Rickshaw Stop – Page 2 – Spinning Platters

Show Review: Marnie Stern with SISU and E V Kain at the Rickshaw Stop, 4/28/2013

Incendiary guitar goddess Marnie Stern returned to San Francisco on Sunday night in support of her fourth and most accessible LP, the wondrously titled The Chronicles of Marnia. The show, which transpired at the Rickshaw Stop, drew a full house of giddily enthusiastic fans, or at least what passes for “giddily enthusiastic” on a Sunday night in San Francisco. By which I mean we all pretty much stood there stone-faced for three hours. But we were into it! Honest! I think Marnie might actually prefer our notoriously chill style of audience participation; when she noticed that the only overtly expressive dancers in the entire club had positioned themselves directly in front of her, she actually ordered them to go dance in front of her bassist, Nithin Kalvakota. “It’s distracting! And confusing! And it’s making me dizzy!” she protested in that vaguely “It’s Pat” voice of hers. And what the lady wants, the lady gets.

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Noise Pop Show Review: The Thermals with Dirty Ghosts and The She’s at the Rickshaw Stop, 3/1/2013

It’s about halfway through Goddamn the Light that I realize something is off about the song. Up to this point, the Thermals set has been impeccable, but now there’s something clearly missing. The rhythm is all off, and as I scan the stage for an explanation, it dawns on me: The Thermals don’t have their drummer anymore. We have their drummer. Westin Glass has abandoned his kit to crowd surf, and he’s loving every minute of it.

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Noise Pop Review: Body/Head, Horsebladder, Burmese at Rickshaw Stop, 2/26/13

When Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore split up last year, my heart broke. I always felt that they were the perfect rock couple- Moore was the pop yin to Gordon’s experimental yang. And, as expected, Moore’s post Sonic Youth output has largely been filled with guitar pop. And Gordon has been largely quiet. So, when Noise Pop announced that they were featuring her new project, Body/Head, on their opening night of Noise Pop, I was thrilled. When I learned that it was a “noise” project with east coast avant gardist Bill Nace, I had very high hopes for this performance. My favorite Sonic Youth moments have always been when Gordon vocalizes over thunderous guitar shredding. To have a band that strips them down to the just this part was practically a dream show. So, yes, I needed to be there.

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SF Sketchfest Review: Garfunkel & Oates, Dragon Boy Suede at Rickshaw Stop, 2/10/13

Garfunkel & Oates have played Sketchfest twice before. In 2011, they were part of Chris Hardwick’s (No Relation) Music Night as one of several acts performing. In 2012, they opened for the great Reggie Watts at Mezzanine. Tonight, however, we got to experience them play their own headlining set. It meant that every single person in the crowd was their just for G & O. And, considering this show sold out several weeks in advance, it only proved that the good folks of San Francisco were quite thirsty to see these wonderful woman play a full set.

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Show Review: How To Dress Well, Seatraffic, Beacon at Rickshaw Stop, 12/5/12

6030254556_a144dc1598 — Thank you, bilkeng, for letting us use this photo.

Hipster crooner, How to Dress Well, returned to San Francisco, bringing his dueling mics and perfect pitched falsetto to the Rickshaw Stop on a rainy Wednesday night. Despite the drizzly weather, hundreds of people packed the Rickshaw to hear the Chicago native sing his way through an hour long set of experimental R&B pulled from this year’s exceptional Total Loss as well as 2010’s Love Remains.
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Show Review: Blood Red Shoes with STARSKATE and Happy Fangs at Rickshaw Stop, 10/1/2012

Perhaps due to the myriad of musical selections these days, there’s chance you haven’t heard of them, but young English rock duo, Blood Red Shoes, are on a mission to change that. Leaving their familiar Europe, they arrive almost two years to the day they first played the States, bringing their simplistic but powerful set to entice those who don’t know and incite those that do. In an area chock full of both local and visiting fresh talent, how would these Brighton, UK natives fare?

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Show Review: Brandt Brauer Frick with Psychic Friend and James & Evander at Rickshaw Stop, 11/11/2011

An age old argument in music is this: is this band better live or on record? Electronic music seems to be the ultimate fertile ground for this argument because essentially the live show is the record plus lights, isn’t it? Well, not if it’s done right.

Brandt Brauer Frick perform in two different varieties. There’s the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, an 11-piece combo that plays the material as written on composition paper. Then there’s the core trio, which leave the paper at home, and take chances on stage. Is this electronic music done right? Continue reading “Show Review: Brandt Brauer Frick with Psychic Friend and James & Evander at Rickshaw Stop, 11/11/2011”

Show Review: The World/Inferno Friendship Society with The Phenomenauts and Locksley at the Rickshaw Stop, 10/3/2011

Let us now speak of brave men, who lived their lives just as they would have it

It’s safe to say, in this day and age, that defining what constitutes “punk” music is irrationally difficult. Classicists will tell you that it means 3-4 chords, lightning-fast drums, a general disregard for playing instruments BESIDES drums with extreme skill, and lyrics focused on dissent, disturbance, and general disquiet with the way things are. Others will claim that it’s more the attitude that matters than the instrumentation; the DIY aesthetic, the “we’re angry and we’re here to let you know what’s wrong with the world” message, and the desire to rebel against any manner of what constitutes the norm. The latter argument usually bears more weight; too often are to be found multi-platinum-selling artists playing their same recycled chords, in the aforementioned classic formula, with no specifically diligent message — only an intent to be a product that is easy to swallow, and thus, sell. Bands such as the World/Inferno Friendship Society are better examples of the image that punk music has so deftly stood for over the years, shifted into a medium of instrumentation and songwriting that borrows from so many genres and walks of life that, while they could not be called “punk rock” in the classic 70’s musical style, they possess the attitude and energy in spades — after all, how often do you hear jazz and klezmer music so furious that it breeds explosive mosh pits?

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Show Review: Lightning Bolt, T.I.T.S., High Castle at Rickshaw Stop, 4/13/11

Noise is probably one of the most varied genres of music out there. It can cover simple clanking if anvils, carefully executed pieces of experimental classical music, or just a thunderous barrage of sound played be traditional rock instruments. Tonight’s show at Rickshaw Stop concentrated on the latter, but was still a widely varied evening of sounds. We had the pumped up, nearly punk rock sound of Oakland’s High Castle, feminist no wave throwbacks T.I.T.S., and to cap things off, a highly anticipated reunion gig from Lightning Bolt.

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Noise Pop Show Review: No Age, Grass Widow, Rank/Xerox and Crazy Band at Rickshaw Stop, 2/26/11

I want it to be understood that I’m fucking sick of irony…and I’m not being ironic here either. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: No Age, Grass Widow, Rank/Xerox and Crazy Band at Rickshaw Stop, 2/26/11”