Day 4 was the most diverse day I’ve had so far in terms of media and location; I started in Chinatown, up to Chelsea for a documentary premiere, and ended in Park Slope.
This festival is very much about the dynamism of New York City and the enormous amount of culture it has to offer. This week brings more tourism than usual as each of these various neighborhoods teem with folks who wouldn’t ordinarily be hanging around. In this sense it is a very symbiotic relationship that NYC has with CMJ.
Tony Castles @ Santos Party House (GSL, Neon Gold, & Chess Club Showcase)
The good people at GreenShoelace, Neon Gold and Chess Club arranged a killer two floor party extravaganza at the new-ish (this is their second CMJ, I believe), Andrew WK co-owned downtown venue, Santos Party House. I arrived early to check out Brooklyn favorites, (The) Tony Castles who were playing first in the very interestingly decorated basement — each cinderblock was taped off in neon. Much to their credit, Tony Castles’ music is tough to categorize and for a moment or two during their set they reminded me of Primus, but I’m not quite sure why. They employ elements of slowmo surf-rock, funk and splashy, jazzy drums. The band is a three piece consisting of a guitar/keys, bass and drums. The vocalist stays within the higher pitches and it compliments the instrumentation just right. Their music went very well with the backdrop of random inspirational signs hanging around the venue, “You were always perfect. Thank you” and “Music is a joy to behold. Thank You.” I highly recommend checking out this avant-garde, high-energy trio if have the opportunity.
Searching For Elliott Smith @ Norwood Club
This was the first film I saw during the festival, and was the last in their series of music documentaries, hosted by the Norwood Club in Chelsea. The space was very intimate and fancy, kind of like a Wes Anderson movie set come to life; the decor was a mish mash of large ornate furniture, floral wall paper, and modern pop art photography on the walls, with old French accordion music piped in. The small space wasn’t ideal considering the popularity of this film; I arrived half an hour early and managed to score one of the last available seats in the screening room. Everything went off exactly on time and I was very excited to see this film that illuminates the troubled, yet incredibly talented singer-songwriter.
The movie is a rather straightforward, investigative documentary with unprecedented access to the singer’s past relationships, (yearbook) photos and concert footage. There are about 12 people interviewed in the film who knew Elliott pretty well, including former roommates, band members, director Gus Van Sant, and his fiancé who witnessed his death. Coincidentally, the film’s premiere here at CMJ happened on the anniversary of Smith’s death six years ago, which the director claimed was entirely unintentional during the Q&A at the end. This was good flick that any fan of his music would appreciate.
Owen @ the Bell House (Polyvinyl Record Showcase)
Next up, after a quick dinner and a relatively long train ride, was a personal favorite of mine, Owen (AKA Mike Kinsella), at the Bell House in Park Slope. I was a bit surprised to see that he was playing Brooklyn so soon after two appearances in the city a few weeks ago, and even more surprised that the show would feature a full band (I’ve only seen him play solo acoustic). I was very excited to see how his songs would sound plugged in but little did I know what he had in store for us. The set kicked off with a familiar sounding cover by the recently defunct Oasis. And then another, and another — until it dawned on me that he and his band were playing grungey, punked out versions of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory in its entirety.
He had a tough time keeping a straight face through half of the set, and during the other half he tried his hardest to make it seem deadpan. The musicianship was stellar on his band’s part, sounding far better than the original album – playing faster and with more bravado than those smug English jerks were ever capable of. This was a stroke of genius on his part, giving a huge “f*ck you” to the self-promotion of CMJ as everyone else playing the fest came to showcase their newest work, and here he was playing 90’s material by a band that recently broke up–to a bewildered crowd. I personally got a kick out of the whole thing and actually enjoyed hearing a fresh take on these old songs, but there were some in the audience that didn’t quite catch on. This truly was a once in a lifetime Owen(asis) gig, and it had me chuckling on my subway ride home.
Check back tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion!
Originally Covered for Greenshoelace.com
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