CMJ MUSIC 2007: WHAT TO SEE WHEN
Daily highlights (and lowlights) of this year’s Music Marathon.
TUESDAY
CELEBRATION AND TALL FIRS
AT UNION POOL
Something’s happened to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs over the past few years, don’t you think? That raw energy and unstoppably sexed-up stage show seems, possibly through no fault of the band, to be forever stuck in 2001. And so there would have been a sizable hole in the scene were it not for Celebration, who bring a similar edge to the table, without any of the excess, outdated baggage. Show up early for Tall Firs, a Brooklyn band specializing in wonderfully spaced-out psych-folk.
BROOKLYN VEGAN SHOWCASE
AT BOWERY BALLROOM
New York City’s most useful and readable music blog hosts an all-night affair featuring as solid a line-up as we’ve ever seen on CMJ’s typically slow opening night. You’ve got Dean & Britta, who were in Luna, for fuck’s sake; The Most Serene Republic, who do dreamy electronic pop as well as anyone; The Rosebuds, whose currency is dramatic, gorgeous married-people pop; plus a bunch of other bands and a special guest headliner. A tiny, hipster birdie tells us the guests are seasoned veterans of the blog-rock scene.
ROSEWOOD THIEVES
AT SOUTHPAW
These folks played The L Magazine’s show last year, and we’ve been huge fans ever since. They do an amazingly feel-good version of retro-minded Americana that will appeal instantly to fans of Dr. Dog.
PANEL OF THE DAY
RADIO REVOLUTION
Industry folks, including Steve Cohen from East Village Radio and Tom Silverman from Tommy Boy Records discuss the changing face of radio. Webcasting, streaming audio, podcasts, etc. It might not seem like much, for someone as savvy as yourself, out there stealing music you can listen to whenever you want, but some people still love the idea of tuning in to the radio and waiting anxiously to see what song’s going to come on next. It’s all very... quaint, and we admire those folks trying to keep it alive.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
There’s a lot of stuff you’ll probably want to avoid tonight, but no immediate red flags make one particular show the one to mock. Let’s see, though… definitely don’t go to Maxwell’s, ‘cause we’ve never heard of any of the bands playing (Blackpool Lights?). Plus it’s in Hoboken, and it’s fucking Tuesday for chrissakes.
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WEDNESDAY
DAN DEACON AND DEERHUNTER
AT BOWERY BALLROOM
Make no mistake about it: this one’s going to be packed, and it warms our sad, sad hearts, because at no other time that we can recall were people so willing to embrace music as interminably weird and challenging as one-man-band Dan Deacon’s deceptively complicated, quirky keyboard pop and Deerhunter’s sprawling experiments in electronic folk. You’ll want to show up early for this one, or come up with a solid back-up plan. You don’t want to be left on the curb with nothing to do, right?
DIE ROMANTIK
AT THE CANAL ROOM
We’ve never actually been to the Canal Room, but it’s CMJ, people, so anything goes. You can even go to Arlene’s if you want, and no one’s allowed to make fun of you. Anyway, we’re going to see the inside of the Canal Room for the first time ever so that we can soak up the beautiful, Francophile pop of Die Romantik, whose new album, Narcissist’s Waltz, is in almost constant rotation — in our office, on the subway, and in our dreams.
OH NO! OH MY!
AT THE DELANCEY
Ok, this is important. Oh No! Oh My! are from Austin, Texas, home of South By Southwest, so their music festival standards are likely set pretty high. Get out there (dress your best, please) and show your support for the band as they play their sunny, upbeat and ridiculously catchy, largely acoustic brand of 60s pop. Keep in mind: you’re reppin’ NYC, so it’s your responsibility to debunk the rumor that no one here dances at shows.
PANEL OF THE DAY
INDIE ROCK TASTE TEST
We can’t in good faith ignore something called Indie Rock Taste Test, now can we? “Does all indie rock sound the same?” “Is indie an aesthetic, a business model or something else?” These and other questions will be bandied about by musician Dan Deacon, Time Out New York’s Mike Wolf, Susan Bosch from Sub Pop and a few other folks. Plus, it’s being moderated by a real live anthropologist. Fancy shit. (Oh, and it’s an aesthetic, obvs.)
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
STOLEN TRANSMISSION
AT THE ANNEX
We don’t know about you folks but we don’t ever want to see Ultragrrl on the cover of the Voice again, which is why we’re not going to her record label’s showcase at the Annex, and why we’re telling you not to either. Well, that, and because we don’t like shitty emo bands, and we know you don’t either.
THURSDAY
MISRA/ABSOLUTELY KOSHER SHOWCASE
AT ARLENE'S GROCERY
The Affair, whose ‘Left at the Party’ a certain writer for this magazine once tagged as one of the “Top Five Songs by Local Bands to Feature on Your MySpace Page,” and Get Him Eat Him, who should appeal to people who like bands fronted by Pitchfork staffers, split the stage with Misra’s Hallelujah the Hills (think Guided By Voices fronted by an Emerson comp lit major instead of a Wright State baseball player), Centro-Matic (the best-ever indie-roots band out of Denton, TX), and others.
AERO BOOK/FORCE FIELD PR SHOWCASE
AT THE KNITTING FACTORY MAIN SPACE
The evening opens with Speck Mountain (which is apparently part of the Crate-Digger Ridge, and adjacent to Krautrock Forest, Soul Bay and a number of Ambient Fjords), closes with the “I’m not really religious, but I definitely consider myself a spiritual person”-folk of St. Vincent, and features spaced-out tenderness from Le Loup, The Papercuts, and Bowerbirds, plus His Name Is Alive, who have much to teach everyone else on the bill about how to cultivate a love of obscure genres into a sizable artistic legacy.
NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB
AT STUDIO B
Apparently there are people in this city who are not too tired to go see British New Wave bands with skinny synths and great hair at one in the morning on a Thursday. If you are one of those people, tell the good-looking hipsters at this show that The L says hi.
PANEL OF THE DAY
LIT ROCK
So, the book-publishing world is apparently fascinated by the music industry, and there’s apparently an increased focus on literary-style lyrics in modern rock music. Lots of smart people are going to talk about these very topics: Author, essayist and pop-culture know-it-all Jonathan Lethem, esteemed music writer Michael Azerrad, songwriter Will Johnson of Centro-Matic, indie-rock cookbook author Kara Zuaro, and Ronen Kauffman, author of New Jersey, New Brunswick, Goodbye. And if all that’s not enough (it is), the whole thing’s being moderated by your friendly neighborhood L Magazine music editor, Mike Conklin.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
Nashville Pussy is playing at Don Hill’s, and if your first thought upon reading this tidbit was anything other than, “Phew, a band I would never under any circumstances go see is playing at a place I would never under any circumstances go to,” then allow us to introduce ourselves: Hi. We’re The L Magazine, a free local biweekly events guide for New York City. Please put us back into the orange box from whence we came; it’ll save us both a lot of time. Have a nice life. At your Nashville Pussy show at Don Hill’s. Ass.
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FRIDAY
M.I.A.
AT TERMINAL 5
Allow us a prediction, will you? Thanks. M.I.A.’s Kala is going to be number one on more than just a handful of year-end lists. And with good reason: It’s gloriously full of hooks, drawing equal inspiration from pop culture and world politics. It’s both unabashedly fun and deadly serious, it’s wildly danceable and it’s impeccably tasteful. Now we can’t wait for December to roll around so we can get all that 2006 year-end Dylan worshipping out of our head.
O'DEATH AND TAKKA TAKKA
AT UNION POOL
There was a time when we felt bad writing about these bands, because both of them are on the Ernest Jenning Record Company, which is run by L Magazine contributor Pete D’Angelo. But, as it turns out, dude hasn’t written for us in forever, and it’d be silly for us to pretend this isn’t one of tonight’s must-see shows. Takka Takka have all new stuff, and about a hundred new band members, and by the time O’Death is done with their sweaty set of dark, high-energy, foot-stompin’ country music, there’s a good chance it’ll be so crowded you’ll find yourself pushed into Union Pool’s roomy courtyard. Get there early and stay put.
THE DEF JUX SHOWCASE
AT THE MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG
It’s Friday night. You’ve been watching indie rock shows for three days, and if you have to hear another guitar or see another skinny little dude sheepishly introduce himself to the audience, you might just end it all. So, for a few hours, head over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg (which maybe you haven’t had a chance to visit yet), and see Def Jux’s latest lineup of smart, technically impressive hip-hop artists. The headliner is El-P, but show up early and take it all in.
PANEL OF THE DAY
BOOZE, BOOBS AND BRIBES
We rarely, if ever, miss an event with the word “boobs” in the title, so we’ll be on hand at this sure-to-be uncomfortable panel discussion where a bunch of people (one of whom is the deeply deplorable “Radio Chick,” Leslie Gould) will struggle to answer this very pressing question: “Is it possible to be straight-laced and survive (in the music industry)?” We’ll let you know what they decide.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
CHRISTOPHER CROSS
AT B.B. KINGS
Yes, you read that right, and no, it wouldn’t be “reeeealllly funny” if you went to see the dude who wrote ‘Sailing’ and nothing else much worth mentioning. And they’re only letting in 25 badge-holders anyway, which is stupid. If we work together, though, we can do our best to make sure not one of ‘em shows up.
SATURDAY
SUB POP SHOWCASE
AT BOWERY BALLROOM
It seems like every time Sub Pop has a CMJ showcase, it winds up being the show that no one can get into, and this year will likely be no different. Folks will be out in wild packs to see Band of Horses, and we urge them to bring their digital cameras and snap away, even though lead-singer Ben Bridwell will probably pitch another hissy fit. Be sure to get there in time to see The Brunettes, too, who somehow manage to stand out in a sea of indie-pop bands that tend to sound exactly the same.
JUSTICE
AT TERMINAL 5
If you’ve been paying even a little bit of attention, you know that Justice’s ‘D.A.N.C.E’ was the hipster anthem of the past six months, showing up on dance floors, at house parties and, um, in magazine offices on closing nights. You’re gonna have to trudge up to 56th Street to the new Bowery Presents venue if you want to catch the French electro-pop duo live, but we’re thinking it will be worth it.
GEORGIE JAMES AND THE HARLEM SHAKES
AT THE MERCURY LOUNGE
It took us a little while, but we’re officially in love with Georgie James, the new project from former Q and Not U frontman John Davis. Here, he’s teamed up with Laura Berhann, ditching the post-punk stylings of his former band in favor of 70s-inspired, feel-good pop songs. The Harlem Shakes, on the other hand, we liked immediately; their music is hard to pin down, but think dreamy, layered pop with a little bit of well-placed bite. Totally danceable, too.
PANEL OF THE DAY
IF I HAD A HAMMER: MODERN PROTEST MUSIC
This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around: Jeff Place, of the Smithsonian Folklife Archives, moderates a discussion featuring historical and contemporary perspectives and genres, in the persons of Brother Ali (of Rhymesayers), Evan Greer (of the Riot Folk! Collective), and others.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
JESU, TORCHE AND FOG
Now, it must be said that as far as metal shows go, or at least as far as shows with bands who used to be metal but sort of toned things down a bit, to creepy electronic territories like the kind Trent Reznor and other Seven-worshiping nerds explored ten years ago go, this one is probably pretty good. But still, we don’t understand how anyone can take this stuff seriously. All that yelling and posturing… it’s just so exhausting.
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CELEBRATION AND TALL FIRS
AT UNION POOL
Something’s happened to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs over the past few years, don’t you think? That raw energy and unstoppably sexed-up stage show seems, possibly through no fault of the band, to be forever stuck in 2001. And so there would have been a sizable hole in the scene were it not for Celebration, who bring a similar edge to the table, without any of the excess, outdated baggage. Show up early for Tall Firs, a Brooklyn band specializing in wonderfully spaced-out psych-folk.
BROOKLYN VEGAN SHOWCASE
AT BOWERY BALLROOM
New York City’s most useful and readable music blog hosts an all-night affair featuring as solid a line-up as we’ve ever seen on CMJ’s typically slow opening night. You’ve got Dean & Britta, who were in Luna, for fuck’s sake; The Most Serene Republic, who do dreamy electronic pop as well as anyone; The Rosebuds, whose currency is dramatic, gorgeous married-people pop; plus a bunch of other bands and a special guest headliner. A tiny, hipster birdie tells us the guests are seasoned veterans of the blog-rock scene.
ROSEWOOD THIEVES
AT SOUTHPAW
These folks played The L Magazine’s show last year, and we’ve been huge fans ever since. They do an amazingly feel-good version of retro-minded Americana that will appeal instantly to fans of Dr. Dog.
PANEL OF THE DAY
RADIO REVOLUTION
Industry folks, including Steve Cohen from East Village Radio and Tom Silverman from Tommy Boy Records discuss the changing face of radio. Webcasting, streaming audio, podcasts, etc. It might not seem like much, for someone as savvy as yourself, out there stealing music you can listen to whenever you want, but some people still love the idea of tuning in to the radio and waiting anxiously to see what song’s going to come on next. It’s all very... quaint, and we admire those folks trying to keep it alive.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
There’s a lot of stuff you’ll probably want to avoid tonight, but no immediate red flags make one particular show the one to mock. Let’s see, though… definitely don’t go to Maxwell’s, ‘cause we’ve never heard of any of the bands playing (Blackpool Lights?). Plus it’s in Hoboken, and it’s fucking Tuesday for chrissakes.
-img2-
WEDNESDAY
DAN DEACON AND DEERHUNTER
AT BOWERY BALLROOM
Make no mistake about it: this one’s going to be packed, and it warms our sad, sad hearts, because at no other time that we can recall were people so willing to embrace music as interminably weird and challenging as one-man-band Dan Deacon’s deceptively complicated, quirky keyboard pop and Deerhunter’s sprawling experiments in electronic folk. You’ll want to show up early for this one, or come up with a solid back-up plan. You don’t want to be left on the curb with nothing to do, right?
DIE ROMANTIK
AT THE CANAL ROOM
We’ve never actually been to the Canal Room, but it’s CMJ, people, so anything goes. You can even go to Arlene’s if you want, and no one’s allowed to make fun of you. Anyway, we’re going to see the inside of the Canal Room for the first time ever so that we can soak up the beautiful, Francophile pop of Die Romantik, whose new album, Narcissist’s Waltz, is in almost constant rotation — in our office, on the subway, and in our dreams.
OH NO! OH MY!
AT THE DELANCEY
Ok, this is important. Oh No! Oh My! are from Austin, Texas, home of South By Southwest, so their music festival standards are likely set pretty high. Get out there (dress your best, please) and show your support for the band as they play their sunny, upbeat and ridiculously catchy, largely acoustic brand of 60s pop. Keep in mind: you’re reppin’ NYC, so it’s your responsibility to debunk the rumor that no one here dances at shows.
PANEL OF THE DAY
INDIE ROCK TASTE TEST
We can’t in good faith ignore something called Indie Rock Taste Test, now can we? “Does all indie rock sound the same?” “Is indie an aesthetic, a business model or something else?” These and other questions will be bandied about by musician Dan Deacon, Time Out New York’s Mike Wolf, Susan Bosch from Sub Pop and a few other folks. Plus, it’s being moderated by a real live anthropologist. Fancy shit. (Oh, and it’s an aesthetic, obvs.)
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
STOLEN TRANSMISSION
AT THE ANNEX
We don’t know about you folks but we don’t ever want to see Ultragrrl on the cover of the Voice again, which is why we’re not going to her record label’s showcase at the Annex, and why we’re telling you not to either. Well, that, and because we don’t like shitty emo bands, and we know you don’t either.
THURSDAY
MISRA/ABSOLUTELY KOSHER SHOWCASE
AT ARLENE'S GROCERY
The Affair, whose ‘Left at the Party’ a certain writer for this magazine once tagged as one of the “Top Five Songs by Local Bands to Feature on Your MySpace Page,” and Get Him Eat Him, who should appeal to people who like bands fronted by Pitchfork staffers, split the stage with Misra’s Hallelujah the Hills (think Guided By Voices fronted by an Emerson comp lit major instead of a Wright State baseball player), Centro-Matic (the best-ever indie-roots band out of Denton, TX), and others.
AERO BOOK/FORCE FIELD PR SHOWCASE
AT THE KNITTING FACTORY MAIN SPACE
The evening opens with Speck Mountain (which is apparently part of the Crate-Digger Ridge, and adjacent to Krautrock Forest, Soul Bay and a number of Ambient Fjords), closes with the “I’m not really religious, but I definitely consider myself a spiritual person”-folk of St. Vincent, and features spaced-out tenderness from Le Loup, The Papercuts, and Bowerbirds, plus His Name Is Alive, who have much to teach everyone else on the bill about how to cultivate a love of obscure genres into a sizable artistic legacy.
NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB
AT STUDIO B
Apparently there are people in this city who are not too tired to go see British New Wave bands with skinny synths and great hair at one in the morning on a Thursday. If you are one of those people, tell the good-looking hipsters at this show that The L says hi.
PANEL OF THE DAY
LIT ROCK
So, the book-publishing world is apparently fascinated by the music industry, and there’s apparently an increased focus on literary-style lyrics in modern rock music. Lots of smart people are going to talk about these very topics: Author, essayist and pop-culture know-it-all Jonathan Lethem, esteemed music writer Michael Azerrad, songwriter Will Johnson of Centro-Matic, indie-rock cookbook author Kara Zuaro, and Ronen Kauffman, author of New Jersey, New Brunswick, Goodbye. And if all that’s not enough (it is), the whole thing’s being moderated by your friendly neighborhood L Magazine music editor, Mike Conklin.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
Nashville Pussy is playing at Don Hill’s, and if your first thought upon reading this tidbit was anything other than, “Phew, a band I would never under any circumstances go see is playing at a place I would never under any circumstances go to,” then allow us to introduce ourselves: Hi. We’re The L Magazine, a free local biweekly events guide for New York City. Please put us back into the orange box from whence we came; it’ll save us both a lot of time. Have a nice life. At your Nashville Pussy show at Don Hill’s. Ass.
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FRIDAY
M.I.A.
AT TERMINAL 5
Allow us a prediction, will you? Thanks. M.I.A.’s Kala is going to be number one on more than just a handful of year-end lists. And with good reason: It’s gloriously full of hooks, drawing equal inspiration from pop culture and world politics. It’s both unabashedly fun and deadly serious, it’s wildly danceable and it’s impeccably tasteful. Now we can’t wait for December to roll around so we can get all that 2006 year-end Dylan worshipping out of our head.
O'DEATH AND TAKKA TAKKA
AT UNION POOL
There was a time when we felt bad writing about these bands, because both of them are on the Ernest Jenning Record Company, which is run by L Magazine contributor Pete D’Angelo. But, as it turns out, dude hasn’t written for us in forever, and it’d be silly for us to pretend this isn’t one of tonight’s must-see shows. Takka Takka have all new stuff, and about a hundred new band members, and by the time O’Death is done with their sweaty set of dark, high-energy, foot-stompin’ country music, there’s a good chance it’ll be so crowded you’ll find yourself pushed into Union Pool’s roomy courtyard. Get there early and stay put.
THE DEF JUX SHOWCASE
AT THE MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG
It’s Friday night. You’ve been watching indie rock shows for three days, and if you have to hear another guitar or see another skinny little dude sheepishly introduce himself to the audience, you might just end it all. So, for a few hours, head over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg (which maybe you haven’t had a chance to visit yet), and see Def Jux’s latest lineup of smart, technically impressive hip-hop artists. The headliner is El-P, but show up early and take it all in.
PANEL OF THE DAY
BOOZE, BOOBS AND BRIBES
We rarely, if ever, miss an event with the word “boobs” in the title, so we’ll be on hand at this sure-to-be uncomfortable panel discussion where a bunch of people (one of whom is the deeply deplorable “Radio Chick,” Leslie Gould) will struggle to answer this very pressing question: “Is it possible to be straight-laced and survive (in the music industry)?” We’ll let you know what they decide.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
CHRISTOPHER CROSS
AT B.B. KINGS
Yes, you read that right, and no, it wouldn’t be “reeeealllly funny” if you went to see the dude who wrote ‘Sailing’ and nothing else much worth mentioning. And they’re only letting in 25 badge-holders anyway, which is stupid. If we work together, though, we can do our best to make sure not one of ‘em shows up.
SATURDAY
SUB POP SHOWCASE
AT BOWERY BALLROOM
It seems like every time Sub Pop has a CMJ showcase, it winds up being the show that no one can get into, and this year will likely be no different. Folks will be out in wild packs to see Band of Horses, and we urge them to bring their digital cameras and snap away, even though lead-singer Ben Bridwell will probably pitch another hissy fit. Be sure to get there in time to see The Brunettes, too, who somehow manage to stand out in a sea of indie-pop bands that tend to sound exactly the same.
JUSTICE
AT TERMINAL 5
If you’ve been paying even a little bit of attention, you know that Justice’s ‘D.A.N.C.E’ was the hipster anthem of the past six months, showing up on dance floors, at house parties and, um, in magazine offices on closing nights. You’re gonna have to trudge up to 56th Street to the new Bowery Presents venue if you want to catch the French electro-pop duo live, but we’re thinking it will be worth it.
GEORGIE JAMES AND THE HARLEM SHAKES
AT THE MERCURY LOUNGE
It took us a little while, but we’re officially in love with Georgie James, the new project from former Q and Not U frontman John Davis. Here, he’s teamed up with Laura Berhann, ditching the post-punk stylings of his former band in favor of 70s-inspired, feel-good pop songs. The Harlem Shakes, on the other hand, we liked immediately; their music is hard to pin down, but think dreamy, layered pop with a little bit of well-placed bite. Totally danceable, too.
PANEL OF THE DAY
IF I HAD A HAMMER: MODERN PROTEST MUSIC
This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around: Jeff Place, of the Smithsonian Folklife Archives, moderates a discussion featuring historical and contemporary perspectives and genres, in the persons of Brother Ali (of Rhymesayers), Evan Greer (of the Riot Folk! Collective), and others.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
JESU, TORCHE AND FOG
Now, it must be said that as far as metal shows go, or at least as far as shows with bands who used to be metal but sort of toned things down a bit, to creepy electronic territories like the kind Trent Reznor and other Seven-worshiping nerds explored ten years ago go, this one is probably pretty good. But still, we don’t understand how anyone can take this stuff seriously. All that yelling and posturing… it’s just so exhausting.
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