The place was entirely packed (including the balcony!) last night at the Hammerstein Ballroom on 34th street. Why? Because Samantha Crain and First Aid Kit was there performing for the CMJ that was presented by Live Nation.
Samantha Crain opened for the rising band, First Aid Kit, with some of her special heartwarming songs. Her voice was absolutely beautiful, and her songs were very sentimental. She had a calm indie edgy folk vibe which was definitely a good opening act. In between each song, she gave a brief story that explained why she took the time to write them. She performed the song, “Churchill,” which she wrote because of a weird fortune cookie that made her feel a certain kind of way. The fortune had read: Tea spoon in the morning, table spoon at night. She explained how this made her feel a little incomplete. Although finding it kind of funny that the fortune seemed rather unfinished, she decided to finish it with a song.
During her performance, she at times had to re-tune her guitar which she blamed it on her flight into New York: “My guitar has jet lag.” She had also accidentally played a wrong note in one of her songs, in which she played it cool and smirked at the audience for the mess-up. Despite the few difficulties, she still had a great performance.
The two Swiss sisters in the band First Aid Kit gave a spectacular show. They played a full set unlike the rest of the CMJ artists who only had 45 minutes to perform. The sisters even had time to spare to crack some “cheese” jokes. The audience fully supported their cheesy humor by gladly responding “nacho cheese” when asked, “What kind of cheese is not yours?” It was a fun time with them.
They played some of their familiar radio songs like “My Silver Lining” and “Cedar Lane.” At one point in the show, the two performed without using any of their sound equipment. It was difficult to hear all the way in the back of the room given that the venue can seat over 3,500 guests. The audience then began to shush each other so they could hear them, which is when the auditorium got really quiet, as the sisters projected their voices throughout the acoustics of the room. It was a wonderful show.
Read mxdwn’s coverage of CMJ 2014 Day One Part One
Read mxdwn’s coverage of CMJ 2014 Day One Part Two
Read mxdwn’s coverage of CMJ 2014 Day Two Part One
Read mxdwn’s coverage of CMJ 2014 Day Two Part Two
Read mxdwn’s coverage of CMJ 2014 Day Three Part One
Read mxdwn’s coverage of CMJ 2014 Day Three Part Two
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