On Saturday, October 20th, I went to 92Y in Tribeca, the unlikely home of Life or Death's CMJ Showcase. The show featured performances from Mac DeMarco, Maria Minerva, a “secret” set from DIIV and more. If you couldn't make it, here are some Ups and Downs.
Starred
Ups: Slow, wavy guitar shredding with Liza Thorn's memorizing vocals.
Downs: Thorn seemed to be nodding out on something. Or maybe she was just really tired.
Twerps
Ups: Dreamy, reverb heavy riffs. Improvised guitar solo after broken guitar string.
Downs: Could have been louder.
Jozef Van Wissem
Ups: This dude played the lute!
Downs: This dude played the lute…for waaay too long.
Slug Guts
Ups: So. Much. Energy. Crazy outfits.
Downs: Something seemed to be off with the mixing. Vocals were pretty much indistinguishable.
Mac DeMarco
Ups: All around amazing performance. Enthusiastic, frantic energy. Improv drum solo. Near perfect sound.
Downs: Nothing. All I wanted was a longer set.
Sky Ferreira
Ups: Cool lights.
Downs: The music.
Maria Minerva
Ups: “I usually play in basements in Bushwick…but Manhattan is nice too.”
Downs: Security guard had to flash light in her face to get her off stage.
Kilo Kish
Ups: Fresh rhymes.
Downs: Beats needed to be LOUDER.
DIIV
Ups: Same old DIIV.
Downs: Same old DIIV.
