The CMJ Invasion - Wednesday

No rest for the weary... This week the CMJ Music Marathon descends on NYC. This is my first CMJ experience but it feels very similar to Austin's SXSW Music Festival except smaller tradeshow, bigger city.

I had to give myself a day of rest post-Vegas so I began my CMJ-ing on Wednesday with a viewing of the new VICE Magazine movie, The Vice Guide to Travel. A non-Vice reader may possibly think, "Oooh, how nice. A travel movie. Where will they go? The Virgin Islands, maybe? Barcelona? Maybe a tour of impressionist art in Paris?" Um... no... This is Vice. And if you know their magazine, you know they are going to pick places that will make you squirm in your seat. In this movie, you will see kids making guns in Pakistan, soaring radiation levels in Chernobyl, and how to track down a nuclear warhead in Bulgaria so powerful it could send NYC packing its bags for good. Sweet dreams, little ones.

Back to the trade show, I checked out a panel on digital music where folks from Rhapsody, Snocap, MP3.com, Napster, and RoyaltyShare discussed the seemingly bright future of online music distribution. Sitting in Avery Fisher Hall listening to a bunch of people talk is all fine and good but I'm a music junkie and Dr. Dog was about to play on the Day Stage just outside the theater doors. I love this band. They are totally dorky but full of a spirit that I just can't get enough of. So fun to watch and their melodies are spot on.

After milling about the tradeshow for a while longer, it was time to start thinking about the nighttime activities. A bite to eat then we jumped on the subway to go downtown... First stop was the Bowery Ballroom to see What Made Milwaukee Famous, an indie-pop-rock thing from Austin. I enjoyed it a lot - good singing (Michael Kingcaid is the guy) and the band was tight. I'm still not quite sure what it is that made Milwaukee famous but I'm definitely checking out the band again.

Next stop was The Delancey to check out Honeycut, a band from the SF Bay Area (although, I never knew them before). Their show started a half hour late which is bad news on such a tight scheduled event like this. They are Quannum records family and I believe the keyboardist did some touring with Blackalicious. It didn't quite happen for me live but I get the sense that this is one of those bands I'd like to hear what they produce in the studio. Of course, it might have just been that I was ansy to get over to Tonic...

Next stop was Tonic to see.... The Slip! The new album, Eisenhower, comes out next week and I think the world is finally ready for the Slip-takeover! The room was nice and full for their set. They opened with "Paperbirds" - while it's easily the most brilliant song on the new album, I was surprised that's what they chose for their indie-rock showcase opener. It seemed to go over quite well though! They continued with "Even Rats" and then a brand new song I've never heard before. A rocking "Airplane Primative" and "Children of December" (yes, for those keeping score at home, Brad climbed up on his amps) closed the set and there you have it. Short and sweet, the NEW Slip at your service. Get the album!

A quick stop to see Ariel's friend at Annex and then we hopped in a cab to go to the Pussycat Lounge near the World Trade Center to see The Ratchets, a Clash-esque new rock band Ariel is working with. No way this would have been on my festival radar without Ariel but it was awesome. The bass player blew me away and it was great to see such energy on the stage. SuperDee at a punk show? I'm learning something new every day...

Ok, that's it for Wednesday. Back to Brooklyn and now plotting the course for today. One more pic... me and my CMJ partner-in-crime, the lovely miss Ariel Hyatt.