Rachael Yamagata, Dan Wilson, and Madi Diaz at The Independent 3.2.12

I know it’s the biggest cliché you can think of, but somehow, I keep falling into it.  Sure I’ve liked Rachael Yamagata, that’s been “Known For Years” now.  She’s a great song writer, great husky emotive voice, the piano, you know, the whole nine.  But at times, I get bored.  She gets the mood going, this dark depressing mood, and…actually, I think she explains it very well.  On stage, she mentioned how she’s always surprised that people ask her to play their weddings.  In her opinion she’s better suited to play their divorce proceedings.  I thought she just might be a little stale and boring live. “The Reason Why” these clichés have apparently “Worn Me Down,” I really can’t say. But what I can say is that I was entirely wrong.   There’s a reason you go see an artist play live.  Sure they can always disappoint and sound exactly like they do on record, but the gamble is worth it when it pays off. Continue reading “Rachael Yamagata, Dan Wilson, and Madi Diaz at The Independent 3.2.12”

Show Review: The Soft Moon with Led Er Est and Chelsea Wolfe at The Independent, 10/31/2011

Luiz Vasquez and Justin Anastasi of The Soft Moon
Luiz Vasquez and Justin Anastasi of The Soft Moon

One night a year, the darkest of spirits and the most mysterious of characters are summoned into the world at large to frighten, to amaze, to baffle, to worry, but definitely to excite the forces of peace that remain calm for the other 364 days. Rarely is there a better occasion for the spooky and the sibilant to make themselves known than on Halloween Night. In accordance with the popular holiday adage, however, it is always best to have some treats to go along with your tricks, and for the haunting act known as The Soft Moon, there was no better occasion to host their showcase of apocalyptic rhythms, droning dance pulses, and howling shrieks, all while bathed in a hellish display of strobing lights and unearthly projections. If ever there was a band better suited to usher in a new movement of smartly dark and morbidly interesting music, it would definitely be this San Francisco trio.

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Show Review: The Detroit Cobras with Girl In A Coma at The Independent, 6/10/2011

Photo by catechism

The Detroit Cobras and Girl In A Coma played a sold-out show to a party-seeking crowd at The Independent on Friday night. And that crowd came to the right place, as the femme-fronted combination of GIAC’s sweaty Texas rock and the Cobras’ swaggering garage soul made for one hell of a Friday night party.

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Show Review: Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian and Oberhofer at The Independent, 5/30/11

Memorial Day kicked off the first of a 3 night residency for Sleigh Bells, the much discussed and divisive band signed to MIA’s N.E.E.T. Records and featuring the bassist for the sadly overlooked teen pop groups RubyBlue, Alexis Krauss on vocals and Derek E Miller on guitar, formerly of Florida hardcore band Poison The Well. The hype behind these shows, where the first two sold out months ago, while a 3rd, smaller gig at Rickshaw Stop sold out moments after it went on sale last week, is amazing. The question is, does this band with only a single album under their belt, live up to the hype?

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Show Review: Scala & Kolacny Brothers at The Independent, 4/12/2011

Guess which 2 of the 24 people on stage are the Kolacny Brothers

Scala & Kolacny Brothers need marketing help. They admitted during their set on Tuesday night that the had sold “500,000 units in Europe, and about 50 in the U.S.,” and asked us, “tonight, let’s make it 60!” Part of this is probably due to piracy, but part of this must be name recognition. I told many people beforehand that I was going to see them tonight, and they said, “who?” I said, “Y’know, the group that does the cover of ‘Creep’ from the Social Network trailer.”

“Oh! Them! I bet that’ll be good.” But none of them came. The crowd was made up of people more likely to be seen at a classical music event than at the Independent. But then again, the Independent has proven itself to be a versatile venue. So how would a Belgian choir go over on a cold San Francisco night?

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Show Review: Henry Rollins Turns 50 at The Independent, 4/9/2011

Henry Rollins, from last week at the Triple Door in Seattle.

Henry Rollins is a Black Flag speed-demon driven by fear of falling into the cold reaping hand of hypocrisy. In his efforts to keep it real, Rollins embarked on a massive 50th birthday tour that covered close to 40 appearances around the country, wrapping up with his final show, here at The Independent. As always, Rollins’ brand of storytelling and humor is fresh and fascinating, which often leaves the bartender short-changed by the end of the evening. Continue reading “Show Review: Henry Rollins Turns 50 at The Independent, 4/9/2011”

Noise Pop Show Review: The Stone Foxes, The Soft White Sixties, The Ferocious Few and Voxhaul Broadcast at The Indepdendent, 2/24/11

The headliners playing with passion. (Stone Foxes photos on this post by David Price. All others by Jen Robie.)

The well matched line up at The Independent on Thursday night was a reinvestment in soulful swagger of rock n’ roll.  Even from the street, I could hear the wailing from the stage.  As I stood impatiently in the rain, chomping at the bit to get inside, I realized that I was not the only one.  My lovely neighbor in queue Erica, with her beautiful rainproof parasol, had just walked 13 blocks after looking for parking for an hour to see them. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: The Stone Foxes, The Soft White Sixties, The Ferocious Few and Voxhaul Broadcast at The Indepdendent, 2/24/11”

Noise Pop Show Review: Dan Deacon with Altars, Oona and Ed Schrader’s Music Beat at The Independent, 2/22/2011

They're outside, but they're at the show. Confused? Read on.

At least for a couple hours, it’s Dan Deacon’s show and we just live in it. You know it right from the beginning; from before the show even, considering his reputation. The acts before him were pretty straightforward players (save for Ed Schrader’s Music Beat but more on that soon) but Deacon breaks it from the get-go: starts a piece that gets the crowd all riled up, plays just a few seconds and then abruptly stops “Okay that works,” he says. What a tease. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Dan Deacon with Altars, Oona and Ed Schrader’s Music Beat at The Independent, 2/22/2011”

‘Tis the Season to be Winning: The Ultimate Holiday Giveaway Guide

Okay, I promise you I’ll never consider pursuing a career as a copywriter with the headline above but I just can’t help myself; some of the premiere products and services in the music tech space are giving back to the community in a generous way this Holiday season and I’ve decided to round up some of the key promotions happening in cyberspace at the moment. ‘Tis better to give than receive, of course, but winning is still a whole lot of fun when prizes of this caliber are up for grabs.

Keep reading to find out how to win an unlimited subscription on Rdio for one year, a trip to the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, and a $100 gift card from Threadless.

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Show Review: Marina & the Diamonds with Young the Giant at The Independent, 9/15/10

Marina, working outfit #2 for her "Diamonds"

The sold out crowd at The Independent was radiating energy at the Marina & the Diamonds show.  It packed full of people pretty early, with the stage crush beginning during openers Young the Giant’s set. During sets the crowd bounced and cheered and in-between everyone waited politely, leaving room for friends off buying drinks.  We were ready for an excellent night of music.

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