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Mancino + Goes Cube
@ Club Europa
(EARFARM‘S SUPER SPOOKY HALLOWEEN SHOW)
98 Mesarole Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Doors at 8
9 – Mancino
10 – Hopewell
11 – Goes Cube
12 – Giraffes
with DJ sets from DJ Colleen Crumbcake
+ a costume contest with prizes for best costume!
Screaming Females
@ Asterisk (HALLOWEEN PARTY) / 9pm
258 Johnson Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
w/ Project Jenny Project Jan
Morning Theft
@ The Delancey (HALLOWEEN PARTY)
168 Delancey Street
New York, NY
w/ Bella Noir, Seasick, Femme Generation, Rock Space Opera. DJ Nora K (i rock i roll) spins between bands and afterwards. Prizes for best costumes!”
Ready yet for some post-CMJ show action? Well, you have some pretty good options on Thursday night.
The Art Of Shooting
@ Club Europa / 8pm
98 Meserole Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
w/ Saxon Shore, My Best Fiend, Epstein
The Muggabears
@ Mercury Lounge / 8pm
217 East Houston Street
New York, NY
w/Film School, Land of Talk, Small Sins
Man In Gray
@ Union Pool (JEZEBEL MUSIC – FEATURE SHOW) / 9pm
484 Union Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
8:00: Fantasy Mirrors | 9:00: Man In Gray | 10:00: Track Rabbit | 11:00: Project Jenny, Project Jan
Okay, now that CMJ is good and over, let’s take a look back at a few highlights.
Of course, Saturday night was the StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Party Official CMJ Showcase, co-sponsored by DigitalFreedom.org. In case you missed our wrap-ups, here they are:
PART ONE: Chop Shop, The Secret Life Of Sofia, Gold Streets
PART TWO: Mancino, Man In Gray, A Place To Bury Strangers
PART THREE: Up The Empire, El Jezel, The Vandelles
And here’s some other coverage of the show we’ve seen so far:
Metromix New York
CMJ
EarFarm
The Culture Of Me
The Sky Report
Flickr.com – EarFarm
Flickr.com – Jenny Fireballs
Flickr.com – Subinev
Flickr.com – LPSlogan
Flickr.com – Annie Rock
Now on to some of what we managed to catch earlier in the week…
(photo by Bryan Bruchman)
On Tuesday, we checked out a good portion of the Serious Business Records showcase at Pianos. First up was Benji Cossa, who impressed us with his vocal abilities. But our ears really stood up at attention during the second half of the set, which featured a full backing band made up mostly of members of Rocketship Park (above). No surprise then that Rocketship Park’s own set immediately after that blew us away. Their country rock sound was just what we wanted to hear and the pedal steel guitar through most of set was especially gorgeous sounding. We can hardly wait to hear the album they’ve been working on over there at Serious Business.
(photo by Bryan Bruchman)
Next up was The Two Man Gentlemen Band (above). It had been much too long since we’d seen them play. Their old time, rootsy country tunes and stage antics had the place mesmerized and the duo — accompanied by Travis Harrison on percussion, so actually it was a trio — had the crowd eating out of their hands like nothing we’ve ever seen before. It was truly exceptional. Plus the new material, including a raucous song about President William Howard Taft, from their next album was really great.
(photo by Bryan Bruchman)
Then it was time for the Unsacred Hearts (above), playing for the first time since May. And speaking of raucous, the stage was basically treated like one of those inflatable moon-jump things you see at carnivals and the drumset was like a min-trampoline with frontman Joe Willie leaping on and off it at will. But while this was all entertaining, it was, of course, the music that really rocked the place, just as it would again the next night at Matchless.
Then it was on to the Industrial Park Records showcase at The Tank, where we caught Higgins (above) for the first time in a while. Their sixties styles psych-tinged indie pop was a great was a great way to end the night. Notably, the set was the fourth of the night for drummer Brian Kantor, who’d played with John Biz just before and with Rocketship Park and Benji Cossa earlier at the Serious Business showcase.
(photo by EarFarm)
Wednesday night, at the EarFarm“>EarFarm & Serious Business CMJ Party at Matchless, we caught the Unsacred Hearts again and finally caught a full set of Goes Cube (above). Their heavy, loud brand of indie rock left us wanting more, so we’ll be checking them out again very soon.
(photo by Insky)
Thursday night at the Deli Magazine/Going.com party at Galapagos, we checked out a band recommended to us by Marta DeLeon of Lariats. We’d listened to a few Beat The Devil (above) tracks online, but just weren’t prepared for the sheer ferocity of their live show and the amount of classic and garage rock sensibility mixed in with the cabaret vibe the mp3s seemed to showcase quite a lot more of. And we have to say that singer Shilpa Ray has a powerhouse voice.
On Friday, we caught a little bit of Eagle Seagull’s set at the Indaba Music/Underrated Magazine loft party and hope to see more of them soon. Then it was off to another loft party featuring Kinetic and Looker, along with Man In Gray and Up The Empire. The new wave sound of Looker was fun and great for the party vibe. And the more psyched-out indie pop of Kinetic was more great stuff we look forward to hearing more of soon.
<<< READ PART TWO
<<< READ PART ONE
(photo by Bryan Bruchman)
Somehow, even after six bands, as Up The Empire took the stage at midnight, the night still seemed young. Every band to this point had played among the best shows we’d seen and heard from them to date, and Up The Empire kept that trend going with a set that perfectly showcased their power trio talents. Not only did every song of their own shine, but for the second night in a row we heard them play a really amazing cover of Dinosaur Jr’s “Feel The Pain” that just killed.
Make sure to catch Up The Empire at Union Pool in Brooklyn on November 15th.
Jesus, we cannot wait for the new El Jezel album. Every time we hear them play the new stuff live, we get more excited about it. They were in top form on Saturday night in pretty much every way — even played frisbee with the audience (thanks to our sponsor, DigitalFredom.org, for providing all those free frisbees, by the way) and played their excellent version of The Breeders’ “Do You Love Me Now?” Another excellent set from an excellent band. What more could you ask for at 1am on a Saturday night?
The Vandelles‘ mix of wall of sound and surf rock vibes with more modern distorted fare was an excellent way to close the night out. After the eight previous hours of rock, the rush of distorted sounds and projected video grabbed that last bit of energy everyone had left and put it to great use. We also snagged their just released self-titled EP and have been enjoying it since the weekend and suggest you do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy.
<<< CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST
(photo by Bryan Bruchman)
Mancino took the stage shortly after 9pm on Saturday. Their drummer, Jonathan Mason, was out of town, so the plan had been for a part acoustic set sans drummer, making use of a drum machine and some computer loops in certain places. They started things off by playing three new songs. These new ones have yet to be worked on with a drummer, so it was interesting to hear them as they are now and imagine what they might sound like once Jonathan is back with them. There was one song in particular that had Mike Grimes and Nadim Issa trading crescendoing vocal harmonies that really stood out, but all three were quite impressive. Then came three tracks from the recently released Manners Matter LP — “Buy My Product, “L’amour (Or Less)”, and “Hetchie Hutchie Footchie” — with the drummer from Man In Gray sitting in.
Be sure to catch Mancino (we assume with their regular drummer) October 31st at EAR FARM’s Super Spooky Halloween Show @ Europa w/ Goes Cube, Hopewell and the Giraffes
(photo by The Culture Of Me)
The fifth band of the evening was Man In Gray. This, their third show of the week, turned out to be the most raucous.
Man in Gray (above) burst onto the stage with even more energy than usual. No really, and that’s saying a lot. Not knocking on their set earlier in the week, but on Saturday night they killed it.
Man In Gray will be performing next at Union Pool as part of Jezebel Music’s monthly feature show with Project Jenny, Project Jan, Track Rabbit, and Fantasy Mirrors.
(photo by The Culture Of Me)
Waves of distortion and feedback. Pounding drums. Video projections mixed on the fly. Strobe lights. A good dose of destruction. These are the now familiar hallmarks of just about any show featuring A Place To Bury Strangers. And if those elements didn’t add up to something exciting enough, the band was coming off a string of five previous shows that had mostly been either early in the day or extremely late at night — or shut down by the cops after only a couple of songs. So, this was the big closing night of CMJ, prime-time show for one of the most buzzed about bands of the moment here in NYC. Let’s just say the audience — the extremely large audience — came expecting big things. And APTBS rose to the occasion, doling out an aural fix to a crowd eager to take it in. And let’s face it, you may not be seeing them play in venues as intimate as The Delancey quite so often anymore. We hope you were there.
A Place to Bury Strangers (above) simply dominated. There was a palpable sense of anticipation in the room before they went on. People were excited to see this band, and for good reason: they’re one of New York’s top live bands. Though this wasn’t the loudest I’ve ever heard them, it was one of my most favorite sets of all of CMJ. I’d see them again and again and again and again, if only my ears would let me.
Upcoming Shows:
Oct 25 @ NEW DAISY – Memphis, TN
w/ Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Oct 26 @ DOWNTOWN MUSIC HALL – Raleigh, NC
Oct 27 @ Pi Lam – Philadelphia, PA
Nov 7 @ BOWERY BALLROOM – NYC
w/ The Black Angels and Spindrift
Nov 8 @ THE MIDDLE EAST – Cambridge, MA
w/ The Black Angels and Spindrift
More to come…
Saturday night was a big night for us. It was the first time we’d ever presented a showcase as part of the CMJ Music Marathon. And with nine bands playing from 6pm to 3am, we knew it was going to be a monster of a night. In the end, we’re hard pressed to think of any ways in which the night could have been much better. From beginning to end, every single band was great and the audience — filled with wonderful friends and completely new faces — was spectacular. Really, any time we start organizing a show, we try to put together something we’d like to go to with our friends. And, in that regard and so many others, we were lucky to have just about as close to a perfect line-up as we could hope for on Saturday night.
First up was Chop Shop. As we’ve said before, this band is one of our favorite discoveries of the year (thanks to Mancino for the introduction, by the way). Still relatively young, in the brief time we’ve known them we’ve already witnessed quite a lot of development. They started out with an impressive sound and stage presence and built on it with the addition of Rebecca Capua on keys, cello, and additional vocals. On Saturday, they got things off to an amazing start, playing to an already quite sizable crowd that only grew as they continued their set. Each time we’ve seen the band, we’ve been more impressed than the last, so no surprise that this was the most impressive set we’ve seen yet. Unfortunately, they won’t be playing live again for a little bit as they take a break to continue working on new recordings, but you can bet we’ll be letting you know when they’re back out there playing again. After all, we’ll be anxious to see them again ourselves.
Chop Shop (above) kicked things off with a bang. They brought with them a nice sized crowd of fans and perfectly set the tone for the rest of the night with their charisma and energy.
(photo by Ear Farm)
Next up was The Secret Life Of Sofia. We’ve been talking about the shift in their sound ever since they came out of hiding back in May. Well, it’s safe to say the shift is complete. It’s no longer the “new TSLOS sound.” It’s just “the TSLOS sound.” They’ve hit their stride and it’s quite impressive. With fifth man — and, we hear, possible permanent member — Dan D’Ippolito in tow to switch off various guitar, keys, and backing vocal duties, the band took to the stage for what ended up being the best show we’ve seen or heard from them not only since the hiatus, but ever. Seriously. But don’t take our word for it…
The Secret Life of Sofia (above) delivered their best performance to date. At least, for the shows I’ve seen them play – this was it. The band is truly finding themselves within their new songs and I literally got chills at one point. Sounds silly? It’s the truth. I love this band. When their new album comes out, watch out world.
I unfortunately only had time to catch a few songs, but what I heard was quite beautiful. Their stage was adorned with the previously mentioned flourescent lanterns, but no projections this time. Still, these guys are a band to keep an eye on.
The third band of the night was Gold Streets. We’ve done a lot of shows with them recently and, every time, they bring an energy and confidence that makes each performance unique and fresh. Saturday was, of course, no exception. The band easily sustained the level of what was already an energetic night, playing the hell out of every song.
Gold Streets (above) hit the stage with their trademark groovy bass and split male/female vocals and got many people shaking and moving along with their Cocteau Twins meets Veruca Salt vibe. God how I love a Rickenbacker bass.
More to come…
The Digital Freedom Campaign is a coalition that promotes consumer rights in the digital age. Here is some information from the group’s website:
Innovative technologies from Sling media, XM Radio and Google are under attack. A handful of big content interests are behind a wave of lawsuits and legislation designed to restrict CE products and consumers’ use of them.
These laws and lawsuits have nothing to do with the commercial piracy or illegal file sharing. Instead, they seek to restrict what Americans can do with lawfully acquired content, for noncommercial purposes, within their private homes and vehicles.
This is not a new issue or a new problem. Some in the big always have opposed new technologies like the cassette recorder, the VCR and the MP3 player that have enhanced consumers’ quality of life and driven the economy, but also required big content companies to change their existing business models in response to consumer demand.
The Digital Freedom Campaign is fighting back. This growing group of innovators, artists, students and consumers know that they also have rights in this copyright debate and they want to make themselves heard. The campaign has four core messages:
- New digital technologies allow consumers to enjoy legally acquired content where, when and how they want – providing benefits to consumers and the economy while opening up new revenue streams for copyright owners.
- These same technologies empower creators to develop content, connect directly with broad new audiences, and reap new benefits and revenue from their works.
- Commercial piracy is wrong. We work to promote pro-consumer business models and ensure that artists are compensated fairly.
- The Digital Freedom Campaign provides a voice for individuals to protect and expand these rights, and as an advocate against efforts to restrict them and limit new technologies.
If you are interested in supporting the campaign we suggest you visit their website to find out more.
We owe a very big thanks to the Digital Freedom Campaign for the support they have offered in supporting and presenting the StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Party Oficial CMJ Showcase.
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