Trying to get a bead on the NYC music scene in 2011 is nigh-impossible, let alone that of the country/world, but CMJ Music Marathon is still trying. In this file-sharing, post-major label, recession era, it’s never gonna have the heights of prior years, but there’s still more than enough to see, and most importantly hear, at CMJ 2011.
If Day Two (QRO recap) is the secret weapon of CMJ, then Day Three is the festival’s secret vulnerability. It’s right at that saddle point where the CMJ grind is starting to get to you, but before the biggest showcases on the weekend. You’ve caught most of whom you need to catch & could, but aren’t yet geared up for wild weekend partying. There are more people in town for the festival, but not necessarily more/better shows to soak all them up. And you’ve got to deal with people tweeting about watching NBC’s Thursday night line-up (can one block Foursquare-for-TV-viewing @GetGlue?…)
NYC Taper party @ Cake Shop
Click here for photos of Savoir Adore at CMJ 2010 in New York, NY in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery
Click here QRO’s review of Savoir Adore at Mercury Lounge in New York, NY on January 14th, 2010
Click here for photos of Savoir Adore at CMJ 2009 in New York, NY in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery
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Last caught Brooklyn’s Savoir Adore at CMJ 2010 (QRO recap), and that was an acoustic rooftop 
session (QRO photos), so was a good time to check back in with the band – and they’re still strong. Their mix of indietronica & alt-country is more suited for a rooftop than a basement venue like Cake Shop (QRO venue review), but the band more than ably mixed new & old numbers, including a very funky new one.
Oh, and Deidre Munro might be your new indie-rock crush (move over, Emily Haines – QRO album review), while David Perlick-Molinari is going bald in the right way (move over, James Shaw – QRO live review with Haines).
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Cantora Labs’ Smarthouse showcase @ Thompson Hotel
Dum Dum Girls
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The 6:00 PM-to-8:00 PM time period, when venues change over from daytime showcases to evening ones, was a dead one even in the Bowery area, but the official ‘Cantora Labs’ Smarthouse’ had the promise of free drinks in a classy locale. Of course, first you had to find the hotel, then find ‘Smarthouse’ – and deal with the security guy on the second floor (which you were directed to) telling you that you couldn’t use the elevator to get to the seventh floor (where it actually was) without downloading the Cantora Labs mobile phone app, even though the elevator was how you got to the second floor, and you could have even walked back down to the ground floor from the second. And the actual ‘Smarthouse’ was a packed bar with people on laptops doing some sort of DJ-interactive-video game thing (or something), and a door to a ultra-windy outdoor smoking area that never seemed to be shut. And you had to wait until 7:00 PM (not 6:30 PM, as it was on the schedule) for Dum Dum Girls to do a two-person set in an ultra-cramped space. Oh, and the open bar was only 3:00 PM-to-4:00 PM & 9:00 PM-to-10:00 PM.
Ended up seeing Dum Dum Girls literally from behind the band/pair, as there was a space between the mini palm trees that delineated the side of the ‘stage’ and the bathrooms (that the staff at Thompson Hotel didn’t tell you about – they said to go to another floor if you wanted to pee…). Even that got full of people, pushing me to the space between a mini-palm (under which people were sitting) and a Dum Dum Girls amp. And without drums, you couldn’t tell one Dum Dum song or Girl from another, so just left.
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Camper Rules Records party @ Bruar Falls
QRO’s Terri Wise caught two showcases at the soon-to-close Bruar Falls.
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Ryan Ulsh Presents Something showcase @ Bruar Falls
Red Pony Clock
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No More Fake Labels showcase @ Bowery Poetry Club
Motel Beds
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Terri also caught Motel Beds at Bowery Poetry Club – with special guest appearance by Kelley Deal of The Breeders (QRO live review).
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BMI showcase @ Arlene’s Grocery
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And Terri saw The Young Evils at Arlene’s Grocery (QRO venue review).
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Other notes:
-And that was it for my CMJ Day Three – see ‘Unfortunately missed’ below – though still not as bad as my CMJ 2008 Day Three (QRO recap).
Unfortunately missed:
-We Were Promised Jetpacks (QRO live review) @ Knitting Factory (QRO venue review), 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
-Unknown Mortal Orchestra (QRO live review) @ Thompson Hotel, 7:30 PM – 8:00 PM. The Dum Dum Girls set made it quite clear it wasn’t worth seeing anyone at Thompson Hotel.
-The Ruby Spirit, Beast Make Bomb (QRO photos), The Yes Way (QRO photos), Black Taxi, The Aviation Orange, and Courtesy Tier (QRO album review) @ Bowery Electric, 8:30 PM – 2:00 AM. Already caught Courtesy Tier on Day One (QRO recap), and didn’t feel like going to a low-level venue only to wait until past midnight for the act I was most interested in. Sorry, ReThinkPopMusic…
-Active Child (QRO album review), Nikki Lane, Lissy Trullie (QRO album review), Bleeding Knees Club, and Porcelain Raft (QRO photos) @ The Delancey, 8:45 PM – 1:00 AM. The above statement goes double for the god-awful downstairs at The Delancey.
-Dum Dum Girls, J Mascis (QRO album review), Still Corners, and Memoryhouse (QRO interview) @ Mercury Lounge (QRO venue review), 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM. Sub Pop had a great showcase that you weren’t going to get into, and would have to stay in once you did (no in-and-outs at Mercury during CMJ).
-We Are Scientists (QRO live review) @ Studio at Webster Hall (QRO venue review), 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM. Wasn’t that interested in the openers, so went home for dinner instead of heading over after Thompson Hotel. Bad move, because once at home, it’s tough to leave, so only made it there at ten, when a gruff security guy with a Long Island accent made me wait, only to tell me that they weren’t accepting press badges anymore…
-Metronomy (QRO live review) and Class Actress (QRO photos, opening for that Metronomy show) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (QRO venue review), 10:30 PM – 12:30 AM. A ‘regular show that happens to be part of CMJ’ that would max out on badges early.
-Freshkills (QRO live review), Dinowalrus (QRO album review), and Cold Fronts (QRO photos) @ Fontana’s (QRO venue review), 10:50 PM – 1:20 AM. Yet another showcase at a bad venue that got interesting too late in the evening. Sorry, A Heart Is a Spade…
