CMJ: Day 1: Tamaryn| Dom | Marnie Stern @ Santos Party House. Ume @ Relix Party

Ume
Ume
Tamaryn
Dom
Marnie Stern

My plans to take it easy this year for CMJ backfired when the marathon finally posted their lineup of bands. I was very excited to catch Ume from Austin play a free Relix Mag show at some store in soho. Weird setting for their post punk guitar driven sound. I was hooked after the first song and slightly in love. Highly recommend. A great start to CMJ.

Then ran to Santos Party house for the Stereogum Party. Came in for the Tamaryn set. This band from San Francisco played their drony shoe gaze music in complete darkness. Nothing new here that you couldn’t get from the Cure and Siousie.

The buzz around DOM was already pretty heavy so I was excited. These guys came strong with their energized arena rock. With 3 guitars shredding the tunes it was full of sound and excitement and they hooked a good crowd. Heavy layered sounds but I’d rather catch Free Energy.

The highlight was Marnie Stern, armed with a charming yet biting stage presence. Very impressive on the guitar with finger tapping and jumping into elaborate and jarring guitar melodies. It’s hard not to be impressed or at least intrigued by her. Her banter was great saying things like “We’ve got two more, and then Wild Nothings are up. I wish it were Wild Somethings!” as she gyrated her hips to the crowd. Marnie, you are a rock gem. Please call me…..

http://www.myspace.com/umemusic
http://www.myspace.com/imagesmusic
http://www.myspace.com/imfur
http://www.myspace.com/marniestern1 (awesome media)

my CMJ photos.