Day 3 of CMJ has come and gone, and we’re still standing. Just barely. In order to take in the plethora of shows we had to divide and conquer, so these recaps come to you from all corners of NYC.
First up, our City Editor Andrea Gompf stopped by the Bowery Ballroom to see Sky Ferreira:
Did you know that Internet It-Girl and frequent Terry Richardson subject Sky Ferreira is of Portuguese and Brazilian descent? Me neither, until this week. I always thought the 20 year-old songstress was better known for modeling than making music, but last night’s showcase allowed me to really hone in on her vocal chops for the first time – mainly because the atmospheric fog machine and purple-y lights made it difficult to really see her (I guess dark mood lighting in the new thing). Anyway, she gave a slightly bashful but charming performance – her stripped down rendition of “Sad Dream” was especially lovely, allowing her sultry, melancholy voice to shine. She closed her short set with “Everything is Embarrassing,” perhaps the most popular track off her latest EP Ghost, getting cheers of excitement and appreciation from the cool-kid crowd.
Next, blogger Daniela Cabrera hit up the the Avant Pop Showcase, the Fader Fort, and Glasslands:
I can relate to Andrea’s CMJ recap yesterday because the harrowing quest of where to charge my phone was looming over me all last night. After ducking into some shady establishments to use their outlet in the corner, I was well on my way to The Delancey where I caught Il Abanico for the Avant Pop Showcase presented by The Deli Magazine. Currently living in Brooklyn via Bogotá, Il Abanico has a dream pop sound ala Twin Sister with a few experimental instruments thrown in to keep it funky. Singer Julianna Ronderos’ hauntingly beautiful vocals floated over the drums and guitars and she never stopped dancing! One of my faves was their last song, which Julianna described as a “metal ballad.” Right on! Makes sure to check out their energetic set as they perform a few more shows for CMJ Festival. Watch our video of the shows highlights and check out their EP Crossing Colors on their bandcamp.
[insert-video youtube=eRMqp3jN1cA]
After Il Abanico and watching Brooklyn band, Conveyor, I hopped over to Fader Fort to catch some King L (and mostly free alcohol, whoops.) After bumping and grinding at Fader, me and the Remezcla team made it over to Glasslands, where VEGA, aka Alan Palomo aka Neon Indian, was setting up for his DJ set. It could have been the fog machine blowing in my face all night, but things got blurry around this time, especially since I was so anxious to talk to Vega. He played an awesome intergalactic, electronic, space odyssey-like set, which is the only way I could describe it. As I expected, VEGA is a pretty rad guy, living in Brooklyn, working on music and gave us a shout out at Remezcla! Thanks, Alan! Awesome way to end my amazing night and now I’ll be on cloud nine for a few more days…
[insert-video youtube=1tAHwoxNG-A]
