This year's CMJ line up may be the worst ever, but any of the past 3 years could be a contender. 2004 was the absolute pinnacle; so so good. The Cowherd Music Jam (or as someone else called it - the Clear-Channel Music Jam, but would that be CCMJ?) has become more of a free-for-all for any band in the world and any poser from the record industry. CMJ used to represent indie rock but if this year is any indication, indie rock is dying fast. Take the Spoon show for example. As we came out of the show, a couple crowds the theatre let out at the same time. Walking with everyone, I seriously couldn't tell who had gone to Spoon or who had gone to Mama Mia. So is the state of indie rock, but of course the herds of fans following the hype machine give more $$$ to the bands, and they deserve it, don't they?
Spoon played virtually a flawless show and they pretty much had to so as to make up for Roseland Ballroom's poor acoustics. Plus that place is huge! I've been to one show there in the past but I forgot our big it is. And it was packed! Everyone seemed to be in good spirits -and like I said, there was quite a diversity of people. Spoon cruised through a long set which included songs spanning their entire catalogue, which is really what made the show so enjoyable for me -it was also nice to hear the new songs live. You could cut the crowd in half into the pre-Gimme Fiction and post. There was definitely a larger reaction to songs off Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction than the previous 3 albums. "I Turn My Camera On" and "Underdog" seemed to be the biggest crowd-pleasers, which is expected. Brit Daniel is known as a perfectionist but he does well as coming across loose and charismatic yet acutely precise on stage. The entire band had good energy and Daniel even said, "This is our biggest show ever." As for the opener, The Ponys, we actually didn't make it in time to see the set, which was a huge bummer. I heard they did a good job of conquering the large halls of Roseland and put on a great opening act. Hearing this made me even more upset that the subway system in NYC is horrible -which is the reason why we missed them.
The Ponys
Band of Horses @ Blender Theeater, 10.19.07
This was a "secret", wink wink, show. Hosted by CMJ infiltrators: Blender, Sony, some video game, and some energy drink, this proved to be the most annoying concert environment I've experienced. A good 3/4ths of the people there had 2 big badges around their neck, making sure everyone saw them...most probably tied to Geffen Records, who own the first show's band Counting Crows as well as the "secret show" openers, The Maccabees, who seemed to satisfy the energy demands of most of the drunk VIPs. A decent but extremely narcissistic band, they were a stark contrast to their follow-up, the down-to-earth, unassuming boys of Band of Horses. You could tell one band is from a major label from the Eastern part of the world and that the other(BOH) is rooted in the west coast, albeit South Carolina transplants. Maybe it was just Southern hospitality. Although it seemed half the crowd was chattering throughout their set, BOH drowned them out with an excellent show. They pounced the 3 opening tracks with the ease of a seasoned and determined band- the tracks being: "Is There a Ghost," "The Great Salt Lake," and "Islands on the Coast." They didn't go on till around 3 AM and were introduced as being labeled by Merge, when in fact they are from Sub Pop. Maybe it was the fact that it was so late -or maybe that the guy up there had never even heard a song from the band- that he made that mistake. Ben quickly corrected him when he got to the mike and my friends and I went crazy. We're from the west coast -and so is the greatest indie label! BOH tore through tracks from both their excellent albums, playing 7 songs from Everything and 6 from Cease. "Ode to the LRC" and "The First Song" were other favorites for me. The crowd seemed to really enjoy the opener("Ghost") as well...as they should -it's an epic song.I should mention that the show was free so for all the industry uncomfortableness and hours of waiting, it was still worth it to see my boyz. I will never return to that venue, though, and perhaps not to CMJ altogether.
Wicked Gil
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