Anyone in an original band who has spent time playing the club circuit in Hoboken, NJ knows that, for the most part, there are but three clubs that cater to original music. They are Love Sexy, Liquid Lounge and Maxwell’s. Other than that, it has been pretty much a losing battle against the two staple Hoboken cash cows; DJs and cover bands. It is just another example of a burning irony in the NYC metro area that, although it is the virtual center of the music industry, it is not musician friendly. Most bands have to struggle for even the slightest bit of exposure and are treated as second-rate citizens by club owners and promoters in the process.
Then there’s Doug Forbes of the band bob fields who has done a wonderful thing by combining top quality original bands with an atmosphere of acceptance in an area that is normally not known for either. With the purchase of a single ticket to the Independent Music Fest, I was able to do the unthinkable by wandering from bar to bar and see tons of great music, hang with old friends, make some new ones and gaze at the possibility of what a truly good Hoboken scene could be like. There was this undeniable feeling of hope in the air that such a thing could become reality in our time.
Sadly though we all knew that Hoboken would soon return to its largely anti-original music status. By the actions of many of the staff at the bars who hosted the IMF, it was all too clear that they’re just not ready or willing to deal with these type of shows. The goobers working the door at the Cadillac Bar called it a “Battle of the Bands” night. Shannon’s, O’Donoghue’s and The Quiet Woman all seemed to have serious volume sensitivity issues. Love Sexy can’t ever seem to get a band on stage on time. River Street insisted upon charging “club prices” for their drinks which meant $4.00 for water. A quick side note, due to the high drink prices, I spent many a moment in between shows stopping into the Wilton House on Newark Street. Not only is the draught beer $1.25, it is by far the coldest beer in town. Stop in and say hey to Jack.
OK, sorry, back to the point I was trying to make. Despite all of this, the IMF is a definite step in the right direction. My hat is off to Mr. Forbes and everyone else involved for making these 4 nights possible. Now it’s up to all of us who attended to work on trying to stretch it into 365 nights.
My Disclaimer:
I can only attest for what I actually got to see. You will notice several overlapping time slots. These were kinda tricky, but I did what I could burning many a calorie bounding from show to show, but with all that was going on, it was impossible to catch it all. As for the bands I missed, tell me when you’re playing or send me some stuff to listen to.
Day 1 – 11/1/00:
7:00PM River Street (actually more like 8:15)
Efendi is an eclectic world music ensemble complete with belly dancer. I don’t know what had me more captivated, the hypnotic mid-eastern flavored music or the exotic sensuality of the dance. They appear each Sunday from 8-10 pm at Le Cafe Figarro. 184 Bleecker St, NYC.
9:00PM Cadillac Bar
“That’ll be $5 unless you’re here for this Battle of the Bands thing” was my greeting at the door. I just couldn’t be bothered with an explanation so I flashed them my IMF ticket and walked in. On stage, or I should say, in this corner was Mr. Chu. Well, they were certainly pumped, I’ll give them that. I’m afraid that’s all I can give them. Maybe it was the fact that the Cadillac bar has a horrid set up for heavy bands such as this. Maybe Mr. Chu was just trying too hard. Whatever it was, I had to walk out. Sorry.
9:00PM Whiskey Bar
Nicole McKenna was a welcome change. Beautiful songs, touching lyrics, very nice harmonies. She was playing with a stripped down version of her band consisting of acoustic guitar, bass and dumbek. I was able to get a CD from her which is fabulous by the way.
10:00PM Whiskey Bar
I just could not miss my boys in Cropduster, even if it was to be for less than half a set. A true rock n roll fandango that never disappoints.
10:00PM Shannon Lounge
On the advice of Jim Testa of Jersey Beat, I wanted to see Tris McCall at Shannon Lounge. Luckily the 2 bars are only about 3 blocks apart and I got to catch the last few songs of his set. Catchy, well written tunes about New Jersey with quirky, vintage keys and soulful vocals. He’s one hell of a nice guy too.
11:00PM Whiskey Bar
I ran back because my curiosity told me to try and catch some of Awake Asleep, featuring former members of Ben Trovato. I had been hearing a lot of good things about them lately, but ultimately I had the same non-reaction to Awake Asleep as I did with their previous band. I neither liked nor disliked them. They can still fabricate decent pop tunes, but nothing really grabs me about it.
11:00PM Shannon Lounge
Back to Shannon’s where it seems they don’t house very many loud bands. This became obvious when neighbors complained about what was, after all, not a particularly loud set by the Davenports. As we waited for resolution and the band messed around with a few bars of “Sweet Home Alabama”, an innocent comment of, “Hoboken Cops don’t like Lynyrd Skynyrd,” caused a near police action. But we all survived the rock n roll rebellion without incident or physical injury and the band played for a bit more. We all danced and smiled to their hook packed melodic pop stylings.
11:00PM O’Donoghue’s
I walked across the street to O’Donoghue’s. Union Spirit was described as retro-rock on the schedule. I’m not really sure what that term means anymore. While you can pick out their influences, to me retro equates to rehash. Yet this gang is fresh with their tight, meaty, funk injected sound and powerfully belted vocals. Once again, the unfortunate complaints from neighbors caused the bar staff to turn the volume down. Thankfully the band was not phased by this and surged on through their set.
Day 2 – 11/2/00:
9:00PM Shannon Lounge
My 30-minute search for parking caused me to walk into Shannon’s a bit late. I heard the usual, “Thank you for coming. You guys are great,” coming from the stage followed, in turn by a hearty, “Fuck You!!” and off went The Negatones, into their wonderfully eclectic screaming power pop with a vibraphone twist.
10:00PM River Street
The schedule read Mike Control for 10:00, but it was Offbeat Minds who were up instead. I have to admit that, for the most part, I’m not a big Rap fan. These guys, however, provided inventive interaction between the DJ, sequenced samples and occasional live bass. While I liked the clever and refreshingly non-posturing rap, the performance was unfortunately the weakest link of the chain. Right after came Little T and One Track Mike. An impressive live troupe in the heavy, urban-groove vein. I didn’t get to see much of their set, but I did catch a ripping version of “Season of the Witch” before having to run to the next show.
11:00PM The Planet
This was the first time I had seen Plug Spark Sanjay, though I had known about them for a while. I’ve been a big fan of bassist Michael Mixt’s solo work and was blown away by Plug Spark Sanjay’s high-energy psychedelic swirling sonic punk blast.
12:00AM The Planet
If Devo and Helmet mated, their spawn would be Ex-Models. Their set was on fire and the unsuspecting crowd burned with them. ‘nuf said.
1:00AM O’Donoghue’s
Now came the time to drag my battered IMF ass over to catch Aviso Hara. They are true favorite of mine, and, as always, they delivered with their delicious mix of noise, angst and tortured melodies as the drum kit, and my constitution, slowly fell to pieces.
Day 3 – 11/3/00
9:00PM Love Sexy
Casanovacane fell victim both to my harried schedule and Love Sexy’s notorious delaying of set start times. Though I did not get to see much of their set, I could tell that, aside from having a great name, they have a very catchy, alt-garage, guitar driven sound. I do intend on seeing them again for a more complete experience.
10:00PM – Shannon Lounge
OK so I was on one of my stops to the Wilton House for cheap beer when I got caught up in a conversation with a couple of locals about the navy, racism and their hatred of women. I noticed that I let more time than I’d like pass, chugged my beer and ran because I just had to catch at least a few moments of the impeccable NJ fuck you rock of 383 Stroker. I caught the last couple of songs, said my hellos and booked ass to the other side of town because now I was really late for The Moths.
10:00PM – Quiet Woman
This was my longest walk of the festival. I raced along the 8 blocks and made it through the door just in time to catch The Moths for their last 2 minutes. Let me tell you, it was a moving 2 minutes. Screaming tight feedback cacophony of brilliance. Now, that’s all I saw of their IMF appearance, so that’s all I can say on that. However, I will say that the new CD rocks!
11:00PM – Quiet Woman
After all of that running around my legs, and my heart, were happy to hear Dan of the Moths recommend that I stay to see Dangaru. As the staff of the Quiet Woman kept turning the volume lower and lower after each song, I sat and enjoyed a distinct quirkiness that weaved through their well-executed indie-pop sound.
12:00AM – Love Sexy 
Fans of Punch Drunk Monkeys will not be disappointed in this project. Spanker hurt us so good with loud two-minute punk assaults. No shredded paper this time, just a bit of silly string and a good ol’ fashioned ass paddlin’ for the lucky ones. A very strong set, despite the large testosterone pumped, overly fashionable muscle head at the back bar who insisted on spraying the band with his Corona Light (with lime, of course).
1:00AM – Love Sexy
The first time I saw The Highwaters was at WE Fest 2000 in Wilmington, NC. Well, the truth is I was too preoccupied with my flask of Jim Beam out in the court of the Firebelly Lounge to notice much of anything that night. Luckily this time I was a few ounces closer to sober. Their songs possess a healthy indie-rock attitude, a unique tonal quality in the combination of voice, guitar, violin and a solid backbone.
Day 4 – 11/4/00
11:30AM – 6:00PM – The Planet
Indie Boot Camp – A day of food, drink and seminars on the subject of surviving the world of indie music. Jim Testa of Jersey Beat used the CD “Paid Platycake” by my band Ya-Ne-Zniyoo as a visual aid in his talk about the ins and outs of DIY. I was honored, but as irony would have it, I was forced to miss the event due to my having to make more CDs.
9:00PM – 1:00AM – Maxwell’s
Oh Joy!! A night where I can stay put in a place that knows how to put on a show. Which was a good thing due to my impending intoxication thanks to the portability of Jack Daniels in a travel mug.
9:00PM
landspeedrecord came up from Baltimore on a mission to cram their no-bullshit post-punk tidings straight through our skulls and we were all there to joyfully submit.
10:00PM
Next up was Ivet. Loud rock. That’s all I really got out of it so I decided to spend some 
time with my friends in town from Boston and Baltimore.
11:00PM
Baltimore’s next contribution to the IMF was the incomparable Scott Farcus Affair. Their guitar gymnastics and searing vocals were bouncing through the air with a bombastic passion.
12:00AM
Though I’ve seen them play before, this was actually the first time I had seen the complete lineup of Prosolar Mechanics. It seems as though they had been struck by some tragedy or another the last couple of times I ran into them. Is it me? Anyway, they are one of all time my favorite bands. Their sound filled with massive, hypnotic guitars, firm rhythm and mesmerizing vocals, always finds its way to my happy place.
1:00AM
I think it was Kevin of Hipnosis magazine who told me to stick around for Dira and I’m glad I did. They’re a steadfast rock trio with dynamic, edgy guitar and impassioned vocals.
Well, there you have it – IMF 2000 Hoboken. Let’s do it again real soon!!
