Melbourne four piece Dancing Heals recently returned to Australia after an expedition to the USA to play CMJ… among other things. The band have exclusively shared with the AU review their tour diaries detailing their adventures… The talk about drinking with Das Racist, seeing The Jezabels explode on the international stage, of course their own shows and plenty of drinking in between and much more…
First days in New York
After flying for pretty much twenty-four hours, most people would agree that despite the jet lag, when you arrive in New York City at 7pm, you’re going to want two things… Pizza and beer. We sought out both immediately, which isn’t a mean feat in itself, but then we proceeded to find the cheapest bar serving a beer and tequila/whisky shot combo. Being from Australia we thought we’d struck gold with an eight dollar PBR and ‘well’ whisky. And then we found the five dollar combo. That was the end of our first night and the reason for some extra jetlag.
We arrived a few days early before CMJ, so we had time to explore the city and put ourselves back together after the trip.
CMJ
Our first show at the festival was on the first day at a small dive bar in Williamsburg called Muchmore’s. We showed up nice and early before our midnight spot to discover a mini drama taking place. The first band had come across the house ‘drum kit’ (a mild overstatement). The kick drum had been shredded to pieces to the point of making no sound and there were no cymbal stands… bummer. But, this was New York, so we hopped a taxi to a music store that opened late, purchased a new kick drum skin and pretended nothing had happened. We played with four bands from the US, and one that stood out were ‘Holy Wave’ – a super psychedelic, washed out wall of sound experience. We think they had a pretty BJM, Velvet Underground sound. Check them out.
Come midnight and a few three dollar Budweisers later and it was our turn. A vibey show was had by all… we had a blast, need we review ourselves past that?
Post show, a couple of us went to bed, and a couple decided to have ‘one more drink’ at a local bar called Duck Duck. The one more drink turned into 5am drinks for Dan and Jarrad with Dap from Das Racist, as this was his local bar too. Conversation included the state of ‘Aussie Hip Hop’ in the world…
The following day we went to check out The Jezabels at Webster Hall. They breezed through New York on their US tour for a CMJ Show. A fairly packed hall witnessed a pretty entrancing set, with a big production. A win for the Jezabels.
We then headed to check out a band a couple of us had been dying to see since we were teenagers – Local H. Remember them? They had songs including Bound for the Floor and Hi-Fivin MF… Their show was loud, raucous and intense. Brilliant.
Some mental gaps leave us forgetting what day was when, but we did check out Perth band San Cisco at Pianos. There certainly was a buzz in the air and expectation before they played. They songs are hooky, groovy and undeniably good. Reminds me of Vampire Weekend. The audience digs it, not sure if I would be able to listen to on repeat, but the buzz is more than warranted.
The Aussie BBQ
The final day of the festival was the big all-Australian showcase – the Aussie BBQ. Something like seventeen bands played over the day from two pm until three am. Nuts. Of course, there was a big BBQ that was lapped up by hungover and exhausted bands and music industry folk early on in the day. The food and complimentary drinks were certainly a lifesaver for us – thanks Aussie BBQ!
We got to check out a bunch of bands that day, some who we’d seen a bunch and others not so much. Watched some really great sets by Emma Louise, Outerwaves and Dune Rats but the stand out was Big Scary. A big crowd gathered for their ‘powerhouse set’ as Jo (drummer) proclaimed. And man was it good. Even with only two members, they sound gigantic. Every song was captivating, and defies any particular genre. If you don’t know Big Scary, look them up!
We jumped on stage in the early evening for a great show. We had a bunch of people show up, locals and friends from home to make it special. We knocked out six songs in twenty-five minutes and left in a haze of sweat and smiles. Thanks for a great day Aussie BBQ.
All in all, CMJ was what we’d expected and heard it would be… Too many good bands to see at once, long days and nights and one massive party. New York really is a big place when you’re uptown, downtown and across town every hour to see a band… but, who’s complaining?
The adventure continued the next day as we boarded a flight to Asheville, North Carolina to start work on a new record in a big, old church. Stay tuned for that!
These tour diaries have been unedited from their original content.
