Sonic Reducer Overage: Sir Richard Bishop, Hospitals, David Dondero, Hightower, and more
By Kimberly Chun
Yes, you had to work like a dog for that Fourth of July hot dog - and to get ready for the long weekend. Wasn’t it worth it? Now’s the time to get out and get into trouble.
Sir Richard Bishop and His Freak of Araby Ensemble
The Sun City Girls son and Oakland resident also rises, this time in SF, with Oaxacan as his backing ensemble, on the closing show of his tour. For more on Bishop, go to this edition of Sonic Reducer. With Oaxacan and Rubber O Cement. Fri/3, 10 p.m., $10. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.
Extreme Animals
The Pittsburgh-San Diego booty melters flaunt it at this light-show-bedazzled happening. With Nero's Day at Disneyland, Bulbs, and Teengirl Fantasy. Fri/3, 8 p.m., $6. Lobot Gallery, 1800 Campbell, Oakl. www.lobotgallery.com
Hospitals
The raging Adam Stonehouse project recently got a lotta love from UK’s Wire. With Photobooth and Baths. Fri/3, 9:30 p.m., $6. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, S.F. (415) 923-0923.
Any show that ends with a bunch of people in a conga line has to be great. This past weekend, Pink Martini, a twelve-piece band hailing from Portland Oregon, joined the San Francisco Symphony for an electrifying performance that covered everything from classical concertos to foot stomping Brazilian street music. The range in styles of music this ensemble covers makes a single night at one of their concerts seem like twenty different musical experiences and then some. Being part Puerto Rican, I'm drawn to their more Latin based songs, like "Donde Estas Yolanda" and "Andalucia" but there's really no way not to love all their music, especially when they get a little help for our very own San Francisco Symphony.
Have to admit I'm more blown away than I thought I wuld be by the new "Sun of Gao" joint by Mr. Raoul K. on local Afro-house wiz DJ Said's recently revived Fatsouls label. It's truly an Afrominimal journey that seems perfectly of the moment. The gently expanding elements never exactly build to a climax (a hallmark of current dance music production) but they flow over you like smiling waves ....
Said will be virtuosically throwing this and other choice cuts from his stable this Friday at Otis. If you missed it, here's what I wrote in my last Super Ego clubs column (with a couple corrections -- hey I was blazin' at the time). This one's not to be missed for everyone who takes an interest in the growing effervescent confluence of traditional and electronic sounds.
DJ SAID
A decade ago, when the Internet was still booming, Said Adelekan brought some serious dance floor spirit to that oft-soulless go-go period with his local Afro-House movement, his Fatsouls label, and his lovely Atmosphere parties. I'm absolutely delighted that he and Fatsouls have resurfaced — goddess knows we could use a little more Afro-injection — to release a new Fatsouls single called "Sun of Gao" by Mr. Raoul K. Joining Said (and many familiar friendly faces from those days, I hope) will be the luminous DJ Dedan of the great Brothers and Sisters party in Oakland. Expect everything deeply felt, from Afrobeat to minimal techno — oh, and Nigerian legend Rasaki Aladokun on the talking drum.
Friday, June 26, 10 p.m., free. Otis, 25 Maiden Lane, SF. www.otissf.com
Sonic Reducer Overage: Wilco, the Hunches, Chelsea Handler, Lazer Sword, and more
By Kimberly Chun
I’m a music lover... get me out of the house! Guess what, help has arrived - in more forms than we could fit into print.
Sugar and Gold\
The Bay dance fiends refuses to drown in their own shit. With Music for Animals and Castledoor. Thurs/25, 8 p.m., $10. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. (415) 861-2011.
The Hunches
Knuckling down for a freaked-out, “Disease Free” frenzy, the Portland, Ore.-Bay Area garage oddballs slough into the sunset with a series of farewell shows. With Long Legged Woman and Blimp. Fri/26, 9:30 p.m., $8. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, S.F. (415) 923-0923.
Interview by Marke B. Photo by Alex Warnow. From our summer SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour -- on stands in the Guardian now.
For 15 years, the much-loved and lovable warm-weather Sunset parties have shaken various hills, isles, parks, patios, and boats with funky, techy house sounds. Launched by underground hero DJ Galen in 1994 (has it really been that long?), the outdoor Sunset gigs have amassed a huge following of excited party newbies and familiar old-school faces — and now their kids! Early on in the game, Galen was joined by fellow Bay favorite DJs Solar and J-Bird, and the three — collectively known as Pacific Sound (www.pacificsound.net) — have kept the vibe strong ever since. This year saw a remarkable expansion on the Sunset fan base: attendance at the season opener at Stafford Lake reached almost 4,000, and Pacific Sound just launched an annual — and truly moving — party on Treasure Island that had multiple generations putting their hands in the air. "The vision was to take electronic music out of the dirty warehouses, away from the dodgy promoters, and into the sunshine," says J-Bird. Summer's just begun, and Pacific Sound, with several gangbuster parties lined up, keeps delivering.
SFBG You guys have been a major part of the party scene here for a while. What do you think of it right now?
Pacific Sound There's a foundation for creativity in San Francisco — that is something that will never change. Also, there definitely is quite a bit more international talent coming here than 10 years ago. It's this constant exposure to musical stylings from around the world that will facilitate a thriving scene. The recent crackdowns by the SFPD and ABC may be dampening some spirits, but it will never stop our creative heritage.
SFBGYou mean all the pressure on venues lately ...
Interview by Billy Jam. Photo by Leo Herrera. From SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour -- on stands in the Guardian this week.
Like so much music and art these days, turntablism is easier to find online than in a public space. A turntablist can easily record their scratch practice session, upload it to YouTube, and sit back and wait for feedback to show up on their screen. But for sheer enjoyment, creative interaction, and advancement of the art form, turntable pyrotechnics really need to be experienced in the live, raw setting of DJ battles or sessions. That's why Bay Area turntablist duo Deeandroid and Celskiii recently decided to revive their hands-on scratch DJ club night, Skratchpad. Bay Area turntable fiends, missing the party's lively conviviality since it shut down earlier in the decade, were getting antsy.
The super-skilled, Vallejo-born female scratch duo who've toured with the likes of KRS-One now tears it up twice monthly at the Cellar in San Francisco. There, DJs from the aspiring to the established (Swift Rock, Shortkut, and Teeko have each turned in memorable sets) join the two and others like Winst-One and Bizibeats to carry on the sacred Bay scratch tradition. Skratchpad boasts two rooms, one with open tables for guest beat-juggling and the other for just plain getting down, and takes mighty inspiration from legendary late-1990s hip-hop joint Beat Lounge, where Deeandroid and Celskiii — and many others on the scene — got their start. Skratchpad even hosts the occasional DJ Q&A session, but all answers must be phrased in the form of turntable pyrotechnics only.
SFBG Why revive Skratchpad now?
Celskiii If we want to keep the music and culture alive, then we have to pass it on. A lot of younger cats didn't grow up during that raw '90s era, but that doesn't mean they can't experience what we were so lucky to have been exposed to.
SFBG How exactly does the open turntable policy work?
Deeandroid You must bring your own needles, headphones, and records, sign up on the list, and wait your turn for the MC host of the night to call the DJ names. We have seven turntables and five mixers usually for the open turn session. DJs rotate after they do their thing twice or we tell them to switch.
SFBG Is it ever a problem with some DJ hogging the turns?
Interview by Marke B. Photography by Keeney + Law. From our Summer SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlfe and Glamour. On stands in the Guardian now!
Reggae: still fresh? Yes. A lot of stereotypes have attached themselves to reggae over the years, not all of them good or true. But this is the Bay, a blazing nexus for the sound, and a spirit of liveliness and innovation can always be found here — especially if members of the classic Jah Warrior Shelter Hi Fi sound system are twisting it. Since 1988, the crew has been rocksteady on the roots scene — and hardly a evening goes by that you won't find Rocker T, Jah Yzer, I-vier, or Irie Dole lighting up the decks or the mic with his unique approach somewhere. Serious with that: besides Jah Warrior Shelter's weekly Bless Up joint at Milk every Tuesday (celebrating its five-year anniversary July 14) and Toppa Top blast at Club Six every Thursday night, the crew brings the fire to EndUp, Laszlo, Luka's, Pier 23, Oasis, Jelly's ... I-Vier co-helms KPFA's Reggae Express show with Spliff Skankin, the sound system has snagged numerous soundclash competition titles, and Jah Warrior Shelter mixtapes flow like rolling verbiage throughout the scene. Check out their mad productivity at www.jahwarriorshelter.com.
SFBG Why do you think reggae has found such a home here?
Irie Dole San Francisco has always been a hub for reggae music and performers. The hippie movement's peace and love vibration naturally attracted Rastas — foundation artists Jacob Miller and Hugh Mundell were known to be around the city quite a bit. With San Francisco's beautiful landscape, healthy food, and lax weed laws, reggae just fell into place with a lot of people of our generation. California is the ganja capital of the world, the Bay Area is the reggae capitol of California — San Francisco is the place to be.
I’m bumping the Latin Project’s second full length record, Musica De La Noche, in my headphones right now. The signature Latin-Electronica blended sound is the brainchild of British producers, Jez Colin and Matt Cooper, who now call Los Angeles home. Listening to the music transports me to the surreal place of one of those Hollywood film sequences where the slick talker dude walks into the smoky (not cigarette smokey, but fog-machine smokey) disco ball club where epileptic lights flash all over the sweaty dance floor. All of a sudden, a sultry red light shines on a sexy maroon lipped lady, and the eyes of our two protagonists lock in a moment of tidal crashing bass. Magnetism.
For this release, the Latin Project produce a finely polished fusion of house, broken beat, Afro-beat inspired polyrhythms, Latin grooves and vibes, with an occasional sprinkle of buttered hip-hop lyricism. The bass hits hard in that clean type of way and the jazzy horn sections uplift the mood, crafting easy going, dance friendly grooves. Some of the remixes venture into more experimental electronic territory, hinting towards a fresh Latin sound with coarser curves and layered intricacy. But most of the night music lives comfortably in a world without ghosts or werewolves or any other eerie spirits lurking around the corner, where your problems disappear in the heat of dance floor and your feet take you away.
Sonic Reducer Overage I: Polly, Poirier, Tomine, Ade, and more
By Kimberly Chun
Going out? Staying out? There's so damn much out there - consider this Sonic Reducer Overage, the Wonder Years/Part I. Look for the sequel in the next day or two.
Poirier
Jump and shake it like the riddim possess ya. The man's Caribbean and South Asian sonics keep it sweaty on his Soca Sound System EP. With Daedelus. Thurs/18, call for time and price. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. (415) 626-7001. www.mighty119.com
Miike Snow
He has a nice chunky mohawk, but the Swede is "Still an Animal." With Esser. Thurs/18, 10 p.m., $10-$12. Popscene, 330 Ritch, SF. www.popscene-sf.com
Seth and Adrian Tomine
Sacto native, onetime Berkeley resident, ex-zine maker, and now Optic Nerve graphic novelist and New Yorker illustrator Tomine returns to the scene of so many of his yarns, to talk about his Shortcomings and 32 Stories, now both out on paperback on the esteemed indie publisher Drawn and Quarterly. Seth - famed for his Palookaville comics - tags along for moral support (I kid because I love). Thurs/18, 7:30 p.m., free. Park Branch Library, 1833 Page, SF. (415) 863-8688. www.booksmith.com
Fresh for the heat of the summer, Brooklyn based beatsmith Nickodemus -- seasoned selector for the acclaimed Turntables on the Hudson party -- drops a gem on us. In his inspired sophomore effort, Sun People (ESL Music), Nickodemus delivers a groove pummeling sound collage that expands on the cosmopolitan spirit fundamental to the Afrobeat tradition. He manages to inform Afrobeat’s free-formed jazz sensibility and funkified polyrhythmic arrangements with raw elements of celebratory music from around the world. Swaying jazz horns give way to uplifting blasts of air from Latin American and Balkan brass sections that loosen up the heavy hitting, grounding percussion. This strategy allows the drums to thrust in endless hypnotics without feeling too claustrophobic, a subtle formula for creating holistically sanguine dance grooves. And the fusion feels organic, perhaps due to the lively multinational character and experimental ethos at the very heart of Afrobeat, allowing the music's dynamic nature to morph, mutate, and evolve in provocative directions.
Collaborations bless nearly every track on the record, giving Sun People an organic, outernational party flavor. Quantic helps to arrange the infectious Latin number , “La Lluvia”, where Richard Shepherd croons joyful bars over congas and drums, wistful vibes, and swaying horn riffs. On “Brookarest”, the name tells it all; New York’s multicultural sound, armed with a drum machine and transformer effects, meets Romania’s hypnotic vocals and boastful, wedding brass band. All the influences converge in “N’Dini”, a monster jam bookending the album (“Sun People” on the jump), simultaneously taking on the cyclic role as closing and opening. The joint is impressively crafted out of, well, the nearly infinite histories bounded within the album; Afro-latin rhythms, dub percussion, blaring Gypsy horns, and electronic inspired bass. Such cross sectioned travels across the globe from Columbia to Guinea to Hungary and everywhere in-between might seem crass in the hands of a less skilled producer, but Nickodemus effortlessly pulls all the pieces together in a simple, innocent cry of joy. The coherent element might just have something to do with the sun, that giant ball of heat and energy, that ultimate source of life, shining above every single one of us on terre nostre. This ain’t world music anymore. Time to get down to sun music my people!
The true masters never go away, but there's no denying that Serge Gainsbourg is experiencing a posthumous resurgence of late, one that rivals his Gitane-perfumed popularity in the mid-1990s. This go-round, the emphasis is on Out moments more than pop tracks. Here's a Playlist guide to the latest touchstones.
Serge Gainsbourg, "Aux Armes ... "
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Aux armes et cætera
(Universal, 1979; 4 Men With Beards, 2009)
Gainsbourg went to Jamaica in the late 1970s and made a full-on reggae record. It's not a novelty at all — in fact, it might be my favorite record of his. Its sizzling, simmering, summertime sound is about as sultry and seductive as any record could dream to be. The equivalent of sinking deep into warm sand and never wanting to wash it off. (Irwin Swirnoff)
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Cannabis
(Philips, 1970; Philips vinyl, 2008)
Saint Etienne kicked off its peerless 2004 contribution to the mix series The Trip with the glam title number of this motion picture soundtrack. The overall album is a rangy delight, benefiting from the fact that it isn't as strictly conceived as some of Gainsbourg's other recordings. Highlights include punky blues struts, symphonic hints of his work with Jean-Claude Vannier, tablas-based rhythmic walkabouts, and the occasional soft-core duet between a humming femme and an organ — by which I mean a Hammond keyboard, silly. (Johnny Ray Huston)
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Histoire de Melody Nelson
(Philips, 1971; Light in The Attic, 2009)
Why it's taken Melody nearly 40 years to get a domestic release remains a mystery, since everyone from Massive Attack to Beck to Portishead has borrowed from it in some way. A perverse tale of forbidden love and tragic death, it is not only Gainsbourg's finest studio concept, but an epic collaboration of rock band and orchestra. Its combination of doom-laden bass progressions, sinewy acid guitar, and soaring strings remains unparalleled in terms of exquisite execution. (Scott Hewicker)
Color my world grey – you still yearn to romp and play, San Fran-frisky. So get outta the dog park and into the clubs and buy me a drink, hot pocket. Here are a few notable shimmy-shams where you might find me skulking.
Constantines and Crystal Antlers
The Toronto indie rockers venture out to “Islands in the Stream” and stretch their bones in a post-rock, minimalist mode. Meanwhile the LA psych-soul bros carouse in honor of their new Tentacles (Touch and Go). Thurs/11, 7:30 p.m., $14. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. (415) 861-2011.
Headboggle
One-man low-end grumble from the bowels of SF, presented as part of the gallery’s New Music Series. With Commode Minstrels in Bullface, Midmight, and Amphibious Gestures. Thurs/11, 8 p.m., $6. Luggage Store, 1007 Market, SF.
Since 1984, Oslo's favorite sons Mayhem have had a reasonable claim to the title of most fucked-up band on the planet, the eagerly repeated stories of the lurid spectacle that is their live show representing only some of the milder aspects of their mythos. Colorful history aside, the men of Mayhem have established themselves as architects of the modern black metal sound, taking the nasty musicianship and overt occultism of Venom and early Bathory and using them as the foundation for a terrifying new kind of metal that mixes breakneck drums, guttural riffs, and croaking vocals with eerie, understated melody. Often imitated, the 25-year veterans' unique style is seldom matched in terms of sheer, unhinged intensity.
Co-headliners Marduk, one of countless bands to follow in Mayhem's footsteps, spent the better part of its career becoming even more gruesome and unpalatable to mainstream audiences with each successive album, until it was not inconceivable to mention the satanic Swedes in the same breath as their more established tour mates. By the late 1990s, Marduk began branching out instrumentally, refining its musicianship while remaining true to the genre it helped pioneer.
The two black metal greats are supported by a diverse collection of bands taken from all corners of the extreme metal scene. Progressive, black metal-inspired Withered makes a logical opener, and the presence of dizzying grindcore virtuosos Cephalic Carnage is strange but welcome. Rounding out the bill is the brutal Cattle Decapitation, a consistent favorite among fans of uncompromising, technical death metal. Fans of life-affirming music would do well to avoid this show.
MAYHEM Wed/3, 6 p.m., $25–$30, all ages. DNA Lounge 375 11th St., SF. (415) 626-1409. www.dnalounge.com
Sonic Reducer Overage: BFD, Wale, Handsome Furs, Holy Fuck, and more
The grey can stay – it is, after all, summer in fog city – but you know you gotta get out. Leave home and get an earful of inspiration at, hey, maybe these worthwhile shows.
Parson Red Heads
The cute-as-a-button LA combo polishes up Cali folk rock for every parson, be it the preacher or Gram. With Cotton Jones. Tues/2, 8 p.m., $10. Cafe Du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016.
Rosewood Thieves
Going their way? The New York indie rockers are California dreaming and in love with the sun. With Mississippi Man and Lemon Sun. Wed/3, 9 p.m., $7. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.
Writing about electronic music in this Age Of Everything Always Available seems to be more and more an exercise in nostalgia. Artists are caught up mousing over the pull-down menu of the past, widgeting it into today's latest technology -- especially in the case of video mashups. (A similar-type thing happened with the debut of the CD, when the past was rummaged through for reissue-mania, and, as the Guardian's Johnny Ray Huston has pointed out, reissues still hold dollar-sway and carry much label cred in the record industry). Earlier this year, I attempted to fathom how Israeli YouTube mashup genius Kutiman was working the nostalgia tip -- not in the literally referential, crate-digging manner of DJ Shadow, but in a melancholic, sampladelic way all his own.
Now -- joy of joys, for real -- we have the latest video mashup by one of Kutiman's indisputable forebears, Fagottron. This, you cannot deny the literal nostalgia of. Not just because he's tapping directly into the mid-90s heyday of electronica -- but because he's freaking sampling the Disney movies of yesteryear. "The track is composed of a sine wave bass, custom drum sequences, and sounds recorded from the Disney film Mary Poppins," the YouTube more info box relays, deliciously. Funny, that was going to be my epitaph.
Fagottron, "Expialidocious"
And Fagy's not just unleashing his dizzying Avid skills on the super-famous flicks (although I'd love to see his version of Ariel) -- here's a couple he did two years ago that took me back to those misty "movie afternoons" in the grade-school gymansia of my youthfulness, albeit in slightly freakier form:
Walking confidently on stage and decked out in tradition Japanese garb, the Yoshida Brothers took over the stage at Yoshi's SF in the Fillmore -- they'll be performing there until May 16th. The Yoshida brothers play the shamisen, a square shaped guitar like instrument with only three stings that twangs and resonates long after the stings have been plucked.
By Marke B., who thinks very highly of his ears, if not his latest dance moves. But he'll keep trying. View the previous Nite Trax here.
There are currently three Jamie Joneses in the music world. Two of them are kind of cute -- but I'd never ever listen to them again. As fate would usually have it, the REALLY cute one is the one who's turning me out lately, and has just produced what may well be the summer 09 jam, if I was lame enough to predict such things. Ladies and gentlemen and ladies, the only Jamie Jones that counts:
But I'm really only interested in his music.
The song is "You!" -- an eight-plus minute slice of loveliness, what I would perhaps call subtle tech-soul, that blends a couple grin-worthy retro effects with some serious mixing-board control (loving the dribble-dabs of tinkling percussion). Everything falls into the right place and climbs above genre-tiredness into a burnished place all its own.
Sonic Reducer Overage: Dead Meadow, Steve Earle, Fracas, Loney Dear, and more
By Kimberly Chun
Could it be any prettier, any more delicately dewy, any more enticing, out there in this stone-beauty by the Bay? And when the sun goes down, you must go out to play - or watch others play. More worth-while sights, sighs, and sounds for you, more than could fit in print.
Steve Earle
Far from Nashville and an outlaw and songwriter-activist born a little too late, Steve Earle is rattling the chains of his past and looking back on the music of his late brilliant and damaged mentor Townes Van Zandt with the new Townes (New West). Thurs/14, 6 p.m., free. Amoeba Music, 1855 Haight, SF. (415) 831-1200.
Loney Dear
Dudes, make up your mind - comma or no comma? Ah, hell, none of it matters when the Loneys wash those sad-and-lonelies away with their sweet indie-rock melodicism. With Headlights and Audio Out Send. Fri/15, 10 p.m., $10. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.
Super Ego: Mophono, wet jocks, tiny spoons, lazers
By Marke B.
Some smooth and mellow Mophono pho' ya
Oh, the transient grunts and groans of the dance floor: Just got word yesterday that the eagerly awaited appearance of disco progenitor Nicky Siano at Paradise Lounge has been cancelled -- my deep throat tells me there were sound and venue concerns (although I love the 'Dise!). In any case, there's plenty of other things to hold your ear-nterest and get you bangin' this weekend. Besides my rundown in this week's Super Ego column, below are some more earth shakers and affairs.
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He loves me, he loves me not
Wanna spoon?
I had absolutely no idea that those little plastics coffee spoons from McDonald's were banned because of illicit uses (or perceived one, anyway.) You'd think after all this time, plastic + noses = OK. But no. In any case, snort in luxurious style with the unveiling of a perfect publicity stunt: renowned hip mens' clothiers and artists Ju$t Another Rich Kid, Nice Collective, Terence Koh, and more have designed cute, exclusive, and most likely expensive little Bolivian helpers (watch that terrorism funding!). They'll be giving the dish at Harput's from 6pm-9pm tonight (expect beautiful people), and then there'll be a kiki afterparty at Triple Crown. Don't try to force your way into the stalls. It's all called "He loves me, he loves me not" which brings to mind a kinky game somehow.
Local future blap fave raves Lazer Sword are back from their whirlwind Euro tour with an uptempo live set to get you moving, supported by Bay man of intrinsic deep dance knowledge, Mophono at, yes, the Paradise. Put 'em up and get down, child -- and let's see if those speakers still work.
Why, yes, I DO host a wet jock strap contest. Come down to Bus Station John's retro bathhouse disco monthly, The Rod, at Deco this Friday around midnight and see me and Hunky Beau scare up a willing and wet bevy of gorgeous, unclad alternaqueer boys -- and see who'll win $100. (No muscle queens need apply, thanks.) Then stay and dance until 3am to the best disco you've only ever heard sampled in other songs before. It's fun and a little scary: frisson alert!
Fri/8, 10pm-3am, $7. Deco, 510 Larkin, SF. www.decosf.com
Sonic Reducer Overage: the Dead, Alela Diane, Myka 9, Destroyer, Ponytail, Brilliant Colors, and more
By Kimberly Chun
Rain-day women, overcast men - it's drizzling all over SF, but the music keeps coming. Here are more worthy shows than we could drip into print.
Brilliant Colors
The SF trio surfs the latest wave of girlish lo-fi pop with sweet, primal punchiness. With Abe Vigoda, High Castle, and No Babies. Wed/6. 8 p.m., $7. 21 Grand, 416 25th St., Oakl. www.21grand.org
Myka 9
Everyone seems to be borrowing from the rapid-fire Freestyle Fellowship fella, who has lent a hand to performers like Busdriver and Prefuse 73. Thurs/7, 9 p.m., $15. Independent, 628 Divisadero, S.F. (415) 771-1422.
"The music on this CD is fully 100 percent Analog — NO COMPUTER BULLSHIT PROGRAMS." With this liner note proclamation, Detroit's Omar S makes a strong case that, here in the 21st century, analog is the new acoustic when it comes to authenticity. His contribution to the Fabric mix series is all-original, just like Ricardo Villalobos'. Would it be sacrilege to say that, save for a wack vocal two, it smokes the Villalobos? Motor City techno still rolls.
Alive and kickin': Tango No. 9 revels in wild exploration
By Dina Maccabee
Entertain whatever stereotypes you will about tango as a relic of an openly macho era: tango in San Francisco is alive. Okay, and kicking.
You might envision a wacky, tacky ballroom competition — but not so rapido says Tango No. 9's founder and violinist Catharine Clune, whose explorations over the last decade have unearthed what she calls "the many faces of tango." With trombonist Greg Stephens, pianist Joshua Raoul Brody, accordionist Isabel Douglass, and newest member Zoltan Lundy singing the Argentine blues, Tango No. 9 revels in tango's many approaches to music, to dancing, and to life. And it's not alone. "There's an underground squadron of tango dancers, ranging from their 20s to their 60s," Clune says. "You can dance tango every night in the Bay Area. It's in these crazy little back rooms you didn't know existed, and that's where we've practiced our chops." As social dancing, which she notes hasn't been a mainstream American cultural movement since the '50s, tango is "something people seem to want."
Professional dancers will be on hand at Noe Valley Ministry to perform the sultry moves, but if you only ogle los bailarines, you'll miss half the fun, or half the pain. "If you can lose anything, from a horse race to a heart, they talk about it," Clune says of the moving and theatrical side of tango's songs — for listening, not just getting down at the local milonga. In a set that traverses the genre, from its roots to the obscure late works of Astor Piazzola, the group performs the first "sentimental" tango, Carlos Gardel's inspirational rendition of Pascual Contursi and Samuel Castriota's "Mi Noche Triste," which set fire to an international phenomenon mourning lost love and tragedy. Like, Lundy says, "being left by a woman who was also your prostitute."
TANGO NO. 9 Sat/2, 8:15 p.m., $16-$18. Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez, SF. (415) 282-2317. www.tangonumber9.com
Sonic Reducer Overage: Paris, Total Trash Weekend, Garrett Pierce, and more
Babes in Ty land: Ty Segall messes with ya as part of Total Trash Weekend.
By Kimberly Chun
Bay rap vets and raucous rock sprats - it all goes splat this week. I'm guessing you'll find plenty of trouble to get into - and musical artistry to appreciate - when you're not busy downing scrump-dilly-icious (and cheap!) pastor tacos at the Gallo Giro taco truck at 23rd and Treat.
Goapele
Oakland's own draws the curtain on new music: check her site for the spanking, sinuous "Milk + Honey." With Cody Chestnutt. Fri/1, 9 p.m., $27. Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. (415) 771-1422.
Zion-I
This is the weekend Bay hip-hop stages The TakeOver. The local twosome takes it to another level in honor of its new long-player. With Kev Choice Ensemble and Trackademicks and the Honor Roll. Fri/1, 9 p.m., $19-$23. Slim's, 333 11th St., SF. (415) 522-0333.
One of my favorite clubs, Afrolicious, the afro-beat/Nuyorican/Brazilian/funk/disco/global weekly hosted by cute (very cute) brothers Senor Oz and Pleasuremaker, is celebrating two years of sterling service to the eager dance floor community with a double-header this week featuring NYC's Nickodemus and Nappy G. of the legendary decade-old Turntables on the Hudson party -- a formidable happening that every year I cry my eyes out for not being able to make. My East Coast friends then laugh in my face. Well, ha ha to them, I've got Afrolicious every week, now with Nick and Napp.
Nickodemus, "Give the Drummer Some"
As per usual, there'll be smoking live percussion (man, I love me some bongos on the dance floor -- old EndUp RIP) and a room packed with beautiful -- but not that icky kind of beautiful -- people not afraid to get sweaty and down. (Check out the tunes and vids here if you want a taste.)
Won't you join me, shantytown butterfly?
AFROLICIOUS TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Thu/30: DJ Nickodemus and Smash, live drums by Nappy G
Fri/1: Pleasuremaker Live Band, DJs Nickodemus, Chris Nicholson, and Nappy G.
9pm, $7/$10
Elbo Room
647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com
Throbbing Gristle blur the lines at the Regency Ballroom, 4/23. Photos by Morlock E.
It’s a veritable rogue’s gallery at the Regency Ballroom on April 23, every single statesperson of the Bay Area underground having emerged from their respective lairs for Throbbing Gristle, the first, the foremost industrial noise band come back to destroy the universe, one eardrum at a time. The last time I saw such a profusion of familiar faces was, well, last week at Leonard Cohen. And just like at Leonard Cohen, the faces around me bear expressions that are expectant, electric, slightly starstruck. Unlike Leonard Cohen though, the band launches first into a sweet little ditty penned in tribute to the Moors Murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, “Very Friendly”.
Genesis P-Orridge, hand out
“Could you imagine what might have happened if Myra Hindley and Ian Brady had met me and Cosey back than?” quips Genesis P-orridge, who wears the role of flamboyant frontperson like a comfortable pair of bright pink polka-dotted stockings. An array of “greatest hits” follows: “Persuasion”, “Something Came Over Me”, the infinitely creepy “Hamburger Lady”. The set may verge on this side of predictable, but honestly, these are the songs we all want to hear.
The venue lights stay on, loud; the sound system cranked, loud; Genesis P-orridge channeling Marianne Faithfull in a bright orange Stevie Nicks tunic, loud. More “disciplined” than dangerous, the evenly rhythmic computer-generated beats smack just as much of Coil as chaos unleashed. Still, at certain points in the evening, the relentless throb threatens to dislodge both my intestines and my equilibrium. “If I stand with my legs apart I get an erection,” I hear someone mutter. And ultimately, that’s the crux of this whole experience, this sonic onslaught. Industrial at its hard core is precisely the music of solitary erections, the music of intestinal distress, the music of bondage games, vertigo, and boots of shiny leather (just like Cosey’s). That said, all those iMacs onstage? Neither sexy nor disturbed. The blue-screened sea of iPhone photogs below me? Ditto. The price of progress, I suppose, disturbance demystified.
The Red Poppy Art House, an artist community and intimate performance center in the heart of the Mission, welcomed Karamo Susso, a world famous kora player from West Africa, who performed this Saturday, April 25th. Susso, who was raised in Mali, is a master of the kora, a 21-stringed instrument originally from Gambia, that is played solely with the thumbs and index fingers, creating tones that sound somewhat like a harp, a guitar and maybe just a bit of toy piano.
Champs Elysees cool cuddles up with dustbowl derring-do: it's an unlikely union but it works beautifully on Marianne Dissard's self-released 2008 debut, L'entredeux. The filmmaker behind the Giant Sand documentary, Drunken Bees, Dissard played the silky seductress to Joey Burns' easy dupe in Calexico's cowboy noir "Ballad of Cable Hogue." L'entredeux sees her donning assorted new chapeaux with help from co-writer and producer Burns. Count on the chanteuse to smoke up the room with her fivepiece when she stops at the Hemlock Tavern on April 29.
Beautiful losers and dour dreamers who can't make that date will likely dig the 12-track L'entredeux. Calexico's John Convertino pitches in on drums, along with Willie Nelson contributor Mickey Raphael on harmonica and Tin Hat Trio player Rob Burger on piano, accordion, orchestron, cimbalom, and organ. Now planted in Tucson dust, the French native apparently found plenty of common ground with Burns in the making of this music: the music of Nick Drake, Serge Gainsbourg, and Django Reinhardt as well as the films of Sam Peckinpah. They save the violence for the future recordings - this is music for hot, hazy, lazy days.
The Balky Mule rides to brilliance on rickety romance
By Todd Lavoie
THE BALKY MULE
The Length Of The Rail
(Fat Cat)
Stubborn? Who's stubborn? Don't be thrown by the Balky Mule name -- Sam Jones might have selected his pseudonym in honor of an unyielding beast of burden, but his newest release is quite an amiable fellow, actually. The formerly Bristol, England-based musician (known for his stints in Flying Saucer Attack, The Third Eye Foundation, Movietone, and Crescent) relocated to Melbourne, Australia and focused on crafting wobbly-footed D.I.Y. pop and alluring folk/electronica collisions. In spite of a resume flush with hazy spin-drifts of guitar feedback and creeping atmosphere, Jones' Balky Mule project is a considerably more playful affair; The Length Of The Rail is a bubbling, bleeping romp of toy-shop psychedelia and likable shy-boy vocals. On this sophomore release -- though best of luck to you in finding its predecessor, as it appears to have been a limited-run and self-issued -- the English ex-pat clearly seems to be having a grand ol' time, picking up every instrument in sight and banging upon every available surface in pursuit of finding the right combination of curious ping-pings and plunkety-plunks.
Still, the disc is very much a bedroom creation, and one can almost imagine Jones skipping and grinning from behind the safety of his teetering piles of instruments; behind that wall is a bashful, boyish warble, pitched somewhere between Robert Wyatt and a more lucid version of Syd Barrett. It's a thin, sweet, incredibly vulnerable tenor -- perhaps not always perfectly-pitched, but channeled wisely for tremendous emotional impact. Set against sputtering electronics and delicate guitar textures, Jones' innocent rambles trigger both the sad sighs of nostalgia and the cheerier heart-flutters of childhood memories.
I've been living with SF dub stalwart Kush Arora's new release Dread Bass Chronicles in my headphones for a week now -- partly out of addiction to its golden production and throbbing bass (this shit will truly bang the dancefloor), but also because it's given me a lot to think about. Kush is part of the Surya Dub collective, which has become a Bay classic by melding bhangra raveups with dupstep wigouts at its monthly parties at Club Six. A couple years ago, Surya started throwing around the phrase "dread bass" to describe its direction -- more aggressive, more dancehall-oriented, less electronically psychedelic than other "worldly dubstep" nights -- and here we have the most definitive statement of dread bass to date. (OK, OK, dread bass was also a miniature jungle movement in the early '90s, but nevermind that.)
Suitably, that statement comes from Surya's most audio-aggressive member, who claims death metal and punk among his early influences, and who told the Guardian's Tomas Palermo last year that he believes his family's roots in the often-volatile Punjab region between India and Pakistan breathe through his music. "That's why I like bhangra. It has an element of aggression and sadness," he said.
In this, Kush's seventh release, however, most bhangra references are almost completely subsumed into ornate background decorations to the 11 tracks' insistently energetic thudding and boasting. Yes, there are some bubbling tablas and burbling, looped flutes -- but it's Kush's other Bay nightlife association, with Sunday night dub and dancehall mainstay Dub Mission, that's more telling here.
Now two years old, I Put A Record On (Monika Enterprise, 2007) is a record worth lingering over. In addition to being the first solo release from Berlin-based musical gadabout Gudrun Gut, it's remarkable for how unhurried Gut was in getting around to it: she's been appearing on recordings and taking part in bands, including a very early incarnation of industrial pioneers Einstürzende Neubauten, for more than 25 years. Her intervening projects give her the aura of a post-punk Zelig: the all-female punk band Malaria! formed in 1981, toured with the Birthday Party, put out records on Belgian boutique label Les Disques du Crepuscule, and performed with Nina Hagen at Studio 54. That the group's "Kaltes Klares Wasser" would later be covered by Chicks on Speed was a foregone conclusion.
The synthy Matador followed Malaria!'s collapse, but Gut's ear eventually led her, like any good punk, to techno. With typical great timing too: Berlin had just undergone a techno surge, spearheaded by local duo and label Basic Channel. Abandoning the constraints of playing in a rock-derived idiom in favor of more uncharted territory, Gut also had the good fortune to run across Thomas Fehlmann, a producer with post-punk roots who had recently collaborated with Alex Paterson's downtempo pace-setters the Orb. The two founded Ocean Club, producing a weekly genre-stomping radio show as well as parties that paired up the likes of experimental techno producer Thomas Brinkmann and splay-shirted southern gothic aficionado Nick Cave.
Gudrun Gut, "Move Me"
None of this is new information, yet all of it is useful in figuring out how something like I Put A Record On came to be. It's beguiling, though free of big emotions — a left-field album that functions as an homage to the hypnotic state that arrives when you're sucked into your favorite records. The best indication of its intentions is provided by the sole cover, of Smog's "Rock Bottom Riser." Gut's multitracked delivery, over a pistoning and downtrodden bass drum, is affectless enough to make Bill Callahan's stoic delivery on the original seem fraught. But by the end, she's wracked by giggles, as flecks of color appear like dried spittle around the monochrome production's edges. Gut is not an innovator: both she and Callahan are committed to the old, inexhaustible pleasure of listening, regardless of genre. And this is exactly what allows them to give back to their respective genres, if we care to name them, some missing essence.
FIRST PERSON MAGAZINE BENEFIT PARTY FEATURING GUDRUN GUT with Thomas Fehlmann, Grecco Guggenheit, and Nate Boyce. Fri/24, 10 p.m., $10-$15. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. (415) 625-8880. www.firstpersonmag.com/events.htm
Throbbing Gristle, "Discipline" live at Kezar, 1981
"Like always I persuaaa-aade you." My audiophile pals have been burbling for weeks about Throbbing Gristle's return to the Bay Area -- an event of enormous sonic-historical magnitude that both Brandon Bussolini and Nicole Gluckstern write about in this week's issue. And they've mostly been taken by the series of vids recorded at Kezar Stadium ("the stadium of dead souls") in 1981 that documents the raw, uninhibited mind-warp of the group at the time -- a perfect tonic for our still-obsessed post-punk indie-bop era. It's pretty amazing, and I'm loving the obvs tripped-out audience. Also, it looks to have much more in common with composer John Adams' Berkeley music-concrete happenings than the overloaded, multimedia Wax Trax spectaculars that industrial would soon veer into, livewise.
The above extended cataclysm, plus this one below by Germany's Liaisons Dangereuses from 1982, tells a seedy, sweaty, and dirty-sexy industrial story, with a space for women even ("are you ready boys, are you ready girls?"), that I wish had been pin-patched and bedazzled onto Haight Street kids' jackets rather than the hypersteroidal/paranoid-pop Skinny Puppy-Nitzer Ebb-Ministry one (and hey, doesn't Depeche Mode have a new album out?)
Liaisons Dangereuses, "Los Niños Del Parque"
It's a wonder to me how all those macho mid-80s big-time industrial acts could simultaneously be so testosteronal and yet so castrated. Maybe it was all the trying too hard (and it kind of happened again in the 90s with, ew, rap-rock). But, you know, I shaved off my devil lock and fled the industrial dance floor once KMFDM's "Control" became inescapable. Now that was torture, even though now I find them quite adorable. It'll be very interesting to see what kind of crowd shows up at the TG show on Thursday, to say the least, and whether they'll have the spikes to ride the experimental thrust into polysexual purgatory, industrial's true Valhalla (not hell at all), with barest, brief release.
From the LA Times Coachella blog: "I think I've had three orgasms already," Genesis P-Orridge said after the first song of Throbbing Gristle's set. All right, so we know it was good for the fair-haired, transgendered leader of the British industrial act, but how was it for us?
The Bay's Grass Widow sounds out mesmerizing shapes
By Michael Harkin
Grass Widow's harmonious post-punk tension is fostered below SF street level, in a former meat locker containing, among other things, a very charming quilt with the band's name patched into it. In anticipation of an impending record release -- the band plays Thursday at ATA -- I met there with bass player Hannah Lew and drummer Lillian Maring (guitarist and trumpet player Raven Mahon was overseas), who, although living far apart — Maring is on the East Coast at present — were clearly very happy to be together.
"It's not like there are any dispensable characters," explains Lew. After the dissolution of Shitstorm, Lew's former band with Mahon, the two started playing together in 2007 with Maring, who was in the city for the summer from Washington state. Though Maring went back up north for a bit, she says she quickly returned and the trio "got really serious" — serious enough to tour the U.S. the following summer after cranking out a wonderful demo CD-R/ cassette that makes up most of their upcoming self-titled 12-inch on the local Make a Mess label.
Sonic Reducer Overage: Vivian Girls, Ghost, Spinal Tap, How to Destroy the Universe, and more
Take the wheel: Vivian Girls' "Tell the World."
How to destroy a weekend - or, for that matter, a weeknight? Sticky, sweaty, and sill up for fun - SF knows how it's done. Telling ya, there's so much more to see and hear than we could fit into print.
Dry Spells
Folk rock gets another angelic kick upstairs when the Bay Area band gets onstage. With Pillow Queens and Vultures. Wed/22, 9 p.m., $6. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.
The Pets
The Oaktown garage-rock threesome preps for its European journey. With International Espionage and Master Volume. Wed/22, 9 p.m., $5. Kimo's, 1351 Polk, SF. (415) 885-4535.
I first saw Dan Deacon perform at Oberlin College's venue the ’Sco, a den of nascent creativity that eventually brought me to a city sometimes referred to by the same three-letter abbreviation. Deacon was there, balding and bearded, his glasses taped to his head, his muffin-top iced by a bright pink T. He set up his mad scientist's table of electronics in the audience's usual domain. Different colored cords sprang out in every direction and there were multiple mics for his one-man show. Lit by a neon green skull, Deacon began stretching, then implored the audience to stretch. They did.
Not only did we all stretch with Deacon, we danced with Deacon. For a generation that has been taught that to move is to be judged — or whatever excuse keeps scenesters so static — such an act is similar to the miracle of the Virgin Mary getting pregos. Deacon's inhibition-less philosophy was infectious: not only were the undergrads dancing, they were willing to participate in a high-five conga line and compete in a dance-off.
Dan Deacon, "Crystal Cat"
Although the complexities of Deacon's music become clearer when heard on an iPod, the experience verges on seizure-inducing. Live, the same music becomes hypnotic. Like his earlier work, Deacon's newest album Bromst (Carpark) is as much a singular composition as a collection of tracks, which should make it exhilarating to encounter. In concert, he has arranged for it to be played by a 15-piece ensemble. Now that he's decidedly bigger — in band, popularity, and girth — it's hard to predict how the intimacy and audience participation aspects of his performance will be affected. But it is sure to be a blast. And a bromst. (Deacon said he made up the word for his album title because it doesn't have a meaning and he likes the way it sounds.)
DAN DEACON With Future Islands and Teeth Mountain. Thurs/23, 9 p.m., $13. Great American Music Hall. 859 O'Farrell, SF. (415) 885-0750, www.gamh.com
I've already freaked out to the atmospheric dubstep track "Maybes" by Mount Kimbie, and now comes along this just as lovely underground hit by London's Pangaea, "Memories" -- as remixed by Aaron Jerome, via Shook:
Sampling Gladys Knight, of course, is one of the easier ways for an earworm to burrow into my frozen heart.
Alas, though it's on every respecting dubstep DJs playlist, "Memories" probably won't be released singularly -- groove to it, and his too brief mix for Mary Anne Hobbs' Experimental Showcase at his MySpace.
I think that along with "Tea Leaf Dancers" by Flying Lotus -- was anyone else at his amazing show at Mighty last weekend? I told you FlyLo was the smilingest DJ ever -- well, we've got the beginnings of a lovely ambient dubstep mixtape on our hands ....
Sonic Reducer Overage: Silversun Pickups, Bloc Party, Atmosphere, Kylesa, free shows, and so much more
Manic panic: Silversun Pickups' "Panic Switch."
Lucky you, you aren't broiling in the desert at Coachella - you're keeping your cool in SF, and boy, you've got a lot to keep your bad self outta trouble. So partake in the Coachella spillover - and then some...
Intelligence
"Icky Baby" is in the eye of the beholder - and the mind of the Intelligence, those hard-driving, gristly lo-fi smarty-pants. With Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall. Fri/17, 9 p.m., $8. Annie's Social Club, 917 Folsom, SF. (415) 974-1585.
Loop!Station
Loops, vocals, and cello are Robin Coomer's and Sam Bass' tools, arriving now with a new CD.
Fri/17, 8 and 10 p.m., $10. Yoshi's, 1330 Fillmore, SF. (415) 655-5600.
Mini-Japanther: a quick, claws-out Q&A with Ian Vanek
Kristy Geschwandtner caught up with the pun-happy, former-Brooklyn, art-punk duo Japanther's Ian Vanek after their show at the Hemlock on 4/13.
SFBG: When will Japanther perform “Dump That Body in Rikki Lake” in San Francisco? Ian Vanek: We are keen to do JAPANTHER performance pieces the world over. DTBIRL was a giant puppet rock opera we did on 06, if you didn't know. The puppets are in art storage so anything is possible. Know any investors?
SFBG: Did Japanther really relocate to Southern California? Vanek: Yes, we spent the winter in sunny LA and the greater west coast. Now that the spring is here it's back to work! Basically we went homeless to tour in 09. Paying rent in a recession is so 1990s.
SFBG: Where is your favorite place to play? Vanek: SF is up there for sure (and the whole Bay). We also love Australia, Montreal, Toronto, Juarez and of course our hometown, BROOKLYN.
SFBG: Did you ever make it to Russia to play? Vanek: Not yet but we got as far as the official invites... We will make there in the next year for sure!
Who cares about cherries in the snow — Cherry is in the air. I'm talking Don Cherry, whose spirit is casting new spells via mysterious vinyl reissues, renewed interest in Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 Holy Mountain — check Matt Borruso's new art show at [2nd floor projects] — and this proto-world music collabo, a reissue from 1982 taken from a one-day recording session in 1978, with tablas great Khan.
Text and photos by Ariel Soto. Devendra Banhart performs again Thu/16 at Yoshi's SF
"You're a sexy beast!" someone shouted from the crowd, as Devendra Banhart made his way onto the stage of the Independent to a sold out show, Tuesday, April 14th. After the openers, The Healing Curse, left the stage, Devendra started with an acoustic set and then later was joined by his band, serenading his fans with songs of about sweet little birds, wild wolves, and Latin love.
Two quick takes on Junior Boys, who perform tomorrow with Max Tundra at Bimbo's (Thu/16, 7 p.m., $18. Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus, SF. www.bimbos365club.com)
Junior Boys
Begone Dull Care
(Domino)
Johnny Ray Huston:
The knives are out at least a little for the critics' darling duo, and to be fair, this third full-length falters a bit in following the breakthrough of 2007's So This is Goodbye. But "Work" might be Junior Boys' best composition, and "Sneak a Picture" is simply sweet. A reward for those who care enough to dig: the title and lyrics braid through the life and work of Canadian animator Norman McLaren.
Live Shots: Yonder Mountain String Band at the Fillmore, 4/10
Text and photos by Ariel Soto
Yonder Mountain String Band has serious groupies. I mean really hardcore groupies. I talked to several String Band fans in the audience before the show. For one person it was his 36th time seeing Yonder Mountain and he has plans to follow the band through California and then up to Oregon for their tour. There was another woman in the audience who said she saw them at least 70 times ... how is that even possible? By then I was excited for the show to get started -- who were these string strummers? Once the band made its way to the stage the Fillmore was thoroughly saturated with sweet smelling smoke, feet were stomping, and hippy skirts were twirling as the folksy, bluegrass notes weaved their way between the band's eager, dare I say, obsessed, devotees.
Stereo Somewhere in the Night
(Minimal Wave 2008/ Carrere 1982)
"She's gotta be there, as you walk in the dark
Number four, at your door, number four
You're ost in the heaze, she's gotta be there...
Somewhere in the night"
1980s duo Stereo's criss-cross sunglasses put Kanye's Venetian shades to shame. Minimal Wave delivers once again with this synth jam gem. I'm on the lookout for another recent Minimal Wave release, a vinyl-only collection by Linear Movement. But Stereo -- not to be confused with Kompakt figurehead Wolfgang Voigt's early recording project of the same name -- has surprising songwriting chops. My fave track might be "Nowhere in the Island," which uses the echo vocal effect so beloved by circa-1983 new romantic acts to great effect. It includes saxophone and yet still has a potent air of melancholy. I wonder if these two French guys every rubbed pointy shoulders with Bernard Fevre of Black Devil Disco Club.
Get ready, kids -- this Saturday night's all about the new-bass (and I go in deep on it in this week's Super Ego clubs column). Do like I said and hit up both mindblowing parties featuring this amazing nightlife sound of now.
Ghislain Poirier, helloooo
In one corner is Montreal's "King of Bounce" Ghislain Poirier, whose Bounce Le Gros monthly in the MTL not only helped launch the careers of such wiggy Canadian future bass purveyors as Megasoid and the tres-tres atmospheric Sixtoo, but also put Quebec on the world dance music map. Ghislain will storm the Tormenta Tropical monthly's electro-cumbia castle at Elbo Room.
Below are two video examples of how Poirier wonderfully "plays it both ways" as it were -- super-danceable and brainily abstract -- with the dancehall boinger "Blazin'" and the headphone freaker "Hit & Red." The third vid, "Don't Smile, It's Postmodern" is his awesome kinda middle ground (although the visuals are waaaay goofy.)
Ghislain Poirier, "Blazin'" featuring Face-T
Ghislain Poirier, "Hit & Red"
Ghislain Poirier, "Don't Smile"
AND in this other corner, righteous kings of woofer-blowing abstractitude Flying Lotus, Kode9, and the Bug hit Mighty for a jam called "The Future." I'll let the videos after the jump give you an idea of each of their genius individual styles, but DO NOT MISS THIS PARTY.
Sonic Reducer Overage: Brit, Devendra, Japanther, Fleet Foxes, and more
Brooklyn cheer: Japanther's "Challenge."
"Rising above the smoke and debris" - yes, we can. More to do, see, and hear...
Undebateable: Eef Barzelay's "I Love the Unknown."
Clem Snide Hungry Bird (429), the latest release by the Boston-born band, almost succeeded in killing Clem Snide. Yet Eef Barzelay carries forth - sweet Snide 'tude in hand - alongside Brendan Fitzpatrick and Ben Martin. With the Heligoats and Pepi Ginsberg. Wed/8, 9 p.m., $10-$12. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.
Love X Nowhere
Immaculate shoegaze and anthemic pop stream from the SF fivesome's new self-released High Score Blackout. With Headlights and the Love Language. Thurs/9, 9 p.m., $10. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.
Who is the shy girl casting her eyes downward on the cover of Little Hells (Kemado)? Here in Hell, Marissa Nadler could be a damsel who has tumbled from a frayed tapestry in search of her unicorn, a crystal doll who has escaped from her vitrine, or a tubercular maid who has slipped out of her Victorian deathbed photograph to traipse this earthly plane. She's the dark, downbeat cousin of the enormous-eyed cameo cutie gracing The Saga of Mayflower May (Eclipse, 2005), the sunlit warbler singing in the lawn at the first Arthur Fest, and the whimsical Rhode Island School of Design-educated artist I spoke to around the time of Songs III: Bird on the Water (Kemado, 2007).
With her fourth full-length, Nadler enters a new, more synthetic, and increasingly richer musical realm than that on her previous recordings — one outfitted with its own exquisite troubles and terrors. The almost imperceptibly swooping faux strings that strafe "Heart Paper Lover" sound like tiny planes dive-bombing a cruel sweetheart. The goth muses slumbering within Nadler's out-folk also come to light, blinking: one imagines Mary Shelley waking to find herself in Frankenstein's grave-dirt-encrusted shoes on the harpsichord-strewn, almost Sisters of Mercy-like "Mary Comes Alive." Still, Nadler's voice has never sounded so fine — catching itself on miniscule beads of longing on "Rosary" and fading, delicately detuned, like a dying darling on "Ghosts and Lovers."
MARISSA NADLER With Eric Shea. Wed/8, 9:30 p.m., $10-$12. Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016, www.cafedunord.com
Bosque Brown rides a haunting river through 'Baby'
By Todd Lavoie
BOSQUE BROWN
Baby
(Burnt Toast Vinyl)
One should be easily forgiven for thinking that Bosque Brown is the effort of one person, recorded under a group-name alias, a la Cat Power/Chan Marshall -- vocalist/songwriter Mara Lee Miller is such a dynamic presence on its just-released disc Baby that it isn't too tough to imagine everything coming from a single creative force. In reality, the Denton, Texas spinetinglers are a sextet, named for the Bosque River which runs through town; not sure about the “Brown” part, other than the color choice connotes an earthiness reflective of their rustic Americana bent. Miller's haunting visions -- funneled through an alluringly dusty twang and slow-drawled delivery -- are singular enough to separate the band from the ever-swelling masses of No Depression devotees, but her partners' careful construction of sighing backdrops and moody undercurrents not only testifies to their strength as an ensemble, but also adds more than a few exclamation points to their must-hear status.
There is something in the tense hushes and quiet understatement creaking away in the background which brings to mind a more melancholic Hem, or perhaps even a nervier Cowboy Junkies, circa The Trinity Session (1988, RCA). It also wouldn't take too much of a leap in imagination to consider Baby a spiritual cousin to Cat Power's immaculately restrained Moon Pix (1998, Matador). As you might have figured from the aforementioned reference points, there are shiver-inducing moments a-plenty here.
Sonic Reducer Overage: Snoop Dogg, Eugene Mirman, Jeremy Jay, Skin Horse, and so much more
San Francisco just can't, just won't stop. More musical - and comedic - worthies than one can jam into print.
The Get Up Kids
These lesser-known monsters of emo, progenitors of punk-pop, are back. With Approach. Thurs/2, 8 p.m., $26-$29. Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell, SF. (415) 885-0750.
Sonic Reducer: Lil Wayne, the Mae Shi, Starfucker, and more this weekend
Pros to go: "A song by the Mae Shi celebrating the life and work of Xtian Bale."
You have until Monday to find your place in the sun - or in the shadows. More fun musical offerings than we could fit into print - as usual in super-sweet SF.
Lil Wayne
The Nawlins rapper is said to pumped a good deal of performance-enhancement production values into his stage show - courtesy of a full band, a smoke machine, pillars of fire, and a set of backup dancers. But will Wayne deliver the goods? Or at least appear on time? With T-Pain, Gym Class Heroes, and Keri Hilson. Fri/27, 7 p.m., $42.50-=$147.75. HP Pavilion, 525 W. Santa Clara, San Jose. www.livenation.com
The Mae Shi, Pre, and Past Lives
Hey, it's all good here. Well, I've never seen Pre but the Mae Shi are monsters (gag songs or no) and Past Lives - a band of ex-Blood Brothers - impressed at South by Southwest. Seems to me, though, that Skin Graft's Pre combines squealing girly vocals with propulsive, clanging post-punk in a way that I'm sure SF kids can get with. Fri/27, 9:30 p.m., $8. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.
Starfucker
Don't hold the fucked-up name against them - the Portland, Ore., combo could be the next Glass Candy, with a newly amplified sense of humor. With Grand Lake and Guidance Counselor. Sat/28, 9:30 p.m., $8. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.
Bonfire Madigan
Sometime SF dweller Madigan Shive whoops it up for her blessed b-day - and for the release of her new EP. With Excuses for Skipping. Sun/29, 8 p.m., $12. Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016.
White Magic
The Brooklyn psych-folk spell-casters send us spiralling. With Avocet. Sun/29, 5 p.m., $10. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.
Taken from SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour -- on stands in the Guardian now. Interview by Marke B. Photo by Pat Mazzera. Art Direction by Mirissa Neff. Mens room courtesy of Matador.
Ultraviolet, Kozee, Roommate, Rob Cannon, and Blackheart
To say that the woofer-rumbling, ragga-ripping dubstep sound has exploded on the club scene in the past few years is an understatement almost as low as the genre's freakiest frequencies. Dubstep seems perfect for our hyper-multicultural, urban-nomadic age, blending street rhythms with the most intricate laptop sonic technology available. It's especially perfect for the Bay, with its shimmering blend of moody menace and artistic bombast, and has duly been embraced by a number of DJs here, many with roots that stretch back to the early days of 2-step, drum 'n bass, and even rave.
DJ Ultraviolet (pictured in red, at left), heads up the fab two-year-old RedLine dubstep collective, and has been bringing her immaculate technique and overflowing energy to the decks in San Francisco since 1997. She was a seminal player in the drum 'n bass and breakbeat scene, as part of the Sleeveless collective with the Femmes Fatales, and was associated with the legendarily raucous Sister DJ crew. As a true vinyl fetishist, she was being booked at the tender age of 19 to play jungle at underground '90s raves and played a part in the Future Breaks FM (miss you!) juggernaut of the early aughts.
Now, along with the wonderfully gifted DJ Kozee, her "second in command," Ultraviolet reps the burgeoning female dubstep explosion, producing tracks and bringing a touch of grimy glamour to the scene with the MakeOut Sessions, RedLine's regular blowout at Matador. The upcoming installment of MakeOut features Matty G of Santa Cruz (www.myspace.com/mattygbeatz) pumping tracks from his new album, Take You Back.
ULTRAVIOLET Kozee and I, who do a lot of the event planning and are working on a big project together; Babylon System (www.myspace.com/thebabylonsystem), a.k.a Roomate and No Thing, is one of the top production crews in dubstep, currently on tour in Europe; the three DJs of Blackheart (www.myspace.com/lordsofblackheart) from Oakland are our newest addition; DJ Rob Cannon (www.myspace.com/djrobcannon), our youngest member; our L.A. residents Emu and Pawn, who are also a part of the SMOG crew down there, and on our business end, Cyn, Bruxxy, and Dymphna.
SFBG Do you think the dubstep sound is reaching a critical mass? Is the scene in danger of getting stale?
SXSW: Petering out with PJ Harvey, AIDS Wolf, Moriarty, Sons of Albion, and more
By the light of the moon: PJ Harvey and John Parrish at Stubb's.
South by Southwest peters out with... Peter, Bjorn and John. Actually, not really - I dig those Scandinavian whistle-bait popsters and they were playing multiple shows - but there were other less familiar artists and rare diversions to seek out on Saturday, March 21, in Austin, Texas.
The sweet 'n' sunny Saturday morn started with slowly with some quality, low-price thrifting at Texas Thrift Store (Joanna Newsom and folk-psych gals would have appreciated the dusty rose, homemade patchwork vest and nautilus-shell purse) and a visit to western wear superstore Shepler's, both off I-35. Then off to the Convention Center - which, by the end of the week during each SXSW, starts to seem a little like home (that is, if home was strewn with fat bundles of The Austin Chronicle and free bottles of Fuze green tea). There, Neil Young's famed manager Elliott Roberts and his documentarian Larry Johnson talked up Young's forthcoming series of box sets, starting with Neil Young Archives Volume 1 (1963-1972), on BluRay, DVD, and CD. Pretty amazing stuff - the BluRay edition will offer interactive components that will allow Young and company to offer up new photos, music, and film when they become available (one example, Robert said, are the Mynah Birds recordings made by Young and Rick James, which aren't the now-locked box set - they just managed to license the tracks from Motown so when they're available the BluRay owners will be notified and can likely download them directly).
SXSW: Quick fixes with Flower Travellin' Band, Fleet Foxes' J. Tillman, Garotas Suecas, and more
Funky love: Brazil's Garotas Suecas seduces at Emo's.
SXSW memories - fading now, but hey, it's only Friday. Among the highlights yesterday, March 18: Brazil's Garotas Suecas - the bright-eyed, fun 'n' funky heirs to Booker T. or at least Sharon Jones. My Portuguese is a bit nonexistent, but we got the picture loud and clear, thanks to the ensemble's hyper-expressive vocalist.
Even more mind-blowing: Flower Travellin' Band at Smokin' Music. The band sometimes best known for its nekkid, motorcycle-riding album shot finally made it to the states for the last of five shows on its first U.S. tour. Previous sojourns have been scuttled for various reasons, but wow! Deeply eccentric power-centered psych-stoner rock - Hideki Ishima's huge sitarla is only part of the story, generating resonant, almost boomingly bass-like sounds. Have to see more of them if/when they get to SF.
Massive massive: Hideki Ishima wields his mighty sitarla.
SXSW: Q queue, Devo, Dirty Projectors, Girls, and more
Chapel of the chiming guitar: SF's Girls fill the Central Presbyterian Church March 19.
Impressions - watercolor, guyliner-streaked, skinny jeans-clad impressions - of SXSW. Here are a few from the frontlines on what turned out to be a stellar Thursday, March 19: I may have missed the Jane's Addition reunion with Eric Avery at the Rock the Bunny after-hours bash at an old Safeway, but who needs the LA grunge-era implants when there's so much happening elsewhere?
Rumor has it that Kanye West will be headlining the last Fader Fort show Saturday - a sweltering mecca of lines and bees drawn by the spilled fruity cocktails, out on the other side of I-35 - and that Neil Young is in town. Otherwise the vague official word round the Austin Convention Center is that attendance is down about 10 percent, though artist attendance is up. "Not bad, considering" - the new buzz words?
Charm (in)offensive: Quincy Jones gives the SXSW keynote.
More Mochi: 215 the Freshest Kids hurl some words at Daly City Records' Pre-SXSW/St. Patrick's Day Party at Beso Cantina March 17. All photos by Kimberly Chun.
Or is a whimper more accurate. Yes, the signs are in the air and in the program, as we scan the pages of the official guide and the unofficial day party lists. Welcome to South by Southwest on the downlow, rocked by the turbulent winds blowing off a global economic meltdown.
The big conference keynote names like Pete Townshend, Neil Young, Robert Plant, and Lou Reed? This year we get the uber-talented and esteemed but nonetheless much less sexy - sorry, Quince - Quincy Jones. Instead of the Stooges and Morrissey, we will have onstage interviews with Carlene Carter and the Hold Steady. The corporate banners are still here, but with a not-quite-as-splashy, diminished presence - just where is that MySpace South By Party Bus? The major labels and glossy publications are quieter than usual - whither the Vice party? Is there a Vice party?
Instead Rachael Ray - wholesome indie rock fan incarnate - is serving up the New York Dolls and the aforementioned Hold Steady at her showcase. Hey, after all, we're all eating in these days - we can use some new recipes. This is SXSW on the cheap, forced onto a low-budg diet by a still-suffering music biz. Yes, music continues unabated, but can its makers afford to make it out here this year? The underground bashes around SXSW appear to slowing down or maybe they just aren't on the public radar - in any case I still want to make Todd P's Ms. Bea free all-ages shows and the French Legation outdoor bills - now Arthur-free (R.I.P.). We'll see if there's anything as fun as Dan Deacon and Fucked Up's guerrilla throwdowns shaking up the university campus and the bridge, after hours.
"A DJ mix that stands alone as an album is a rare thing, but leave it to Jace Clayton, a.k.a. DJ/rupture, to make one, as he has with Uproot (Agriculture)," wrote the Guardian's Brandon Bussolini last year. "Deeply, er, rooted in the bass plate tectonics of dubstep and cut with the finest in eclectic samples, ranging from experimentalist Ekkehard Ehlers to lazer bass don Ghislain Poirier, Uproot rolls deep with dubbed-out ambience, but DJ/rupture is just as happy to turn things upside down, as when he plunks down Ehlers' gorgeous string loop, "Plays John Cassavetes, Pt. 2," around the mix's halfway point. And if bangers of the future don't sound like "Gave You All My Love (Matt Shadetek's I Gave You All My Dub Remix)," which subs out dub's organic space for Fisher-Price primary-color contrasts that split the brain evenly in two, I'm not sure it's a future worth living in."
I'd have to agree with all of that, but also emphasize DJ/rupture's extremely thrilling versatility when it comes to global musical styles with regards to both his recordings and live sets. That's why I'm tickled hot pink that he's putting together a special cumbia set for this Saturday's Tormenta Tropical with the Bersa Discos boys, who've consistently stirred some of the world's best DJs into their electro-cumbia-hop stew. Tormenta Tropical was bangin' last month, and this one should be a real ruptured doozy.
Sonic Reducer Overage: Trail of Dead, Asobi Seksu, Gunslingers, and more
Wake and bake: ...And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Dead's "Another Morning Stoner."
It all sounds so ethereal this week: dream-pop, shoegaze, and even, well, ...And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Here, you'll know us by these breadcrumbs - and perhaps you'll find a few intriguing musical diversions to check out on a chilly night.
Azeda Booth
Enter the echo chamber with the Calgary, Canada, threesome, then look for its music for the Bay's Absolutely Kosher imprint. Wed/11, 10 p,m., $6. Knockout, 3223 Mission, SF. (415) 550-6994.
Elvis Perkins in Dearland
The Hudson Valley likes it sweet and low: this blues-folk combo likes to riddle their indie with Nawlins second-line lyrical soul. Wed/11, 9:30 p.m., $13-$15. Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016.
Southeast Engine quivers and lopes toward the deluge
By Todd Lavoie
SOUTHEAST ENGINE
From The Forest To The Sea
(Misra)
It's all right there in the title: From The Forest To The Sea, the fourth, just-released full-length from Athens, Ohio-based Southeast Engine, is the chronicle of a journey. Literal, figurative, geographical, spiritual... it's all of the above, rendered in nervy poetry, Biblical allusions, and volatile collisions of twisted Americana and restless indie-rock. Sure, the disc's characters begin in the forest and end up at the edge of the sea --- and in some cases, quite literally in the sea --- but ultimately their movement is focused around much more than mere topography. Vocalist/guitarist Adam Remnant is not only a compelling singer -- his quivering Appalachian yelp is perhaps the midpoint between Will Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy) and Jason Molina (Songs:Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co.) -- but also a perceptive, precise storyteller, equally confident in clipped speech and extended, flowing narrative.
His subjects tend to be good people at their core, but not without their share of weaknesses, foibles, and lack of direction. Sin and salvation, along with all of the roaming which tends to go on between the two extremes, form the central themes of the disc, and they are presented without judgment and in clear, matter-of-fact detail. And just in case the potent storytelling here isn't enough: these guys furnish a rather resplendently rustic sonic backdrop for Remnant's redemption-seeking rambles. For all of its occasional echoes of other lonesome-howl enthusiasts -- the aforementioned Oldham and Molina ventures, as well as Phosphorescent and maybe Castanets -- From The Forest To The Sea offers up a distinct essence of its own. Distinctive enough, I should add, that I can't wait to dive into their back-catalog....
Southeast Engine, "Black Gold"
Southeast Engine recorded the disc in a creaky, abandoned middle-school auditorium, built in the 1800s, in the hills of rural Ohio -- a fitting choice, given that these songs appear to be populated by ghosts as well. Listen closely, and the odd atmospheric hum slides into perception, only to drift away as soon as the ears are pricked; once the moment is almost forgotten, a disembodied echo or a floorboard-sigh is just as likely to emerge. As much as these production touches give a nice chill, it's in the voices that the true goosebump potential resides. Remnant is quite adept at conjuring ghosts with his taut, choked waver, and the haunted backup supplied by the rest of the band does a convincing job of highlighting the restlessness which permeates these dozen songs.
I just came upon this 2k7 vid of the best-club-ever-after-Paradise-Garage Body and Soul tour in Tokyo. And I don't know if it's the beauty of DJ Joe Clausell's knob-tweaking, the pain of the recent Depression, the gay-soul-gorgeousness of Dan Hartman and Loleatta Holloway's barnstormer duet, or the sight of hundreds of off-their-nut Japanese boppers singing "Relight My Fire" -- but I'm bursting into tears.
Body & Soul Live in Tokyo Open Air 2007
Those kids are so amped up that by the time of the breakdown ("I'm strong enough to walk on through the night") they can't shout any louder. Srsly, it's time for a house comeback. There's already a couple of underground roving house revivals going down in NYC, and Body & Soul itself will rock Webster Hall there this Sunday. Let's pick it up SF!
We could do worse that pack Vessel on Thursday night for a very rare appearance by way-more-than-legendary Body & Soulmate Francois K.
Noise Pop: A look back II, starring Deerhunter, Clues, No Age
You choose: Clues.
By Kristy Geschwandtner
I had the opportunity to check out some shows during the Noise Pop festival, starting with the opening-night performance by Deerhunter at Mezzanine on Feb. 25.
Deerhunter didn’t let anyone down. It played a majestic set that created feelings of isolation and reflection. The bright back-lighting and smoke machine setup helped create the mood. The music and performance made me feel as though I left the building and was somewhere alone. Not many performers can bring you into their realm.
For a minute there I became enraged at the thought I was missing out on the latest drink sensation. Everyone had these shiny cartons in their hands as my mind raced, fantasizing about all the possibilities. What could that be? Oddly, my head had me convinced it was some sort of coconut concoction. No, wait, what’s that trendy fruit right now? Acai berry! That had to be it.
After all, wine in a box had long since become passe. My jealousy abated only when I realized it was merely a carton of Plant it Water. Those things were everywhere. Still, the evening wasn’t about sponsorship. No, this festival was about the music. Now just a blur of a memory, bars, clubs, and venues alike opened their doors last week to welcome musicians (and music types who like to live vicariously through them) for Noise Pop’s 17th showcase in weirdo San Francisco and beyond. Here’s my personal account:
Noise Pop: Port O'Brien, Odawas, Afternoons find safe harbor at Cafe du Nord
Plucky: Port O'Brien at Cafe du Nord. All photos by Ariel Soto.
By Ariel Soto
Deep from within the depths of Cafe Du Nord came sounds of ships and seafarers, as Port O'Brien took the stage Friday, Feb. 27, for a concert that could have literally rocked a boat. They shared the stage with Afternoons, who got the whole house dancing, and Odawas, who told the audience "We may not be what you want... but we're what you need."
Red Hot and getting brighter: 'Dark Was the Night' AIDS/HIV benefit comp stirs the fire
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Dark Was the Night: A Red Hot Compilation
(4AD)
By Todd Lavoie
Benefit albums have always been a noble but iffy prospect for the music buyer. Unfortunately, too many well-meaning compilations have seen their intentions unfairly matched with either a glaring lack of cohesion or a failure to procure decent songs from the artists involved. More often than not, charity discs tend to come across as sonically and/or thematically disjointed, thanks to the piecemeal fashion with which they're frequently put together - with each artist contributing without any sort of direction or instructions, the resulting collection runs the risk of ending up a jumbled, unfocused mess and an awkward start-to-finish listen.
Worse yet, many of these benefits seem to be cobbled together with whatever scraps have been previously tossed aside by the artists involved: lesser B-sides, uninspired live tracks, or sonic afterthoughts that never received a full fleshing-out for one reason or another. Considering the labor of love that goes on behind the scenes in assembling such a disc - contacting musicians and agents and record labels to convince them to join the cause, for example - it's a shame that the end product often fails to project an equivalent amount of passion and fire. Scan the bargain bins at any CD shop, and you'll see what I mean.
Not so for the Red Hot Organization, however - the culture-savvy international charity has spent the past 20 years fighting AIDS and raising HIV awareness through releasing countless inspired compilations. Unlike many other heart-of-gold organizations, Red Hot tends to do much more than merely compile a bunch of donated tracks to disc.
Lauren Dukoff has been photographing her friends since she was 13. It was simply serendipitous that they became famous. As a result, her photos have appeared on the cover of everything from Rolling Stone to the Guardian.
On Feb 20, at the Eleanor Harwood Gallery, Dukoff's intimate to obscene portrayals of Devendra Banhart, Matteah Baim, Joanna Newsom, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and others went on display along with artwork by those featured in the photographs. The exhibit runs through March 7.
Noise Pop: Antony and the Johnsons emerge from the shadows
Wailin': Antony and the Johnsons at the Masonic. All photos by Ariel Soto.
By Ariel Soto
Antony and the Johnsons performed at Nob Hill Masonic Center on Feb. 24, the first night of the Noise Pop music festival. The stage was lit by nothing more than seemingly soft candle light. The audience grew ever so quiet as Antony began to play the piano, his voice stretching and weaving throughout the auditorium. Between songs, he spoke about how he felt to be back in San Francisco, remembering the days when he used to panhandle down near Union Square.
Times have obviously changed: instead of shivvering in the cold, he's now playing to packed concert halls full of adoring fans. Antony is the star of the band, but it's obvious that he's rather shy, dipping behind shadows, letting the audience just barely get a glimpse of that luscious black hair.
LATE OF THE PIER
Fantasy Black Channel
(Astralwerks)
By Todd Lavoie
Given the manic pulsations emanating from this English indie-electro quartet, I suppose it's only appropriate that Late of the Pier's ascent from teenage obscurity to darlings of the British music press would be swift and twitching with drama. Formed in 2004, when all four members were only 16 or 17 years of age, the group released its first single on an independent label in March 2007 - the hype machine began tossing superlatives almost immediately thereafter. From there, a couple of additional singles followed - and the accompanying hyperbole from the press seemed to compound exponentially.
By the autumn of last year, their debut, Fantasy Black Channel - which includes some of their previously issued singles - found a major-label release in Britain (on Parlophone/EMI), preceded of course by a level of advance buzz that almost always dooms the poor coveted object to eventual disappointment. Now, several months later, the disc has finally seen a domestic release; only time will tell whether the famously excitable Brit press will stick with these guys long enough to respond to their next move, but in the meantime, a valid question persists - was the hype merited?
It takes a Foot Village - and the Drums and T.I.T.S. to make a glorious noise at Bottom of the Hill
By L.C. Mason
The drum gods were smiling down on Bottom of the Hill Feb. 18 as drum-centric bands Foot Village and the Drums pounded out thunderous reveries that undoubtedly had even the stars in the sky dancing to their rhythm.
Heating things up good and hot was psychedelic noise outfit T.I.T.S., an all-girl ensemble that definitely brought the ruckus down on an unsuspecting crowd. Their deafening, doom metal-tinged jams would have made Metal Machine Music-era Lou Reed proud and filled the space with minor key dirges and menacing, monotone lyrics about the void and phantom animals. Bassist Mary “Elizabreast” Yarbrough dazzled as she punched her guitar strings in an attempt to make the ceiling fall, while the rest of the girls, dressed in mismatched flower-print housewife garb, maintained professional poker faces as they laid down riffs so heavy you couldn’t get under them if you tried.
Not just about talent: Nels Cline turns in a mercurial 'Coward'
NELS CLINE
Coward
(Cryptogramophone)
By Brandon Bussolini
By the third track of his new solo LP, Coward, Nels Cline has already limned sruti box-assisted drone (opener "Epiphyllum"), applied John Fahey's fingerpicking style to British folk revival harmonies ("Prayer Wheel"), and, with the aptly titled "Thurston Country," written what could pass as an outtake from the Sonic Youth guitarist's solo outing Trees Outside the Academy (Ecstatic Peace!, 2007).
It's tempting to describe the album as an identity crisis commited to tape, but that would involve delving into the fact that I've never quite understood what Cline was doing playing guitar for Wilco in the first place, even though the choice also seems perversely satisfying. Coward feels less like the jazz-reared guitarist is blowing off steam from his day job and recalibrating his personal goals, and more like he's picking back up on a solo and collaborative career that has precious little commercial potential and an embarrassment of merit.
News from Recombinant Media Labs, over the transom yesterday:
"As some of you may or may not know, the Recombinant Media Labs facility located south of Market on Brannan Street in San Francisco closed its doors last spring. No formal announcements were made at that time due to legal complexities surrounding the closing. No further remarks will be made on this matter, but I think we can all agree that the RML Soma facility will be greatly missed. For those who are curious about what the future hold for Recombinant Media Labs please be on notice: RML is back in view.
"After Asphodel, Ltd. gave birth and support to the worldwide Recombinant Festivals of the '90s, and then to the artist residency lab from 2005 through 2007 the RML nomadic initiative re-emerged after traveling in '08 between Europe and North America, seeking new nodes of operation for performance, installation and exhibition. RML has moved on with fresh partnerships and independent alliances to resurface in a number of international configurations, which will be announced in the seasons to come.
That voice: Bay bluesman John Németh entreats 'Love Me Tonight'
JOHN NÉMETH
Love Me Tonight
(Blind Pig)
By Todd Lavoie
Given the frugality of the blues as an art form, it seems only fair that I introduce Bay Area harmonica-slinging bluesman John Németh without a single wasted word: the man can sing. Sure, he breathes plenty of soul and fire into that harp of his, but ultimately it's his voice which makes the most indelible impact - moving nimbly from growl to howl to full-bellied hoot 'n' holler, sometimes within the same bar, it's a tremendous instrument.
Even more impressive: the vocalist, only in his early 30s, delivers with a level of authority expected from someone much older. Considering that the blues places such a deep emphasis on breadth of life experience, Németh's ability to sound older than his actual age is a valuable asset. That being said, it's his extensive vocal range which gets noticed first; coming across as a young scrapper in one moment and a wizened front-stoop sage in the next, he certainly can surprise.
"SAN FRANCISCO (February 18, 2009) -- The nation's oldest ongoing blues festival has announced that the 2009 show has been canceled due to lack of funding. After 36 continuous years of presenting the blues by the bay, the iconic blues festival will forgo its annual September presentation this year.
"'The combination of rising production costs and lack of sponsorship support leaves me no choice but to cancel this year's show,' said founder Tom Mazzolini, who has also been the show's sole producer since the first festival in 1973. 'I'm sad to say this, but we may well have seen the last San Francisco Blues Festival.'
Noise Pop: Clues to use - more from the Montreal mystery band
Scan the meshes of those dusty Internets for Clues and you come up almost empty, as far as the Montreal combo goes. But lookee here at this week's Sonic Reducer for the first part of a talk with the Montreal band, and here's even more from Alden Penner, formerly of the Unicorns, on Clues, their first show as part of Noise Pop '09 on Feb. 28, and their gentle beginnings.
SFBG: There's little info about Clues out there. Can I get a clue about how the group came together?
Alden Penner: Well, this project is actually something that’s been coming together for a quite a while. It just happens to be rearing its head now. It's been the goal and desire of Brendan Reed [once of Arcade Fire], a friend of mine, and me to form a band. We’ve known each other since I've lived in Montreal - 2003. We put out a split 7-inch in 2005 - that was the landmark.
Not by the book: Born Against's Sam McPheeters and others at Adobe
I got the tip from Guardian contributor George Chen that he'll be appearing at an evening of readings and stand-up comedy by Sam McPheeters, George Chen, Deana Uribe at Adobe Book Shop on Feb. 20. Word on the performers:
"Sam McPheeters was born in Ohio in 1969 and raised in upstate New York. He is the former lead singer of Born Against and Wrangler Brutes, a founding member of Men's Recovery Project, and the owner of the now defunct Vermiform Records. He lives in California with his wife, Tara, and their 11 cats.
'Core corps: Wildbirds and Peacedrums take flight with 'Heartcore,' opens for Lykke Li
By Michelle Broder Van Dyke
Wildbirds and Peacedrums' pristine and primal music is a hybrid of reverent pop, bare blues, and ecstatic soul music with a twist of pitch and tone that creates an undefinable sonic experience. This sparse expressive pop by Scandinavian vocalist Mariam Wallentin and drummer Andreas Werliin bouncingly builds with just enough simple percussion and vocal intensity to allow space and silence, like unanswerable questions, to hang between sound, asking to be filled in by the listener’s interest and intent.
Powered by feeling-infused drums and goosebump-invoking vocals, W and P’s debut, Heartcore (Leaf, 2008), is a powerful, emotive invitation into the minds of these music school drop-outs/masters.
Lush 'n' loopy: Juana Molina to blow out her sound with a full band in SF
By Todd Lavoie
Prepare to be riveted - loop-and-layer-loving Argentine experimentalist Juana Molina will be bringing her bewilderingly intricate electronic/acoustic hybrids to the stage of the Great American Music Hall Friday, Feb. 13.
If you've wondered how the impossibly layered constructions of her recordings could ever translate to the live setting - here's your chance. Having caught her solo Swedish Hall performance from a couple of years ago, I can attest to her ability to mesmerize. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a battery of electronics and effects pedals, she didn't merely perform her songs - instead, she built them from the ground up, laying down basic components at the beginning of each song and gradually adding them together one by one.
If you know the Gourds, you know them prolific Texan folk don't take things lying down - especially when there's a frenetic album-a-year quota to be maxed out around these parts. Alternative country, progressive bluegrass, or whatever you want to call it, the Austin, Texas, honky-tonk veterans have been making sweet music since the dawn of the '90s, when multi-instrumentalists Kevin "Shinyribs" Russell and Jimmy Smith formed the group alongside drummer Charlie Llewellin and accordionist Claude Bernard. A bit of member reshuffling later, the band emerged with a new drummer and Max Johnston of Wilco fame manning the banjos, and has kept that rotation ever since.
Does Coachella or Bonnaroo have the better lineup?
By Danica Li
It's about time that the lineups for the two biggest of the bigwig music festivals on the continent, Coachella and Bonnaroo, leaked online, precipitated by a now traditional annual flurry of bizarre Internet rumors, faux photo-manipped posters, and jittery, cross-fingered posts on Stereogum. Naturally there's plenty of cross-pollination between the two, and no stunners, except that Phish hasn't played Bonnaroo ever before, where most of the bands on both lineups are religious frequenters of music festivals as well-established as South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and as far-flung as the Roskilde Festival in Denmark and Punkkelpop in Belgium.
The big names aren't so dimunitive, but then Coachella has a long and storied history of luring in bomb marquee reunions that it's struggled to live up to since the legendary Pixies jammed together onstage in 2004. Paul McCartney headlines on Friday, the Killers on Saturday, and the Cure on Sunday. My Bloody Valentine's playing on Sunday, too, while Leonard Cohen, Superchunk, Okkervil River, Morrissey, MSTRKRFT, Franz Ferdinand, Girl Talk, Crystal Castles, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, and Lykke Li are all scheduled to play during the fest's three days of music, California sunshine, and wacky art installations.
Feeling the chill: Hauschka's 'Snowflakes' tugs and putters
HAUSCHKA
Snowflakes and Carwrecks
(Fat Cat)
By Brandon Bussolini
Sometimes, a listener can correctly infer a lot from an album’s artwork. The cover of Snowflakes and Carwrecks, the follow-up EP to last year’s full-length Ferndorf (130701), maintains a Bauhaus-meets-art deco style, but substitutes a winter scene for the sunset and bather that graced the LP. Taking descriptions of Ferndorf at face value risked overheated nostalgia - the album’s inspiration was, after all, composer Volker Bertelmann’s upbringing in rural Germany.
Actually listening to it was something else altogether: these compositions for prepared piano and chamber orchestra ride the minimalist pulse of non-suck Philip Glass minimalism with worthy little melodies that aspire to the repetitive potency of Erik Satie’s Vexations or the Buddha Machine. Neither snobby or pandering, the album was the sort that’s easy to imagine, but hard to find.
Accordingly, it’s the sort of album that’s easier to praise than make time for. I play it during shifts at a café, and as noncontroversial background music I can say it’s nonpareil, but also the sort of music that feels vulgar next to a decent amount of movement and exertion. “Heimat,” the full-length's high point of contemplativeness, sounds best suited for playing at extremely low volume in a sad but dignified brasserie.
Give a little love and get a flamboyant and fabulous evening of cabaret-style entertainment on the night before Valentine's Day. (Yes, lonely people, I'm especially talking to you -- it's cheer up time.) The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation is holding an all-star benefit performance Monday evening bursting with cabaret, Broadway, and silver screen stars. The proceeds from "All You Need Is Love", which is hosted by the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, will go to local non-profits like Sunburst Projects, which provides social and emotional support for families affected by AIDS. Which means your laughter and delight will be totally guilt-free as well.
Sonic Reducer Overage: Social Distortion, SF Bluegrass Festival, Eagles of Death Metal, Chinese NY dance party, and more
Wanna see my 'stache: Eagles of Death Metal's "Solid Gold."
Confucius may not have approved of 1015's big ole Chinese NY beat-down - but, hey, he never really knew how to par-tay. Here's more fun schtuff that shoulda, coulda, but didn't make it to print.
Delta Spirit
Northern soul and indie rock - just the combo for the San Diego unit. With Other Lives and Dawes. Wed/4, 8:30 p.m. doors, $12. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.
Origami Ghosts
Raul Sanchez hosts the contemplative Seattle indie-rockers at his monthly semi-acoustic Penny Arcade showcase. With Eyes, Il Gato, and Floating Robot Familiar. Wed/4, 8 p.m., $7. Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St., SF. (415) 647-2888.
'Hold On': Marianne Faithfull's most recent cover comp is worth the dig
MARIANNE FAITHFULL
Easy Come, Easy Go
(Naïve/ Love Da)
By Todd Lavoie
As gifted a songwriter as she has proven herself over the years, Marianne Faithfull has always been a flawless interpreter of other people's compositions. Singing cover material, after all, was how the pop icon started out, upon being prodded into a musical career in 1964 by Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham.
Her first single, "As Tears Go By" was a Jagger/Richards composition - the equally famous Rolling Stones version wouldn't appear for another year. Back then, Faithfull had a delicate, songbird-like voice, and much of her mid-'60s material consisted of lilting, swaying string-laden treatments of other songwriters' material: Jackie DeShannon's "Come and Stay With Me," The Beatles' "Yesterday," Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "If I Never Get to Love You," for example.
By the time of the release of her 1969 single "Sister Morphine" - co-written with Jagger and Richards, and once again preceding the Rolling Stones version - she had begun to show the depths of her songwriting abilities, but ultimately most listeners would probably consider her first and foremost as an unimpeachable interpreter, a modern equivalent of the jazz singers of the '30s and '40s who would tackle whatever songs caught their ear.
"On paper it wouldn't really seem like these two bands, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and Vivian Girls, would have that much in common, but the two bands have struck up a friendship that has resulted in a 13-date tour this spring, which will end with both bands making their first appearances at Coachella. Both bands have other upcoming tour dates, Vivian Girls will open a string of dates for M. Ward, including an appearance at the Apollo, and will be playing SXSW. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti will tour in March with Canadians Duchess Says and have a couple one-off shows in L.A. with Animal Collective and Gang Gang Dance."
Theory of devolution: Ariel Pink's "Politely Declined."
I just got word about another installment of the fantastic BiBi party, happening this Saturday night at Club Six. BiBi's the number one top happening for queer folks of SWANA (Southwest Asian–Northern African) descent -- ladies, the ladies who go are fucking gorgeous -- and their admirers. DJs Emancipacion, Josh Cheon of Honey Soundsystem, and Massood wil bring their exhilarating blend of traditional and contemporary Arab, Persian, Indian, and Latin hits, because basically if it's brown, they're down. Palestinian hip-hop duo NaR will be performing, as will fave-rave dancer Cherry Gallette. Part of the proceeds will benefit Middle-East Children's alliance.
Lucky for club kids like me (who also happens to be a big queer Arab!) the party will take place at the same time as dread bass monthly Surya Dub's huge 2-year anniversary bash that I wrote about in my last Super Ego clubs column, also at Club Six in the basement and main room for a separate fee. All-night belly dancing, Palestinian hip-hop, and bowel-shaking dubstep beats? I'm all over it.
Jewish vinyl: co-author Josh Kun's book inspires new exhibit at Contemporary Jewish Museum
By Michelle Broder Van Dyke
The records highlighted in Roger Bennett and former Guardian music columnist Josh Kun's 2008 book, And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Our Vinyl (Crown, 240 pages), are delectable nuggets and kernels of history that, chronologically compiled together, tell the story of five generations of Jews in America. And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Our Vinyl - the inspiration for a new exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco - anecdotally informs the reader of a massive and swift movement from tradition to modernity, city to suburb, and poverty to affluence, through the music and album art of 12-inches rediscovered in the basement bins of thrift stores in Boca - as Bennett puts it, "the place Jewish vinyl goes to die" - and other parts of the U.S.A.
The text reflects what one might expect from a coffee-table book yet contains a wealth of information dealing with important shifts in Jewish American history, complemented by the ridiculous to awe-inspiring images that adorn more than 400 LP covers: cantorial images of beards and flowing robes of yore morph into visions of Israeli disco fever and mambo interludes at Bar Mitzvahs. Pointing to the permeability of communities and the fluidity of identity, the authors look to, for instance, a Jewish Latin craze with such gems as Bagels and Bongos (Decca, 1959) and Mazel Tov, Mis Amigos (Riverside, 1961).
It’s a good thing so many of the gents are equipped with vintage aviator goggles this year, since otherwise it would seem they’d run the risk of getting their eyes poked out—whether by parasol, peacock feather, or plunging décolletage. It’s the ninth annual Edwardian Ball -- a two-day affair that took place this past weekend -- and like most excuses to get all gussied up in San Francisco, the masses have appointed themselves with gusto. Though most of the costumes here are decidedly more Deadwood than dead and gone, more sumptuous than spooky, the spirit of patron saint Edward Gorey still wafts faintly through the proceedings like a clammy graveyard breeze. Black-and-white cutouts of Gashlycrumb Tinies adorn the walls along with cunning Paxton Gate-style dioramas of dressed-up rodent skeletons, while the Jules Verne-like “Goreyscope” offers microscopic evidence of the haunting qualities of Gorey’s curious bibliography.
A Jill Tracy accompanist
Friday Night at the Edwardian World Faire, headlining act geek-girl cello combo Rasputina sets toes to tapping with such “classics” as “Hunter’s Kiss”, “Watch TV”, and “Saline the Salt Lake Queen”, while upstairs in the fine arts gallery, fairies are being robotically squeezed to make libations (at least that’s what the sign says. Too bad January is my libation-free month, no freshly-squeezed fairy for me).
Jill Tracy (at keyboard)
Downstairs at the “fair”, much steam engine activity is on display thanks to the Kinetic Steam Works, and fabulous trinkets are for sale, mainly in the “jewelry made from sprung watch cogs, and studded leather utility belts” five-and-diamond vein.
Sonic Reducer Overage II: Edwardian Ball, Unagi, Dragging an Ox Through Water, and more
Motor-vated: Kinetic Steamworks at Coachella 2007.
Because once is never enough. More ear-teasers to tantalize...
Edwardian Ball
Break out the corsets and strap yourself in, girls. The ninth annual event - now three days strong - bids you to party like it's 1899, follow the green fairy, and partake in music, art, burlesque, circus acts, and all things Edwardian and Edward Gorey-esque. (OK, Gorey was born a bit too late, but you get the general drift of the proceedings.) With Rasputina, Abney Park, Kinetic Steamworks, Rosin Coven, Vau de Vire Society, Jill Tracy, Cirque Berzerk, Agent Ribbons, and more. Fri/23-Sun/25, call for times, $25-$35. Regency Center, 1290 Sutter, SF. (415) 435-7527.
Thunderheist
The Toronto electro-funk party-starters gave a lil' impromptu show in London in December (above). Tonight they do it the legal way, courtesy of Blasthaus. Next up: a new album on Big Dada, coming March 31. Fri/23, 9 p.m., $10. 103 Harriet, SF.
Unagi
The slippery DJ brings the knowledge - "real hip-hop on real records all night long" - to his regular event, 442 Fridays, with DJ Animal. Fri/23, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $5 after 10 p.m. Madrone Lounge, 500 Divisadero, SF. (415) 241-0202.
Super Ego: Alien techno chickens go bang, with hacksaws
By Marke B.
It's time for you weekend nightlife forecast, but first this update from that horribly "hip" new Domino's BBQ chicken pizza campaign:
Viral! Compare that, of course, with SF's very own dirty techno birdie, Claude VonStroke -- and is anyone else 100 blog centuries old like me, and remembers that whole Burger King "subservient chicken" viral campaign where you could tell the guy in the chicken suit what to do? From like 2k3? OH MY GOD IT'S STILL HAPPENING!!!
I'll never understand why we always make cute what we want to eat. Except puppies. Even kitties are cheezburger on the Internetz.
But let's put away childish things, shall we, and dig into some of this weekend's better affairs:
--------------
TONITE! THU/22
THE NOISE
New local promotion juggernaut Hacksaw Entertainment launches with a grab-yr-cha-chas blast at 103 Harriet -- featuring, of course, my laptop life-love Lazer Sword bringing the future bass soundz, plus the very talented Ana Sia who'll bring some of her techno-burner pedigree to the tables, and SF mashup psyphy duo Hookerz and Blow, who blow the hooker-roof off live .... High-tail it to the H&B MySpace page and check out "Blow the Whistler" and it's Too $hort meets Claude VonStroke (again with him!) for some pure traffic jam genius.
Beloved DJ Andrew Phelan and the rest of the chunky beats Prismatic crew -- the promos behind the hyperinventive Tonal color-coordinated loft parties -- bring in the big names for their AlphaBeats party, subtitled A is for Alien (I eagerly await B is for BetaMax). I would scoff a little at the umpteenth appearance of 90s god Doc Martin, but his set at LoveFest this summer was out of hand with its perfect blend of old school house numbers and new school choons. Doc's never really been known for his subtlety on the tables (it's all about bangin' hard into the cosmos), but he's definitely evolved stylistically as a major dance artist. BONUS: Sunshine Jones, of fave raves Dubtribe Sound System, will be on hand to spread it. DOUBLE BONUS: dress as an alien and get a free mix .... do it now!
Sonic Reducer Overage: Metronomy, Bored Stiff, Extra Action, and so much more
Color blogged: Metronomy's "Radio Ladio."
Hey, get out! Here are a few more shows that make it worth missing - or recording - the new episodes of Lost and Battlestar Galactica.
Tippy Canoe
Let the uke revolution carry on - thanks to strummer stunners Tippy Canoe of Oakland and Anna Ash of Ann Arbor, Mich. With Antonetteg. Wed/21, 9 p.m., $6. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.
Metronomy
Creepy, conceptual electronic pop, anyone? The UK combo brings out the breakbot - just for fun - in honor of Popscene. With the Mae Shi. Thurs/22, 10 p.m., $12. Popscene, 330 Ritch, SF. (415) 902-3125.
I knew it. I knew it! This weekend is the first holiday weekend I'm gonna be in town for the past year -- and I'm totally gonna blow my wad early and end up watching old episodes of Mad Men in bed, dutifully stoned. Why? Because Thursday night sees the launch of Daly City Records and ArtNowSF's ' new monthly Bass Camp at 111 Minna. And their bringing in all the big Montreal names in lazer bass, damn. I'm so lazer there.
All that, PLUS Robot Koch and Bass Science -- with way-too-cute residents Mochipet, Epcot, Quitter, Salva, and MC Buddy LeRoy. It'll be the blaps, y'all ...
Sonic Reducer Overage: Meat Puppets, Devil Makes Three, Jeremy Pelt, and Mo!
Alternate Nation statesmen: Meat Puppets.
Get out, SF - get out... and check out the music pouring the streets of Grog City.
Slough Feg and Hatchet
His majesty meets the teen metallists, thanks to Lucifer's Hammer. With Passive Aggressive. Wed/14, 9 p.m., $7. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. (415) 552-7788.
Devil Makes Three
Devil lovers gathered round for the band's set at Treasure Island music fest. Thurs/15, 6 p.m., free. Amoeba Music, 2455 Telegraph, Berk. (510) 549-1125.
July Skies evokes lazy days, 'fractured memories of the 1970s'
JULY SKIES
The Weather Clock
(Make Mine Music)
By Todd Lavoie
Oh, 2008 - you've been too kind! Well, musically speaking, anyhow - the year left a bit to be desired in some other regards, I suppose, but it certainly did its best to compensate by unleashing a wild torrent of CD releases ready to scratch away at all of our musical itches.
Now that we're pinning up the new calendar and reflecting on the past year, I thought this might be the perfect moment to throw some superlatives behind one 2008 release in particular, which, sadly, remained largely off the collective radar of the American listening public: July Skies' sumptuously iridescent ambient-pop stunner The Weather Clock.
Released this past summer in Britain, the disc never received a thorough distribution stateside. It might require a little work to track this one down, but such efforts will be greatly rewarded. Wistfully melancholic and dreamy, it's tailor-made for a cup of tea, a ruminating mood, and your best pair of headphones.
Sonic Reducer Overage: Magic Bullets, LoCura, White Cloud, Chuchito Valdes, and more
Mind that One Track Mind: Egyptian Lover's "Freak-A-Holic."
San Francisco stirs itself, shakes its shaggy head, and leaves home. Here are a few more reasons.
Leopold and His Fiction
The many moods of the SF indie-folk-rock combo turn toward...celebration with the unveiling of their new full-length Ain't No Surprise. Electric! With the Healing Curse and Candy Apple. Fri/9, 9:30 p.m., $6. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.
LoCura
Living la vida LoCura? That means an eye-opening blend of flamenco, rumba, reggae, and hip-hop complete with bellydane and plenty of Animas. Fri/9, 9 p.m., $15. Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell, SF. (415) 885-0750.
Ragas to remember: Robbie Basho's 'Bonn 1st Supreme'
ROBBIE BASHO
Bonn Ist Supreme
(Bo Weavil)
By Max Goldberg
Steel-string master Jack Rose emphasizes the gravity of Robbie Basho's playing in a brief note introducing this second-generation recording of a late Basho performance: "For me, 12-string guitar begins and ends with Blind Willie McTell and Robbie Basho."
Basho was loosely affiliated with the "American Primitive" movement centering around John Fahey's Takoma label, but from early on he displayed a unique voraciousness for cross-cultural transfusions. Besides adapting his last name from the Japanese haiku poet, his extended "ragas" were as likely to veer into Moorish and Persian terrain as the typical Indian-blues hybrid.
Bonn Ist Supreme is a generous helping of Basho's searching guitar spirals, and while 66 minutes worth of his immersed playing may be too much for one sitting, dipping in piece by piece makes for lovely swimming.
In spite of coming in the midst of Basho's much-derided Windham Hill period, the 1980 concert shows the guitarist still hard at work at compositions he wrote 15 years earlier. Dewy epics like "Rocky Mountain Raga," "The Girl and the Lotus," and "California Raga" are all given energetic run-throughs, and though Basho's occasional baritone wails make for an easy mark, they're also a powerful indicator of the guitarist's unembarrassed zeal.
Adventures! Bodily injury! No sleep! Hawnay Troof/Vice Cooler's 10 patience-testers of '08
Under pressure: Vice Cooler in repose. Photo by Manjari Doxey.
We saved the worst for last. Another in a series of year-end picks from Bay Area musicians, writers, scene-makers, and music lovers. Here's the rest of Hawnay Troof/Vice Cooler's best (or worst) of 2008; for more, go here. HAWNAY TROOF/VICE COOLER'S TOP 10 SHITTIEST TOUR HAPPENINGS IN 2008
1. The police stole my rental car.
On the third to last day of my first US leg we were cruising through eastern Arizona when a policeman pulled us over. He thought we had drugs and illegally searched the car. After not finding anything he was bummed. My friend Rory Rabut was driving, and when the officer looked up his license he found out that Rabut had a small parking ticket that hadn't been paid yet. He used this as a basis for seizing our vehicle.
Theremin cat, faux GN'R, guit-playing Lil Wayne: Vice Cooler's 10 things of '08
Take me down to the paradise kitty: gotta love that theremin cat.
Another in a series of year-end picks from Bay Area musicians, writers, scene-makers, and music lovers. Here's more of Hawnay Troof/Vice Cooler's best of 2008; for the first part of his best-of list, go here.
Zomes, Liquid Liquid, Silver Apples: Mi Ami picks the rest of the best of 2008
Another in a series of year-end picks from Bay Area musicians, writers, scene-makers, and music lovers. Here's the rest of Mi Ami's best of 2008; for more of their selections, go here.
MORE 2008 PICKS FROM MI AMI'S DANIEL MARTIN-MCCORMICK AND DAMON PALERMO
- Omar-S, "Psychotic Photosynthesis" (both the original and beatless versions) (FXHE)
- Rhythm Based Lovers, "Boogie Vision"/"Snow Drift" 7-inch (Future Times)
- Group Inerane, Guitars from Agadez (Sublime Frequencies)
- Zomes, Zomes (Holy Mountain)
- Kyle Hall, Worx of Art EP 1 (Wild Oats)
- Liquid Liquid, Liquid Liquid (Grand Royal)
- Theo Parrish, Sound Sculptures Volume 1 (Sound Signature)
- Silver Apples, Selections from the Early Sessions (ChickenCoop Recordings)
- Droids, Star Peace (Barclay)
- La Düsseldorf, Viva (Water)
- Methusalem, Journey into the Unknown (Ariola)
Stoltz, Citadelle, Agent Ribbons make Neil Martinson smile: more picks from '2008
The up side: Agent Ribbons.
Another in a series of year-end picks from Bay Area musicians, writers, scene-makers, and music lovers.
SMILE'S NEIL MARTINSON'S TOP 10
- Citadelle at the Knockout, Aug. 4
- Robert Forster at Great American Music Hall, Sept. 10
- Peter Hammill at Great American Music Hall, Sept. 30
- Kelley Stoltz, Circular Sounds (Sub Pop)
- The Moon Upstairs, Guarding the Golden Apple (Gifted Children)
- Various artists, Daisies soundtrack (Finders Keepers)
- Bart Davenport, Palaces (Antenna Farm)
- Lavender Diamond, www.myspace.com/lavenderdiamond
- Agent Ribbons, www.myspace.com/agentribbons
- Willow Willow, www.myspace.com/willowwillow
Fresh and Onlys and Sonny Smith's 'Fine and Good' picks for '08
Ox-y contained: Dragging an Ox Through Water.
Another in a series of year-end picks from Bay Area musicians, writers, scene-makers, and music lovers. SONNY SMITH'S "FINE AND GOOD" LIST
- The Dry Spells
- The Fresh and Onlys
- Nodzzz
- Brilliant Colors
- Thee Oh Sees
- Sic Alps
- The Sandwitches
- Jeffrey Lewis
- Dragging an Ox Through Water
Guns N' 'Hits' N' the free market: Yellow Swans' Gabriel Mindel gives up last year's 'Kill Yr Idols' moments
Caffeine-d: Sonic Youth's Hits Are for Squares (Starbucks Entertainment)
Another in a series of year-end picks from Bay Area musicians, writers, scene-makers, and music lovers.
YELLOW SWANS' GABRIEL MINDEL'S TOP TEN KILL-YR-IDOLS MOMENTS OF 2008
1. Sonic Youth's "Hits Are for Starbucks"
Crap, you guys — really?
2. Obama's cabinet
Ah, hope and change, I hardly knew you ...
3. Guns N' Roses, Chinese Democracy (Interscope)
What about this isn't beating a dead horse?
4. Scarlett Johansson, Anywhere I Lay My Head (Atco)
I think my crush has worn off.
5. Ian Curtis' gravestone gets stolen
6. The "free market"
Too late, capitalism.
7. Heath Ledger.
8. MIA "retires"
I hope she's better at this than Jay-Z.
9. Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Steven Spielberg, US)
10. The USAISAMONSTER announce their breakup
This is probably only a big deal to about 50 people, but it really does bum me out.
'Girlfriend,' Special Disco, Danzig: Michael Harkin's tops for 2008
Doing it better: Chromatics.
Another in a series of year-end picks from Bay Area musicians, writers, scene-makers, and music lovers.
MICHAEL HARKIN'S TOP 10
- Nobunny, "I Am a Girlfriend"
If the original Ramones replaced Tommy with a drum machine, it might've sounded as amazing as this track from Love Visions (1-2-3-4 Go!).
- Danzig at the Warfield
"Mother"... kicking a pizza box out of a roadie's grasp ... Glenn still rules.
- Nodzzz, Nodzzz mini-LP (What's Your Rupture?)
Fantastic, distortion-free guitar pop.
- Special Disco Version at Mighty
God bless James Murphy and Pat Mahoney for their brilliant edits and many mirrorballs.
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