Official CMJ Music Marathon Schedule

First listen to this and read this and this.

CMJ Music Marathon Tue 10/31 - Sat 11/4

Tuesday October 31

The Black Hollies - Lincoln Center Day Stage

Medeski, Martin, & Wood - Hammerstein Ballroom

The Cardigans; Matt Nathanson - Knitting Factory

Birdmonster - Pianos

Wednesday November 1

Steve Earle; Laura Cantrell - Southpaw

Tapes N' Tapes; Cold War Kids; Dr. Dog; Elvis Perkins; What Made Milwaukee Famous - Bowery Ballroom

The Giraffes - Studio B

Magnolia Electric Company - Northsix

Someone Still Loves Your Boris Yeltsin - Pianos

The Mugs - Magnetic Field

Thunderbirds Are Now - Pianos (early)

Thunderbirds Are Now; Tokyo Police Club; Harlem Shakes - Galapagos

The Slits - Knitting Factory

Rooney - Irving Plaza

Dr. Dog, Jonny Lives - Lincoln Center Day Stage

Tigers and Monkeys - Fontana's

Thursday November 2

The Slits - Maxwell's

Blue Cheer; Moon & Moon - Knitting Factory

Heavy Trash - Pianos (early show)

The Black Lips; Dirty on Purpose - Sin-é

Tralala - Rebel

The Shins; The Thermals; The Elected - Bowery Ballroom

Forward Russia - Mercury Lounge

The Flesh - Midway

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin; Headlights - Europa

The French Kicks; Thunderbirds Are Now; Tokyo Police Club - Studio B

Silversun Pickups - Pianos

Jonny Lives - Crash Mansion

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Lincoln Center Day Stage

Oakley Hall - Tonic

Hot Chip - Webster Hall

Friday November 3

The Decemberists - Hammerstein Ballroom

The Black Keys; The Black Angels - Nokia Theater

Albert Hammond Jr; Tokyo Police Club - Mercury Lounge

The Black Hollies - Cake Shop

George Clinton; Kid Congo - Crash Mansion

SSM - R&R (9:30AM show)

The Secret Machines - Warsaw

The Starlite Desperation - Lit Lounge

The Grates - Bowery Ballroom

Architecture in Helsinki - Irving Plaza

Thunderbirds Are Now - Pianos

Deerhoof; Mary Timoney - Hiro Ballroom

Palomar - The Delancey

Saturday November 4

The Mooney Suzuki; The Dansettes - Rebel

Scott H. Biram; Bobby Bare Jr (4PM show) - Union Pool

The Fall - Hiro Ballroom

The Secret Machines - Warsaw

Cody Chestnutt - Canal Room

Shooter Jennings; Oakley Hall; The Watson Twins - Irving Plaza

The French Kicks; Bobby Bare Jr. - Mercury Lounge

Silversun Pickups; Tokyo Police Club; Elvis Perkins - The Annex

Blue Republic's My Space Band of the Week: The Decemberists

Collin Meloy and co. are back after last year's Best Album of 2005, Picaresque, with The Crane Wife and they're playing the Hammerstein Ballroom this Friday as part of CMJ.

Listen to "O Valencia" from the new album and watch the video for "Sixteen Military Wives" from Picaresque, at my page, then go to the official page and official site.

Blue Republic's My Space Band of the Week: The Crooners

Several weeks ago now, I was strolling through Union Square and came across a trio of minstrels playing the old time sounds of Americana - Dixieland Jazz, Folk Blues, all that good stuff. I was able to stick around long enough to catch their name, The Crooners. Turns out these Brooklyn-based young fogies are rather worldly and more eclectic than they let on.

Listen to "Don't Walk Out On Me" on my page, then listen to 3 more tracks on the official page and then go to the official site.

Chillin' With Jolie

Jolie Holland; David Dondero
@ Maxwell's
Hoboken, NJ - October 20, 2006

A very chill, relaxed night in Hoboken and a rare early show at Maxwell's. Jolie Holland's mystically chanteuse-style sounds, mixing country, blues, and Jazz, make for a real trip. Opener David Dondero is in the classic solo acoustic-man vein and his songs have a lot of weight. Particularly check out "South of the South".

A Pet Peeve of Mine

Part of the reason you may have noticed a decreasing lack of gig reportage on this blog is my growing disatisfaction with crowds. Not only am I growing weary of tight, packed-in crowds, I am also very wear of conduct by the crowds. I hate moshing and crowd surfing and I especially hate it at shows where it is completely inappropriate. And then there is stage crashing. Some jackass thinking this will make him the coolest guy in the world by jumping on stage and rocking out with the band. That being said, there are shows where all this kind of behavior can be expected. And when it is expected that is fine. If you don't like it, you can simply move to a different spot in the venue or just laugh off the antics on stage.

However, when it happens inappropriately, it really gets my goat. It really does. Especially the stage crashing. Last year's Dirtbombs show at the Knitting Factory included a real moron jumping on stage to not only sing, but to touch Mick Collins and grab Ko's bass. Mick was too nice a guy to do anything about it but someone else would have done something...someone namely being Jack White.

But now someone else has come to speak up against stage crashing. In a clear cut example of inappropriate setting and violating someone's personal space (and also, let's face it, the risks that come along with it all - see Dimebag Darrell's tragic end). Jeff Tweedy, leader of Wilco, faced such a problem a couple nights ago in Springfield, Missouri. Tweedy did the most appropriate thing possible...he decked the guy. And then he explained himself.


Score another victory in the War on Stage Crashers.

See Ya CBGB

That's it. Sunday night, October 15th, 2006. Patti Smith. The End of CBGB.
Times
Gothamist
Brooklyn Vegan here, here, and here

Blue Republic's My Space Band of the Week: The Gories

Usually, Band of the Week is for a current band but now and then we need to take a stroll down memory lane. All that garage rock we love nowadays comes from the 60's, but without the Gories' heyday in the late 80's and early 90's, the sound may not have ever rejuvenated itself.

Listen to "Feral" on my page and also check out a classic video of "Nitroglycerine". Then go to the official Gories page run by Hotep Nefti.

Blue Republic's My Space Artist of the Week: James Hunter

He sounds like Sam Cooke and that's a voice we need in this day and age. I discovered him a couple weeks ago via Dave Raven's Raven N Blues show but it turns out Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, and Rosanne Cash already got the word. This guy is for real.

Listen to "Mollena" on my page before taking the requisite trek to the official page and official site.

Blue Republic's My Space Band of the Week: Reigning Sound

Greg Cartwright and his damn good band.

Listen to "We Repel Each Other" on my page before going to this page.