I took last night off. I fell asleep in front the newest It’s Always Sunny at 10, awoke two hours later to zombie-walk into my bed, and just woke up again a few minutes ago. This CMJ business is a lot more tiring than I remember it being. I hope everyone rested up for today, because it’s going to be great. It’s your last chance to squeeze in all those bands you haven’t managed to see yet. I will be running around like a chicken with its head cut off all day for sure.
I’m combining today’s posts into one, because so many of the shows start at 3ish and go all night. There’s a lot I’d recommend checking out, so here goes.
First of all, stop reading this right now. Get yourself ready for the day and head to Pianos immediately. At 12:30 Beast is playing and they’re serving FREE Bloody Mary’s. After that, stick around for awhile. There’s free Miller beer all day plus an amazing line-up: Sharon Van Etten, Smith Westerns, Pete and the Pirates (these guys have been getting amazing buzz), Dent May, Surf City, Deastro, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and LA’s Local Natives. You could be there all day!
You could, though, make your way to Williamsburg (where you’ll probably want to spend the evening) at 3pm for the Impose Magazine showcase at Don Pedro’s. It’s the usual Famous Class Records crew that I mention often on here: Snakes Say Hiss, The Tony Castles, Boogie Boarder, Darlings, with the added benefit of JEFF: the Brotherhood (go see them, I love them!), Dinowalrus, and Future Islands. You could also go to Brooklyn Bowl at Noon for a pretty good party including Harlem. I won’t be attending because I’ve somehow caught all of the other bands already, but they’re good, too: Lovvers, Soft Black, Surfer Blood (fun, but overhyped), and Grooms.
Now, nighttime offers more difficult decisions. If you want to stay in one place from 1pm to 4am, Market Hotel is THE place to be. Weirdly enough, Pitchfork joined with Todd P to put on a Showpaper benefit (not free, a badge will not get you in). Todd P has been very, very quiet during CMJ, especially considering his overwhelming presence at SXSW. I assumed this was because he really dislikes the evil organization that is CMJ, but the Pitchfork/Todd P pairing seems weird to me for the same reasons. Anyways, there’s a sick line-up: Surfer Blood (1pm), Small Black (4pm), Javelin (5pm), Smith Westerns (6pm), Real Estate (7pm), Delorean (8pm), Cymbals Eat Guitars (10pm), Special Guests (11pm) and then DJ sets from The xx, Neon Indian, Lemonade, and Moses Archuleta from Deerhunter.
Mercury Lounge has a good line-up tonight, especially if you’re into harder rock. It starts off with Dum Dum Girls (whom I’ve never seen but would really like to) and then Dutchess and the Duke and Golden Triangle. Then, things get thrashy with Pissed Jeans, Obits, and Male Bonding, all highly recommended.
There’s so much other great stuff going on. Too much to process. There’s a lot of really wonderful things happening in Williamsburg, and your best bet is to probably run around seeing who you want. Look at Oh My Rockness for help. But I would like to finally recommend that you check out Double Dagger at Death By Audio. I saw them at Market Hotel once before and I love their music. They remind me so much of a tougher Pavement. They are also responsible for this amazing company.
Below is a song from Atlas Sound’s Rough Trade EP I picked up at the show on Wednesday. I’ll be on Twitter all day. Have a great day, and good luck.
MP3: “Nightwork” – Atlas Sound
