CMJ Music Marathon Wrap Up for 10/21 and 10/22

The CMJ Music Marathon puts New York City on steady madness alert every October. With parties taking up countless clubs in and around the Village, each festival day is packed full with showcases, panels and an overloaded handful of independent film premieres. I thought signing up as a volunteer this year would be a fun way to see the business side of things, network a bit and get me into some free shows. It’s been sort of that way.

What it also is, is a lot of hard work. It doesn’t help to work full-time amidst clubbing hours. I haven’t seen anyone I live with in person since Sunday. But the CMJ marathon, for most people, is a time where all that matters is how many artists (over 1,000 of em') you manage to see in the span of five days.

On Tuesday, the official start of the fest, I found myself registering and handing out festival badges for panelists and artists, setting up the lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons and the Senior Director of Yahoo! Music. I had Q-Tip’s publicist scrambling to get a hold of his badge minutes before his “Hip Hop Renaissance” panel, plus the plethora of Sony/BMG and Live Nation heads. Thankfully, they all got in smoothly, and Q-tip managed to make news for reiterating that, “Hip Hop is dead.”

Wednesday was the start of one of three nights of club patrol, which is where that whole “free shows” part comes into play. Landing at Gallery Bar for a Stones Throw record label party, I found the heart of what this marathon is truly about – discovering new artists. I also found the core of the business side - helping a 200-pound, glass-eyed bouncer helm a 400-person line down an entire city block.

“This is some LA shit,” one attendee proclaimed, citing the West Coast’s notably stringent door policies. With people pouring into the street and filling the sidewalk, the anticipation was there – but so was frustration.

"“This is New York, you’re supposed to pay the bouncer to get you in,” another fan complained. But little to no one was getting passed one-eyed James, who even consulted with a car-full of New York City police officers who showed up to control filling the tiny two-level bar over capacity.

Once inside, fans, VIP’s and RSVP’s (some who waited two hours to get in), finally felt the warmth of the oblong mod-inspired venue aligned with artist exhibitions. It was packed to the brim, with at least 200 people still waiting outside. It seemed the door drama melted away once Peanut Butter Wolf followed by DJ extraordinaire Madlib took the helm, providing soulful sets with hip-hop samples that kept the crowd grooving into their cranberry vodka’s and $6 Coronas. Once settled, the madness was worth it. And it starts all over again tonight.