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RZA @ 1015 Folsom

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST

OK, so RZA as Bobby Digital oversold the new album Digi Snacks on Saturday night. It was pretty much a forgone conclusion that most of the crowd was copping the record. If you are a Wu-Tang fan, you know that besides Ghostface, RZA has been the best and most consistent of the Clan.

Looking a little tired after playing in L.A. the night before (my friend went to that show and said the crowd was weak, and RZA hardly played any old stuff) RZA and his crew took the stage and played nine straight tracks from Digi Snacks. The new stuff sounded great, especially "Digi Snacks" and "Booby Trap," which asks "Would you like a digi or a Scooby snack?" "You Can't Stop Me Now" closed the set, and had the whole place singing along, arms in the air.

RZA loved the adoration he was getting from the crowd, and felt strangely competitive with it. "You guys think you have energy? (the crowd responded with a collective roar) I have energy!," he said and screamed into the microphone. It was funny, as were the continual references to Belvedere Vodka who sponsored the tour. "Belvedere has given us a lot of good times!"

#2#RZA was joined on stage by competent rappers, and as another good sign that the crowd was hyped, they continued to make looks at each other like: "they love us!" After a bunch of new material RZA broke out "Fast Cars" from 2003's underrated classic The Birth of a Prince. The crowd went crazy. Inspired by this, RZA launched into a bunch of tracks from both his solo career and the Wu-Tang Clan, including "Clan in da Front" and his inspired verse on "Ain't Nothin' Ta Fuck Wit," as well as "Reunited" from the double disc Forever. His crew didn't leave the stage until 1:30 giving the crowd exactly what they wanted, and maybe more than RZA wanted to give "Man, we gave you guys the stadium set! It was supposed to be mostly songs on the new album, but damn!"

Frightened Rabbit @ Independent

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Scott Hutchison lead singer of Frightened Rabbit. "Were they giving away free tickets on the street or something?" The audience laughed, but Hutchison was partially serious, and gratitude for the crowd seemed sincere. Frightened Rabbit started as a two-man band, the Hutchison brothers making CDs in their bedrooms.

Midnight Organ Fight should be a hit among Bay Area natives with challenging, thoughtful lyrics, good melodies and heartfelt acoustic banging. Frightened Rabbit is the second solid Scottish import of the last two years. Last year, another Glasgow band, the Twilight Sad represented Scotland well.

These guys will definitely get bigger and their live show was further proof that they are a band on the rise. Now a four-piece, the band opened with the sequence off Midnight Organ Fight, starting with the rousing "The Modern Leper" which paints a tale of a rough romance. Hutchison sings "Is that you, in front of me? Coming back for even more...you must be a masochist. Loving a modern leper on his last leg...I've crippled your heart a hundred times, and I can't figure out why. You see I got this disease I can't shake and I'm just rallying through life."

"Good Arms vs Bad Arms" soon followed with its sing along melody. The lyrics also take on love coming from a darker place, and "Fast Blood" which are paired together on the album made for some fist pumping to the ceiling. It was a great set, and the guys were highly appreciative. "This is the most people we've ever played for. I feel for the first time like I'm in a proper band." Proper is an understatement. These guys are verging on great.

The Dodos @ Independent

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST

Quite a homecoming, indeed. Local boys The Dodos were welcomed with open arms for one of their first Bay Area shows since all of the media attention of the last few months for their second LP Visiter. Meric Long and Logan Kroeber lit up the Indpendent with their soulful psyche pop.

The sold out crowd was buzzing for the headliner and the guys played a loose set from their new album as well as some older tracks. The Dodos are a kin to a more accessible Animal Collective with vocal loops and dubs. Long is at his best when he's harmonizing with himself through a loop, and ferociously pounding on his guitar. Kroeber is every bit his equal on the drums, together it feels like tribal country music. It's too precise to be a "jam," and the audacity of the pauses and space creates a lot of tension in the music which translated well live. It feels like you're about to drop off a cliff when they stop, pulling you back just in time before the decent into oblivion as on "Joe's Waltz."

#2#Long has tons of tricks. He uses different mics for vocal effects, and it's easy to see how he started as a one man band. The bass in his voice reverberated nicely with the Independent's wood ceiling.

The standouts were "Ashley," which is bar none one of the best songs of the year, and is as close to perfect as possible. It sounded even more intimate live. "Red and Purple" created a nervous but fun twitch in the crowd, as did "Fools." "Walking" showcased the band's patience and Long's songwriting.

Judging by fan reaction and how many people were out front looking for tickets, The Dodos could have played to a packed house at the Independent for a week straight. Come home more often, guys.

Islands @ Bimbo's 365 Club

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST

Are Islands a cool bizzaro Dave Matthews Band? Take the music or Nick Diamonds fascination with death out of the picture, and the parallels are definitely there. They both have a lot of band members, they both feature artists that have a classical playing background, they both look like a United Colors of Benetton ad, and they both have fans that LOVE them.

The crowd at Bimbo's was verging on fanatical. I've never seen anything like it. Like a crowd Mohawk, the center of the audience had their arms raised to the ceiling for the majority of the show, and sang—loudly—with passionate expressions back to their idol. The recent release of Arm's Way has already been committed to memory for a lot of the audience, and it made the show that much more fun as a sing along.

Diamonds played up to the adoration and crowd surfed while he sang, and continually laid into the front of the crowd. I noted in my review of Arm's Way that Diamonds could rule the world if he painted by numbers with his knack for melody, deft songwriting, and a unique vulnerability, but that seems boring to him. As evidence, the show started with "Vertigo," the closer off Arms's Way. It's a spiraling 11.5 minute track with stings, multiple guitar solos, and at least four tempo changes. The audience ate it up. Yes, it's self indulgent, but these guys have artistic integrity to spare, fuck ruling the world if you can't do it on your own terms.

Opening act Despot was very good. He made a fan out of me with his gritty rhymes, and solid flow. I was in the bar area of Bimbo's on my phone when I heard him rapping in the other room. I told the person on the phone, "Someone is really rapping in there, I have to check it out!" Diamonds has experimented with a brand of hip hop with both the Unicorn's and Islands, but this was the real deal. It was all the more fun because the dude is a 5'6" white hipster with a bit of a comb over, but he can SPIT! He joined Islands on stage for "Tsuxiit."

Some other memorable moments were "Life in Jail" which has a fun jam in the middle of it, "Don't Call me Whitney, Bobby" (loudest sing along of the night), and the THIRD encore and closer "Swans (Life After Death)." The guitar solo near the end was a show stopper, and the audience cheered as Diamonds left the stage blowing a heartfelt kiss to the crowd.

Little Teeth and Chubby Behemoth @ 21 Grand

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST

The tin can that is basically Oakland's 21 Grand might have been the ideal venue for Wednesday night's bands Little Teeth and Chubby Behemoth. Its garage layout with folding-chair seating created more of a band practice feel than an actual gig. However, with the opening of Little Teeth, you couldn't help but be violently reminded that you were watching a finished product and nothing in between.

Vocalist Dannie Marrie, with her lop-sided blond shag and tambourine bells affixed to her holey slacks, led this San Francisco band who, in their new-grunge fury, took me directly back to when we were all toddlers, playing our drum solos on mom's old pots on the kitchen floor in an attempt to channel the spirit of Animal the Muppet. It was that refreshing, cathartic and plain fucking fun. Little Teeth's three members included drummer Ammo Eisu and backing vocalist Andy Tisdall. The latter unexpectedly, and I'm sure unintentionally, sounded just like Mick Jagger at his peak. You could have said main vocalist Marrie had a Joplin thing going on, which would have rounded out a classic feel. But make no mistake, the sum of all parts equaled something much darker than any sixties association, so don't make it. This unbridled banshee sang until horse and opened her mouth wide enough to swallow a human baby while doing so, all the while making me miss Nirvana but grateful they left space in rock history for the next evolution. Little Teeth is one band filling and furthering that space.

#2#Indubitably riled after this, any crowd would have been sufficiently prepared for the following band, Chubby Behemoth, a five-piece noise monster consisting of sax, electric violin, and thank God, a souped-up keyboard loaded to the brim with sweet effects. I say thank God because bands like these who dance on the side of the spectrum where punk, or whatever, becomes noise, need depth...like crack. And did it pay off for this chaos machine. Chubby Behemoth's sound is physically impossible to respond to as it is not a force to be reckoned with, but a force to which you can only surrender. In other words, not only must these guys love Mr. Bungle with a passion, they seemingly pick their least digestible album to emulate. I picture this band at the breakfast table every morning, washing down mouthfuls of Disco Volante with a tall glass of O.J. Mmm mmm.

The Warlocks and The Black Angels @ Independent

Sat, 7 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST

#1#The Warlocks and The Black Angels tour kicked off in San Francisco at the Independent as the aroma of smoke and psychedelic music filled the air.

The Warlocks, considered to be the modern-day version of Spacemen 3, somehow found themselves as the openers of the show although the band has been around longer than The Black Angels and have more releases to date. The band recently slimmed its lineup down and lost a couple of members, including one of their two drummers, however, the lineup changes did not affect their performance. Frontman Bobby Hecksher, sounded phenomenal as usual as he stalked the microphone with his vocals while the rest of the band played tightly behind him. The set-list started with newer tunes and the last half showcased a lot of the band's older druggie songs such as "Shake the Dope Out," "The Dope Feels Good" and "Cocaine Blues." Fortunately, those with an addictive personality in the audience could get away with their cigarette cravings.

#2#The Black Angels, from Austin, TX, lead the way for the rest of the show and were in no way as tight as The Warlocks. They did play a variety of strange instruments, which was cool. Frontman Alex Maas resembled a grizzly bear with his thick, itchy looking beard, at times shaking a maraca. They played a lot of tracks off their first album Passover (2006) including "Black Grease" and "Manipulation." Unfortunately, drummer Stephanie Bailey (Nico anyone?) seemed to get lost in the percussion. Apparently the rest of the band discovered this, as a couple of the fellows replaced her during different songs (why didn't they stay?) while she pretended to play the bass. The band also played a lot of material from their current album, Directions to See a Ghost, which doesn't compare to the melodic Passover.

The strobe light reached a particular high point at the end of the show, giving the drunks a good case of the dizzies and just in time to wake up the indie kids who were nodding their heads and looking down with particular excitement. It was truly a shoegazing-ly good time.

Flight of the Conchords @ Nob Hill Masonic Center

Tue, 27 May 2008 00:00:00 EST

Three things were blatantly apparent to me at the Nob Hill Masonic Flight of the Conchords show on Tuesday night.

One, Jemaine Clement (who my colleague called sexy hot) and Bret McKenzie are excellent musicians—I think their silliness overshadows their skillz sometimes. Both of them displayed instrument prowess jumping between guitar, electronic saxophone and keytar with ease.

Two, the sound in the Masonic was pitiful. It was either too loud, blowing out their vocals, or too low, making their lyrics inaudible.

Three, FotC fans are no different than Hannah Montana fans... they're just older. This I found totally annoying. Yes, this New Zealand duo, masters of a hybrid Simon & Garfunkel-Abbott & Costello shtick, are super talented and ridiculously funny, and they're HBO show is unmatched in cable comedy, but, and forgive me for saying this, I think a bulk of the people at this show like them because they're still relatively obscure. It's a typical hipster mentality.

Side note: The whole Ticketmaster debacle was a complete joke too. Those that tried to buy tickets (I tried to purchase tickets 10 seconds after they went on sale only to find out that the show had sold out) ended up looking like a bunch of suckers. The pre-sale game was laughable and very questionable. Like, is there some collusion between corporate tickets sales and scalpers? Maybe. Doubt it. But, it sure was funny to see tickets pop up on eBay and Craigslist for way more than face value minutes after going on sale.

The show began with "Robots" (off Grammy-winning The Distant Future) and this was one of the few song highlights of the night. Not because FotC were bad. In fact, they were amazing, with spot on timing and delivery but the sound/acoustics of the venue were pathetic.

Other highlights included "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros" "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" and "Business Time."

The last song of the night "Boom" was the lowest point. The audio problems were so obvious. It was the one time all night that even the fanatics were quiet. No one was moving or laughing. But they encored with the folk-y "Angels" and everything was right again.

Truth be told, the sound difficulties made the moments between songs more enjoyable. Jemaine and Bret have an undeniable chemistry and banter that I could have listened to for hours. They joke about being a novelty band, but their wit is timeless.

Live from New York: Uh Huh Her @ Highline Ballroom

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 EST

In January 2007, actress and musician Leisha Hailey realized she had let herself stray too far from what she loved: playing music. She teamed up with producer and fellow musician Camila Grey and formed the Los Angeles electro-pop band, Uh Huh Her. Soon afterwards, they released their EP, I See Red. Fans of Grey and Hailey's former bands Mellowdrone and The Murmurs salivated in anticipation of a full-length release. Instead, they received new songs in the form of a string of live shows.

The Meatpacking District's Highline Ballroom proved to be the perfect setting for an Uh Huh Her show. With standing room for no more than 700, the venue allowed the audience to feel like they were at an intimate show, but with room to breathe. One bar flanked either side of the stage, but managed to keep annoying talkers at bay. The opener for the night was Angie Mattson, a pop-rocker also from Los Angeles. She welcomed the crowd inside with her rich, velvety voice, sipping from a glass of whiskey as she spoke to the audience. Her drummer sat at the back of the stage, encased in what she jokingly referred to as a glass "fish bowl." The last song of her set, a cover of Alicia Keys' "No One," induced an impromptu sing-along from the crowd.

#2#Before attending Uh Huh Her's sold-out show, I had expected to find throngs of women crowding around the stage, calling out Leisha's name (as a result of her popularity on The L-Word). As soon as the band took the stage, I realized, happily, that I was wrong. They opened with a song from their upcoming album, Common Reaction, playing at full force. Camila stood firmly on her side of the stage, coaxing waves of music out of her synth and bass. Her gentle voice rang out loud and clear, rising in pitch as it bounced off of Leisha across the room. The two looked well-rehearsed and care-free, performing as if they were picked to play at a friend's party, versus a sold-out show. Leisha rolled her shoulders and bopped her head to the beat of the music, a wide grin on her face all the while.

The band played for slightly over one hour, weaving together songs from both their EP and upcoming release. Each song featured its own unique brand of danceable, driving beats and echoing vocals, crashing like waves throughout the set. As the band announced their last song, "Say So," silvery shards of light from the disco ball overhead rained down on them like confetti. The band left the stage looking flushed, exhilarated, and most importantly, proud.

Live From New York: Black Kids @ Studio B

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EST

Jacksonville, Florida's Black Kids created quite a stir last summer with their self-released online demo, Wizard of Ahhhs, which made them one of the most talked-about bands at CMJ last fall. Since then, they've earned a lot of attention and a major-label deal, but they haven't released an album yet. While the four well-crafted, dance floor-ready pop songs on Wizard of Ahhhs are undeniably good, the band's recent show at Studio B in Brooklyn served as a reminder that underneath the hype, Black Kids are still a new band touring the country (and Europe) without an album under their belt, and they have a lot of work ahead of them.

If there's anywhere in NYC that you're likely to find kids actually dancing at shows, it's Studio B. However, it's not just something in the air there; popular electronic and dance-oriented bands and artists just tend to play there. The audience, while appreciative, was unusually still, proving that it's hard to get a crowd dancing when they only know four of your songs. The band's set was composed of songs from their upcoming debut album, Partie Traumatic, set to be released in July. Some of their newer songs, including "I Want To Be Your Limousine" and "Listen to Your Body Tonight," featured a campy '80s pop vibe; the latter song's refrain, "Listen to your body tonight / It's gonna treat you right," sounded like something Madonna might have sung in her early years.

#2#The band members themselves did plenty of dancing, especially keyboard players and backup singers Ali Youngblood and Dawn Watley, who stood side-by-side in ripped t-shirts and punctuated the songs with claps and emphatic gestures. However, when singer Reggie Youngblood asked the crowd, "Y'all ready to jump?", it turned out that they weren't. It wasn't until almost the end of the set that there was finally some significant motion in the audience, when the band played its infectious demo songs "Hurricane Jane" and "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You."

Black Kids have plenty of fans ready to give them the kind of reaction they're looking for; they just need to come back once people have had a chance to learn all of their songs.

Tapes 'n Tapes @ Fillmore

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EST

"I know musicians say this all the time, but I REALLY love San Francisco. It's a beautiful city. My Mom is from here," said lead singer Josh Grier. Tapes 'n Tapes stopped by the Fillmore on Saturday night in support of their long awaited second album and played to a near capacity crowd.

This marks the third time I've seen the band, and I consider myself a fan. Walk It Off, the band's latest offering has been on a steady rotation for me. The guys from Minnesota were courteous and didn't keep the audience waiting too long between the opening act. The set opened with two tracks from The Loon, before breaking out "Le Ruse," the first track from Walk It Off. It may be the best song the band has written to date, and arms from the audience were punching the air. Like the albums' sequence, they followed with the exceptional "Time of Songs." The songs from The Loon got a more ruckus reaction from the #2#audience, and I'm not sure if it was because Walk It Off has only been out for a month and the songs haven't had a chance to grow on people yet. Or is it that the songs from The Loon are just better as a whole?

The Loon is exceptional all the way through, and while Walk It Off has higher highs, it also has lower lows. (The dreaded sophomore jinx, perhaps?) The good songs went smashingly well, and the audience got wild especially for "The Iliad," "Insistor," "Cowbell" and "Hang Them All." The band encored with the excellent and dreamy "Omaha" and closed with "Jakov's Suite," both from The Loon.

Atmosphere @ The Grand at the Regency Center

Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 EST

Hip hop these days is certainly for everyone. So much it's assuredly for none. The crowds lately have been chop full of yup kids on a college bank roll or straight outta collie on an admin assist with a handbag. On the other side, people are gettin' down at the sideshow. The lost ones still down for turntablism are the originators and whatever new kids they can recruit to keep it alive. Timbaland is out kickin' it with JT and Madonna. A lot has happened since '93 when hip hop was the only one and one for all. It was the year hip hop was so new it was all brought live and direct whether in the club on DJ's wax or over the national airwaves or at the sweaty venue. Now we have choices on rockin' NPR in the daylight all the way up to stadium shows. We have gentrified commoditized and compartmentalized so hard we all gotta wave the flag of our favorites while claiming it's all good and nothing's bad, due respect. Fortunately, like back in the day but in a different way it truly is all good.

Atmosphere pulls a full 2-hour set with a full house and balcony wide behind him. Everyone is juiced and I see young boys and girls alike singing along to every word and lyric. At the merch table there are rows of his releases, a strong showing that even though I may not know much about him, he's definitely been in the game for awhile. His latest is one that I recognize, I think because of the slick packaging, but you know it's gotta be good if it's even made it through the marketing apocalypse going on in my and everyone else's email inbox and still, I can distinctly remember it. Another thing about the first time I came across this cat, his lyrics are extremely thought provoking, talking about real issues in a smart flow. During songs he would remiss and interact in ways that you could tell he was a thinker and a preacher in the same person, simultaneously.

Rhymesayers walked strong back in the day bringing the new school of the time and it seems they continue to chariot some of the best of indie label hip hop. Their time in the game and roster they list is so large the originators themselves who brought up the label belong in the champions archive we now call the old school. To say that times change is silly to dwell on. Music keeps evolving and once again we must make a choice. Atmosphere is a good choice for the new school and when he becomes one of the archive we will be able to say that he was all that at The Grand at the Regency back in '08.

Les Savy Fav & The Dodos @ Great American Music Hall

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

The standard San Francisco indie rock audience won't often stray from this norm: packed in tight, pints of Anchor Steam and/or PBR in hands, many donned in strategically placed secondhand clothing, up-and-down bobbing heads as the most radical movement of the body as the music plays. This is why the Les Savy Fav show took me by complete (and happy) surprise. Not only were people dancing, but lo and behold—a mosh pit!

This begs the question of what type of performance could possibly inspire such a rebellion. Enter the music of Les Savy Fav: nothing less than pure, raw, turn-the-volume-to-ten, idiosyncratic rock music, in and of itself a cry for energetic response. When you throw in frontman Tim Harrington's larger-than-life personality and completely spastic stage #2#antics, however, you've got a live show of absolutely ridiculous proportions. With his incoherent ramblings between songs, spitting beer onto the crowd, stripping down to his unmentionables, climbing on the speakers, and jetting through the crowd to go sing to the O'Farrell St. homeless population, it would have been seemingly less ordinary if the crowd didn't respond in proper. In fact, Harrington's presence is so instantly unabashed and borderline gross (see: sweaty, hairy, pudgy, and likely stinky) that any initial viewer discomfort turns almost automatically into awe and shaking of the hips.

While the musical pairing seemed unlikely, the Dodos proved to be an excellent choice to open for the headlining band. Like their instant-classic Visiter release, the duo's live show is piece of something genius, the uncontrollable energy bursting from the seams as the musicians stay planted in their respective chairs. When Meric Long proceeded to come up on stage with Les Savy Fav and toot on his trombone in between boyishly charming giggles, the logic behind the evening's lineup all seemed to fall into place. Labelmates and friends, clearly, along with the added bonus of just being simultaneously excellent and entertaining musicians—it was a great time all around.

And I've managed to figure out the rules of surviving a Les Savy Fav show, for future reference: wear comfortable shoes, BYO-helmet, and just like a day at Sea World, the first five rows may get wet. You've been warned.

MGMT @ Slim's

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

The crowd for Thursday night's MGMT show at Slim's was better looking than normal, which was somewhat expected considering MGMT's poshness.

San Francisco's Howlin Rain opened the set. Their sound is almost as big as their beards. The band makes classic rock that feels so familiar without sounding stale, and translated well live.

MGMT came on around 10:45PM. Like the Brooklyn bands' debut with Oracular Spectacular, the MGMT live show wore many hats, but unlike the record, some songs suffered for it. As an album, Oracular Spectacular changes genres on a per song basis with the band rarely sounding like itself from track to track. On record it's quite remarkable, but some of the luster was lost live. The album features some especially lush production at the hands of Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips). Two of the best songs to date "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" appear on the band's 2005 debut EP and 'Spectacular'. But the difference is huge. The band's strength lies in a unique electro pop. MGMT does drawn out psyche pop well, but it lacks the punch of the aforementioned songs when performed live, and that was apparent in the crowd reaction. "Electric Feel" and "Time to Pretend" were obviously the songs that brought the pretty girls to the show and got booties shaking. "The Youth" and "Weekend Wars," while great tracks on the record, didn't translate as well. Once the crowd got a taste of the funk, it was difficult to transition back to the slowed paced tracks. That being stated, "Of Moons, Birds & Monsters" was one of the best moments of the night and that song is classic '70s arena rock with guitar solos, completely lacking any semblance of funk. It's an awesome song, and it sounded great, but the divide between the two styles never allowed the audience to get completely comfortable either way. "Kids" was the first encore, and once again the place lit up. People were forming circles and dancing to the synth sounds. Their final song was an excellent cover of "Brown Eyed Girl," but half the crowd had mysteriously left.

Live from New York: Cloud Cult @ Bowery Ballroom

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

It's hard to keep up with Cloud Cult. The Minnesota band releases a new album almost every year on its own eco-friendly record label, Earthology, so in a matter of one or two tours, a song that was previously a crowd favorite can easily end up getting left off the set list in favor of new material. At their April 18 show at New York City's Bowery Ballroom, singer Craig Minowa and company played surprisingly few songs from their 2005 breakthrough album Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus, instead performing a set heavy with songs from last year's Meaning of 8 and this month’s Feel-Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes).

The band's current lineup comprises guitar, bass, drums, cello and violin, with various members occasionally trading their instruments for keyboards, trombone, and additional drums. The songs on Feel-Good Ghosts are especially diverse, blending electric, acoustic, orchestral, electronic, and powerfully rhythmic, almost tribal elements. While cellist Sarah Young has often been the only background vocalist on past tours, bassist Shawn Neary and violinist Shannon Frid contributed as well, forming a four-person line with Minowa and Young at the front of the stage and packing a powerful punch on the band's bigger choruses and finales.

Cloud Cult shows are a multimedia experience; the band typically plays in front of a large screen displaying colorful and rapidly moving geometric shapes, molecules, and nature imagery. Additionally, two Cloud Cult members, Scott West and Connie Minowa (Craig's wife), perform not as musicians but rather as visual artists who each create a painting during every set and then auction it off to audience members after the show. Only Connie was present this time, working under a spotlight in the upper right-hand corner of the stage, and occasionally leaving her post to join the others at the front and act as a fifth vocalist.

#2#In keeping with the overall theme of Feel-Good Ghosts, the set had an overwhelmingly positive vibe. Although Minowa’s songs frequently deal with death, mortality, and the sudden loss of his young son, Kaidin, they also carry messages of hope and love, and these were emphasized in multiple ways throughout the set. As Minowa sang lyrics including "put out love, and they'll feel love" (from "Chain Reaction"), the words "Choose Love" appeared on the screen behind the band. Minowa also spoke favorably of the graffiti on the side of the venue that says "I Love You," calling it a refreshing departure from the negative messages often found scrawled on walls and in bathroom stalls. Meanwhile, Connie took a break from the darker color palette and themes she often uses in her artwork and created a bright, lovely painting incorporating leaves, musical notes, and a heart (the organ, not the shape).

They ended the set with a rousing rendition of "The Tornado Lessons," one of the more manic, urgent tracks on Feel-Good Ghosts. After only a short pause, Minowa and drummer Arlen Peiffer returned to the stage and began playing "Love You All," the album’s closing track. The rest of the band (including Connie, now finished with her painting) gradually returned, and all pitched in on the song's final chorus: "I love my mother, I love my father, and when it’s my time to go, I need you to know I love you all." A perfect ending to another strong performance by a band whose modesty, positivity and vision continue to be refreshing and inspirational.

BAGeL Radio presents Handsome Furs @ Bottom of the Hill

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

The Handsome Furs' Plague Park came out last year, and while it was a must cop for Wolf Parade fans, it wasn't the classic that Apologies to Queen Mary was (in fairness, few releases are). There were memorable standouts but songs bled into each other. I think I have an idea why it's taken so long for the Queen Mary follow up: Dan is having too much fun right now playing music with his wife Alexi. And God bless him for it. Tuesday's show was legendary, the type of performance that can rekindle love for live shows.

They tore into the songs from Plague Park with so much passion that the audience literally roared. It wasn't shoegazey cheering. The audience was loud like the crowds at Warriors games during the playoffs last year. It was inspired. The duo's energy was infectious.

At certain points, Alexi had one foot on her music maker and both hands like she was playing a game of twister. Dan put down his guitar and joined her for "Cannot, Get started." It was a unique sight, both of them hunched over two small machines and him wailing. Their rendition of "Dumb Animals" gave me goose bumps. It was crazy. The audience hooted and hollered during the lulls in the songs as Dan mashed on his guitar, and Alexi mouthed all the words. The couple seemed surprised and happy by the response from the audience. They smiled throughout, and it didn't seem like showmanship. They seemed genuinely tickled with the love they were getting. It was one of those rare shows that both the performers and the audience were totally dialed into each other, a complete love fest.

"Sing Captain" was great as was the encore "What We Had." I have been critical of the sound at BOTH in the past but this show was flawless. The sound quality was amazing, and the show went off without one issue.

Mudcrutch @ Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

Apologies in advance for the gushing fan review, but oh, man, Monday night was special.

I just drove from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay, along the Cabrillo Highway. With a moon hovering over the deep blue Pacific, a mix CD of The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Lucinda Williams, Wilco, and Cat Power covering "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" helped 54 miles of coastal highway slipped away below my cruiser (maximize gas by cleaning out your trunk, making sure your tires have the right air, and driving a little slower!).

That would be good enough for any Monday night in California. Better than staying home to watch The Bachelor from Britain, that's for damn sure. But wait, it gets better.

I just returned from the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, after witnessing the return of Mudcrutch to the stage for the first time in since the mid-1970s. To the uninformed, Mudcrutch is a Florida-borne country rock band formed by Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmonth Tench, Tom Leadon, and Randall Marsh in the late 1960's in the Gainesville, Florida bars and college parties. Between The Byrds were shifting their sound to Sweetheart of the Rodeo, the Rolling Stone's "Country Honk," Gram Parsons going up in a ball of fire in the Joshua Tree desert, and the Grateful Dead's American Beauty, Petty and Co. were working on their own brand of country rock sound. Mudcrutch chased the dream out to Hollywood with a minor record deal, but a few singles were unsuccessful and the band broke up. Leadon and Marsh returned to Florida; Petty, Campbell and Tench would reform as the Heartbreakers. Maybe you saw them play the Super Bowl earlier this year (the game wasn't bad, either).

Some 35 years after Mudcrutch disbanded, they reformed late last year to record a new album of new songs and covers of their era. The album comes out April 29 and it is destined to be an instant classic rock classic. The material showcases all the best of the Heartbreakers rock 'n' roll skills, and adds some exciting new genre exploration—bluegrass, country, folk. It sounds as if it could be the best album of 1968, a band you'd definitely want to see when they rolled through one of Bill Graham's venues.

Now, in the ineterest of full disclosure, I should make it clear that I'm a bit of a Petty geek, a hybrid of dedicated Deadhead concertgoer combined with searching for the back catalog on vinyl Star Wars completist. I've seen the Heartbreakers around 30 times since the late 1980s, when Petty was enjoying a series of massively successful side projects—his "solo" album, Full Moon Fever and his beloved Traveling Wilburys collaborations with Dylan, Orbison, Harrison, and Lynne. I've seen lots of large venue shows (Greek Theater, Hollywood Bowl, Reno/Sacramento/Concord, etc), caught a few of those famed Fillmore shows, and a couple of very special club shows at the late, great Sweetwater Saloon in Mill Valley by Campbell's bar band The Dirty Knobs.

So when I heard that Mudcrutch would play a general admission show as the first night of its new tour on a Monday night in Santa Cruz, followed by a Wednesday/Thursday at the Fillmore in San Francisco, I knew immediately what to do with some vacation days.

Actually, the band added a Malibu show last Saturday, as a benefit for a homeless shelter, so Santa Cruz was the second show. All tickets needed to be picked up at will call for the general admission venue. I pulled into Santa Cruz around 6:30, and drove past the Civic. I was kinda freaked out by the line of concertgoers camped out, but having seen a few shows at this venue, I knew I could at least work my way in on the floor somewhere.

I went to my favorite diner and ordered this great waffle special for dinner. Oh, once I was in Santa Cruz to see a Gary Louris-Mark Olson of the Jayhawks concert at the Rio Theater, and the next morning I was at the counter of this same diner and Gary Louris came in and sat right down next to me. I got to sit there drinking coffee with him and hear these great stories about the Dixie Chicks album he had just finished writing songs for (the one that ended up winning a ton of Grammys). That was awesome.

I should get to the Mudcrutch review. Sorry. It was beyond great. It was spiritual. It was one of the most exciting, joyful concerts I've ever experienced.

Amazingly, I was able to easily secure a great seat in the Civic, which is like a big high school gymnasium with great acoustics—a wood dance floor surrounded by raised sections 10 rows deep. It's intimate, but big enough to get a real rowdy loud crowd. I think the show was sold out, but there was a ton of room open on the floor. It looked like the floor was only 2/3 full.

The band came out at 8:15ish and looked tickled pink to be there. They busted out "Shady Grove," a bluegrass ballad that goes way back. Campbell and Leadon immediately showed off a terrific dual guitar and Leadon and Petty traded vocals. The song sounded great and the audience was just bouncing off the walls.

"This is a trip!" Petty exclaimed, saying for the first or many times that he was having incredible fun with the Mudcrutch experiment. "You're going to hear a lot of good ol' hippie music tonight."

He launched into a new song, "Orphan of the Storm," a country shuffle that would have made Gram Parsons proud. Mudcrutch then ripped through Dave Dudley's trucker classic, "Six Days on the Road" with delight. Petty, a fantastic rhythm guitar player with the Heartbreakers, is playing bass with Mudcrutch with Leadon playing rhythm guitar and trading leads with Campbell. The guitar tandem was reminiscent of Neil Young and Stephen Stills, and was just awesome, all night. Many of the new songs allow the masterful Campbell longer jams than the tighter pop songs of the Heartbreakers.

After "Scare Easy" another new song that's getting radio airplay, Petty said, "here's one we used to do in 1970, and we're going to try and do it now," and went running through the thin, wild mercury sound of Bob Dylan's "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)," a gem off Blonde on Blonde. After this, I had to get up from my seat to go to the floor because these three knuckleheads in front of me were too full of beer and would not stop talking to each other during the music and then would just scream, "Petty!" at random. That has happened at too many Heartbreakers shows over the years, the worst occasion being the Paso Robles Mid State Fair a few years ago. Drunk and dumb, unfortunately, sticks to great rock 'n' roll like a leach sometimes.

Fortunately, It was easy to wander through the crowd to about 15 feet from the stage, between Tench, Campbell, and Petty. The energy was 20 times better up close and I stayed put for the rest of the show.

Next was Tench's "This is a Good Street," a great little number with a bit of "Positively Fourth Street" kiss off to it. Then a cover of Roger McGuinn/Jacques Levy's "Lover of the Bayou" (originally recorded by The Byrds) with Campbell just shredding on guitar. Then Leadon talked briefly about early gigs at a Florida topless bar named Dub's that the teenage version of Mudcrutch would play back in the day before singing his 1972 composition, "Queen of the Go-Go Girls." Nice stuff.

Leadon led the band introductions with some very endearing thanks to Tom for putting the project together. Rousing ovations for all, with Tom humbly waving at a tidal wave of audience love at his intro. Then onto some great new material. Having seen so many Heartbreakers shows at big venues, to big crowds who get to hear "I Won't Back Down" and "Free Fallin'" at every show, it was a major treat to get to hear new songs like "Oh Maria" and "Topanga Cowgirl" for the first time. Campbell's inventive guitar blasts highlighted his song "Bootleg Flyer" as well as "The Wrong Thing To Do." Tench, Campbell, and Leadon were brilliant on the instrumental "June Apple."

Petty introduced a fantastic new cowboy song called "House of Stone." Dwight Yoakam would cover this one proud, and it was great to hear Tom stretching as a songwriter and lyricist. His mid '90s work with Johnny Cash channeled strongly into this number. Leadon's cover of an old Bill Monroe folk song led to "Crystal River," one of the evening's highest points. It's the spiritual child of "Like a Diamond" and "It's Good to Be King," with Jerry Garcia floating Mike's solos. It's a long song and a total stunner. The buzz was still lingering when the band launched into to main set closer, another Blonde on Blonde barnburner, "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35." TP's version at the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary concert is a definitive version, as good as this song gets—unless you're in the pit at the Santa Cruz Civic, with a cloud of instant ganga karma gusting at the stage. The singlalong factor was off the hook.

A quick break led to two encore songs. The first was a smoking version of "Summertime Blues," perhaps my favorite song of the night. Mudcrutch finished the magical night with Jerry Lee Lewis's "High School Confidential," just tapping into the most joyful place in the spirit of rock 'n' roll.

I can't wait to see them again at The Fillmore on Wednesday, to hear "Crystal River" and "Oh Maria" again. To see and hear it all one more time. If you've got tickets, you're in for a treat, I imagine the covers will rotate a bit each night.

The Set List:

Shady Grove
Orphan of the Storm
Six Days on the Road
Scare Easy

Most Like You'll Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)
This is a Good Street
Lover of the Bayou

Queen of the Go Go Girls

Oh Maria
Topanga Cowgirl
Bootleg Flyer
The Wrong Thing To Do

June Apple
House of Stone
Bill Monroe song, Love Please Come Home

Crystal River
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35

(encore)
Summertime Blues
High School Hop

Live From New York: Soundpool @ The Annex

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

"Thank you for joining us during the Dinner Set," guitarist John Ceparano coyly snickered before Soundpool bolted into their set at the Annex in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. Amid their Saturday night supper start, shoegaze/dream-pop auteurs, Soundpool, begin their night slated as the second act on a four group bill. 8:45 p.m. doesn't feel early, but walking past packed restaurants where folks are still finishing up their appetizers, the time slot begins to feel a bit ridiculous. That being said, Brooklyn's Soundpool humbly took the stage for a quick seven song manic attack, and seamlessly swept up the attention of all concert revelers within earshot.

Now, from their marketing materials, they are described as visual artists, who "prefer to play out with the backdrop of self produced psychedelic visuals whenever they can." They have nada to show for tonight. Not even twinkle lights to garnish the shadowy ambience of the stage. All this is built up in my head, but after a few seconds I get over it.

Just as Kim Field's voice sounds on their latest release, Dichotomies & Dreamland, there is a sweet incarceration of warmth and fragility in her singing. Billowing under the pressure of fuzz tones and keyboard manifestations, her voice rarely commands, instead steadily compromises for somewhere in the background. And as Soundpool hit their third and fourth song for the evening, "Wide Awake in Dreamland" and "On High," the band's stoicism loosens as they warm up to the crowd. On the one hand, shoegaze never meant to be a rock 'n' roll spectacle, however, Soundpool delivers spot on pitch and timing, forming hints of a band a few heavy steps from stardom.

Kim Fields is looking back at her drummer now, rarely making eye contact with her crowd of inebriated 20 and 30 somethings. Perhaps someone missed their timing or played the wrong note? I wouldn't know. They're hitting their stride, showing some life.

The pattern is set. Once a song is finished, rather, before a song is over, they quickly groove in to the next—like a shark that stops swimming, it surely dies. But this works to their disadvantage sporadically. Some of their material is eerily similar and needs an added break in between for build up and momentum. A little banter during the interlude wouldn't hurt either.

The club is fairly hot now without a full house, mind you. The first real couple of days of spring are here in NYC and life is blossoming again, but that hasn't caught the attention of our sound engineer. I think he's playing Tetris on his phone?!

Ceparano collides howling feedback and wah-wah seizures during "Do What You Love," as Field hugs the microphone while mustering spite in acid tone inflections to communicate her relationship hardships with the crowd—as if she's fighting her will to let go from whatever it was that prompted her to write the song in the first place.

As the set gathers a ferocious amount of steam a minute in to the seventh and final song of the evening, the soundman races to the front, says something terse to Keyboardist Mark Robinson, and dives back in his sound booth. Their ferocity is intensified with warnings from the man.

Soundpool apparently knew their set to be on the brief end of things tonight, and in the spirit of rocking my world, chose the fattest and fittest songs in their repertoire for a wham bam thank you ma'am taste of Soundpool's psychedelic experience. They didn't allow the crowd to dictate the ebb and flow. They left that up to the negative time spent catching their breath between songs. And when it was all over, the only member of the Annex breathing hard was Mr. Soundman and his memorable sprint into my story.

Honda Civic Tour 2008 @ Warfield

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

Thursday marked the first notch on 2008's Honda Civic Tour with Phantom Planet, The Hush Sound, Motion City Soundtrack, and headliners Panic at the Disco at the Warfield in San Francisco. It's pretty odd for any nationwide tour as big as this to kick off in our little city, for two days no less, but the tour launched with smashing sold-out welcomes.

All the bands had strong support, but at night's end, it was clear that Panic at the Disco don the show crown. Their act is fit for king-sized venues and nothing else. On their first tour in 2006, the show theme was literally a circus, full on with stilt-walkers and burlesque dancers. This time around, PATD's sound and road act are stripped down—sans get-ups, make-up, and their exclamation point, and they're much better off.

Just missing Phantom Planet's set, I headed in the venue as lights dimmed for The Hush Sound. The Chicago band was a delectable group with their honeyed folk-pop and smooth piano-driven lullabies. "Molasses" was a favorite. The Hush Sound is a sweet alternative to the tour and worth catching.

Next up was pop-rock band Motion City Soundtrack, considerably the "hardest" band on the bill, and that's saying something. All feet and arms were in a fury when songs like "Everything is Alright," "Fell in Love Without You" and "The Future Freaks Me Out" pounded through the speaker veins. The band's hyper-active tunes revved the crowd more than any band performance that night, inspired by MCS's manic moves and jumps, no doubt. Singer Justin Pierre's vocals strained to reach some of his more glorious notes, but the crowd had no problem filling the space in for him, shouting along to every line with unwavering volume.

Panic at the Disco went right into Pretty.Odd first track "We're So Starving," contradictorily singing "You don't have to worry/cause we're still the same band," debuting their new Beatles-esque songs the rest of the night, even knocking off older dance-rock tracks like "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" without synth and with a slower-paced bluesy edge instead.

There were echoes of Panic's new change everywhere. Bowl haircuts, paisley button downs and earth tone vests were only some of the many '60s aesthetics they've adopted. The stage decor went for a natural and psychedelic design, with vines of fake flowers wrapped around mic-stands and kaleidoscopic patterns projected across the stage screen. It was a beautiful setup and fit well with The Warfield's ornate motif.

Singer Brendon Urie's stage power was a show staple. There's no denying Urie is a frontman. The charismatic and lively vocalist was always received with the loudest cries, especially after declaring he's single.

Urie bounced about the stage, his rattling head moves and animated eye rolls a match to his fluttering vibrato. He was a grand performer, playing with his notes by tossing them high into the air then throwing grunts so incredibly low to the ground in songs like "I Have Friends in Holy Spaces" and single "Nine in the Afternoon." Urie often twisted familiar melodies into playful, sometimes sloppy new ones, but ultimately showcasing an impressive vocal range and control.

An additional new change for the band includes Urie's mirror opposite, guitarist and lyricist Ryan Ross, taking reins as lead singer for new songs "Behind the Sea" and "She Had the World." The more introverted member's vocals were green and less refined, but a compliment to the softer tunes.

Some memorable moments:

Reading the amusing text messages streamed across the screen sent by the audience between sets. An accurate example: "SpEnCeR knows how to bang, if you know what I mean!!!1!! <3 lolololz"

The uncomfortable expressions on parents' faces everywhere when Urie's exaggerated enunciation of the line "fuck" and his overplayed (albeit smoldering) grunts in "Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Their Clothes Off." (Glad the band also ditched their long-ass pop-culture referenced-song-titles!)

The tipsy Urie celebrating his 21st birthday two days early, shamelessly necking an unconcealed beer throughout the night. Ah, the benefits of being a rock star.

The Las Vegas outfit finished with their latest album's closer "Mad As Rabbits" and reemerged for two encores. With their new style and sound, Panic at the Disco is obviously not the same band, and I'm pretty sure that's a good thing.

Counting Crows @ Lower Sproul Plaza: UC Berkeley

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

We all have a love-hate relationship with the Counting Crows. Remember the days when August and Everything After was like the second coming of R.E.M.? It established Adam Duritz as the heartthrob-y cafe poet despite looking like a Telegraph Ave. street vendor. He even bagged Jennifer Aniston. Wow. Then something happened. America became too cool for Counting Crows school. And why? Was it because "Mr. Jones" was shoved down our throats to the point where our gag reflexes were triggered? Is it Duritz's dreads? Did we tire of the somber lyrics because they struck too close to home? Who knows. Whatever the reason nobody likes to admit that they like the Counting Crows anymore. Especially in an indie laden scene like ours. But I'm here to tell you that the Counting Crows deserve your respect. Why? Because bands like them don't exist anymore... they are a dying breed. Bands these days come and go quicker than Pamela Anderson boyfriends. You don't have to like them, just respect their longevity. Respect their ability to craft hit singles.

Which brings me to Friday's "secret" show at U.C. Berkeley's Lower Sproul Plaza intended to raise awareness about Superb—the student-run entertainment/event-promoting program at Cal. They have fallen on rough times, due to what else, budget cuts. Enter the Counting Crows (Duritz is a former UCB student). Most students at Cal were still biting ankles when August and Everything After dropped in 1993, so my cynicism as to that their relevance was strong. But I was proved wrong and by the time Adam Duritz shook his dreads as if E-40 were watching, Lower Sproul was packed.

#2#Duritz and Co. rifled through their catalogue of songs that have been downgraded to karaoke numbers like the inescapable "Mr Jones." Duritz himself sang with a sort of frat boy silliness, sometimes just talking the lyrics as if he were reading a teleprompter. You could tell he was like, 'You know us because of this song, but I'm so sick of hearing myself sing it. So I won't.' It was funny.

As expected the band played songs off of their latest album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. But I didn't last long enough to hear the new single "You Can't Count on Me." I just couldn't be counted on. Sorry.