As you know, the third night of CMJ’s Marathon was mired in controversy after that doctor who had Ebola went bowling at the Gutter in Brooklyn — although everyone thought he was at Brooklyn Bowl, which would have sucked because that would mean he seriously mixed with the CMJ crowd. Turns out he wasn’t. I honestly didn’t give a shit and was planning to head to Brooklyn anyway to catch some shows (though I did touch my forehead a couple of times). Halloween is going to be weird this year. Anyway, I was putting together my night when I saw that the Prettiots were playing Drom in the East Village. I tried to see them a few nights ago but for whatever reason, they didn’t play or I missed them. So I decided to catch them first.
The Prettiots first caught my attention when I was looking through the CMJ schedule and I thought they had a cool name. It’s that easy sometimes, right? Then I Googled them and watched their video for “Boys (I Dated In Highdchool).” Yeah, that video is amazing, but they’re great live! The venue was still pretty empty — I guess because they were the first band –but they were awesome, regardless. Their songs are smart, witty, and pretty fucking funny. I’m thinking they’re gonna be around for a while. I mean, they’re cool, and their music is rad, so why wouldn’t they?
Next up, I swung over to Hotel Chantelle, but they were between sets (plus they were cahring $6 for a can of Tecate), so I detoured back to CakeShop to Catch Doug Tuttle. I’m glad I did: this dude was dope and he looks like my boy Ryan from NAAM. Right before they went on I detoured to the bathroom and started thing about Ebola. At this point I realized I was standing in a puddle of piss and decided to not think about ebola ever again. The show started and I was instantly hit with their melancholy waves of West Coast bummer rock. It’s hard to worry about Ebola when Doug Tuttle is playing, whisking you off to dreamland.
After the show I decided to call it a night. I got home and started loading pictures onto my computer and then I realized I wasn’t really in the mood to call it a night. I decided to check the schedule and see if anyone was playing nearby. I saw Mainland was playing at Drom in like 20 minutes and decided to go. I know, I already saw them play. I also know that makes me look kinda like a fanboy. I considered all of this and came to the conclusion that Mainland is a dope band, so whatever. I got over to Drom right as they started playing. They put on another fantastic show. These dudes are sick. The highlight of the night came when the sound guy walked to the front of the stage, sorta interrupting the set, and told frontman Jordan Topf to turn his guitar down. That was a first for me. He was visibly pissed and that sent the band to another level. I mean, they seriously killed it, and I’m pretty sure he turned his guitar back up. It was a great way to end night three of CMJ’s Marathon.
Photos and review by Timothy White. Find him online @TiptotheHip.
