Babe Rainbow @The Knitting Factory
Do you ever wake up and just wish you were your blanket instead of a human so you could just live on a bed, forever, or until you wind up fading away under a bridge or in a thrift store? That’s basically where I was for the first day of CMJ’s Marathon. To make my struggles struggle even more, I just found out that only season one of American Horror Story, takes place in that house and season two is completely insane, and I was up all night watching it, which is why I want to be a blanket now. Okay, I never turned into a blanket and at around two o’clock I finally dragged myself out of bed and ran over to my first show at Piano’s in the L.E.S.
Daytime shows are kind of weird; everyone sort of just stands around, in the back, leaving fifteen feet of floor between the band and the crowd, which is good for taking pictures but little else. Luckily, it didn’t last long thanks to the band, Pinact, who quickly drew everyone closer to the stage. I don’t know what’s going on in Glasgow but that city sends a steady stream of rad bands to CMJ every year. Pinact, has this amazing pop-grunge sound that at times left me feeling like I was in some time warp hearing Nirvana for the first time. Which reminds me of something I heard the other night, this dude I had just met was explaining to a group of people that when you take acid, even once, it stays in your spine and when you crack your back you run the risk of an acid flashback or even a full on trip. BULLSHIT. When he said it I actually believed him for a second and was thinking, “Jesus fucking Christ, thank God I took shrooms, instead.” Then I remembered phones, the Internet, and Google, and I googled, “Acid in spine flashback back crack,” lol. After two minutes I skimmed twenty legitimate articles on the subject and found that this guy was a dirty, fucking, liar. It’s crazy that people still try to spread this sort of nonsense when they can be disproved with the simple action of reaching into one’s pocket and asking your phone. That’s why the world needs heroes. Heroes who will google things and then awkwardly look up at these lecherous villains, interrupting everyone, and bringing up a conversation everyone else has forgotten, just to put these idiotic fear mongers in their place. I was going to be that hero. Unfortunately, it turned out that it hadn’t taken me two minutes, in fact it was more like thirty, and the flashback guy was already gone. Okay, Pinact’s set was awesome and I had to run out of Piano’s to catch Sweet Spirit, who were going on in two minutes, next door at Cakeshop.
Palehound @Cakeshop
Sweet Spirit sounded and looked just like I imagine their hometown of Austin, Texas, happy and fun. They did not disappoint. They played an excitingly, desperate set to a packed house in the basement of Cakeshop. They brought high energy, great sound, and good vibes, definitely a band to keep in eye on. After Sweet Spirit, Palehound out of Boston went on. Another good show, they have this relaxing, comforting sound, and singer Ellen Kempers vocals definitely put you in a trance.
Next up was Diet Cig, from New Paltz. Leading up to CMJ I read a few articles advising everyone to go see them, which is why I even wound up at Cakeshop. Singer Alex Luciano stole the show with her energy and songs about ex boyfriends and social anxiety. I had slipped out for a minute and never made it back to the front of the stage, so all I could see was her head pop up from in front of the crowd as she jumped around the stage. It was pretty cool.
Four shows down and it was time to head to Brooklyn. I realized I hadn’t eaten yet so I ran home to watch more, American Horror Story. I agreed to cover a non-CMJ show at Rough Trade that started at eight, which gave me enough time to eat and watch two more episodes of that show I keep mentioning. After getting my fix I ran over to Fourteenth Street and caught the L train to Williamsburg. As I approached the venue I saw a giant line and immediately felt bummed out, I knew I was going to have trouble getting in, despite being on some list for a press and photo pass. I was right, “Sorry, you’ve still got to get in that giant line.” So I texted the number given to me by the bands P.R. person and was told entry wasn’t guaranteed after eight. Not the end of the world, it’s CMJ and there are shows everywhere. As big as Brooklyn is, the parts you want to be in are never very far way from each other, so I walked over to Knitting Factory, assuming that surely they would have some cool bands playing.
Babe Rainbow @The Knitting Factory
The first band up was, Babe Rainbow, from Australia. The first thing I noticed and I’m sure they hear this all the time; they look like the chilliest hippie-surfers you’ve ever seen. Almost like they walk around with their instruments curing panic attacks all day. The highlight of their show was definitely the dude who was definitely on molly, dancing around like a maniac, and then suddenly stopping, with a look of grave concern on his face, and then just as suddenly, flailing his arms and legs around like noodles, once again. Babe Rainbows music is uber-chill; you could almost see sunshine and rainbows shooting out of their guitars.
Sheer Agony @The Knitting Factory
Next up was the guitar pop, dude’s, Sheer Agony, from Montreal. This was the first I had heard of them, so I wasn’t sure what I would hear. It wasn’t until a few songs in that they hooked me with their song, “Everybody Knows.” A song, which has maybe, the greatest hook of all time, “I hate myself, I hate myself, I hate myself, I hate myself…” Yeah, we can all agree with that at some point in a day.
Photos and review by Timothy White. Find him online @TiptotheHip.
