It’s been two and a half years since Sara Bareilles released her last fantastic record, Kaleidoscope Heart. Now she’s got a great new single, “Brave,” and is challenging herself to be just that by touring solo. The “Brave Enough Tour” challenges Sara to play not only alone on stage, but without the support of an opening act. This week it was San Francisco’s turn to get up close and personal with Miss Bareilles at a sold-out, standing-room-only show at Slim’s on Monday night. And what a treat it was, as usual… Continue reading “Show Review: Sara Bareilles at Slim’s, 05/13/2013”
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.
Fauxchella is a brutal time for music fans. The night Metric played at The Fox, we also had to contend with like minded bands How To Destroy Angels and Savages playing across the bridge. It was a tough night of you enjoy powerful women fronting danceable rock bands. And, as much as I truly love this band, I was thinking hard about what I was missing. I didn’t want to feel buyers remorse. Deep down inside, I knew this was the right place to be. And the sold out crowd at The Fox tonight knew it, too.
The announcement sent panic waves throughout the indie rockers of San Francisco: Phoenix at The Independent on April Fool’s Day. And this was not a hoax. What it was, though, was an impossible ticket. A representative of The Independent was quoted in the paper as saying the show sold out “immediately.” It sent everyone I know scrambling for tickets, wanting to be at what was officially the welcome back party for Steve Masters of Live 105, and would also serve as the unofficial kickoff to Fauxchella. Continue reading “Show Review: Phoenix with Mac DeMarco at The Independent, 4/1/2013”
Just Mika, lit only by a single white globe that appeared to be floating in air, and those darned camera phones.
Mika burst on to the scene a few years ago with a sugary pop masterpiece, Life in Cartoon Motion, and his joyful and colorful live shows, chock full of balloons, confetti, streamers and a giant pop band behind him. Now, he’s on tour supporting his newest album, The Origin of Love, and he’s taking a markedly different approach. This show, billed as “An intimate evening with” saw him behind a piano for the lion’s share of the evening, joined only by Max Taylor and Curtis Stansfield on a variety of instruments. It was stripped down, and it was wonderful. Continue reading “Show Review: An Intimate Evening with Mika at Great American Music Hall, 3/25/2013”
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.
A dark-snarling-rocker, avant-garde-artiste-extraordinaire, maniacally-grinning crooner, possessed of a sinister disposition and an undulating, catlike movement — these are all terms that accurately describe Bay Area native Mike Patton. Outside of the impressive trail that he and his bandmates in alt-metal band Faith No More blazed, through early 90s metal and the foundations of heavier alternative music, Patton has always been dabbling in sonic experiments and new forms of performance, and the extent of his craft is all but belied by Faith No More’s marvelous, but definitely accessible, compositions. Patton, of course, is not the only creative force within his various endeavors, and has spent most of his projects with bassist Trevor Dunn, in bands such as Mr. Bungle and the John Zorn-spearheaded Moonchild Trio. Dunn has now joined the ranks of the indescribable-yet-definitely-dark-and-thrashy Tomahawk, formed by Patton and Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison, and the result is a tough-as-nails blast of energy and mesmerizing chemistry in an onstage performance — all the sensation of the insane chaos of the pair’s less accessible work, coupled with enough familiar songwriting techniques to draw in the more discerning of music fans.
If you’ve never experienced The Cabin Down Below Band, you quite literally don’t know what you’re missing. My advice? Remedy this error as soon as is possible! This week I got my chance to do just that with a night to remember: Petty Fest’s first ever stop in San Francisco! The evening was hosted by the aforementioned brilliant band, sponsored by the generous Jameson, and boasted a line-up well worth dragging one’s self out on a “school night” for: Boz Scaggs, Nick Valensi of the Strokes, Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Jon Heder, Aimee Mann, and Matt Sorum, to highlight just a few… Continue reading “Show Review: Petty Fest at the Fillmore, 02/27/2013”
I wasn’t expecting to review this show. I went to see Pink because a good friend of mine is a fan of the support on this tour: The Hives. I thought we’d enjoy The Hives and then go home after a few Pink songs, just because we paid the money. Instead, we ended up entranced for nearly two straight hours, watching one of the greatest performers I have ever seen!
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.
