Sometimes being a CMJ badge holder makes you feel like royalty. Other times it means squat. Tonight was squat night.
6:20 p.m. Frida Hyvönen, 88 Delancey. The Fader magazine held a party at this hastily-arranged “club” which apparently used to be a retail store -- perhaps as recently as 30 minutes ago. On the makeshift stage, the striking blond Hyvönen sang and played piano. Her melodies were slow and thoughtful, but her lyrics were somewhat startling. “Don't take your pants off,” she sang as if recalling the saddest memory of her life. “I don't want to see it / No, no, no...”
7:50 p.m. Annuals, 88 Delancey. Next, Adam Baker and his five-piece band crammed onto the stage (the two guitarists stood on the floor) and filled the storefront with majestic, ever-shifting melodies from their album “Be He Me” (Ace Fu). The blogosphere favorites mixed unhinged emo (think Bright Eyes, not Fall Out Boy) and over-the-top instrumentation (á la Broken Social Scene) to create some grand moments: Over oceanic chords and swelling drumbeats, Baker hollered as if in a trance, eyes rolling backward -- yet he still managed to play a keyboard with one hand and beat a tom with the other.
Listen to Annuals' "Brother."
8:05 p.m. Ultra High Frequency, Crash Mansion. Anyone who picked up the free venue map handed out by the Dewar's reps, be warned: Crash Mansion is listed at the wrong location. But the extra walk was worth it: Long Island's Ultra High Frequency ran through a set of crystal-clear pop-rock tunes with clever pacing and impressive chops.
8:50 p.m. The night begins to go downhill. Fans lined up outside Bowery Ballroom to see indie-pop darlings The Shins, even though the band won't go on until 1 a.m. But with CSS and The Elected on the same bill, the venue was already at capacity. Your CMJ badge? No good here.
10:20 p.m. After standing in line for 90 minutes -- longer, probably, than The Shins will play -- badge holders were reminded once again that they probably will not get into the show. Time to move on.
10:46 p.m. Cheeseburger and small fries, McDonald's. With chocolate shake.
11:55 p.m. The Photo Atlas, The Annex. The Stolen Transmission showcase drew quite a crowd, and the ultra-hip Annex was so packed that people not only sat in the booths, they perched on top of them and put their feet on the tables. The Photo Atlas, from Denver, played angular, clattery rock while singer Alan Andrews sang in a yelpy, quavery voice. Some songs were better than others but ultimately all sounded the same.
1:16 a.m. The Horrors, The Annex. Last year's British gimmick band was Towers of London, who tried to be the world's nastiest rockers by mixing The Sex Pistols with Motley Crue. This year it's The Horrors, who try to be the world's Gothiest rockers by dressing like Edward Scissorhands and playing abrasive noise. Underneath the eyeliner and frightwigs, however, lies an old-fashioned garage band that knows the value of a good bass line and some groovy keyboards. Thursday, The Horrors scored an A for effort, stirring up a storm while shrouded in fog, but the further they strayed from melody the more lost they became.