PANCAKES & WHISKEY PRESENTS: CMJ AT THE DELANCEY

If the first Pancakes & Whiskey and Siren Sounds PR showcase was an indication on how the next two this week could go, consider it a fantastic omen. Neither rain nor cold could keep good music and dedicated fans away from free 4 Roses Bourbon and awesome rock music in the early afternoon of a work day. We took a videos of all the bands (just click the links) so grab a cool/hot beverage of your choice and enjoy!

goodbyemotel With members from across the globe, NYC’s goodbyemotel started off our showcase downstairs and performed their polished live show in front of a few dozen lucky folks who got up early! The guitar work and vocals really stood out amongst the weaving backbeats and proved to be a tremendous start to the day. Video

Everest Cale The folky rock group that has been named ‘Brooklyn’s Least Brooklyn Band’ lived up to their reputation, as they awesomely brought a bail of hay for two of them to sit on for the performance. Where the band got a bail of hay in New York is a mystery for another day. On this day they provided some fantastic folk rock with plenty of southern soul and power. Yes a washboard, mandolin, and dobro made The Delancey almost forget their surrounded by buzzing amps all weekend. Video

Zerbin This indie rock trio made the trip from the friendly white north to warm up the city and sounded awesome in the process. The two guitar players showed an impressive balance between rhythm and lead guitars made up of really ear friendly melodic lines. Video

Frances Cone It was really interesting seeing Frances Cone perform an unplugged style set. The usual indie-pop band seemed to have a new and fresh personality playing on a lower level DB scale. That didn’t change the fact that they’ve still got some of the best three-part harmonies around and can still perform with great natural talent. Singer Christina Cone mentioned after the set how it was kind of awkward not having anything to do with her hands on stage without her usual keyboard. We’ve all been there right? Video

The Peach Kings This Los Angeles indie-rock trio brought the attitude and the jams to the east coast like only LA rockers could do. Guitarists and co-singers Paige Wood and Steven Dies traded and shared vocals lines with fantastic contrast kind of like a darker more dangerous June and Johnny combo. Video

Rocket & The Ghost Rocket and the Ghost has got a pretty busy CMJ, playing six showcases over the five days, but that didn’t put any damper on their fire. Kiyoshi brought is companion guitar player along and the two performed songs off their recent EP rather valiantly. Rocket already has such a unique sound to their songs that it was a real treat hearing an acoustic toned down version. Video

Canon Logic One of NYC’s more popular pop-rock once five piece, now four piece bands are a staple in the LES music scene. This was the first time I’ve ever seen them do an acoustic set, and it really says something about a band when they’re just as fun to dance to unplugged as they do when the amps are buzzing. While they didn’t play my favorite in ‘Nights at Armor Mansion’, they did cover the usual material with ‘Wyld’, ‘Mountain’, ‘Runaway’, and ‘IBOK’ off their most recent album, which is a MUST listen. Video

Charly Bliss While some might call them pop-punk, this band prefers the label bubblegrunge. Whatever the hell you want to call them, they’ve got to be one of the hidden gems of CMJ this year. I couldn’t really tell if lead singer Eva Hendricks was just excited be she “Totally just aced a midterm”, or if she’s always as charismatic and energetic on stage, her one-of-a-kind energy is a force to be reckoned with to go along with the bands almost 90s post-grunge rock sound. Video

Jack & Eliza These two symbolize singer-songwriters, just with the amps turned up real loud. Both Jack and Eliza put their abilities forward with a very organic sound to make for a great show. I’ve gotta say two for it just being the two of them with just a couple of guitars, they may have had the most packed set of the afternoon. Well played you two. Video

Highs Another group from our friendly neighbors up north, Highs are an indie-new wave band that had the Delancey basement dancing. The five-piece does a fantastic job with their layered music and vocals to make for really warm sounding rock music. Video

Mighty Oaks Mighty Oaks, via Germany, is made up of an eclectic group of international musicians from Seattle, Italy and Berlin. They were a tight and fun band with loads of harmony and soul. Video

Adios Ghost This band is diverse and brings tribal influences (at least to my ear) to the party. Although it was only the second time going acoustic, you wouldn’t of known it as their style fit seamlessly. Video

The Teen Age This Brooklyn band labels themselves as “Do0 Wop Garage” played a number of catchy and upbeat tunes which had a slight punk-pop edge to them. Great energy and harmonies! Video

Whiskey Bitches The local and up-and-coming trio usually plugs in, turns it up to 11 and in true punk form, blasts your face off with hard hitting numbers. This time around it was just two of them and stripped down to acoustic but still played with true punk passion and energy. Video

Article by: Tom Shackleford & Shayne Hanley

Photos + Video by: Shayne Hanley