I don’t care what all you hipsters say, I love Jack White and can’t wait to see him with The Dead Weather this Thursday at The Fillmore. Yeah.
Rumble SF Tonight: Veil Veil Vanish + Pepper Rabbit + Silver Swans
Veil Veil Vanish – “Anthem for A Doomed Youth”
Silver Swans – “Realize the Ghost”
Pepper Rabbit – “None Shall Sleep”
I’m liking this San Francisco venue tour de force The Rumble has going. This month we have Milk Bar in the Haight, which is handy if you want to tie in a little run to Amoeba, then maybe some food and nice brew at The Alembic. Okay, so far so good. Even better is the line up featuring local acts Veil Veil Vanish and Silver Swans and LA-based Pepper Rabbit. From shoegaze to electronica to Bossa Nova pop, it’s quite the eclectic line up…. and yet all so fitting for this crazy little town we call home.
2010 SF Big Wheel Race Highlights
Not necessarily music related but such a fun local tradition I felt compelled to share. This year my neighborhood played host to the 10th Annual Big Wheel Races held every Easter Sunday. Hundreds, thousands of people bust out their vintage Big Wheels, Green Machines, and custom rigs to race down San Francisco’s real crookedest street, Vermont Street in Potrero Hill. In costumes to boot! Good fun.
Ty Segall, JEFF the Brotherhood, The Baths @ The Eagle Tavern
Last Thursday night The Eagle Tavern played host to a great night of down and dirty garage rock featuring local acts Ty Segall, The Baths, The Splinters and Nashville-based Jeff the Brotherhood. First off, I need to say that The Eagle Tavern is my new favorite bar. As one of San Francisco’s better known gay bear/leather bars, it’s not a destination that was on my radar. But what a great venue, vibe and fun people! They have the best beer garden in town. And I got a kick out of teasing the bartender, who handed me the beer list, by ordering ‘whatever’s most popular with the ladies.’ After a momentary blank stare, I got a Stella Artois.
It was my first time catching up with The Baths and look forward to hearing more from this group. Especially when they put out music on some other format than cassette tape. (I feel a trendspotting series coming on.) Luckily it appears the uber cool label Woodsist will be putting out their debut LP soon…which is a very good sign. I dig their sound and something about them gave me a Girls vibe, but maybe that was just the lead singer’s dress and shawl getup and the fact that Christopher Owens often takes the stage in similar attire. Whatever the case, file them under one to watch.
The band of brothers, JEFF the Brotherhood, took the stage next and delivered a scorching set. If you haven’t checked these guys out, do so. How can you not like a band that tapes Jeffro Tull on their drum kit? Always a crowd pleaser, these guys know how to work the audience with Jake spending more time off the stage than on it. Then there’s Jamin on drums who wails on his set with the kind of bounce and enthusiasm as Animal of The Muppets. Seriously, check it out.
Ty Segall closed out the night with a kumbaya set of old tunes and a handful of new ones. Members of The Baths joined in on the fun. And if Ty wasn’t already adorable enough, the love and sweetness he was throwing down for his girlfriend (the bassist for The Baths) throughout the night was just too cute for words. When he dedicated “Lovely One” to her my heart melted too. So uplifting and inspiring it was that I almost regained my faith in humanity. Almost.
Dum Dum Girls – “Jail La La”
The new video for “Jail La La”, off Dum Dum Girls’ debut full-length released last month.
Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
The first video from Titus Andronicus‘ second album, “The Monitor”.
My Garage Rock Fantasy
JEFF the Brotherhood – “U Got the Look”
Thursday night San Francisco’s The Eagle Tavern (for real) plays host to a garage rock orgasm featuring not one, but TWO of my obsessions, Ty Segall and JEFF the Brotherhood, along with local up and comers The Splinters and The Baths. I caught this tour de force in Austin last week at The Mohawk and, like a junkie, am ready for another fix. This one’s as good as it gets, folks. Be there, if you’re man enough. And bring your bare ass and chaps.
New Music: Trans Am – “Apparent Horizon”
Trans Am, man these guys have been at it for a long time – 15 years. And they’re back with more to add to their catalog. This one, entitled Thing, is due out April 20. The interesting story behind it is that the project started as commissioned soundtrack for a sci-fi film. While they didn’t know the details, it was reportedly for James Cameron and suspected to be the soundtrack for Avatar.
Well, that never happened. But the lavish budget remained and through the wreckage was born….Thing. A labor of love that takes the band on a journey to strip themselves from not only indie rock, but music itself. One of Thing’s requirements was that each track contain a completely non-musical element, preferably something with a sonic signature that was not even necessarily a sound. They utilized a recording/composition strategy known as “Zombification.” Once a song was recorded, each of the band members would record multiple additional tracks without any reference to the previous ones. The song then forgot itself – becoming almost unlistenable. Upon which they would begin to peel back the layers of the song to arrive at something completely different. Take a listen.
The Temper Trap – “Sweet Disposition”
God damn, these guys blew my mind in Austin. One of my favorite live performances and one of my favorite albums from ’09. What a voice, what a drummer. These Aussies are going to be huge. Mark my word. Check out their new video for the track “Sweet Disposition” off the album Conditions. Then sing out loud with me…”A moment, a love, a dream, a laugh, a kiss, a cry, our rights, our wrongs….Won’t stop till it’s over/ Won’t stop till you surrender.”
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A Dirty Old Man’s Recap of SXSW 2010
As reported by the OCMD’s very own dirty old man, Blogger Mike. All the more reason to love him!
Five barely legal chicks from Montreal. They sing in French and they rock sloppy. They played Sonny’s Vintage, Spiderhouse and more. Their new EP “Together Forever” is out now.
Victoria Williams – “Water To Drink”
Mature, quirky little number… lives in my fave desert, Joshua Tree. Some Harley guy was checkin’ her out. She sang a real sad song about death that made me cry, once at Maria’s Taco xpress, and again at Jovitas.
Need I say more? Truth be told, they bored me. Some kind of inferior, slick, LA version of the Vivian Girls. The French Legation does have a great lawn though.
Venice is Sinking – “Ryan’s Song”
Mmmm legs and violin. LEGS look good to me in the morning….LEGS look good to me at night. I bought 2 cd’s and a shirt with a whale on it.
Allo Darlin‘ – “Dreaming”
I must admit my fetish, yes…ukelele, and this cutey can play. Sweetest pop songs I have heard in some time. Nearly got me dancing, and I don’t dance. Very delicious (free) beer at Waterloo Cycles. 2nd of 3 shows I caught.
The Coathangers – “Shut The Fuck Up”
Talk about fetish. These girls got their freak on. Nasty, yes, but intriguing. Caught these ladies in the parking lot of an Ethiopian restaurant called Karibu. Followed by Fungi Girls. No actual girls but still great!
Dengue Fever – “One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula”
Wow, now that is a dress. Funky, 60’s laced Cambodian goodness. Her sister was at the show. She hadn’t seen her sister in 7 years!
? – played just before Wetdog at Cheer Up Charlies around 1pm. I wanna say her name is Sierra, yes I will call her Sierra… Made for a nice surprise 1st show of the day.
Sometimes you just need a woman with a sense of humor. These nerdy, UK, art school drop-outs got it going on. Great show.
Golden Triangle – “Prize Fighter”
What is not to like? They come from the land of Vivian Girls (Brooklyn), share some garage roots and even a bit of psychedelia.
Sixteen Deluxe – “Fetus”
Back from retirement and rocking harder than ever. Any band that starts a set with Eno and ends with Big Star’s Kangaroo gains my lust and devotion. Spiderhouse sure has lots of stages!
Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”
The chick has this thrift store librarian thing goin’ on. Her and the boys have loads of energy. Sounded great on Scoot’s new patio with $2 Schlitz. They sound nothing like the boss.
the OCMD 