Interlude: See 'em Play at CMJ, Part II

November 4th, 2006 - The Knitting Factory, NYC

After a night of debauchery, I wasn't really prepared for another marathon concert. I generally arrive early to a show and catch the openers, barring obscene traffic circumstances, but my ears were still recovering. In any case, we still arrived in plenty of time, and saw...

Chris Conley of Saves the Day

Chris is part of a style that I was a bit more partial to in my younger and more impressionable years. I remember acquiring Sound the Alarm earlier this year, but I never got around to listening to it. Anyways, stylistic differences aside, he sang with enthusiasm, and they crowd responded nicely. It was a very communal atmosphere, with frequent sing-alongs. I was a bit out of the loop as far as lyrics go, but I was pretty amused when he sang, "I told you I didn'’t want my picture taken but you snapped it anyway." (From "Take Our Cars Now!") As you can see above, I wasn't the only one, uh, responding to the music.

Straylight Run

I described Straylight as the source of my immersion into music, and I think that still holds true. Unfortunately, I probably played out their self-titled album a bit excessively back in the day, and I don't really listen to them nearly as much. Having said that, finally seeing them live was a blast, literally. They started things off with "The Miracle That Never Came," a new song streaming at their MySpace. I like the direction that they're taking with this song, but then, I am a fan of horns. Things really became sublime after that, with "A Slow Descent," "Tool Sheds and Hot Tubs," and the gorgeous swirl of "Existentialism On Prom Night."


Also in attendance was Jeff DeRosa, formerly of The Exit. Straylight is really becoming a bit of a family affair. I suppose my only disappointment was that, as seems to be the case with CMJ, time was limited. Despite their status as the headliner, they were only given about an hour to play, forcing them to cut a few selections from the setlist.

I've also reloaded most of the stuff from that previous post. Enjoy:

Costello - Demo of "It Never Gets Easier"
Dignity and Money - Live on WLIR Radio
Now It's Done - Live on WLIR Radio
A Slow Descent - Live on Sirius Satellite Radio
Existentialism On Prom Night - Live on Sirius Satellite Radio
Tool Sheds and Hot Tubs - Live on Domestic Disturbance Radio
Now My Heart Is Full (Morrissey Cover) - Live on Domestic Disturbance Radio
Velvet Waltz (Built To Spill Cover) - Live on Domestic Disturbance Radio

Dignity and Money: Here

I'll leave you with some shots from "Hands In The Sky (Big Shot)," which, as you can see, really lived up to its name. Straylight's back in town on December 3rd at the Bowery Ballroom, and they'll be touring constantly until then. Check the official site for details; I highly recommend checking them out.