Midday Check-in

So CMJ has started in earnest... Since I'm kinda slow at work this week, I took the afternoon off to hit a couple of free shows.

First up was The Broken West's in-studio session for KEXP. I think this is the first time the band has played in New York. They played six songs from their forthcoming debut album, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On (due out on January 23rd via Merge Records). I'd heard a couple of the songs before, including "Down In The Valley", which was also on the band's debut EP. The new songs sound just as good, if not better, than the older stuff (my favorite is "So It Goes"). If you're in town, be sure to catch the band on Friday at the Merge Showcase at the Knitting Factory with Portastatic, White Whale and Richard Buckner.

My picture-taking was kinda limited due to the setup of the stuidio. This is the band:



And this is the room next door where KEXP is broadcasting from all week:



From there I ran up to the Apple Store in Soho to catch Asobi Seksu. They're quickly becoming one of my favorite bands to see live. Maybe I'm just a sucker for early-90's style shoegaze, but it's hard to beat a great loud band with a hot female singer.



From Asobi Seksu I ran up to the Puma Store in Union Square, and arrived early for Silversun Pickups. And by that I mean I showed up on the wrong day. Oops. The show's tomorrow afternoon at 3pm. Oh well, I'll still see them at Pianos.

Now I get to clean up and head down to catch The Whigs, and then trek out to distant, scary Brooklyn (kidding) to see Steve Earle. More later.

The Broken West on MySpace
Asobi Seksu on MySpace