After running around like crazy people hopping from show to show in the Lower East Side/East Village last night, Jessie and I passed out promptly upon returning to makeshift TPB CMJ headquarters and charged our batteries, literally and figuratively speaking, for the second day of our time at CMJ.  Huge bonus?  Gab arrived fresh off the Bolt Bus around 11am, which left us plenty of time to mosey on over to East Houston for some bagels and shmear before hitting the Rockwood Music Hall at 3.  Below, check out our Day 2 round up of TeaParty Boston’s CMJ coverage: We’ve got Drug Rug [a band so nice we saw them twice], Au Revoir Simone [Jessie's super band crush], The Wheel [recently signed to Rounder Records and one of the best sets we've seen at CMJ yet], Temper Trap [Aussie pop rock with a sick rhythm section] and Portugal. The Man [yeah, just epic].  What’s on deck for today: Local Natives [if everyone and their mother doesn't hit their show, which they probably will], The New Collisions, and what promises to be the most ridiculous hoity-toity dance party that Bodega Girls will be playing in a five-story Manhattan mansion.  We couldn’t make this up if we tried.

-Hilary Hughes

Drug Rug played SPIN Magazine’s party at Rockwood Music Hall yesterday afternoon, and their sunshiny, versatile set went perfectly with the cozy nature of the venue.  I had the pleasure of chatting up Sarah and Tommy in the wine bar next door after they made their way offstage [which was a feat in itself, given that Rockwood was positively packed with people], and they were ecstatic about their afternoon show, as well as the evening set they were getting ready for at the Bowery Ballroom.  Sarah, Tommy, Julian and Dan worked the mainstage at the Bowery just as well as they did the crowd at Rockwood earlier that day, and it was the perfect ending to their stint on tour with Portugal. The Man.

We absolutely love the smooth, silky vocals and keyboard combination that Au Revoir Simone’s got going on.  We were floored by their set at TT the Bear’s Place a few months ago, so naturally we made it our business to make sure that we were front and center for the gig at Rockwood Music Hall.  The girls played a “stripped-down set” and left a keyboard or few at home, so they were working with only a couple of the electronic instruments in their arsenal in addition to the gorgeous grand piano that’s a fixture of the venue.  We’re going to be skipping their set at the Bell House tonight in order to dance our faces off with Bodega Girls, but anyone within a ten mile radius of Williamsburg tonight should seriously consider checking these hipster sirens out in their natural habitat.

The Lovely Feathers put on a rowdy set in the basement of Fat Baby, but their material was hardly infantile:  Frontman Mark Kupfert leapt into the audience for an impromptu dance party as drummer Ted Suss nearly stripped down to his skivvies.  We like their grown-up interpretation of an “IMMA PLAY DRUMZ REAL LOUD IN MY MOM’S BASEMENT” vibe, and look forward to checking them out the next time they come around town.

The Wheel, an alt-folk outfit out of Denver, was recently signed to Boston’s own Rounder Records and came strongly recommended by Rounders staffers.  We were nothing short of blown away by The Wheel’s exquisite instrumentation and arrangements and the vocal prowess of Nathaniel Rateliff and Julie Davis.  They had the entire floor at the Bowery Ballroom wrapped around their steel strings, let’s just put it that way.

Temper Trap, an Australian indie act with a penchant for some mondo percussive action, had their audience at the Bowery Ballroom singing along with nearly every song.  There was a huge group of ferociously fist-pumping dudes in the center of the crowd who were way more festive than obnoxious, and it was nice to see such a pleasant, receptive vibe going on.

Real jammy, real hard and real good, Portugal. The Man, though they’ve got a headscratcher of a moniker, completely wowed the crowd at the headlining slot of the Bowery’s Friday Night Showcase.  Indisputably one of CMJ’s top acts to watch, Portugal. The Man is hot off the trail of a bang-up tour with our faves Drug Rug and they absolutely rocked the Paradise Rock Club last week when they were in town.