CMJ '08: Getting The Party Started

Welcome, friends, to the glorious mess that is the 2008 CMJ Music Marathon, which officially kicks off today (Oct. 21) all over Manhattan and Brooklyn. We opted to get things rolling a night early on Monday at the Syndicate-sponsored bash at amiable midtown shithole Rebel, which seems like a cross between a bordello and a dance club.

The mood was mostly festive, but there was a fair amount of doom and gloom about the tanking economy and its impact on the music biz. One now-ex major-label A&R rep told us he wasn't sure what he was going to do next, and we heard another woman loudly shout at someone, "I just got LAID ... OFF, you retard!"

So what better time than to get drunk for free and listen to some tunes? Fresh off releasing not one, but two, different major-label debut albums for Epic, Indianapolis octet Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos warmed up the PBR-addled crowd with woozy, melodic rock tunes like "German Motor Car," "Heaven's Gate" and the should-be-a-hit "Quiet As a Mouse."

Beforehand, we reminisced with Margo guitarist Andy Fry, with whom palled around back in the "day" at Indiana University. Best story of life on the road: Margot's tour bus recently drove away from a rest stop in the middle of nowhere California without Fry's brother. Because it was two or three in the morning, everybody's cell phones were on vibrate or turned off. Then, a car full of scary guys pulled up to the place, spooking little brother into running into the woods and sleeping on the side of a mountain until the next morning. Who said touring was glamorous?

Next up was Rival Schools (pictured), the reunited rock quartet playing its first hometown show in nobody remembers how long (six years? Seven?). The group's lone album, 2001's "United by Fate," barely made a ripple upon its release but remains something of a lost classic for fans of '90s hardcore. All the highlights from that set were dusted off, including "Travel by Telephone," "High Acetate," "Good Things," "The Switch" and sing-a-long, fist-pumping closer "Used for Glue."

Rival Schools also unveiled several solid new tunes ("Arranged Marriages," "You Shoulda Hung Out," "Big Waves") expected to appear on an album at some point, as well as a cover of the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now" for the indie kids. Great to have you back, fellas.

The subsequent wait for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead was long, and not fully worth it. On record these guys are masters of loud-to-soft transitions, but live everything tends to be played at double the speed and with none of the subtlety. What was left of the crowd didn't seem to mind though, especially since the group opened with three ace oldies ("Will You Smile Again," "Stand in Silence," "Relative Ways).

We skipped the Margot after-party back downtown in hopes of preserving some energy for today. It's a long week, and Jaded Insider will be here to report on all the comings, goings and everything in-between. -- Jonathan Cohen