Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Live: Mac Macaughan @ Merge 2012 CMJ Showcase, Mercury Lounge 10.18.12

photo stolen from NYCTaper and For The Love Of Brooklyn
To no great effect, JS-NYC has not been especially crazy about the recent ridiculously successful run of new signings that Merge has added to the roster in recent years, but if it keeps their reissue initiatives rolling and pays for a new Superchunk record down the line, I guess we can call it even.

This was the first Merge showcase at CMJ in a couple of years and as I knew Mac was playing and it was at Mercury, I grabbed tickets. I was decidedly nonplussed when I heard the rest of the lineup, especially when there was a four-hour wasteland of ambivalence (and no re-entry) between Mac's early set and the 1:15am headlining set from The Reigning Sound, so I hit and quit it after Mac wrapped.

The room was pretty full for the aces solo set, featuring a new tune slated for a new Chunk record and a dozen or so others from the Superchunk and Portastatic catalogs. There were some real clambake moments, but Mac more than held his own for the duration. If you were unlucky enough to have not made the scene, the good folk of NYCTaper were in the house and have the set available here for your downloading pleasure, so don't postpone joy and get yerself over there with the quickness.

R

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