On October 21st, Big Picture Media held their CMJ showcase at Sullivan Hall. All of the bands that played (Grygiel, Mercies, Destry, The Hush Now, States, and Lily and the Parlour Tricks) were great, but most impressive were the female-led bands.
Grygiel started the night off right with her energetic indie rock. Headed by musician and LGBT advocate Jennifer Grygiel and backed by an all-female band, the set was both personal and loud. There was a great balance between the confessional nature of her songs, especially her latest single "5:30am," which give her a singer/songwriter vibe, and the rock roots of songs like "Space Party," which give her music the edge to make it entertaining and fun.
Destry, with former members of Straylight Run and Northstar/Cassino, has a more vintage sound. The band’s simple melodies go beautifully with Michelle DeRosa’s effortless vocals.
States probably had the biggest turnout of the night, and with good reason. There is a lot of expectation when a band has as much hype behind them as this band does. Formed by members of Copeland and Lydia, the band played a great set. They led off with “Timebomb,” the first single off of their debut full length album, which was released last Tuesday (10/18), which was met with fantastic energy by the crowd. I was impressed with their cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” changing the pace and phrasing to create a hauntingly unique take on the piece with lots of distortion and personality.
The most unexpected set of the evening was by Lily and the Parlour Tricks, whose finale set was much better live than listening to a recording of their work. It was quite a show, with back-up singers and amazing harmonies. I especially liked that their set took a pattern, in that when it began, the ladies harmonized a chant, and then ended with that same chant at the end of their last song.
Big Picture Media did a great job of creating hype around the bands playing their showcase, and for the most part, the bands were well worth seeing.
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