Read More This band, Silver Swans, took their name from Wonder Woman's villain. The original Silver Swan (Helen Alexandros) got her sonic powers from the Greek Gods...
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CMJ Music Marathon Wrap-Up
Day 1: Thursday, October 20, 2011
Having arrived in New York Thursday afternoon, I’d missed most of the pre-festival fun, which included plenty of open bars and free shows for poor music nerds that just want to get their drink on. In fact, CMJ is quite affordable if you’re not married to the prospect of rubbing elbows with industry bigwigs and/or finding yourself crotch-to-ass with crazed Neon Indian fans. Most of the free stuff required email RSVP, but with the invention of portable internet-equipped communication devices (or “smart phones”), planning your CMJ itinerary on the go is virtually hassle-free. CMJ’s website even offered an app that allowed festival goers to create a virtual calendar of events, which was helpful in theory but lacked practical application as it did not come with a magical transportation machine. Let’s just say, for those of us commuting from the northernmost tundra of Manhattan (Washington Heights, for example), we could’ve used a goddamn bag of Floo Powder*. Note to CMJ organizers: I expect better next year.
My first and only stop of the night was The Delancey for San Francisco’s Silver Swans, as part of Modern Vintage Recordings’ free showcase. Prior to the Swans taking stage, I caught what was supposed to be the tail-end of Thomas Simon’s set, which amounted to a half hour-long encore of sorts. I’m not sure what flavor of electric Kool-Aid Simon was sipping on, but dude was clearly in “the zone.” Unfortunately, very few seemed to share his desire to be in that particular zone. At one point someone in the audience—no doubt unhappy with Simon’s bizarre one-man Rock Band tribute—unplugged his electric doo-dads, thereby forcing the artist to stop playing and, perhaps, to meditate on his current state of figurative and literal isolation. Feel sorry for the guy? Well, you weren’t there.
Despite delays, the Swans closed the show in true West Coast style: gracious and calm. Ann Yu’s voice is just as stirring live as it is in the studio. Her pretty-sad vocals, coupled with an impressive display of controlled electro beats, effectively created a mood-scape that I can best describe as “a Secret Garden in Tokyo, year 2025.” Judging by the surge in crowd activity, this proved a far more lucrative “zone” to inhabit. The band played a few selections off their Secrets EP, including the title track and “Let Me Know Now.” They also treated fans to a couple of new songs from their forthcoming album Forever: “Triangles of Gold” and the slightly off-kilter “Karen.” Watch Silver Swans perform the latter at Public Assembly in Brooklyn (Brooklyn Vegan’s CMJ Showcase, video courtesy of Clyde Erwin Barretto):
Joining Yu and Jon Waters were Dave Farrell (percussion) and Jennifer Duardo (keys). Both musicians are new to the lineup, although Farrell and Yu have shared the stage for years with dreamy pop outfit LoveLikeFire. For more information on Silver Swans, visit their Facebook page. Stream/purchase Secrets at: silverswans.bandcamp.com. Forever is scheduled for digital release in December.
Up next: Day 2 or “Finding Home on the Lower East Side.”
*I’m sorry if you had to click on the link in order to understand ‘Floo Powder.’ However, you probably had sex before the age of 25, so don’t feel bad about yourself.
Day 1: Thursday, October 20, 2011
Having arrived in New York Thursday afternoon, I’d missed most of the pre-festival fun, which included plenty of open bars and free shows for poor music nerds that just want to get their drink on. In fact, CMJ is quite affordable if you’re not married to the prospect of rubbing elbows with industry bigwigs and/or finding yourself crotch-to-ass with crazed Neon Indian fans. Most of the free stuff required email RSVP, but with the invention of portable internet-equipped communication devices (or “smart phones”), planning your CMJ itinerary on the go is virtually hassle-free. CMJ’s website even offered an app that allowed festival goers to create a virtual calendar of events, which was helpful in theory but lacked practical application as it did not come with a magical transportation machine. Let’s just say, for those of us commuting from the northernmost tundra of Manhattan (Washington Heights, for example), we could’ve used a goddamn bag of Floo Powder*. Note to CMJ organizers: I expect better next year.
My first and only stop of the night was The Delancey for San Francisco’s Silver Swans, as part of Modern Vintage Recordings’ free showcase. Prior to the Swans taking stage, I caught what was supposed to be the tail-end of Thomas Simon’s set, which amounted to a half hour-long encore of sorts. I’m not sure what flavor of electric Kool-Aid Simon was sipping on, but dude was clearly in “the zone.” Unfortunately, very few seemed to share his desire to be in that particular zone. At one point someone in the audience—no doubt unhappy with Simon’s bizarre one-man Rock Band tribute—unplugged his electric doo-dads, thereby forcing the artist to stop playing and, perhaps, to meditate on his current state of figurative and literal isolation. Feel sorry for the guy? Well, you weren’t there.
Despite delays, the Swans closed the show in true West Coast style: gracious and calm. Ann Yu’s voice is just as stirring live as it is in the studio. Her pretty-sad vocals, coupled with an impressive display of controlled electro beats, effectively created a mood-scape that I can best describe as “a Secret Garden in Tokyo, year 2025.” Judging by the surge in crowd activity, this proved a far more lucrative “zone” to inhabit. The band played a few selections off their Secrets EP, including the title track and “Let Me Know Now.” They also treated fans to a couple of new songs from their forthcoming album Forever: “Triangles of Gold” and the slightly off-kilter “Karen.” Watch Silver Swans perform the latter at Public Assembly in Brooklyn (Brooklyn Vegan’s CMJ Showcase, video courtesy of Clyde Erwin Barretto):
Joining Yu and Jon Waters were Dave Farrell (percussion) and Jennifer Duardo (keys). Both musicians are new to the lineup, although Farrell and Yu have shared the stage for years with dreamy pop outfit LoveLikeFire. For more information on Silver Swans, visit their Facebook page. Stream/purchase Secrets at: silverswans.bandcamp.com. Forever is scheduled for digital release in December.
Up next: Day 2 or “Finding Home on the Lower East Side.”
*I’m sorry if you had to click on the link in order to understand ‘Floo Powder.’ However, you probably had sex before the age of 25, so don’t feel bad about yourself.
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