photos by Amanda Hatfield & Mimi Hong, words by Andrew Sacher

Beach Slang / Pity Sex / The Jazz June

After our Saturday (10/25) day party at Baby's All Right, we went right into the official BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase with The Jazz June, Pity Sex, Beach Slang, Cayetana and Sport. Sport, who are in the US from France for just a few shows on their way to The Fest, started a little after 8 and were unfortunately forced to play as a 3-piece due to their other guitarist's hand injury. Even with the smaller setup though, Sport sounded great. Somewhere between a hardcore band and noodly emo, there's obvious influences on their sound but they really have a cool thing going on and never sound like one particular band. A small group of people up front were clearly familiar and knew every word, but it seemed like Sport won over even those who weren't. They were a great start to what would be an all around great night.

Cayetana followed. I hadn't seen them since they opened for The Menzingers before their album was out, and they were great then too, but Saturday's show was on another level. They were super tight, and considering Augusta Koch's lyrics are a huge part of their sound it was great to hear her voice cutting through the mix loud and clear. Up next were their Philly neighbors and Tiny Engines labelmates Beach Slang, who kept the good vibes going and inspired the biggest singalongs of the night. They played all seven full-band songs from their two EPs and even though it had only been 11 days since they last played them in NYC, it was refreshing all over again.

Pity Sex followed, and they've come a long way since they played our CMJ day party on the same stage almost exactly a year ago. Their debut album had been out for a few months at that point, but it's really picked up steam and this time the room was packed with people who clearly knew the songs. My personal highlight was that it was the first time they played the stripped-down Britty Drake-fronted "Hollow Body" at a full-band show, and like at Webster in August they included their spot-on cover of the PIxies' "Gigantic" which is always super fun.

The show wrapped with a set from The Jazz June, the one veteran band on the bill, but their set wasn't only nostalgia. They've got a new album coming in November (their first in 12 years) and the songs they played off that fit right in with the newer bands on the bill. Of course they included old favorites too, and in a year that's had no lack of reunions from the late '90s emo scene, it was great to hear The Jazz June's stuff holding up and played in great form too.

In between sets, Tom Mullen from Washed Up Emo spun golden era emo which inspired a few singalongs from the crowd up front. Thanks to Tom, all the bands, everyone at Baby's All Right and everyone who came out to the show. We hope you had as much fun as we did.

More pictures from the whole night, below...

Continue reading "The Jazz June, Pity Sex, Beach Slang, Cayetana & Sport played our official CMJ showcase at Baby's All Right (pics)"

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