Show Review: Woods, Kurt Vile, The Art Museums at Slim’s, 6/11/10

Let The Power Of Psychedelia Overtake You...

We speak of SXSW a lot on this site, only because it truly is the best musical bargain out there. You travel from venue to venue seeing bands that you know & love in intimate settings, and you also get to uncover greatness. Sometimes, though, you can get so caught up in the magic of the experience overall, that you may find that the band you learned to love so much in Austin under Shiner-induced ear goggles, isn’t so dreamy in the foggy splendor of San Francisco. Woods were that band for me in Austin, and I was kind of worried that they wouldn’t do it for me here. I’ve started accumulating some of their recordings, and although they are good, they just seem so different from what I remember. But, on this hotter than normal June evening, I forced myself out of my apartment, where I was enjoying lemonade under the fan with my cat (she didn’t get any lemonade, but I did put her tuna on fridge for a bit before serving her dinner. She quite liked that), and forced myself over to Slim’s.

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Show Review: The Buzzcocks with The Dollyrots at The Uptown Nightclub, 6/4/10

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmam/. Not the Oakland show. This show had much better ventilation than ours.

The Uptown Nightclub is one of the great hidden treasures of Oakland. They have grown to become the go-to venue for punk rock in the Bay Area, but on this hot & sticky Friday night, they have really outdone themselves. They managed to snag The Buzzcocks, one of the most successful and influential UK bands of the late 70’s, for a rare stateside appearance. The last time they played in the Bay Area, they played the much larger and higher profile Fillmore in San Francisco. This show was special for another reason, because they played their first two records beginning to end.

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Show Review: The xx, Phantogram at The Great American Music Hall, 6/1/10

In case you didn't know the name of the band...

Whenever a hot new band bursts on to the scene, there is inevitably a backlash. At some point, all of the critics, bloggers, and tastemakers that once adored a band eventually decide that they no longer have that affection they once did. They start calling the band boring, and then they start following something else. Although many people complain about the backlash, I think it’s time to embrace it. Because seeing a band during the backlash is the best time to see them. The people that are only at the show to brag about being at the show are gone, as well as the hipsters in the back that are only at the show because “they are supposed to be.” Instead, you get to really enjoy the music, and it feels really good to be in a room full of pure fans.

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Show Review: Fucked Up, Hank IV, Hollerado at The Rickshaw Stop, 5/9/10

Fucked Up

WARNING:

The following review may contain the following:

*Explicit Language

*Violence

*Male Nudity

*Intelligent Discussion

Please proceed with caution. If your boss, or the coworker you have a crush on is looking over your shoulder, please point your browser elsewhere immediately.  Continue reading “Show Review: Fucked Up, Hank IV, Hollerado at The Rickshaw Stop, 5/9/10”

Show Review: Sublime with Rome, Dirty Heads at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 4/23/10

As most everyone knows, Bradley Nowell passed away in 1996, months before the release of their self-titled record that ended up taking the world by storm. Very few people actually saw Sublime live because of this. Which may have been to the benefit of the band, because Sublime were a terrible live band. Nowell was wasted about 90% of the time, and rarely was able finish a song. The vast majority of the people that are offended by this reformation of the band aren’t aware of this.  This version of Sublime is more than just a chance for the original rhythm section to hit the road again, this is a shot a redeeming Brad Nowell’s memory

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Show Review: Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson at The Fillmore, 4/21/10

It's the Norah Jones Hoedown!

With this review, I hope to dispel a few stereotypes that people have about Ms Norah Jones. I feel that people have, rather inappropriately decided that she makes dull background music, and that she isn’t a very good live performer. I will agree that in her earlier days, she was a very shy performer. She rarely looked at the crowd, and usually hid behind her piano. I also feel that her debut record, Come Away With Me, the 2002 release that went on to sell 22 million records, is more of a mood piece than a work of active listening. But, in the 8 years since that release, Ms Jones has pushed her sound in many new and interesting directions, including a few very surprising collaborations and a really bizarre interpretation of punk rock.

So, how did her first show at The Fillmore since 2002 (opening for the great Willie Nelson) fare? Read on…

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Album Review: Live From Axis Mundi — Gogol Bordello

The amazing Gogol Bordello are gearing up for a very active 2010. They have a new record coming out on April 27th, called Trans-Contiental Hustle, which will probably be excellent. Around this time, they will be kicking off a world tour, which gives Europe and Northeastern America quite a bit of love, but very little affection toward the rest of the world. (As of yet, of course…) Well, I know all of that can be a long way off, and with all of the Gogol news, it’s hard to be patient for something new. That is, of course, only if you missed the late winter release Live From Axis Mundi.

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Album Review: HIM – Screamworks: Love in Theory & Practice

You would think that featuring love as your sole inspiration for so many years may provide you with more luck on the subject, but in the case of HIM, a steady relationship will always find a way to elude them. Curses! Will their tortured souls ever catch a break? For the sake of their wallets, I certainly hope not.

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Single Review: Elizabeth Fraser – Moses

“Moses” is the first song that iconic Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser has ever released as a solo act. This either means something profoundly significant to you, or it doesn’t. For an entire generation of music fans, Fraser’s was “the voice of God.” But it has been 12 years since she’s had any real involvement with the music world. Why pop up again now? Then again, disappearing for a decade between releases seems to be working just fine for Sade, so why not Fraser?

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Gift Guide For Music Nerds: DJ Hero

All the cats are groovin' to DJ Hero
All the cats are groovin' to DJ Hero

Here’s the situation: I am a video game novice. My girlfriend owns a Wii. I use it to practice yoga. I don’t consider myself to be a very competitive person, so most games don’t really appeal to me. On a handful of occasions, I have played the various different versions of the music games Rock Band and Guitar Hero, and I usually enjoy myself, since I don’t practice on a regular basis, I generally am humbled by the experience.

You may ask then, why am I discussing DJ Hero with you? Well, at this point, anybody that is an experienced music gamer has already read plenty of reviews of this, and more likely than not, either pre-purchased it months beforehand, or has already decided that it’s lame. I’m not writing for those people. Our audience is music nerds, and as a music nerd, my job is to tell you if this product helps feed the nerd or if it talks down to them.

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