CMJ in Review, Part 1
I had a hell of a good time at CMJ at this year. Despite rumblings that it would be lame and work&school commitments that cramped my concert-going style, I saw a lot of great music. Now that I’ve gotten a few hours sleep, here’s the recap.
Tuesday
The Brooklyn Vegan showcase was my first stop of the week. I got there in time to catch a few songs from Nathaniel Rateliff and The Wheel — my first big discovery of the festival. This folk band out of Denver plays big lush melodies on guitar, percussion and strings. Gorgeous. Check last week’s audio post My Hanging Surrender.
Next up was UK prodigy Laura Marling. I’m not a huge fan of the modern singer+guitar folk genre, but she was pretty great. She has a beautiful voice and, at 19 years old, her lyrics kind of shockingly mature. According to Wikipedia, she’s a former member of Noah and the Whale. Her song Ghosts was a crowd favorite. A quick Tumblr search reveals that y’all are already on this find.
Between bands, I wiggled my way up to the front of the music hall, so I was in prime superfan position for The Antlers. I had unrealistically high expectations for their show. I love the album for it’s exquisite intimacy and delicateness, and I think it’s just not possible — nor desirable — to recreate that atmosphere live. So they rocked hard, which was fun, but they sounded almost exactly like all the other indie bands I saw over the week. On the positive, I finally picked up Hospice on vinyl, which sounds GREAT.
I had a huge day at school and work on Wednesday so I left before Fanfarlo took the stage. So lame.
Wednesday
I met up with Bob Moz and Adam Bates from Topspin outside The xx show at the Mercury. The line was around the block, we got to talking, and bagged the whole thing. We had a few beers and I called it a night.
Thursday
I made a bad venue choice on Thursday night. The NME showcase at The Delancey sounded promising, so I got there in time to see Suckers and planned to stay through the “super secret x-rated special guest.” Suckers was good, the next band was terrible, the club was jam-packed and claustrophobic, and there was an interminable delay while Delorean set up. I waited it out talking with Jessica Amaya from Stereogum.
When Delorean finally began, the crowd shook off most of the rising tension and got down with their happy dance-rock. Delorean is a four piece out of Barcelona who began life as a rock outfit and have evolved into more of a disco-pop crew. They had the typical indie rock gear on stage — guitar, drums, and bass — with a heavy focus on sampler and keyboards. Apt comparisons have been made to Air France, Phoenix, Studio and Air. Listen to the track Big Dipper from their Ayrton Senna EP here.
It was a fun set, but I’d had it. I abandoned my front row stake, skipping Bear Hands, Male Bonding and CMJ darlings The xx.
Weekend review coming soon. All photos poached from Brooklyn Vegan.
