The Top 60 Bands (Ryan Saw) At CMJ 2006

[part 5 of 6]

#11 Eastern Conference Champions - At CMJ ‘05 I went to see this band based solely on their name and they turned out to be one of the best acts I saw that year. They were even better this time around, cementing their current status as one of my favorite bands. They’re starting to get noticed by more and more people including my friend Bret who says, “they’re like Our Lady Peace, only cool.” I hadn’t made that connection, but it’s true (hinging of course on your definition of “cool”). We’d also like to compare them to a three-piece version of Bends-era Radiohead, if that’s allowed.

They’ve been asked to support acts like Mew, Sliverchair and The View recently and they will be at SXSW in March despite having all of their gear stolen in LA. There are a bunch of good tunes on their myspace page. Also, their drummer is left handed so he sets his kit up “backwards”. That shouldn’t be a big deal, but I think it looks awesome.

Eastern Conference Champions - The Box (live at The Delancey)

Eastern Conference Champions - Noah (live at The Delancey)

Eastern Conference Champions - To The Wind (live at The Delancey)

And here are two songs that I was unable to figure out titles for:
unknown 1, unknown 2

#12 The Wrens - This was my first time seeing The Wrens. I wish it could have been in a smaller venue, but the energy that they were able to expend while playing in a seated theater amazed me. I’ve since seen them at the Knitting Factory and it’s safe to say that this band is in a league of their own when it comes to putting on a great live performance.

The Wrens - Faster Gun (live at Skirball Center)

The Wrens - Hopeless (live at Skirball Center)

The Wrens - Happy (live at Skirball Center)

#13 The Little Ones - The last band of CMJ ‘06. I wish I had recorded one of their better tunes, but I was happy to get anything on tape by this point. Of all the bands I saw that week, they were the first group that I went to see again at an actual gig a few weeks later. That must be saying something. I wrote about that show here.

The Little Ones - Face The Facts (live at Northsix)

#14 The Evening Episode - Another California band, The Evening Episode put out one of my favorite records of 2006. The album balances soft and loud very well, but in the live setting they were either soft or really, really loud - almost too much for me to enjoy myself. I like bands that rock out, but Pianos is not a good place to test how loud you can be. Feedback became the sixth band member for the night, but it’s not nearly as painful on these recordings as it was in person. I would absolutely love to see them play a venue like Mercury or Bowery.

The Evening Episode - Learn Your Ps and Qs (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode - New Love (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode - Backstroke (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode - Photocopied Residence (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode - We’ll Be Read (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode - unknown (live at Pianos)

#15 The Grates - I saw The Grates a total of five times this past year, which says a lot about how much I enjoy their shows but even more about how much they love playing them. It would’ve been six if hadn’t arrived late to their show with We Are Scientists in November. By my count they made at least four separate trips to the US in 2006. Here’s a full review of their June show and an interview conducted in July.

The Grates - 19-20-20 (live at Knitting Factory)

The Grates - Suckafish (live at Knitting Factory)

#16 Cadence Weapon - I don’t know very much when it comes to hip hop, but Cadence Weapon spent a good two minutes discussing hockey so he won me over. He’s definitely a unique performer with witty lyrics who puts on a good show, but I’ve yet to be completely bowled over by his actual beats.

Cadence Weapon - Black Hand (live at Fontana’s)

Cadence Weapon - Sharks (live at Fontana’s)

#17 Thunderbirds Are Now! - I feel like this band went from being slightly overrated at the beginning of last year to being vastly underrated today, but such is the state of new music in the age of the internet. They are one of the more energetic bands I’ve seen lately and I knew that listening to them at 2 in the afternoon on a wednesday was going to be either really painful or really awesome. Thankfully, it was the latter.

Thunderbirds Are Now! - 198090 (live at Pianos)

Thunderbirds Are Now! - We Win (Ha Ha) (live at Pianos)

#18 Via Audio - This young New York band writes catchy songs that are fun without being sickeningly sweet. They have those boy/girl lead vocals reminiscent of Stars with simpler instrumentation. An album is in the works and I’m going to be sure to check them out at SXSW.

Via Audio - Presents (live at Fader Lounge)

Via Audio - unknown (live at Fader Lounge)

#19 The Big Sleep - I saw these guys a bunch in 2006 and recorded a full set back in August. I would have enjoyed the show more if it weren’t a mid-day performance in a noisy club, but they were still solid as always.

The Big Sleep - Slow Race (live at The Annex)

The Big Sleep - Brown Beauty (live at The Annex)

The Big Sleep - Murder (live at The Annex)

#20 Loney, Dear - Along with Cansei de Ser Sexy, this band is part of Sub Pop’s recently enacted foreign policy. They hail from Sweden, recent hotbed of smiley pop music. Band leader Emil Svanängen often sings in a falsetto that people either love or hate. If you’re open minded when it comes to music - enough so that you found your way to this corner of the internet - you’ll probably dig it.

Loney, Dear - I Am John (live at Pianos)

Loney, Dear - Le Fever (live at Pianos)

Loney, Dear - The City, The Airport (live at Pianos)