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The first night of CMJ for me was both grand and horrible. Grand because New Zealand band Die! Die! Die! played an amazing, if unfortunately short, set and horrible because the venue and the method of entry into the venue was pretty much an amalgam of horrible Manhattan Night Life Stereotypes.

It was free, so why complain? Well the major complaint was that since it was free it became more of a hassle. Let’s talk about Die! Die! Die! a bit.

My first exposure to Die! Die! Die! was when a friend was left with an extra ticket to go see Wolfmother when they played the 9:30 Club in March of 2007. We showed up with plenty of time to spare, but the club was already fairly full of what looked like Led Zeppelin fans trying desperately to grasp at youth while simultaneously trying to fit into an ill advised leather jacket which had hung dormant in a closet.

The audience didn’t really know what to make of the band, but I was immediately entranced by their heavy rhythms which expanded into infinity as each song played into another with no breaks as all three members kept in constant motion. Andrew Wilson would put his guitar into an effects loop and crawl all over the stage, at one point he climbed the speakers to the VIP balcony and he hung off with one arm. It was really impressive and kind of mind blowing . The only merchandise they had with them was the first Die! Die! Die! EP as Promises! Promises! hadn’t yet been released.

Compared to the music which was vital and fresh and new, Wolfmother’s 70s arena rock emulation just seemed even more nostalgic and reactionary giving the band the image of being content to look back rather than trying to find a way forward. The hour long set which followed Die! Die! Die! felt about twice as long and half as vital.

Last night was one of many opening night CMJ parties. This showcase was sponsored largely by Red Bull and was in a pop up venue bearing the drink’s name and featured all New Zealand bands in conjunction with NZ on Air and NZ Music Commission. Unfortunately for people who wanted to get in, the party was done by RSVP through Giant Step and every badge holder for CMJ got a promotional placard with their badge inviting them to the party with promises of free food and alcohol. Experience with people who will happily show up for free anything regardless of what was actually being promoted made me inwardly groan because I figured it was going to be a nightmare. As a cynic, it is always a delight to be proven correct.

I snuck out of work a bit early and made my way to the venue where operatives already on the scene told me that there was a huge line that was moving slow. I was a bit happy because I figured that I could possibly make it in time to catch up with them, but they made it inside before I was even off the train. Alas. So I got into the line and then waited for an hour and a half as the venue quickly filled to capacity and we were left outside as they adopted a one in one out policy for non-VIPs.

It really soured my mood and thankfully the first band onstage allowed me to relieve a bit of this stress.

Kingston was described as power pop, but not the exciting kind of power pop like The Descendants, but rather it was like those bands of shiny smiley cultists you’d see pop up on Total Request Live. Kingston was a very energetic five piece that really managed to engage with the Ed Hardy wearing members of the audience. They have a career trajectory which seems as though they will most likely be licensed by some TV show and you soon your mom will be rocking out to them making them more money than God for a few months. Let my try to put it this way for you; Kingston flew here from New Zealand to play CMJ and in a thirty-minute set they covered The Ting Tings. Post Punk Osmonds. Creepy smiles and songs built around hooks.

The best thing about this showcase was that it was built on the efficiency of great stage management. The bands were swapped out pretty quickly and Die! Die! Die! were only a few minutes late. Being named as a band that you must catch at CMJ by Spin magazine brought all the photography vultures out and there was a bit of competition as to who spent more time of Die! Die! Die!’s set staring into LCD screens, photographers or disinterested IPhone owners.

Die! Die! Die!’s set was pretty amazing for the short time they had to perform. They culled songs from Promises! Promises! and the self titled LP and EP. The energetic songs such as “A.T.T.I.T.U.D.” grabbed the greatest response while the meandering songs like “Maybe : Definitely” were mostly appreciated by the band members themselves as Andrew repeatedly would wander into the crowed with and without his guitar while Lachlan Anderson on bass would hop all over the stage and climb atop the amp stack while maintaining the steady rhythm laid down with Michael Prain on drums. Michael was especially impressive maintaining the fast steady cadences around which the entire set was built.

Despite the headaches of getting into the venue and having to listen to Kingston, it was a pretty amazing night of music thanks to Die! Die! Die! and the opportunity to see them in a fairly intimate space.

Category : Show Review