CMJ 2008: Day 4
10-24-2008;

[{Day 1} - {Day 2} - {Day 3} - Day 4 - {Day 5}]

{La Di Da Di Rock Da Party @ Whisk and Ladle}

Friday evening didn't go off quite as planned. Long story short: I put on a different hat and played cello for Quitzow, along with fellow Young Love-r Setting Sun, at the La Di Da Di Rock Da Party in Brooklyn. Luckily, that meant I was privy to two of the most impressive and intimate live sets I saw all week. And then we all ate homemade pumpkin pie.

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- {The Loom}

The Loom reside in Brooklyn, and I'd like to take a moment to thank them for securing Friday night's performance space, a beautiful Williamsburg loft belonging to their friends who often host dinner parties, but never concerts! None of the residents seemed disturbed, though... and really, who would be upset to come home and find a pack of ex-band geeks making beautiful noise in the living room? My notebook contains written observations like "OBOE! CLARINET! LUTE! LAP STEEL" and not much else, because I spent most of the set clapping and singing along with the gang-chorus vocal lines. Lead singer John Fanning reeled out lyrics in a folky staccato, but made plenty of room for the five (!) other players to join him in elaborate harmony. It's pretty impossible to fake the French horn, and Lis Rubard set an example for all you punks out there who think it looks easy, at times leading the entire crew with its gentle tenor. The sheer volume of instruments employed by The Loom is hard to describe without listing every single one, so just peep this video and trust me. These guys don't fuck around.

The Loom's self-released EP is called At Last Light.

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- {Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson}

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and his crew rolled in sometime during The Loom's set, looking completely dialed-in and exhausted. I heard some people murmuring about how this would be their third show of the day, so no small wonder there! In a way, though, it made his set that much more poignant, as it was clear he and his band were running exclusively on bourbon and endorphins. His voice had a ragged tear to it (more than usual), but he and his band put every last drop of their remaining energy into this living room set. If the upstairs neighbors hadn't been awake before, Robinson's boot stomps had them listening through their floors for sure. His story is widely circulated now... about how he pulled himself out of a druggy, messed-up life in Coney Island after moving there from Oregon and started writing songs instead. The sad edge is still very much present in his lyrics, dropping F-bombs you don't expect in the folky setting.

I felt genuinely lucky to see him play in such a quiet, undisturbed space. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson worked on his full-length album, Buriedfed, for two years, with the help of Grizzly Bear and TV On The Radio members. It's out now on Say Hey.

[{Day 1} - {Day 2} - {Day 3} - Day 4 - {Day 5}]

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