Live From CMJ: Marie Antoinette Party

Last Thursday night (wow almost a week ago and I am still not recovered!) Filter hosted a Marie Antoinette Party at the Hiro Lounge located in the Maritime Hotel.  The room was very much a "hotel venue" in that it was much nicer than any rock club you have ever been to.  It was fitting that they chose this spot for such a party, as the entire space exuded decadence and excess.  Keeping with that theme, there was free Dewar’s from 7 - 9 PM.  Free Dewar’s?  I mean wtf? Are they trying to destroy people?  I am not complaining, but still, that is pretty tough.  Anyway the entertainment for the party was provided by Ra Ra Riot, Windsor For The Derby and the newly rejuvenated Bow Wow Wow.  Let's talk about all of them for a moment, shall we?

Ra Ra Riot hail from Syracuse, NY and I gotta say I feel slightly bad for the kids.  You see they are just going to get lumped into the whole "they wannabe the Arcade Fire" scene that has been emerging over the course of the last year.  While I can see how some might think this (they have strings, driving beats, building harmonies and such) I feel that Ra Ra Riot bring enough originality to the table that perhaps hipsters should give them another listen.  This is especially true of their studio demos that you can hear over on MySpace.  Give the kids a chance...

Next up were Windsor For The Derby who appear on the Marie Antoinette soundtrack and in the movie.  They have been around since the late 90s and most recently released a record on Secretly Canadian called Giving Up The Ghost late last year.  Their sound has evolved over the years but has always contained an atmospheric post rock element to the songwriting.  If your bag is Yo La Tengo, Low or even Stereolab then you should download this and enjoy!  Check 'em out on MySpace. 

Windsor For The Derby - The Melody of a Fallen Tree

Windsor For The Derby - Giving Up

The live performances for the evening concluded with Bow Wow Wow who were dressed to, well, I guess impress.  They were definitely a sight to behold and didn't let the crowd down by playing almost every hit (Fools Rush In, W.O.R.K., Aphrodisiac, Go Wild and tons more) you could possibly imagine.  They did "keep it real' and went with the original version of "I Want Candy" as opposed to the Kevin Shields debacle.  They were fun and 80s and yeah.  That's all I have to say about that.  Stupid free Dewar’s.

Bow Wow Wow - I Wany Candy (Kevin Shields Remix)

Bow Wow Wow - Aphrodisiac