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A CMJ Cheat Sheet For The Weary & Earplugged
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 20, 2014
Modified Jan 21, 2015
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Sam Horine / Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 20, 2014
Modified Jan 21, 2015
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Another week, another linear set of hours filled with too much to do and a finite, fading amount of energy with which to do them. LET'S HEAR IT FOR NEW YYYY—ugh, $6 for a pint of fucking Narragansett?
Believe it or not, CMJ is not just for complaining about how crowded CMJ has gotten and how commercial it all is and how you'd rather be at home telling yourself that the new season of Trailer Park Boys is as good as any of the originals. Musicians also perform! Great musicians! Some of whom are not on Spotify.
Here is a cheat sheet for those who would like to see some live music this week. For ambitious souls, Oh My Rockness has the master list.
TUESDAY
Native America, Flagland, Cousin Brian @ Trans-Pecos // $7 // 8 p.m.
Groovy bands in Sizzlin' Hot Quooklin, all before bedtime (Native America has to be at Cake Shop for their 10:30 p.m. gig, so you'll be home in time for Letterman's monologue!)
PINS isn't going on until midnight but you will not be yawning, you will be listening to Philly's / Jersey's / Ireland's / England's finest.
WEDNESDAY
White Fence is playing three gigs (who would see ALL three? ha ha that's insane) so this isn't your only chance, but Cate Le Bon is on guitar and their new album deals with some adult shit so go see 'em. Plus Shonen Knife! Plus a band that sounds like equal parts Allman Brothers and Oh Sees.
Tonstartssbandht, TOPS, Moon King, Calvin Love, Nicholas Nicholas @ Shea Stadium // $8 at the door // 8 p.m.
Did you just begin seeing someone who sometimes orders greyhounds in between beers and talks about astrology in a way that you cannot discern whether they have a sincere belief in human smallness or an unhealthy obsession about Destiny? This lineup would make a great date. All will be revealed.
THURSDAY
Purling Hiss, Mainland, Palehound, Amanda X, Rivergazer, The Kickback, Prettiots, Whiskey Bitches, Beach Day @ Cake Shop // FREE // 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Paperhead, Doug Tuttle, Ultimate Painting, The Estrogen Highs, Negative Scanner @ Cake Shop // $10 at the door // 8 p.m.
Oh no taking Thursday off is dumb because Friday is the logical choice given that it gives you a three day—stop. What do you actually accomplish on Fridays anyway? Yeah. Staying at Cake Shop all day makes it easy. Pastries. Mmmm Psychic Blood. And Palehound. And when Negative Scanner comes on when the sun goes down (if you don't like them blame Eric and Edwina) you'll already BE there!
Rap and comedy, a delightful sonic palate cleansing from the reverb-drenching you will undoubtably endure, conveniently located steps from the J/M/Z. Let you excuses melt away like a Listerine Pocket Strip on the Tongue of Liberty.
The best of what Sub Pop & Hardly Art have to offer NYC (until a few months from now, anyway) and it is certainly worth your time and dollars. If not to smile with Obits but to gracefully frown with Protomartyr. Remember: you will stare at that screen no more. You will not have a drink. Well, you can have a drink.
FRIDAY
"Hey I'm gonna leave at 2 today, if that's cool. Maybe closer to 1:30. Not feeling too hot (I took a sick day yesterday remember? Probably has something to do with that.)" Just copy and paste that into your email client and you have a great excuse to see a whole mess of delightful bands for a teensy bit of cash. Band Not Playing Every Other Weekend In Brooklyn So See Them Before They're Back In LA: Girl Pool. The hype is justified.
This should sate your punk friend and also your friend who digs that neo-'90s rock and Krill Krill Krill forever, Krill Krill, forever and ever.
Foster The People, Soko @ United Palace // $45 // 8 p.m.
Thanks for paying attention we're almost through here.
SATURDAY
Protomartyr @ Cake Shop // FREE // 6:15 p.m.
Potty Mouth, Cold Fur, Girl Tears, Girlpool, Dead Stars, Sex Jams, Heliotropes @ Cake Shop // $8 at the door // 7:30 p.m.
Yes, Protomartyr are that good, and you have the option of staying for Potty Mouth and the other superb, aforementioned bands. Thanks for not closing, Cake Shop!
Hank Wood's outfit plays in NYC a fair amount, and people have been known to receive fists and elbows and worse at their gigs, but by this point your nerves are steeled and you feel like a chump going to bed without hearing your heart drip out of your head and onto your pillow.
SUNDAY
The Thurston Moore Band, PCPC @ Rough Trade // $15 / 8 p.m.
End your CMJ weekend by telling NYC's Exiled Amorous Feedback Hermit that he probably didn't mean those nice things he said about London and listen to something far more interesting, PCPC, a combination of Parquet Courts and PC Worship. Noise rock for a city made of noise.
Tagged
cmj
cmj guide
live music
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original
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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