CMJ Showcase wrap-ups, write-ups. More to come tonight and throughout the week

The show last night at Pianos was a joyful overload of good times.
Thanks to Hank at Time Out NY for this extremely complementary T.O.N.Y. blog write-up: "CMJ means a lot of different things to a lot of different people," said The Unsacred Hearts‘ frontman, Joe , the Pianos stage tonight. His subtle but unmissable note of sarcasm made it very easy to tell what the festival—and its attendant hoopla—meant to him: business as usual. The Hearts, a joyously unhinged quartet whose brief tunes neatly summarize the last half century of rock & roll, might have been playing Manhattan’s trendiest neighborhood on the eve of one of its most cutthroat popularity contests. But they weren’t pandering to anybody. Neither were other local groups I saw—rakish, effortlessly virtuosic roots duo The Two Man Gentlemen Band; tough, cool new-wavish foursome Looker; and raucous yet tuneful indie-pop trio The Octagon—all affiliated with the Serious Business label, one of the most unpretentious local indies you could ever hope to find. The outfits played tight, fun, energetic sets, just as they do year-round at local clubs. In other words, the best thing about this CMJ showcase was how little it felt like one."
Thanks also to ProductShopNYC for this post and these photos:




The party continues TONIGHT at Matchless in Green Point, Brooklyn. We're teaming up with the always trustworthy music blog Earfarm to throw a bash focusing on some rock-sounds. This lineup is killing:
8:00 PM THE UNSACRED HEARTS
8:50 PM KICKSTART
9:40 PM MAN IN GRAY
10:30 PM Goes Cube
11:20 PM Hull

And then there's more going on Friday and Saturday ...
-FRI 10/19/07 - KEG PARTY w/ MAN IN GRAY, LOOKER, Kinetic, Up the Empire
-SAT 10/20/07 - AFTER THE JUMP FEST benefit at the Yard with THE TWO MAN GENTLEMEN BAND playing between sets. With O'Death, White Magic, Balthrop Alabama, Old Time Relijun, more.
-SAT 10/20/07 - StereoactiveNYC / Hot Rocks CMJ party at the Delancey . MAN IN GRAY, A Place to Bury Strangers, Chop Shop, The Secret Life of Sofia, Gold Streets, Mancino, Up The Empire, El Jezel, and The Vandelles.
Show specifics available on our EVENTS page.