Brooklyn foursome Black Taxi has followed up its January sophomore full-length, We Don’t Know Any Better, with the four-track Live in Portland, which includes “Shoeshine,” “Vultures,” “Friend,” and “Hand,” revealing their sonic diversity. (You can stream the album here.) The socially conscious band, which consists of lead singer, keyboardist, and trumpeter Ezra Huleatt, guitarist Bill Mayo, bassist Krisana Soponpong, and drummer Jason Holmes, is celebrating the release of the EP at the CMJ Music Marathon, playing the MezzoForte showcase on October 20 at Mercury Lounge on a bill with Sphynx, the Frontier Brothers, Quiet Company, Deadbeat Darling, the Modern Electric, Wild Adriatic, and Black Wing Halo.
this week in music
CMJ MUSIC MARATHON 2012: DAY FIVE
ENTOURAGE star Adrian Grenier and the Honey Brothers will be at Fontana’s for a CMJ showcase gig on October 20
Multiple venues
October 16-20
www.cmj.com/marathon
The CMJ Music Marathon comes to a close on Saturday with another slew of shows, featuring some old CMJ favorites as well as plenty of newbies along with a star actor. The 2012 edition might not be going out with a bang, but it’s not a whimper either.
Saturday, October 20
Delicate Steve, Cake Shop, 12 noon
Tijuana Gift Shop showcase: At Sea (1:00), the Oats (1:50), Old Time Machine (2:40), Bend Sinister (3:30), Slam Dunk (4:20), Tomorrow Tomorrow (5:10), the Blakes (6:00), the Rock Shop
Country Mice, Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2, 7:00
The So So Glos, Knitting Factory, 8:00
Wild Nothing, Bowery Ballroom, 11:00
The Honey Brothers with Adrian Grenier, Fontana’s, 11:00
Hank & Cupcakes, Fontana’s, 11:45
CMJ VIDEO OF THE DAY: LILY AND THE PARLOUR TRICKS
At last year’s CMJ Music Marathon, Lily and the Parlour Tricks were touring behind their just-released, self-titled debut EP, a splendid collection of a half dozen enticing songs that harken back to the past while also being placed firmly in the present. On such tracks as “Poison Song,” “Little Angel,” and “Murder Song,” lead singer Lily Claire, drummer Terry Moore, bassist Brian Kesley, guitarist Angelo Spagnolo, and background vocalists Morgane Moulherat and Darah Golub take listeners on a harmonic musical journey filled with delights that only get better when the songs are performed live. Lily and the Parlour Tricks will be doing CMJ double duty on October 19, playing the Big Picture Media showcase at Sullivan Hall at 10:00 and the Press House / Imagem Music showcase at Rockwood Music Hall at 12:30 am. If you miss them this week, you can catch them October 25 at the Knitting Factory with Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles and He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister.
CMJ MUSIC MARATHON 2012: DAY FOUR
Brian Suarez, better known as Allies for Everyone, will be at Ella Lounge on Friday night for a CMJ showcase gig
Multiple venues
October 16-20
www.cmj.com/marathon
Friday is by far the biggest day of this year’s CMJ Music Marathon, with a host of great shows starting in the afternoon and continuing well past midnight. We’ve been limiting our highlights to five bands a day, but we couldn’t stop for Friday, listing eleven must-see groups and one showcase, featuring a bunch of bands that have been featured in twi-ny over the last few years. So we’ll be running all around the Lower East Side and Brooklyn to catch as many of these as we can, and so should you.
Friday, October 19
The Press House and Imagem Music Showcase: Gareth Dunlop (11:30 am), Anna Krantz (12 noon), Shel (1:00), Jilette Johnson (2:00), Zulu Pearls (3:00), Wakey! Wakey! (4:00), French Horn Rebellion (5:00), Rockwood Music Hall
Eternal Summers, Cameo Gallery, 3:30
Turbo Fruits, Piano’s, 4:00
Allies for Everyone, Ella Lounge, 7:00
The Front Bottoms, Santos Party House Basement, 8:00
Anni Rossi, Fontana’s, 8:15
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Marlin Room at Webster Hall, 9:00
Free Energy, Brooklyn Bowl, 10:00
Takka Takka, Grand Victory, 10:00
Turbo Fruits, Public Assembly, 11:10
Zerobridge, Trash, 12 midnight
The Death Set, the Paper Box, 1:00
CMJ VIDEO OF THE DAY: BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD
The brainchild of dreamy popster Mikey Maramag, San Francisco’s Blackbird Blackbird is in town on the heels of the release of its latest EP, the seven-track Boracay Planet (Lavish Habits, October 16, 2012). Featuring five new songs and two remixes by DJ G and Distal, the EP has occasional subtle lyrics that show up in the background of ethereal electronic journeys. Blackbird Blackbird will be playing the Connect: Explorations in Electronic Psychedelia showcase on October 18 at (le) poisson rouge, along with Rioux, Rimar, Maria Minerva, Aimes, and Heathered Pearls.
CMJ MUSIC MARATHON 2012: DAY THREE
The Fiery Furnaces’ Eleanor Friedberger returns to CMJ to play Mercury Lounge (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Multiple venues
October 16-20
www.cmj.com/marathon
With the weekend on the horizon, things are kicking into full gear on Thursday night at the CMJ Music Marathon, with a great mix of bands from all over the indie spectrum. Below are our best bets for October 18.
Agent Ribbons, Spike Hill, 3:00
Tinderbox Music Festival: Beca, Slowdance, Miracles of Modern Science, Alyson Greenfield, Sorne, Hard Nips, Spike Hill, 7:00
Taiwan Music Showcase: Chemical Monkeys, 831, Da Mouth, Union Square Ballroom, 8:00
Shy Around Strangers, the Paper Box, 7:15
Bear Hands, Irving Plaza, 8:00
Felix da Housecat, Union Pool, 8:00
Eleanor Friedberger, Mercury Lounge, 9:30
CMJ VIDEO OF THE DAY: ARCHIE POWELL & THE EXPORTS
Chicago quartet Archie Powell & the Exports play infectious garage pop rooted in delightful 1960s and 1970s melodies. On their sophomore full-length, Great Ideas in Action (Good Land, October 16, 2012), the follow-up to 2010’s Skip Work, they deliver eleven sparkling tracks bursting with life. “The lights are on but, babe, nobody’s home / And it looks like I’ll sink like a stone,” singer-guitarist Powell explains on “You Might Be Cruel (Or I Might Be Dumb),” but with songs like this, there should be no sinking for the band, who will be at the Rock Shop on October 17 playing the Let’s Get Messy! CMJ showcase with Laura Stevenson and the Cans, Twin Tigers, Pretty & Nice, Trapper Shoepp & the Shades, Roomrunner, and Fantasy Rainbow. If you miss this gig, you can catch them October 21 at the Lone Wolf and October 23 at Piano’s. In addition, you can check out Great Ideas in Action for free here.