CMJ 2009 REVIEW
 
 

VILLAGE VOICE REVIEW OF WHITESMITH ENTERTAINMENT NIGHT FEATURING MARGARET CHO Then, in yet another surreal moment, the evening's surprise guest took the stage: Margaret Cho, the well-established face of HBO specials, raunchy albums, and movies that involve John Travolta face transplants. She's been plastered prominently on the CMJ Marathon site, actually, and perhaps logically. Her set was largely musical numbers and guitar interludes, interspersed with awesomely filthy cracks about anal bleaching, dating an ugly man for four years so she'd seem "deep," and, topically, her currently cracked and hoarse voice. "I sound like a Muppet who's transitioning," she moaned. This led to a solo version of a newly recorded song she recorded with Andrew Bird--for a country-western track about a homicidal ex-crush, it was quite soothing--and a crunk-rap take called "My Puss."(read more)

YOUTUBE FEATURE OF WHITESMITH ENTERTAINMENT NIGHT: EMILYN BRODSKY AND MARGARET CHO

PITCHFORK MEDIA REVIEW of PAPERCRANES With its 1970s décor and sparse Halloween paraphernalia above the small stage, the Living Room was an ideally cozy setting for Papercranes' low-key set of lulling folk rock. Their two albums, as well as on their upcoming Let's Make Babies in the Woods, are eclectic, electric affairs, but live, they pared down to a purely acoustic show, with brushed snare, soft bass, and subdued strumming spotlighting Rain Phoenix's warm vocals. In this setting, they came across like a more urbane Ida, thanks to eccentric harmonies from solo artist Amy Miles. . (read more)

PASTE MAGAZINE REVIEWS JULIE HARTIGAN, JOHN FORTE, AND MY JERUSALEM This post mostly deals with the events on or about Tuesday afternoon when Paste and the prestigious ASCAP began its stranglehold on the Living Room, an artfully intimate venue in the Lower East Side, for a week of heart-pounding showcases. New York singer-songwriter Julia Haltigan and her backing band the Hooligans spurred the crowd to participate in some call-and-response for “Knocking At The Door,” and indie supergroup My Jerusalem, featuring past and present members of Twilight Singers, Great Northern, Bishop Allen and the Polyphonic Spree, had their suitcases packed with the Big Easy’s off-kilter charm for their boisterous stomp-rawk set. (read more)

THEAUDIOPERV.COM REVIEW for JULIE HARTIGAN & THE HOOLIGANS Any evidence that Paste Magazine is in trouble was not present at their really chill CMJ showcases this week at The Living Room. Free beer, cocktails, snacks (thank you!) accompanied all the great music. On Tuesday, we had the pleasure of catching Julia Haltigan. This girl has a huge voice, reminiscent of Loretta Lynne (and that’s not even our favorite type of music but we loved Julia!). Unfortunately, due to this being one of the first official CMJ performances of the week, many people missed out on hearing Julia Haltigan & The Hooligans. The songs are kinda long and need a bit of tweaking but the sound definitely has potential to help make folk rock more popular. (read more)

POP MATTERS REVIEW of EMANUEL & THE FEAR, JD SOUTHER, KIM TAYLOR, AND ANNIE & THE BEE KEEPERS EMANUEL & THE FEAR > It takes a lot of ambition to write rock songs that could serve as the score for a dramatic opera, but Brooklyn’s Emmanuel & the Fear do not shy away from it, nor do they fail to live up to the task…. JD SOUTHER > JD Souther is an accomplished songwriter and musician. He has written for countless musicians – from James Taylor to Crosby, Stills & Nash and has hit the top of the Billboard charts…. Kim Taylor > This soulful singer-songwriter stood amidst the accomodating acoustics of the Living Room and let her soft raspy voice ring. At times backed by an extra guitar, at others by harmonica, and still others by a piano, Kim Taylor sang songs with a country twang not unlike a pre-fame Sheryl Crowe… ANNIE AND THE BEEKEEPERS > This is perhaps where scheduling conflicts at CMJ fail certain artists. After a quiet evening of acoustic folk, Annie & the Beekeepers got a chance—an hour late–-to showcase their talents…(read more)

SPINNER.COM REVIEW of JOHN FORTE If there was a common theme in the songs that musician John Forté performed during his CMJ showcase yesterday at NYC's Living Room, it was about finding oneself during life's trials. It is something that this artist certainly knows about very well from firsthand experience. A rapper, producer and songwriter -- most notably for the Fugees' 1996 hit album 'The Score' -- Forté was arrested in 2000 on drug charges. He was later sentenced to 14 years in prison, seven of which he served before being pardoned by President George W. Bush last November. Recently Forté returned to music by releasing 'StyleFREE the EP.'(read more)

POP MATTERS REVIEW of PUNCH BROTHERS & HOLLY MIRANDA VIA ELBO.WS The CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival invades New York City this week. Here's the latest from PopMatters' writers on the beat. Punch Brothers The Living Room, New York City I'm an enthusiastic fan of Nickel Creek mandolin geek Chris Thile's latest band, so being utterly transfixed by the shivering dynamics of the third movement from "The Blind Leaving The Blind" is a familiar feeling for me at this point. (read more)

ICT MAGAZINE REVIEW of THE LOVE LANGUAGE The Love Language recognise from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where they began as a unaccompanied send for singer-songwriter royalty McLamb. Now swollen to a septet, including digit pianists, they were just healthy to good on the initiate at the Living Room. Before a packed-to-overflowing house, the Love Language sharpened up and ironed discover their sound– rhetorical indie imbibe that draws from 60s sources and hides forsaken sentiments behindhand full, catchy, modify jaunty arrangements– and in doing so, they jettisoned whatever of McLamb’s eccentricities. (read more)

KNOCKS FROM THE UNDERGROUND REVIEW of EMANUEL & THE FEAR, JD SOUTHER, AND KIM TAYLOR EMANUEL & THE FEAR > Brooklyn-based Emanuel and The Fear barely fit on the small Living Room stage. It’s possible that Emanuel’s fear is that the eleven-member rock orchestra will NEVER fit on a stage, but they crowded on with a closeness that made the audience feel it was watching the band in their own practice space. Even before they began to play, one could tell they’re rock-and-roll for the Jonathan Schwartz crowd—with a string trio of two violins and a cello, a brass duo of a trombone and trumpet, a solo flute, keyboardist and standard drums, guitars and bass, they seemed more an experimental hipster chamber group than a CMJ-worthy band…. JD SOUTHER > What is there to say that hasn’t been said about a legend like JD Souther? On the Monday before he honored The Living Room by stepping on its stage, Souther was awarded an American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) award, presented by Jackson Browne in Nashville. Souther has written classics for performers from the Eagles to Linda Ronstadt, such as “The Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” and “Prisoner in Disguise.”… KIM TAYLOR > When Kim Taylor steps on stage, it’s not to joke around. Without a sound check, without much tuning, even without introduction, Taylor’s voice bellowed through the mic, raspy and addictive like cigarettes, bold and unrepentant for any sin it purports to commit. She’s a singer-songwriter, and she accompanies her voice with a guitar and an improvising accompanist, Jimi—who wears pink “gay,” as he said, Crocs—but her voice was the main attraction. It’s at once silky and rough, innocent and broken, unique and highly palatable…. (read more)

LAST NIGHTS SHOWS VLOG of EMILYN BRODSKY Last Nights Shows Vlog of Emilyn Brodsky >> (See it here)

SPINNER.COM REVIEW of JD SOUTHER Mention the name JD Souther and the first thing that probably comes to mind is the Eagles. He is practically synonymous with that band as the co-writer of several Eagles hits, including 'New Kid in Town,' 'Heartache Tonight' and 'The Best of My Love.' In addition, Souther has written several songs for Linda Ronstadt and recorded a duet with James Taylor, 'Her Town Too.' In 2008, Souther returned with 'If the World Was You,' his first new studio album in almost 25 years. Last night, Souther performed at the Living Room on New York's Lower East Side as part of the CMJ Music Marathon. Alone with only an acoustic guitar in hand, Souther played some romantic-sounding songs from 'If the World Was You,' such as the tender and soulful 'I'll Be Here at Closing Time' and the ballad 'The Border Guard.'(read more)