stereoactivenyc

Wrap Up: StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Official CMJ Showcase — PART THREE

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Up The Empire

(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.

El Jezel

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

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.

Wrap Up: StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Official CMJ Showcase — PART TWO

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Mancino

(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

Man In Gray

(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.

From Ear Farm:

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.

A Place To Bury Strangers

(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.

From Ear Farm:

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…

Wrap Up: StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Official CMJ Showcase — PART ONE

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.

Chop Shop

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.

From Ear Farm:

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.

The Secret Life Of Sofia

(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…

From Ear Farm:

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.

From The Sky Report:

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.

Gold Streets

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.

From Ear Farm:

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…