Category Archives: Shows

Ponytail – Art or Trash?

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Listen to Ponytail, ‘Beg Waves‘:

I’m the first to admit I like a lot of weird music and enjoy the novelty of discovering an unchartered sound. But there’s a new crop of critically acclaimed experimental/punk bands emerging like Times New Viking, No Age and, the subject of this post, Ponytail that I don’t frankly get.  

I took some friends to see Ponytail and High Places (mostly the latter) last week at Bottom of the Hill to check it out in person. And, I still don’t get it.  Instrumentally, the band is tight.  But lead singer Molly Siegel is just whacked on so many levels, which perhaps is part of the allure.  After seeing her in person, I question whether she’s human.  Or sane. Without question she operates on a different frequency. She moves like Thom Yorke in an epileptic trance and sounds like a cross between Bjork and Yoko Ono.  

To say the experience was jarring is an understatement. My music buddies all hated it, yet somehow can’t stop talking about it.  A photographer friend of mine, Rich Trager, took this shot of the wall in the mens bathroom.  And it seemed fitting for this post because it begs the question: is it art or is it trash? Ultimately you decide, whether or not you agree with the critics.  But Ponytail sure did stir something up in our group.   Everyone felt that performance.  And while no one may want to go back and visit that feeling again, it certainly won’t be forgotten.  Not be me either.  I’ll always be known as the one who drug my friends to that crazy show.

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My Bloody Eardrums

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I saw My Bloody Valentine at the Concourse in San Francisco last night.  What an experience.  It was insane.  It was LOUD! The loudest show I’ve ever been to.  So loud I felt physically assaulted by the sound waves.  So loud that after jamming my wax ear plugs deeper and deeper into my ear all night I pulled out a little replica of my cochlea.  So loud that the only way to communicate with the friends standing right next to me was via text message.   And even then we had to use an array of hand signals for ‘look at phone’ because our bodies were buzzing so violently from the sound waves we couldn’t feel our phones vibrate.

It was so loud that I went into a panic-induced sweat for the first half of the 20 minute assault of feedback, noise and distortion during the song ‘You Made Me Realise’.  I hesitate to use the word song here.  Perhaps musical composition or social experiment would be more fitting.  It was interesting to look around and see how people dealt with it.  Some clutched their ears in horror, others looked ecstatic and peaceful.  I did notice much of the crowed seemed to have their heads bowed.  I guess these were the ‘shoegazers’.

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Beach House – Used to Be

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Beach House is streaming a new track, ‘Used to Be‘, from their forthcoming 7″ single (here we go with the Indie artists and 7″ vinyl again) to be released on October 21.  I love their etherial, haunting, lovelorn music and their latest album Devotion is a late night favorite on my headphones.  The duo is set to play The Swedish American Music Hall this Sunday, September 28.  How cool is that?

Stream ‘Used to Be‘.

Listen to ‘Gila‘:

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Treasure Island Music Festival – Rock Fist Forever

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The sun sets on Treasure Island

The sun sets on Treasure Island

Judah rocks it for his first festival.

Judah rocks it for his first festival.

Judah Meets The Morning Benders!

Judah Meets The Morning Benders!

The Treasure Island Music Festival epitomizes the ideal festival experience for me. You could almost say it’s the anti-festival. The crowd size is small – around 10,000 a day, the location is beautiful, the line up is thoughtfully curated with the most cutting-edge indie artists, and the event organization is impeccable – no lines for food, beverages or toilets and only 2 stages scheduled with non-competing performances so the attendee never has to choose or compromise. The result is a beautiful day of rockin’ music.  In an era where behemoth, corporate festivals reign supreme, these qualities do not go unnoticed.  Kudos to Noise Pop and APE. Please, keep up the good work and don’t change a thing!

Day 2 of Treasure Island was one of the better festival line ups I’ve yet to see. Fleet Foxes, Dr. Dog, The Kills and – most of all – The Raconteurs were the highlights for me.  ‘The Rockin-tours’ as Judah calls them. Quite astute for a 3 year old, for these gentleman do ROCK.  I’ve had the pleasure to see them twice this year (the first time at Bimbos!) and can say with certainty that, after last night, Jack White has firmly secured a spot in my rock god pantheon. Which is precisely what separates a Raconteurs show from so many of the shows I see these days.  It’s just straight up, fist pumping, good ‘ol rock-n-roll.  When’s the last time you’ve seen a good rock show?  The kind that just makes you want to bang your head and play air guitar. I’m hard pressed to recall one.  Rock fist forever, Raconteurs.

What do you think: Is Jack White the rock god of our generation?

Here’s one of my favorite songs from the Sunday set:

The Raconteurs, ‘Level’:  

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I Heart Girls and Ty Segall

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Girls at The Hemlock Tavern

Ty Segall at The Hemlock Tavern

It was a long night of music at The Hemlock Friday night, waiting to see my favorite local band, Girls – who I thought were opening, but ended up as headliners.  It was worth the wait as they did not disappoint.  Girls lead singer, Christopher Owens, was mesmerizing to watch in his belted dress, tattooed arms and Cousin It hair flying. I’ve already raved about these guys several times already.  They are going to go far. 

Listen to Girls, ‘Hellhole Rat Race‘:

The evening also introduced me to two other solid local acts, Ty Segall and Master/Slave.  I particularly liked Ty Segall’s sound and was most impressed with his one-man band playing ability.  To play guitar, drums and sing at the same time? Wow.  

In between sets, I was entertained by the bevy of hard-core hipster attire. There was lots of style to be had that evening and it was a step above the standard hipster uniform of slim jeans, plaid shirt and Converse sneakers. What intrigued me most is the variety of footwear presented that night – topsiders, Capezios, Moccasins and bright colored Keds were everywhere.  

Hipster Footwear

A Boy and His Soul

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We saw our dear and talented friend, Colman Domingo, perform his remarkable one-man musical – ‘A Boy and His Soul’ –  last night at Potrero Hill’s Thick House.  And it was AMAZING!  Fresh off his starring role in the hugely popular Broadway hit, ‘Passing Strange’, Colman dazzled us all with an emotional, physical and very comedic walk through his childhood memories – growing up black and gay during the 70s in West Philadelphia.

The premise of the story starts when Colman, dealing with two ill parents, is enlisted to help sell his childhood home in West Philly.  While cleaning out the basement he uncovers a treasure trove of old 70s vinyl soul albums – the soundtrack of his life. From there he recounts the hilarious and endearing tales of his family and youth through the classic grooves of the 70s soul music that permeated his home – the Ohio Players, James Brown, Earth Wind and Fire, Diana Ross and more.

Even if you didn’t grow up in the 70s or with soul music as your soundtrack, you can connect with the power of music and the link it provides to those pivotal memories and experiences in life.  It’s a brilliant performance and highly recommended by this music lover.

“A Boy and His Soul” continues through Sept. 14 at The Thick House, 1695 18th St., San Francisco. Tickets are $15-$30 on a sliding scale. Call 415-401-8081 or visit www.thickhouse.org.

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Centro-Matic | South San Gabriel – Dual Hawks

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I can usually tell if I’ve picked the right movie by the previews they screen.  I apply a similar philosophy to the shows I see.  A quick scan of the crowd and I can tell whether or not I’m in the right place.  Based on the sea of plaid shirts and scarves I saw last night at the South San Gabriel/Centro-Matic line up at The Rickshaw Stop, I knew I was in good hands.

Will Johnson is the prolific singer/songwriter and front man to both South San Gabriel and Centro-Matic. And what a pleasure it was to see both the soft side and the electric side of this man in one evening.  The band has recently released a double album called Dual Hawks.  Centro-Matic is featured on disc one and South San Gabriel, the band’s softer side, is on disc two.  The two bands are comprised of essentially the same members, aside from a few extra friends – and a pedal guitar – for South San Gabriel.  And I am such a sucker for the pedal steel guitar.

Here’s a taste of the two bands for you. 

South San Gabriel, ‘Trust to Lose‘:  

Centro-Matic, ‘I, The Kite’:

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Trailblazing for Radiohead

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I took a bunch of photos with my puny little digital camera at the Outside Lands Festival yesterday in Golden Gate Park, but this one captured the essence of the evening for me.  Throngs of humanity trampling barriers and blazing trail through Eucalyptus groves to get to Radiohead.  Anxiety got the best of the crowd during Beck as thousands of people realized they had to haul ass across the park to get a seat for Radiohead. And no one had the patience to be herded through the narrow walkways set up by festival organizers.  

We all got there in the end, but it was a squash.  Much more so than the All Points West show in New York two weeks ago.  But that in part was due to the festival capacity.  There were reportedly 60,000 people at Outside Lands vs. 30,000 at All Points West.  Even with the bigger crowds, however, Outside Lands was a much better organized event.  I didn’t feel like I missed half of the festival waiting in lines.  And not having to consume alcohol in a designated Beer Garden was a plus. 

The technical difficulties we experienced during Radiohead was quite a let down.  The sound cut out twice for substantial periods during the performance. But once the crowd settled down and people stopped shoving to get to their destination, we all had a fantastic time.  I’ve always had great Radiohead experiences.  And while this performance wouldn’t rank to the top of my Radiohead show list, it certainly didn’t disappoint.  They are always exceptional to see live.  Each performance is just a different degree of greatness.

To see the full Radiohead set list, go to 58Hours, a great Radiohead concert database.  My highlight for the evening? Paranoid Android.

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Countdown to Outside Lands!

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Whoo hoo!  Two more days to Outside Lands and Radiohead.  Here’s a mix I compiled of the bands I’m looking forward to seeing on Friday.  If I can cram it all in. Enjoy!  If you want the MP3 file, you’ll need to sign up for the OCMD Mixtape newsletter.

  1. Carney – Testify
  2. Howlin’ Rain – Dancer at the End of Time
  3. Black Mountain – Angels
  4. The Black Keys – Psychotic Girl
  5. Cold War Kids – Something is Not Right with Me
  6. The Benevento Russo Duo – Best Reason to Buy the Sun
  7. Manu Chao – Welcome to Tijuana
  8. Beck – Gamma Ray
  9. Radiohead – Bodysnatchers

Juana Molina at Yoshi’s SF Tomorrow

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One of my all time favorite live performers, Juana Molina, is playing Yoshi’s San Francisco tomorrow.  The Argentinean songstress is a literal one woman band.  Often compared to the likes of Bjork and Beth Orton, she singlehandedly plays guitar, synthesizer and percussion while singing and looping her vocals to harmonize with herself.  It’s truly incredible and something you have to see live to appreciate all that’s going on.  I highly recommend it.  

Check out this YouTube video profile of Juana and you’ll get a good sense of what I’m talking about.  And be sure to pick up her latest album, Son.

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