Is CMJ over yet? Seriously, is it? Because yesterday sucked so much it made me want to hide under the covers until this shit storm blows over our fair city. It only took one big snafu to get me feeling this way. I got to the Delancey 15 minutes before the Antlers were supposed to play. A line snaked down the block so I blithely cut it, walking in with purpose and without incident. This lack of crowd control bespoke problems to come, though, as shortly after getting inside I found out they were about an hour and a half behind schedule. Packed into a crowded, sweaty room, I hoped the 9 pm band, Delorean, who I hadn't heard of, would be good. They were not. Repetitive synths and an annoying man-boy singing consistently flat made me want to give up and leave. But I wanted to see The Antlers, so I stayed.
When The Antlers finally played at 11:45 (they were on the schedule for 10), all was forgiven. Despite their unfortunate name (I understand they may have been a band since before Antlers and Crystal Antlers broke, but are they really so attached to their name they couldn't have strategically changed it to something less taken?) a lot of folks had been telling me they were worth seeing, and guess what? They really, really were. Singer Peter Silberman's vocals were pathos-laden and quivering, building to loud emotional outbursts. Aesthetically he's got something in common with Bon Iver (but with more range). Conceptually, I'd go with Conor Oberst (but a way better singer). Well-written songs built from simple melodies to crashing crescendos that approached shoegazey levels of volume and density. The unmistakable, warm sound of a vintage Fender Rhodes drove the point home that yes, I was going to get their album, and I was probably even going to pay for it.
Bear Hands was sort of a let down after all that, but they made a decent showing of it anyway. I should disclose that I know some of them from high school (Dylan Rau since middle school), but Dylan wasn't always very nice to me, so I'm not overly biased in his favor. Their minimal, inoffensive college rock might blend in with a pool of similar sounding acts were it not for Dylan's attention-grabbing vocals, which people are bound either to love or hate (some things never change). Is that exaggerated, nasal, emo accent ironic? I'm not sure anymore, but I will say that Dylan listened to a lot of Saves the Day in high school.
I made it over to the East Williamsburg Industrial Park as fast as my stumpy legs could pedal and caught Blondes, the last band of that night's Myopenbar showcase. Two guys (neither blonde) bobbed and hovered over synths and electronic doohickeys to make shifting soundscapes I would probably enjoy while sitting on a couch enjoying some jazz cigarettes, but which were not quite enough to keep my tired frame upright at that moment.
Last, I biked over to the puzzlingly un-crowded Vice "late nite" at Public Assembly and caught a few songs of Ume's. I'd never heard of this band before but they were awesome. Guitarist/singer Lauren Larson handled her axe like a pro as she flung her hair around and delivered the sweet, snarling vocal lines to sexy rock ‘n’ roll club bangers. They had a cool, New York energy to them but are actually from Austin, which makes sense, since Austin is probably cooler than NYC at this point in time.
In retrospect, I guess yesterday didn't suck too too much, but I still hope tonight will be better. Come on CMJ, you can do it.
