I’ve watched dozens of marathons in my life and, unless you win, you can have a hard time standing out from the crowd.
CMJ Music Marathon does not bill itself as such accidentally. Hundreds of bands take over the country’s busiest city over the course of a week. Consequently, it’s pretty tough to stand out.
Here are 5 tips that helped ingrain bands into my brain during CMJs of yesteryear.
Put Your Name In Lights
More often than not, you’ll wind up in a bar with a band playing and you’ll have no idea who that band is. The signage may only go as far as white piece of paper with set times listed that you forgot to glance at before you paid your cover charge.
Why not make your own marquee?
Vinyl Thief hollowed out the back of an instrument case, cut their band name into the felt and backlit it. There was no questioning who the band on stage was.
Have A Dance Party
When I went to see Ducky last year I was there, ready for the crowd to turn into a dance party. It turns out, she brought her own. She took to the stage with two dancers who had choreographed routines to her music.
When In Doubt…. Cats 
Cats are great pets. Cats are great memes. Cats are a great way for people to remember your band at 1am on a Saturday night.
Rah Rah had two animatronic cats on their gear as they played a late night set. These cats yawned, blinked and moved like real cats all as Rah Rah killed it on stage. As silly as it may seem, that Rah Rah show will be embedded in my brain forever. Cats, man.
Paint It Black.... Or Red & Blue
Two years ago during Walk The Moon's set there were ladies roaming the crowd with red and blue face paint. Why? Walk The Moon elisted them to paint their fans' faces to match their onstage face paint to create painted face harmony.
Also, there's no better talking point than sending a sea of fans into New York City with their faces painted. "Where were you? Why is your face painted?" "Oh, I just saw Walk The Moon."
Break Bread... or Brownies
One of my fondest, and most delicious, memories of CMJ is running into Darlingside and The Black Cadillacs on Ludlow Street after their show. What made this meeting of the minds more than your standard gathering is that someone had picked up freshly baked brownies from a local bakery and they were more than happy to share.
I will now follow both of these bands to the ends of the Earth because I know that good snacks and great music await me.
