Molly Kish

Brainfeeder drops the funk on its Oakland brethren

September 22, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Molly Kish //

Brainfeeder at The Fox featuring Flying Lotus, Parliament-Funkadelic, Thundercat, Shabazz Palaces, The Gaslamp Killer //
Fox Theater Oakland – Oakland
September 15th, 2016 //

Last Thursday, the prolifically experimental, Los Angeles-based record label known as Brainfeeder took over the Fox Theater Oakland. Filling the venue with the brand’s diverse roster of talent and flavor, label founder and futuristic producer Flying Lotus headlined a massive lineup that included its latest acquisition, Parliament-Funkadelic, in addition to performances by Thundercat, Shabazz Palaces and The Gaslamp Killer.

The Gaslamp Killer ushered in the early arrivals with his signature sound of instrumental psychedelia, revving up the sold-out crowd with his visceral beats and transient energy. Shabazz Palaces followed in a somewhat uncharacteristically stripped-down set. Missing their usual visual art-infused stage production, the duo muted its typical abstract style and instead delivered a hard-hitting set that relied on Ishmael Butler’s (aka Palaceer Lazaro) and Tendai “Baba” Maraire’s intense vocals and percussion.

Subsequently, free-form jazz virtuoso Thundercat (born Stephen Bruner) took the stage and feverishly plucked his way through a comprehensive set of solo material and collaborative hits that he worked on with Flying Lotus and for Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning album To Pimp a Butterfly last year.

Flying Lotus

Parliament-Funkadelic, who signed to Brainfeeder last month, elevated the funk vibes to their highest level before Flying Lotus’ headlining slot. To kick off the set, George Clinton threw the audience for an unexpected loop and shifted the mothership’s groove into uncharted territory with some unreleased, aggressively charged hip-hop. Though some longtime fans were put off by the new tracks, it did seem appropriate that the forefathers of the Afro-futuristic movement showed their penchant for pushing the envelope, especially in this particular context. But by the fourth song, P-Funk had returned to their signature sound before bringing out the entire Brainfeeder family to kick the show into hyperdrive and get fans on board for the galactic journey they were about to embark on.

Brainfeeder founder, producer and unapologetic cultural mouthpiece Flying Lotus (born Steven Ellison) ended the night with a mildly controversial headlining set. Walking onstage and making what any FlyLo fan would recognize as an off-colored comment on the current presidential race may have proven too brazen for those not used to his brand. He let Captain Murphy out of the box a little early and road the wave of confusion into a heady, bass-driven assault on the conflicted crowd, providing the distinct audio punctuation point for the night’s bill of artists. Playing several tracks off of his 2014 LP You’re Dead! as well as various hits from high-profile hip-hop emcees like Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar that he has produced over the years, Ellison stunned us all with his double-screen, audio-visual stage setup and plenty of bone-rattling bass drops.

The three-night Brainfeeder showcase, which included a stop at the Hollywood Bowl last weekend, was truly an experience to behold. Regardless of who you went to see, eyes were opened and brains were fed — so to speak — thanks to the sonic diversions that continue to make the label one of the most important players in shaping the future of music.

Brainfeeder at the Fox Theater Oakland - Shabazz Palaces

Brainfeeder at the Fox Theater Oakland - Thundercat

Brainfeeder at the Fox Theater Oakland - Parliament-Funkadelic

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Brainfeeder, Flying Lotus, Fox Theater Oakland, Parliament-Funkadelic, Shabazz Palaces, The Gaslamp Killer, Thundercat

With confetti and fractals, Tame Impala blow minds at the Greek Theatre Berkeley

September 8, 2016 by Molly Kish 2 Comments

Photos by James Pawlish // Written by Molly Kish //

Tame Impala with Unknown Mortal Orchestra //
Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
September 3rd, 2016 //

Any time your photographer is told “try not to get your head blown off by the confetti canons” while shooting from the photo pit, you know you’re in for a great night. Yet, at the same time, associating that admonition with a couple of bands who describe their sound as “dadwave” or “epiphany pop” is something quite out of the ordinary.

Last weekend, the Greek Theatre Berkeley hosted back-to-back, sold-out nights with two of the biggest names in neo-psychedelic rock. With both bands paying homage to founders of the genre while paving the way for a new generation of psych-rock enthusiasts, opening act Unknown Mortal Orchestra and headliner Tame Impala blew the minds of those present as they each instilled a familiar, yet phantom sense of nostalgia, recalling an era and musical footnote way beyond the scope and lifespans of most in attendance.

At face value, the bill already had the promise of creating somewhat “heady” vibes and the subsequent anticipation of funk-infused guitar jams with orchestrated nods to the history of Bay Area psychedelia. Wasting no time after jumping onstage, Unknown Mortal Orchestra filled their late-afternoon set with crowd favorites and a spot-on cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street”. The four-piece briefly transported the crowd back to the summer of ’78 as the fog rolled in over a clear panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge and the California sun set in a twilight haze over the Greek, paving the way perfectly for Tame Impala to take the stage.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

When I ran into our photographer (who gave us the aforementioned warning/spoiler alert) in between sets, it only further verified the collective excitement and anticipation that you could sense amongst the capacity crowd. Besides the pit dwellers, who were holding their ground and watching/cheering along to a solitary fan playing the “water bottle flip” game in the seats above, crowd members scrambled to get a spot for the main attraction. From Tame Impala’s set design, you could immediately tell that Kevin Parker and company had brought the same stage production that they showed off the weekend before in Los Angeles at FYF Fest.

As they opened with the dream-inducing interlude “Nangs” from their latest studio album Currents, Tame Impala gave the crowd an ample minute and a half to commit to the spatial surroundings before jumping full throttle into an explosive rendition of lead single “Let It Happen,” playing the tracks in reverse order than they are on the LP.

By the third song (as promised), the sky, having just turned black, was filled with a stadium’s worth of rainbow confetti as the band played the opening chords of 2012’s psuedo love ballad “Mind Mischief”. Followed by a rare performance — only the second time in three years — of “Music to Walk Home By” from 2012’s Lonerism, Tame Impala played a wide range of emotive classics while scrambling the brains of more than 8,500 audience members with their intense onslaught of sensory-overloading imagery and hypnotic light show.

Kevin Parker of Tame Impala

Midway through their show, Tame Impala broke out into an elongated jam of the rare funk cut “Daffodils”, a Mark Ronson song off his 2015 solo LP Uptown Special that Parker contributed vocals on. They finished up strong, running through hit after hit from all three of their albums and wasting no time bantering between songs and instead, focusing on the sonic journey they were conducting over the spellbound crowd. As they ended their set with an encore featuring Lonerism single “It Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” and recent crossover hit “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” from Currents, fans collectively swayed and sang along to every lyric at the top of their lungs.

It’s hard to believe that only two years ago, these bands were headlining clubs and theaters throughout the Bay Area — and now, they have skyrocketed to a level of success that even Parker himself has had a hard time fathoming. After seeing how both bands commanded a sold-out crowd at one of the most legendary venues in Northern California though, I doubt there will be any slowing down from them in their near future.

As I left the Greek with my friends, we talked about how many millennials will likely look back on both bands as their modern-day Pink Floyd or their The Smile Sessions-era Beach Boys. And for a second, I felt comforted by that idea. If Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra are the ones who will be carrying that torch, I look forward to seeing how they further that flame.

Setlist:
Nangs
Let It Happen
Mind Mischief
Music to Walk Home By (partial)
Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?
Why Won’t They Talk to Me?
The Moment
Elephant
The Less I Know the Better
Daffodils (Mark Ronson cover)
Eventually
Yes I’m Changing
Alter Ego
Oscilly
It Is Not Meant to Be
Apocalypse Dreams

Encore:
Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
New Person, Same Old Mistakes

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Greek Theatre Berkeley, Tame Impala, Unknown Mortal Orchestra

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

Outside Lands 2016: Our 10 favorite festival features

July 26, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Written by Molly Kish //

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

Outside Lands is a little more than a week away (can you believe it?!?!), and as the final details emerge before next weekend, the anticipation remains at an all-time high for the music festival’s ninth edition.

Besides gaining traction for its diverse roster of musicians, an all-star comedy lineup and its extensive culinary showcases, the three-day affair invading Golden Gate Park every August also continues to raise standards across the festival circuit with its innovative features both on and off the fairgrounds.

As we start crafting our schedules and await any final details, here are our 10 favorite festival features for Outside Lands 2016.

10. GastroMagic

Inhabiting a stage nestled within the tree section of Hellman Hollow, GastroMagic is a place where food, music, mischief and magic come together. Continually providing some of Outside Lands’ most underrated performances each year, it is the perfect combination of chaos and cross-lineup configurations you’d never be able to catch at any other music festival. See the full schedule here.

9. Outsider Art

Artist, curator and former Google executive Jeben Berg has teamed up with SF’s own Juxtapoz Magazine to bring a stellar roster of talent that highlights the work of incredible scrim artists, live painting, curated installations and performance pieces throughout the entire weekend. See the full roster here.

8. Outside Clams

For the love of seafood, Woodhouse Fish Co. has sourced fresh, local shellfish from Tomales Bay to enjoy either raw or barbecued and paired with the best wines from Napa Valley and Sonoma. Serving up these delicacies along with bowls of chowder, lobster rolls and much more, this new Outside Lands feature located outside of Wine Lands is a must stop for any seafood connoisseur.

7. Night Shows

Didn’t get enough live music at the festival? Well, fear not! Another Planet Entertainment has partnered with several historic venues in SF to offer a full gamut of late-night entertainment and keep you rocking all weekend long. A couple of them have already sold out, so make sure to buy your tickets now. See who is playing and more details here.

6. Bike Party

Departing from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium everyday at noon, the festival’s bike party arrives at the Log Cabin Meadow before taking off at 10:30 p.m. each night. Join the fun on America’s only music festival group bike ride!

5. Greening Initiatives

• Refillable Water Program: There will be free refillable water stations located in the polo fields and Eco Lands.

• Farmers Market: Full Belly Farm will be selling organic and fresh-picked melon slices, peaches, tomatoes, corn, green beans and bell peppers at the festival’s farmers market.

• Urban Gardening Workshops: Garden for the Environment will be offering workshops on worm composting twice daily at their booth in Eco Lands.

4. Forest Feast with Trestle Restaurant

Offering an intimate dining experience that features an upscale tasting menu from Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient Trestle in SF, Forest Feast is nestled in a secluded forest area of the festival grounds and features performances from a New Orleans brass band (still TBA) and real-life magician Jon Armstrong. Seatings are available all three days of the festival (Friday-Sunday) at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.

3. Castland

Meet and greet the artists of Outside Lands 2016 at this interactive mecca amidst the festival fairgrounds. Filled with the latest innovations in music and festival technology, you can host your own group disco in the Chromecast private gif booth with the chance to get broadcasted, score festival flare and more.

2. The Back Wine: Mini Golf Course

Located directly behind Wine Lands, The Back Wine is Outside Lands’ three-hole mini golf course that playfully incorporates the scenery of SF in each of its holes. A welcome reprieve from the bustle of the fairgrounds, one can putt putt their way through the sites of the city while sampling the sweet nectar from our Napa Valley neighbors.

1. Summer Pairings Series

Previewing the lineup over 80 restaurants, 40 wineries and 28 breweries, Outside Lands’ Summer Pairing Series teams up with those in charge of curating the festival’s culinary experience to craft special sneak-peaks of what this year’s menu has to offer.

• Cheeseland Preview @ Long Meadow Ranch: July 5th-31th (4-8 p.m. daily)

Visit the stunning St. Helena location for pairings of Nicasio Valley San Geronimo Raclette and the 2015 Long Meadow Ranch Sauvignon Blanc.

• Bluegrass, BBQ and Blues @ Southpaw: July 26th (7-10 p.m.)

Take part in a Southern-inspired party hosted by Southpaw and Anchor Brewing where you can sample Southpaw BBQ and special release beers (flights and drafts) while enjoying a live set from local bluegrass outfit The Bowties. Tickets can be purchased here.

• Pinot, Pizza and Funk @ Bluxome Street Winery: July 30th (5-9 p.m.)

Newcomers to the lineup, Mozzeria bring their creative take on Neapolitan pizzas to Bluxome Street Winery for wine pairings during a live performance by local funk outfit Tortoise & The Pimps. Tickets can be purchased here.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Air, Anderson .Paak, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Beach House, Big Freedia, Big Grams, Big Grams (Big Boi + Phantogram), Brandi Carlile, Chance The Rapper, DIIV, Down and Outlaws, Duran Duran, Fantastic Negrito, FOALS, GastroMagic, Grimes, GRIZ, Halsey, Hiatus Kaiyote, Ibeyi, J. Cole, Jack Garratt, Jason Isbell, JAUZ, Jidenna, Julien Baker, Kamasi Washington, Kehlani, Lana Del Rey, Lapsley, LCD Soundsystem, Lettuce, Lionel Richie, Lord Huron, Major Lazer, Marian Hill, Methyl Ethel, Miguel, Miike Snow, Moon Taxi, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, 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 night shows, Peaches, Poliça, Ra Ra Riot, Radiohead, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Rogue Wave, Ryan Adams, snakehips, St. Lucia, Sufjan Stevens, The Back Wine, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Knocks, The Last Shadow Puppets, The West Coast Get Down, Third Eye Blind, Thomas Jack, Tokimonsta, Tortoise & The Pimps, Vince Staples, Washington and The West Coast Get Down, Years & Years, Zedd

A$AP Ferg, Tory Lanez rise above with MadeinTYO at The Regency Ballroom

June 20, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos by Lisette Worster // Written by Molly Kish //

A$AP Ferg, Tory Lanez with MadeinTYO //
The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco
June 7th, 2016 //

An epic trio of hip-hop heavyweights took over The Regency Ballroom earlier this month, and Showbams was there in the thick of it, literally watching both the crowd and performers hang from the venue’s balcony rafters.

MadeinTYO kicked off the night with a short set in front of a jam-packed, sold-out audience that was ready to rage for all three acts. Rising hip-hop star Tory Lanez performed his own slot as the second billed artist on “The Level Up Tour,” leaving Bay Area fans pleasantly surprised to see the Canadian booked as a co-headliner alongside A$AP Ferg. But as they traded off on the mic in SF, both dug into their career-spanning setlists together.

Tory Lanez

More than just a simple hip-hop set, the show featured several guest appearances from fellow A$AP Mob members and their actual relatives, who came onstage and helped provide back-up lyrics and hype-inducing antics. A lot of the performance also involved A$AP Ferg or Lanez, if not both of them, stage diving and crowd surfing throughout the venue, mic in hand and not missing a single bar. Though at points the tactic seemed a bit overused, those at The Regency Ballroom came hard, supporting the talent both through their unfazed enthusiasm and by holding the traveling emcee’s weight with their hands, heads and whatever other body part was available to keep their footing.

At the evening’s apex, Lanez rode above the sea of fans, who feverishly directed the rapper to the side of the venue. Using a door frame to boost himself up into the arms of spectators in the balcony, he was able to climb upstairs before the track was over. And in what appeared to be almost a reverse stage dive, Lanez playfully mentioned how he is the clown of the Level Up crew, bringing new meaning to the tour’s name by taking the notion of “getting lifted” to a new level, literally.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: A$AP Ferg, ASAP Ferg, MadeinTYO, The Regency Ballroom, Tory Lanez

Bob Moses reset electronic music standards in SF

June 1, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos by Lisette Worster // Written by Molly Kish //

Bob Moses //
Mezzanine – San Francisco
May 26th, 2016 //

Most live music fans at some point will utter the overgeneralized critique, “a band is only as good as its live show.” More often than not, this type of commentary is applied when referring to performances by electronic artists and typically in a negative way. Critics love to lambaste the genre for relying too heavily on the aesthetics of a stage show as opposed to a skillfully executed performance, compartmentalizing electronic artists across the board as simply maestros of premeditated setlists that require little to no skill when onstage.

There are also rare moments where bands transcend music in ways that even studio sessions can’t, with live performances that seem almost too good to be true — shows that sound better than remastered albums, that silence even the harshest of opinions and sharpest of critiques centered around the state of live music and today’s recording industry.

Peaking in these instances, are artists like Bob Moses.

Blowing away two capacity crowds in SF last week, Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance, better known as the Canadian electronic duo Bob Moses, stunned their fans at Mezzanine. Serving as only their third show in the Bay Area, the Domino Records artists came in hot off a special guest appearance at Resident Advisor’s first-ever San Francisco, All Day I Dream festival.

Supported by R. Fentz and Aaron Axelson, who performed a pair of DJ sets to kick things off, Bob Moses took the stage around midnight. Hollow echoes of live percussion beckoned the intimate venue to compact into an amorphous sea of bodies, swaying along to the opening lyrics of their 2015 single “Talk”. Possessing a vocal resonance that seems nearly impossible outside of post production, Howie filled the room with his sultry intonations wafting along the pulsating baselines provided by Vallance.

The venue remained draped in shadows throughout the entire performance, drawing the crowd’s attention to the backlit performers and the syncopated strobe lights they utilized to further punctuate their live drops and shredding solos throughout the scintillating set. Both members of the band displayed their talents as multi-instrumentalists, playing everything from synthesizers to drums, tambourines, modulators, hi-hats and electric guitars. They also compiled a setlist that spanned their entire body of work, further enhanced through extended riffing and live remixes.

For many in attendance, this was their first experience seeing Bob Moses within the context of a venue, with the band having only recently come off the festival circuit to perform on smaller stages and clubs. Scanning the crowd, you could see jaws dropping and hear collective bouts of excitement as the duo steadily fed into Mezzanine’s palpable energy, increasing with the sets gradually rising BPMs. Running through nearly all of their singles, B-sides and two full-length album’s worth of material, the duo concluded their set around last call, leaving the fully immersed crowd yearning for more.

Needless to say, worn-out axioms failed to apply in this scenario. Bob Moses silenced anyone attempting to pass them off as yet another contrived electropop outfit aiming to please the masses. At Mezzanine, both Howie and Vallance proved their prowess as EDM innovators, bringing more to the stage than a couple of laptops and a pretty light show. Surprising those unfamiliar with their work or expecting to be underwhelmed, Bob Moses have elevated the live electronic game for their respective contemporaries and succeeded in defining a new chapter for the genre — an innovative sound standard that’s all their own.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Bob Moses, Mezzanine

Disclosure get down with the Dirtybird crew at a sold-out 1015 Folsom

May 26, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos by Lisette Worster // Written by Molly Kish //

Disclosure (DJ set) //
1015 Folsom – San Francisco
May 20th, 2016 //

Between their back-to-back, sold-out shows at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium last week, UK electronic music duo Disclosure took over 1015 Folsom for their very own Friday night after-party.

Bringing the beats alongside Dirtybird Records members Justin Martin and Fernando Rivera, brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence hit the DJ booth on the southern side of the main dance floor a little after midnight and embraced the chaotic energy of the venue’s layout while playing to another capacity crowd.

Disclosure threw down an epic set, pulling from their two studio albums Caracal and Settle as well as dropping a number of B-sides and remixes, that lasted until early Saturday morning.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: 1015 Folsom, Dirtybird Records, Disclosure, Fernando Rivera, Justin Martin

SF Oysterfest 2016: ‘Better wet than dry’

May 12, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos by Kory Thibeault // Written by Molly Kish //

San Francisco Oysterfest //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
May 7th, 2016 //

Last weekend O’Reilly’s 17th annual Oysterfest was greeted with less-than-accommodating weather as sparse rain fell throughout much of the morning and afternoon. Boasting one of the best lineups that included a headlining performance by Chromeo, the festival was slated for a benchmark year.

Because SF Oysterfest didn’t end up selling out, the grounds were navigated comfortably, with much of the crowd arriving late due to the wavering micro-climate conditions. But those who were willing to brave the brief showers were treated to a bill featuring local legends, emerging Bay Area talent and a sunshine-fueled dance party commandeered by Chromeo, the Canadian “funk lords” themselves.

Early-afternoon acts De Lux and Kinky got the raw end of the deal, weathering the storm amid a lack of attendance and enthusiasm. Those who were there from the very start appeared to be more concerned about getting their $1 oyster discounts than investing their attention in these buzz-worthy performers. Although both bands battled the weather conditions to deliver great performances, they were unfortunately overshadowed by ominous clouds and discouraging showers. Here’s hoping that they both return to the Bay Area for an indoor show soon, giving those who were either distracted or detoured by the rain a second chance.

Once the day moved into the late afternoon, SF deep house legend Miguel Migs hit the decks and energized the damp crowd, DJing a bass-heavy set that led right into Iamsu!’s powerful hip-hop performance and the festival’s annual “Suck n’ Shuck” competition. The Bay Area emcee got the audience moving with a squad full of local talent that hyped the Guinness-saturated audience into a collective sway throughout Sharon Meadow.

After guests finished sloppily entertaining the crowd by competitively attempting to shuck and slurp oysters, Chromeo took the stage as the sun peaked through during the group’s entrance chant of “Chro-me-ooo-eee-oooo-o.” Playing a number of crowd favorites and igniting a full-on singalong/dance party, the “funk lords” wrapped up the festival with a strong, hour-long set.

Even in the wet conditions playfully referred to by the audience as #moisturefest on social media, the audience kept its spirits high and the SF Oysterfest tradition forged on, proving that the local sentiment during these conditions still remains in festive favor. As a result, it solidified the consensus that at any festival, especially at one focused on gourmet seafood and a spectrum of craft beverages, will always be better served wet than dry.

Filed Under: Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: Chromeo, De Lux, GZRUS, Iamsu!, Kinky, Miguel Migs, Oysterfest, Oysterfest 2016, SF Oysterfest, SF Oysterfest 2016

Fauxchella 2016: Coachella FOMO no mo’ in the Bay

April 27, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

M83 at Fox Theater Oakland // Photo by Pedro Paredes

Photos by Steve Carlson, Norm de Veyra, Marc Fong, Pedro Paredes, Mike Rosati & Lisette Worster // Written by Molly Kish //

Fauxchella //
Various Bay Area venues – San Francisco & Oakland
April 13th-April 22nd, 2016 //

Paving the way for large-scale festivals all across North America, Coachella has served as an archetype in live music production since its conception 17 years ago. Throughout its storied history, Coachella’s stages have been graced with a roster of unparalleled talent. Year after year, the festival’s lineup has featured iconic performances from both artists on the verge of breaking into the mainstream and industry legends taking victory laps.

Located in the heart of Southern California’s Inland Empire, the three-day music festival now hosts back-to-back weekends at the Empire Polo Club with one of the most competitive artist lineups you’ll find anywhere. While Coachella’s location remains ideal for music fans based in California and many surrounding states, it can be a daunting task to make the trek to Indio for those living in other parts of the country. This reality has subsequently broke ground for offshoot shows up and down the West Coast, including the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest.

James Bay at Fox Theater Oakland // Photo by Steve Carlson

In reference to this, the Bay Area music scene has dubbed the calendar dates leading into and out of Coachella’s consecutive weekends as its own unofficial festival, colloquially referred to as “Fauxchella.” Featuring headlining performances from Coachella artists in and around Northern California, the roughly two-week stretch serves as a strong preview for the upcoming summer concert season with many of the top names in the business getting to test out their live show in preparation for the desert or fine-tune their skills in between each weekend of the festival. For many music fans, Fauxchella remains the most optimal time to catch these high-profile artists performing at their best inside many of the Bay Area’s most beautiful and intimate venues.

Showbams took full advantage of this year’s Fauxchella festivities as we caught a number of performances throughout the Bay Area. Take a peek at our massive collection of photos, and let us know which shows were your favorite in the comments section below.

Miike Snow at The Independent - 04.14.16

KANEHOLLER at The Independent - 04.14.16

Eyes on the Shore at The Independent - 04.15.16

Underworld at Fox Theater Oakland - 04.16.16

CHVRCHES at Fox Theater Oakland - 04.19.16

James Bay at Fox Theater Oakland - 04.22.16

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: CHRVCHES, 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, DMA's, Eyes on the Shore, Fauxchella, Fauxchella 2016, Jack Ü, James Bay, KANEHOLLER, Lapsley, M83, Miike Snow, Morly, Savages, St. Germain, The 1975, The Trims, Underworld, Wolf Alice, YACHT, Young Fathers

Wavves, Best Coast create polarizing summer vibes in SF on their co-headlining tour

March 14, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Wavves

Photos by Mike Rosati // Written by Molly Kish //

Wavves, Best Coast with Cherry Glazerr //
The Independent – San Francisco
March 2nd, 2016 //

Making a stop off in Northern California for two sold-out shows this month, Wavves and Best Coast brought their “Summer Is Forever II” tour to The Independent, delivering a performance that showcased each group’s unique energy. With both Southern California bands banking off the chemistry of a previous run together, the co-headline show almost seemed like a glorified encore to Noise Pop 2016 after the annual music, art and culture festival celebrated its closing night at The Indy just days before (see more Noise Pop photos from this year here).

But while the joint bill created a melange of surf-punk and beach-goth culture, the contrast proved to be rather polarizing when it came to the crowd. In what played out as two separate sets for two very different audiences, both bands’ fan bases were well-represented inside the venue. When booking a co-headlining tour, an artist’s management will often seek to bring two acts together that complement each others’ style and sound. For the most part, as proven by the wild success of these bands’ first “Summer Is Forever” tour, the show was supposed to serve as an example of how to successfully execute such a pairing. The audience during the second night, however, wasn’t as interested in that aspect as much as they were there to see one of the two co-headlining acts.

Cherry Glazerr

Cherry Glazerr kicked things off, leading with an opening set of hardcore, female-fronted rock that mirrored both headliners’ sound and presence. Leaning more toward Wavves’ raw punk energy, the LA four-piece made sure that Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino had her work cut out for her when it was time to follow up Clementine Creevy’s stirring performance.

Best Coast wasted no time breaking into their set shortly thereafter, with each band member taking his or her position on the dimly lit stage. Super fans shuffled toward the front of the room, and the crowd quickly became filled with brooding Cosentino look-a-likes who fed off of her articulately perfected dismay. Supported by a hirsute group of shredders, one of which was the band’s other permanent member Bobb Bruno, Cosentino crooned her heart out to a bittersweet array of surf-rock ballads. Best Coast played songs from all three of their studio albums, executing their set like clockwork as Cosentino hit her vocal pitches at a near-perfect level that exceeded her studio recordings. While the LA band didn’t say much to its Bay Area fans between each track, the crowd grew anxious in anticipation of the evening’s final set. Feeding off the obvious shift in audience energy and attention, Cosentino and her sidekicks peevishly finished off their set with the group’s ironically titled song “Bratty B”.

Best Coast

After a quick set break, half the crowd departed. Many audience members could be found smoking outside the venue, murmuring about the disjointed audience and their incongruous concert etiquette. For Wavves fans though, nothing seemed to phase their spirits when the surf-punk foursome eventually took the stage. Utilizing nearly all the free space that the Best Coast exodus created, they were summoned to the stage by the ethereal opening bars of “Sail to the Sun” and by mid-chorus, broke out into a sloppy pogo dance of sorts, which remained consistent throughout the performance. Wavves played a high-energy show that sparked a multitude of stage divers, some crowd-surfing shoes and an armada of blowup alien dolls that the band tossed into the crowd midway through the set. Consequently, the San Diego quartet offered a performance in stark contrast to Cherry Glazerr’s and Best Coast’s, ramping up their raw appeal as the unfeigned headliners of the evening.

Witnessing one of the last few dates on the “Summer Is Forever II” tour may have played into the overall impression both Best Coast and Wavves made on this night, but in a way, it also offered a much more individualized experience as a fan. Whether you were there to see Best Coast, Wavves or both, the show was ultimately what you made of it. The tour, which ended in Anaheim earlier this month, exemplified that summer can’t go on forever, and its last few dates solidified that fact. Either way, having the opportunity to catch these bands on one tour stop in an intimate setting was truly unique regardless of season or sentiment.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Best Coast, Cherry Glazerr, The Independent, Wavves

Noise Pop 2016: Relive the festival frame by frame

March 10, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Heartwatch

Photos by Mike Rosati & Benjamin Wallen // Written by Molly Kish //

Noise Pop //
Bay Area venues – San Francisco & Oakland
February 19th-28th, 2016 //

With the impending storm of summer festival traffic washing away the last remnants of Noise Pop, it’s time to look back at the best highlights from this year’s lineup. Serving up a bill that celebrates the diversity of contemporary independent culture, 2016’s roster was as eclectic as ever, ranging from pop stars to cowpunks (aka country punks), free-form jazz prodigies and indie-rock veterans. Bay Area venues were at capacity on a nightly basis, with crowds braving brisk weather conditions in order to experience the one-of-a-kind performances Noise Pop has spent nearly 25 years curating.

Navigating through more than 100 acts during this year’s festival, we dove right into the thick of it, capturing shots from some of our favorite Noise Pop shows. Check out our photo gallery below as well as more coverage from our friends over at DoTheBay.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festivals, Photos Tagged With: Alexander Spits, American Football, Antwon, Bender's Bar & Grill, Birth Defects, Carly Rae Jepsen, Dirty Denim, DoTheBay, Growwler, Her Space Holiday, Joywave, Kamasi Washington, Kneedelus, Metric, Neto & So What, Noise Pop, Noise Pop 2016, Noise Pop Festival, One Line Drawing, Parquet Courts, Ringo Deathstarr, SFJAZZ Center, Swedish American Hall, The Chapel, The Masonic, The New Parish, The Regency Ballroom, The World, Unlikely Heroes

Noise Pop 2016: Daily picks & flavors of the week

February 22, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Written by Molly Kish //

Noise Pop //
Bay Area venues – San Francisco & Oakland
February 19th-28th, 2016 //

Noise Pop 2016 is here! To get you ready for all the Noise Pop festivities throughout the Bay Area, we present our daily picks and flavors of the week.

Plus, make sure to brush up on this year’s bill with our Noise Pop playlist and don’t miss your opportunity to take part in the festivities.

GO4FREE: Win tickets to Noise Pop 2016 shows all week here!

Monday, February 22nd

Ziggy Stardust Tribute Party with Everyone Is Bowie: February 22nd (MON) @ The Independent, 8 p.m., 21+ (SOLD OUT)

Paying respect to the Star Man himself, film and concert enthusiasts alike can trip out to “The Spiders from Mars” at The Independent for David Bowie tribute night. The venue will be participating in the Noise Pop film series by showing a digitally remastered version of “Ziggy Stardust and “The Spiders from Mars”. After the screening, make sure to stick around for a live performance from Oakland’s own conceptual tribute band Everyone Is Bowie, including visuals by local film production company White Light Prism. There’s even a pre-party at San Franpsycho (505 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117) with live screen printing, face painting, a Bowie costume contest and free beer (yes, you read that right) from Mavericks Brewing Company.

Tuesday, February 23rd

Metric

Metric with Joywave: February 23rd (TUE) @ The Masonic, 8 p.m., All Ages // WIN TICKETS

No strangers to the the Bay Area music scene and Noise Pop’s illustrious history, 15-year-old indie-rock veterans Metric headline The Masonic on Tuesday with support from New York dance-pop quartet Joywave. Serving as one of the main headliners at this year’s festival, Metric is one band you’ll want to catch early in the week — and we have a pair of tickets just for you.

“Fucked Up But Beautiful” (Noise Pop art reception): February 23rd (TUE) @ Bender’s Bar & Grill, 5 p.m., 21+

Celebrating the flawed and accentuating the negative, “Fucked Up But Beautiful” showcases some of the work of the Bay Area’s most prominent independent artists that was never meant to be seen. Marred by sundry, footprints, bent corners and beer spills, Bender’s Bar & Grill will be hosting a full gallery of glossy disasters, which in turn have taken on a new appreciation of their own. Stop by Bender’s to reflect on mistakes and check out the labors of unrequited love from Amy Jo, Boss Construction, Bureau of Print Research and Design, Crosshair, The Decoder Ring, Drug Factory Press, Alan Forbes, Furturtle Prints, Kollective Fusion, Lil Tuffy, Methane Industries, PinkBikeRalph, Powerslide Design, Tooth and more.

Wednesday, February 24th

Andrew Jackson Jihad

Wild Ones, Palehound with Two Sheds, False Priest: February 24th (WED) @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall, 7 p.m., 21+ // WIN TICKETS

Spanning the spectrum of everything Noise Pop, this lineup includes Wild One’s heavy synth and ethereal R&B, singer-songwriter Ellie Kemper’s solo project Palehound and local modern rock outfit False Priest. If you’re looking to shake things up on Wednesday and truly get a full taste of the Noise Pop 2016 lineup, stop by the intimately accommodating Brick & Mortar Music Hall and check out this exceptional lineup.

Andrew Jackson Jihad with BATTLEHOOCH, Owl Paws: February 24th (WED) @ The Chapel, 7 p.m., 21+

Maybe you’re looking to let loose mid-work week? If being an adult has got you down, come through The Chapel on Wednesday night and get weird with the prominent wild card’s of Noise Pop 2016. Are you into the collective craze of Andrew Jackson Jihad’s folk-punk antics or daydreaming of being swaddled in the illustrious locks of Grant Goodrich, the bass player of SF’s own BATTLEHOOCH? Regardless of your motivation, we recommend you get there early for Owl Paws’ set and go pile-driving into the second half of your work week.

Thursday, February 24th

Kamasi Washington

“Gin N Jazz” feat. Kamasi Washington in conversation with David Katznelson: February 25th (THUR) @ Swedish American Hall, 4 p.m., 21+ (RSVP required)

As part of Noise Pop 2016’s “HQ Culture Hour” series, Bay Area music veteran and Birdman Recording Group founder David Katznelson will be chatting with saxophonist Kamasi Washington about all things jazz over gin libations sponsored by UK independent spirit purveyor Sipsmith. Signed as an accomplished protégé and part of the label’s early roster while playing as a teenager in The Young Jazz Giants, Washington has a storied history with plenty to discuss about the origins and ever-growing complexities of jazz in mainstream art and culture. Touching upon Washington’s roots, recording process and musical journey, this conversation will be a great opportunity to get an in-depth look at the band leader outside of his sold-out show later that evening.

Antwon with Alexander Spit, Unlikely Heroes: February 25th (THUR) @ The New Parish, 8 p.m., 21+ // WIN TICKETS

This lineup depicts a hometown love letter to Bay Area hip-hop. Throwing down this Thursday is a full lineup of performers looking to turn up The New Parish in Oakland. Bay Area native and world-renowned lyrcist Antwon headlines the night with his cross-over brand of indie hip-hop and will be supported by locally raised rapper and producer Alexander Spit. Kicking off the party will be SF Battle of the Band’s winner Unlikely Heroes, the hip-hop/punk outfit that promises to get the crowd pumped up.

Friday, February 26th

Parquet Courts

Parquet Courts with Chris Cohen, The World: February 26th (FRI) @ The New Parish, 8 p.m., 21+ // WIN TICKETS

Want to go to the heaviest lineup Noise Pop has to offer? Are you into sludgy, low-fi garage rock and sweaty, eardrum-rattling rock shows? No? GTFOH! But seriously, if you’re looking to do something Friday night that will leave you invigorated (more than likely wet and quite possibly with a couple of mystery bruises), look no further. The New Parish is hosting the dream lineup of prog rock and punk with Parquet Courts headlining a sold-out show with openers Chris Cohen and Emotional. If you slept on the opportunity to tear it up this Friday, you’ll still have a chance to go for free on us. Stay tuned!

Beacon with Natasha Kmeto, Running in the Fog, Frugal Father: February 26th (FRI) @ Bottom of the Hill, 8 p.m., 21+

Besides getting the chance to see some of the most promising up-and-coming artists right on the cusp of a major breakthrough, one of the perks of going to Noise Pop is that all the show are being hosted in venues that are known and loved throughout SF’s music scene. This Friday, darkwave electronic duo Beacon will take over the shoulder-grazing space of Bottom of the Hill for a truly special, one-off performance. With Beacon debuting material off of their brand-new EP, this guaranteed dance party with support from Natasha Kmeto, Running in the Fog and Frugal Father will be bursting at the seams inside this favorite venue among punk and hard-rock locals.

Saturday, February 27th

Escort

Escort with MOBLEY, COLLAJ, Push the Feelings DJs: February 26th (FRI) @ Rickshaw Stop, 8:30 p.m., 18+

Pulling influences from the legendary discos in New York, Chicago and Detroit while claiming the headlining spot on Noise Pop’s Saturday night roster at Rickshaw Stop is Brooklyn’s very own Escort. Hailed as a type of “disco orchestra” with a live show comprised of anywhere between a 5-11-piece roster, the East Coast “funktronica” outfit will be debuting new music from there yet-to-be-released sophomore album. Supported by Austin trip-hop artist MOBLEY, SF’s COLLAJ (formerly 8th Grader) and Push the Feelings DJs, this will be one of the fiercest dance parties of the entire weekend.

Song Exploder podcast with Carly Rae Jepsen: February 26th (FRI) @ Swedish American Hall, 2:30 p.m., All Ages (RSVP required)

Continuing its second year as a part of Noise Pop, Hrishikesh Hirway hosts his live storytelling “Song Exploder” podcast from the confines of the Swedish American Hall this Saturday with Carly Rae Jepsen. Dissecting her latest album Emotion and the creative thought process behind composing lead single “I Needed You”, Jepsen will sit down for a candid interview with Hirway that will lead into her performance that evening at The Warfield.

Sunday, February 28th

DIIV

DIIV with Dirty Ghosts, Creative Adult, Fine Points @ The Independent, 7:30 p.m., 21+ (SOLD OUT) // WIN TICKETS

Closing out the festival this year with a final punctuation of raw indie-rock talent, Sunday night’s bill at The Independent highlights some of the biggest names on this year’s lineup. Headlining the showcase will be DIIV, a side project from the former members of Beach Fossils and Smith Westerns, celebrating the release of their critically acclaimed new album Is the Is Are. Paired with local female-fronted rock powerhouse Dirty Ghosts and North Bay punks Creative Adult, this show will be having you question the validity of your Sunday and whether or not a lineup of this magnitude holds much relevance when accessing your upcoming work week.

See the full list of Noise Pop 2016 events here, and you can still purchase festival passes here. Keep it here at Showbams and on our Twitter account here throughout the week for a chance to win tickets to this year’s shows.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Alexander Spit, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Antwon, Battlehooch, Beacon, Bender's Bar & Grill, Bottom of the Hill, Carly Rae Jepsen, Chris Cohen, Creative Adult, DIIV, Dirty Ghosts, Escort, False Priest, Fine Points, Fucked Up But Beautiful, Joywave, Kamasi Washington, Metric, MOBLEY, Noise Pop, Noise Pop 2016, Owl Paws, Palehound, Parquet Courts, Rickshaw Stop, Song Exploder, Swedish American Hall, The Chapel, The Independent, The Masonic, The New Parish, The Warfield, The World, Two Sheds, Unlikely Heroes, Wild Ones

Dan Deacon vs. The Fillmore: Crowd thoughts from a sold-out show in SF

February 5, 2016 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos by James Nagel // Written by Molly Kish //

Dan Deacon //
The Fillmore – San Francisco
January 29th, 2016 //

The man, maestro and frenzy-inducing frontman Dan Deacon returned to the Bay Area last Friday to take over a sold-out Fillmore.

Following our coverage of Deacon’s ever-growing fan base over the past few years, we have documented several of his intense performances at both mid-size venues and large-scale music festivals. With the release of last year’s critically acclaimed Glass Riffer — escalating not only Deacon’s complexity as a musician, but also his reputation as a major player in the experimental and electronic music scenes — we had the opportunity to see him this time in one of the West Coast’s most historic theater’s, at capacity.

Regardless of space or context, a Dan Deacon show is unlike any other, currently selling out spaces of such magnitude. At the same time, the venues Deacon chooses to stage his unique, interactive performances plays a huge role in an audience’s translation of his music. So, who better to give us some perspective on Deacon’s latest SF show than the members of a sold-out audience? Check out our crowd responses and photo gallery below.

Did you go to the show? Leave your thoughts in the comments section, and the best answer will receive a pair of tickets to one of our next giveaways.

“It appeared to be a tougher task for DD to pull off his crowd antics in a bigger space than usual. The only engagement game that really worked was the high fives one. But a sold-out house was as enraptured as ever, bouncing and smiling along to the hyperactive, comedic bliss of a genius musical madman.” – Mike Frash, 33

“The show did not live up to my high expectations built on tales of invigorating and complete crowd participation. It seems The Fillmore was too large of a venue for those on the perimeter to see and engage with the activity of those folks centered under the disco ball. I got a taste of coordinated crowd movement when each side rushed through each other, palms up and open for high fives.” – Julie Mullen, 30

“As a first time ‘Dan Deaconer,’ I was pretty mesmerized by how the show was set up. Using the power of the crowd to unite one another was a fun and unique experience you don’t get from every show. I would say it was a blast.” – Trevor Laehy, 27

“Without fail, Dan provides magical and mind-bending experiences to captivate his audience and bring people together into one harmonious, bad-ass dance circle.” – Danielle Mansfield, 30

“Dan Deacon is epic. He has that rare ability to emotionally tie a crowd together: to one another, to the experience and to the music itself. He’s brilliantly creative and weird, and you can’t leave a show not feeling stoked to be weird, too!” – Roxanne Mansfield, 25

“Dan Deacon at The Fillmore was an electronica- and light-fueled dance frenzy where friends and strangers were free to get down and get weird.” – Amy Lightstone, 33

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Dan Deacon, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, The Fillmore

Extra Classic, Heron Oblivion party in the plants

December 14, 2015 by Molly Kish 2 Comments

Extra Classic

Photos by Eric Palozzolo // Written by Molly Kish //

Heron Oblivion & Extra Classic with DJ Don’t Tell Your Mom //
Conservatory of Flowers – San Francisco
December 4th, 2015 //

Earlier this month, The Conservatory of Flowers hosted its very first “After-Hours” event featuring the musical stylings of hometown bands Extra Classic and Heron Oblivion. Nestled in the idyllic setting of SF’s Golden Gate Park, the antique Victorian greenhouse displaying a vast collection of rare and exotic plant life has captivated audiences since its opening in 1879. One of the city’s most aesthetic tourist attractions, this gem in Golden Gate Park typically is only open to the public from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday or during private events. So, to have been able to spend an evening viewing upcoming local talent in such a gorgeous setting was something truly extraordinary.

Approaching the venue, guests waded their way through a beautifully eerie fog that settled into the meadow leading up to the conservatory’s entrance. A sight to behold, the illuminated structure glowed atop its elevated paddock off of John F. Kennedy Drive. The crowd bustled with excitement as fans entered into the delicate ecosystem and were greeted by a funk and soul vinyl set spun by DJ Don’t Tell Your Mom. Sprawling throughout the lush collection of high and lowland tropics, craft cocktail bars and local brewers showcased their small batch libations alongside whimsical pools in the aquatic plants gallery and the miniature Garden Railway: 1915 Pan Pacific special exhibit currently on display.

Heron Oblivion

Guests were free to roam the premises for a majority of the evening and quite charmingly were reminded of the set times about five minutes before each performance by the conservatory’s staff members sauntering through the greenhouse. Extra Classic and Heron Oblivion each played their sets in what otherwise would be the orchid showcase area, directly positioned in the back of the building. Highly intimate and surrounded by Golden Gate Park’s beauty in the evening hours, both local bands brought their own unique blend of cultural influences and musical amalgamations to the stage. Extra Classic’s dub-infused, retro soul paired with Heron Oblivion’s psychedelic-folk rock further heightened the surreal ambiance of the evening as they kept the crowd dancing.

All proceeds from the sold-out event went directly toward the preservation of the historic landmark and the maintenance of its exotic plant life. There’s been no official word yet on whether the Conservatory of Flowers “After-Hours” program will continue, but judging from the success of its debut, we’re very optimistic.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Conservatory of Flowers, DJ Don't Tell Your Mom, Extra Classic, Golden Gate Park, Heron Oblivion

Oneohtrix Point Never’s debut of live vocals leaves SF crowd utterly speechless

December 7, 2015 by Molly Kish 1 Comment

Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Molly Kish //

Oneohtrix Point Never with James Ferraro //
The Independent – San Francisco
November 27th, 2015 //

Debuting new material from his freshly released, seventh studio album Garden of Delete, Oneohtrix Point Never, the electronic music producer and head of Brooklyn-based record label Software otherwise known as Daniel Lopatin, headlined a nearly sold-out show at The Independent the day after Thanksgiving. Playing to a confounded crowd, the audience was made up of equal parts longtime OPN fans and experimental enthusiasts intrigued by the “vaporwave” pioneer’s latest round of critical praise.

After a short opening set from James Ferraro, who warmed the crowd up with his own brand of avant-garde noise, OPN took the stage. Aiming to pull out all the stops this tour with the debut of a brand-new show that sees him incorporating live vocals into the performance for the very first time, Lopatin enthusiastically jumped full throttle into his new material after the short set break between acts.

As the entire venue filled with a surreal haze of back-lit fog, OPN kicked things off in dramatic fashion, bouncing a syncopated strobe light off the blinding smoke to the maniacal pace of “I Bite Through It”. Lopatin’s presence remained audibly present above the visually obscuring fog, drawing the crowd’s attention as he transitioned from the opening instrumental track into the critically acclaimed single “Sticky Drama” from Garden of Delete. The track’s music video, which Lauptin worked with Montreal artist, filmmaker and essayist Jon Rafman to create, was projected on two small screens to each side of Lauptin.

Making up the platform for Lauptin’s new stage show, the disproportionately small screens displayed jumbled video footage throughout the performance. Somewhat distracting, albeit synchronized with each track, the content and possible deeper meaning behind the footage eventually felt unnecessary in respect to the real focus of the show, which undoubtedly was Lopatin’s live vocals.

Nearly indecipherable, Lopatin performed his tracks in perfect modulated pitch, hitting every jarringly polarizing note while assaulting his fans’ eardrums with bone-rattling baselines and undertones. The crowd’s attention remained entranced in the sensory-deprived ambiance, with only mere moments to process the performance between songs as Lopatin attempted to communicate without breaking application of his auto-tuned vocalization. Once he came to terms with the fact that the crowd wasn’t able to process his banter in between songs, Lopatin decided to let OPN’s material speak for itself and finished out his set by creating a stunning atmosphere replete with a beautifully transcendent encore of “Music for Steamed Rocks”.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: James Ferraro, Jon Rafman, Oneohtrix Point Never, The Independent

Noise Pop 2016: Get ready with our Spotify playlist

November 20, 2015 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Noise Pop //
Bay Area venues – San Francisco & Oakland
February 19th-28th, 2016 //

Noise Pop’s “early music lineup” has been officially announced and 2016’s dates are locked in. Coming to the Bay Area this February, the seminal independent music, art and cultural celebration returns for its 24th year to venues in SF and Oakland.

Highlighting some of the most innovative names in alternative rock and indie rock along with a wide variety of emerging acts from across the country, Noise Pop has become known for curating some of best breakthrough performances and most cutting-edge talent for nearly a quarter century.

Brush up on the first round of artists that have been announced for next year’s bill with our Noise Pop playlist and don’t miss your opportunity to take part in the 2016 festivities.

All tickets for currently announced events go on sale Friday, November 20th at 11 a.m. and will sell out quickly. Noise Pop badges are also available here and listed as follows:

Early Bird Badge ($145)/Regular Badge ($175): Grants access to all general admission (non-seated) concerts and special events.

Super Fan Badge ($375): Guarantees entry to all film/music/cultural events, a merchandise package, drink tickets to select events, ride-share coupons and a personal representative available for assistance during festival hours.

In the meantime, you can relive some of our favorite moments from Noise Pop 2015 here.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Astronauts etc., Beacon, Cayucas, Escort, Film School, Heartwatch, Kamasi Washington, Natasha Kmeto, Noise Pop, Noise Pop 2016, Palehound, Parquet Courts, The Cave Singers, The Mountain Goats, The Thermals, Vince Staples, Wild Ones

Hot Chip conquer their jet lag with an energetic set at the Fox Theater Oakland

November 5, 2015 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos by Eric Palozzolo // Written by Molly Kish //

Hot Chip //
Fox Theater Oakland – Oakland
October 29th, 2015 //

Prolific UK indie-dance powerhouse Hot Chip headlined the historic Fox Theater Oakland last Thursday night. Playing one of their few scheduled U.S. non-festival stops, for a crowd full of adoring fans anxious to get the well-overdue dance party started!

Touring this year in support of its sixth studio album Why Make Sense?, the live electronic seven-piece had only played a handful of shows at indoor venues throughout North America, making this Bay Area tour stop a very special occasion.

With their layered sound and spectacular stage lighting, Hot Chip have received rave reviews from many of their U.S. festival gigs this year, standing out among some other stellar sets at Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in August (read our review of the band’s performance here). But witnessing them inside at a place like the Fox Theater, Oakland or at any small- to mid-sized venue truly accentuates the caliber of their live show.

Surprisingly enough, Hot Chip frontman Alexis Taylor and his bandmates got off to a slow start, as it took a few songs for the venue’s sound team to find the right bass and vocal levels on the boards. But once the sound levels were synced up, you could hear the crowd let out a collective sigh of relief as Hot Chip carved into the meat of their set. Even the band’s on-stage presence shifted as it transitioned into some lighthearted dance routines that featured some playful exchanges with fans.

At one point during Hot Chip’s set, Taylor went as far as to mention how they were extremely jet lagged and weren’t sure exactly how the show was going to go, but that they never had a doubt in their mind that Oakland was “going to bring it.” He went on to thank those present for invigorating him and his travel-weary sidekicks, adding that the show was one of the most enjoyable ones they’ve played on this latest tour.

With the crowd riding off the palpable energy of the performance, the band subsequently lost itself in a shared moment of pure, unadulterated bliss. In between songs, some fans shared moments of where they were when they first heard a particular track or what memories they had attributed to another. The collective peak of the show came toward the end of the set and was punctuated by a double encore, which started with their Bruce Springsteen/LCD Soundsystem mash-up (“Dancing in the Dark” to “All My Friends”) and finished with one last deep cut in “Let Me Be Him”.

Setlist:
Huarache Lights
One Life Stand
Night and Day
Love Is the Future
Flutes
Over and Over
Alley Cats
Cry for You
Shake a Fist
Need You Now
Ready for the Floor
I Feel Better

Encore #1:
We’re Looking for a Lot of Love
And I Was a Boy from School
Hold On
Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover)/All My Friends (LCD Soundsystem cover)

Encore #2:
*Let Me Be Him

*Setlist note: “Only if it’s all going really well”

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Fox Theater Oakland, Hot Chip

Jamie xx spectacularly illuminates the Fox Theater Oakland on ‘In Colour’ tour

October 15, 2015 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos by James Nagel // Written by Molly Kish //

Jamie xx //
Fox Theater Oakland – Oakland
October 9th, 2015 //

2015 has been a monumental year for London-based producer Jamie Smith, aka Jamie xx. Taking a break from his previous gig as half of The xx, Smith has broadened his production palette as a solo artist, reigning remix king and mastermind behind the summer of 2015’s largest contemporary electronic crossover hit “Good Times” featuring Young Thug and Popcann.

In further exploring his influences in dubstep, house and trip-hop, Smith delivered one of 2015’s standout solo debuts with In Colour (read our review here). Previewing his new material over the past six months, he has been bringing his epic DJ sets to select cities throughout Europe and the U.S.

Last Friday, Smith performed his second-to-last North American date at the Fox Theater Oakland to a mesmerized, sold-out crowd. Transforming the 2,800-person venue into a spellbinding disco hall, Jamie xx exceeded expectations, delivering what can be contested as the theater’s most paramount electronic set of the year.

Throughout his tour, Smith has refused to compromise his individual style for the sake of appeasing either extreme of his now commercially hybrid audience. Whereas those familiar with his early XL Records mixtapes were satiated by his intermingling of Gil Scott-Heron and Idris Muhammad samples between hits, his newfound post-In Colour fans experienced equally breathtaking moments with the crowd hitting peak energy levels during the encore chorus of “Loud Places” amidst the glow of a warped-speed, neon-green strobe light. Other notable moments included the near-religious choral drop of “Gosh” that escalated the packed house to spiritual levels of enthusiasm, bathed in the glowing sparkle of Smith’s staggeringly iridescent ceiling to floor disco ball and stage lights.

Although many were taken aback by Smith’s unconventional approach to a large-scale theater performance, ultimately everyone left with a clearer understanding of his role as both an individual artist and proliferant tastemaker in the current state of contemporary EDM. Serving as a view into the mind of both an aesthete and master of his craft, the “In Colour” tour offers an in-depth portrayal of what Jamie xx has accomplished thus far in his career.

Already touting an impressive genre-bending legacy, Smith’s album and incredible live sets are a testament to not only his past success as an accomplished producer, but also as a glimpse into the future progression of what he intends to bring to the table as an incipient electronic powerhouse.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Fox Theater Oakland, Jamie xx, The xx

Future Islands, Operators evoke peak levels of crowd enthusiasm at Fox Theater Oakland

October 1, 2015 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Future Islands

Photos by Justin Yee // Written by Molly Kish //

Future Islands with Operators //
Fox Theater Oakland – Oakland
September 25th, 2015 //

Last Saturday, Baltimore’s very own synth-rock tour de force Future Islands headlined the Fox Theater Oakland. Supported by an opening set from former Wolf Parade, Atlas Strategic and Handsome Furs member Dan Boeckner’s new group Operators, the show was a beautifully chaotic, energy-packed performance from start to finish.

Both frontmen equally set the bar for an evening of palpable enthusiasm manifested through kinetic exchanges with their bandmates and adoring fans. From Boeckner’s die-hard, career-spanning supporters to the legion of Samuel Herring dance enthusiasts (read our interview with Future Islands here), the sold-out venue was bursting at the seams with a crowd ready for a bill full of big personalities and “heavy feels.”

Despite being expressed through the guise of dance-floor anthems and singalong ballads, emotions ran high throughout the entire show with both acts provoking peak levels of elation through their impassioned, evocative stage presence and heartwarming, post-punk material.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Fox Theater Oakland, Future Islands, Operators

Empire of the Sun bring a festival-season sampler to Bill Graham Civic with St. Lucia, Holy Ghost!

September 24, 2015 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Empire of the Sun

Photos by Steve Carlson // Written by Molly Kish //

Empire of the Sun with St. Lucia, Holy Ghost! //
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco
September 19th, 2015 //

The middle of September is a strange time in the Bay Area as the playa dust of Burning Man still lingers in the air and many attempt to keep up with the city’s limitless social calendar amidst the palpable intensity of visiting tech conferences and vacationing crowds. While the rest of the country is in a collective comedown while preparing to transition into fall and the impending holiday season, SF is hitting its fever pitch as festival season draws to a close.

Case in point: last Saturday’s bill of Holy Ghost!, St. Lucia and Empire of the Sun at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

Holy Ghost!

NYC’s nu-disco torchbearers Holy Ghost! brought the dance party early, opening the show with an unfortunately timed 7:30 p.m. slot. While die-hard fans cut their pregaming short to make the effort to catch their set, the 2015 festival circuit staples definitely had to work extra hard to get the early arrivals on their level. Making the most of the moment, Nick Millhiser and Alex Franke busted out a mini set of crowd favorites with their backing band, prompting the ascending audience members to literally dance their way through the entrance into the auditorium. They called out those unfamiliar with their tunes to start moving, and the band playfully broke up their set with ad libs directed at the crowd, including but not limited to “Let’s go San Francisco! It’s fucking 7 o’clock!”

St. Lucia

St. Lucia took the stage second, amassing a large crowd of indie-pop enthusiasts who were ready to commit fully to a pivotal switch from club-heavy hits to over the top-pop eccentricity. Nothing shy of what you’d visualize while listening to the band’s breakthrough album When the Night, frontman Jean-Philip Grobler’s vocals washed over the venue in a sea of nostalgia-inducing synthpop. Drawing from Grobler’s South African upbringing, St. Lucia’s sound relies heavily on call-and-response choruses, percussion breakdowns and kaiso-calypso influences. Crowd participation was inevitable, which from the opening bars of the band’s set, was coerced by the vivacious frontman with fan-generated wind flowing through his perfectly coiffed hair. St. Lucia ramped it up a notch halfway through their set, delving into extended versions of their songs that mimicked electronic remixing via live instrumentation. The dance floor was at its peak during these moments as Grobler prompted the audience to get completely lost in St. Lucia’s “yacht pop” euphoria.

After a brief interlude and set change, Empire of the Sun took the stage. The anticipation had already been running high, physically manifesting itself as fans came together to represent the “Empyrean” elite with many of them donning homemade head dresses, face masks, body suits, theater make-up and more. Consequently, EOTS shows breed a certain level of spectacular that throughout the years has escalated from just a performance to a fully immersive audience experience.

Empire of the Sun

Setting the bar extremely high with a near cinematic entrance, EOTS frontman Luke Steele emerged from center stage in his full stage regalia and was immediately surrounded by a chorus of Broadway-caliber back-up dancers. With only two full-length albums under their belt, EOTS have always heavily relied on bringing their rock-opera material to life through eccentric live shows and theatrics, all of which was still very much at the forefront, minus Steele’s partner Nick Littlemore.

Though the two have had years of well-documented disputes when it’s come to touring, it’s still disheartening as a longtime fan to only have ever seen a one-man version of EOTS live. Of course, leave it to Steele though to be an absolute professional and still put on an incredible performance even in Littlemore’s absence. While mentioning that they had been working on a brand-new program for this tour and he was beyond excited to perform it in such a place, those paying close attention couldn’t help but be distracted by his partner’s absence in this over-the-top production.

Empire of the Sun

Steele, however, still rose above the occasion and pulled off an incredible show even with a few awkward filler moments and prolonged eccentricities. His vocals were unbelievable, his multi-instrument mastery was impeccable and his all-around stage presence was something that not many contemporaries can compete with. Even in the most difficult moments, I watched a new generation of EOTS fans collectively have their minds blown. Certain parts of the show thinned out the audience, whether it was due to the intrinsically odd nature of the performance or just a lack of familiarity with the material, but if you were amongst the fans who stayed until the very last note was played, you were undoubtedly treated to a strong finish.

As Steele belted out “Alive”, the hit single off the band’s sophomore studio album Ice on the Dune, to close things out, he brought the audience to a transcendent place of exhilaration. Crowd members embraced and danced amongst a like-minded family of people lost in the moment, even if it involved intergalactic creatures dancing in colored smoke and a crowned Emperor playing without his bandmate on stage. EOTS shows are a special kind of magic that regardless of the material’s absurd nature, translate into an experience unlike anything else.

Setlist:
Lux
Old Flavours
DNA
Half Mast
(Unknown) (Del Zamora spoken interlude 1)
We Are the People
Awakening
Concert Pitch
Celebrate
Ice on the Dune
(Unknown)
Surround Sound
Swordfish Hotkiss
I’ll Be Around
Breakdown
Walking on a Dream
Tiger by My Side
Standing on the Shore
(Unknown) (Del Zamora spoken interlude 2)
Alive