CMJ '08: Howlin' At The Moon

Is CMJ over yet? Ha, just kidding. We're slogging through and making the best of the ho-hum week so far, aided by the fact that a lot of out-of-town music biz all-stars are finally here in Manhattan for hangings.

There may be hardly any buzz at all about what's going on in town, but there is still music to be seen and heard. Wednesday night, we visited the Canal Room to watch Atlanta's Howlies slay the ASCAP showcase with a set of frenetic, melodic rockers rooted in Chuck Berry and Link Wray, with a tinge of Rocket From The Crypt-style melodrama for good measure.

While "Chimera" slowed things down momentarily, it was about the only moment to come up for air as the quartet bashed through tunes like "Dirty Woman" and "Sea Level." Look for an album soon on Over/Under Records, but DON'T look for anything whatsoever from 2AM Club, some kind of pseudo boy band-with-a-rapper who played earlier in the evening and scarred our ears.

To start the evening, we dropped by Bowery Ballroom to catch Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons. Newly signed to Black Seal, the group offered up soulful tunes unconcerned with contemporary trends. Chisel's voice reminded us of vintage Steve Winwood on songs like "Home in the Woods" (with guest banjo work by Jesse Harris), while "On My Side" was a lovely acoustic detour. And Chisel also pulled off a nice cover of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," which we'd reckon will be the only time that chestnut gets played live during CMJ. -- Jonathan Cohen