Chief Blog

Ah, October. CMJ stands for College Media Journal, but it also stands for a time when certain groups of music-lovers and goers get their panties in a twist and freak out like its the prom, homecoming, and the week they got pubes all rolled into one. “Oh my god, you going to CMJ?! ackackackackacckckkkkkk!” Is common parlance at this time, but really I think it’s over-rated. I seriously enjoy going to concerts, going to see new bands, and I like me some free stuff to make me feel marginally important, but really it’s just overkill in one week while wearing a lanyard like a latchkey kid. Anyhoozles, this week also coincided with me getting the worst sickness of all time, but I did get to see some interesting stuff when I wasn’t laying in bed in a Nyquil-enduced fever dream. Music and booze bring people together! let’s check it out!

Tuesday launched the ‘official festival’ and at Cake Shop was the Subbacultcha CMJ Showcase, which from what I pieced together (context clues!) is a wee Dutch-based magazine. Featured there were Blondes, a Brooklyn-based duo of young gentlemen playing what can be described as basement stoner electronica, filling the entire basement with slow beats felt in the kidneys, building upon layers of sound. Next up was Hospital Bombers, a Dutch group that seemed more obsessed with their monitors than getting thru an actual song. Also bothersome was they had an unecessary high-octave fiddling member of their band, distracting and would be better-served belting out some song during an episode of One Tree Hill than at Cake Shop–hurray for basketball and feelings! Following up was Best Coast, an LA-based Low Fi Surf Rock Do-Wop duo. Although they had no drummer, they pulled a system d and played drum beats of a minidisc player while the two crooned on to ditties about life, love lost and the beach, which was toe-tapping, but also made me miss summer already. Dammit!

Thursday brought the DFA records showcase at Brooklyn Bowl. The same people who brought you all that hard bass synth deliciousness like LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip had duo Yacht performing at the new-ish venue which is a gigantic wooden dance floor framed by a bar and lanes. Initially like a junior high dance with everyone against the wall, after some self-descruction in the form of very large well whiskey shots, my purse was in the center of a semicircle of girls I hardly knew-aw yeah! Yacht came up around midnight to some serious fist-punching dance rhythms, jumping around and getting the audience in a tizzy, which was true to form, true to sound, and pretty damn good, with or without the Powers and pints of lager.

Oh praise thee, Almighty free booze music party! Although the rains were plentiful, the roads high and rife with debris and drunks with broken heels lost on the wayside, Jelly NYC housed all thee at Root Studios, a new multpurpose spot. Free entry! Free Magic Hat and Svedka Vodka drinks! Featured was Neon Indian, that dreamy man behind several samplers put together a band to back him for his CMJ coming-out, and got the crowd going with tunes from his new album, Psychic Chasms. Closing out the night was the Almighty Defenders, part Black Lips, part King Kahn+BBQ, and all parts crazed do-wop gospel. Although I was in the line to the single-stall bathroom, swatting away insurgents trying to go in threes, directing them to scuttle to the broken stall, I sir, was witness to the light, while they careened through messy three-part harmony ditties all clad in vestments of choir robes. T’was  that good ol’ howling rock that warrants belting and swaying and sweating and glorious bad behavior. That’s what we came for, ain’t it?

Tags: Almighty Defenders, Best Coast, Blondes, Brooklyn Bowl, Cake Shop, Hospital Bombers, Neon Indian, Root Studios, Yacht

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 10:15 pm and is filed under Adverstising, Announcements, Badass!, Chief Tells You What To Think, Last Night, Now That's What I Call Music!, Yo, I'm Just Sayin', bastards, those bastards, brooklyn, public service, scumbag. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.