Last night I found myself with nothing to do, nowhere to be, and no idea what to think of it. In the pell-mell bustle of New York City, that can be a rarity, and if used well a treat. So after staring at a halfblock line for what i thought was a frozen yogurt cart (it ended up being for an American Apparel job call, kinda the same thing?), I decided to wander.
Twenty something blocks, a few avenues, and a cumin lamb burger later (so greasily delicious, check out http://www.xianfoods.com if you havent already), I found myself at Bowery Electric. The Postelles were headlining, it was happy hour, so I got myself a drink and started bobbing my head to a band I had never heard of before. Essentially, I decided to start my CMJ a week early.
The band I stumbled upon was Jangula -- a young, indie-rocktronica group out of Brooklyn fronted by lead singer Johnny Campagna, a dead ringer for a mustachioed hipster Jimmy Fallon, playing a Suzuki QChord. If that wasn't enough to capture my intrigue, Jangula caught my aural attention by covering The Ronettes' classic "Be My Baby." Although the cover was a little sloppy, I couldn't help but feelin it. They were enjoying themselves, there was a fresh energy in their vibe. This continued through "Genji Gloves," a Morrisey-inspired romp about "looking for lust." However, it wasn't until their last song that I decided to jot some notes down. They closed the set down with the chilled-out, dreamy "Lesser Masks," and it was here Campagna sang with vulnerability, longing, repeating:
"mere kisses in a window pane, writing messages I can't explain"
Maybe it was my mood, but something got through. And if the person carrying that message is wearing a hipstered Jimmy Fallon mask, you know the message has got to be pretty damn spot-on. (I strongly dislike Jimmy Fallon). Anyway check out Jangula's myspace (http://www.myspace.com/jangulanyc) for their CMJ shindigs, and http://soundcloud.com/jangulanyc for their tracks. Also, big ups to my new friend Chelsea Keys for the lovely photo.
Later in the night saw Wolf Gang at Santos thanks to a Neon Gold party. Great show, don't wanna write about it.
Jangula - Genji Glove
The Ronettes - Be My Baby
Wolf Gang - Lions in Cages
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