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.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Sir Richard Bishop, Hospitals, David Dondero, Hightower, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Text and photos by Ariel Soto

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.

Continue reading "Pics: Pink Martini brings it with SF Symphony" »

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Posted by SFBG at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Marke B

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

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Posted by SFBG at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

SFBG Have you seen the scene evolve at all?

Continue reading "SCENE: Jah Warrior Shelter Hi Fi lights up" »

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Posted by SFBG at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

By Michael Krimper

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.

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Posted by SFBG at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage I: Polly, Poirier, Tomine, Ade, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Michael Krimper

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!

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Posted by Marke B. at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bat For Lashes - "Pearl's Dream"

By Kimberly Chun

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.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Bat for Lashes, Datarock, Limp Wrist, Constantines, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Johnny Ray Huston

In addition to making music, Christopher Willits is a guiding force behind the art and experimental music site Overlap (www.overlap.org). In conjunction with Overlap's next event, I caught up with him by e-mail.

SFBG What was it like to collaborate with Ryuichi Sakamoto on Ocean Fire (12k, 2008)?

Christopher Willits It was surreal. We fell into an oceanic trance, and a bunch of music suddenly emerged. Then a Godzilla-like sea monster morphed out of his piano and he vaporized it with his max patch.

SFBG You've also worked with Brad Laner of Medicine. Are you an admirer of that (ahead-of-its-time) band?

CW Medicine [had] a mind-splittingly original sound — it was a soundtrack to many high school adventures. Now it's an absolute joy to be friends with Mr. Laner. Together we are the varsity band members (guitar I and II) of the North Valley Subconscious Orchestra. We're aiming for nationals next year.

SFBG What do you like about the Bay Area's close proximity to the ocean?

CW The smell of fresh wind, and dreams of flying great white sharks.

SFBG I saw a fave list of yours once that had Magma, the Carpenters' "Close to You" and Sun Ra's Lanquidity on it. Who is inspiring or obsessing you at present?

CW That is a timeless list — can I say them again? Let's add Morton Subotnick, Wild Bull (www.merlindarts.com), all Eliane Radigue, all Elvin Jones, John Coltrane, and that band that plays at El Rio on Sunday night.

SFBG You recently toured in China, including a performance with images on ice. What did you discover?

CW I discovered a resilient community of artists and experimental musicians pushing against the grain (and firewall) of this mammoth country or force. They understand my history and what I'm doing — another win for Chinese bootlegs? I also found some of the best food ever: huajiao (flower pepper) with asparagus! But hold the boiled big brains. Those I'm definitely not into.

LISTEN/VISION 06 With Christopher Willits, Taylor Deupree, and Classical Revolution. Sun/10, 8 p.m., $10. Café Du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016. www.overlap.org.

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Posted by SFBG at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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

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Posted by SFBG at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Marke B.

Makin' pleasure ...

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

Bonus: Turntables on the Hudson 10-year party:

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Posted by SFBG at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Photos and text by Ariel Soto

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.

Continue reading "Pics: Karamo Susso hypnotizes Red Poppy Art House" »

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Posted by SFBG at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Kimberly Chun

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.

Continue reading "Ballad of Marianne Dissard" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Marke B.

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.

Continue reading "Nite Trax: Kush Arora's 'Dread Bass Chronicles'" »

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Posted by SFBG at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Vivian Girls, Ghost, Spinal Tap, How to Destroy the Universe, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 06:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Johnny Ray Huston

Don Cherry with Latif Khan

Don Cherry/Latif Khan

(Heavenly Sweetness, 2009)

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.

Don Cherry in Bombay

Continue reading "Snap Sounds: Don Cherry with Latif Khan" »

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Posted by SFBG at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Johnny Ray Huston

Lô Borges
Lô Borges and Nuvem Cigana
(EMI Brasil)

It took me too long to realize all my favorite tracks on 1972's classic Clube de Esquina are written by Lô. The cover of Lô's debut album is perfection, and I am completely in love with Nuvem Cigana's "A força do vento," "Uma canção," "Viver viver," and O vento não me levou."

What do you know about Lô? I'd love to read more perspectives about him and his music. He releases recordings at roughly the same pace as Scott Walker. That alone is enough to intrigue me in an era of talking loud and saying nothing, but the tunes are terrific and his voice has a true sweetness to it.

Lô Borges, Clube da Esquina, "Ao Vivo"

Continue reading "Snap Sounds: Lô Borges" »

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Posted by SFBG at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Brit, Devendra, Japanther, Fleet Foxes, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Text and photos by Ariel Soto

Habib Koite and his band Bamada filled Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley with a myriad of rythms and beats Friday, April 3. Habib started the show with a mellow set of almost lullaby-esqe pieces, using his luscious voice and beautiful guitar playing to entrance his audience.

Continue reading "Pics: Habib Koite and Bamada have 'em dancing in aisles" »

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Posted by SFBG at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "SXSW: Quick fixes with Flower Travellin' Band, Fleet Foxes' J. Tillman, Garotas Suecas, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Marke B.

Rupture goes there

"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.

Tormenta Tropical
w/ DJ/rupture
Sat/14, 10pm, $10
Elbo Room
647 Valencia, SF
www.myspace.com/bersadiscos

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Posted by SFBG at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "Lush 'n' loopy: Juana Molina to blow out her sound with a full band in SF" »

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Posted by SFBG at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "Does Coachella or Bonnaroo have the better lineup?" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

By Marke B.

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.

BiBi
Sat/7, 9pm-afterhours, $10/$15
Club Six
60 Sixth St., SF.
www.clubsix1.com
www.myspace.com/bibisf

Read more SFBG Noise blog clubs coverage here and more Super Ego clubs columns here.

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Posted by Marke B. at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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).

Continue reading "Jewish vinyl: co-author Josh Kun's book inspires new exhibit at Contemporary Jewish Museum" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Magic Bullets, LoCura, White Cloud, Chuchito Valdes, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AMP FIDDLER WITH SLY & ROBBIE
Inspiration Information
(Strut)

By Todd Lavoie

It's a meet-up that, admittedly, came as a bit of a surprise, but ultimately makes a world of sense: Detroit retro-futurist funkmeister Joseph "Amp" Fiddler has joined forces with collaboration-loving riddim-machine Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare (better known as Sly and Robbie) for an album's worth of smooth, spaced-out soul and gravy-thick reggae rhythms.

Bestowed with the quite-appropriate moniker Inspiration Information - the title surely a nod to the great fellow traveler of righteous grooves, Shuggie Otis, whose 1974 album of the same name has seen its influence extended further with every passing year - the disc is the first in what is slated to be a series of releases from the consummate tastemakers at Strut Records built around an intriguing concept.

The idea? Take a few musicians who have never worked together before, stick them in the studio on a tight schedule, and see what happens - it's a strategy that yielded fascinating results for the Dutch label Konkurrent, whose "In The Fishtank" series drummed up tasty pairings from Tortoise/the Ex and Low/Dirty Three, for example. I'm dead curious to hear what Strut comes up with next - how about a Tussle/ESG tête-à-tête, folks? - but for now, I'm more than content to float and bob along with the rumbling, churning head-music of this first installment.

Continue reading "Amp Fiddler lays down the 'inspiration' with Sly and Robbie" »

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Posted by SFBG at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Old-school musical mash-ups - hold the torture: DeLeon.

By Michelle Broder Van Dyke

Eight days of fun packed into one night: two bands, DJs, latkes, He’Brew beer tastings, halvah, Hanukkah survival kits, and a menorah-lighting ceremony - this surely surpasses any party Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen are planning to throw this holiday season.

New York band DeLeon reinterprets pre-Spanish Inquisition Sephardic folk melodies sung in Ladino (a Judeo-Spanish language), Hebrew, and English into postmodern rock compositions. Fusing Spanish and Middle Eastern percussion and electronic rhythms along with a mixture of each aforementioned language, DeLeon's songs commandeer an array of emotions, ranging from lovelorn and woeful to lighthearted and gleeful, while reclaiming an ancient folk tradition for a modern audience.

Continue reading "Jews rock out for Hanukkah as if the Spanish Inquisition never happened" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's an interview with new-cumbia whizzes Bersa Discos -- on the eve of their party Tormenta Tropical's first anniversary this Friday at the The Elbo Room -- as published in this week's Scene: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour magazine, on stands inside the Guardian...

DJ oro11 and Disco Shawn. Photo by Conor Collins.

"The reception to our sound has been amazing here," says new-style cumbia pioneer DJ Oro11 — who, along with partner DJ Disco Shawn, heads the Bersa Discos label (www.myspace.com/bersadiscos) and puts on the packed Tormenta Tropical monthlies at Elbo Room. "A place like the Bay Area is a perfect spot for new cumbia sounds to take hold. People here are always looking for new music, plus there's obviously a huge Latino population. A lot of younger Latinos who grew up hearing cumbia also listened to hip-hop and electronic music. They're really into what we're doing."

Cumbia, the irresistible traditional accordion-driven dance music of Argentina, has undergone a mutation of sorts, opening up to include electronic augmentation, hip-hop beats, and even punk styles. The new iteration has taken hold in clubs like the cutting-edge Zizek, in Buenos Aires, where Oro11 was living and performing when Disco Shawn sought him out in 2006 for a taste of the electro-cumbia sound. The two returned to San Francisco, their home base, to form the Bersa Discos label as a kind of sonic nexus. "DJs and producers were selling burned CDs and swapping MP3s, but nothing was very organized at the time," says Disco Shawn. "We just wanted to get some of these amazing tracks pressed up on vinyl and circulated a little more officially."

Bersa Discos is now on its fourth release, titled, appropriately, Bersa #4 and featuring Afro-Colombian-tinged tracks by Brooklyn's Uproot Andy and deeper sounds from the Netherlands' Sonido del Principe. And the Tormenta Tropical party has seen legends like DJ/Rupture, South Rakkas Crew, Buraka Som Sistema, Toy Selectah, and even the Zizek folks burn up the stage. Shawn says to keep a 2k9 ear out for DJ Panik's Texan "crunk cumbia." Meanwhile, UK "bashment" crew the Heatwave hop in Dec. 19 to enliven the party's first anniversary.

SFBG What originally attracted you to the new cumbia style?

Continue reading "Scene: Bersa Discos hits the bueno" »

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Posted by Marke B. at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This in from SFJAZZ's people (a total aside: I'm looking forward to Brad Mehldau, Jenny Scheinman, pictured below, as well as Seun Kuti, pictured above. And you know Allen Toussaint and Tinariwen are going to be awesome):

"Randall Kline, the Executive Artistic Director of SFJAZZ - the leading non-profit jazz organization on the West Coast and the presenter of the San Francisco Jazz Festival today announced the complete artist lineup for the 10th Anniversary SFJAZZ Spring Season. The unique and spectacular four-month-long concert series begins on March 6 and continues through June 21. The season will present some of the most illustrious names in jazz, world, and related music including McCoy Tyner, Branford Marsalis, Madeleine Peyroux, Bill Frisell’s Disfarmer Project, Ahmad Jamal, Jenny Scheinman, John Scofield and the Piety Street Band, Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider, Tinariwen, Chris Potter Underground, Will Bernard, Mariza, CéU, Mingus Dynasty with John Handy, Allen Toussaint, Karrin Allyson, Idan Raichel, Michael Feinstein: the Sinatra Project, Brad Mehldau, Richard Bona and Lionel Loueke, Roy Hargrove, James Carter, Kenny Burrell, Michael Wolff, Hiromi’s Sonicbloom, and many others.

“'For 26 years, SFJAZZ has been guided by a simple principle: we absolutely love music—and we want to present it in the best possible context for all those who share our passion,' said Kline. 'In 2000, we took a huge step forward in that mission by launching the SFJAZZ Spring Season, marking our expansion into a year-round concert presenting organization. Over the last 10 years, the Spring Season has grown exponentially. This year we will present nearly 40 concerts over four months, purposefully matching each artist with the ideal venue for a high-quality listening experience. Our aim is to reflect the tighter, more culturally close-knit nature of today’s world, and the positively open-minded, "multi-culti" city that we call home - San Francisco.'

Continue reading "SFJAZZ announces the lineup of its 10th Anniversary Spring Season" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This in from Special Lord B - and hurry it's tonight:

"CLUB INTERNATIONALE!!! Thursday, Dec. 11.

"Hear obscure pop, psych, disco, and funk from Turkey, Italy, Thailand, India, Japan, Germany, France Africa, and more!

"Guest DJ LOACHFILET, aka, Bobby Adams (Mummers, Caroliner, Honeywell)

Continue reading "Global obscuro-a-go-go: Club Internationale goes off tonight" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Built like a brick house: Impossible Shapes' "Let the People Build What They Will."

O, SF - as if you could ever stop rolling out the intriguing jamz. Here are a few more musical offerings that didn't make it into print.

LOS CENZONTLES
"The Mockingbirds" do it up in the Bay again - with Los Lobos' David Hidalgo - after flying through for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Wed/12, 8 and 10 p.m., $20-$30. Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero W., Oakl. (510) 238-9200.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Usher, Tune-yards, Impossible Shapes, Weasel Walter, Nodzzz, Sean Smith, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Michelle Broder Van Dyke

Like the pitter-patter of raindrops heard above, as they strike the roof, and below, as they fall into puddles outside of the comfortable protection of your apartment, on a typical gray day in San Francisco, Toumani Diabaté’s kora playing on his February release, The Mandé Variations (Nonesuch), creeps and seeps inside, infecting you with its melancholy minor key and uneven intervals while surrounding you with the cozy pleasure of your insulated bedroom and warm flannel sheets.

The kora is a 21-string West African instrument often characterized as what the offspring of a harp and lute might look like. But this depiction dismisses detailing much of the magic and charm of the instrument, which is perhaps beyond description and can be best felt in listening to the mesmerizing stories the instrument tells.

The kora is built from a large calabash, cut in half and covered with cow skin forming a resonator, and it has a notched bridge like a lute. Diabaté uses one thumb to pluck the bassline, while the other plays the core melody, and the two forefingers are for improvisation. The remaining fingers are used to hold the sticks on either side of the strings and to secure the instrument.

Continue reading "Let Toumani Diabaté's kora music reign" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Brandon Bussolini

Brazilian Girls just released an album named for a city that they’ll be leaving for a little bit. They used to tour a lot, but now vocalist Sabina Sciubba, keyboard player Didi Gutman, and drummer Aaron Johnston are leaving New York City to spend time elsewhere. This makes sense since Brazilian Girls’ music has no single place of origin or definite direction. Their new album, like its predecessors, sits across several different styles and changes from minute to minute.

It can be a fun game to chase down the kinds of music Brazilian Girls incorporate into their own, but the sound itself has very little to do with tradition or context - it’s synthetic, and at its best is good enough to stop you from wondering whether what you’re listening to is world music or not - and whether there’s even anything wrong with that.

Sciubba’s voice is the band’s most distinctive element, but the songs themselves are little intelligent machines, and they work unhurriedly and with economy. The new full-length's first song, “St. Petersburg,” is where this clicks into place immediately, with its samba-techno rhythm and big triumphant chorus, where Sciubba’s typically arch delivery breaks with sophistication and becomes uncomplicatedly raw and moving. I had the opportunity to speak with Sciubba as the group began a short tour supporting New York City (Verve Forecast). Brazilian Girls play Mezzanine Saturday, Sept. 27.

SFBG: I read that after completing the album you took off for Paris. Was this a vacation, or something more permanent?

Continue reading "Multilingual beats, Obama love: Brazilian Girls move on with 'New York City'" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 05:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ARKONA
Ot Serdca K Nebu
(Napalm)

By Kat Renz

The tumultuous first 60 seconds of “Pokrovy Nebesnogo Startsa," the second track off Arkona’s fourth studio full-length, Ot Serdca K Nebu, make me proud to be Russian. Is it the war-like chants, the growling Masha “Scream” or the traditional Slavic “Volynka” bagpipes? Maybe it’s the violently pitch-shifted guitars and rapid-fire drums, followed by the sweet cacophony of Eastern European folk instruments lilting through the fusillade?

Then I remember I’m totally not Russian and feel a tad weirdly nationalistic. But for ethnomusicologists with an open mind toward the heavy or headbangers into Viking metal like Tyr, Arkona’s epic tribute to Russian ecology and pre-Christian battle gods tempers the uber-patriotic ideology of the Slavic world’s most well-known “Rodnovery” (“native faith”) metal band.

Continue reading "Russian folk metalists Arkona punish with pennywhistle" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Snared: Bad Plus smell like teen spirit in Argentina.

Yep, the fact that Sept. 11 landed on a Tuesday didn't deter many a musical artist from dropping their latest - so don't let it make you stay home. And now for a few more intriguing shows, all happening this week...

BAD PLUS
Sound familiar? Sound like "Teen Spirit" or "Tom Sawyer"? The trio feels the tuck o' the past. Wed/10, 8 and 10 p.m., $10-$16. Yoshi's SF, 1330 Fillmore, SF. (415) 655-5600.

GENERALISSIMO
The Oakland army leads a "Reeducation Demonstration" with what they describe as "high concept, high modernist broken rock," and compare to both Queens of the Stone Age and North Korea's Mass Games. Yet mommy just called it "acid rock." With Mariana Trench and Pegataur. Wed/10, 9 p.m., $6. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk St., SF. (415) 923-0923.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Bad Plus, Anthony Brown, Jennifer O'Connor, more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wild and wooly Wilco. All photos by El Fotografo Clandestino.

El Fotografo Clandestino took aim at the third and last day, Sunday, Aug. 24, of the Outside Lands music fest in Golden Gate Park, SF. Here are a few of the artists, things, and people - look for more thoughts and images in this space.

Howl: Gift of Gab of Mighty Underdogs.

Whistle bait: Andrew Bird.

Continue reading "Outside Lands day three: Jack, Wilco, Toots, fence jumpers" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

He won't back down: Tom Petty. All photos by El Fotografo Clandestino.

El Fotografo Clandestino took in the second day, Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Outside Lands music fest in Golden Gate Park, SF. Here are a few of the sights - expect more in this space.

Lupe Fiasco in your face.

The Coup keep it real.


Cake beneath the bowers.

Continue reading "Outside Lands day two: Petty, Lupe, Rupa, Coup, Tacuba, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Manu Chao go mano y mano. All photos by El Fotografo Clandestino.

El Fotografo Clandestino caught the first day, Friday, Aug. 22, of Outside Lands music fest. Here are a few images from the night - and look out for more.

Check your head.

Steel Pulse breaks open the beat as the first band Friday night at the Lands End main stage.

Continue reading "Outside Lands day one: Radiohead, Lyrics Born, and Manu Chao captured" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Vanessa Carr

With feral vocals, shattering guitar riffs, and a collection of microtonal keyboards ordered off of a Lebanese Web site, Rainbow Arabia combines Middle Eastern beats and modes with the vibrant energy of Los Angeles' experimental punk/dance scene. The result is a hypnotic neo-tribal, hipster-dub sound that falls somewhere in the vicinity of post-punk spiritualists Gang Gang Dance and These Are Powers. Rainbow Arabia plays at Cellspace on Aug. 16 before embarking on a cross-country tour with Gangi and Hecuba in October.

The band is composed of Danny and Tiffany Preston, both 36. The husband and wife duo were married for more than three years before they started playing music together and recording in their basement in early 2008. Before Rainbow Arabia, Danny played in punk-dub outfit Future Pigeon and Tiffany in Licorice Piglet.

"It's definitely tested us, being in a band together. But the great thing is that when things are going really well, you get to share it together," Tiffany told the Guardian.

Continue reading "The LA anti-scene guerrillas of Rainbow Arabia make dance mayhem with Middle Eastern guitar, microtonal keys" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pacifika
July 21, Yoshi's San Francisco

By Kevin Lee

I caught the Vancouver group Pacifika when they dropped into Yoshi's San Francisco for a relaxed, intimate set on July 21. The cozy confines and friendly crowd helped spur the improvisation-friendly band, known for their sophisticated acoustic downtempo. Peruvian-born Silvana Kane, who sung mostly in Spanish, impressed with her breathy tones and guttural inflections that have drawn comparisons to chanteuses Bebel Gilberto and Shakira. Early on, the crowd bathed in the lush warmth of "Sol" and the acoustic pop of "Sweet," where syllables took on a viscous quality, dripping out of Kane's lips.

Performing from their new CD, Asunción (Six Degrees), Pacifika kept things loose by playing off the cuff. Through the soaring "Paloma," the serene and tranquil "Chiquita," the contemplative intonations from "Más y Más," and the yearning from "Libertad," the quartet - which includes guitarist Adam Popowitz, bassist Toby Peter, and percussionist Elliot Polsky - displayed a stylish variety of musical directions and exhibited a playfulness between tracks. While balancing acoustic, classical, and electronic guitars, Popwitz still found time to shake it to the delight of the audience.

When the crowd wooed the band back onstage for an encore, Kane coyly responded, "An encore's a difficult thing to define." The band followed with the unreleased "Cruces," a vigorous and emphatic track that had the crowd nodding with pleasure. Upon its final chords, Popowitz began strumming again, while a surprised Kane took it in stride. Recalling the passing of her grandmother eight years ago (as she did on a previous track "Cuatro Hijas"), Kane launched into "Vida Lleña," a moving tribute and the highlight of the night.

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SIGUR ROS
Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
(XL)

By Ian Ferguson

Almost a decade has passed since Sigur Ros’ 1999 release Ágætis Byrjun (Fat Cat/Smekkleysa) established itself as a masterful work. Arriving after two other acclaimed albums, the band's Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (XL), sounds like its most celebratory release to date - a triumphant recording fittingly produced by a group whose name translates as “Victory Rose.”

The first track boldly opens the disc. Evoking images of a Roman military parade, four guitar chords, panned alternately across the right then left speaker, count down to youths cartwheeling and dancing in pristine white togas, singing “lalalala” in high falsetto. Picture them spreading flower petals for the approaching processional, as Sigur Ros delivers a hard-driving drum pulse and soldiers, fists beaten against shields, boots stamped in time upon the ground, march double-time. Lead vocalist Jon Thor Birgisson sings above all this -- the returning hero, chariot-borne, composed, able to silence his soldiers, or excite their enthusiasm. The sound supports him as much as a parade would its hero, home to claim his triumph.

The following track, “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur,” continues the theme, opening with an Olympic horn fanfare sample taken from faded analog tape so pale that the first track, “Gobbledigook,” stands out in brilliant contrast. The first song sounds so gloriously triumphant that it speaks more to the band’s past achievements than to the rest of the album, which establishes the timbre of its voice in the second track. Appropriate to Sigur Ros' homeland, it's a timbre of ice.

Continue reading "Sigur Ros' latest evokes ice palaces, processionals" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

GRUPO FANTASMA
Sonidos Gold
(Aire Sol/ High Wire Music)

By Todd Lavoie

Freshly sparkled with Prince's glittering purple seal of approval, Austin's tireless Latin funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma pushes onward with their crowd-amassing trajectory on Sonidos Gold, a floor-burning 12-track collection of hip-shakers and provocative grooves.

Having recently enjoyed a much-deserved surge of international exposure - thanks largely to Prince's ringing endorsement and the high-profile supporting-band gigs that followed - the 10-member soul machine arrives more confident than ever on this, their fourth album. The disc might also be the most faithful in capturing the joyous, body-liberating ebullience of the band's live performances. (And while we're on the subject of their shows: You must see them, case closed. I caught Grupo with a former Austinite friend at Slim's here back in February, and they were complete and utter sweat-soaking bliss.)

Sonidos Gold exudes plenty of room-filling warmth, and guitarist Adrian Quesada's production plunks the listener directly on the dancefloor, right in the sweet spot between the hot-pepper horn section and the mighty rumble of congas and timbales. While I'm sure these folks picked up some tricks from Prince on the road, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe the Purple One himself might be taking a few notes as well…

Continue reading "Grupo Fantasma sounds gold to us" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Rock 'n' roll clowning with Metalocalypse's Dethklok. Happy. Birthday.

Ye gads - too much as usual, especially on this very bizzy Saturday, June 7. Here are more worthies that unfortunately didn't make it to print - but made it, happily, here.

DETHKLOK
They started a joke that set a whole world of ex- and present metal heads laughing. TV yuk phenom-turned-metal phenom, Dethklok of Adult Swim’s Metalocalpyse sets Skwisgaar Skwigelf and Pickles the Drummer loose on an unsuspecting Bay Area - The Dethalbum in hand. Be sure to also catch hard-luck, yet still raging opening band Soilent Green. Thurs/June 5, 8 p.m., $26.50. Fillmore, 1805 Geary, SF. (415) 346-6000.

JOAN OF ARC
The martyred girl hero takes her latest form - as the ambitious Chicago rockers, returning with a new album, Boo!Human (Polyvinyl). Math rock? Post-punk post-structuralism? Ask Cap’n Jazz - or better, Tim Kinsella. Thurs/5, 8 p.m., $12. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. (415) 861-2011.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: DJ Spooky, Dethklok, Moby, Joan of Arc, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANDRES SUBERCASEAUX
Aqui
(Triple Down)

By Todd Lavoie

What a journey. Chilean post-rock/post-electronica composer Andrés Subercaseaux has just released the mind-warping sonic travelogue, Aqui (Triple Down), and I must say, this is one of the more filmic pieces of music I've heard in a while.

I realize that the "soundtrack for a nonexistent film" device has blown up into its own genre by this point, but Subercaseaux deserves to be added to the list. By turns funky and uplifting, nervy, and unsettling - and occasionally poignant and quietly evocative - Aqui doesn't so much create a single "here," as the title suggests, but rather an entire topography of different "here"'s. The range here is quite impressive, employing everything from jittery electronica to languid post-rock to freewheeling Tropicalia excursions, and our man handled most of the instrumental responsibilities himself. Anyone who can reference artists as diverse as Tortoise, Stereolab, Os Mutantes, and Brian Eno without resorting to mere pastiche gets big thumbs-up from me.

Aqui starts off with the bubbling, squeaking mood piece "Amazonas," a soothing instrumental that wouldn't feel entirely out of place on Brian Eno's 1975 ambient-pop masterpiece Another Green World (EG/Astralwerks/Virgin). The insertion of what sounds like thumb pianos plucking away in romping loops gives the opener a more playful edge over anything on the Eno album, however. Poke your ears between the track's bird squawks and the cricket chirps, and the soft glow of single, sustained keyboard notes hovers mid-air.

Continue reading "Andrés Subercaseaux's sublime dispatches: from 'Aqui' to eternity" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this week's Super Ego clubs column, I finally take on the banger scene's hardcore electro glitz riot on the city's dance floors. The sound and style originated in France, mostly, and is helping to resuscitate the much-maligned term "euro" -- commonly associated with over-caffeinated, hyper-sugary tunes that fitted really awful embroidered jeans and Gucci knockoff sunglasses on a couple generations of appletini swillers.

I'm much more into the new euro, needless to say, and in Paris at least, bangers are associated with a dance craze, tecktonik (also spelled tektonik). Here's what it looks like, to the wonderfully banged-up tune of fabulous French rapstress-chanteuse Yelle's "A Cause de Garcons." (Her show here at the Independent last month was off the hook, btw, and she featured a sequined pink Stephen Sprouse-like dress reading "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Fierceness!)

Goofy, but sweetly energetic. The dance in fact originally started in the early-mid 2000s, in Parisian megaclub Metropolis, where it was performed to a much harder sound, a direct descendant of rave music: much more trancey and happy hardcore. (It's said the term "tecktonik" actually refers to the clash of hardcore dance styles coming in from Belgium and the Netherlands then, crashing into each other like techtonic plates.)

The two somewhat over-it-looking white dancers in the Yelle video above are famous lookalike tektoniquistes VaVan and TreAxy -- household names in France. Here's a video of them performing an early version of the dance, called "jumpstyle" (some still prefer to call it that, others use the name to refer to the music) and done to a "more traditional" musical style -- you can really see the liquid rave-dance origins here, and yeah, it looks more than a tad ridiculous, but why not?

There's a reason for the term "jumpstyle." Also happening at the time -- around 2005ish, as with all underground phenomena the timing is fuzzy -- and in the same clubs, but to more amped-up happy hardcore, was a revival of the Melbourne Shuffle, an old rave dance from the early '90s that really only looks good when you do it in extraordinarily baggy pants. The "shufflers" often squared off with, or at least disassociated themselves from, the tight-pantsed "jumpers." (In my head, they're like the Jets and the Sharks.) Also, despite its name, "jumping" is much more about the upper body and random skips, whereas "shuffling" is all about lower glide. Here's the Melbourne Shuffle:

So, OK, what does any of this have to do with Justice, and the Ed Banger Records scene and sound?

Continue reading "Yo, bangerz: Rave it tecktonik" »

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Posted by Marke B. at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

ABDEL HADI HALO AND THE EL GUSTO ORCHESTRA OF ALGIERS
Abdel Hadi Halo and the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers
(Honest Jon’s)

By Erik Morse

The style and history of chaabi may be recognizable to few if any Westerners. But the examples performed on Abdel Hadi Halo and the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers represent a unique and fascinating exchange between French, Spanish, and Algerian musical identity as well as the miscegenation of Jewish, Berber, and Arabic street culture in the heart of North Africa.

Translated from Arabic as “popular," chaabi – originating in the Casbah as part of a Moorish/Andalusian tradition that stretched back to the 15th century – reached its height during the 1950s. Primarily performed in bars and clubs where many French expats, American GIs, Sephardic Jews, and Algerian Muslims congregated and swapped native instruments and scales, the cosmopolitan interplay of chaabi marked a complex colonial parity comparable to American Delta blues. With Algeria’s independence from France in 1962, over 100,000 pied-noirs (mostly Jews and European colonials) fled north from their homes fearing reprisal from the Muslim sanctioned government. And with them went much of the cross-cultural popularity of chaabi.

Although it lost much of its mystique among younger musicians, the forefathers of chaabi played on. Some, like El Hajj Muhammad El Anka, referred to as the “father of chaabi,” continued to teach and spread the genre’s musical heritage throughout Algeria until his death in 1978.

Continue reading "Rock the Casbah: 'Abdel Hadi Halo and the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers' revives North Africa's chaabi" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

By Vanessa Carr

Jef Stott has been a producer and remixer on San Francisco's global electronica scene for over a decade. But this Saturday night (5/10) at Bollyhood in the Mission, Stott celebrates the release of his first full-length album – Saracen – on Six Degrees .

Stott fuses Arabic and Turkish rhythms with both electronic and acoustic beats and textures. What sets him apart from many of his world music peers is that – rather than merely sampling – Stott is a multi-instrumentalist who plays a wide range of instruments. On Saracen, he plays oud (Arabic lutes), saza and cumbus (Turkish lutes), the Persian santur, bass, and percussion. He also invites a number of guest musicians, including well-known Tunisian vocalist MC RAI.

Drawing early inspiration from art rockers lke Glenn Branca, Brian Eno, and Peter Gabriel, Stott got his musical start playing guitar in rock and metal bands is his hometown of Los Angeles in the 1980s. Stott went on to form the band Stellamara, whose blend of Middle Eastern and Balkan sounds and ambient rock awakened his interest in the devotional aspects of music beyond its entertainment value and led him to intensively study the oud under internationally known musicians Hamza El Din and Omar Faruk Tekbilek.

What is especially remarkable about Stott is his humility, reverence for his teachers and peers, and willingness to talk and think deeply about issues of cultural appropriation in world music.

SFBG: You have a background in heavy metal and art rock. When did you get interested in playing Middle Eastern music?

Jef Stott: [Playing in Stellamara] is when I made the big switch. That is when I picked up the oud, sold all my electric guitar equipment, and really got deeply interested in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish music. I almost abandoned everything I had done up to that point and started on a whole new path.

Continue reading "Electronic Arabic: Jef Stott gets worldly at Bollyhood" »

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Posted by Marke B. at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Todd Lavoie

Vieux Farka Touré, "Bullet the Blue Sky"

Oh, U2 -- they might not have changed the world as much as they’d hoped (or, not yet, anyway), but at least they’ve made it a warmer, more hopeful place, yes? Hard to fathom a band more deserving of the tag “global phenomenon,” but there it is, slapped upon every stirring chorus and grand sweeping gesture from Bono’s anointed fingers -- the sheer enormousness of it all would be mighty hard to take if the guys didn’t have the goods to back it up. But they do, and what’s more, they’ve kept the flow for longer than some listeners have even been alive -- to whom else on the international airwaves could we ever say such a thing? Michael Jackson? Once upon a time, sure, but not anymore. Mariah Carey? Please. And you’d best bite that lip before suggesting Britney! But honestly: has anyone else in modern-day rock/pop ubiquity had the same level of social impact as U2? For all of the mumbles and grumbles about Bono’s perceived messiah-complex, it’s worth remembering that he and his mates have pushed far beyond the familiar celebrity-pose of half-hearted idealism in favor of honest-to-goodness optimism, championing countless causes with honest-to-goodness conviction. Take that, Ms Spears.

Further testimony can be found on the recently-released In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2 (Shout! Factory). An intriguing collection of interpretations from U2’s catalogue by some of the continent’s most notable musicians, the disc serves as more than just a reminder of the band’s utmost uber-importance -- this tribute also offers fresh insight into their unimpeachable songwriting skills. Language barriers? Pshaw! How nineteenth century!

Continue reading "Africa adopts U2" »

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Posted by Marke B. at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michael Kang of the String Cheese Incident is in at the Digital Be-In.

The sun may have set on Earth Day, but that doesn't mean the musically oriented eco-celebrations can't continue. Here are a few more events:

DIGITAL BE-IN 16: ECOCITY
An Ecocity theme and speakers, exhbiits, installations, an eco-fashion show - and live music by Michael Kang (String Cheese Incident), Waterjuice (Vaporvent), Lumin with Irina Mikhailova, Yossi Fine (Ex-centric Sound System), Diana Rosa, and MC Yogi, and DJs Rhythmystic (Rhythm Society), Alex Theory (Mystic Vibration), Irina Mikhailova (Cyberset), Neptune (Beat Church), Dov (Cyberset, Muti Music), Goz (Cyberset), Omer (Harbin), Timonkey (Muti Music), and David Shamanik (Rhythm Society). Fri/25, 7 p.m.- 4 a.m., $20-$25. Temple, 540 Howard, SF. (415) 750-0971.

CARNAVAL SAN FRANCISCO'S ECO-GREEN FESTIVAL
Zona Verde is the theme of this green fete - which organizers are claiming as the largest outdoor green event in the city. Tribal DJs will be force along with sacred healing ceremonies, art installations, and natural home and alternative energy vendors. May 24-25. time to be announced. Harrison and Treat at 17th St., SF.

HARMONY FESTIVAL
Alongside eco-awareness booths and holistic health product peddlers are performances by Angelique Kidjo, Paula Cole, Mickey Hart Band with Steve Kimock and George Porter, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, Arrested Development, Jackie Greene, Charlie Musselwhite, Mike Stern Band with Victor Wooten and Friends, the Devil Makes Three, and the Amazing Techno-Tribal Community Dance. June 6, 2-10 p.m.; June 7, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; June 8, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. with after-hours shows from 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; $25-$139. Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa.

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reflections on Enon. Photo by Emily Wilson.

So much to do and see, Lee. And Prince headlining Coachella on Saturday, April 26, doesn't make the schedule any easier. Check out all these worthy shows that were fit for print but simply didn't make the trim this week.

KING BROTHERS AND THE FLAKES
Kawaii-cute Japanese distorto-rockers meet Bay Area garage first-schoolers. With Shellshag and Bananas. Thurs/10, 8:30 p.m., $10. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.

HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR
"I cannot hold / a half a life / I cannot be / at half a wife." So goes "Time Will" off Hercules and Love Affair's new self-titled DFA/EMI album. Dulcet warbles care of Antony of Antony and the Johnsons meet cool synthetics with keys by Andrew Butler and drum programming by DFA's Tim Goldsworthy. Instant love affair, for sure. With Timo Maas and Honey Soundsystem. Fri/11, 10 p.m. doors, $15-$30. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. (415) 820-9669.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Mocheeba, Hercules and Love Affair, Enon, David Banner, and mo'" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Dina Maccabee

Sometimes - when I notice I’ve developed an allergy to my entire iTunes playlist, when all my CDs are mysteriously missing from their cases, and I’m not ready to resort to listening to mix tapes from high school - the silence on my stereo can be deafening. In those dire times, I resort to iTunes radio.
Scrolling down the list of offerings, there isn’t a lot of campaigning to sway your vote. I breeze past the bland listings for Classic Rock, Electronic, and Ambient, on down to International, where if nothing else the flavors have a chance of being spicy. Still, I couldn’t say what exactly prompted me to try IranianRadio.com for the first time. “Persian traditional music,” it read, sandwiched between “The Best Mix of All Things Iranian” and “Persian Pop.” I must have been feeling anti-American.

At any rate, I was pleased to discover hours of uninterrupted Persian classical music, a tradition so stately and affecting that its surface exoticism melts away after only a few minutes. But I began to wonder, from whence, exactly, issues forth this fountain of unfamiliar yet dulcet tones? I pressed a button and suddenly linked the sounds of classical Persia with a bedroom in San Francisco in 2008.

I wanted some background color for the monochromatic iTunes radio experience - and some direction on how to explore the region’s music even further (the station's format ranges from Persian Dance to Kurdish Pop). Fortunately a friendly service representative at IranianRadio.com, identifying himself only as Cyrus, was able to set me straight on the mysteries behind the music.

SFBG: Who programs the content of IranianRadio.com?

Continue reading "IranianRadio.com takes you on a drive through the Persian-pop unknown" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ocean Drive divas. All photos by Robin Russell.

Contributing photog Robin Russell closes her WMC dispatches with a stop at Giant Step Presents Sunset Soiree at the Delano Hotel on March 29. Look for Turntables on the Hudson, out with Supreme Beings of Leisure at Mezzanine on April 18.

Nickodemus steals over to the wheels o' steel.

Turntables on the Hudson melded classic house textures and afrobeat rhythms.

The scene down south.

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Birthed in New Zealand and suckled on Cali pop, Maori folk, and assorted indie-rock eclectic undefinables, the Ruby Suns plucked the title for their new sophomore album, Sea Lion (Sub Pop), from our very shores: the critters basking off Highway 1. I exchanged e-mails with Ruby Suns' king Ryan McPhun, who appears with his band tonight, April 4, at Bottom of the Hill.

SFBG: So why title your new album after the sea lions who live near San Francisco? What sort of experiences have you had with them?

Ryan McPhun: I guess my explanation is not too complicated. My girlfriend and i were driving down the coast on Highway 1 and came across this colony. We sat and watched these animals for about an hour. We were really close. They were making some amazing noises. It was a great time, so that's why. It was an inspiring trip.

Continue reading "Sweet, sweet Ruby Suns shine a light tonight" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saw your baby, lady: Kimya Dawson.

By Kandia Crazy Horse

A SXSW night-and-day diary continues...

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, AND FRIDAY, MARCH 14

The day began with my first IHOP run, and the late rising set me permanently behind on the day-party trail. In fact, I ultimately only made the scene at one on Sixth with our fearless leader/SX roomie Kimberly Chun, wherein we were irritated by “free” drink tickets that only provided low-shelf liquor.

It was fun to make the scene in the upper reaches of the Convention Center, catching up with such friends and colleagues as Manhattan cultural instigator Jim Fouratt, NC-born upstater Holly George-Warren at her trade show book signing for Punk 365 and her fine Gene Autry bio, Perfect Sound Forever honcho Jason Gross, veteran esteemed rock critic Dave Marsh, and (erstwhile) Harp editors Fred Mills and Randy Harward who, alas, came bearing bad tidings about the music magazine’s demise. I also met rock scribe/wife Laurie Lindeen, rockbiz vet Danny Goldberg (whose account of apprenticing to Led Zeppelin’s famed manager Peter Grant was thrilling), Hanson vox Taylor, rockwrite/rock orbit luminaries Jaan Uhelszki and Danny Fields, and played text tag with some other folks before and after dropping too many ducats at Flatstock for posters of the Black Crowes, Stevie Wonder, and the great Alejandro Escovedo (who I was saturated with in ’07 but very sadly missed this year).

The Day Stage tended to be dull or between bursts when I breezed through from the trade show, but I did see Kimya Dawson and her man keeping up with their toddling baby girl. That’s not to say there were no good-to-great performances provided within the Convention Center’s walls: in succession, I saw Hanson, the Noisettes, and (an amazing set by) X, all mercifully recorded for DirectTV.

Continue reading "SXSW: Kimya baby sighting no. 1, meathead hair-tossing at RTX, She and Him hrumphed" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Boredoms' Eye Yamantaka is ordinarily a man of few words, but the Japanese experimental music veteran let the flood gates fly open via my e-mail interview. No snores here - just expect to whet your appetite for the Boredoms' Tuesday, March 18, show at the Fillmore. Ex-Black Dice drummer and current Soft Circle impressario Hashim Kotaro Bharoocha provided the translation.

SFBG: The new album is amazing -- it sounds like positively symphonic! What was the idea, goal, or focus?

Eye Yamantaka: Recently I have been getting into symphonic progressive rock. I
want to buy music like that, but I don't know who's making it. I'm also a fan of progressive heavy metal from Scandinavia. On the album, I am taking a minimalist approach by manipulating sounds on the turntable (I am using church pipe organ music by Jon Gibson).

The sub-patterns from the church organ sounded like human voices to me, so we had that scored, and had an actual choir sing it. We weren't doing anything on Christmas Eve, so we decided to do a show that day, and the choir fit the night perfectly.

SFBG: I remember interviewing Eye and Yoshimi years ago in the late '80s in San Francisco. How would you say the band has evolved since then? What has your muse been telling you? Where have your
interests led you?

EY: The band went through significant changes on SPR and GO!!!!!! We started to take a minimalist approach from SPR, but after this album we took that approach to the extreme. I think that those records were a rebirth point for us. After those records, we got rid of the guitar and bass in the ensemble, and I started to DJ a lot more (I was DJing a lot more than performing with the band). We started to think in terms of performing as if we were a record player, rather than playing as a normal band.

Continue reading "Best Boredoms interview ever: Eye gives up the goods on eve of Fillmore show" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Michael Harkin

The South American sound of cumbia has its very own hour-of-power in San Francisco: Tormenta Tropical, whose fourth incarnation rolled up to the Mezzanine last Saturday after prior appearances at Rickshaw Stop and the Dark Room at Club Six. Tormenta is a new monthly party thrown by Bersa Discos, an Oakland record label showcasing the experimental cumbia/electro/dancehall underground of Argentina.

Bersa especially digs into what's up around Buenos Aires, where the label's two founders, Disco Shawn and Oro 11 (say that 11 as "once"/OHN-say), moved separately from the Bay Area and met up amid the woolly, melodica-filled excitement to be had at club nights like Zizek.

It was, in fact, several regulars from Zizek that started off the night as Zizek Urban Beats Club, including sets by El Remolón, Frikstailers, and other fixtures from the Buenos Aires night that so inspired Bersa's founders as well as such hip jocks as DJ/Rupture and Diplo of Hollertronix and Mad Decent. The crew are touring to SXSW this week, also making appearances in New York and Chicago later this month.

Continue reading "Clubs: Cumbia/electro underground surfaces at Tormenta Tropical" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 02:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I've made no secret of my audiolust for Brooklyn grime-pop chanteuse (and former punk band Stiffed frontwoman) Santogold, but the new vid for her "LES Artistes," directed by Nima Nourizadeh, is blowing me away:

Santogold's heavily related to the stripper-loving Spank Rock scene, sharing some producers, remixers, track appearances, and party bills, although on a much higher intel tip (everyone kind of over "bitches and ho's" DJ Assault circa 2002 ripoffs say "He-eyyy!") -- and look for many, many tired comparisons to MIA to follow in the wake of the release of her self-titled album Santogold (Downtown), which drops on April 22, and her performance at Coachella this year -- because, you know, freaky women artists of color sure are similar. Still, her already-legendary bass-heavy ragga crawler club jam "Creator" has swept people onto the same global-hop dancehall dancefloors as Ms. MIA, and the more like that (and the above) the merrier, say I ...

And this quote from a recent NYT article on her is priceless: “You get these images of women in sexy clothes, walking around in, like, panties,” she said. “Even Beyoncé — that’s what it is to be a woman and make music. But now there are all these other women doing cool, interesting things, wearing styles they came up with, and it’s not about being naked.”

Santogold, "Creator" (live at Fader 51 party)

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Posted by Marke B. at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Todd Lavoie

The name might not set your world on fire, but damn these guys are on to something good: Brooklyn's Nation Beat will bring their one-in-a-billion blend of Brazilian Maracatu, Appalachian roots music, and New Orleans-style funk to the Elbo Room this Saturday, March 8. What - scared at the prospect of such brazen genre-colliding, are you? Ah, don't be, sweet cheeks. By the time the night's over, you'll have long forgotten about silly little things like musical genre-pigeonholing. Honestly, why over-think when you can just follow your feet instead?

First, an explanation to the band's name. In northeastern Brazil - the birthplace of the percussion-heavy Afro-Brazilian dance/performance style known as Maracatu - practitioners of the genre identify their ensembles with the word nação ("nation"), a reference to the African countries from where they (or their ancestors) originally came. Most groups in Recife - the epicenter of Maracatu - begin their names with the words "Maracatu Nação," usually followed by some form of geographical reference.

Now, Nation Beat plays a variant of a traditional Maracatu known as "Maracatu de Baque Virado" - literally, "Maracatu of the Flipping Beat" (baque is "beat" in Portuguese). So, the band whittled down the name from these origins and translated it back to English rather than keeping it in Portuguese. What the moniker lacks in flow, it at least compensates for in cultural reverence.

Continue reading "Beating the drum for Nation Beat" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 04:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Too too much going on this Saturday March 8, kids, and these are just the above-ground parties! I don’t know how I’m gonna make ‘em all, but we just finished work on the next issue of Scene, our nightlife mag which drops next wednesday in the guardian (look for it!) and I'm ready to party my pumps off. Good thing I always carry an extra pair of bedazzled flats in my Safeway paper bag purse …

Leslie and the Lys, spaz-hop queens straight outta Iowa (via Boston) who recorded the immortal line “Wearing gold spandex pants/ I made a hip-hop album” will be rocking their goddam GEM SWEATERS at an early set (9pm) at the lezbo-rock heavenly Cockblock at Rickshaw Stop for only 10 stinkin’ bucks, which lets you stay the whole evening to hear the adorable DJ Nuxx and friends throw down.

Then it’s off to Kafana Balkan at 12 Galaxies (more info here), the city’s premier Romany dance party, with awesome, way-deeper-than-Balkan-Beatbox DJ Zejlko and friends. If it’s anything like the last one (with crazy pics we featured in the last Scene nightlife magazine) then we may not be able to tear ourselves away ….

Brass Menazerie at Kafana Balkan

to hit up one of the best-sounding parties at Mezzanine in, like, a week – Zizek featuring DJ/Rupture and Tormenta Tropical.

Continue reading "Clubs: Gem sweaters, buenos Zizeks, grimy Rupture, divas" »

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Posted by Marke B. at 05:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Dina Maccabee

I first jumped on the Selda Bagcan bandwagon back in 2006, and I was pretty amused by that earnest bit of 1970s nostalgia, awash in reverby lead guitar lines, vibrato-laden organ, and loping “Age of Aquarius” shuffles. Her compilation of tracks from the '70s, released by Finders Keepers two years ago, went into rotation at fashion boutiques and cafes nationwide: I was introduced to Bagcan in two different stores in Chicago on the same day. Her music was really sweeping the hipster nation.

But for me, Bagcan's sounds were enchanting in their similarity to the dated but uplifting Israeli music I grew up listening to: crackly tapes of tapes of records by Poogy, Tzvicka Pick, Arik Einstein, and Boaz Shar’abi. “Other people like this stuff?” I thought. Well, German label Normal had correctly gambled in 2005 that they might, when they added a Turkish entry to its Love Peace and Poetry series, a line of compilations spotlighting artists in the psychedelic tradition from all over the world.

Love Peace and Poetry: Turkish Psychedelic Music starts with a track titled “Bundan Sonra” by Bagcan, the Turkish folk star who first hooked me. Like any nostalgia-driven trend, the mass penchant for Bagcan’s trippy washes of sound and dramatic vocal style, which had been thoroughly steamrolled out of the global pop lexicon by synthetic kick drums and vocoder way back in the '80s, seemed contrarian and even ironic. Still, “Bundan Sonra” dispels any hint of clever disaffection. According to one online translation, the last verse mourns, “Death is what the Lord wisheth / Your words are wounds on my soul / Even if you were the bridge to heaven / I will not pass you anymore.” Serious stuff for us non-Turkologues to innocently take in while shopping for leg warmers.

Continue reading "Turkish delights: 'Love Peace and Poetry' provides your psych pleasure portal into the country's sounds" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brass Menazeri's heart-racing performance of "Opa Cupa" from last year's shoulda-been-there Rickshaw Stop show.

By Todd Lavoie

They're brassy! They're sassy! Oakland's ambassadors of Balkan bump 'n' grind, Brass Menazeri will be raising a mighty floorboard-clobbering ruckus at the Ashkenaz in Berkeley this Friday, Feb. 22, when they join Bay Area gamelan-fusion ensemble Gamelan X for an evening of sweat-soaked revelry. If you've never seen this ten-piece horn-and-clarinet-fueled firecracker of a band before - well, then, you need to. Personally, I can think of few better ways to let loose the demons of the workweek than to kick it up on a Friday night with some joyful noise from these folks.

Thanks in large part to the success of Eastern European-enthusiasts Gogol Bordello, Balkan Beat Box, and Beirut, there's been a revived interest in the sounds of the Balkans and the Near-East, particularly in the songs of the Rom (also known somewhat pejoratively as the Gypsies) of that region. It's been a wonderfully refreshing development, seeing so many artists bring a definite rock-informed attitude and viewpoint to traditional folk forms, thus breathing new life into a genre which, only a few years ago, seemed in peril of remaining forever compartmentalized into a tight little "for world-music-lovers only" corner.

Much as the Pogues - particularly early in their career - opened up the possibilities of Celtic music to the more rock-reared listener, the new wave of brass bands and Balkan barnstormers are doing the same for the sounds of Serbia, Macedonia, and beyond. Brass Menazeri, while quite traditional in their approach - don't expect any of the electro-hip hop interpolations of Balkan Beat Box here - belong to this new wave, mainly because they seem to be diligent about courting a younger audience.

Continue reading "Brass Menazeri blow horns, minds" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Curious about what some of the groups we feature in this week's Noise Pop cover story sound like? Anyone remember when reading about music meant that the quality of the writing alone had to convey individual sonic textures? Well, no more! Thank you, Internets! Behold!

Below are some introductory vids -- more info on these stellar performers (as well as a full fest schedule) is available at www.noisepop.com/2008

The Dodos, "Fools"

Holy Fuck, "Milkshake"

MSTRKRFT, "Street Justice"

Continue reading "Noise Pop video attack" »

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Posted by Marke B. at 02:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Monophonics perform at Elbo Room in September at their CD release party.

By Ailene Sankur

Last Saturday I saw the seven-piece, horn-heavy funk band Monophonics at the Boom Boom Room, and they were freaking awesome. But let’s back up. Two summers ago, I saw legendary Bay Area funk jam band Vinyl - if you haven’t yet, go immediately - at the Boom Boom. It was back in my drinking days with a hard-partying boy, and we were both dancing - and fighting - like crazy to their old-school funk meets Latin groove music. I’m a pretty simple girl to please concert-wise: I only ask to feel the music deep in my belly and for it to make me want to move. That night, Vinyl did both.

I’ve been meaning to catch them again, so when I heard that the Monophonics were practically sired by Vinyl - drummer Austin Bohlman of the Monos was asked to bring together the “funkiest guys he knew” to make an opening band for Vinyl - I knew it was time to head back to the ‘Mo.

And was in love by the first blows from the sax. The Monophonics channel Tower of Power, the Meters, and Booker T. and the MGs, and, they would like to remind us, Vinyl.

Continue reading "Get outta yo' chair for the Monophonics" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Calling all queer Arabs, Middle Easterners, and North Africans (and lusty friends) -- time for another wild, dancefloor-packing Bibi party, habibis!

Yep, it's gonna be packed -- featuring DJs Emancipacion, Bahman, and Honey Soundsystem's own Josh Cheon. PLUS: a burlesque extravaganza with Dirty Phoenix's "Asses of Evil", Happy Hyder as "Saida," belly dancing, and so many hot folks you never knew were Arabs that you'll plotz. Here's a little taste of what you'll hear as you jingle your jangles:

This is a benefit for LGBTI Middle-Eastern, South West Asian & North African (SWANA) community (and is hosted by cutie man-on-the-SWANA-scene Rostam), so Bibi there!

Bibi
Sat/9, 9pm-2am, $15
Eight
1151 Folsom
www.myspace/com/bibisf

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Posted by Marke B. at 02:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Turn that umbrella upside down and smile to the warm Latin funk (with an edge of oh-so-nasty) of Austin's Brownout!, who'll be drizzling driving grooves, conga section included, through that undersung cumbia-and-get-'em hot spot, El Rincon this Saturday. They'll be playing a live set with DJ Chicken George, guaranteed to shelter you from the storms.

The eight-piece ensemble's work can be found on Freestyle Records, and its sunny, tequila-soaked appearance here is brought to you by the kids from rad soulful weekly Afrolicious (Thursdays at Elbo Room), accompanied by funky drimmers LaMalaMaña and DJs Señor Oz and Pleasuremaker. Check it!

Brownout
Saturday Jan/26
10pm-2am
El Rincon
2700 16th Street
(between Folsom St & Harrison St)

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Posted by Marke B. at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What to do when the gloom descends and the sky thunders? Double your pleasuuuur with art-music selections that didn't make it into print last week and the worthy live shows that slipped betwixt the cracks this time around.

Ingrid Michaelson
The new Lisa Loeb or... the latest waif in a Nellie McKay cute suit? Something to ponder when listening to the MySpace star best known for her Grey's Anatomy and Old Navy commercial tunes. This is so sold out I think you'll have to contact your fave Hannah Montana/soccer mom scalper for assistance. With Greg Laswell. Wed/23, 7:30 p.m., $15. Slim's, 333 11th St., SF. (415) 522-0333.

Amoebic art: Zak Wilson's acrylic My Roomate Bob Ate My Last Piece of Chicken, So I Had to Shoot Him.

"Amoeba Music's Second Annual Art Show"
Wonder what those talents scowling in the aisles do on their off hours. More than 30 toil in the trenches of art-making, we hear. The second annual event includes more than 100 pieces by staffers at the SF, Berkeley, and LA stores. Get an eyeful at the reception Fri/25, 7 p.m.-2 a.m., when organizers raffle off prizes as a fund-raiser for Creativity Explored. Show runs through Sat/26. Daily 8 p.m.–2 a.m. Space Gallery, 1141 Polk, SF. (415) 377-3325.

"Enter the Center"
Call 'em Ribbons. Call 'em Ship. Just don't call 'em late to this long-awaited exhibit. The dynamic Bay Area duo whoop it up at the opening reception honoring their new book, Enter the Center, on Sat/26, 6-10 p.m. - stay for the screening of the pair's new video album, the treeVD. And look for more special soirees at Ribbons' month-long quasi-arts center, ala Feb. 2's get-down with White Rainbow, Lucky Dragons and a classical Indian ensemble, and Feb. 9's fete with Brendan Fowler of BARR, Pocahaunted, and ARP. Eleanor Harwood Gallery, 1295 Alabama, SF. (415) 867-7770.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: Toumani Diabate, Ingrid Michaelson, La Otracina, Poison the Well, and the art overfloweth" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 12:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blow me down, Sweet Crude Bill and the Lighthouse Nautical Society.

By Todd Lavoie

Another new year, another new year's resolution - but rather than going for the usual tired song-and-dance about eating less or becoming thriftier or getting more organized (yawn), how about something with a bit more spark - and sparkle! - for 2008? Here's a pinky-finger handshake I made with myself that maybe just maybe might work for you too as a new-leaf-turner: this year, I'm going to make a special point to see more shows from Bay Area musicians.

How's that? Talk about easy, painless - hell, it doesn't even require any personal sacrifice (other than a little cash and maybe the gumption to leave the house on a cold January night, an admittedly tough prospect right now as I stare out my window watching daisy chains of trash bins, plastic bags, and dead umbrellas floating downriver as that Biblical rain keeps on pouring outside, sigh).

Plus, you'll be supporting the local arts scene: better to enjoy it now, lest the renter's market goes completely nutso and sends all of the creative and underpaid - not to mention some of the most interesting - minds of the area a-packing! Mercifully, that doomsday scenario hasn't happened, and we here in the Bay can boast of having one of the most fertile musical playgrounds in the entire country, thanks to the wealth of free-thinkers and the venues that support them. Ah, we are blessed, verily and truly. So, while we're ruminating away in gratitude, here are some upcoming wingdings worthy of taking a step-outside:

Continue reading "Listen locally! A musical new year's resolution" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 01:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yeah, yeah, we've all been bombarded with Italo Disco the past couple years in the clubs... BUT -- what about Italodisco tracks laid down by an actual Italian? And a cute gay fuzzy one at that?

This Tuesday night at the Transfer, fabulous Paduan superstar DJ Giacomo, one half of Italo Disco/cosmic funk/hi-NRG production whizzes Disco Dromo, guests at weekly raveup Chilidog, in association with Honey Soundsystem.

You can listen to one of Disco Dromo's awesome mixes here (Galactic Zombies -- mp3).

I first ran into Giacomo while waiting for a bus in Williamsburg on a rainy Thanksgiving vacation night. Later, in the musty, moldy basement of the Cock, Hunky Beau stuck a finger up a hole in his pants. So you know he's game for anything! (I mean that in the most respectful way possible, Giacomo!)

"Honeydog"
Chilidog + Honey Soundsystem presents:
Disco Dromo
Tuesday January 8
10pm-2am
The Transfer
198 Church (at Market)
415-861-7499
www.honeysoundsystem.com

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Posted by Marke B. at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Perfect? Circle.

Newsdesk.org editor and music critic Josh Wilson weighs in with his best in music for the year:

- Hammers of Misfortune at the Great American Music Hall, Feb. 22. Glorious thunder and truth.

- Circle at Bottom of the Hill, Sept. 27. If Can were a dadaist metal band from Finland.

- Faun Fables with Daevid Allen and Josh Pollock at Cafe du Nord, Nov. 28. Mad Canterbury beatnik styles, eruptive guitar on a tight leash, plus a truly riveting vocal and kinetic display by Faun Fables.

Continue reading "Josh Wilson's musical bests for 2007" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ah, yes – it’s that time of year again, and why not? There was a whole lotta sonics to love this past year in music, and below is my enhanced top 10 guiltless pleasures of 2007 list. I hope you disagree with and enjoy!

1. Jill Scott, “Hate On Me”

2. Cool Kids, “Black Mags”

3. Honey Soundsystem DJs

Continue reading "Marke B's Top 10 2007" »

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Posted by Marke B. at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This just in: Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse - the longest-running, full-time venue for folk and traditional music west of the Mississippi River - announced today it has been awarded a $1.161 million grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE) to fund construction of its new green performance space, school, and café.

A release from the East Bay institution continues:

"Construction will begin before the end of the year on the nonprofit's 18,000-square-foot venue at 2020 Addison Street, in Berkeley's Downtown Arts District.

"The Freight's new home will have a listening room that doubles the audience capacity of its existing 220-seat venue. The plan also includes an additional 1,339-square-foot performance space, state-of-the-art sound system, café, and store offering CDs and sheet music.

"As an all-ages, family-friendly venue, the Freight is using this opportunity to expand its education program, and will offer a variety of folk and traditional music classes in six classrooms, bring music into the local schools, and establish a library and archive that will be open to the public.

Continue reading "Folked up: Freight & Salvage wins $1.161 million grant to build new green venue" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A cuppa Cafe Tacuba.

It's the most insane time of the year - but why not stop and, er, smell the big sweaty rock bands coming through town. I kid because I love the way the next week looks: so busy and full of intriguing sounds.

CAFE TACUBA
Whoa, if there was a more shockingly inventive, stylistically agile, and altogether impressive LP this year, I can't think of it. Sino (Universal) may translate as "But Instead," but there was no stopping the range of pop styles coursing through this musically multilingual recording en esponol as the Mexican rock vets decided to start dreaming in epic U2-y radio rock textures, Beach Boys-style Cali-choir harmonies, and grand Nascimento-esque overtures.
With Bengala. Wed/28, 8 p.m., $36.50-$49.50. Warfield, 982 Market, SF. (415) 775-7722.

FAUN FABLES
The SF medieval proggists join Gong/Soft Machine vet Daevid Allen for a certain unquantifiable magik.
With Daevid Allen and Wymond and his Spirit Children. Wed/28, 9 p.m., $10. Café du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016.

YOUSSOU N'DOUR
The Senegalese master surges beyond the traditional music of his homeland with his hybrid, Rokku Mi Rokka (Nonesuch).
Fri/30, 8 p.m., $25-$75. Masonic Center, 1111 California, SF. (866) 920-JAZZ.

Continue reading "Sonic Reducer Overage: yuletide sensory overload starts now..." »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

O Caetano. Photo by Fernanda Negrini.

By Benedict Sinclair

Despite his age, Caetano Veloso refuses to slow down. Showcasing his latest album, Cê (Nonesuch), on Nov. 17 at the Masonic Center, Veloso clattered around on stage - dancing between verses, jogging in place, invigorating each section of the audience with jumping and waving. You’d think he was younger than his bandmates, none of whom appeared to have passed the 25-year mark.

And maybe that’s the best possible thing he could have done: surround himself with a trio of hot young musicians, positively seething with chemistry and chops, clearly still having fun, still discovering music and the world it inhabits. His trio - a drummer, an electric guitarist, and a bassist who doubled on a twinkly old Fender Rhodes - navigated from delicate bossa to surf-infused pop, bouncing across minimalist polyrhythms.

Back in the day, Veloso mixed traditional Brazilian samba sounds with the most adventurous strains of American and British '60s rock and pop, and in the process, he carved out - and fused - a new genre: tropicalia. He hasn’t stopped working on it since he started in the mid-'60s. Songs linked swiftly to each other throughout the show, further exploring a mood or abruptly changing styles. The group went from rockier tunes to those with softer arrangements: mallets on drums, hushed keyboard textures.

Continue reading "Caetano Veloso stirs up Nob Hill" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of my favorite parties of the year, Bibi, is having an encore this Saturday -- a sultry, kitschy, haremesque masquerade! Bibi is a raucous party for gay Southwest Asian and North Africans (SWANAs) -- not just those of Arabian persuasion, of course -- and their friends (my Jewish bf had a blast -- unity on the dance floor!). The last one was out of control -- the promoters only expected a few people, and yet hundreds crammed their beautiful, hipshaking female, male, and other asses into Club Eight for a pre-Pride Arab hoedown. Alalalalalalala-y!

DJs BaBa Q., Bahman, and Emancipacion take you to funky motherland with a fusion of Middle-Eastern North African & International Beats, and, yes, there'll be wild bellydancing sendups by drag queens SooozhyQ & Freyja. Nazli Hanem & Femme Fuego host, and Rostam and J. Maximillian put it all together. Plus it's a masquerade -- so wear something extra fab. I'm telling you it'll be hot -- and not just cuz I'm a naughty Lebanese homo. Here's a little taste of the tunes:

Bibi
Sat, Oct. 20, 9pm - 2am, $15
Club Eight
1151 Folsom, SF.
www.myspace.com/bibisf

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Posted by Marke B. at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Those zany kids in Bonde do Role - they don't answer their e-mail, their tour manager misplaces his cell phone - it's a regular sitcom over in BDR HQ! Too busy livin' it up, I guess. Anyhooo, after much ado and no interview by the time today's issue hit print, I finally heard back from the band's Rodrigo Gorky. Here's what he coughed up via e-mail; you can check what they're about for yourself at the Independent on Friday, Sept. 28.

Bay Guardian: How did the band get together?

Rodrigo Gorky: After one rehearsal with a "proper band," we all just got drunk and started doing baile funk tracks using the most impossible samples possible - from the Darkness to AC/DC and Alice in Chains.

BG: What inspires the group's lyrics and album and song titles?

RG: Mostly stupid jokes and bad sense of humor that we find funny. (I know, sounds twisted, but that's what it is!)

BG: The recent album is titled With Lasers - why LASERS?

Continue reading "Laser in on Bonde do Role" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 06:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Todd Lavoie

Book alert: Horace Panter, bassist for the much-beloved ska institution the Specials, has just released his memoir, and it looks quite tasty.

Entitled Ska'd for Life: A Personal Journey with the Specials (published in Britain by Sidgwick & Jackson, but distributed in America by International Publishers Group), it promises to give plenty of fresh insight into the motivations behind some of the most memorable songs of the Thatcher era, along with some intriguing observations about why the band unfortunately couldn't make it past three albums. Haven't read it yet, but I've pawed it over a few times, and it looks quite well-written. Dare I say, it may be as authoritative as some of those wicked basslines Panter unleashed as part of the Specials' mighty rhythm section! March on over to your favorite independent bookstore and take a look for yourself.

Ah, the Specials - they were great unifiers. Back in college, I once had a clenched-fisted straight-edge roommate who lived and breathed the hardcore lifestyle 24/7. What a mope. Swear to god, the only way to crack a smile off that guy would be to throw on some Judge or Youth of Today, which he did, relentlessly. Nothing against either band, of course, or the genre, even, but this kid was just so rigid about it! For him, nothing else existed besides two-minute anthems about the evils of drugs and alcohol, both of whom I seemed to be getting on with quite well, thank you very much.

Continue reading "Ska'd yet? The Specials bassist Horace Panter's tome arrives" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Intrepid intern Lotto Chancellor (we shit you not, that's his name) checked out the Chantelle Tibbs show at El Rio last Tuesday ....

EL RIO, Tuesday, September 4 — Sandwiched between Wee the Band, whose showertime blues covers were tolerable, and Dubious Ranger, whose drummer couldn’t quite seem to find the pocket, was Chantelle Tibbs, another SF transplant from, where else, the East Coast. But don’t worry. She’s from Jersey, not Mass.

Oh, Chantelle!

This woman straight up has pipes, pipes with enough resonance to fill the El Rio’s carpeted space and draw genuine applause not just from her admirers but also from wayward shuffleboard players, semi-conscious tipplers, et al. After her hour-long set she sold off what demos she had, and took compliments with grace, which is an easy thing to do when you know that people are actually telling you the truth about your performance.

Continue reading "Tip o' the Tibbs" »

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Posted by Marke B. at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why? Why? For those of us coming back slowly into consciousness after the big weekend, here's a little WTF crazy-catchy tune from Sweden's hottest latest "dance music" import (and, one hopes, most savvy performance artist), Gunther --- "Tutti Frutti Summer Love." I apologize beforehand for this, but it may be just the slap in the face you need to wake you up. At least in a "Is this a joke?!?" way.

Gunther will be in SF at Sound Factory on Saturday, Sept. 22 -- I just scored an interview with him, which will come out in the next Super Ego. What the heck should I ask him? And why are the Scandinavians fierce ruling right now (hello, Junior Senior)? Questions.

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Posted by Marke B. at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

By K. Tighe

The Lollapalooza Chicago skyline: don't stare at it too hardit might bite. Photo by Cambria Harkey.

Dear readers, I have failed you.

I've been attempting to experience the whole of Lollapalooza, which of course includes after-parties, and their obligatory next-morning results. However, while Lupe Fiasco and Amy Winehouse were playing on day 3, Aug. 5, I was stretched out on a yoga mat, trying not to hurl.

Lucky for you, I have spies everywhere. The little birds told me that Fiasco - Chicago's resident geek-rapper - delivered a stellar, irreverent performance that left his crowd wanting more. In contrast, the petite Ms. Winehouse fell short. During most of her set, she appeared to be consumed by boredom, and even the infectious strains of "Rehab" couldn't shake her out of it. A crowd hoping for a train wreck of some sort continued to watch, but Winehouse never turned it up. Hey, at least she showed up, right?

The punk rockers are old. The alt-rockers are old, too. Hell, even the electro-clash kids are showing some wear these days - though it's nothing a cowbell couldn't fix. Age be damned - the highest energy performance of the weekend belonged without question to Stooges frontperson Iggy Pop. With raggedy long hair sticking to his bare back, Iggy charged the stage like a sinewy beast and didn't pull back once during the set, prompting hoards of fans, young and old, to get Iggy with it.

Continue reading "Lollapalooza day 3: Pearl Jam censored by AT&T, Stooges, Yo La Tengo, and more" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By K. Tighe

No logo? Photo by Cambria Harkey.

Ted Leo himself seemed a bit apprehensive about playing under a corporate logo at his afternoon performance on Aug. 3. The political punker lost his footing at the start of his set, falling onto the deck of the Myspace stage. I'll try to suppress the symbolism in all of this. Once he got back to his feet, he and his Pharmacists plowed through 45 minutes of pure rock, pounding out poly-agit hits like "Bomb Repeat Bomb" and "A Bottle of Buckie" to an enthusiastic crowd. Closing the set with "C.I.A.,” Leo managed to use his guitar to rain a pound the hell out of the stage for a few minutes.

Tim Delaughter's cultish Polyphonic Spree offered indisputable proof that many bodies in motion do not make a movement. Having abandoned their trademark white robes for black military MASH jackets, the gimmicky horn section was joined by an off-key choir and a band of tap dancers. The spree had the crowd for the first part of their set, which was loaded with old favorites and tracks from their recent album, The Fragile Army. By the end of the set, after several promised that "this will be our final song,” the crowd's energy had fallen away from the band and the audience made its way to other stages.

Continue reading "Lollapalooza day one: Ted Leo, Polyphonic Spree, MIA, LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, and more riveted our woman in Chicago" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anticipating the 10-year anniversary of qawwali vocal legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's death on Aug. 16, San Francisco label Six Degrees recently released the Pakistani giant's latest dub-laced collaboration, with London producer-composer Gaudi, Dub Qawwali. Get a listen here to the opening track, "Bethe Bethe Kese Kese":

Meanwhile, here's more on the project from Six Degrees:

"Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was and is still very much considered to be one of the greatest Qawwals (singer of qawwali music) in the world. Not only recognized as a legend in his native Pakistan he also took his
musical messages of peace, love, and spirituality to the international stage, earning him the title of Pakistan’s premier ambassador of Qawwali music. The origins ofthe genre trace back over 700 years to the spiritual Samah songs of Persia and the mystical faith of Sufism.

Continue reading "Qawwali giant Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan remembered, revived" »

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Set off the Portland twee indie explosion with Dirty Mittens, Bustling Townships, and Eskimo and Sons. The Portlanders head into town whispery song stylings, the fairy-tale folk, and the shambolic sing-alongs respectively.

Have signage, will tour: Dirty Mittens challenge you to a staring contest.

The crafty Northwesterners settle down at the Red Vic series on Wednesday, July 25, 7 p.m. at the Red Victorian Peace Cafe, 1665 Haight, SF. And dang, it's free, y'all.

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Step right up for the git-pickin' pick o' the litter at the first annual San Francisco Picker’s Picnic on Friday, July 6, at Bottom of the Hill.

King City with child.

Joe Price with Vicki Price, King City, Craig Ventresco with Meredith Axelrod, Gaucho, and Pat Johnson will be your shred-meisters. Your host: Chewy Marzolo - player of heavy metal, bluegrass, cartoon swing Latin soundtrack, rag, burlesque, abso-futurist black/death metal, gypsy jazz, cabaret, country, and he says, "a few other types of not-very-popular-to-the-hipsters styles of music in San Francisco for...well...let me see here...um...a very long time."

Joe Price in action.

This time Marzolo bites into a first - the Picker's Picnic. Among the offerings are the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame inductee Joe Price; gypsy jazz combo Gaucho (with Ralph Carney); and Marzolo's own band, King City, who describe themselves as "a five-piece ragtime/tango/Latin/spaghetti western
instrumental San Francisco bonifiedly warranted excuse for a good time." By the way, King City's first official CD, The Last Siesta, comes out this summer on Spencer Muray's Antebellum label and the cover was painted by graf giant Twist, aka, Barry McGee.

It's all on July 6, 9 p.m., at Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. $10. For more info, go to www.myspace.com/pickerspicnic. Be there - or be home pickin' on your own.

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Posted by Kimberly Chun at 06:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)