Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 Preview c/o Festival Crashers

The dudes over at Festival Crashers were kind enough to let me sit in (/giggle in) on their latest podcrash. If you’d like to hear me nerd out about my favorite performers playing the fest this weekend, or listen to me babble about the epic Phoenix gig (which will hopefully then help you to understand why writing is my field of choice), you can check it out here.

The Big One – Phoenix at Madison Square Garden

Photo by Melissa Montes

I am one lucky sonofagun. To quote the great James Murphy, I was there. I was at the Madison Square Garden show when Daft Punk joined Phoenix onstage. What’s more, I want you to go there with me. So let’s do this – let’s relive that night, put you right up against the gate with me, and party down.

CMJ Preview Post #2

Wednesday is going to be somewhat pre-planned for AWM, because we’re heading to see Wavves, the Dirty Projectors and Phoenix at Madison Square Garden. Still, there should be opportunities to catch some new finds earlier on in the day. Read on for blog picks for Wednesday, Oct. 20!

Kitten

Kitten creates emotive, guitar-driven pop rock, and vocalist Chloe Chaidez has one of those sweet voices that surprises you with its power; it soars. You can see this L.A. band at 1:30 p.m. at the Delancey.

Communist Daughter

Prescott, Wisconsin birthed this Matt Pond PA-esque troupe. They’ve got elements of quiet folk, and of wind in the trees; all comforting things. See them at 1:40 p.m. at Spike Hill.

FENCES

I know you are probably looking at the above photo and thinking, “Finally! Caitlin has suggested something that isn’t folksy indie-pop.” Well … you’re wrong. FENCES crafts interesting, pretty and poppy tunes, and they’re great. Start with his duet with Tegan & Sara’s Sara Quin, called “My Girl the Horse,” and then see FENCES at the Rockwood Music Hall at 5:00 p.m.

Pearl the Band

Probably because I just saw the latter perform tonight, but Pearl the Band reminds me of Austin’s own up-and-comers Little Lo. There’s a lovely chorus of voices, big instrumentation and catchy choruses. (Admittedly, I love our local Little Lo better than this Brooklyn band, but at least it’s a little taste of the familiar!) Plus, they’ve got a song about Johnny Cash’s house burning down. See ‘em at 5:00 p.m. at Spike Hill.

The Eastern Sea

Speaking of Austin bands, the Eastern Sea! These guys are wonderful; they’re sort of an American version of Fanfarlo. You can see them (and support Texas!) at 7:00 p.m. at Kenny’s Castaways.

Hacienda

And ANOTHER Texas band! This time, from San Antonio. Hacienda play Southern rock with enough soul to get Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach to produce their debut album. See these guys at the Canal Room at 12:15 a.m.

Wavves

Madison Square Garden – first opener.

Dirty Projectors

Madison Square Garden – second opener.

Phoenix

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! (Expect a tear-streamed keyboard as I am reviewing this show.)

Still need your suggestions for bands to catch at CMJ! Post in the comments here, or on our brand new Facebook fan page.

Best of 2009 – Caitlin’s List

The prospect of writing up a list of the best of anything is harrowing, and for a music lover, having to somehow rank music by musicians you adore is near impossible (commence metaphors about picking favorite children.)  However, it is the difficulty of the task that makes it so thrilling.  So, I’m here to try to convince you, my readers, that the albums I am about to rank off are ones you should invest your time, money, ears and hearts in.  Though one would think the following disclaimer goes without saying, I prefer to be perfectly explicit:  the albums here are by no means an exhaustive “best of” list, because I am one woman with two ears and not the most money (and yes, I still pay for my music).  These are the best albums that *I* listened to this year.  However, because they span folk-rock, indie-pop, Americana and gritty blues rock, I’m hoping there’s enough here to induce head-nodding or curiosity great enough to get you to check a band out.  Alright, now that we have all these niceties out of the way, let’s get real.