Photographs by Myles Grayson
If you live in Chicago, enjoy art and you haven’t heard of Hebru Brantley then you likely reside underneath a rock. Brantley had a hand in creating the Lollapalooza Music Festival‘s 20th anniversary fliers this past summer. I had the opportunity to attend [...]
Image Courtesy of The Sports Lion
By: Rachel Lafranconi
It’s almost that time of the year again when families all across the U.S. will gather ‘round and celebrate two of America’s greatest contributions to the world; Stovetop Stuffing and American Football. Since 1920 Thanksgiving and football have gone together like mashed potatoes and gravy as families get behind their hometown team and scream at the TV in an effort to stave off the food coma. This year the Detroit Lions will host a game against the Green Bay Packers in what is their first highly anticipated Thanksgiving game in years and while Lions fans should be celebrating, an ominous black cloud has formed over their stadium that has made sports fans and music geeks alike fall to their knees and cry up to the heavens in despair. What could bring such gloom to Detroit’s Ford Field? One word (which should technically be two)… Nickelback. Yes, the pop-rock band that everyone openly hates but secretly can’t get out of their head is set to headline the halftime show and Lion’s fans are NOT happy. They are so unhappy in fact that they started a petition to have the rockers removed from the lineup and other artists, such as Ann-Arbor native Mayer Hawthorne are throwing their hats in the ring to play. With 43,000 signatures on the Change.org petition, could Nickelback be boo’ed off the stage before they even sound check? Stay tuned for further developments…
Once a year every year the high and mighty of the music industry completely swarm the New York City streets for the College Music Journal festival, simply known as CMJ. Pass holders can enjoy unlimited showcases, panels, free booze and VIP access to almost all of the parties. Fortunately if you do not have $500 to shell out on a pass, clubs and other music agencies make it extremely easy to keep just as busy and rub elbows with some of music’s hottest acts.
My week would have kicked off with what I heard was a stellar show by Walk the Moon, but unfortunately an infected salivary gland gave me the appearance of Quagmire and I was stuck in my 2×4 apartment trying to fight it off. Tuesday was much more successful night at the Bowery Hotel where I caught performances by The Silent Comedy, Hands and The Duke Spirit. Other bands had performed and I can only assume that given the bluesy-rock vibe from the aforementioned bands that all of the acts took their cues from Jack White. It’s not that I don’t love the blues, but I was a bit wary of yet another 3 piece suit-clad front man with a bowler cap coming onstage.
If I had known what Wednesday night was going to entail I would have tried to get there early. In the small Moscot corner store on the Lower East Side was by far the most exciting showcase I saw all week. I walked in to a packed room that held maybe 50 people at most and was treated to New York based Avan Lava. During their performance of their upcoming album all I could think was that this must be what David Bowie and Boyz II Men’s love child must sound like. The headlining act, French Horn Rebellion continued the energy with falsettos, dance beats and a lot of hair.
Just down the street was the Windish showcase where I caught Exitmusic, Bikini and Casiokids. If you haven’t heard Casiokids, I highly recommend them. Their infectious euro-pop sound translates well at any party or even in the most hipster of settings (since Williamsburg is now passé then that setting must be further east in Brooklyn).
Thursday was a whirlwind of daytime showcases that were all fairly forgettable and just as I was about to give up on the night-time shows, I was grabbing a beer at the Living Room when I decided to head back to the stage area and was totally taken aback by soul artist Norman Vladimir. We caught the tale-end of the show but he ended with A cappella number that immediately prompted me to go home and download his album (which you can find here, for free. That’s right, free).
Friday I found myself at the Fader Fort where some of the most talked about acts such as King Krule and Grimes performed. My companions for the show were the endless whiskey drinks courtesy of Bushmills, who I hold responsible for my staying so late and somehow helping me talk my way into one final show that night at Webster Studio where a band called The Pass was playing. Alongside the Moscot show I would definitely pin this one as a favorite. Their upbeat rhythm, excited stage presence and new wave guitars all made for a much-needed break from the electro-beat and depressing-vocal pairings that seemed to dominate the festival.
So what’s the bottom line with CMJ 2011? With a few exceptions, it seems that all you needed to make it at CMJ was a pre-recorded dance beat, vocals shellacked into oblivion with reverb and a vintage statement piece. Out of all of the bands I saw only three, count them, three had guitar solos and the other 99% were completely dependent on keyboards and synthesizers. Now I’m not saying that good music only comes out of a five-piece band, but I do believe that there was a lot of room for other bands to come in and perhaps break up the homogenous sound of CMJ.
TZAR Ultra Lounge
“…And everybody just have a good time!” Want chic? Want swanky? Want exclusive? TZAR challenges to redefine haute Chicago nightlife, glamorizing the pedestal it has been put on. Located in the party central of River North, the club-lounge hybrid boasts of premier service — a VIP experience from beginning to end. You haven’t been to a place like this anywhere else in the city. TZAR hosts the city’s hottest DJ’s and entertainment, brings an impressive sophistication to the table, and tugs on unprecedented acclaim. Creators James Oraha and Myles Cunningham were born to be trendsetters. Not to mention their “every night should be a Saturday” mentality only makes for a great night out for you and your fellow party-goer friends.