Tag Archives: concert review

Blitzen Trapper @ The Indpendent

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I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Blitzen Trapper last night at The Independent. (And was equally amused when I realized I was standing next to The Morning Benders while watching it.  Cool.)  Although I felt like I was seeing an entirely new band.  I saw them a couple of times in the past year supporting Wild Mountain Nation, but this was a wholly different performance.  They stuck to Furr almost exclusively. And lead singer Eric Earley was clearly channeling Bob Dylan. I think the only song from the vault they pulled out was in fact ‘Wild Mountain Nation’.  The music was tight, the harmonies were beautiful.  Much more subdued than their usual blitzkrieg. And I must say my favorite song of the night, while not necessarily one of my favorites on the album, was ‘Love U‘.  They took me someplace else during that song. Awesome.

Onward and upward, Blitzen Trapper!

Listen to ‘Black River Killer’

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Women @ Bottom of the Hill

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Thanks to Ken and Jon, I was able to squeeze into the sold out show Monday night at Bottom of the Hill to catch one of my favorite bands this year, Women. I hadn’t seen Bottom of the Hill quite that packed before and there were clearly two distinct crowds – those who came to see Women and those who came to see Swedish psyche rockers, Dungen.  It was clearly a case of the hipsters vs. the hippies.  In in my opinion, hipster band Women clearly won.  Their lo-fi sound did not disappoint.  My only complaint is that they weren’t opening for label mate, Chad VanGaalen. Now that would have been a stellar line up.  

While I’ve never been able to wrap my head around Dungen, I did stick around to see if they could change my mind.   They didn’t.  Every time I hear their music I think I’m listening to Thai karaoke and immediately want to turn it off.  It’s not fair, I know. I’ve just spent too much time in seedy Bangkok bars and San Francisco’s Thai karaoke hot spot, Ozone, I suppose.  Musically, Dungen is talented.  There’s just something about Swedish in song that doesn’t translate for me.  At all.

Listen to Women’s ‘Black Rice‘:

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Crystal Stilts @ Bottom of the Hill

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My first reaction to seeing Brooklyn-based Crystal Stilts take the stage at Bottom of the Hill last night was, ‘Yeah, girl drummer!’. The next was Napoleon Dynamite meets Meg White.  That was the visual anyway.  Lead singer, Brad Hargett, does evoke a Napoleon Dynamite vibe not only in appearance but also in his emotionless, monotone delivery of each song.  It was hard not to compare drummer Frankie Rose to Meg White with her long raven hair, pale skin and stripped down, minimalist drumming style.

The overall effect?  Eh.  I loved their EP and am really enjoying their new album Alight of Night, but as live performers they leave a bit to be desired.  Maybe it was an off night but they seemed out of synch – starting and stopping songs a few too many times.  At one point during show the keyboard fell off its stand, causing some commotion and a bit of levity.  But overall the spellbinding show I had heard so much about wasn’t there for me.

That’s the way it works sometimes though.  I would much rather see Dr. Dog live than listen to their albums. And Crystal Stilts are definitely worthy of a listen.  I like it very much.  I would just rather listen to their album than see them live.   

Check out ‘The Dazzled’

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Kings of Leon @ The Warfield

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As much as I hate The Warfield, seeing Southern rock gods, Kings of Leon, play there Saturday night was well worth it.  It was like seeing a southern version of U2 play in teeny tiny venue.  The crowd was so into it, singing along with every song they played, pumping their fists in the air.  Having sold out two nights at The Warfield, it seems like people are finally catching on to this good ‘ol American rock-n-roll band. They seem poised for superstardom, despite Pitchfork’s pitiful 3.8 rating of their new album, Only by the Night. They’re a bunch of snobs anyway.

I’m a sucker for their rock ballads, so my favorite song of the night was ‘Arizona‘.

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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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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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