With hardly a few hours sleep under my belt, my day took off running on pure adrenaline as I headed down to the lower east side for my first intimate performance of the day.

The scene at Rockwood Music Hall was a warm and comfortable one as people sipped bloody Mary's and drank late afternoon beers. The stage was softly lit and the sun shined bright through from outside into the room. The Madison Square Gardeners must have looked like they were playing inside a fishbowl to the passing tourists, who waved to the crowd inside as they went by in their double decker buses. The volume levels seemed loud for such a small room but no one seemed phased as the band was clearly the focal point of the room, not the bar. The sound could not have been more perfect as the Gardeners were accompanied by a grand piano player as well as a slide guitarist. Led by frontman and local favorite Aaron Lee Tasjan, who also has a really great solo record, the Gardeners flew through a series of catchy alt-country inspired ditties! Tasjan’s charismatic ways bring to mind a young Bruce Springsteen and you will undoubtedly hear much more from the Madison Square Gardeners in the near future - they currently lead The Deli Magazine's ”Artist of the Month” poll!



After the MSG set I drifted around the LES a bit diving into some of the many venues that have turned our local playground into a circus of streets flooded with tour vans and sidewalks littered with bands loading their instruments to and fro. Shortly after testing the waters I was again off to Brooklyn to where Nouvellas were playing a gig at The (new) Knitting Factory. The five piece started out on a strong note led by two high energy, bluesy front-women. Imagine for a moment Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks getting together with Bo Diddley and members of Lynard Skynard. I may have been in Brooklyn but the mood was very much set to the tune of the deep South. Nouvellas ran into some technical difficulties early into their second song but quickly put the pieces back together and entertained me with a solid stage presence, choppy guitars and groovy bass lines that would have made even The Jackson Five proud.

I hardly had a still moment to catch my breath as duty called back to the L train to catch up to my CMJ partner in crime and switch off coverage of our very own Deli NYC Women's Showcase being held at The Delancey. I arrived just in the nick of time as the lovely Ivana XL took the stage solo armed with nothing more than her voice and an incredibly beautiful vintage hollow body guitar. As she began to play an image of a smokey Jessica Rabbit enters my mind and I envision XL in a floor length evening gown draped over a piano in a dark lounge while people sip expensive cocktails. Many of Ivanas songs struck a chord buried deep and connected to my heart. She seemed quite demure as she switched between hushed to loud sounds in a bat of the eye and thanked the crowd immediately after every song. Do hold your breath for what lies in the future to this rising starlet!

It wasn't very long after a break that the evening began to pick up steam with the eclectic duo Buke and Gass taking the stage with a stammering performance that included a divulgence of stomps, claps and slaps. What began as an experimentation has become Buke and Gass' signature sound. They have evolved their traditional instruments into a hybrid of mutated mechanisms such as the Buke, which is a combination of both a bass and also a ukulele. There is no other band quite like them nationally, much less here in NYC. Singer Arone Dyer’s vocal style is as powerful and high pitched as that of Karen O's while her dynamics transcend and reach far beyond any common structural pattern. 

Up next was a new group to me, Hank and the Cupcakes. You could immediately FEEL when the duo hit the stage when front-woman/stand up drummer known as “cupcakes” began to violently play from behind a defenseless drum kit. The singer seemed to summon the soul of PJ Harvey as their funky processed beats and gyrating bass commanded the attention of everyone in the room. A highlight of the Cupcakes’ set was their cover of the Joy Divisions “She’s Lost Control” in which the flickering of lights and absence of a live guitarist added a certain chemistry. At the end of their performance I must admit I had to take a step back. Watch out, she's Rick James bitch!

Finally The Narrative took the stage and concluded my coverage of this evenings Deli showcase just before eleven o' clock. The four piece lead by vocalist/keyboardist Suzie Zeldin played for a packed and seemingly rowdy crowd that now filled the basement of the Delancey to capacity. The Narrative struck me as being very radio friendly with an emphasis on twinkling guitars and catchy pop structures. 

Just as I began to long for my bed and a nice hot shower, reality set in and I realized that I had set myself up to catch one more show of the evening. By this hour I had to crawl over to the Mercury Lounge to see New Jersey local favorites, the Screaming Females. The Females are well known for the intensity of their live performance and the trio came on strong from the opening chord. The room was still pretty packed despite the late night hour and the fast, punk based rhythms served to knock me back into things as The Screaming Females lived up well to their reputation. All in all it was an exhausting but intense day. I have already seen so many talented artists it’s hard to imagine that things are still just warming up. On to a good night's rest!