Cafe Du Nord – Page 2 – Spinning Platters

Noise Pop Show Review: Film School with Apex Manor and Gregory & the Hawk at Cafe Du Nord, 2/24/11

Greg Bertens of Film School. (Photos by Abby Wilcox)

It’s certainly nice when one is soaking wet from the heavy downpour outdoors to go underground in a warm and friendly place such as Cafe du Nord and find a cute-as-a-button folk singer crooning softly, trading an acoustic guitar with a harp (!) for good effect. It helps warm cold limbs anyhow.

This was my entrance to Thursday night’s Noise Pop offering with headliner Film School, a band that acknowledged having its own breakthrough at the 2004 instance of the indie-rock festival, opening for Cat Power then. They ended the evening with its members hugging onstage and telling us, “we wanted to come down and play a really good show because we wouldn’t be us without San Francisco.” Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Film School with Apex Manor and Gregory & the Hawk at Cafe Du Nord, 2/24/11”

Noise Pop Show Review: Versus with Telekinesis, The Love Language and The Burnt Ones at Cafe Du Nord, 2/23/2011

Last night was freezing, and the hot toddies at Café du Nord hit the sweet spot. The waft of warm whiskey, lemon and clove set a tone for the evening filled with intoxicating songs, indie style. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Versus with Telekinesis, The Love Language and The Burnt Ones at Cafe Du Nord, 2/23/2011”

Show Review: Tony Lucca with Joey Ryan at Cafe Du Nord, 2/8/2011

His name is Lucca. No idea if he lives on the second floor.

Of all of the LA-based singer-songwriters I enjoy seeing live, Tony Lucca is perhaps my favorite. While his peers seem content to bask in the sun, studio, or local LA venues, Tony faithfully treks up to the Bay to play for his “neighbors” on a regular basis. Furthermore, his show is sure to be a crowd pleaser, as he’s literally got something for everyone. Face-melting vocals? Check. Sincere, relatable, clever lyrics? Check. Rockin’ guitar skills? Check. Wit and charm to spare? Check. Former-Mousketeer good looks? Check.
Wait. What? Yes, you read that right, so let’s get it out of the way now: as a teenager, Tony was part of the Disney Channel’s MMC cast, alongside the other smiling faces of Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling, and Justin Timberlake. As an adult, however, he’s been steadily working as a solo artist since 1997. Since 2006’s Canyon Songs, he has toured steadily, sharing the stage with other talents like Tyrone Wells, Keaton Simons, Curtis Peoples, and most recently, Matt Duke and Jay Nash (with whom he released the excellent TFDI EP).

Continue reading “Show Review: Tony Lucca with Joey Ryan at Cafe Du Nord, 2/8/2011”

Show Review: The Chapin Sisters at Café Du Nord, 9/15/10

Sister acts: they’re not just girl-group nuns on the run from the mob anymore. As far as I know, at least. I can’t personally vouch for The Chapin Sisters’ lack of involvement with organized crime. But I can vouch for the utter gorgeousness of their performance at Café Du Nord last night, so I certainly hope they don’t get bumped off by Harvey Keitel anytime soon. That would be tragic.

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Show Review: Kate Miller-Heidke with Goh Nakamura at Cafe Du Nord, 6/22/2010

Kate Miller-Heidke welcomes you with open arms.

Being blown away by an opener is a rare and wonderful treat. It happened a couple months back when I saw Ben Folds at the Warfield Theater. His opener, and tonight’s headliner, was Kate Miller-Heidke. She’s an Australian singer-songwriter with considerable talents in both. She’s smart, too, because on the merch table at the Warfield was a slip of paper to take home letting everyone know she was playing Cafe Du Nord in the near future. Her newly minted fans took that paper and came out to Cafe Du Nord last night, ready to blown away again. Continue reading “Show Review: Kate Miller-Heidke with Goh Nakamura at Cafe Du Nord, 6/22/2010”

Show Review: Karen Elson at Café Du Nord, 6/8

Karen Elson and Jackson Smith — Photo by David Emery

Last night, supermodel/singer/rock-n-roll wife Karen Elson kicked off the opening night of her very first tour with a sold-out concert at Café Du Nord. When I learned that the show was sold out, I was intrigued. Why was the interest in Ms. Elson already so piqued? After all, she has but a single album to her name, The Ghost Who Walks (Third Man), which was produced by Elson’s husband, Jack White, and just came out on May 25. The buzz has been modestly positive, if not hyperbolic.

So who were all these fans and looky-loos? Were they committed White Stripes fans whose enthusiasm for the group extends even to its spouses? Or was it a decidedly stranger subculture of model-turned-singer fetishists resentful that Tyra Banks’ “Shake Your Body” and Naomi Campbell’s Baby Woman never took off stateside? Or maybe, like me, they were just your garden variety redheaded-girl-singer fans.

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Noise Pop Show Review: The Mumlers with Sonny and the Sunsets at Cafe Du Nord, 2/26/10

Some mildly shocking things happened at the Cafe Du Nord. Friday night was the first time I had ever been to Cafe Du Nord in my life. I know, shocking right? The last time I wanted to see at Cafe Du Nord was when I was 18, begging the Cafe to let me in so I could see Erin McKeown. I had a huge crush on her back in the day. So I walked into the Cafe and liked what I saw, a bar, pool tables, and a cool setup. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: The Mumlers with Sonny and the Sunsets at Cafe Du Nord, 2/26/10”

Noise Pop Show Review: Scout Niblett at Café Du Nord, 2/25/10

Scout Niblett making "Serene Face," one of her two stage expressions (the other is "Howling Rage"), at the Hemlock last year.

Some artists just aren’t well-served by the giddy party-vibe atmosphere of Noise Pop. And last night, despite performing in one of the most intimate and mild-mannered venues in San Francisco, British guitar fury Scout Niblett took her place in that group.

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Show Review: The Webb Sisters at Café Du Nord, 1/25/10

"And now, our a capella tribute to 2 Live Crew..."

The Webb Sisters performed their first of two partially seated shows at Café Du Nord last night. Not many get two consecutive nights to perform at Du Nord, but who doesn’t love a sister act? However, given how many there are, it can be difficult differentiating The Webb Sisters from such similar acts as The Watson Twins, The Chapin Sisters, or their clearest musical inspirations, t.A.T.u. But in this instance, it’s simple: these are the sisters who scored the once-in-a-lifetime gig of singing harmony for Leonard Cohen on his enthusiastically acclaimed recent tour. And it was very clear that the majority of those in attendance at Du Nord last night were hoping for more of the same. But is that what they got? (Also, just kidding about t.A.T.u.)

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Show Review: Art Brut with Princeton at Cafe Du Nord, 10/30/09 (Late Show)

When Art Brut comes to town, I get excited. Not only do I love the band, I also see them as the kind of band that tends to quit on the U.S. They blast onto the scene with the exceptional album Bang Bang Rock & Roll, and I saw them touring to promote that album four or five times. Their second album, It’s a Bit Complicated, was a relative disappointment. I’ve seen this happen with other British bands: their second album doesn’t perform well over here, and then I only get to hear about UK and European tours, sadly waiting for the one day they might return to our shores. Instead, Art Brut teamed up with producer Frank Black for the phenomenal Art Brut vs. Satan, and they have continued their attack on America. Continue reading “Show Review: Art Brut with Princeton at Cafe Du Nord, 10/30/09 (Late Show)”