November 13, 2009
Ballard Does Brooklyn: Mt. Fuji Records Showcase at CMJ
The Whore Moans at Bruar Falls during CMJ ::: All photos by Brady Sprouse
[Brady Sprouse, our man-about-Ballard and album reviewer headed out to CMJ a few weeks ago for one of his other gigs, The Maldives tour manager. He was kind enough to share his experience and report back with a review about Ballard Ave. taking over Brooklyn for Mt. Fuji Records' CMJ Showcase. - abbey]
A few weeks ago I went to New York with the Maldives for the CMJ Mt Fuji Showcase in Brooklyn. Having never been to New York before, I was, to say the least, very excited to get out of Seattle and go to the “Big City”. “The City Seattle Wishes it Was”. “Some Place Where it Wasn’t Raining”.
My alarm went of at 3:40 am on Monday morning. Three hours after I’d gone to bed. I met The Maldives at the 65th house in Ballard at 4:30 and everybody was on time (for once), more or less. As we were loading our luggage into the van, I sat smoking a cigarette thinking at least we didn’t have to load any gear this trip, but was not looking forward to herding 8 people through airport security. It’s hard enough to keep them together when we’re all in the same room. But, as I’m learning about my job as “tour manager”, the more I worry, the smoother things usually end up going. At the airport we got through security without incident and on the plane without waiting more than five minutes at the gate. Five or so hours later we landed at JFK.
After a slight delay trying to figure out our subway pass situation, which involved more than one of us (myself included) trying the patience of multiple MTA employees, we were on the subway headed into Brooklyn. The sun was shining and it was in the low 60’s. I’d brought two jackets and a sweatshirt which I couldn’t even fit into my bag. We got off the subway in Williamsburg and I was already down to the sweatshirt and carrying one jacket I didn’t really need. We ended up at a place called the Alligator Lounge waiting for some friends who were going to be putting us up for the week. The Alligator Lounge gives you a free pizza for every drink you order. Not a frozen cardboard slab, but a real wood fired cheese pizza that was much better than bad. I ate two for the $10 price of a Bud and Jameson. Not bad, even for New York prices. So we drank, ate pizza, watched some baseball and waited. Eventually our friends started trickling in. Most were Seattle transplants or reverse transplants who’d left Seattle to come back to New York. They got us settled and we we went exploring our little corner of Williamsburg.
The next day was somewhat of a blur: almost 70 degrees, MTV studios in Times Square, picking up the CMJ badges at Washington Square Park, seeing where that kid caught a skateboard beating in Kids, The Village and “The Bitter End”. I was barely able to keep my inner, wide-eyed gaping tourist in check. We got our badges and and sat down at a pub in a few blocks away called The Red Lion who’s proprietor could’ve easily been my lrish grandfather. There we met up with the rest of the boys and made plans to meet up with the rest of the Mt. Fuji crew (label heads Mike Jaworski and Rich Green, The Whore Moans, and the Black Whales).
Back in Brooklyn I had to pick up a guitar from an old friend for the Maldives (Thanks to Sarah and Cedar). Since we were only out for one show all the gear was being loaned out by the Black Whales (Much thanks to those guys) except and acoustic guitar which is, to say the least, kind of important during a Maldives show. With guitar procured we all met at a little place underneath where I was staying. Mike and the other bands started staggering in one and two at a time and we all got some food and just kind of relaxed. It was nice to see so much Seattle so far from Seattle (this was a theme our whole week in New York. Seattle everywhere we went. It was great.)
The Mt Fuji Showcase was at Bruar Falls, about four blocks from where most of us were staying in Williamsburg so it made things pretty easy to maneuver as far as keeping track of people and knowing where we were. I had never really met the guys from the other bands so it was nice to put some faces to music and names. We all had a drink and then a few more at another place across the street from Bruar Falls called The Trash Bar which was definitely one of the cooler places we hung out that week. Seriously, cheap whiskey and beer combo specials, your bar could be a cardboard box in an alley and I will have something nice to say about it. Bruar Falls wasn’t bad either. It was tiny though (imagine a show at the Golden City or that little side room at The Canterbury). So tiny in fact I was surprised that one: nobody was brained by Whore Moans bassist Ryan Devlin on their way to the bathroom, and two: all The Maldives were able to fit up on stage (Chris Zasche and his peddle steel could not make it to New York and thus was probably the reason everybody was able to squeeze up there). The Black Whales didn’t even bother trying to fit and set up partially on the floor in front of the stage. This made for an amazingly intimate closing performance to the showcase. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The night was getting a late start due to earlier shows so there was a lot of standing around and waiting but once The Whore Moans went on, the faces began to melt. The crowd was surprisingly subdued for the amount of energy that the Whore Moans were throwing into it. At one point Nikki O jumped down into the crowd on is knees and began wailing into everybody which seemed to get people a little more involved. Though the crowd was not spastically flailing about, everybody was into it as the boys burned through one after another, shedding clothing and sweat along the way.
After a quick transition and set up The Maldives were on stage with the Black Whales’ gear. Hilariously, every piece of borrowed equipment was like a bizarro copy of what each normally used. Kevin Barrens replacement accordion was a melodica. Each guitar was a slightly different model and/or color. It’s like everything was the same, but different. Not to mention all the sets were 30 minutes long so they really had to tighten up their set length which made a perfect fit in between the other two bands. What I like to refer to as “The Rock Set.” And it was outstanding, especially considering the missing component of the peddle steel whose absence was more than accounted for by Seth Warren’s fiddle. As they closed with Blood Relations, one of the best performances to date, I realized that for as many times as I’ve heard these songs, they do not get old. In fact, they get better.
I’d never seen the Black Whales live and had only heard a few tracks off of they’re debut EP Origins so I was excited to get the opportunity to watch and photograph the band in action. And, with one minor electrical snafu notwithstanding, they did not disappoint. They came out blazing with their heavy electric jangle and amazing melodies. They’d been out on tour for the past month or so and you could see it in their performance. Tight and loose at the same time. Breezing through there songs with a passion and confidence afforded to a band that after this many times, could do it with their eyes closed. At least most of the way. The night went off more or less without a hitch and all the bands sounded great.
The next evening after sight seeing around Manhattan, we met up with Mike Jaworski in the East Village and we had a chance to talk a little about the show the previous night. We both agreed the line up couldn’t have been better. These three bands are a perfect representation of Seattle and the music that it’s producing right now. Music that is as similar as it is different. Good music.
I didn’t want to leave New York. I’d spent thirty years never being that impressed with the city. Now I don’t know why I wasn’t. We were treated so well. All the silly tourist stuff I’d seen in movies was incredible and right in front of me. We had one of the best times on the road to date. The show was fun. Really fun. So many Seattle friends made it out. Old and new. Out to visit or now living in New York. Witnessing some of the best music going happening right now in our little city.
When I left JFK it was 73 degrees. When I landed at Sea-Tac it was 40 degrees and raining lightly. A meter maid on a Segway told me I couldn’t smoke at the arrival terminal. Outside. I wanted to get back on a plane immediately. But then my friend picked me up and took me to The Smoke Shop and I slowly began to remember where I’m from and how much I love it here. How much the music in this town means to me. How many more times I want to visit New York to see Seattle bands take over a whole neighborhood in one of the biggest cities in the world and melt the faces of the newly converted.
See More of Brady’s Photos from the Mt. Fuji Records CMJ Showcase after the jump:
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