Still, the real draw for most CMJ-goers was the music itself. Which makes sense, considering that the festival is designed to showcase some of the more promising offerings in the world of college music -- whatever that is. Over the years, the event has happily broadened to include hip-hop (DJ Hurricane, People Under the Stairs and the Anti-Pop Consortium were among the notable shows this year, as was yet another Chuck D/Professor Griff reunion in Confrontation Camp, hosted at legendary punk bastion CBGB), dance and electronica (the Om Records party, which featured Ming & FS, Afro-Mystik and Soma regular Mark Farina, was a particularly hot ticket), and alternative country (the Bloodshot Records showcase, which featured Kelly Hogan and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts and the Blacks, was a fine demonstration of the genre's staying power) alongside the guitar-rock and pop bands that for years have dominated the pages -- and the charts -- of CMJ's companion publication, the New Music Monthly. CMJ, then, is a chance for both hipsters and hitmakers to hold up a mirror to the mouth of college rock and see if the old beast still has any life left in it.
That is, if they can get in to see any of it.
In a city with a daytime population of 21 million (and at least 20 million of those folks were more than a little agitated by some kind of baseball thing), cramming 1,000 bands and 30,000 attendees into sixty venues was a logistical headache and an exercise in the theory of entropy, or chaos in a closed system. It would have helped to have superhuman powers that somehow allowed you to stand in more than one line at a time, thus ensuring that you could actually set foot in some of New York's hep, hallowed halls. Trying to see even a portion of the CMJ festivities was like trying to attend every single show that's come to the Bluebird, the Ogden, the Lion's Lair and the 15th Street Tavern over the course of the past two years -- in four days. Unlike its music-fest counterparts (the CMJ Network's newish ChangeMusic Fests in San Francisco, Atlanta and Seattle; SXSW in Austin and NXNW in Portland), where the bulk of musical activity is limited to one part of the city, the New York marathon was spread across Manhattan (and Brooklyn, and Hoboken) as randomly as a clap epidemic. After you arrived at one of the venues, it was often clear by as early as 8:30 p.m. that unless your CMJ badge was plated in gold -- or you were sleeping with David Geffen, or on a guest list reserved for those with Grecian good looks -- you might as well head for the Jersey Shore. (Or do as Backwash did: lie. Be prepared at all times to somehow become very, very important. Though Westword is, without question, a publication of world renown, I was only begrudgingly granted entry to see At the Drive In and the amazing, hilarious Tenacious D after convincing the gatekeeper at Irving Plaza that I was, indeed, a staff writer for Details.)
All of this meant that some less interesting bands had huge crowds, as audiences, too smart to risk another line at another venue, simply parked it and opened up bar tabs, while other, more interesting bands toiled unappreciated at far-flung locales. Major acts such as PJ Harvey (who performed twice during the marathon), Moby and the aforementioned At the Drive In (whose members had the good fortune of landing their Afro-headed mugs on the cover of the Village Voice during festival week, and, incidentally, are expected to show up at the Ogden on Saturday, November 11, although they've canceled three Denver dates this year) drew major numbers, while lesser known, unaffiliated artists -- Denver's Cherry Bomb Club and Fort Collins's Knee Jerk Reaction among them -- predictably got stuck in out-of-the-way places no one has ever heard of. Though the Club's set was a fine, grooving representation of our fair city (and the electronic lusciousness of its self-titled CD), the band played in a venue that wasn't even indicated on the map most CMJ-ers were using to plan their evenings and direct their cabbies. Knee Jerk, meanwhile, was slotted at 2 a.m., a time when many festival watchers were either too tired or too drunk to pay attention or persist.
More fortunate in the scheduling department was Slim Cessna's Auto Club, which landed two shows, thanks to its recent signing with the Alternative Tentacles label out of San Francisco. The second Auto Club gig, at the Rodeo Bar in the East Village (an amusing glimpse of an Eastern interpretation of a Western bar, the place featured a giant, stuffed buffalo on a capricious landing, peanuts on the floor and martinis on the menu), was, without question, a rousing success. Slim crooned his songs of redemption and vice (and made reference to Nonnie, the fabulous waitress at Club 404 on Broadway) with an unusually animated Munly at his side. He won the audience members -- many of whom confessed they'd never heard of Slim Cessna, and some of whom had just stopped in to watch the Yankees beat the Mets -- right over. The Auto Club earned some new fans, sold some records, got to feel like rock stars. Maybe next time they'll even have a chichi guest list. And a line out the door. And those not quite cool enough to get in will just have to stay home and beam it in on their laptops.
Hazel Miller does not need to travel to New York City festivals to find her place in the musical world: Over the years, the diva songstress has clearly solidified her position as Denver's queen of soul. It's good news for a growing group of "Hazelheads," then, that Miller is finally set to release I'm Still Looking, her second full-length recording, on November 1. Miller's vocals on Looking aren't the only point of interest to fans of Colorado sounds, however: Produced by Bill Thomas of USA One Stop, the album's eleven tracks are penned by various Front Range songwriters, including Matthew Moon, Rob Smart, Stanley Milton and Chris Daniels. Miller also makes a songwriting contribution -- her first ever -- with "Heart 2 Heart," a breezy number that encapsulates her trademark blues. To celebrate the CD, Miller will host three CD-release parties: Friday, October 27, at the Soiled Dove, Tuesday, October 31, at The Foundry, and Sunday, November 19, at the grand opening of Borders Books & Music in Boulder. Here's looking at you...
Speaking of Chris Daniels, Backwash would like to clear up a little confusion generated by Marty Jones's piece on Daniels's band, "All the Kings Men," which ran in the October 5 issue. In that story, Darryl "Doody" Abrahamson was incorrectly identified as "Darryl Armstrong." In a letter to Westword, Abrahamson also pointed out it was he -- not Kings sax player Bryant Burton -- who relayed an amusing anecdote about the Alka-Seltzer jingle that appeared in the piece. We so hate to offend people with funny nicknames. Sorry, Doody.
Finally, there are enough Halloween events going on this week to make up for the fact that we are all too old to go trick-or-treating and maintain any dignity. Westword's concert and club listings are brimming with shows sporting All Hallows-appropriate themes, but as this one involves both copious amounts of good beer and drag queens, it seems worthy of mention. The Guinness Monster Bash, Saturday, October 28, at the Temple Events Center, will feature music from Opie Gone Bad and Tinker's Punishment, as well as a costume contest with a special category for cross-dressing. Should be fun for all the boys and ghouls. Call 303-777-6887 for more info.
