Show Review

My last day at CMJ and I had decided to make it worthwhile. Determined to go out and see some music, I immediately hit up the Pirate Promotions party over at Fontana’s where a band had just finished up. To my luck, the next band to take the stage was Japanese Motors. Having seen the bands set before, I wasn’t expecting anything new. To my surprise, the set seemed much slower and a bit more tired compared to their set the day before. The setlist was pretty much the same and most of the songs were this time extremely reminiscent of The Strokes (which I had made a connection the night before). This wasn’t to say that their set was bad; rather it was just a bit different. Personally I preferred the band a bit livelier but either way the music was still a treat. Definitely a band to check out if you can.

Afterwards, I took a few steps over to Arlene’s Grocery for the Team Clermont party. As soon as I got there, the music was already starting as Miniature Tigers took the stage. This was one of the most packed I had seen a day party as the place was almost at capacity. Not knowing what to expect I got a pleasant surprise of a fun indie pop set. The four-piece appeared to be on their game and getting the crowd into the songs. They played a few tracks off of their new album ‘Tell It to the Volcano’ such as the extremely catchy “Cannibal Queen”. Their music reminded me of a cross between Weezer and The Shins. If you are in the mood for some good toe-tapping fun, then Miniature Tigers are the band for you.

After that, I headed over to Piano’s where the Planetary Party was taking place. As we arrived, Koufax was just setting up. Unfortunately, Pianos had only been about half-filled for the promising set from the bands brand of indie rock. The Doghouse band was headlining the set and played a good majority off of their latest album “Strugglers”. The banter in between songs made it seem like they didn’t want to be there but the performance showed otherwise as they were on their game. I had only wished their live performance contained more instruments like the saxophone that appears on tracks like “Isabelle” but the bands performance was reminiscent of a cross between The Get Up Kids and Spoon. If you can relate the ties between the two bands just mentioned, then you should probably listen to Koufax.

After, I headed on over to Crash Mansion to see Backseat Goodbye. Getting there, I realized the band was only one guy performing songs on his guitar. His brand of alternative pop unfortunately didn’t catch the attention of many people there but it was an interesting take between folk and pop. The pop influences seemed to shine out though as his set was very similar to that of a solo set by Bryce of The Rocket Summer if he had a guitar rather than a piano. If you are looking for solo pop, Backseat Goodbye is probably for you.
Afterwards, I tried to head over to The Fader Fort to see The School of Seven Bells but unfortunately they were running extremely late (75 minutes according to MusicSnobbery) and I had other places I was planning on being. So I headed over to the new Studio at Webster Hall to check out a band called Chester French who my friend was telling me about. Unluckily, they were not able to show up so I caught Young Lords from New York. There were a few technical difficulties during their set which included the singer hitting the microphone against a pipe on the ceiling, but the venue is relatively new and that is bound to happen. Young Lords played a mix of alt-country and rock to create a large rock and roll sound. There wasn’t much stage presence from the band, but the sound was spot on. Another thing to keep in mind is that they look and act a great deal like The Strokes (apparently the theme of playing CMJ), so the music doesn’t allow for much showmanship from the front man. Overall, Young Lords were not a terrible tradeoff for Chester French.

I then made my way to what would be the final CMJ set that I would see. I had been determined to see The Whip ever since I arrived at CMJ after hearing about their live show. The Whip are an electro-dance-rock band from Manchester. Once I arrived at Irving Plaza, I was disappointed to see that the place was only half full for such an event. That didn’t stop the band from being in top shape and putting out an amazing performance though. While their music is very reminiscent of a cross between Justice and The Knife, their live show is full of instruments with one band member handling his MacBook. The band looked happy to be there and the crowd was dancing with the occasional strobe light moment or two. The only song I could recognize from the band was “Trash” which they finished off with, but their set consisted mostly of their fast-paced songs. While I wanted to stay for Late of the Pier and Soulwax, the show had already gone on late and I was too exhausted from my week to even consider sticking it out.

Overall, I would say that CMJ is a great experience and that if you can go, it’s definitely something to do at least once. You are guaranteed to find at least one artist that you never knew about before and that is the most important part of CMJ.

review by Dave Giumara