cmj: vampire weekend

Vampire Weekend

Saw a lot of shows this afternoon at CMJ, and here’s a breakdown of what I managed to catch.

Le Loup | Brooklyn Vegan Party | Pianos

I tossed up a negative post about this group earlier today; they epitomize what indie rock has to reckon with in a post-Arcade Fire world: largesse as an end unto itself. The band had either seven or eight members, including three guitars, a banjo, keyboards and more singers than a church choir. It all added up to a lot of sound and fury that etc etc etc.

Joan As Police Woman | Brooklyn Vegan Party | Pianos

I am not a fan of the recent Joan as a Police Woman record, which made her show this afternoon all the more surprising. Whether she was sitting at her piano or playing guitar, Joan Wasser was spellbinding; her lyrics, which hadn’t popped at all to me before, were spectacular, meandering and highly literate phrases and tales that recalled prime Neil Young. Bizarrely, the room was empty for her performance. Apparently there still isn’t much of a buzz for her.

Jack Penate | XL Recordings Showcase | Cakeshop

This was the last of Penate’s three NYC showcases. Penate is Beggars’ newest signing (his album comes out early next year), and he’s a bit puzzling at first: flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up almost to the shoulders, big diamond earring, mid ’80s haircut, lots of UK wit. I saw Penate play with a backing bassist and drummer the day before at Fontanas, and walked out after only two songs — it felt hackneyed and forced, third generation Arctic Monkeys homages with some shitty Elvis Costello, too.

Today, however, Penate played alone in the Cakeshop basement, and it made a world of a difference. I came in solely to wait him out (Vampire Weekend were headlining the private showcase), but by the second song I was mostly on board. The songs were goofy, witty and charming — three adjectives that describe him pretty well, too. I dunno if it can change my mind on the record, but he absolutely has his strong points as a performer once he relaxes and eases into the role.

Vampire Weekend | XL Recordings Showcase | Cakeshop

My second time seeing Vampire Weekend, and, once again, they were fantastic. Though the songs from the EP really pop live, the new stuff — due on their XL full-length, which comes out next year — really shines: at least two of their best songs, one having some lyric about “correcting” that I’m forgetting right now, are new ones.

There’s a nice and easy charm to Vampire Weekend live. They aren’t all that demanding — they politely requested audience participation during one singalong track — and even when they bounce around on stage, the (not ironic) quasi-uniform of Oxford shirt, corduroys and loafers/sneakers make their movements so dainty almost. These are clearly very nice, well-mannered boys (maybe the Paul Simon comparisons should be more on this front than the Graceland comparisons).

The other thing that’s immediately apparent with Vampire Weekend: they will be very, very, very big in the near future. Like, huge breakout big. You could put them on stage opening for the Dave Matthews Band tomorrow, and they would be every college student’s new favorite band. There’s that level of potential appeal. Typically I’m the sort of person who would be inclined to hold that against them (I’m very mature), but not in their case. They’re just so likeable. And good.

Meat Puppets | Brooklyn Vegan Party | Pianos

Seeing the Meat Puppets today was a total surprise. I had a vague knowledge that they were on the bill, but I hadn’t planned on going out of my way to see them, primarily because I expected them to push stuff off of the new record (like the Stooges reunion shows), with maybe one or two nods to the great SST stuff. How wrong I was. The Puppets opened with “Up on the Sun,” and busted out both “Lake of Fire” (not so hot) and “Oh Me” (very hot) in the early stages of the set. I didn’t stay through the whole thing, but what I did see was pretty good.

And that was pretty much it for me today. Saw a few other things, but nothing really worth mentioning. I had plans to go see No Age, Dan Deacon and Deerhunter tonight, but I think I had my fill for the day. More to come tomorrow.