Live Review: CMJ's Choose Your Own Ending

It was another "slow morning" today...but the last in the CMJ 2007 series. The final night of this year's new music festival concluded in the wee hours with special appearances, parties, and "secret" shows on both sides of the East River. Xtina and I were faced with the difficult choice between dancing through an unannounced Justice set at Studio B at 3am, or bopping with our Almost Gold friends to the beat of Peter and Bjorn (plus Doug from Dirty on Purpose) at Galapagos. Here is evidence of the ending we chose to this year's CMJ story:

The tiny venue of Galapagos was packed thick with bodies when we arrived, at the tail end of the Black Kids set. We waited patiently in the company of Isaac (Almost Gold), George (MuseBox), Jackie (SPIN Online), and other media folks who were barely hanging on after this week of concert insanity. Peter, Bjorn and Doug kicked off their set with a velocity that blew the tired out of our heads immediately. Peter Moren's feet were an unstoppable force. They were in hop/tap/dance hyper-drive for the duration of the show.

Towards the end, Peter got so excited that he leapt into the crowd, sacrificing the functionality of his borrowed guitar for the next song (that was Isaac's guitar).

There were a few special guests too (including Matt from Foreign Born):


The rest of CMJ Day 5 will have to be covered piece-by-piece, but I felt that this cool and cheery finale was worth reporting to you all first.

[Photos by Mina K]

Live Photos: Justice at Terminal 5 [10.20.07]

My CMJ 07 ended with a bang with Justice. By "bang," I mean dangerously high volume French electro blasted from freaking stacks of Marshall amps.

Live Photos: HEALTH at Knitting Factory [10.19.07]

Besides that one scenster, bandanna around the neck, sporting freaking humongous sunglasses (why?! nighttime? indoors? dark club?!), the one thing that was unnerving from last night's show at the Knitting Factory's Tap Bar was a conversation overheard. Two lanky individuals professed to the guitarist setting up his gear- "Yoooo, L.A. is SO COOL, we want to move there!" Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if HEALTH, who rocked phenomenally with their synth-tinged noise and cultish chants, incite an exodus to their home town.

In and Out: CMJ Panels

While most CMJ-ers in the 21-30 demographic are still in the process of nursing their hangovers, the collegiate and has-been (>38) demographics are at the Kimmel center, attending CMJ panels. I admittedly missed a handful of panels this week due to the aforementioned "slow mornings," but I was able to catch a few. Of them was "Stagediving 101," with guest speaker Peter Criss (kitty-cat drummer) of KISS and Eric Davidson of New Bomb Turks.



Here is a listed summary of what I learned at this and all other panels throughout the week:

Never take to heart the things people in bands and the music industry advise you to do.

No Q&A questions at the panels were ever in the form of a proper question.

People asking "questions" have an urge to lecture to the rest of the audience.

All but one of the questions were asked by men.

Even with auspicious panelists such as Wilson Rothman of Gizmodo and Mark McClusky of Wired magazine, a panel can veer off-topic and flop.

Techie nerds should not publicly discuss label politics.

There is really no need for anyone over 21 to attend panels.

The MuseBox panelist was a stone fox. Call me?

I would absolutely love to host a panel next year, and rather than talk, shoot pennies from my sleeves a la Gob in Arrested Development.

Live Photos: Dan Deacon, Cult Leader [10.17.07]

Dan Deacon predictably opts for the floor over the stage at Bowery Ballroom:

Live Photos: Wednesday Wrap-up

I'm rushing out to catch some panels...more words and reviews coming when I can spend QT with the interweb. Meanwhile, don't forget to keep real-time tabs on Loose Record's whereabouts on Twitter!

Le Loup @Knitting Factory

1990s @Bowery Ballroom

Islands @Highline Ballroom

[Photos by Mina K]

CMJ Day 2 Wrap: Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing

Trying to gameplan my line-up for Wednesday night was almost impossible. Not only was I criminally hungover from Voxtrot the night before but there really is too much shit going on. Too many venues, too many bands, as we'll see, too much documentation. It's just too much. But, you can either fight CMJ or you can roll with the crowd so we hit The Delancey for one of the more impressive line-ups of the evening.

It's just after 9PM and Cut Off Your Hands is ripping through a set of post-punk brit-rock that would make you think of Bloc Party 2004 or The Wombats EPs of the last calender year. Twitchy, down-stroke guitar riffs and syrupy background vocals give this band a sound that will find an audience. The Delancey is buying it as their lead singer grabs hold of a drainpipe and swings his body out over the crowd. A photographer makes a face as he is pushed into a wall by this brief moment of rockstar posturing. After all, why get a picture of the most electric moment of the night when you could just be annoyed by it?

Cut Off Your Hands finish their set and sit leaning against the wall on stage. The guitarist mouths "I am so fucking tired" as their handler informs them he's just booked another late night showcase. It's 10pm and they've already played two shows. Presumably, they accept. You don't come all this way to turn down things that have "late night" and "showcase" involved in their name.

Soon enough, Foreign Born is hitting the stage and, at first, they are completely underwhelming. This is what all the LA kids talk about? This shit? But they build. And after a massive, Pete Townshend-inspired leg kick from their lead singer, the band takes off. The energy and the set builds to a fever pitch and the crowd is on board. This is what you come to see and by the time they're closing with "Union Hall," we're sorry it's over.

Between set changes, the girls who have been eyeing us find a reason to come over and talk. It's not entirely unwelcome but the ear-burning volume of the between-set-music makes anything approaching flirting impossible. We can be charming as hell but in the land of jet-engine French-techno, our words are useless. As we tread water and say "I'm sorry, I just can't hear you," Mina K shows up and adds a touch of class to the whole affair. Nothing makes you feel worse about flirting with 2007 college graduates than when your editor shows up to keep you in line.

Oh No! Oh My! goes on just after 11. I would love to say I'm enjoying watching the set but the flash-bulbs popping in front of me make it look like a Japanese morning cartoon. Am I about to have a seizure? How many photographs do you need? Mina takes care of her photo duties in about two songs and heads for the door. These other photographers can't stop. Oh No! Oh My! is not exactly the most animated live band and it's hard to tell why each of these shooters needs to get 75 pictures of the same thing. The lead singer isn't spitting beer at us. No one is doing anything particularly memorable. In fact, the venue is hardly packed. Why then are there 6-7 photographers dominating the front row and absolutely ruining the show with egregious flash offensives and ridiculous posing? Just how much coverage of this little band do we need?

This is all part of CMJ. I see at least three kids with notebooks, "covering" the show for someone. These photographers are getting shouted at by the crowd to "stop with the fucking flash." Can we just enjoy this moment without being so concerned about documenting it forever? And I am a part of that. This website is a part of the complete over-documentation of CMJ. But, we slam margeritas not push people out of the way to get "the perfect shot."

The challenge goes out: if you see one LooseRecord staffer ruining your concert experience, call them out. We will publically apologize. I promise, we bring way more fun than we cost. Something the photographers at The Delancey could learn a little something about.

[Photos by Mina K - No flash bulbs were used in the making of this post.]

Live Review: Ravens & Chimes at Fontanas [10.16.07]”

If you are an avid Loose Record follower (and by now, who isn’t?) you may remember that awhile back I heaped some well-deserved praise upon a little band, fronted by our very own Asher Lack, called Lost at Sea. A few things have changed for the band since the innocent days of spring 2006 – they now have a new name, new record, new band members, and well...I guess Asher still has the same haircut, though I’m sure he was wearing some new shoes or something.

Luckily, the main thing that has not changed for the band is their winning blend of grand instrumentations along with a healthy amount of toe-tapping indie pop goodness to balance out lyrics which tend to lean toward the melancholy side of the emotional spectrum.

During the show, Asher pointed out that the day marked the one-week anniversary of the release of Ravens & Chimes' debut album Reichenbach Falls (Better Looking Records). “It’s like a high school relationship”, he deadpanned. “Tomorrow I’ll buy it flowers and take it to see Superbad”. Springing for flowers on a one-week anniversary? Man, Asher must have been an excellent high school boyfriend. I think mine might have given me a can of soda to mark the occasion...?

Joking aside, the band certainly has a right to celebrate – Reichenbach Falls is a beautiful record, and though they’ve garnered comparisons to Wolf Parade, Bright Eyes, the Decemberists and the Arcade Fire (all good things); their sound comes across as distinct and fresh. Isn’t this why the CMJ Festival exists...to watch as bands come into their own? Sure, I love a good indie star-studded showcase, but I think the real treat lies in those moments spent watching as a spiffily-dressed band gives it their all on a small basement stage somewhere in Manhattan. I thought the band did a great job of translating the slow build and crescendo crashes of album opener “This is Where We Are” for the stage, and the urgency behind keyboard-driven “General Lafayette! You Are Not Alone!” was pretty much undeniably appealing.

I’ve been lucky enough to watch the band evolve over the years, and as I watched the group perform their final number (a rousing cover of Leonard Cohen’s “So Long Marianne”) it was nice to know that in the audience at Fontana’s that night, a whole new group of music fans got a chance to discover Ravens & Chimes for the first time.


[Photos by Mina K]

Live Photos: Tuesday Wrap-up

I saw some other bands on Tuesday.

Oppenheimer @Crash Mansion




The Press @Delancey

CMJ Day 1: Once More Into The Breach, Dear Friends

It is 7pm on Stanton St. and already inappropriate things are happening. To my left there is a band, we presume, leaning against the wall outside Arlene's Grocery. Someone has stuck a camera in their face and is interviewing them about their record. No one seems to notice as their lead singer runs through some rock-platitudes and the rest of the band puts on their best Casablancas pose. No one actually seems to care at all. I put on my Gucci sunglasses and mock them openly. Absurd? Absolutely. It's CMJ, people - and this cluster-fuck is just beginning.

Downstairs in Arlene's Mixtapes and Cellmates are in the middle of their set. The crowd has horse-shoe'd around the back of the room, leaving a huge space in the front near the stage. This is classic New York bullshit. Kids from Sweden travel all this way to get crossed-arms, vacant stares, and "we've seen all this before" attitude. We push to the front and some of the crowd comes with us, or maybe they just can't see past our heads. Either way.

Mixtapes and Cellmates sound like a hybrid of The Shout Out Louds and The Postal Service. We joke, "It's the Shout Out Service" as processed beats from an iPod form the backing of every song. They have a female bassist who will, after their set, open-mouth kiss a man who we can only assume is her boyfriend. She has a wonderful voice and they don't really allow her to sing. The real lead-singer is doing a rip-off Alex Kapranos routine and then the mic-stand collapses and he has to bend over to keep singing. The sound guy fixes it with an attitude that says, "yes, this is my job but I don't have to like you or your music." Soon enough the set is over and Mixtapes will head to Milan for a show next week. One CMJ show might be just enough.

The Teenage Prayers hit the stage with all the energy of an over-sized sound-check. They have six members and this is turning into the set-change nightmare of the year. If I hear, "can I have some more (fill in the blank instrument) in the monitors" I am going to throw up everywhere. And that has nothing with the margarita and the beer churning through my brain. It is 8.15pm and I need to watch the Red Sox. The night is full of hope.
Four pint glasses of tequila, triple sec, and lime mixed with the Red Sox getting their faces kicked in and we're headed to the Bowery. We hear that they're not accepting badges which is, in its own way, completely bullshit. After some wrangling, we're in just in time for another two rounds of beers and Voxtrot's sound check. We've missed about five bands but it probably doesn't matter.

Voxtrot sounds great. I've seen them before but mostly in small clubs and bars. The sound was never good and mostly, the show was fun because their EPs were so strong and created so much buzz. I could never really picture them in a venue like The Bowery Ballroom without thinking how empty it would sound. Well, they've evolved. It was like they moved into a big apartment without enough furniture. They were playing big venues but didn't have the sound to fill it. So, they bought a couch. The arrangements are tight and explode in and out of chorus and verse. The drums sound great and frankly, this is making me like their full-length record which, previously, I had completely written off. They play no encore but allow the crowd to choose the last song. "We" choose "Start of Something" which is just fine but does reveal the ways their song-writing has shifted. We're not dealing with your father's Voxtrot. This band is re-energized, hungry and sound like they could blow the pavement of Delancey St.

And just like that we wrap Day One: A band from Sweden, a band with too many members, a baseball team with not enough heart, and Voxtrot, a band who have tasted both sides of the media's love and hate - and still play on. Let's do this thing, New York.

[Photos by Mina K]

In and Out: Twitter me this, CMJ.

Loose Record NYC is all over this CMJ shit. Last night alone I saw Geoff, Alena, Xtina, and Asher out and about (and in Asher's case, fronting a band!).

A colleague of mine snorts in disgust at Twitter, labeling it one of
the "grossest forms of exhibitionism on the internet." Despite this, I
believe there is value in this little piece of innovation. In my
search for understanding (and the fountain of youth), I hereby resolve
to Twitter my way through CMJ Week 2007 (Oct 16-20). If you so choose,
you can tune into my joys, gripes, hungry spells, and unrelated
thoughts as I wade through panel discussions (with Peter Criss of
KISS!), band showcases, and parties.

Loose Record Twitters CMJ Week 2007

Please bookmark Loose Record's Twitter page or add LR to your own
feeds if you already have an account. (my personal Twitter is on hold
until CMJ ends.)

p.s. - What the heck is Twitter? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter