Leaving the running shoes and sweatpants behind, the Jenny and Johnny Showcase was the perfect way to approach the music marathon. Opening the nearly week long festival, the Jenny & Johnny concert featured artists Wild Nothing, Times New Viking, Happy Birthday, and La Sera. This line-up was the perfect recipe for a mellow, but eventful evening.

Situated right near Union Square, Irving Plaza is one of the wonderfully historic New York venues, seeping with musical history that dates back to the likes of The Cure and early (and much better) U2.  For music lovers, it’s a magical place deserving of a pilgrimage at some point during their lifetime.

The first act to grace the stage was the solo project of Katy Goodman (Vivian Girls/All Saints Day), La Sera. They were a picture perfect addition to the Jenny and Johnny showcase with their sweet melodies and happy pop beats. Though Goodman has been a fixture of the underground music scene for quite some time now, she seemed to be a little shy when on stage. At times, it seemed like she was afraid to reveal the titles of her songs. Performing after Ms. Goodman was Happy Birthday. Though their lyrics covered pretty dark subjects, “Happy” Birthday displayed some upbeat pop tracks and electronically laced rock songs. The five-piece band were extremely charismatic, but, at times, the audience had a little bit of difficulty understanding what they were saying due to some genuinely bad sound tech.

Up next was Ohio band Times New Viking, whose drummer nearly got into a fist fight with one of the audience members. Everyone seemed to calm down a bit, though, when they remembered that concerts feature music, and music is love! As usual, Times New Viking gave an über energetic performance and did a perfect job of opening up for Jenny and Johnny. For LA based Jenny Lewis & Johnny Rice, their first CMJ performance was going to be pretty epic. Playing popular songs “Big Wave” and “Scissor Runner”, the duo sounded fantastic live and seemed to be completely comfortable with their audience. Avoiding the cutesy boy-girl band cliché, these two seemed to represent something a tad edgier. Living up to U2 (yeah, right), Jenny & Johnny and their crew did Irving Plaza proud.

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Photos courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan