CMJ '06 Day Two: Words

Day two of CMJ brought another aimless walk for a bit, but a much fuller evening and more bang for my buck. My day started at Bowery Ballroom where I finally was able to catch an excellent set by What Made Milwaukee Famous. I had been meaning to see this band for sometime but did not have the funds to do it at the times they've been in town. Now, the band is certainly from the upper midwest with their full out beards and flannel shirts and their music is perfect for that climate because it warms you up inside. The band played a musically perfect set, though they don't seem to be much for the stage antics which I happen to enjoy quite a bit. The songs sounded perfect though and every lyric was perfectly sung. I will not hesitate to see this band again in the future.

Following WMMF we headed out on what was quickly becoming our CMJ norm, walking around aimlessly trying to find another good band. Sure we could have just stayed at Bowery and seen The Bird and the Bee, but no I had to see Cassettes Won't Listen who were ridiculously behind for a set full of acoustic musicians. Then Chris had the bright idea to see The Undisputed Heavyweights, at a venue that we couldn't find. So undeterred by all this aimless walking I decided to head over to Piano's and grab a slice pizza before White Rabbits went on. It was delicious pizza and really hit the spot.

White Rabbits are a fun band. They play a very upbeat, pop type of music that makes me want to shake my ass a bit. Sadly, there was little room for any ass shaking in the back room of Piano's, but that didn't stop White Rabbits from putting on a terrific show. They played a ferocious set playing about 8 songs or so and keeping every ear tuned in solely to the band. It was loud and blissfully fun!

I opted out of seeing Beach House to see Professor Murder for a second time. I'm kind of glad I did. I mean sure I still want to see Beach House perform but the show that Professor Murder puts on is pretty hard to top. At all times you want to be dancing and I actually managed to bop around in my spot by the stage a little while as the band went through the songs off their latest EP and a couple of other tunes. At one point a member of Mixel Pixel jumped on stage adding a guitar to the cacophany of sound coming from the stage for two songs. It was an excellent performance that I wished would have gone on longer. It did not and so I headed to my next stop of the evening.

At Bowery Ballroom every set time was set askew by some comic that the bouncers were not too fond of. I know this because my favorite bouncer in the city told me so. I don't know his name but he rocks, literally. He is the only bouncer I have ever seen that rocks out at shows! And he sings Joan Jett while riding up on his bike. Sure this has little to do with CMJ but don't you wish you were friends with this guy right now. Anyway, the set times were way behind so I managed to catch the Dr. Dog set. I gotta be honest and say I'm not really a big fan of Dr. Dog, but the live show they put on was pretty darn good. They were bubbling with energy from the moment they hit the stage in their dorky outfits till they brought up members from like every other band in the venue to play with them. It was cool but Dr. Dog finally gave way to the band I was there to see.

I know you are all going to be wondering why I went to see Cold War Kids and Tapes n' Tapes during CMJ when I had seen them both so many times already so I'm going to let you all know why. I was warned that Mercury Lounge was not letting anymore passes and I didn't want to risk not getting into The Knife. So I played it safe and was rewarded by the best set I've seen tapes n' Tapes play and an excellent performance by Cold Wars Kids. It wasn't nearly as mind blowing as the first time I saw Cold War Kids but it was damn good. They were dead on for the entire set blazing through songs like "Hospital Beds" and "We Used to Vacation". The crowd was really into it too singing along with most of the words and generally having a great time.

Tapes n' Tapes wrapped up my second night at the marathon with their most energetic set to date. Each time I have seen them this year they have managed to progress as a band which I think bodes really well for them in the future. Tonight they were on point musically. The songs came out crisp and the way they played them was brilliant.