SFBG ›

Noise title=

British singer Jessie Ware on summer plans, being herself on stage, and flowers in SF

04.10.13 - 12:50 pm | Laura Kerry |
(0)

I first heard Jessie Ware’s “If You’re Never Gonna Move” on the road from the East Coast. After that, the song averaged about five plays per state. Ware’s understated and soulful dance pop has the rare ability to adapt to any situation. It eases the tension in a car full of two people with almost irreconcilable taste in music; it works equally well as the soundtrack to a lazy afternoon, and a night out. And it feels good.

The formula, which has earned her recognition in her native UK, is gaining a following in the US. Though the breakthrough album Devotion won’t be released stateside until April 16, many of her concerts, including Thursday’s at the Independent, have sold out to audiences that sing along with every word. (Not to worry, she also has an in-store at Amoeba that day.) Read more »

Heads Up: 8 must-see concerts this week

04.08.13 - 3:11 pm | Emily Savage |
(0)

Sorry, readers. Modest Mouse at the Fox Theater and Foals and Alt-J at the Fillmore are all sold out shows, plus Lou Reed canceled his Warfield appearance (it was supposed to take place Sunday).

But there are plenty of other shows you should be checking out this week including Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester at the SFJazz Center, long-running legends like Sparks (squee!) and the Skatalites, club-ready 2 Chainz and Ewan Pearson, along with (separate) album release parties for TOKiMONSTA and Burnt Ones. Read more »

Live at the Rrazz is closing for good

04.08.13 - 9:16 am | Emily Savage |
(1)

Sadly, another music institution in the city is shuttering. Live at the Rrazz (otherwise known as the Rrazz Room), which went through a series of difficulties and legal issues this past year, including an ill-fated venue change, has announced it will be closing for good.

In an email to its patrons last week (including the Bay Area Reporter's BARtab, which tipped us off) and now on the front page of its website, Rrazz said, “As many of you know. the last several months have been monumentally challenging for us. It seems like all the forces in the universe have been working against us.” Read more »

Rhye keeps it smooth, sexy at Bimbo's

04.05.13 - 12:49 pm | Molly Champlin |
(1)

With the audience seated at tables under warm lighting, the mood was set at Bimbo’s on Wednesday night for a very intimate evening with the mysterious Rhye. Canadian producer-vocalist Mike Milosh and Robin Hannibal (of Danish duo Quadron) have turned heads in the indie world with their soulful, jazzy collaboration, and March 2013 album, Woman, mostly inspired by Milosh’s intense connection with his wife. At Rhye's live show, that passionate love felt universal – and palpable – between the audience and the band. Read more »

Live Shots: Burgerama II outtakes

04.05.13 - 10:57 am |
(0)
The Spits at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard
Nick Waterhouse at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard
The Pharcyde at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard
King Tuff at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard
The crowd at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard
Hunx at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard
Hunx at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard
A woman approaches Black Lips at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard
And the crowd goes wild. Photo by Dallis Willard
Black Lips at Burgerama II. Photo by Dallis Willard

Ed. note: Andre Torrez's feature story on Burger Records, tape culture, and Burgerama II will be in next week's issue of the Guardian. Here's photographer Dallis Willard's images and impressions of the Santa Ana festival. Read more »

Localized Appreesh: Sunbeam Rd.

04.03.13 - 11:23 am | Emily Savage |
(0)

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com

I'm a lover of past treasures. I like my music vinyl, and I like my mail snail. Sure, I download thousands (millions would be hyperbolic, right?) of tracks a year, send hundreds of emails a day, tweet with the rest of them, and then some. Technology is still my friend, but vintage pleasures will always be my lover. Hence, my delight with the arrival of a colorfully confetti'd physical postcard from psychedelia-minded local fuzz-pop trio Sunbeam Rd., announcing the group's 50th show. Read more »

Heads Up: 7 must-see concerts this week

04.02.13 - 12:47 pm | Emily Savage |
(0)

Is everyone else emotionally and physically exhausted from the Easter/Passover-torrential hailing downpour-April Fool's Day (who can you trust on the Internet?) mess of the last few days? I certainly am, and I only participated in a few of those spiritual debacles.

No mind, I'm ready to strap on my wellies and/or sunglasses and embark on a week of Esben and the Witch, Mac DeMarco, Babysitter, Glam.I.Rock, Portland Cello Project, Future Twin, and Polkacide with Fuxedos.

Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end: Read more »

Live Shots: Texas is the Reason at Bimbo’s

04.02.13 - 12:11 pm | Haley Zaremba |
(1)
Texas is the Reason at Bimbo's. Photo by Haley Zaremba.
Texas is the Reason at Bimbo's. Photo by Haley Zaremba.
Texas is the Reason at Bimbo's. Photo by Haley Zaremba.
Texas is the Reason at Bimbo's. Photo by Haley Zaremba.
Texas is the Reason at Bimbo's. Photo by Haley Zaremba.

Texas is the Reason’s show at Bimbo’s was not sold out, but it sure seemed packed as I struggled to find a good vantage point on Friday night. When I eventually got a clear view, I saw that the stage was hazily lit by dark blue-purple lights. The amplifiers and drum kit on stage were glowing, heavily draped with white Christmas lights. The visual, in its stark simplicity, was stunning.

This perfect, quiet kickoff was the reassurance I needed to prove that this wouldn’t be the gaudy, overwrought reunion that I had feared, but the graceful, tasteful gathering that I had hoped for. Read more »

Major Lazer showers the Independent with cash, vuvuzelas, dead memes, and a giant bubble

04.02.13 - 9:38 am | George McIntire |
(1)

It comes as a surprise to me that Diplo didn’t at least have a cameo in Spring Breakers — the film that takes place in his home state of Florida – considering his penchant for egregious hedonism.

His quest for indulgent nirvana was on full display last Thursday at the Independent, when he and his Major Lazer crew lead a 90-minute uber-bash of trap, electro, dancehall, moombahton, and dubstep. Read more »

Live Shots: Flume at the Rickshaw Stop

03.29.13 - 3:19 pm | Ryan Prendiville |
(0)
Houses play Popscene night at the Rickshaw Stop. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Houses at the Rickshaw Stop. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
The crowd at the Rickshaw Stop. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Flume at the Rickshaw Stop. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.
Flume, from afar. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.

Every time I've been to Popscene in the last few years, and I mean every time, I see the same guy. Deep 30s, clean cut, and so meticulously well-dressed that it's conspicuous. Particularly conspicuous when he's gravitating around a pair of black lingerie wearing girls dancing like they can't drink. But I guess that mix is fairly typical of Thursdays at the Rickshaw Stop, for the weekly event that always brings in a new crowd by being an 18+ dance party, while maintaining a certain following with the promise of seeing an emerging music act that "could be the next big thing."

Or, as the case was with Australian electronic producer Flume on Thursday night, the next Porter Robinson. As in "OMG, can you believe he's only 20?" and the additional hype that goes with it. The crowd was sold out and eager to hear him DJ, many in the audience probably choosing the show over more established popular EDM acts playing that night like Major Lazer at the Independent or the Skrillex/Diplo (he's everywhere) event going on for the video game convention. Read more »