We are, of course, throwing our own CMJ party known as The Levi's®/FADER Fort NYC, but we also keep the fire lit long after we are done at our space. All week long we'll be covering everything we manage to see via our intrepid edit staff.
Often, New York shows can be sober affairs with more head bobbing and light swaying than actual dancing. But at Cake Shop last night, the whole premise was flipped on its head. The Browns and The Muslims turned a small New York space into a dance party. The Browns kicked it off with Violent Femmes-like brattiness, and even though it was already a quarter after 1am, the crowd was packed, with just enough room to dance. By the time The Muslims hit the stage it was close to 2am, but the audience and band were on the same wavelength—the band was full of tight hooks and a willingness to end on a high note with a perfectly short set. I wasn't too familiar with the Muslims before the show, but their songs felt ageless, like they were pop hits waiting to be DJed all over New York. In a sea of progressive, increasingly lo-fi CMJ Bands the crowd was more than happy to dance to a rhythm they could recognize.