For the second year in a row I attended a bunch of live rock shows during the annual CMJ Music Marathon, Oct. 16-20, going to hear live music at a handful of different Lower East Side venues.

Wednesday night, for the showcase mounted by Canadian Blast at Arlene’s Grocery, I heard Two Hours Traffic from Prince Edward Island, a place that produces great musicians, belying its status as Canada’s smallest province. This 4-piece played an infectious chord-driven guitar rock with bright pop vocals by frontman Liam Corcoran, who looked like he could be the brother of actor Toby Maguire. Next up was Elephant Stone, an exciting psychedelic quartet from Montreal with Rishi Dhir’s thumping bass and sitar at the center of their often mind-blowing sound collage. They’re about to release a new self-titled album, their third, on Hidden Pony Records. Foam Lake of Saskatoon played next, leading off with “True Hearts,” which has a rousing chorus I recognized from hearing it on CBC Radio 3, the hub of indie rock in Canada. Later, in front of Arlene’s, on Stanton Street, I met a musician I recognized from earlier as Two Hours Traffic’s bassist. Nathan Gill’s his name. Late though it was, he was planning to be up in a few hours for a morning for a flight to Nova Scotia, where he’d be playing the Halifax Pop Explosion with another band of which he’s a member.

Thanks to Cara Wodnicki of BMF Media Group, who accommodated me and the guest I’d invited to join me this night, Torontonian Peter Evans, CEO of Speakerfile, the company I consult for that connects conference organizers with authors and other experts who do public speaking. Like me, Peter really enjoyed Two Hours Traffic’s efficient, tuneful set.

Before closing out my Canadian Blast evening, I also ran into members of Rah Rah, a band I have blogged about before, and of which I’m a big fan. They weren’t performing on this bill, but would be playing four times over the next few days, including Thursday evening at Bowery Electric, a gig I would be attending, not far from where legendary punk venue CBGB’s operated until 2006. Rah Rah’s new album, “The Poet’s Dead” has just been released and it’s terrific, with a great lead song, “Art and a Wife.” I recommend you listen to it at their website. It’s one of their best set of lyrics yet, striking themes about what a maturing artist wants from life and music. Rah Rah played a pleasantly raucous and spontaneous live show in the basement room at Bowery Electric, with players swapping instruments with one another, and grabbing drum sticks to make percussion sounds on any available hard surface, from amp cases to brick walls. The anarchic vibe encompassed Rah Rah’s Jeffrey Romanyk, who alternated between acoustic guitar on some songs, and drums on others–he weathered a broken string on one song and a toppling drum kit on another. But no mishap could snap the spell of the band’s great performance, with its fun, uninhibited vibe. The finale included inflated mylar letters spelling out R-A-H, bouncing over the heads of the audience, and an exploding confetti cannon. Low-tech fun. Afterward, I spent time visiting with Romanyk, as well as his bandmate Leif Thorsen, and Leif’s wife, photographic scholar, Alison Dean. Out in front of the club, lead singer Marshall Burns showed me their big touring van, with its Saskatchewan license plates, and huge lock on the back door protecting their instruments and equipment from thieves, a potential bane for all touring bands.

Friday offered a rare afternoon opportunity to hear live music, like a day baseball game. A showcase from noon-6 at Pianos on Ludlow Street was put on by music marketing and radio promotion outfit Planetary Group, featuring shows by Hot Panda and The Orwells, as well as Australian bands Sun Cisco and Twerps, and again, Elephant Stone and Rah Rah. Just as Rah Rah was sliding into place on Pianos’ raised stage, a friendly fellow sat on the stool next to me. This was Wilson Lemieux, who works as music director at KWTS radio station in Canyon, Texas. They have “Art and a Wife” in heavy rotation, he told me, but he’d never heard them live, until today. I assured him he was in for a treat. It was great hearing Rah Rah again, as they played a largely different set of songs than the night before. During this relaxed afternoon I met Planetary Group’s Greg Khaikin and Oscar Zubia, and their boss, Chris, all very welcoming and articulate about the bands they were promoting. During a break between sets I had a chance for pleasant chats with Hidden Pony’s Mike Renaud, his wife Natasha, and Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir, and bandmates Gabriel, Steven, and Miles, nice guys all. It’s always fun talking with Canadians in NYC, who are so appreciative of Gotham’s charms. Out on the sidewalk dodging the cigarette smoke, I also met the members of Kiven, a 4-piece outfit from Los Angeles whose music I’m now eager to hear via their bandcamp page.
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