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Live Shots: Crystal Castles at the Fox

10.23.12 - 1:33 pm | Ryan Prendiville |
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Between the beats and strobes with Crystal Castles. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Alice Glass, stomping back on stage at the Fox. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
The hovering image. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Alice Glass and her fans. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
And emerging from the pit. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.

Arriving early to the Crystal Castles show Monday at the Fox Theater, discovering that one opener, HEALTH, had canceled its performance, and that the photo pit would be off limits for the other, Kontravoid, I was left with some unexpected time on my hands. Time that I spent trying to recall where I had seen the eerily familiar image hung over the stage, of a veiled figure cradling a fragile, vulnerable looking man in their arms.

Presented without context, it could be potentially tenderly romantic or gothically morbid, an ambiguity which seemed to typically invite the sort of let-me-Google-that mystery that recent bands have found so chic.* Read more »

Heads Up: 7 must-see concerts this week

10.22.12 - 2:15 pm | Emily Savage |
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The beauty of Halloween occurring on a Wednesday (next week, of course) is that you basically get a full week of fiendish, costumed, creepy-crawly shows, many of which take place the weekend before, then continue on out through the week days...of horror.

Trust me, you'll be getting a thick list packed with the bulk of those shows in the paper this coming issue. But for Heads Up, I pulled out a few must-sees, including shows without the ghoulish holiday affiliation, but that are still worthy of your eyes and ears: Seattle's Crypts, LA's Flying Lotus, Portland's Red Fang, Brooklyn artist SSION, Jascha singing Caetano Veloso, and more. Read more »

Party Radar: Rrose, Osunlade, Daniel Wang, Odyssey, more

10.18.12 - 10:30 pm | Marke B. |
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First of all, what the heck are you gonna be for Halloweeeeen?

I'm vacillating between being these amazing but creepy speakers made of artificial muscles -- so many of my interests intersecting? -- and DJ Paris Hilton (I'll just stand there like a stunned gazelle with one headphone, and have someone pop up from under my minidress to fiddle with a mixer). In any case, let's all agree that this can be our Halloween--costume-choosing retro kiki house theme song:

Read more »

Live Shots: David Byrne and St. Vincent at the Orpheum

10.18.12 - 11:48 am | Molly Champlin |
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David Byrne and St. Vincent at the Orpheum. Photo by Bennett Cox.
St. Vincent, backed by brass. Photo by Bennett Cox.
The giant and the indie queen. Photo by Bennett Cox.
The duo harmonizes. Photo by Bennett Cox.
A confident St. Vincent. Photo by Bennett Cox.

David Byrne opened his show with St. Vincent on Monday night by thanking the Orpheum for breaking its run of The Lion King for their performance. The David Byrne-St. Vincent show wasn't too far off from the theater’s regular selection though. The eight piece brass band doing choreographed marching behind the duo had a theatrical effect, feeling somewhere between a Stop Making Sense-themed halftime show and an instrument-bearing ensemble in West Side Story.

The 60-year-old musical giant and 30-year-old indie star brought out a diverse crowd. Byrne was carrying on the legacy of art-school punk-turned-pop band, the Talking Heads, but some in the crowd seemed to be wondering “who is this pretty young talent helping espouse his eccentric philosophies?” The scalpers outside were only selling Byrne’s name on the tickets and there was an overabundant amount of “we love you David” cries from the audience.

Read more »

Live Shots: Treasure Island Music Festival 2012

10.16.12 - 1:49 pm | Ryan Prendiville |
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Dirty Ghosts open up the fest. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
AraabMusik finger drums impressively. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Toro Y Moi. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Daytime Grimes. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
K. Flay parties early. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
The Coup is still relevant. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Matthew Dear puts a smell on you. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Flavor Flav, forever the hypeman. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Public Enemy. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Fists in the air. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Masked SBTRK producer Aaron Jerome. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Behind the Joanna Newsom harp. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Newsom is revealed. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Ty Segall gets the pit spinning. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Youth Lagoon calms it down. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Best Coast pairs well with the sunset. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
The divine Miss Ditto of Gossip. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
M83 with some lasers. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
the xx -- more like the Sex Sex. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
the xx's Romy Madley Croft closes out the night. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.

Music nerds talk lineups the way sports fans manage fantasy teams, particularly with festivals, where suddenly strategy becomes a part of catching a show. Treasure Island Music Festival, is sort of an exception, since in theory you can catch every single act, given the two alternating stages. At the same time, this means that unless you head to the silent disco or take a nap, one of those geeks will be standing behind you during a set, obsessively talking about how the lineup should be slotted differently. Read more »

Heads Up: 8 must-see concerts this week

10.15.12 - 2:26 pm | Emily Savage |
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As the seasons change – whatever casual seasonal changes we get here in the Bay – the interminable cycle of music, of bands, of life, spins on. Men of a certain age keep playing (Bob Dylan at the Bill Graham, Iron Lung at the Knockout), local legends fall apart (Uzi Rash is splitting up) and newer sounds enter our consciousness: Coo Coo Birds, Allah-Las. Don't grow too maudlin, there's always another block party around the corner (Clarion Alley Block Party). Read more »

Das Racist's Kool A.D. on hip-hop, baseball, and losing his virginity

10.11.12 - 11:59 am | George McIntire |
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Self-proclaimed, “second best rapper with glasses after E-40” and Bay Area native by way of Brooklyn Victor Vazquez aka KOOL A.D. of rap group Das Racist has had quite the prolific past year in the hip-hop industrial complex. 

He and his group Das Racist — featuring rapper Heems and hypeman Dapwell (Dap for short) — released their debut LP and critic darling Relax. Soon after that he released not one but two positively received mixtapes in the span of three months, The Palm Wine Drinkard and the Bay Area homage 51. Das Racist plays DNA Lounge this Fri/12.  Read more »

Localized Appreesh: Roem Baur

10.10.12 - 1:36 pm | Emily Savage |
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Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Roem Baur has been through some changes in the past few months. The classically trained singer-songwriter-guitarist inched away from his solo career and is now backed by a boisterous full band. Say that three times fast. Read more »

Today's gathering of the music apps

10.09.12 - 12:22 pm | George McIntire |
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The music industry -- as we all know -- has reached the nadir of its financial situation after a dozen or so years of file sharing. The Internet, many would say, hasn’t been too kind to the business. But if the Web taketh it also giveth, as evidenced by the plethora of music apps and Internet-based services (Spotify, Turntable.FM, Shazam, etc.) that are competing to transform the industry.

One of the driving forces behind this development is Brian Zisk, the executive producer of today's SF Musictech Summit. Read more »

Heads Up: 8 must-see concerts this week

10.08.12 - 2:17 pm | Emily Savage |
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With the xx – at Treasure Island Music Festival – and Nouvelle Vague both in town this week, there's a whole lot of sexy, sex-making music coming. Also popping up in the Bay in the next few days: Dinosaur Jr., Grave Babies with 2:54, Saint Vitus, and Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby.

These shows, as of press time, still have tickets. Lucky you. There is another band in town, however, whose Bay Area stop is long-sold out: Grizzly Bear, the Brooklyn act that was featured in the much-discussed New York Magazine cover story last week, “Is Rock Stardom Any Way To Make A Living?” Read more »