Two Students Search NYC For Sco-Worthy Bands

Moby, Slackers, and others rock CMJ Marathon

The Hissyfits unleash their scathing set (photo by )

Being the luckiest girls in the world, we were sent to hit New York City hard in search of bands to book at the 'Sco this year. Our instructions were to network, go to shows and have fun. Not hard to do at the College Music Journal's Music Marathon, the world's biggest and most comprehensive music industry gathering. Do the math ­ 9,000 musicians, industry personnel, and music lovers. 1,000 performances, 56 venues, 52 panels, and four nights. It turned out to be one intense, incredible rideŠ

Thursday:

Registration: The epitome of coolness, hipness and musicality. The entire crowd was the one with which you always wanted to hang in junior high and/or high school but were too scared to approach. Forget about that here ­ imagine the first day of summer camp: interest, friendliness and excitement abounded.

No Use For a Name @ Wetlands: The very young and exuberant crowd fought their way through a high-energy, sing-along punk set. Fists were swinging, bodies were flying, but fun was the point of the night. The Wetlands was the perfect setting for this mosh-fest ­ it is eerily reminiscent of the 'Sco. (They played a Pogues cover featuring the Swingin' Udders' lead singer!)

The Slackers @ The Cooler: The Slackers served up almost two solid hours of old-school ska at one of New York's newer trendy multi-bar aluminum-paneled lounges. An infectious mix of well-known Slackers classics and skillful instrumentals served as a memorable reminder that this band truly is one of the pioneers of ska. (They played a Bon Jovi cover!) The sheer enthusiasm of the band made up for the somewhat oddly assembled crowd, most of whom could have benefited from skanking lessons from the noticeably absent two-tone rudy set. Alas ­ The Cooler is licensed as a cabaret so can't legally allow dancing anyway!

Friday:

The Hissyfits @ Meow Mix: Beauty met the beast in this fast-paced punk set ­ these talented girls were hot! Despite the lead's bad case of the flu, they still rocked hard. From riot grrrl punk to melodic pop, the packed Meow Mix was treated to the very best of feminine guts 'n glamour.

Murder City Devils @ Wetlands: If rock was a sport, this band would show down at the X-games. Anyone piss drunk, smoking a cigarette, teasing the audience and playing guitar, playing bass and singing while standing on top of his monitor has gotta be a true rock star, and rock they did. The Devils are as heavy as hardcore can get, but you can't seem to stop happily nodding your head to the chord progressions. Complete with pyrotechnics of the drum cymbal variety, these guys and organist gal put on an amazing show. (Don't miss the MCD w/ At the Drive-In @ the 'Sco Wednesday, November 1. Unfortunately, the 'Sco does differ from the Wetlands in three respects: we don't have a basement, we don't serve hard liquor and we can't allow pyrotechnics.)

Saturday:

Panel ­ "Book 'Em: Why (and How) Do Club Bookers Do What They Do?": Six current and former bookers, including the co-owner of New York's Brownies and the former booker for Chicago's Metro, comprised this panel. They covered both the band-trying-to-get-a-gig and the booker-trying-to-keep-his-job perspectives. A few words of wisdom: bands, know the clubs you're calling; bookers, know your music and your economics.

Also covered ­ the fact that club bookers can create a city's music scene, and a few ways to try to achieve this awesome feat. In a later one-on-one talk, one panelist suggested that to simply become a part of an existing music community, go to work in New York. But to truly build a scene, go somewhere else. Hard advice to swallow when "I [heart] NY" is a philosophy, not just a shopping bag slogan!

Sunday:

Screening ­ Radiohead Performing Songs from Kid A: Thom Yorke's body was wriggling, his arms were flailing and his hands were convulsing. Hence the arrival of the Kid A tour, of which the London performance was brought to us via big-screen projection. The pure skill with which the band performs their genius compositions is amazing just to hear, and watching them at work was even better. The complex and overlapping rhythms and the extreme use of dynamics and tempos displayed, yet again, Radiohead's brilliance.

Hybrid and Moby @ Hammerstein Ballroom: If Hybrid made believers of us all with their great orchestral sampling and live drums, Moby made us cult-followers with his incredible awe-inspiring performance. His spiky, white/blond-haired female bassist was clad in black original punk-rock attire, his DJ/ "programmer" was in full hip-hop gear and his drummer was wearing only white shorts and Converse All-Star high tops.

Moby himself wore sweats and a T-shirt simply stating "truth." His unpretentious attitude and unbridled energy, expressed by running around the stage and monitor-hopping, was a relief for rock star-overdosed eyes. They presented a diverse set, including dance songs dedicated to the joys of E, a mind-blowing electric guitar solo, and some melancholic melodic songs. (They played a Doors cover!)

The amount of bands to see, panels to attend, and people to meet was both overwhelming and impossible. All genres of music were well-represented, from hip-hop to indie rock to electronica to punk to folk to jazz to (the list goes on). Most areas of the music industry were presented as well, from college radio to internet music issues to global marketing to record labels to journalism to (again, continue at your leisure).

We definitely tasted a little of a lot, and any regrets over missed opportunities will just have to wait until next year. The week was a great introduction to the music industry as a whole, and laid to rest any doubts that the world of entertainment is a wonderful world indeed.