08:46 AM - CMJ recap day 3
Of course Mary already beat me to it, but I've gotta get my post in too... Something about being out so late on Wednesday actually made Thursday go by pretty quickly. I'll tell ya - I was super focused at work and I only got up once to go get a sandwich. When it was time to head out I made a pit stop at Sam Ash to play with electronic drum sets that I will never ever be able to afford (nor should I have one anyway) under the watchful eye of Dan Jezel, then downtown for some tasty dinner and off to the rock shows! We had some time to kill before the first show on our agenda so we wandered around the LES a bit. We stopped in the already sold out and crowded back room at Pianos and headed right back out almost instantly - whichever Dangerbird band it was (at about 8:45) they didn't sound good at all from the back of the room. Further proof that Silversun Pickups are the best act on that roster. I noticed that Arlene's Grocery had a flurry of activity outside and was reminded that that Dovecote Records showcase was happening there. We stopped in to check it out and found a room full of badge-clad people watching Tim Williams. We only got to stay for a few songs but luckily two of them were "Bills" and "Out there" off his Merchant Heart ep. Here are two other tracks off the ep (also quite good): Tim Williams - "Novel" It was time to move on and on around the corner to the Annex for the Stolen Transmission show. When we got there This Moment in Black History were just beginning to tear a hole in the thin mostly-industry-ish crowd, with singer Chris Kulcsar crawling across seats behind Sidekicking scenesters and doing all he could to get some sort of reaction out of the too-cool crowd - in some cases I think it worked but in the end I didn't see anybody other than Mary and I buying their cd. What's wrong, don't people in suits or tight pants like it when the nice man from Ohio gets down on the floor with his synth and tries to leap backwards off their face? The band spent a lot of time cracking jokes about how this was their "big break" and "we're really gonna make it!" and they informed us of their "big industry label showcase" today where they would totally demo new songs that they're totes stoked about. If you want to go and get down, well it's probably the right place for it - be at Lit tonight at 10:15pm. Doesn't matter where you are in the room, This Moment in Black History will come and get you. If you need a comparison - think a hybrid Jello Biafra/Ian Mckaye fronting early Bad Brains with a little nasty Devo edge. Ultimately it ends up feeling a little like the Refused. This Moment in Black History - "Garbage in garbage out" An attempt was made to see Black Lips and Panthers at the Vice party at Sin-e but it was crowded and there didn't seem to be much chance of getting in any time soon. Scratch that. By one of those crazy twists of fate and the strangely small nature of the national music scene, San Francisco's Dark Side of the Cop happened to be playing right after Lou. I met these two guys while waiting around for a panel to start at the South Park Music Fest in Colorado recently and though I enjoyed their cd, didn't get a chance to catch their set at that festival, so I was glad to get to catch up with them here in NYC for CMJ. The Old Office was far from the right venue for this duo, since most of their music comes from samplers and synths and the sound system down there isn't very strong, so the guitar amp was overpowering the soft (but great) vocals and the often-barely-there beats and textures. Next time they come out this way I want to see them in a much better venue that can actually work well with their sound - Southpaw, perhaps? Tonight is going to be a blur. I know it already. If I didn't have to go home and do work I'd be running all over this afternoon but unfortunatley that won't be the case (that means missing Oxford Collapse, the Thermals - Brooklynvegan show at Fontana's, and Up the Empire - at the Deli show at the Annex). There are a lot of options for this evening - the only absolutely 100% definitely one that I can't miss is Beauty Pill @ the Knit Tap Bar (back to the Knitting Factory again! Yeesh!). Others? Pela, Bound Stems, the End of the World, the Big Sleep, Mary Timony, Deerhoof, Palomar, O'Death, the Grates. By the way, a couple article links for you: I was quoted in this piece about CMJ on thestreet.com of all places yesterday. and Mary's Secret Machines interview is up. I have photos from this somewhere.
Tim Williams - "I am wearing it"
Tim Williams on Myspace
It was time to make the cross-town trek to the Knitting Factory, where the good folks at Solid PR had taken over the joint for a three-floor orgy of good sounds. For the second night in a row we found ourselves in the dark Old Office, way underground. The reason was that Lewis and Clarke was about to play. Who's that? Well it's a man named Lou and his guitar - oh and an incredible voice that can put you in a trance. The crowd wasn't huge but it grew over the course of his hypnotic set, with people sitting on the floor and becoming totally engrossed in his music. When we saw him last time (at a tiny record shop in Portland, ME) we made the mistake of not picking up his record and regretted it ever since. This time we made sure to correct that error in judgement.
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also: a sunny day in glasgow at sin-e!
posted by: d at November 3, 2006 03:25 PM
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