CMJ 2012 Night 5: Wrapping It Up with Black Taxi

Having stopped in three venues in one night on the first night of CMJ, and stepping away to take in the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center, I found myself out on the last night of CMJ at the Mercury Lounge for a packed showcase with several bands going into the early morning.

For full disclosure, I came to this showcase with the intent to meet some people, and I only really got to see one band, Black Taxi, one I had seen before as they put on a wild show. The band’s immediate live sound drew comparison to Kings of Leon and the band seemed just as close as the Followill Brothers. But Black Taxi do have more variety — throughout the set elements of other bands were apparent and the wild vocalist Ezra Huleatt jumped up to sing, sat down for the keyboards, wailed on a trumpet and dragged out a bullhorn to supercharge his voice. The audience ate it up. And if you can’t check out the live show, the band has a Live EP stream that will allow you to make comparison to other bands yourself.

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