Brooklyn CMJ Showcase at Baby's Alright, 10/25/14

Beach Slang at Asbury Lanes. They played the Brooklyn Vegan CMJ Showcase on 10/25.

Saturday Night's Alright

Ah the ghosts of CMJ past. Fitting memories during this Halloween season. I’ve been rocking the CMJ tradition for 20+ years; and, for the first time in many moons, I was only able to attend one day of craziness. Being the CoolDad is a tough biz, and Jim was double-booked. So as He and Allyson professed their love of Terminal 5 and Slowdive, I covered some tix for the Saturday night showcase from the kids at BrooklynVegan. 

I managed to get to Baby’s Alright early and catch the end of Titus Andronicus tearing the back room down. "Werewolves of London!!!" Yes, they did, aaaah-oooh child!

As the day show switched on over and a sweaty herd of college kids exited, I caught up with my friend Stephanie. It was my first time at Baby’s Alright, so I took myself on the walking tour. It’s a great space, with a few rooms to hang in. Food and drinks up front, and the back room separated by what I can only describe as a limo privacy divider. Excellent lay out. I set up shop at the bar near the sound booth and proceeded to dig into a night of rock.

My man from WashedUpEmo.com, Tom Mullen, was the resident DJ for the night and dropped classic emo/punk/hc/whatevs tracks all night long. Check out his podcasts for some history lessons.

First up was Sport from France. Unfortunately, one of the members was under the weather after a week in NYC; so they pieced together their set. Being a man down didn’t slow these punks down. They tore through their set as the back room began to fill. 90s punk in all its glory has been a great influence on these kids. 

Next up was Cayetana, a band I’ve been interested in seeing based on CoolDad’s excitement. Singer/guitarist Augusta commented, "We’re from Philly and so are Beach Slang. This is the first time we’re sharing a stage." I was stoked. Short, tight songs about longing and wearing your heart on your sleeve. The stand out “Serious Things Are Stupid” puts me back in my 20s. They have a new LP out called Nervous Like Me. I’ll be digging deeper.

The crowd was beginning to pack in tight for my new favorite obsession, Beach Slang. I get a real kick out of James Alex’s Angus Young-esque stage wear. It just reminds you that the rock is coming. Beach Slang ripped through songs from their first two 7-inches (which you should pick up) as the CMJ crowd shouted along, fingers pointed skyward. I can’t say enough about this band. So, all I will say is if I can make it out to their shows at Brooklyn Night Bazaar on November 8th and Trenton's Mill Hill Saloon on November 14th, I will. After their set, I caught up with bassist Ed McNulty and I may have gushed a bit. See them.

This is where my night of drunken college music directors and scenesters switched gears. Pity Sex was not the band I needed after the back to back punk rock of Cayetana and Beach Slang. As I exited Baby’s Alright, I ran into Augusta from Cayetana; and she told me they’ll be at the Lanes for a Home for Tte Holidays after party. Cool.

I stopped in at Norman’s Kil, an amazing whiskey bar on Grand St., to see my buddy Ben and for a Salona grilled cheese (Jalepeno Jack, hot sauce, diced tomatoes, cilantro on sourdough).

CMJ 2014 complete.

Album Reviews at SIMGE: Pity Sex, Harper's Fellow, More to Come

Autumn Releases Have Started

I've never been a particularly organized person. I've often suspected that it could be a major reason why I never finished my PhD when CoolMom and I were at UW. While it's never really bitten me on the job; with the flood of new releases coming in as summer comes to an end, I'm finding myself feeling a little swamped.

There really are a lot of great sounding albums by great artists hitting us all at once, and I will get to all of them one way or another. I did do a couple of reviews of summer releases for Speak Into My Good Eye that I'm not sure I ever mentioned here, though, so:

• Pity Sex, Feast of Love. This is the debut album from this Ann Arbor, MI quartet and it trades in the sounds of late eighties, early nineties shoegaze pop. It's definitely worth a listen; and, if you like it, you can check them out this Sunday at Asbury Lanes along with Modern Baseball and The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die.

• Harper's Fellow, Thanks for Tonight. Another excellent debut, this one comes from an Asbury Park-based band of neo-country / folk rockers who are about to head out on tour. They'll be back, though, playing Asbury's Berkeley Bar on August 30th.

I'm anticipating getting myself organized and getting pretty busy reviewing albums as well as writing about my experience at LA's FYF Fest this weekend. Some of it may show up over at Speak Into My Good Eye, but you can always stop by here, follow me on Twitter or Tumblr, or "like" CoolDad Music on Facebook; and you won't miss anything.