700th post! (and CMJ - Fanfarlo at the Syndicate Party)

Wow! 700 posts... My baby is all grown up! It feels like just yesterday we hit a meager 100 posts... Ok, I'll stop that now. Anyway, on to some long overdue CMJ coverage!

I kicked off CMJ at The Syndicate Conflict of Interest party on Monday night at Rebel. All three floors were pretty packed by about 9pm, and I would like to give Syndicate major props for throwing a great event. The first band up was The Union Line. Despite their uber-hip(ster) facial hair, I really liked them a lot. Their music is supremely catchy while still maintaining their rough edges - two parts rambling/rumbling Americana and one part peppy Pop. And this is a tad bit of a tangent, the whole show I was wondering if the lead singer and the keyboard player were related and it turns out they are, so go me! Now here's the bigger question: twins? or just brothers? One of them having long hair makes it quite hard to tell...

Headlining the event was Fanfarlo, who I've recently become obsessed with and their show did not disappoint. They were very down-to-earth and chill but had this amazingly contagious positive energy. Their music is so lovely, but still catchy as hell. Lead singer Simon Balthazar has one of the most unique vocal timbres I think I've ever heard, I absolutely adore his voice. The whole place, audience included, was just vibing quite well and it was really a great concert experience. I left the show grinning, feeling like I was a part of something really special and wanting to listen to nothing but Fanfarlo.

Or maybe it was just the free tequila drinks... No, no, no. Fanfarlo definitely rocked my world and I wished I could've seen more of them. In fact, that was my one problem with the show. Fanfarlo's set was so short! And the other two bands (who I'm not going to say much about because I didn't really like either of them) before them played what felt like endless sets. I don't know if it was just the show running late or if they had planned to play such a sort set, but that was my one disappointment of the night. A few more pictures (special thanks to Laura for lending me her camera for the night):

 

 

Mama Don't Care [mp3] - The Union Line (iTunes)

Luna [mp3] - Fanfarlo (iTunes)