I stopped by another Brooklyn Vegan showcase on the Saturday of CMJ, this time hoping to catch Annuals with a better sound system and Tokyo Police Club playing a real show. I made it to Annex just in time to see Annuals start their set, and it was one of my favorite that I've seen them do, despite it only being four songs short. They seemed fresh, energetic and on point, breezing through the mini-set to a packed and appreciative audience. The sound system at Annex didn't like keyboards very much, which made Annuals sound rhythm and guitar heavy, which suited them just fine. It's too bad they didn't get to play longer.

Tokyo Police Club, on the other hand, were completely the opposite. They inexplicably had much more time to play than Annuals, so much so that they got to sludge through some new material, as well as the rest of their rather small catalogue. They seemed tired and sloppy, and the set dragged for me for those reasons. I realize that they'd probably played about four or five CMJ shows at that point, and were probably tired, but this wasn't anywhere near to as good as I've seen them in the past. The crowd still dug them though, and their were a lot of folks to check them out for a Saturday afternoon show. After seeing them twice this CMJ and not being overly impressed either time, I hope they bring their A-game back the next time they're in New York.

Labels: Annuals, CMJ, Concert Reviews, Tokyo Police Club