CMJ Music Marathon is an endurance test. You can collect as many bands as you want — on any given day you can catch way more than a dozen if you are willing to work for it. On the third (and on the fourth) nights, I wasn’t pushing myself. I wanted to see John Grant ‘s newly added set at Rough Trade since I couldn’t make his set at Le Poisson Rouge on the last day. And I wanted to catch up with Quilt who I hadn’t seen in a while. I also got to hang out at Baby’s where a team from Mute Records was on site giving out stickers and albums (I got myself ones from M83 and from The Knife).
John Grant is practically the artist-in-residence at Rough Trade NYC, given how much love he has shown the indie chain (he was one of the first artists to play at the NYC location). So it was with little surprise that he returned for a preview of his new album Grey Tickles, Black Pressure at the shop. The venue wasn’t packed given it was a early evening show (5:30 pm ish start) though a lot of people departed following Ezra Furman’s set. Grant’s touring band includes Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Budgie on drums and they performed seven dark and trippy songs, including the wonky “Snug Slacks”. He recently did a chat with Neko Case for NPR’s ‘All Songs Considered’ which is worth the listen.
The warm, throwback sonics of Quilt were a stark contrast to Grant’s trippy darkness. The four-piece psychedelic band from Boston released their last album Held in Splendor in 2014 and have been recently opening for Dungen. They are a treat to listen to and you can find a live recording from an older show at the Bowery Ballroom up on NYC Taper.
Dungen was in town to promote their new album Allas Sak and they delivered an extended set — at nearly two hours it was well beyond the length of most CMJ sets. As BrooklynVegan noted, “The sound, the lighting and the performances were all pretty much impeccable. We got most of Dungen’s fantastic new album, Allas Sak, including it’s bombastic closing track “Sova” which began a set-closing string of interconnected songs.”
John Grant – 2015/2016 Tour Dates
Oct 27 Troubadour Los Angeles, CA
Oct 29 The Independent San Francisco, CA
Oct 30 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR
Nov 04 Iceland Airwaves 2015 Reykjavik, Iceland
Nov 09 Vicar Street Dublin, Ireland
Nov 10 Vicar Street Dublin, Ireland
Nov 12 Eventim Apollo London, United Kingdom
Nov 13 Brighton Dome Brighton, United Kingdom
Nov 15 La Cigale Paris, France
Nov 17 BOTANIQUE Brussels, Belgium
Nov 18 Melkweg Oude Zaal Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nov 20 L’ATELIER Luxembourg Ville, Luxembourg
Nov 21 Kaufleuten Klubsaal Zürich, Switzerland
Nov 22 Fabrique Milan, Italy
Nov 24 Bürgerhaus Stollwerck Cologne, Germany
Nov 25 Uebel & Gefährlich Hamburg, Germany
Nov 29 Lille Vega København V, Denmark
Dec 01 Pustervik Masthugget, Sweden
Dec 02 Södra Teaterns Stora Scen Stockholm, Sweden
Dec 04 Cosmopolite Oslo, Norway
Dec 05 Logen Teater Bergen, Norway
Jan 26 Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Glasgow, United Kingdom
Jan 27 Mandela Hall Belfast, United Kingdom
Jan 28 Opera House, Cork Cork, Ireland
Jan 30 Seapoint Ballroom Galway, Ireland
Feb 01 Warwick Arts Centre Coventry, United Kingdom
Feb 03 Cambridge Corn Exchange Cambridge, United Kingdom
Feb 04 O2 Guildhall Southampton Southampton, United Kingdom
Feb 05 Leeds Town Hall Leeds, United Kingdom
Feb 07 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Liverpool, United Kingdom
Feb 08 Albert Hall Manchester, United Kingdom
Feb 10 Sage Gateshead Gateshead, United Kingdom
Feb 11 The Plug Sheffield Sheffield, United Kingdom
Mar 12 Meredith Supernatural Ampitheatre Meredith, Australia
Mar 16 Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia
Jun 15 Royal Albert Hall London, United Kingdom