Results tagged “cmj”

   

Click through to read about Kidrockers, Cruel Black Dove, Bridges & Powerlines, this year's Gothamist House, and a CMJ Fail at Brooklyn Bowl.

Our CMJ show (which we're co-hosting with the lovely people at Brooklyn Based) is TONIGHT at the Bell House [149 7th Street in Gowanus]. The show is FREE, and no CMJ badge is required. You can RSVP right here, and the details are below:

Once again CMJ is upon us, and our show (which we're co-hosting with the lovely people at Brooklyn Based) is next Thursday, the 22nd at the Bell House [149 7th Street in Gowanus]. The show is FREE, and no CMJ badge is required. You can RSVP right here, and the details are below:

   

Click on the images for more about this Week in Rock; this week features Kanye at Webster Hallt, Spank Rock at Siren and on the Williamsburg Bridge, and a Gothamist House (at CMJ) announcement!

       

Was 2008 a ground-breaking year for music? Probably not. But the past 365 days did bring us many sonic surprises, some good and some bad. Here are a few highlights, as well as our Top 3 Bands of the Year (all, incidentally, from New York).

For a guy who got his break after the whole mashup thing seemed to have come and gone, PC-user Girltalk's sure got some legs. The barely legal laptop artist sold out 3 nights at Terminal 5 earlier this week, packing that airplane hanger of a venue with enough spandex, neon and sweat to make Randy Savage jealous. But with great crowds, of course, bring the undesirable element out. His shows have always been everyone-on-the-stage rowdyfests, but as the crowds get bigger, the scene can get a bit skeevy. The show more resembles a bridge and tunnel shindig than ever before. Lots of open shirts and miniskirts up there. Now, since Gillis's mass appeal is rooted in his manipulation of the music of mass appeal, his fan base could potentially keep growing through the stratosphere. The patience of those who enjoyed these types of things on a smaller scale, however, may nearly be gone.

Every year at CMJ, there's one band that toiled around the day parties and smaller showcases the year before, only to triumphantly return with a major headlining gig. That award this year goes to Crystal Castles, who headlined a sold-out, packed to the brim Webster Hall Thursday night to an enthusiastic crowd. Without trying to sound too obvious, the popularity suits these guys well. It's not necessary the most accessible, easy listening band out there, and would be a tough sell at a scattershot, brightly lit afternoon party. But when the band controls the environment, with all attention properly directed on them, they create quite a scene, Lead "singer" Alice Glass shrieks and hollers over the 8-bit bleeps and bloops, and while her contribution musically can be a bit off-putting, she is quite the show woman. The crowd was completely entranced, providing the necessary feedback a band like this needs to put on a stellar show. A bit of a told ya so for their naysayers from last year's fest.

The Physics of Meaning played our Gothamist House show on Wednesday, and have been one of our favorite bands this CMJ by far. They're a self-described "chamber rock band" from North Carolina headed up by Daniel Hart, a multi-instrumentalist who you may recognize from another lil band called St. Vincent. This week another band, Wild Sweet Orange, interviewed them for us--today you can check out the latter at our show (they play at 4:30 p.m.), and tomorrow put yourself in front of the Physics of Meaning at their final CMJ show at Rehab.

       

This year we're bringing some art into Gothamist House. We'll have oil pastels by Paula DiGioia, photographs from Sam Horine, and painted skateboard decks from Shai Dahan (he even made us a Gothamist one, pictured above).

Matisyahu refuses to allow himself to be a flash in the pan! The Hassidic gimmick is back for a New York Chanukah run, playing 8 shows that roughly coincide with the Jewish holiday. He will headline 4 shows a Webster Hall, then 4 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, which are smaller venues than he has previously headlined in the city. Much like Yo La Tango's similar annual Chanukah series across the river at Maxwells, the openers for this run are often more noteworthy than the headliners. Matis will feature the likes of the Crystal Method and the Chanukah themed Guster side project, the Leevees to kick off some of the shows. Tickets are on sale now. Whether any of these $35 a ticket shows sell out will surely be a test to Matis's actual popularity, rather than his perceived half-hit wonderdom.

We have some more details about Gothamist House (there's even a Facebook page!), open during CMJ next week (October 22nd through 25th). The shows will run from 2:30 to 8 p.m. daily...and you'll want to get there early because we'll have a limited amount of gift bags each day (a reusable grocery bag from Whole Foods with goodies from Babeland, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Penguin and others).

Gothamist House will be back for CMJ this year...and we've moved! Our new home is at the Bell House in Brooklyn, and we'll be there starting next Wednesday October 22nd through Saturday October 25th, from 3 to 8 p.m. each day. More details, and more band announcements to come, but here's what we can tell you right now...

Damien DeRose, aka Peasant, tip-toed into our playlist last year just before playing Gothamist House at CMJ. Hailing from Doylestown, PA, his small town sound has been calmly floating around this city with more and more frequency -- enchanting everyone within earshot. This Thursday he's back to play the Brooklyn Vegan show at Pianos (tix).

Two of the world's largest crossover Country stars joined forces this winter for a massive arena tour that came through NYC this week. Former American Idol and legitimate breakout star Carrie Underwood opened the show for Keith Urban at a sold out MSG, both dazzling the crowd with song and spectacle. While Carrie's set was slightly less ambitious – a mere 4 costume changes and a fairly pedestrian light show to complement the surprisingly competent songs – Urban was the complete package. Even somebody who couldn't hum a single one of his songs would have been transfixed by the ultra-sharp, 50 foot HD backdrop and his dazzling charisma and energy. The highlight of the set might have been when he took it into the crowd mid-song, standing in the lower ring of seats with a mob of fans and camera phones all pointed at him. In a moment of pure generosity and awesomeness, he took the guitar he was playing off his shoulder, autographed it on the spot and handed it to a stunned, random fan. An amazing move to cap off an unexpectedly spectacular show.

LECTURE SERIES: The Nation forges on with their series of Tuesday evening lectures tonight. Nation columnist and Columbia Law professor Patricia J. Williams will be on hand to discuss her montly "Diary of a Mad Law Professor" column. Expect to examine the law in whole new light.

Gothamist is turning 5 years old next month, and to celebrate, we're throwing a little party at Union Hall! We wanted to give you plenty of time to think of creative cakes you can bake us (pictured is one a reader whipped up for us on our 3rd birthday). Here are the details:

READING: Dave Eggers has delivered two (out of three) great novels, and tonight he reads from last one (which is just out on paperback), What is the What. He'll be at the Strand discussing the book and he'll also give a slideshow presentation from a recent trip he took to Sudan. More info here. Friday // 7pm // Strand Bookstore [828 Broadway] // Free EVENT: We love a good pillow fight, and tonight there's a...

As noted earlier today, a number of consumer activists, sweatshop protesters and anti-capitalist agitators have for years been working to turn Black Friday into Buy Nothing Day. Spearheaded by the anti-advertising gadflies at Adbusters, the event calls on individuals to suspend purchases for 24 hours and engage in creative activism to highlight the unsustainable patterns of mass consumer culture. Naturally, New York’s anti-corporate performance icon Reverend Billy is all over this. We spoke with...

EVENT: In the book Love & Sex With Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships David Levy goes where no man has gone before. Hopefully. From the book's description: "Love, marriage, and sex with robots? Not in a million years? Maybe a whole lot sooner.From a leading expert in artificial intelligence comes an eye-opening, superbly argued book that explores a new level of human intimacy and relationships—with robots." We're not even ready to see Lars and...

FAIR: Attention vinyl junkies! WFMU is hosting their Record Fair starting this eve and running throughout the weekend. "Hundreds of dealers specializing in the out sounds that WFMU is adored for delivering year round will gather for three days of merciless hawking o' the wax, and thousands of area music geeks are already trembling with nervous anticipation!" There will also be live performances this year, check out more details here.

READING: We originally thought this was going down yesterday, but you still have a chance to see it! Not in a million years would we have thought we'd be listing a reading by former Guns n' Roses guitarist, Slash. But it turns out old rockers love to dish on their sordid lives, and this mysterious musician is no different. Tonight he'll read from his book, called Slash, which apparently "redefines sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll."

FILM: Ease in to Halloween with classic horror flick The Innocents, based on Henry James' novella The Turn Of The Screw. Evil and innocence, the strange and the everday, will mingle as you...enjoy complimentary vodka an tapas!

There is no denying the greatness of Justice's album, "Cross," and there is no argument from us that it isn't the type of music that is perfectly suited to be blasted in a massive dance club. But those two things alone do not automatically lead to a good live show. These two are sloppy, to put it simply. Too many changes were missed, beats were a half step off, and the songs didn't mix well together. There was no catastrophic breakdown, but the little things add up. We left Terminal 5 underwhelmed. The light show was cool, though... (pic via pocketmonsterd's flickr)

Later on we'll be posting our CMJ Awards (we're thinking of giving Kanye one, since he never wins anything)...but for now we wanted to take a look back at the four long days of shows we held at Gothamist House.

MOVIE: MoMA's Modern Mondays series explores innovation on the big screen, and tonight they dedicate an evening to Kevin Jerome Everson. "His films look for the art in everyday life, revealing people's relationship to their crafts and focusing on the conditions, tasks, gestures, and materials in communities. Much of Everson's recent work is inspired by found footage. He manipulates news and sports footage, old films, still photographs, and image files in various ways, subtly repositioning or restaging actions and movements to highlight or shift the original emphasis." Tonight several of his recent films will screen, including premieres of some new shorts.

Brand New didn't have to be at CMJ this year. The band doesn't have a new album coming out, they headline shows at Hammerstein Ballroom and have sold millions of records. So why did Jesse and Vin stay behind to play an acoustic set at Mercury Lounge? They wanted to support their good friends in local indie band Aeroplane Pageant, who were playing a showcase after them Tuesday night. A noble gesture, no doubt. The duo played a handful of stripped down gems off their three albums to a CMJ crowd that may not have normally given these guys a listen. A bold move, capped with a risky but impressive Neutral Milk Hotel cover, these guy likely made a few new fans that night. (pic via The Syndicate's flickr)

FAIR: The International vintage poster fair has arrived. It's time to take that ironic velvet Elvis off the wall and class up your joint. The fair will include "over 25 international dealers with more than 10,000 original vintage posters." More info here.

ART: Secrets of Coney Island Creek opens at the Brooklyn Public Library tonight. The exhibit of photographs by photog/author/Coney Island native Charles Denson goes back to the 1960s "when the waterway was at a low point, surrounded by industry and suffering from neglect and pollution. Since then, portions of the creek have been reclaimed, drawing both wildlife and residents to its shores. The photographs in Secrets of Coney Island Creek document those early decades and offer a fascinating and comprehensive portrait of the creek today and its relationship to the Coney Island community."

MUSIC: It's CMJ, check out one of the zillions of bands playing. Since trying to pick just one show is tough, we'll suggest one for you. Head over to Brooklyn tonight for Dirty on Purpose, A Place to Bury Strangers, Sisters, Coin Under Tongue and Indian Scout. They'll be taking the stage at Death by Audio.

Yesterday CMJ began to take over the city. Reports of long lines at the badge pickup station came in quickly, but if this week is about anything it's about long lines. Oh, and music. If you're off for the day, come and knock on our door at Gothamist House. It's free, and here's a preview of what you'll hear: