LIGHTS is definitely not hard on the eyes! Think Alexandra Lawn from Ra Ra Riot but edgier. She’s not exactly hard on the ears either. Synth heavy female vocals, lightly backed by a drummer, and when I say lightly I mean he could play with one arm half the time. She breaks from her elrctro-pop way mid-way through her set to play a solo acoustic song off her purely acoustic EP, and to do what I guess would be a “cover” of the YouTube video “hide your kids hide your wife,” And then she finishes out the remainder of the set like the beginning. Continue reading “Show Review: LIGHTS at Slim’s, 10/25/2010”
Tag: Slim’s
Show Review: Stereo Total at Slim’s, 9/2/10
Thursday night usually isn’t a night people stay in, but by the sparse attendence at Slim’s for the Stereo Total show you would have thought it was Monday night. Maybe it was the $20 ticket price, or the fact that Jenny and Johnny stole the indie kids for the evening, but either way I can’t say I was disappointed. Those who were there brought their A game (including a gentlemen with flowers wrapped in leopard print tissue paper for Francoise!). And most importantly, there was plenty of room to dance. Continue reading “Show Review: Stereo Total at Slim’s, 9/2/10”
Show Review: Rondo Brothers with Oona, King Midas in Reverse and Matthew Hansen at Slim’s, 8/26/2010
On Thursday night, Slim’s hosted a dynamic range of Bay Area music. Opening with R&B, eased into alternative rock, Pop with soul, then jumped into Hip Hop and ended with fans twirling to Electric Trance. Contrary to logic, the various of styles had a smooth transition from one band’s music flavor to another, which was appreciated by a tight crowd as loyal as family. Continue reading “Show Review: Rondo Brothers with Oona, King Midas in Reverse and Matthew Hansen at Slim’s, 8/26/2010”
In Appreciation of From Monument to Masses
I’m feeling very old this week, as two of my favorite Bay Area bands will be playing break-up shows in two nights. The first is my old band Audrye Sessions who will be saying goodbye on Friday, August 27th at The New Parish in Oakland. The second is From Monument to Masses who are playing final show at Great American Music Hall on Saturday, August 28th. Since Judgement Day is opening up the Great American show, I thought it might nice for me to share some of my thoughts on the night’s headliners. Continue reading “In Appreciation of From Monument to Masses”
Show Review: An Evening With Brandon Flowers at Slim’s, 8/19/2010
Not only did Brandon Flowers look like Michael Pare from music-nerd-must-see Streets of Fire (not the leather jacket look but the suspenders look), but the music was reminiscent of that film as well. All tales of rock n’ roll bleeding hearts and people down on their luck, but with occasional rousing singalong moments, the new material from Brandon Flowers is close enough to The Killers’ own tunes to make me wonder why the solo album was necessary. He’s always been the center of attention of that band, so that can’t be the motivation. So it must have been musical in nature. I just didn’t hear enough to know what makes this difference. Perhaps if he had played longer. Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening With Brandon Flowers at Slim’s, 8/19/2010”
Show Review: We Are Scientists with Rewards (Aaron Pfenning) at Slim’s 8/7/10
Ah, a Saturday night show. The one time the audience has no excuse but to bring the energy. At the We Are Scientists show at Slim’s the energy was bursting from the seams. There was great music, a relatively friendly crowd, a lot of laughter, and even more drinking. At least that’s what happened where I was standing… Continue reading “Show Review: We Are Scientists with Rewards (Aaron Pfenning) at Slim’s 8/7/10”
Show Review: Built To Spill at Slim’s, 7/15/2010
Frontguy and basketball enthusiast Doug Martsch at work.
Had Built To Spill been resting on their laurels?
The two previous albums before the current There Is No Enemy LP displayed what could be construed as the gentle complacency of an aging NBA star on a team going into the rebuilding process: a few gems here-and-there to remind us what they were capable of, but a general sense of the motivation just not being there.
Doug Martsch‘s band had released several albums and tracks widely regarded as classics: the Perfect From Now On LP; songs like “Car,” “You Were Right,” and the gorgeous, haunting “Randy Described Eternity.” He’d spearheaded and mastered his own brand of good-natured wide-striding heavily-layered swirling guitar-heroics-based indie rock. Now what?
What would it look like if Boise’s second-favorite export had something to prove?
San Francisco got the answer when Built To Spill took the stage at Slim’s.
Continue reading “Show Review: Built To Spill at Slim’s, 7/15/2010”
Show Review: Woods, Kurt Vile, The Art Museums at Slim’s, 6/11/10
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.
Continue reading “Show Review: Woods, Kurt Vile, The Art Museums at Slim’s, 6/11/10”
Show Review: Murder By Death with Ha Ha Tonka and Linfinity at Slim’s, 4/08/2010
I was excited for the opportunity to see Murder By Death again. The last time I had seen them was at 12 Galaxies on July 12, 2004. An eternity ago, as that venue doesn’t even exist anymore. Murder by Death was at the beginning of their career and their 2002 debut album Like The Exorcist, But More Breakdancing has forever been a favorite of mine since I first heard it back then. Actually, that’s all I’ve really known of them, and I was fine with it because I loved it so much. So in gearing up to see this show, I gave their new album Good Morning, Magpie a listen. Boy was I surprised that they barely sounded like the same band! I had to get my hands on everything in between to catch up to how they’ve been developing over the years, as they’ve been working hard putting out albums every two years. Continue reading “Show Review: Murder By Death with Ha Ha Tonka and Linfinity at Slim’s, 4/08/2010”
Noise Pop Show Review: Wallpaper, The Limousines and Butterfly Bones at Slim’s, 2/26/10
The Limousines
The Limousines were already on stage when I walked in a bit late. The first thought that popped into my head was “this is going to be boring, because the music was very bland.” First impressions though are a dangerous thing because they are often way off the mark. After less than a minute, when the song changed and the beat started resonating with my heart beat, I started swinging my hips a little bit. The crowd was very much loving The Limousines. I can’t say the drunk energy was infections, rather it made me a bit envious that I wasn’t as drunk as everyone else; because maybe I would have enjoyed them more. By the end of their set there was still a little blah quality that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. At one point I thought it was either the singer’s voice or the lyrics. And since I didn’t particularly dislike the singer’s voice, I guess by default that means the lyrics were what I didn’t like. I felt that there wasn’t anything being said in the lyrics of the songs, as if a bunch of random words were strung together; nor was there any obvious difference from one song to the next.
Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Wallpaper, The Limousines and Butterfly Bones at Slim’s, 2/26/10”