So, I finally got out to see some shows last night, and while I got home way too late, it was a pretty productive evening on the whole. I started out* my CMJ at the M for Montreal showcase at Arlene’s Grocery where I took in BEAST, Think About Life, and Malajube. During We Are Wolves set, I snuck over to the Mercury to catch the charming Mumford and Sons. After Malajube went off, I headed over to Cake Shop to catch CMJ buzz band, Surfer Blood and then I capped off the night at Living Room with a couple of songs from Brooklyn singer/songwriter Alina Simone. My only regret, and it’s entirely my own fault for not reading the schedule correctly, is that I didn’t catch more of Jenn Grant’s set upstairs at the Living Room— I literally walked in as she was singing the last verse of her last song to a small group of people gathered around her like a camp fire sing-a-long. I’ll get to some more detailed reviews later when I post pics, but until then, here’s a few recommendations for tonight (Oct 22):
Freelance Whales – Bell House
Male Bonding – Pianos
James Murphy and Pat Mahoney – Brooklyn Bowl
Patrick Watson – Mercury Lounge
Spiral Beach – Arlene’s Grocery
Unicycle Loves You – Union Hall
Robbers On High Street – Bell House
Grand Analog – Arlene’s Grocery
Alec Ounsworth – Mercury Lounge
Golden Silvers – MHOW
pow wow! – Cake Shop
Timber Timbre – Union Pool
Still Life Still – Union Pool
Small Black – Bell House
Chris Denny – Bowery Ballroom
Mumford and Sons – MHOW
Army Navy – Union Hall
Hockey – Mercury Lounge
Deleted Scenes – Union Hall
Kittens Ablaze – Cake Shop
Sky Larkin – Union Hall
Zeus – Union Pool
Deer Tick – Bowery Ballroom
Elliot Brood – Living Room
Hollerado – Union Pool
Local Natives – Mercury Lounge
Late Night
Sub Pop/Barsuk/Merge Party – Hi Fi (midnight-4am)
After The Jump After Hours – Cake Shop (1am-4am)
Tonight is a tough one though because there are competing Canadian showcases, Canadian Blast at Arlene’s Grocery and the Arts and Crafts showcase at Union Pool, and there’s also Jonny Leather and The Music Slut‘s showcase at Union Hall, and of course a million other things happening on the Lower East Side. If I had my druthers, I’d probably spend most of the night at Union Pool watching the Arts and Crafts bands, but since I’m going to be around Park Slope tonight, I’ll either end up at Union Hall or The Bell House or my apartment.
* I actually started out the night at the Mercury Lounge waiting on line for Xx, but then decided to pull up stakes and head to Arlene’s for M for Montreal.
Some flyers for tonight’s shows after the jump. My full conflicted sched over here.
