MATTHEW CARON

Photo by Kyle Tamlin for Beyond Race

I spent CMJ week of 2009 running around New York doing shows with Suckers. The New York Times caught their set at Bowery Poetry Club on video as part of their Urban Eye video series. There’s a short interview with Quinn and Pan along with a few flashes of live visual magic.

Photo by Liz Vitale for Pitchfork

Pitchfork caught their set at The Delancey and said “Suckers neither suck nor get fooled. They’re a savvy Brooklyn band who favor big moments and soaring chant-along choruses, and their reputation as a spirited live act drew an impressive mix of festival-going industry types and hometown fans.”

Meanwhile, MTV caught the set at The Studio At Webster Hall. While they did not capture any video from the show, they nonetheless concluded it was the best show “since Tanlines the previous month” in part because people were having sex in the audience, and also because a guy jumped onstage to punch Quinn in the face. Those things were exciting, but I think it was the best show because Webster Hall afforded me the chance to perform the best live visuals of CMJ using two projectors in their fantastic space.