

Glasser
Glasser

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Left FADER Fort for Piano’s (QRO venue review) for Dan Mangan (QRO album review), only to get there and find out his set was over (had left it rather late, but figured they would be running late).  Since it was now that in-between time of the day at CMJ, after the daytime parties, before the evening showcases, where the venues changeover, there was little else to go to but Glasser back at FADER Fort, who left little impression.
Glasser

 

Freddie Gibbs
Freddie Gibbs

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Theophilius London
Theophilus London

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Free drinks, lethargy, final day-ness, and a dearth of acts I still needed/wanted to see at this point kept me at FADER Fort.  Freddie Gibbs did hip-hop in a rice paddy hat, while secret guest Theophilius London wore a suit coat.  I’m not the person to review hip-hop.

 

OFF!
OFF!

Keith MorrisClick image for full gallery

Keith MorrisA little more qualified to review out-and-out punk rock, especially old school, but OFF! is a new band fronted by the frontman of some old bands, Keith Morris of Black Flag & Circle Jerks.  Why make a new band?  When he was still w/ Circle Jerks (QRO photos), he not only did old CJ Keith Morrissongs, but also old BF songs.  That time I saw him fronting the Jerks, it was as the band headed his F Yeah Tour (QRO review) – and when I got a stage-dived mohawked skull to the nose during the set.  So maybe not the person to review OFF!, either.
Keith Morris' OFF!

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SPIN Party @ 18 Wooster

Nada Surf
Nada Surf

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Yes, there were other acts could have seen to end CMJ 2010, but Nada Ira Elliot + tie + boxSurf was a (relative) big-name one, one that I’d never seen, and had even missed at the pre-CMJ party on Monday (QRO recap).  They were playing an acoustic set at a gallery for SPIN, but it was a classy place with classy free drinks.

Unfortunately, hadn’t boned up on my Nada beforehand, so didn’t recognize the songs, and may have creeped out one guy by taking photos of him while he was doing an interview with someone else, and another by mentioning something he probably shouldn’t have mentioned to someone else who probably shouldn’t have mentioned it to me.  And twice told drummer/singer Ira Elliot (who did the neat ‘sit on a box & play it for percussion’ for the acoustic set) I liked his tie & shirt combo – reminded me of OK Go (QRO live review), which Nada Surf as a whole kind of remind me of.
Nada Surf

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Here’s what Marielle Solan at QRO caught during CMJ Day Five:

BrooklynVegan & Converse Party @ Public Assembly

Marnie Stern
Marnie Stern

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Flowerbooking Showcase @ Piano’s

Dinosaur Feathers
Dinosaur Feathers

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Sherlock’s Daughter
Sherlock's Daughter

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Deli Magazine Showcase @ Spike Hill

MiniBoone
MiniBoone

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Unfortunately missed:

-Dan Mangan @ Piano’s, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM.  Got there at 6:00 PM and he was already done.

-Truman Peyote (QRO album review) @ The Woods, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM.  QRO’s Mike Gutierrez (QRO articles) was always raving about them, but he was off at a wedding.

-Gringo Star (QRO spotlight on) @ Ace of Clubs, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM.  Never did catch Gringo, and the crappy Ace of Clubs wouldn’t have done them justice.

-Gray Numan (QRO live review), Rasputina, and Boom Boom Satellites (QRO photos) @ Best Buy Theater, 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM.

-DeVochKa (QRO album review) and Angus & Julia Stone @ BIG TOP, Damrosch Park, 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM.  Performed outside of Lincoln Center.

-Surfer Blood (QRO live review), Neon Indian (QRO photos), DOM (QRO photos), Wild Nothing (QRO album review), Lower Dens, and Lia Ices (QRO album review) @ Bowery Ballroom (QRO venue review), 8:30 PM – 2:00 AM.  Would have been too crowded.

-Home Video (QRO album review) and Blood Red Shoes (QRO photos) @ PureVolume House, 12:45 AM – 2:15 AM.

-Thieving Irons (QRO album review) @ Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 1) (QRO venue review), 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.  Really should have tore myself away from free drinks & bands I didn’t care about to catch – sorry, Nate (QRO interview)…

-Tayisha Busay (QRO album review), ArpLine, Dead Leaf Echo, Bronze, Chappo (QRO photos), MiniBoone (QRO album review), and Electric Tickle Machine (QRO live review) @ Spike Hill (QRO venue review), 8:30 PM – 2:00 AM.  Some of the best bands of 2010 Northside Music Festival (QRO recap) – Marielle Solan did catch MiniBoone – QRO photos.

 

Other notes:

-Patrick Duffy of the late Pop Tarts Suck Toasted had a party at Cake Shop (QRO venue review) during the day, but when the staff there told him he couldn’t serve the free beer that he’d arranged for his show, he stormed off and went to the I Rock I Roll party.  But what happened to the free beer?…

-Leafed through a copy of FADER while in their Fort, saw that the beautiful Alexandra Lawn (QRO interview) of Ra Ra Riot (QRO spotlight on) is featured in an advertising campaign – so not surprised.

 

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