11456

What's going on Thursday? (CMJ, Dungen, Mercury Rev, Protomartyr, Empress Of, Fred Thomas, Front Bottoms, more)

photo: Dungen @ T5, 2010 (more by Andrew Saint Clair)
Dungen at T5

Because of CMJ, we’re doing ‘What’s Going On’ slightly different this week. Each day there’s a handful of day shows which are listed first, followed by the night shows. With so many events happening each day, we’ve limited this to our top picks, but there’s a list of other good ones below the fold. Not all of these shows are associated with CMJ, but most are. And for even more of tonight’s shows, you can browse our full NYC show calendar.

DAY SHOWS

Holly Miranda, Morningsiders, Frankie Cosmos, Ben Abraham, Phoebe Lou, Mail the Horse @ Knitting Factory (FREE)
Want to hang in Williamsburg this afternoon? You’ve got the great Holly Miranda and rising talent Frankie Cosmos.

Methyl Ethel, Cheatahs, Michael Rault, Landshapes, Weaves, Palehound, Hockey Dad, Yung, Stolen Jars, Lena Fayre, Outfit, Tow3rs, Idgy Dean, Marlon Williams @ Pianos (FREE)
This is a pretty international day party, featuring acts from Australia (Hockey Dad, Methyl Ethel), the UK (Cheatahs, Landshapes, Outfit), Denmark (Yung), Canada (Weves) and more. A good option!

John Grant, Ezra Furman, Georgia, Shopping @ Rough Trade (FREE)
This is Rough Trade’s day party, highlighted by an intimate performance by John Grant, but the rest of the bill is great too.

NIGHT SHOWS

The Front Bottoms, The Smith Street Band, Elvis Depressedly @ Irving Plaza
It’s not part of CMJ, but BV is presenting The Front Bottoms’ two-night stand at Irving Plaza with The Smith Street Band and Elvis Depressedly. They just released their major label debut, Back On Top, and it’s actually more subdued than their previous material. This is night 2 of 2.

Ringo Deathstarr, Dead Leaf Echo, Lazyeyes, Nailbiter, Vallens, Beliefs @ Alphaville
Shoegaze fans will want to head to Alphaville for Austin trio Ringo Deathstarr, Canadian groups Vallens and Beliefs, and Brooklyn’s own Dead Leaf Echo.

Yvette, Turn To Crime, Painted Zeros, Meat Wave, What Moon Things, Video Daughters @ Aviv
Gimmie Tinitus is co-sponsoring this showcase that is appropriately LOUD, with must-see Brooklyn duo Yvette being especially boisterous.

Dungen, Quilt @ Baby’s All Right
Mexican Summer is presenting this double bill featuring Sweden’s Dungen who haven’t played NYC in a long time, and Boston-area band Quilt who are always worth catching. Sold out, but limited CMJ badges will be accepted. Get there early.

Maya Beiser w/ Jherek Bischoff & Zachary Alford @ BAM
Cellist Maya Beiser performs electic arrangements of Nirvana, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and more at this four-night BAM run and her band includes Jherek Bischoff on bass. It continues through 10/17.

Mild High Club, Murals, Heaters, Chocolat, Cool ghouls, Worthless, S @ Berlin
If you dig psych, new East Village club Berlin is the place to be tonight, with San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls, Montreal’s Chocolat on the bill…plus the Brian Wilson-loving Mild High Club, and Louisville’s Murals. This one’s free with RSVP.

Panda Bear, The Present, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Deakin (DJ Set) @ Bowery Ballroom
Panda Bear’s new album does what Panda Bear does best — futuristic psychedelic pop with a lot of Brian Wilson influence — but it’s a clear progression from his earlier work too. Tonight he wraps up a sold-out three-night run at Bowery Ballroom.

Kamasi Washington, Nir Felder, Takuya Kuroda, Dessy Di Lauro, Kris Bowers, Ben Williams & Sound Effect @ Bric House
Jazz musician Kamasi Washington has been having a pretty busy year. He appears on Kendrick Lamar and Thundercat’s new albums, and he also has his own, The Epic, out on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label (Thundercat features on that album too).

Wax Idols, Flowers of Evil, Decorum @ Acheron
If you wear black on the outside because black is how you feel on the inside, you should head to Acheron tonight for a gothy bill headlined by San Francisco’s Wax Idols (who played our official showcase last night). Flowers of Evil features members of Crocodiles and A Place to Bury Strangers, and Decorum is the new band from Leif of Orca Team.

Protomartyr, Strange Wilds, The Gotobeds, Mass Gothic @ Knitting Factory
This is the Sub Pop / Hardly Art official CMJ showcase headlined by Detroit’s mighty Protomartyr, fresh off the release of their acclaimed third album, The Agent Intellect. Tour buddies The Gotobeds are also on the bill, as are the Nirvana-y Strange Wilds, and Mass Gothic (ex-Hooray for Earth). H Jon Benjamin, who you may know from Bob’s Burgers or Archer, hosts the night.

Mercury Rev, Ezra Furman, Landshapes, Mammut, Holly Macve @ Le Poisson Rouge
Back after seven years withe new album The Light in You, Mercury Rev headline Bella Union’s official CMJ showcase tonight. Expect sweeping grandeur, trippy visuals

“Fable” @ Knockdown Center
Some of you may remember “Debut,” the ambitious, large-scale production by Derrick Belcham (La Blogotheque) and choreographer Emily Terndrup (Sleep No More) that happened last year at The Knockdown Center and featured music by Porcelain Raft’s Mauro Remiddi, Julianna Barwick and more. Those folks are teaming up again for another large-scale production that again merges independent music, immersive dance theater and large-scale art installation, titled “Fable.”

Skaters, Monika, Hooton Tennis Club, Methyl Ethel, Miya Folick, Marlon Williams @ Living Room
A whole host of CMJ buzz bands — Liverpool’s Hooton Tennis Club and Australia’s Methyl Ethel especially — can be caught here tonight. Get in for cheap with RSVP.

Death By Unga Bunga, Worriers, Gospel Machine, Palehound, Laura Gibson, The Great American Canyon Band, Valley Maker @ Union Pool
Tonight’s Distiller Promo showcase at Union Pool has poppy Brooklyn punks Worriers, singer/songwriter-y indie rockers Palehound, folk singer Laura Gibson and more.

The Jungle Giants, The Maccabees, Yak, Fraser A. Gorman, Mitski (solo), Seratones @ Mercury Lounge
High Road Touring throws their showcase at Mercury Lounge tonight. Especially worth catching are British rockers The Maccabees (who usually play way bigger venues) and a solo set from one of the best artists on NYC’s current local scene, Mitski.

Tobias Jesso Jr., Wet @ MHOW
You can spend your time watching TJJ picking his songs apart if you want — there’s Carol King, there’s Harry Nilsson, there’s Randy Newman, there’s the Cheers theme song — which is even easier to do when it’s just a man and an electric piano. But Jesso is a pretty charming guy with self-effacing humor, and the heart-on-sleeve lyrics clearly connect with his audience who are usually either singing along loudly or pin-drop quiet.

Michael Rault, Cool Ghouls, Dirty Ghosts, Slim Twig, Modern Vices, Howardian, Unstoppable Death Machines @ Palisades
During CMJ, Palisades is a destination — not a lot of other clubs to hop around to nearby — but they’ve got a stay-put lineup tonight, presented by the folks at Burger Records, including the one-of-a-kind Slim Twig, San Francisco’s garage Cool Ghools, and Michael Rault.

Multimagic, Matt Bauer, Sara Curtin, Fred Thomas, Prairie Empire, Anthonie Tonnon, Anna Gordon @ Passenger Bar
Passenger Bar hosts The Band Mom official CMJ showcase, and especially worth catching is Saturday Looks Good To Me frontman Fred Thomas. His new highly-lyrical solo album is very good.

Nai Harvest, Donovan Wolfington, Wildhoney, Solids, Clique, Infinity Girl, Lizard Kisses @ Shea Stadium
The always-reliable Topshelf Records throws their showcase at Shea this year. This one’s especially loaded with distortion-pedal lovers.

Sean Nicholas Savage, Promise Keeper @ Silent Barn
With his band Mood Rings currently in a holding pattern, William Fussel has launched a new project, titled Promise Keeper. If you liked Mood Rings’ shimmery, sultry single “The Line” chances are you’ll like Promise Keeper which is decidedly more on the electro/new romantic soulful pop side (by way of ’80s Michael Mann soundtracks). He plays tonight with Montreal’s Sean Nicholas Savage.

Beggars Party w/ Car Seat Headrest @ Elvis Guesthouse
After releasing a ton of releases on bandcamp that were loved in certain indie rock circles, Car Seat Headrest inked a deal with Matador. He’s definitely one of the more talked-about artists at CMJ this year.

Benjamin Clementine @ Highline Ballroom
With a voice that has gotten him called a “male Nina Simone” more than once, UK singer Benjamin Clementine returns to NYC for this show.

Glass Animals, Empress Of @ Terminal 5
We’re most excited about opener Empress Of, whose synthpoppy debut album Me is definitely one of the better releases of the year.

For all of tonight’s shows, and tomorrow’s, check out our NYC concert calendar.

For laughs, check out the NYC Comedy calendar too.

————-

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
Follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.
Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin’s friend on Facebook and BV Chicago’s friend on Facebook.

Follow BrooklynVegan on instagram.

Even more shows listed below. What else?

DAY SHOWS

Car Seat Headrest, Dirty Ghosts, Mothers, Zachary Cale, Dirty Dishes, Vomitface, WOMPS @ Cake Shop (FREE)

NIGHT SHOWS

The Joy Formidable, Class Actress @ Brooklyn Bowl

Weaves, Sweet Spirit, Diet Cig, Shopping, tricot, Robbing Millions, S @ Cake Shop

Shigeto, Beacon, Xeno & Oaklander, Starchild and The New Romantic, Heathered Pearls (DJ Set), Michna (DJ Set), Lord RAJA, Miguel Senquiz @ Cameo Gallery

Clean Cut Kid, The Big Moon, Pretty Vicious, Georgia, Jacques @ Rough Trade

Goatsnake, Big Brave, YDI @ Saint Vitus

Dan Friel, Sunwatchers, Ethel (playing “Dorothy Theresa” by Dan Friel) @ Secret Project Robot

Oneirogen, Spiteful Womb, Field Grave @ Trans Pecos

LODRO, Vomitface, Parlor Walls, Dead Waves, The Wendigo, Cool Ghouls, Sharkmuffin, Acid Dad, Baby Acid, Fruit and Flowers @ Our Wicked Lady