A First Timer’ s Field Work at CMJ: Day 3

Photos courtesy of Nancy Redfern

So many bands, so little time to write about them because there’s more bands to see! Therein lies one of the numerous challenges of trying to cover an event like the CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival. Not only is it physically grueling but the band after
band onslaught wears on your senses and its easy to be dulled by the experience. Perhaps that’s why this event only allows the best performers to rise to the top. It’s just so easy to let the less notable ones fall to the wayside.

In that sense, its hard to imagine that a polished touring act like Local Natives, who I managed to catch at an exclusive event on Day 3, was in the same boat last year. Their
songs are fine-tuned and they change up instruments and dynamics from hushed intimate singing to sweaty double-drum instrumental attacks. Seeing the crowd familiarity as they performed the song “ Sun Hands” and watching their surefooted comfort level on stage gives a greater understanding to the tag that several people have uttered about their CMJ top picks: “ They’re this year’s Local Natives”.

Thursday afternoon began with sunny rock that had a tasteful touch of psychedelia from
the band Violens at Pianos. Several bands seem to have picked up on the formula of
riddling their choruses with a bunch of “ooohhhs” and “aaahhhhs,” a trend that will certainly become tiresome soon enough, but Violens seems to apply it effectively with three-part harmonies to give added strength to their sound. Their music has the ability to move from graceful hooky songwriting to math rock portions that borrow a bit from Explosions In The Sky and break down into noise that comes together for a well-rounded dynamic all and all.

A welcomed change of pace came with Nashville, Tenn. roots rock outfit the Kopecky
Family Band at the Paste Magazine/ASCAP afternoon showcase at the Living Room.
Their full rock band configuration is nicely altered by the addition of a violin and cello
which make for Americana leanings within their passionate songwriting. While most of
the band contributes to the vocals, making for some fine five part harmonies, members
belted out the songs even off-mic as if their performance was just a public display of a
living room singalong.

As far as a group that is truly doing something unique Buke & Gass may have built
their own one-of-a-kind instruments from which they take their name but that’ s just a
back story to the creation of their distinctively imaginative music. This duo makes a lot
of sound despite their basic limitations from being a two person band. The dance that
occurs between bright ukulele, jerky, frantic rhythms played by kick drum and guitar, and
Arone Dyer’ s confident and versatile vocal delivery creates cerebral music and intrigue
for what they might do with each passing note.

Between the 13 bands that I crawled my way through on Day 3, there’ s certainly more
stories to be told, but for now the music has already started on Day 4 and the hustle must commence!