2016 August – Showbams

Deftones make their case in Berkeley that they’re still a force to be reckoned with

August 31, 2016 by Andrew Pohl 1 Comment

Photos by Mike Rosati // Written by Andrew Pohl //

Deftones with YelaWolf, Sister Crayon //
Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
August 26th, 2016 //

Toward the middle of their headlining set at the Greek Theatre Berkeley last Friday, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno took a moment to thank the audience for attending, pointing out that early on in their career, they would often venture south from their home base of “Sacto” (or Sacramento for the normies) to play at the tiny, gone-but-not-forgotten club Berkeley Square (as evidenced here).

Soaking in the crowd like a solid pull off of a bottle of bourbon, the band continued their full-frontal assault, giving it their all and sparing no one. This is just one of the things that makes a band like Deftones a continual hit with the masses. Between their ever-evolving brand of metal and their never-a-dull-moment live show, the icing on the cake has always been their willingness to include the audience, clearly jiving off of its energy in synergistic fashion. Historically, Deftones have always acknowledged the importance of the relationship between the band and the audience, and this night was no different.

I’ve seen Deftones several times over the years, in a variety of venues. I caught them in an outdoor setting when they played at the Warped Tour many moons ago, but this was a much better space to catch the band. Warming up the audience were Sacramento electronic duo Sister Crayon, followed by Alabama hip-hop artist YelaWolf.

A two-piece act from Sacramento, Sister Crayon performed a 30-minute set of electronic-inspired trip-hop, showcasing singer Terra Lopez’s soulful tone that was accompanied by programmer Dani Fernandez’s skilled song-smithing. YelaWolf was up next, offering up his aggressive hip-hop stylings that were peppered with rock and industrial (but certainly not nü-metal) elements. He managed to get the crowd engaged several times with an a cappella rendition of the Garth Brooks classic “Friends in Low Places” and by encouraging audience members to raise their lighters/cell phones in unison to honor the victims of war, racism and police violence.

Deftones came out to a wanting audience; the anticipation was palpable. Going directly into their barn-burner of a song “Rocket Skates”, the pit was whipped into a frenzy and nary an audience member wasn’t screaming along to the chorus chant “GUNS! RAZORS!! KNIVES!!!” Keeping the energy level up, the group jumped right into “Geometric Headdress” followed by what was surely a crowd favorite, the classic and beautiful “Be Quite and Drive (Far Away)” from their sophomore album Around the Fur.

The band was tight, punchy and engaging. Guitarist Stephan Carpenter held down his side of the stage, and if I can use a Who reference, playing John Entwistle to Moreno’s Roger Daltrey and Abe Cunningham’s Keith Moon. Speaking of Cunningham, the criminally underrated drummer was in peak form, laying down bombastic beats with precision. Bassist Sergio Vega’s low end was a bit subdued in the mix, but given the outdoor setting, that was to be expected. In contrast, this was one of the few times I have been able to really catch the additions that keyboardist/turntablist/beat-maker Frank Delgado was contributing.

As they moved around their two-decade-old catalog, Deftones kept a solid balance of their more energetic and brutal tunes (“Rickets”, “Swerve City”, “Diamond Eyes”, “Gore”) with their more delicate but still heavy songs (“Digital Bath”, “Rosemary”, “(L)MIRL”). Switching between playing guitar and strictly vocals, Moreno would often venture out onto a catwalk closer to the pit to join the audience as he is known to do. At one point, he crowd-walked into the pit for a scream-along with a gang of arms reaching out to get as close as possible.

Appropriately, Deftones dedicated their song “Prince” to the recently, tragically fallen musical legend, in which the stage was drowned in a wash of purple lighting. The set ended in a trio of sing-along favorites from my favorite album White Pony: “Knife Prty”, “Change (In the House of Flies)” and “Passenger”, with nearly every audience member gladly assuming Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan’s vocal part on the latter.

For an encore, the band whipped through four early-catalog tunes: “My Own Summer (Shove It)”, “Headup”, “Bored”, and “Engine No. 9”. This was a treat for anyone who has been along for the ride with the band since its early days. I was pleased with the collection of songs that Deftones offered up this evening, pulling from seven of their eight albums, the only one left out being their self-titled LP.

I overheard a few folks who weren’t that stoked, saying they felt the band lacked energy, but I respectfully disagree. Deftones are one of those rare beasts that have managed to make music on their own terms throughout their entire career, developing their signature sound that often has been imitated but never replicated. Given how much of a workhorse they have been as a band and also how much the individual members are, plus how vast their catalog is, I feel that they did a great job keeping the show engaging and providing something for everyone.

Setlist:
Rocket Skates
Geometric Headdress
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
Rickets
Diamond Eyes
Rosemary
Swerve City
Gore
Kimdracula
Digital Bath
Prince
(L)MIRL
Knife Party
Change (In the House of Flies)
Passenger

Encore:
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Headup
Bored

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Deftones, Greek Theatre Berkeley, Sister Crayon, Yelawolf

Les Sins hypnotizes his fans at The New Parish

August 30, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Photos by Alister Mori // Written by Paul Ronas-Tanner //

Les Sins with Taraval, DJ Nina Sol //
The New Parish – Oakland
August 19th, 2016 //

There was something special in the air as soon as I got off Bart at the 19th St. Oakland station — and I am not talking about the recreational drugs or the food stands that were all around me, but rather the electricity that resonated with all the people who rushed out of the train eager to get into a club or bar within walking distance. Anywhere on Telegraph Ave. where you could buy a drink had a line that started blending in with the establishment next to it, which continued on for blocks. On this night, it seemed like Oakland was the place to be.

As I walked up 18th St. toward The New Parish, the positive vibes must have started kicking in because I quickly got excited for an act whose music I had never heard before. All the laughs and big grins I must have encountered at the Bart station made me just want to have a good time with some good people, but little did I know how much my fun I really would have.

I put a little more bounce in my step and hurried to the destination where lucky for me, the line was moving quite well. The marquee said “Les Sins” in big font. From the music I could hear outside the venue, I couldn’t help but two-step the moment after I walked through the door. Maybe it was the positive vibes I felt walking briefly around in Oakland, but I took my time looking for my friends.

Occasionally stepping in and out of small groups while dancing to the opening DJ, I couldn’t help but notice that everybody was moving, too. From the coat-check girl to the bar backs, it was as if someone had put a spell on those in attendance to forget all of their problems and genuinely enjoy the night. There were some people with rhythm and some with absolutely none, but all of us were living in the moment. Arms were flailing as people reached for the ceiling, and souls, well, they were definitely being touched.

I have been to Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), Outside Lands and numerous clubs where I had to be intoxicated just to feel the music (disclosure: I’m more of a R&B and hip-hop fan), but this wasn’t it. This was exactly your typical EDM, but rather a soulful mix of them all with an old-school feel and nostalgic samples. I felt as though they took the classic hooks and breaks my older sisters and father used to play and brought them to the forefront by mixing it with more of a modern club sound. Even though some may refer to chillwave as “downtempo pop,” it can give you an uptempo feeling that makes you forget about time. At The New Parish, the room was filled with a multitude of colors and cultures that all moved to the same beat, like we were one life form.

Wanting to get some fresh air, we stepped outside to converse and found a few connected bars in the courtyard, which if you were not feeling the vibe, could go to and still feel like you were apart of the scene. We decided to catch the rest of Taraval’s opening set, and we hurried back to the second balcony to watch the Canadian composer, musician and DJ work his magic on the crowd.

As we made our way up the stairs, we came back to two DJ’s onstage, with the other being the night’s headliner. Les Sins is the alter ego of Chaz Bundick, best known as the brains behind indie-rock stalwart Toro y Moi, and standing side by side, the two artists dropped harmonious beat after beat that complimented each other’s style before Bundick took over, transitioning seamlessly into his headlining set. As if I were having a flashback of a past weekend in Vegas, I subsequently went into a trance and let the music take over my body. And with a drink in my hand, I decided to dance the night away.

Some DJ’s can play music throughout a night and they would all sound like one track, but when it comes to Les Sins, you can feel the difference in every mix. To my surprise, Bundick hasn’t played as many Les Sins shows as he has with Toro y Moi, which made this experience feel somewhat exclusive. Following that night at The New Parish, I can proudly say that I have subscribed to both Les Sins and Toro y Moi; when I’m driving to work or getting ready for a night out on the town, putting on Bundick’s music in one form or another helps me relive what proved to be a magical night in the East Bay.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Chaz Bundick, Les Sins, Taraval, The New Parish, Toro Y Moi

Chuck Mosley reunites with Faith No More for a special night at Great American Music Hall

August 22, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

By Mike Rosati //

Chuck Mosley & Friends with Coffin Boy Crow //
Great American Music Hall – San Francisco
August 18th, 2016 //

If you grew up listening to alternative metal in the mid to late 80’s, there’s a chance you might know who Chuck Mosley is. For those who didn’t though, the Southern California native was one of the earliest influences of rap/rock before its ascent nearly a decade later.

Now residing in Cleveland, Mosley made his return to the Bay Area last Thursday for a show on his “Reintroduce Yourself World Tour 2016” that was billed as “Chuck Mosley & Friends.” But what some audience members at the Great American Music Hall may not have realized before arriving was that they were in for quite a treat.

Surprisingly enough, Mosley’s “friends” actually turned out to be his former band Faith No More, who agreed earlier this year to reissue a remastered version of their debut album We Care a Lot with nine bonus tracks.

Joining Mosley — who at one time also served as the lead singer for the hardcore-punk outfit Bad Brains — onstage was Faith No More’s Mike Bordin (drums), Roddy Bottum (keyboards), Billy Gould (bass) and Jon Hudson (guitar) as they performed old songs like “Jungle”, “Mark Bowen”, “Greed”, “New Beginnings” and “Arabian Disco” from We Care a Lot in addition to cuts from 1987’s Introduce Yourself, including “The Crab Song”, “Spirit” and “Anne’s Song”, which they closed things out with in epic fashion.

The show opened with a set from Coffin Boy Crow, who stumbled around the stage in a dark burka while picking up random instruments and shouting free-verse chants over piped music.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Chuck Mosley, Coffin Boy Crow, Faith No More, Great American Music Hall

Splash House 2016: One wet & wild weekend

August 19, 2016 by Jansen Granflor 1 Comment

Photos by Anastasia Velicescu, Jesse Fulton, Jose Negrete & Quinn Tucket for Goldenvoice // Written by Jansen Granflor //

Splash House //
The Saguaro & The Riviera – Palm Springs, CA
August 12th-14th, 2016 //

Now in its third year and hosting its fifth overall event, Splash House combines the pools of The Saguaro and The Riviera for two weekends each summer. We drove from Orange County to Palm Springs last weekend to watch it all go down at the festival’s second edition in 2016.

There were also official after parties on Friday and Saturday night at the Palm Springs Air Museum, which trade pools and bare skin for shorts and shoes with laces for an intimate “dancing under the stars” experience. We spoke with festivalgoers as far north as the Bay Area, as far south as San Diego and as far east as Arizona who all made the journey for two days and three nights of excruciating heat, refreshing pools and unquestionably one of the most talented lineups of underground electronic artists.

Our weekend began at the Palm Springs Air Museum last Friday night with the weather just below 100 degrees and the excitement building for Australian alternative dance group RÜFÜS DU SOL, who performed at the Santa Monica Pier (read our review of the show here) the night before. It was also the only “live band” set we caught all weekend. A constant breeze provided a comfortable atmosphere we would not experience again until the following evening, as DJ duo Hotel Garuda played warmed up the crowd with remixes of “Ultraviolence” by Lana Del Rey and “Begging for Thread” by Banks, before the night culminated with the Sydney group doling out a number of hits, including “Like An Animal” & “Say a Prayer for Me”. However, for those who used Uber to get to the party, the night inevitably ended on a sour note (see what we mean below).

Turning to Saturday, festivalgoers slowly trickled into the Saguaro’s pool area before 3 p.m., and two hours later, the place was jam-packed and it was close to being a fire hazard an hour later. Unofficial Splash House resident DJ Viceroy treated those present to the same poolside, “summertime-all-the-time” tunes he normally plays, although one could argue they worked better at Splash House than anywhere else in the world. From there, UK “hypnodance” duo Psychemagik kept the vibe going and transitioned into their remix/rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, which proved to be the first of numerous iconic moments that could be attributed to an oldie-but-goodie.

We subsequently made the trek to The Riviera, which had a much larger capacity and created a raw atmosphere with a soundtrack that featured EDM-infused trap, dubstep and hip-hop through the late afternoon and early evening. If the Saguaro was supposed to be the fest’s underground house music stage, The Riviera was the main stage with thumping, big-room bass, as the artists performed right beside the deep end (go figure) of The Riviera’s massive, expansive pool .

Scottish producer extraordinaire Hudson Mohawke had the ratchets grinding to “Pony” by Ginuwine at the end of his sundown set (just another iconic moment of the weekend set to a timeless masterpiece), while British duo Snakehips gave the party new life with a remix of The Weeknd’s “Wanderlust” early on in their headlining slot. Right before 9 p.m., Snakehips played their smash hit “All My Friends” feat. Tinashe and Chance the Rapper, which was a bit of life-imitating art considering the song is about wasting another night with all your friends by getting, well, wasted of course, which was clearly what the crowd at The Riviera had been up to all night.

Saturday night’s action at the Palm Springs Air Museum featured music from two very busy deep-house artists — Germany’s Claptone and North London’s Chris Lake — playing for what felt like a much smaller audience than the previous night. The 100-degree heat at midnight could have been a significant factor, or it could have simply been the lineup, as one overseer for the venue told us how she loved RÜFÜS DU SOL the night before but could care less about the “techno” that was blaring in the background. As the evening progressed, Lake inevitably dropped his deep-house remix of Calvin Harris’ “How Deep is Your Love”, an absolute banger and an anthem for a sub-genre that has withstood the EDM boom-and-bust over the last few years. As the hottest Saturday in recent memory finally came to an end, Claptone closed with a flawless set that included his Beatport-topping remixes of “Liquid Spirit” by Gregory Porter and “Omen” by Disclosure featuring Sam Smith before finishing with his original track “No Eyes” that foreshadowed a night of much-needed sleep.

On Sunday at The Saguaro’s pool, French record label Partyfine’s funk ambassador Jean Tonique made his appearance, with London’s Marcus Marr following in what ultimately became my personal favorite set of the weekend. Marr brought the funk early and then worked in some dark bass lines before ending with an extended piano-intro version of Prince’s 1979 single “I Wanna Be Your Lover”, which had 99.98 percent of the crowd thoroughly enjoying the last few hours that were left of Splash House.

Over at The Riviera, an absolutely bonkers DJ roster of DFA Records’ The Juan Maclean, LA hometown heroes DJ Dodger Stadium (aka DJDS, who recently worked on Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo), up-and-coming DJ/producer Jesse Rose (who has blessed the LA underground scene throughout 2016), Australian remix champ Cassian (who was a last-minute sub for a sick Chris Malinchak) and festival headliner Gorgon City (who has seemingly played every continent in the world this past year) all took the stage at one point.

The dedicated partygoers at The Riviera’s pool on Sunday night were not ready to stop when the music was cut off shortly after 9 p.m., which might have been why a $10 impromptu after party was announced by Splash House’s promoters earlier in the day. Coincidentally enough, Sabastion, one-half of LA-based DJ duo Strange Club, told me late on Friday night, “I don’t do the day parties, just the (night parties at the Air Museum) and house parties in the area.” In a way then, it was only fitting that an artist whom Splash House handpicked was the last to hit the decks when it was all said and done.

We also ventured over to “All Day Disco” at The Riviera’s Tiki Pool on Sunday afternoon to catch Alex Harrington, a local DJ who moved to the Coachella Valley area 11 years ago after living in Northern California and was recently recognized as the “Best Club DJ” by Coachella Valley Weekly. Since relocating to the desert, Harrington has seen Splash House grow from a “one-weekend, regionally-known event to a festival that reaches people around the world,” and mentioned that artists are allowed to play whatever style suits them, so he made sure to keep reading the people in the pool to figure out what would keep them moving.

Harrington ended our interview with his own personal hopes that events like Splash House could raise the profile of the area and attract bigger artists in the future, and considering the festival sold out at 5,000 guests per day, all of whom lodged, ate, drank and partied in Palm Springs, we wouldn’t expect anything less than a bigger and better edition in 2017.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: Alex Harrington, Cassian, Chris Lake, Chris Malinchak, Claptone, DJ Dodger Stadium, Gorgon City, Hudson Mohawke, Jean Tonique, Jesse Rose, Marcus Marr, Psychemagik, RÜFÜS, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Sabastion, snakehips, Splash House, Splash House 2016, Strange Club, The Juan Maclean, Viceroy

Guitar heroes Rodrigo y Gabriela give it all they got at the City National Civic

August 19, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

By Mike Rosati //

Rodrigo y Gabriela //
City National Civic – San Jose
August 9th, 2016 //

Mexican acoustic guitar heroes Rodrigo y Gabriela headlined the City National Civic earlier this month as part of their 2016 world tour.

While there were no special guests like Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who performed with the duo a few days later in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Bowl, fans didn’t leave disappointed after hearing a 90-minute set that consisted of a few classics and some new tunes.

During the show, Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero announced that they didn’t have a setlist prepared for the evening but instead, would be playing songs they had been working on while on tour before heading back to “the office,” aka their recording studio. Sánchez, to be expected, brought his heavy-metal riffs to the stage while Quintero showed off her classic sound and hummingbird-like hand work. The show proved to be one big party, with Sánchez and Quintero even inviting some audience members onto the stage to dance.

Sánchez dug into a few covers for fun, honoring such legendary rock bands as Led Zeppelin and Red Hot Chili Peppers, but during the encore, him and his partner also paid tribute to the 43 students who died in a mass murder nearly two years ago in Mexico, flashing a screen at the back of stage that said “Ayotzinapa Somos Todos” in remembrance of them.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: City National Civic, Rodrigo y Gabriela

The Crux leave their folk-punk imprint on SF

August 18, 2016 by The Bam Team 2 Comments

By Gina Lopez //

The Crux //
Great American Music Hall – San Francisco
August 13th, 2016 //

Crux Interpretum. How does one interpret the music of The Crux?

One might call it folk punk with a diverse array of musical elements, including the wandering spirit of gypsy, the rowdiness pirate, the unabashed soul of gospel, the fascinating rhythm of jazz, the rawness of blues and the heart of klezmer.

Hailing from Santa Rosa, Calif., 55 miles north of the City, The Crux reach deep into musical history, reinvigorating and reinterpreting these musical traditions for our time and place with colorful lyrics that paint a fable, tell a riddle and leave you wondering how you interpret your own human experience. Last Saturday at the gorgeous Great American Music Hall, they held their album release show for their latest LP Crux Interpretum, which is a compilation of their Crux Interpretum cassette trilogy that they released between 2014 and 2015.

The Crux never cease to surprise and delight audiences, as frontman Josh Windmiller and his band are always willing to go the extra mile to entertain, even if it means coming on stage in their skivvies. After lively opening sets from fellow North Bay bands Lungs & Limbs and The Dixie Giants, The Crux began their set as the evening’s headliner with an instrumental tune, sans Windmiller.

Suddenly, Windmiller burst out of a cardboard box that had been placed right in the center of the stage. With that whirlwind energy, handmade props (true to The Crux’s style), spectacular stage lighting and a dynamic stage presence from every musician onstage, the show dazzled the audience, leaving them begging for “one more song.” With a well-timed costume change into their post-performance attire of robes and boxers, the discalced band members returned to the stage for a memorable finale.

And thus, the recent recipient of the 2016 North Bay Bohemian NorBays Music Award for best folk/acoustic band headed back home, across the Golden Gate Bridge, leaving their folk-punk imprint on the heart of SF.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Great American Music Hall, The Crux

Is the Santa Monica Pier’s Twilight Concert Series becoming too popular for its own good?

August 17, 2016 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

RÜFÜS DU SOL with Marc Baker //
Santa Monica Pier – Santa Monica, CA
August 11th, 2016 //

Nothing says summer in Los Angeles quite like the Twilight Concert Series. Whether you live near the beach or not, the free shows at the Santa Monica Pier have become one of LA’s best summertime traditions over the years.

But as we found out at BØRNS’ headlining performance (read our review of the show here) last month, the series may be getting too big for its britches. At least part of that sentiment can be attributed to NPR member station KCRW’s curation process, which seemingly gets better and better with each passing year. And of course, it’s worth noting that the recent tragedies across this country have only forced increased security measures and a larger presence from local law enforcement.

That said, the crowd that arrived last Thursday to take in RÜFÜS DU SOL’s show was unlike anything I or anyone else had seen before. Whatever the attendance number was, whether it was 40,000 or 80,000, simply didn’t matter. The fact was, the concert viewing area on the pier couldn’t handle the sheer number of bodies that showed up to watch the Australian alt-dance outfit perform before it headed off to Palm Springs for a special late-night set at Splash House the following day.

What transpired at the pier this time was everything we experienced at the BØRNS show four weeks prior and worse, if that’s even possible. At one point, I didn’t even know if I was going to photograph RÜFÜS DU SOL because the fire marshal shut down the backstage VIP area due to overcrowding (when I finally got escorted back in, the photo pit was completely packed to the gills with mostly VIP guests who were there to watch the show). Had I known it was going to be that much trouble to re-enter, I never would have left to say hello to a friend after opener Marc Baker played for no more than 30 minutes, leaving a longer changeover than expected. I guess I underestimated just how far the Aussie trio has come since first releasing its RÜFÜS EP in early 2011.

“RÜFÜS … RÜFÜS DU WHO?” some of you might be saying. Though die-hard fans may laugh at those who haven’t heard of the band by now, I’ll be honest — I hadn’t heard of them either until April when I noticed they were listed on this year’s Coachella lineup. Clearly the joke is on me then, because after everything I witnessed from Tyrone Lindqvist (vocals, guitar), Jon George (keyboards) and James Hunt (drums), this shouldn’t have served as my introduction. Yet, there I was, sandwiched in between a bunch of bodies with my camera equipment in tow as RÜFÜS ran through material off their 2013 debut LP Atlas and this year’s follow-up Bloom, both of which have topped the charts in their home country.

There’s something about RÜFÜS DU SOL that makes them undeniably catchy. At times, their sun-drenched, beat-driven songs sound like a cross between Disclosure, Gorgon City and Bob Moses, with Lindqvist hooking listeners with his smooth vocal stylings. Knowing how popular those aforementioned groups have become, it made perfect sense that the pier was as packed as it was for RÜFÜS less than a week after they performed for the first time at Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival (read our review here) in San Francisco.

So, is there anything that can be done to keep the Thursday night crowds at the Santa Monica Pier to a more reasonable level going forward? If it means having to issue tickets — either on a first-come-first-serve basis or even for a small fee — for those who want to watch the show on the pier, then so be it. And while that change may not happen this year with only four shows left, don’t be surprised if it happens in 2017, assuming the Twilight Concert Series returns for its 33rd edition next summer.

After all, when in doubt, you can always still catch the show from the sand.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Coachella, Coachella 2016, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2016, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2016, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2016, KCRW, Marc Baker, RÜFÜS, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Santa Monica Pier, Twilight Concert Series

Dirtybird BBQ bumps the bass on Treasure Island

August 17, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Photos by Lisette Worster // Written by EJ Bernardo //

Dirtybird BBQ //
Treasure Island – San Francisco
August 13th, 2016 //

It was that time of the year again last weekend as BBQ season was in full effect on Treasure Island — and it definitely got dirty.

A tradition for SF’s native DJ’s since 2002, the Dirtybird BBQ never fails to deliver. Venturing to the east side of the island where the event was being held proved to be quite a trek for those who drove, as only Lyft and Uber drivers were allowed to drop off passengers directly in front. With this venue well-known for hosting the annual Treasure Island Music Festival, it was a bit of a homecoming of sorts for the legendary BBQ party.

The crowd, meanwhile, was diverse to say the least. A crowd full of weirdos. A crowd full of ratchets. A crowd full of hungry mouths and hungry ears. And everyone ate it up!

Slaying on the decks was a cast of Dirtybird All-Stars that included Ardalan, Worthy, Christian Martin, J.Phlip, Claude VonStroke and lastly Justin Martin, who closed out the festivities with hot fire. With no disrespect to the prior performances, the bass really got the crowd bumping during J.Phlip’s set. Some may recall people getting down so low that people were literally on the ground wiggling to the beat. A man was also seen earlier in the day patiently dancing with a large birthday cake that he was ready throw in the air as soon as VonStroke’s track “Make a Cake” came through the speakers. It was a memorable thing to do to get others as dirty as the tunes that were being dropped onstage.

Claude VonStroke

As Justin Martin finished up a day full of music, the sun slowly faded in and out behind the evening fog. The Dirtybird co-founder’s signature style, which mixes trap beats with more traditional house music, brought the crowd closer together for warmth as well as an epic dance experience.

Being that this was the second year attendees couldn’t bring their own coolers filled with booze into the venue, there were plenty of food and beverage options to satisfy the masses. And though the lines may have been a bit long as expected, they were organized enough to keep things moving along at a decent pace. Plus, the ability to socialize with strangers was something one may not get the chance to do as easily at a club or concert. Whether you were waiting for the ever-crowded porta potties or hitting the jam-packed dance floor, the Dirtybird BBQ once again brought friends and family together.

Along with the familiar sounds from the Dirtybird crew, this year’s BBQ took on the theme of a county fair with old-fashioned activities that included ring tosses, balloon tossing and various opportunities to score a blue ribbon. As many did their best to occupy their inner child for the day, the continuous bump of the bass kept the crowd’s energy level high.

On the whole, the party consisted of reuniting with familiar faces, connecting with new souls, booty shaking to bass music, cake dodging, reminiscing with Jesus Christ in the flesh and the constant search for the lost pink-haired princess named Olive.

Filed Under: Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: Ardalan, Christian Martin, Claude VonStroke, Dirtybird, Dirtybird BBQ, Dirtybird BBQ 2016, Dirtybird BBQ SF, Dirtybird BBQ SF 2016, Dirtybird Records, J. Phlip, Justin Martin, Treasure Island, Worthy

Show of the Week // GO4FREE to Les Sins at The New Parish 8/19 (FRI)

August 16, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Written by Brett Ruffenach //

Les Sins with Taraval, DJ Nina Sol //
The New Parish – Oakland
August 19th, 2016 //

Chaz Bundick is a busy man. Between writing music for his solo-project-turned-rock-band Toro y Moi, touring around the world in support of their most recent album What For? (read our community review here) and even taking that band to the Trona Pinnacles to record and release their own Pink Floyd-inspired album Live From Trona (watch the live film here), it’s hard to believe Bundick has the time to work on his electronic side project Les Sins.

Conceived in 2010, Les Sins has evolved into an excellent expansion of Bundick’s musical tastes, filling the gaps between a quirky indie-rock singer-songwriter and a foot-stomping electronic producer. His debut LP under the Les Sins moniker, Michael, was released on his own Company Records in late 2014, led by the album’s infectious single “Bother”.

As a DJ, Bundick blends familiar elements of French electronic, pop, house and 90’s hip-hop to create a rhythm guaranteed to keep your body moving. On tracks like “Grind” and “Why”, he demonstrates a deep understanding of how pop, soul, house and disco can mix together, creating a familiar, yet unique sound. Having seen both Toro y Moi and Les Sins perform in the past year, I’d take the latter any day.

This Friday, Les Sins pays a visit to The New Parish in Oakland for a DJ set with support from San Francisco’s own Taraval, a recent signee to Four Tet’s Text Records (you can listen to his debut EP Streetways here), and DJ Nina Sol, an Oaklander known for her eclectic sets as well as her genre-bending style. Tickets are available for $25, or you could win a pair of tickets by submitting your full name and email below.

Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.

Follow Showbams on Twitter for more contest giveaways throughout the week. Be the first to respond to our contest tweets to GO4FREE to these shows:

• IdleFox: August 16th (TUE) @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall
• Chuck Mosley & Friends: August 18th (THUR) @ Great American Music Hall
• The Coathangers: August 19th (FRI) @ The Independent
• Glen David Andrews: August 19th (FRI) @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall
• The Muffs & The Rubinoos: August 20th (SAT) @ Slim’s
• Panic Is Perfect & Dangermaker: August 20th (SAT) @ Great American Music Hall
• Vetiver (Mollusk Moods special trio set): August 20th (SAT) @ The Chapel

Enter your name (First and Last) along with your email below. If you win a contest, you’ll be notified on the day the contest ends (details above).

Like Showbams on Facebook, follow Showbams on Twitter and follow Showbams on Instagram. Subscribe to our social channels for a better chance to win!

CONTEST CLOSED.

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: Brick & Mortar Music Hall, Chaz Bundick, Chuck Mosley, DJ Nina Sol, Glen David Andrews, Great American Music Hall, Idlefox, Les Sins, Mollusk Moods, Panic Is Perfect, Slims, Taraval, The Chapel, The Coathangers, The Independent, The Muffs, The New Parish, Toro Y Moi, Vetiver

First Times: Covering a show at the Hollywood Bowl

August 12, 2016 by Josh Herwitt 4 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Sufjan Stevens with Kurt Vile and The Violators, Ibeyi //
Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles
August 7th, 2016 //

No matter what you think of LA, whether you love it, hate it or hold no opinion of it at all, the Hollywood Bowl has remained universally loved as one of the city’s most prized possessions. It’s safe to say that the Bowl, as us Angelenos like to call it for short, has always stood as one of the world’s most legendary outdoor music venues. In fact, it’s still considered the “largest natural amphitheater” in the U.S. (whatever that means) at 17,500, but just do a quick Google search for “best outdoor music venues in the U.S.” and you’ll see how often it’s included in listicles ranking the best amphitheaters in the country. For that reason alone — although the glitz and glamour of LA have certainly never hurt — there has always been an understanding within the music industry that any artist who headlines a show inside the Bowl’s iconic bandshell has officially “made it.”

Though I don’t know if the same can be said for my music journalism career, there have been at least a few bright spots, one as most recently as last Sunday, when I was invited to cover my first show at the Bowl. It might sound cliché (actually it definitely sounds cliché), but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would get credentialed for a show at one of music’s most storied and historic venues, one that I grew up going to regularly as a kid. When you write for a small music blog like this one, getting the opportunity to cover a show at the Bowl doesn’t come around all that often, if ever. And what a show it turned out to be.

With a bill headlined by neo-psychedelic folk singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and featuring sets from lo-fi indie rocker Kurt Vile with his backing band, The Violators, and French-Cuban soul/R&B duo Ibeyi, the lineup of performers on this night was eclectic to say the least. Yet, with two of the three acts already in California to play Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival (read our review here), NPR member station KCRW made sure to take advantage for its World Festival series.

Sufjan Stevens

It’s always tough for an opener to play the Bowl, and unfortunately Ibeyi had to find that out the hard way for its first appearance. With the show’s early start time due to the Bowl’s 10:30 p.m. curfew on Sundays (it slides back to 11 p.m. Monday-Saturday), most of the seats were empty when twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz took the stage at 7 p.m. sharp. It wasn’t until 7:40 p.m., when Vile and his three bandmates were subsequently up next, that the amphitheater started to fill up, especially in the upper-level sections. Vile, who has been touring heavily since the release of his sixth solo album b’lieve I’m goin down…, let out a few hoots and hollers as he opened his 50-minute set, doing his best to pump up the somewhat subdued crowd. But it was his music that ultimately got fans excited, leaning heavily on his newest material as he moved between electric guitar, acoustic guitar and banjo.

The spectacle of the night, however, was no doubt Sufjan Stevens’ set. The Michigan native, who professed his love for his home state on his 2003 LP, had it pretty rough growing up, as he details in “Should Have Known Better” from his latest studio effort Carrie & Lowell. The album, which recounts some of the more unsettling moments Stevens shared with his late mother (Carrie) and stepfather (Lowell) — including times when Carrie abandoned him as a child — and the emotional pain he felt following her death in 2012, has taken his career of almost 20 years to new heights, with many music critics pronouncing it his best yet.

On this evening though, Stevens did his best to spin things in a positive light, proclaiming at one point that he wanted to “sing about life” after spending “a year-and-a-half singing about death.” “Feel your heart and your lungs and the warmth of your skin, and know you’re alive,” he told us in between songs while preaching that we as a society need “less resistance” and “more acceptance.” Coming from a man who dons a pair of giant wings, a neon-colored track suit and at times, a bizarre balloon costume onstage, a spiritual pep talk as such could sound like a bunch of hocus pocus to glass-half-empty types. But the stories Stevens tells on Carrie & Lowell are real and heartfelt, ones that take guts to broadcast publicly like he does, and with a rainbow of fluorescent lights covering the Bowl’s band shell once night fell, the final stop on his 2016 summer tour felt more like a celebration of sorts than a memorial service. So, as the man in a foil-like suit ran through the crowd at the start of his encore, which concluded with a tribute to another one of his fallen heroes in Prince, I couldn’t help but smile and take it all in, knowing full well that the chance to cover a show at the Bowl may never come my way again.

SUFJAN STEVENS

Setlist:
Seven Swans
Too Much
All of Me Wants All of You
Come On! Feel the Illinoise!
I Walked
Vesuvius
Blue Bucket of Gold
Fourth of July
Should Have Known Better
Carrie & Lowell
I Want to Be Well
Impossible Soul
Chicago

Encore:
Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
Kiss (Prince cover) (with Moses Sumney)

KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS

Setlist:
Dust Bunnies
I’m an Outlaw
Jesus Fever
Goldtone
KV Krimes
Walkin’ on a Pretty Day
Pretty Pimpin’
Puppet for the Man
Freak Train

IBEYI

Setlist:
Elleggua
Lost in My Mind
Mama Says
I’m on My Way
Oya
Think of You
Oddudua
River

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, First Times, Show Experience Tagged With: Hollywood Bowl, Ibeyi, KCRW, KCRW World Festival, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Sufjan Stevens

Outside Lands 2016: Top sets, awards & what we overheard at Golden Gate Park

August 11, 2016 by Molly Kish 4 Comments

Photos by Norm de Veyra & James Pawlish // Written by Molly Kish //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 5th-7th, 2016 //

Celebrating its ninth annual year as Northern California’s premier music, comedy, food and arts festival, Outside Lands took over Golden Gate Park last weekend and entertained crowds of more than 60,000 attendees each day with a massive roster of world-renowned talent. This year’s highlights surmounted all previous editions and exceeded the expectations of the most veteran festivalgoers.

Beyond the daily artist lineups, mouth-watering fare and unparalleled comedy showcases, Outside Lands kicked it up a notch in 2016, playing to what seemed like a more refined crowd on a local and national level. The festival’s organizers created an environment that appealed to both novices and seasoned attendees, with convenience being the key factor and a running theme that helped establish a flow to the fairgrounds that was unattainable in past years.

The fest also worked with PayPal to set up an option for cashless transactions by uploading “Bison Bucks” to your wristband, creating a seamless navigation of all the food/beverage and merchandise options. Furthermore, the debut of additional boutique concessions at Oyster Lands and Cocktail Lands provided a reprieve from the long lines at food trucks, booths and beer stands for the mature palette.

Even the structure and pace of this year’s Outside Lands schedule felt more conducive to less park-length traversing, with each stage focusing more on specific genres and demographics. There are still certain aspects that could use improvement, such as an increased availability of trash receptacles, bathroom options and crowd control at the festival’s entrance, but the issues that Outside Lands faced this year were no different or more overbearing than any other large-scale production.

Now nine years on the circuit, the Bay Area’s premiere destination for festival revelers has definitely matured to an impressive standard in the live music business. As Outside Lands continues to set the bar high thanks to its innovative features, top-notch billing and overall experience, here are our favorite moments from 2016.

LCD Soundsystem

TOP SETS:

Headliner: LCD Soundsystem

Hip-Hop: Anderson .Paak

Pop: Grimes

Singer-Songwriter: Lana Del Rey

Rock: FOALS

EDM: Zedd

Jazz: Kamasi Washington

Experimental: Air

Breakthrough artist: Jidenna

Local act: Down and Outlaws

Heineken Dome: Warren G & E-40 (pop-up performance)

Chance the Rapper

OUTSIDE LANDS 2016 AWARDS:

Biggest Crowd: Chance the Rapper

In one of the few transcendent moments of the weekend, a set that had everyone throughout the fairgrounds hyped into an anticipatory frenzy, Chance the Rapper performed at the Lands End stage on Sunday afternoon for easily the largest crowd of the entire weekend. Even those who stood their ground through Third Eye Blind’s preceding set felt the drastic change in both crowd size and personal space as the polo fields flooded and temperatures rose. Even though Chance could have used this to his advantage and conducted an explosive show, igniting the tightly configured crowd into a combustive state, he instead took his fans “to church” with a spiritually centered gospel set, making sure everyone was attentive and of course, that “his part” resonated among the masses.

Honorable Mention: Lana Del Rey, J. Cole

Most Magical Outside Lands Moment: Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem

One of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind coming into Outside Lands was, “Who were Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem?” For those who knew, it was, “How in the hell were the Muppets going to fill a Sunday slot on the main stage?” Because the band had never played a show of such magnitude or outside the context of a TV/film studio, no one had any clue what to expect during this early-afternoon slot. Though some festivalgoers (mistakenly) decided to forego the experience altogether, those present will not forget the incredible feat that Another Planet Entertainment and Jim Henson Enterprises were able to pull off for what was one of the most emotionally nostalgic, blissfully complex and once-in-a-lifetime festival performances maybe ever. The Muppet house band both effortlessly managed to pluck the heartstrings of multiple generations of fans while delivering the most conceptually beautiful “love letter” to the city of SF, blanketing the grounds in a sea of love and collective euphoria for a brief, yet unforgettable moment. Relive the full performance here.

Honorable Mention: Big Boi’s set at Heineken Dome (pop-up performance), Jason Isabel performing with Ryan Adams

Funniest Stage Banter: Ryan Adams and The Shining

Known to be quite the comedian with his sassy stage banter and on-the-spot ad libs, Ryan Adams and his backing band, The Shining, catered to the Bay Area audience by revisiting a moment from his 2014 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass set with a rousing reprise of “3 Balloons”. He not only called out his attending family’s and audience members’ concert etiquette faux pas, but he also mentioned his annoyance with the bass of Major Lazer’s simultaneous set as well as referenced the standout beacon of this year’s festival, which was hoisted up by a group of super fans watching from the crowd. Check out it here.

Honorable Mention: Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, Lionel Richie

Most Jaw-Dropping Performance: Peaches

For those familiar with the raunchy revelry that a Peaches show entails, we were front and center when the pro-sex powerhouse took the Panhandle stage on Saturday. As for novice audience members or anyone really within the general vicinity during the set, this festival performance was one that frontwoman Merrill Nisker was determined to make sure would be burned into our Outside Lands memories for life. Somewhat of a crossbreed between live sex show and avant-garde performance art, Peaches paired hard-hitting bass lines with spitfire lyrics and a stage show of elaborately X-rated costumes and choreography that left the crowd on one hand speechless and on the other frantically screaming for more.

Honorable Mention: Grimes, The Claypool Lennon Delirium

Best GastroMagic Moment: Skew It on the Bar B with Big Boi, Animal’s Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo and State Bird’s Stuart Brioza

On the third and final day of Outside Lands, most attendees were camped out at their favorite stage, decompressing from the first two days of excitement and settling in to watch the final performances of the weekend. But if you happened to be one of the few wandering through the Choco Lands overpass or happened to remember Big Boi’s scheduled performance at the GastroMagic stage, you were in for a treat. Those present in the intimate crowd not only got a mini set of both Outkast and solo hits from the vivacious emcee, but they also got samples of some of the most sought-after BBQ shrimp in the Bay Area while listening to remixed versions of each song that incorporated the word “shrimp” into every chorus. Hilariously ridiculous and insanely delicious, those present may never hear those songs performed the same way again. In fact, we’re still giggling and singing “I like the way you shrimp” days later.

Honorable Mention: Beignets and Bounce Brunch (with Big Freedia and Brenda’s Soul Food), Shark Bites (with Jauz, Mother of Pearl and Guittard Chocolate Company)

Sarah Barthel of Big Grams

Most “Thirst-Inducing” Performers of the Weekend: Big Gram’s Sarah Barthel, Miguel

Worst Decisions of the Weekend: The girl who climbed the windmill during J. Cole’s set and fell (watch here), deciding to bring a bag with you to the festival

Best Totems: The Red Balloon

Honorable Mention: Rick & Morty, Stranger Things Dustin

Biggest Festival Wear Trend of 2016: Hipster Bandito

Honorable Mention: Animal-themed onesies, flower crowns/bedazzled body parts

Best “Taste of the Bay” Menu Item: Bacon Bacon CA BBQ Bacon Burritos

Best Adult Beverage: Elixir’s Whatamelon Cocktail

Best Non-Alcoholic Nectar of the Gods: Straw’s Basil Strawberry Lemonade

Best Festival Feature: Cocktail Lands

Best Way to Waste Time Between Sets: PayPal Video Game Arcade

Radiohead

OVERHEARD AT OUTSIDE LANDS 2016:

The best directly stated and heard in passing at the festival.

“An empty bag is still a bag!” – crowd members policing the “no-bag” entry lines to the festival

“Is this the Trail of Tears section of Outside Lands?” – crowd members while passing through Choco Lands

“I’m in the Upside Down …” – Day 3 entry ways to the festival

“Hurry up, run! The flower crowns are coming, the flower crowns are coming!” – crowd members exiting the Twin Peaks stage area before Lana Del Rey

“I must’ve missed the goth/bandito appropriation memo …” – in reference to this year’s style trends

“Meet me at the Red Balloon!” – various lost attendees throughout the grounds

“Tits out for Radiohead!” – an ambitious crowd member on Saturday night

“Jesus, Rachel!” – in reference to “basic bitch” behavior/clothing choices throughout the weekend

“I be on that shrimp tonight, straight up on that shrimp tonight, I be on that straight up on that, I be on that shrimp tonight.” – Big Boi during his GastroMagic performance

“Mmmm, porcini doughnuts …” (Homer Simpson voice) – mimicking nearby food vendors

“Who even is Lionel Richie … oh, Nicole Richies’ dad?!” – mortifyingly clueless audience member

“We’re all Diana Ross!” – Lionel Richie in reference to his “special guest”

“We’re all gonna die, whatcha’ gonna do about it?” – Sufjan Stevens contemplating life on stage

“This is the best moment of my life, can I live in an LCD set?” – enthused crowd member

“I’d follow you to hell …” – a member of a large group attempting to traverse the grounds

“But my mom and dad are in there …” – festivalgoers attempting to jump the line entering the festival

“You know San Francisco has totally changed, like I went back to my place on the pier and it was taken over by sea lions, like totally gentrified!” – Janus during Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem’s set

Outside Lands 2016 - The Last Shadow Puppets

Outside Lands 2016 - Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: Air, Amen Dunes, Anderson .Paak, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Aquilo, Bahamas, Beach House, Beck, Big Freedia, Big Grams, Big Grams (Big Boi + Phantogram), Brandi Carlile, Broken Social Scene, Carly Rae Jepsen, Chance The Rapper, Chicano Batman, Chromeo, Chvrches, Claptone, Cuco, Daniel Caesar, DIIV, DJ Snake, Down and Outlaws, Duran Duran, Fantastic Negrito, Father John Misty, Florence & the Machine, FOALS, Future, GastroMagic, Goldlink, Grimes, GRIZ, Gryffin, Halsey, Hiatus Kaiyote, Hobo Johnson, Hobo Johnson & the Lovemakers, Ibeyi, Illenium, J. Cole, Jack Garratt, James Blake, Jamie xx, Janet Jackson, Jason Isbell, JAUZ, Jessie Reyez, Jidenna, Julien Baker, Kamasi Washington, Kehlani, Kelela, Lana Del Rey, Lapsley, Lauv, LCD Soundsystem, Lettuce, Lionel Richie, Lizzo, Lord Huron, LP, Major Lazer, Margo Price, Marian Hill, Methyl Ethel, Miguel, Miike Snow, Moon Taxi, N.E.R.D., Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Odesza, Oh Wonder, Outside Clams, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2016, Outside Lands Castland, Outside Lands Forest Feast, Outside Lands Music Festival, Outside Lands Music Festival 2016, Outside Lands Music Festival 2018, Outside Lands night shows, Peaches, Perfume Genius, Poliça, Poolside, Quinn XCII, Ra Ra Riot, Radiohead, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Rogue Wave, Ryan Adams, Sabrina Claudio, Shannon and the Clams, Smokepurpp, snakehips, St. Lucia, Sufjan Stevens, Tash Sultana, The Back Wine, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Growlers, The Internet, The Knocks, The Last Shadow Puppets, The Mountain Goats, The Weeknd, The West Coast Get Down, Third Eye Blind, Thomas Jack, Tokimonsta, Tortoise & The Pimps, Tycho, Vince Staples, Washington and The West Coast Get Down, Whethan, Years & Years, Zedd

Get ready for Splash House with our Spotify playlist

August 9, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Splash House //
The Saguaro & The Riviera – Palm Springs, CA
August 12th-14th, 2016 //

Splash House returned to Palm Springs in June for the first of two weekends this summer, boasting DJ sets from the likes of ODESZA, Jai Wolf, Guy Gerber, Justin Martin and Lee Foss.

Now, the boutique music festival that’s more or less one giant pool party in the desert hosts its second installment this weekend with a roster that features performances by Gorgon City, Snakehips, MK, Hudson Mohawke, Bondax and many more. See the poster below for the full August lineup.

In the meantime, prepare yourself for plenty of sun, fun and music with our curated playlist before the festivities kick off at The Saguaro and The Riviera.

Now in its fourth year, Splash House will also host after-parties on Friday and Saturday night at the Palm Springs Air Museum, where RÜFÜS DU SOL and Claptone are set to perform.

Tickets for the 21-and-over event are sold out and only hotel packages at The Riviera remain, but passes for the festival’s after-parties are still available for $40 and can be purchased here.

And for those going, have a splashin’ good time!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Bondax, Gorgon City, Hudson Mohawke, MK, snakehips, Splash House, Splash House 2016

Weezer, Panic! at the Disco show they still got it in front of a packed house at Shoreline Amphitheatre

August 4, 2016 by Marc Fong Leave a Comment

Weezer

By Marc Fong //

Weezer & Panic! at the Disco with Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness //
Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
July 31st, 2016 //

Weezer and Panic! at the Disco played to a packed house of young and old at Shoreline Amphitheatre for the Bay Area stop of their “Summer Tour 2016” last Sunday.

While Weezer played to a huge crowd, a considerable amount of the younger fans in attendance left after Panic! stole the show with a fantastic set and an amazing energy onstage. Frontman Brenden Urie even performed flips! The Grammy-nominated band sounded tight and performed its hits in addition to some great covers such as Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Panic! at the Disco

Weezer, on the contrary, was more subdued, but they still put on an amazing show, playing their usual fan favorites along with some tracks off their self-titled LP that came out earlier this year.

Opening the co-headline show and serving as the tour’s special guest was Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, the former Something Corporate frontman’s solo project that he started a couple years ago.

WEEZER

Setlist:
California Kids
Hash Pipe
My Name Is Jonas
(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
Pork and Beans
I Love the USA
Perfect Situation
Thank God for Girls
Beverly Hills (Preceded by snippet of “Come Together” by The Beatles)
Dope Nose / Back to the Shack / Keep Fishin’ / The Good Life / Surf Wax America
Undone – The Sweater Song
King of the World / Only in Dreams
Island in the Sun
Say It Ain’t So

Encore:
El Scorcho (Piano intro, preceded by snippet of “We Are Young” by fun.)
Buddy Holly

PANIC! AT THE DISCO

Setlist:
Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time
Vegas Lights
The Ballad of Mona Lisa
Hallelujah
Time to Dance
Emperor’s New Clothes
Girls/Girls/Boys
Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)
Nine in the Afternoon
Crazy = Genius
Miss Jackson
Golden Days
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen cover)
LA Devotee
Death of a Bachelor
I Write Sins Not Tragedies
This is Gospel
Positive Hardcore
Victorious

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Andrew McMahon, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Panic! At The Disco, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Weezer

Nite Jewel turns a cool night into a summer simmer

August 3, 2016 by Norm de Veyra Leave a Comment

By Norm de Veyra //

Nite Jewel with Introflirt //
Brick & Mortar Music Hall – San Francisco
July 30th, 2016 //

Los Angeles songstress Ramona Gonzalez, aka Nite Jewel, turned a cool night in SF into a summer simmer at Brick & Mortar Music Hall last Saturday.

Performing a mix of slow-burning, synth-heavy R&B and uptempo dance tracks from her latest LP Liquid Cool, Gonzalez commanded the attention of the crowd and quickly set the mood for the chilly evening.

Oakland-based sythnpop act Introflirt joined Nite Jewel for the night and proved to be a great pairing. Ben Benjamin’s moody vocals, draped over his bandmate Vafa’s pulsing, dark synth grooves, was an impressive combination for the duo.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Brick & Mortar Music Hall, Introflirt, Nite Jewel

The National continue to prove they’re one of the best bands out there today

August 2, 2016 by Kevin J Quandt 1 Comment

Photos by Steve Carlson // Written by Kevin Quandt //

The National with The Lone Bellow //
The Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
July 29th, 2016 //

A rather convincing argument can be made for The National being one of the most significant bands in rock ‘n’ roll over the past decade. Friday night’s return to the Greek Theatre at U.C. Berkeley continued to assist this argument as Matt Berninger and company played a stunning show to a growing, devout crowd on a quintessentially foggy Bay Area summer night. While this tour stop featured a slightly more subdued version of Berninger onstage, this evening wasn’t about his antics, but rather experimenting with a sizable handful of new tracks.

As large music festivals continue to dominate the landscape from May to October across the country and beyond, “non-shed” summer tours are becoming an endangered species. Luckily, The National have had their fill with these events and decided to take a little West Coast jaunt with fellow New York outfit The Lone Bellow, as the indie-leaning folk/blues group brought a surprising amount of energy to an already packed venue. There’s little doubt that frontman Zach Williams and his band won over new fans as their electric stage presence was pretty hard to deny through a genuine engagement with the crowd that was palpable.

The real headline from The National’s performance was hands down the new material that was debuted, pretty much across their entire set, encore included. A rather standard opening of “Don’t Swallow the Cap” and “I Should Live in Salt” led into our first taste of the band’s upcoming LP in the form of “Checking Out”. Though many locals likely recognized this track from last year’s Treasure Island Music Festival (read our review here), it has tightened up over the past year and even begins to sound familiar as the Brooklyn-based five-piece begins to weave in more electronic, synth-like elements.

As much as this sounds like a surprising move, one that could be seen as a risk, the foreign instrumentation is falling nicely into place as fans begin to get a broader scope of the group’s seventh full length. “Find a Way” is another example of this shifting sound, one that could be attributed to Berninger’s side project EL VY, which he formed with Brent Knopf of Menomena, from the past year. Similar to other indie-rock bands like The Walkmen, The National are on a keen path to continually evolving their sound as they age with their stunning catalog.

Other highlights from the Greek show was the sole West Coast rendition of “Slow Show”, an always-blistering rendition of “England” and a nod to the Grateful Dead and their home turf. While many in the know were aware that Bob Weir was playing a little more than 100 miles away in Wheatland, Calif., that still didn’t stop Berninger from offering a guest tease as the group quipped about his past sit-in from 2014 and launched into the Bonnie Dobson track “Morning Dew”. Though this may have been the shortest rendition of the track many Dead fans have heard, it was Berninger’s baritone vocals that added an intense weight to the GD classic. The connection that The National’s five core members seem to have to the music of the Dead is unwavering, and as they gear up for the live debut of the album, one can only imagine how special the Eaux Claires set next weekend in Eau Claire, Wis., will be.

Berkeley received a fairly similar encore to the one the band performed the previous night in Los Angeles, though theirs had Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, singing on new ballad “Prom Song 13th Century (Frankie & Johnny)” and Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs playing along to “Terrible Love”. On this night, Berninger was the sole spectacle for the band’s final songs as he climbed into the crowd, eventually making his way about halfway up the stone seats while getting the occasional “vocal guest” on a raucous version of “Mr. November”. Berninger is one helluva frontman and is truly a massive appeal to their live performance. Watching him onstage can be compared to other “mad geniuses” like Monet, as witnessing the cathartic process of a man pour his soul out to others is one that is both personal and increasingly hard to look away from.

Setlist:
Don’t Swallow the Cap
I Should Live in Salt
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Checking Out (new song)
Afraid of Everyone
Squalor Victoria
I Need My Girl
This Is the Last Time
Sometimes I Don’t Think (new song)
Find a Way (new song)
Sea of Love
Slow Show
The Lights (new song)
Pink Rabbits
England
Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson cover)
Fake Empire
The Day I Die (new song)

Encore:
Prom Song 13th Century (Frankie & Johnny) (new song)
Mr. November
Terrible Love

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: The Greek Theater, The Lone Bellow, The National

Black Milk & Nat Turner bring their ‘Rebellion Sessions’ to life at Brick & Mortar Music Hall

August 2, 2016 by Laura Tsu Leave a Comment

Black Milk

By Laura Tsu //

Black Milk & Nat Turner with Six Fif, MC Solar Wind, L.E.E., Marquayus the God //
Brick & Mortar Music Hall – San Francisco
July 28th, 2016 //

Curtis Cross, better known as the hip-hop producer and emcee who goes by the name Black Milk, teamed up with Washington D.C.-based live band Nat Turner last Thursday at Brick & Mortar Music Hall as part of their ongoing Rebellion Tour.

The Rebellion Sessions, their collaborative album together, was released back in April after taking only one week to record. With Malik Hunter on bass, Aaron Abernathy on keyboards and Zebulun Horton on drums, Nat Turner added a modern, funky texture to Black Milk’s hip-hop prose.

Opening the evening were Six Fif, MC Solar Wind, L.E.E. and Marquayus the God.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Black Milk, L.E.E., MC Solar Wind, Nat Turner, Six Fif, The Rebellion Tour

Modest Mouse and Brand New aren’t ‘Strangers’ to each other, but their fans are a different story

August 1, 2016 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

Modest Mouse

By Josh Herwitt //

Modest Mouse & Brand New //
Kia Forum – Inglewood, CA
July 27th, 2016 //

When Modest Mouse announced back in late January that they would be hitting the road this summer for a co-headlining tour with Brand New, it was somewhat surprising to see the two bands team up for 24 dates across the U.S.

While both groups attained critical acclaim around the same time — Modest Mouse first with their seminal album The Moon & Antarctica in 2000 and Brand New a few years later thanks to their sophomore LP Deja Entendu in 2003 — that’s where most of the comparisons seem to end. Modest Mouse, after all, have long been influenced by Talking Heads and the early 90’s alt-/indie-rock scene, with pioneers like the Pixies and Pavement leading (or should we say paving?) the way, whereas Brand New earned their keep touring with such emo/pop-punk outfits as Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, Good Charlotte, Dashboard Confessional and Blink-182. Ah yes, punk at its height in the early 2000’s … how we don’t miss those days.

But if there’s one other link between them, it’s Modest Mouse’s early punk aesthetics and their years playing at DIY venues before attaining mainstream status with their hit single “Float On” from 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News. And although the raw, schizophrenic sound Isaac Brock has churned out over the last two decades as the band’s primary songwriter has never been analogous with what Brand New have put forth in the studio, Modest Mouse’s loose punk ties made it a little more understandable to see them paired with the Long Island product for a month-long run that included a stop in LA last Wednesday night at Kia Forum.

Brand New

Of course, for as much as I tried to rationalize the billing in my head, every indication inside the venue told me otherwise. The show, which was originally scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., was delayed multiple times — first until 7:50 p.m., then 7:55 p.m. before settling on 8 p.m. — because, from what I was told, there were not enough fans in the stands (cue the classic “LA traffic” excuse). So when Brand New arrived onstage just after the hour, the crowd of mostly 20-somethings and those of us in our early 30’s were finally ready to absorb everything Jesse Lacey (lead vocals, guitars), Vincent Accardi (guitars, backing vocals), Garrett Tierney (bass), Brian Lane (drums) and touring member Benjamin Homola (percussion) threw our way.

For this tour, Modest Mouse and Brand New had agreed to rotate opening and closing duties, and on this night, Brand New had drawn the “opener” card much to the dismay of their fans. By the time they had run through “Sink” and “Gasoline” from their most recent release Daisy to open the show, a stadium full of Brand New fans (or at least that’s what it looked like) was hanging onto every word that Lacey screamed. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t get the full 90-minute set they were promised due to the delay at the outset, and Brand New, as a result, were forced to cut their performance short by two or three songs. Yet, it wasn’t until Modest Mouse hit the stage that I noticed how many Brand New fans had already left the building.

Modest Mouse

It took almost eight years on the dot for Modest Mouse to release their sixth full-length effort Strangers to Ourselves last March, and in that time, there was plenty of turmoil to go around. For starters, they went to Atlanta to work with Big Boi, but after recording five songs with the Outkast rapper and a number of top-notch session musicians, Brock subsequently decided to scrap them. Shortly thereafter, founding member and bassist Eric Judy left the band as well as percussionist Joe Plummer, signaling a major change to the group’s lineup just five years after topping the U.S. Billboard 200 with 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Brock, at one point during the recording of Strangers, even brought in former Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic before realizing his style wasn’t suited for an album that strays in a variety of sonic directions (read our community review here).

For as chaotic as the recording process was though, Brock didn’t let it tear the band apart. Instead, he recruited multi-instrumentalists Russell Higbee and Lisa Molinaro along with percussionists Davey Brozowski and Ben Massarella to join Modest Mouse, turning what started as a trio of friends from the Seattle area into a touring machine of eight. And from what Brock has revealed in one interview, it might not be long before LP7 drops (it could actually arrive later this year) as the expected companion piece to Strangers.

Back at Kia Forum, Brock and company didn’t unveil any new music from their next LP (that would be too good to be true, right?), but they did dive deep into their catalog, going back all the way to 1996 with cuts from their debut LP This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About and second EP Interstate 8 during a set that lasted about two hours — a pleasant surprise for any Modest Mouse fan who stuck around until the very end. In fact, despite all of the critics who have lambasted Brock for being too inebriated at the band’s shows, what still makes Modest Mouse so fun and exciting to see live are the setlists they craft for each gig. It’s no secret over the years that the octet has made a point of choosing different songs to perform night in and night out, and in a similar fashion, it followed suit on this latest jaunt with Brand New, whose setlists didn’t vary all that much in comparison. As much as that didn’t matter to the many who showed up and bounced early, it’s tough to say whether we will ever see these two bands billed together again. Judging from the audience’s behavior however, we certainly wouldn’t count on it.

MODEST MOUSE

Setlist:
The World at Large
The Tortoise and the Tourist
Bury Me With It
Dashboard
Interstate 8
The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box
Custom Concern
This Devil’s Workday
Bukowski
Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996)
Dark Center of the Universe
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
Dramamine
Lampshades on Fire
Sleepwalking
Fly Trapped in a Jar

Encore:
Trailer Trash
Wicked Campaign
Doin’ the Cockroach
Strangers to Ourselves

BRAND NEW

Setlist:
Sink
Gasoline
Millstone
At the Bottom
Noro
Tautou
Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades
Okay I Believe You, but My Tommy Gun Don’t
Degausser
Jesus
Luca
Sowing Season

Encore:
Play Crack the Sky
I Am a Nightmare
You Won’t Know (with “Tautou” outro)