Joywave make fans at Swedish American Hall feel ‘Content’ with their latest studio material

JoywaveBy Gina Lopez //

Joywave with Sasha Sloan, Kopps //
Swedish American Hall – San Francisco
February 16th, 2018 //

New York-based synthpop outfit Joywave made a splash last Friday at Swedish American Hall during their North American tour stop in SF.

The Rochester band, which performed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” this month, electrified the sold-out crowd that also witnessed opening sets from Sasha Sloan and Kopps beforehand. Fronted by lead vocalist/guitarist Daniel Armbruster and likened to Weezer and OK Go by some other music media outlets, Joywave, nevertheless, have a sound of their own that’s genre-jumping and experimental.

Joywave

Inside the venue, the stage was embellished with obsolete computers and colorful projections of 8-bit renderings. Even the psychedelic elephant scene from “Dumbo” appeared behind the band as they performed songs from their sophomore LP Content, which was released in 2017.

At one point during the gig, an animated projection of an Italian flag waved on the screen in honor of Joywave guitarist Joseph Morinelli, who apparently hacked the projection program. The outdated computer décor illustrated the theme behind Content, which is pronounced as the adjective and not the noun in defiance of the endless online content that can becloud our human connections. The crowd at Swedish American Hall was clearly connected to Joywave’s music, and it was clear that those in attendance were indeed content with what they heard.

Diet Cig don’t let a fever get the best of them in SF

Diet CigBy Norm de Veyra //

Diet Cig with Great Grandpa, The Spook School //
Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco
February 14th, 2018 //

A fever on Valentine’s Day couldn’t stop New York pop-punk duo Diet Cig from rocking out at Rickshaw Stop last Wednesday during their sold-out SF gig. Despite lead singer/guitarist Alex Luciano’s illness that night, she and her bandmate Noah Bowman on drums delivered one of their trademark, high-energy (and high-kicking) performances that featured songs from their 2017 debut LP Swear I’m Good at This.

Opening the show were Seattle’s Great Grandpa and Scottish four-piece The Spook School.

Noise Pop 2018: A Bay Area indie culture celebration

Noise Pop 2018Written by Jacqueline Moore //

Noise Pop //
Bay Area venues – San Francisco & Oakland
February 19th-25th, 2018 //

While it seems as if the rest of the world slept soundly over the holidays, putting their work aside to relax and unwind, the people at Noise Pop stayed wide awake, producing the most eclectic and unique celebration of Bay Area independent culture.

Starting next week, the 26th edition of Noise Pop invades all corners of the Bay (including the addition of shows in surrounding cities like San Jose, Santa Cruz and Sacramento this year) to honor everything we love about SF, Oakland and the greater Northern California region.

As a festival, Noise Pop is one in which you can jump from show to show while seeing plenty of big-name acts — tUnE-yArDs, Ty Dolla $ign and Built to Spill to name a few this year — on one night, then catch some of today’s most emerging artists, whether it’s Japanese Breakfast, Sudan Archives, Mount Eerie or another.

Throughout the week, make sure to explore everything that Noise Pop has to offer. Between film screenings, art galleries, happy hours and concerts happening all over SF and the East Bay, you’ll find that Noise Pop knows how to transform the area into your own playground.

Last year for its 25th anniversary, Noise Pop saw its largest attendance numbers, with nearly every show reaching capacity. In fact, more than 28,000 people came together for a week of events to commemorate what makes the Bay Area so damn special.

Names on the 2018 lineup are strong and not to be slept on. Between local shining star Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, well-known acts such as Bahamas and Geographer, besties Jay Som and Japanese Breakfast, and former Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam, the Noise Pop bill (which was announced in three phases) is stacked to the brim, making it tough to choose who to see each night.

However, there are only two ways to get in on the action: buy a badge and gain access to every show, or individually buy tickets to the ones that you’d like to attend.

The choice is yours, friend.


Download the Noise Pop mobile app to get special updates, including details on Noise Pop After Hours performances, and create your own customized schedule here. Super Fan Badges are still available for purchase here.

Noise Pop 2018 - Phase 3 lineup

Goldenvoice announces 2018 Coachella sideshows

Goldenvoice Presents: April 2018

It’s Valentine’s Day, so what could be a better way to celebrate love — or least your love for live music — than with a whole slew of newly announced shows?

Well, with Coachella’s 19th edition just a couple of months away, Goldenvoice has done it again, assembling another massive list of April sideshows at various venues all across the greater Los Angeles landscape, including some in Orange County (at The Observatory and Constellation Room), Santa Barbara County (at the Santa Barbara Bowl and The Arlington Theatre) and the desert (at Pappy and Harriet’s).

Sister trio HAIM kick off the festivities with their headlining performance at arguably our favorite Southern California venue, the Santa Barbara Bowl, on Saturday, April 7th before things ramp up the ensuing week with Kali Uchis, Chromeo, Tyler, the Creator, St. Vincent, Portugal. The Man (with Cherry Glazerr), Perfume Genius (with Big Thief), Princess Nokia, PVRIS, Marian Hill, Fleet Foxes, Carpenter Brut, Tash Sultana, The Drums & Alvvays (with Fazerdaze), alt-J (with BØRNS), Migos, The Bronx, Greta Van Fleet, A Perfect Circle, Yaeji, Angel Olsen, Jessie Ware, BROCKHAMPTON, First Aid Kit, Japanese Breakfast (with Snail Mail), Kelela, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Buscabulla (with The Marías), Priests, MØ, Jorja Smith & Tom Misch, ODESZA, Miguel, Boogarins (with B Boys & Señor Kino), Ron Gallo, Moon Boots (Live), The War on Drugs, Jungle, Soulwax, Petit Biscuit, 6lack, Aurora, Motor City Drum Ensemble (with Talaboman), Los Ángeles Azules, The Drums, Hayley Kiyoko and Elohim all playing — some even more than once — inside and/or outside of LA’s city limits.

Unlike last year’s sideshows, which included a special showcase at the Palm Springs Air Museum the night before Coachella’s first weekend featuring several artists from British independent record label Young Turks, Goldenvoice has opted not to go down that route again. The two gigs that mirror that mini festival the closest both take place on Thursday, April 19th, as Motor City Drum Ensemble performs at the Palm Springs Air Museum with Talaboman and Los Ángeles Azules invades the Riverside County Fairgrounds with Cuco, Helado Negro and Ocho Ojos just one day before Coachella Weekend 2 commences at the Empire Polo Club. Check out the full list of sideshows in the poster above.

Year after year, Goldenvoice seemingly continues to outdo itself with more and more shows in and around Coachella, and this April the renowned concert promoter has done its best to give music fans in Southern California a little bit of everything, from electro funk and indie folk to hip-hop and alternative R&B. But at first glance, the 2018 sideshows that stick out the most to us include the following: Chromeo at the El Rey Theatre, St. Vincent at The Orpheum Theatre, Perfume Genius (with Big Thief) at the Mayan, Fleet Foxes at the Warner Grand Theater, Tash Sultana at the Fox Theater Pomona, The Drums & Alvvays co-headlining (with Fazerdaze) at Pappy and Harriet’s, alt-J (with BØRNS) at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Migos at The Observatory, A Perfect Circle at The Arlington Theatre, Japanese Breakfast (with Snail Mail) at The Roxy, The War on Drugs at the Fox Theater Pomona, Jungle at Pappy and Harriet’s, Soulwax at The Fonda Theatre, 6lack at The Novo and Portugal. The Man (with Chicano Batman and Deap Vally) at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

Tickets for most of the sideshows go on sale here this Friday, February 16th at Noon PT with the rest of them available on Friday, February 23rd at Noon PT or Friday, March 2nd at Noon PT.

Goldenvoice

John Maus’ synth work captivates a sold-out Slim’s

John MausBy Norm de Veyra //

John Maus //
Slim’s – San Francisco
January 27th, 2018 //

Synthpop auteur John Maus enthralled a sold-out crowd last Saturday at Slim’s as the Minnesota native and his band blazed through songs from his expanding discography, including several from 2017’s Screen Memories.

Maus is expected to release his fifth LP Addendum later this year, and while his current U.S. tour runs through the middle of February, he’s also slated to be back in California this April for the 19th edition of Coachella.