CMJ day 1

CMJ has already been a whirlwind, and it is only day 2. So I am going to do a wrap up of what I have seen so far. Last night while I was looking for Union Hall in New York (it's actually in Brooklyn) I ran into The Static Jacks in Union Square Park. They were two acoustic guitars, a singer with maracas, and a drummer with a tambourine and banging on guitar cases. I thought this was your average street musician, then they stopped and said "this next song was on The Hills last week." I was shocked that this band had actually already become popular. They had a really catchy pop sound with lots of "Whoas!!!" so you know they're good. After hearing them for a few songs I was impressed but had to move on. I ended up in Brooklyn at Union Hall and got to see some really great bands. The first was All The Day Holiday. They were a very post-rock sounding band but they had an amazing vocalist. They were not listed on the bill but when I looked them up later their CMJ description was "what happens when a post-rock band finds an emo singer." It was a match made in heaven for me. They are well worth checking out. Next was Empires!. They were a very forgettable band from Chicago. The only thing I remember about them is that they reminded me of Maroon 5, and I hate Maroon 5. Finally the headliner was Paper Route. I have been a big fan of this band for a while but they blew away any thoughts I had of what they would be live. With harmonizing vocals, more effects than any band I've ever seen, and a theremin this band was set. The songs all sounded better live than they do on any of their eps or album and I could not believe that. Please check out anything by Paper Route and you will notice the production is intense. I'm really glad I got to see them since they are on tour with Paramore now and they will most likely be huge a year from now. They played most of the songs off their new album Absence and a few off of older eps. It was really cool to see the lead singer play a theremin as if he were conducting an orchestra. The band had great energy and stage presence. All in all CMJ day 1 was a success and there is only more to come.