Posted on 1:53 PM
After a very late night last week I tumbled out of bed bright and early to have an on-air chat with PeterJon on
Rock n Roll Over about CMJ and our New York adventures thus far. After a too-small cup of continental breakfast coffee our Radio K posse trekked to
WNYC, the home of Radio K's former Program Director, Joel Meyer. We were given a tour of the beautiful two-year-old studios as well as some classic New York bagels.
This afternoon our merry band split up and I took my first New York subway ride (I was pretty excited and happy that the experience was not as smelly as anticipated) to Chinatown (which smelled as much like fish as anticipated, in a good way), where the Pirate showcase was going on. I was able to see
Devotchka, one of my longtime musical crushes, and they did not disappoint. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to the albums by this gypsy-folk band from Denver you may recognize them from the film Little Miss Sunshine (they provide the music for much of the soundtrack). The quartet consists of the standard fare of guitar and drums, fleshed out by an upright bass, accordion, violin, trumpet, shakers, and vocals that feel like they're in an Eastern European language, even though they're generally completely intelligible English. The whole crowd was smiling by the end, swaying and clapping along.
After Devotchka I made my way back to the Ace Hotel, where KEXP is finishing out their live broadcast for the day. I was able to see The Extra Lens, featuring John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, and indeed that distinctive Mountain Goats vocal twang was apparent. Questlove of the Roots is currently in the middle of a DJ set playing to a crowded room of lounging music lovers. It is both homey and sleek, full of coffee and wine and books and taxidermy. It's a good feeling.
-Sophie