CMJ Report: Saturday [Brandon Stosuy]

All photos by Jane Lea.

MGR [Sin-é; 11 p.m.]




MGR is Mike Gallagher of Isis on solo, pedal-pushing guitar. During his suitably oceanic set-- giving an indirect nod to the Zodiac's water bearer via a well-tailored Aquarius Records t-shirt-- a friend turned to me and said, "he's definitely in Isis." True.

Made Out of Babies [Sin-é; 11:45 p.m.]






Double-timing vocalist Julie Christmas yowls for Made Out of Babies and Battle of Mice; if you close your eyes and take the Pepsi Challenge, it's easy telling them apart: Think coiled Am Rep rock for the former, layered blue-lit Isis (and, say, Slint-y Godflesh) the latter. A pivotal ingredient: Battle of Mice's guitarist/bassist/keyboardist, Josh Graham, also vibrates six-strings in Red Sparowes and dreams Neurosis' art direction. MOoB's more straight-up blisters were best exemplified during their Sin-é set when the bassist, Cooper, started a story with lumberjack guitarist Brendan Tobin, but Christmas opted to slice to the chase, interrupting with her screaming "Silverback". A two-man pit immediately spilled backwards.

Unfortunately, every action wasn't so whopping. They also performed "Proud to Drown" (more water), which finds Christmas boasting, "I can feel your insides shake." Judging from the band's sophomore album, Coward, that's what I was expecting; oddly though, as if showing deferential homage to the festival's close (the downward arc of a denouement?), the club's sound was anti-climactically quiet.