CMJ Written by Eve Hyman

Gray Kid @ The Canal Room PHoto Credit Al McCotter

Halloween in New York City was special this year; it was the launch of the 2006 CMJ Music Marathon. CMJ stands for the College Music Journal, a magazine that covers and charts college radio. As a CMJ repeat offender, I welcomed the Halloween crossover as a chance to see live shows with hipsters in costume. We’d rsvp’d for IHeartComix’s Zombie Prom, the Mixtape Riot, and all three nights of Afropunk - not a bad start for the week’s calendar. The best part of CMJ was its proximity. I live in the East Village, walking distance from most of the action.

Dressed as a wedding cake with my sister as a latex candy cane by my side, we walked into The Living Room to try to check out Miho Hattori’s show. The place was mobbed; the crowd was solid CMJers without a costume in the room. Maneuvering around the room with my bride and groom hat wasn’t easy and there wasn’t much promise of getting into the live room to see the show. So we headed straight to The Delancey for James Spooner’s Afro Punk night.

Ebony Wild Interviews Danny and Daniel of Apollo Heights
www.myspace.com/apolloheights
Photo Credit Vadim Shoykhet

At the Delancey, our costumes got us the respect we so deserved. We got in easily and the cover was waived. We spotted another fantastic costume – a beautiful woman dressed as a record! (She was later introduced as James Spooner’s fiancé.) We got in just in time to catch Apollo Heights setting up to play. The show was full of their new material and they packed the downstairs room. Upstairs, the DJ was throwing his own show with TV on the Radio, Prince, Fishbone and 80’s new wave. We got a taste of the dance floor while Dragons of Zynth set up. We caught their glowing tribal makeup and papier-mâché dragon head jumping around in the dark before LA’s Bloodsugar took the stage.

Vic Thrill
www.victhrill.com
Photo Credit Al McCotter

Wednesday night was exciting. We were in the center of Downtown Music, USA. Meanred Productions and World Fair presented an early show at the Canal Room. As we hopped on the train to get from Astor Place to Chinatown, one thought was on my mind, “I want to see Beans.” But we missed Beans w/ Holy F&%$k and saw Vic Thrill’s show. At first we were far from thrilled. The vocal volume was high which made Vic seem more insistent and piercing than he might be in a sonically balanced setting. At the Canal Room it was painfully loud. The music was cool and interesting – kind of carnival meets John Frusciante-esque layers of guitar. The beats were fun and different and Vic and guitarist The Saturn Missile did a good job of presenting their unique sound.

Gray Kid
www.graykid.com
Photo Credit Al McCotter

They were followed by LA’s NYC transplant Gray Kid. If you’re a regular on Youtube you may know him from his music video spoof on Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back.” Gray Kid’s “I’m bringing Prozac Back,” (funny as it is) isn’t nearly as good as the man live with just a backing track and microphone. Gray Kid basically rocked Canal Room and blew the audience away. Looking around the room every single person seemed to have a permanent grin. He had a great voice and look, was funny, vibed really well with the crowd and had infinite energy. He danced, strutted and jumped around the stage, singing and rapping at intervals. It was the most exciting thing I’d see the whole week - and my sister was in love. His hipster look with a hip hop/ retro crooner sound and dance ability left her totally vulnerable. Luckily we had a Zombie Prom to attend which left no time for groupie funny business.

Monsters are Waiting
www.monstersarewaiting.com
Photo Credit Al McCotter

The Zombie Prom was across town in the club district at BED. With our New York Cool-ness we easily skipped the line and made our way by elevator to BED’s main room. We arrived just in time to catch Monsters Are Waiting, also from LA. They were ethereal, moody, and in zombie makeup – a perfect fit for the theme. Unfortunately the sound system at BED wasn’t equipped for the live show.

Lupe Fiasco
www.lupefiasco.com
Photo Credit Al McCotter

Lupe Fiasco’s performance suffered from the same sound handicap. But getting to see him play a small venue made it worth having to strain to hear the vocals. His charisma alone was worth the wait. If only he and Vic Thrill could have exchanged sound situations! His smooth demeanor cast a spell on fans while rhyming about civil strife in Darfur. What other young rapper hits political topics and gets radio play? Catching his set was a real pleasure.

We left photographer Al to enjoy the last group and made our way back to the Canal Room to catch Bijules’ Mixtape Riot. The crowd at the CMJ Mixtape Riot was urban eclectic and we saw a lot of familiar faces. We were super lucky and caught a 1am Kudu show. Kudu is always a favorite – dynamic electro-soul. Sylvia’s gorgeous vocal stylings coupled with D’s wicked drums manage to fill the room with rhythm and melody in the most compact of packages.

The next day began early with the Deli Mag’s showcase at LES hot spot Atrium and the Windish Agency’s show at 6’s and 8’s. Hopewell played an excellent set at Atrium. They were on the cover of the Deli’s 2 nd issue and I could see why immediately into their first tune. They’re a tight, rock band plain and simple with great songs that keeps your focus. Bass, drums, two guitars and vocals with an even, interesting sound that’s easy to like right off. It was hard to leave after their set when the next band may have been just as great but I didn’t want to miss the other two afternoon events – so much music, so little time.

Tiombe Lockhart
www.tiombelockhart.com
Photo Credit Eve Hyman

Fader's Grafitti'd Office
www.thefader.com/blog
Photo Credit Eve Hyman



Lonely Dear
www.loneydear.com
Photo Credit Eve Hyman

I made my way over to Christie and Stanton (a whole two blocks) to catch a Stones Throw party I’d heard about. It was uneventful, but luckily shared a venue with Lonely Dear’s showcase. I saw the Swedish bands entire set and had time to walk another couple of blocks to the Fader’s offices for their open bar CMJ showcase with DJ A-Trak and Tiombe Lockhart (of the Platinum Pied Pipers). A-Trak proved why he was Kanye West’s DJ of choice to tour with and primed the crowd in the graffiti- filled office space for Tiombe’s bands set. She was a sassy, hot songstress with a penchant for crowd control and a very pretty voice. Following the Fader was night number two of Afropunk. It was packed at the Canal Room but I caught a strong set by Game Rebellion – one part Rage Against the Machine, one part NWA, with keys and trumpet!

Friday was the night Albert Hammond Jr. of the Strokes held his NYC solo debut. Unfortunately, we didn’t want to be locked into the Mercury Lounge for eight hours in packed anticipation. The venue had a no ins-and-outs policy and no advance tickets. Albert wasn’t receptive to my Myspace message asking for comps so we made our way over to the Cakeshop and caught an excellent show by the Black Hollies. Rock and Roll loves the Lower East Side where back-to-back venues held showcases with artist after artist and very little set up time. It was a music lover’s buffet.

CX Kidtronik
www.cxkidtronik.com
Photo Credit Eve Hyman


Cody Chesnutt
www.myspace.com/codychesnuttmusic
Photo Credit Eve Hyman

The final night of CMJ included outstanding bills all over the Lower East Side but I was sold on Afropunk night three where Cody Chesnutt, Stephanie McKay, and Saul Williams with CX Kidtronik played at the Canal Room. All three acts were highlights of what had already possibly topped my combined music experience of 2006 before the CMJ Marathon.

Saul Williams @ Afro Punk
www.myspace.com/saulwilliams
Photo Credit Eve Hyman

Stephanie Mckay
www.myspace.com/stephaniemckay
Photo Credit Eve Hyman

I see a lot of music in downtown Manhattan but the marathon was incredible. The final show was the kicker – Trick and the Heartstrings at Mercury Lounge Saturday at 1am. A friend described Trick and Heartstrings as a trio of Princes – each from a separate album/period. They all sing – and dance! They dance while they play – not just move around, full of choreography while playing complex musical lines. The energy of Trick and the Heartstrings can’t be described; it must be experienced. Like the Downtown music scene during CMJ, it’s overwhelming in it’s magnitude of musicality! Like the many blogsites that tout its forthcoming power for weeks in anticipation, all I can do is the list the amazing slew of performances, paragraph them – add a few exclamation marks, and hope to communicate just some of the power of consolidated live music in your own backyard!

For more info on CMJ and marathons to come, check out cmj.com. For more info on Afropunk go to afropunk.com. Look for future Meanread Productions at Meanredproductions.com. and Mixtape Riot listings here at New York Cool. For random live music, take a walk down Ludlow from Houston to Rivington!