am/fm: CMJ Madness: Datarock, et al.

CMJ Madness: Datarock, et al.

Special correspondent Sara:

The Biffy Clyro show started about 30 mins. late, but we were there to see some Datarock, so, at that point, we were only waiting for them to leave the stage. However, when the shirtless Simon Neil got on stage, looking like a coke-metal version of Devendra Banhart, I got somewhat interested. They were poppy at some points, but then had brief interludes of face-melting guitar ... noise.

At some point, Simon's mic stopped working, so, of course, he threw it on the floor and went to the other mic. More face-melting, more pop-rock, the sound is off, the mics go in and out of working ... then, the lights go up and the filler music starts playing, but Biffy hasn't had enough ... so they play over the filler music. They finish that song and, again, the lights go up and the filler music starts playing ... they start playing again, the filler music gets louder ... the lights are still up. The band leaves, except for Neil ... who grabs a mic stand and throws it to the ground. He grabs a mic and throws it over the audience straight at the sound guys. He's lost it. He grabs another mic stand, takes the mic and throws it over the audience. My friends say this mic hit someone in the audience. I just hear a thud.

Datarock takes the stage. They're in their red track suits, hoods up. They look so cool. The tall guy who was standing next to us, head banging at the Biffy concert, is the sax player/keyboardist. The band seems immensely happy to be here. They play "Computer Camp Love," "Bull Dozer," "I Used To Dance With My Daddy," and finally, "Fa-Fa-Fa," which turns into an epic sing-along.

The crowd is singing the chorus and Fredrik Saroea, the front man, is singing the verses. The band is rocking over the singing. Saroea says, "Wow. This is the coolest thing ever. Thank you! Thank you New York!"

"Fa-Fa-Fa" keeps playing, the saxophonist is amazing, the drummer does the snake on stage, the crowd is jumping. The song is over and we want more. But the set is over, and nothing will top what we just saw. But then, they pull out a song that has possibly never been abused in this way before. They play "Time Of My Life," by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. At this point, the boys are lip synching, but more importantly, they are showing off their track suits and their back sides and stripping off each other's hoodies. They are hamming it up on stage, when the sax solo comes on. Nobody is really sure if the sax player is actually playing along with the track, but it looks and sounds like it.

It's the best ending to a concert ... possibly ever.

more...

Next, we decide we're going to head to Arlene's Grocery for Centro-Matic, but when we pass by Club Element and the boys decide that I need a hip-hop education. KRS-One is playing and the only reason he looks familiar is that I saw him on "Beef II" when a roommate forced the cool on me. What happened in the next three-or-so hours can only be described as ... well, I'm not sure exactly what happened, but my male companions nearly passed stones a few times when more and more guests got on stage. At one point, there was a guy from the Wu-Tang-Clan, Wise Intelligence, Freddie Fox, X-Clan, DJ Premiere ... I'm only rambling off these names because my friends brought them up. I really have no idea who they are, but I feel like I should.
At one point in the show, the bass drops out and later the power for the stage set-up goes. They have one mic, and they all start freestyling. Then they start bringing up people from the crowd to freestyle with them, including a girl from Brooklyn and two guys from Alaska. Yes, there are rappers in Alaska. (After the show we find out that the Alaskans found out about CMJ a few days before and flew down to see the hip-hop shows.)

By the end of the show I knew I had seen something great, mostly because KRS-One kept saying they were making history, but party because I've never seen that caliber of free-styling ... not even on "Beef II."

Sara Baumberger, www.amNY.com