03 November 2006

Jake Brennan, Read Yellow, Goes Cube, and Foreign Islands @ Guero - 2 November 2006

The final of three (first show/second show ) EAR FARM sponsored shows during CMJ was held yesterday afternoon at Guero (basement of Julep). It was intended to be a nice fun small party with awesome bands and friends getting together for some nearly free beers on a Thursday afternoon and that's precisely what it was. After just one small problem...

Unfortunately there was a communication problem regarding the venue sound system and it was discovered pre-show that Guero's intimate setting wasn't going to work for Shout-out-out-out-out. A real shame and definitely not the ideal start to the afternoon. As it was, Shout-out-out-out-out was unable to play and, on behalf of EAR FARM, Holy Roller, and Guero, I'd like to apologize to them. You can be sure that we'll work out an excellent show with them in the future at a larger venue. Live and learn. Luckily, once things got going it was a blast from start to finish.

Jake Brennan (above) was up first with just a guitar, amp, and microphone and with these simple tools he blew me away. His sound is something like Nebraska era Bruce Springsteen, or Back to Basics Billy Bragg, but with a rockabilly slant. A combination that suits my tastes very well. I was happy to have picked up a Jake Brennan CD and can't wait to catch him again live. See more pictures of Jake Brennan from yesterday's show HERE.

Read Yellow (above) - could they be any mo' better live? No, of course not. But then, everyone already knows this, right? I did, and I hadn't even seen them yet. Yesterday they delivered everything I was hoping for and more. In a tiny basement bar in the East Village, Read Yellow treated those of us in attendance to one fantastic performance. They annihilated the implied barrier between themselves and the audience and moved from mellow moments to all out rocking with ease. Pure energy. See more pictures of Read Yellow from yesterday's show HERE.

This show was merely a warmup show for Goes Cube (above) as they had their official CMJ showcase later in the night at The Delancey. Do you think that meant they'd take it easy? Coast through their set? Hell no. This is GOES CUBE we're talking about. They nearly blew my ears off shredding through mostly new songs and Kenny punched a hole in his snare with a stick. You should know that I now fight the urge to jump around and rock out while singing along each time I see these guys. I don't want to seem like too much of a superfan but that's just what I am. By the way, my new favorite - Goes Cube Song 39. See more pictures of Goes Cube from yesterday's show HERE.

What little I knew of Foreign Islands (above) before yesterday flew right out the door the second Dean smashed two full beers on the table in front of me with his guitar neck. It was such the perfect punch in the face. Glass and beer flew everywhere and the crowd was on edge. Danger! What were they going to do next? The anticipation was palpable and I loved it. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to see a band put the balls back into a rock performance. Best part - their songs kicked as much ass as they did. See more pictures of Foreign Islands from yesterday's show HERE.

Yesterday was one of those shows I found myself feeling very lucky to be witnessing in person. Musicians playing for the fun of it, playing for each other, and playing without constraint. Thanks so very much to my co-sponsors of this show, to the bands who played, and to everyone who came out to all of the EAR FARM sponsored shows. I hope you guys had as much fun with it as I did.

1 comment:

Bryan said...

dammit matt don't you know i'm stuck in an office all day? i want to see Read Yellow and Goes Cube! it just aint fair!

i want a full report on this Guero place though.