Man Man

Battles

 

One of the highlights of Friday (and of the entire week for that matter) was the Zune-sponsored Colin Meloy brunch acoustic performance upstairs at Pianos. C’mon, how cool is it to get a great Southwestern-style brunch, two drinks, and a mini-acoustic set by the lead singer of The Decemberists…all for free! Colin’s charm and love for the audience really comes through in such an intimate, casual setting.

   

After the “Official Colin Meloy Tortilla Chip Breakfast” as he called it, it was a quick rush over to Fontana’s for the second of the Brooklyn Vegan free showcases. I was able to get there in time for the last couple songs by Swedish electro dance poppers Lo-Fi-Fnk, who got the crowd moving despite the relatively early hour. You really couldn’t help but dance to the smooth grooves and beats from these Stockholmers.

One of my more anticipated acts of the day was up next, ¡Forward, Russia!, who had really blown me away at their Mercury Lounge show several months ago. Even in the brief set interrupted a couple times by difficulties with the drumkit, the energy really blew the lid off the ceiling in Fontana’s basement. Tom’s spastic and chaotic performance served as the coffee/Sparks for those arriving late to the show.

   

     

Chicago’s The Changes had to follow the ¡Forward, Russian! energy explosion, a tall order to say the least, and that may have somewhat affected my opinion of their set. Sort of generic-sounding indie-pop rock, nothing particularly objectionable, but just not all that exciting either.

Up next were abother Chicago indie-pop product, Chin Up Chin Up, who I’d caught some of back on the first day of the Pitchfork Music Festival in July. I liked them back then, and liked them at the showcase, but again, I’m not as wild about them as some others. Like The Changes, I’d like to see them try to set themselves apart a bit from the more run-of-the-mill standard fare.

I was really impressed by Cadence Weapon’s performance. The twenty year-old rapper from Edmonton (how many rappers do you think there are in Edmonton?) had some brilliantly witty lyrics, and really tried hard to work the crowd, even if not all in attendence were totally responsive. But I thought his rhymes were sharp and funny, and his delivery was immaculate. His DJ was quite good as well, and I’ll definitely be checking out some more Cadence in the future after this set.

One of my favorite local bands Oxford Collapse took the stage next. It’s been exciting watching them grow as a band over the last year and half or so, from their Kanine days through this year’s Sub Pop release. Each time I’ve caught them live I’ve been more and more impressed, and this set was no exception. The whole set was incredibly tight and a lot of fun, and this also marked the first time I’ve seen the band perform with their guest saxophonist. The sax really added a terrific depth to the couple songs when he played. I only see Oxford Collapse getting bigger and better. I know I’m probably in the minority here, but I actually felt they upstaged their labelmates who took the stage after their performance, The Thermals.

   

As I already mentioned, the final act of the BV showcase was Portland’s The Thermals, whose high energy punk got the audience going once they took the stage. Fontana’s basement quickly devolved into a hot, sweaty pit of upbeat, intelligent rock and out-of-control jumping and moshing around. There almost seemed to be a contest among fans to see who could scream along to the lyrics the loudest. It was a wild way to end the afternoon’s showcase, at which point it was hard to believe how much was still to come Friday evening.

CMJ’s biggest event was the sold-out Friday night show at the Hammerstein Ballroom with The Decemberists and opener Alasdair Roberts.  I actually thought the Scottish singer-songwriter was pretty good, had a decent singing voice and some nice songs, but the venue was just too huge, and the overwhelming majority of the youngish crowd had no interest whatsoever and chatted their way through the set. I would definitely check him out again if he plays a small club-type tour after wrapping up with The Decemberists.

Speaking of those “major label sellouts” (Colin’s words, not mine!), it had been I guess just over a year since last seeing the band at one of their two Webster Hall shows, and their growth in those 12 months has been nothing short of astounding. Although I guess I shouldn’t have been that surprised, I was still somewhat taken aback by the amount (and decibel level) of the TRL-esque high pitch shrieks and squeals coming from the Hammerstein crowd both before and during the set. As for the show itself, it wasn’t the best show of theirs I’ve seen. While I do think The Crane Wife is brilliant and some of their best work, the material simply does not translate to as engaging and entertaining a live show, particularly in such a cavernous standing room venue as Hammerstein. Perhaps Town Hall may have been better suited for the event. But the band is certainly enjoying their success, as well they should, and Colin definitely relishes the spotlight. This was actually overdone in my opinion though. The show seemed to be more a Colin Meloy performance with a backing band than a Decemberists show. While the rest of the band wore dark grays and blacks, Colin stood out in a white blazer and red tie; most of the band spent the majority of the show in dim lighting, Colin always had the bright spot directly on him. Particularly with such densely instrumentated prog-rock material that dominated the majority of the set, I would have liked to have seen Chris Funk, Nate Query, and the rest receive a bit more of their due attention. That being said, it was still a very fun show, and while Colin said they were pretending to be playing at the Mercury Lounge, I suppose we’ll all have to get used to these types of performances as the band continues to grow.

 

After leaving Hammerstein, we hitched a ride (thanks Jen!) over to Greenpoint to catch the last couple acts at Product Shop’s showcase at Studio B. We didn’t get there in time for The Thermals, but I don’t think another act from all of CMJ has generated more diametrically opposed reactions than the first band we saw there, Syracuse’s Ra Ra Riot. Let me first say that I quite enjoyed the set. The sound was layered and rich, with cello and violin blending seamlessly with guitar, bass and keys. The performance had a terrific energy, and the vast majority of the crowd really seemed to dig the whole show. And in what I always look for in a live performance, how much the band members appear to be enjoying themselves, these guys were having as much fun as anyone there. They are still a young band, perhaps with not quite the most cutting edge lyrics in indiedom, but for catchy tunes and a fun show, I thought they were great. Some agreed with me, others did not, and some apparently would have rather seen the band lying face down in a Greenpoint gutter. I’ll let you decide for yourself.

   

The evening’s final act The Horrors had perhaps the most appropo name of any band of the week. I automatically tend to be skeptical of “NME buzz bands” (although I’m the first to admit when one catches me by surprise), and my skepticism could not have been more valid. I couldn’t stomach more than a few songs; understanding what Kurtz truly meant by “The horror! The horror!” in Heart of Darkness. It was just a mess of loud indistinguishable noise “performed” by a bunch of self-important punk kids from London who pissed off the venue management during their first or second song by tearing through a wire-mesh curtain that lined one side of the stage. Particularly after such a long day of nearly non-stop rock, I just did not have the patience or energy to deal with that kind of mayhem, especially when the “music” itself had absolutely nothing to offer.

   

So that’s it for Friday, folks. Just one more CMJ Recap to go.