Discover New Music // Show Reviews + Photos // Experience California's Music Scene and Beyond
Photos by Marc Fong
Yuck with GRMLN, The She’s //
The Independent – San Francisco
January 29, 2014 //
Although founding member Daniel Blumberg departed Yuck last year to pursue other projects, the British quartet soldiers on in support of last year’s Glow and Behold, a record that is as indie-shoegaze as it’s title might indicate. Marc Fong was at the Indy last week to capture moments from the show — take a look!
By Marc Fong
TEED (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) with MPHD //
Mezzanine — San Francisco
January 31, 2014 //
There was very little light at Mezzanine Saturday. The crowd, however, found their way toward the stage when English DJ Orlando Higginbottom, aka Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, crept onto stage while MPHD wrapped up his set. Ducking between light and shadows, he slowly took the reins of the tables. The segue was subtle, but the sound that eventually took over was distinctively TEED’s.
Dark seductive beats drew the crowd as if he were an electronic Pied Piper. They came with drinks and dates in hand, bodies shaking to TEED’s sinister sound. Thundering basslines and relentless electropop kept the party crowd going until late into the night.
Though TEED could barely be seen through the shadows and fog, the occasional cell phone flash confirmed that the booty shaking master was hard at play. Judging by the euphoric looks on the Mezzanine crowd, TEED wasn’t the only one having a good time.
Break Science with Tech Minds & Matt Haze
Mezzanine – San Francisco
November 30, 2013
Adam Dietch (drums) & Borahm Lee (keyboards) kept the party rolling Saturday night (November 30) at Mezzanine after the live Pretty Lights extravaganza finished down the road at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The members of Break Science are touring with Pretty Lights at the moment — check out our review and photos from the November 29th Pretty Lights show. Marc Fong caught the after party magic at Mezzanine…
The Limousines & Mona with Dresses
The Independent — San Francisco
November 27, 2013
The Bay Area’s indietronica outfit The Limousines headlined a shared bill with Mona at the Independent the night before Thanksgiving, doing their thing for the hometown crowd — performing earnest, updated new-wave with a twinge of disco. Marc Fong was on the scene to get the shots.
Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Mike Frash
Passion Pit‘s never-ending tour in support of their 2012 album continued at Fox Theater Oakland October 21, giving another example of what it takes for artists to make money in the current musical landscape. Long gone are the days of albums that cost $16.99 at Sam Goody, and for groups to turn big profits they must turn into road warriors. The group have been touring since the release of Gossamer in April 2012, and it’s been relatively smooth sailing since frontman Michael Angelakos went public with issues managing his bi-polar disorder (except for that time 75% of the group’s equipment got destroyed).
The Joy Formidable opened, and Marc Fong was on the scene catching the snaps.
Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Mike Frash
Warpaint have played only handful of festival sets over the past year, but the hypnotic LA-based fearless foursome performed to a full house at The Independent September 17, the start of a brief US tour before heading out on a longer European tour. Four new songs were road-tested in San Francisco, including “Keep It Healthy”, “Love Is To Die”, “High” and “No Way Out”. The dreamy ambiance and piercing lyrics from Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman and Jenny Lee Lindberg are as hypnotic as ever, providing a moving, spiritual live music experience.
With new material and dozens of shows on the horizon, a new album seems likely in 2014 — check out Warpaint’s 2013 US schedule:
10/01 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/11 Pomona, CA – The Glass House
10/12 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
10/18-10/19 – Dallas, TX – Index Fest 2013
SETLIST:
Bees
Stars
Keep It Healthy
Love Is To Die
Composure
Undertow
High
No Way Out
Billie Holiday
Elephants
Encore:
Baby
Beetles
By Marc Fong //
Plácido Domingo //
Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
September 7th, 2013 //
Plácido Domingo brought the symphony crowd outdoors to the Greek Theatre in Berkeley (one of our favorite Bay Area venues) last weekend. The weather permitted a beautiful night, which set the stage for a beautiful performance.
Our photographer Marc Fong said, “It was AMAZING to see the symphony and Plácido (and guest Sopranos) at the iconic Greek Theatre. This was the only place to see this show.”
Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Mike Frash
Cody ChestnuTT came on stage at The Independent with his usual swagger Saturday (September 7), wearing his ever-present antiquated army helmet. ChestnuTT graced San Francisco’s finest room for the second time this year, continuing to tour on his 2012 LP Landing on a Hundred. The R&B crooner is best known as the voice of The Roots’ biggest song “The Seed (2.0)”, and ChesnuTT made waves in the early aughts with his double LP The Headphone Masterpiece.
ChestnuTT still has it a decade later — he’s fun, upbeat and he knows how to control the crowd.
Photos by Marc Fong
Yellowbirds performed at The Chapel Tuesday (August 6) for their debut performance, sharing their drifty blend of psychedelic folk rock with the Mission-based attendees.
The group is currently touring in support of Songs from the Vanished Frontier, their recently released sophomore effort. As Sam Cohen and the gang swing down the west coast, our main man Marc Fong was on the scene to catch some snaps.
Alternative folk-blues troubadour Langhorne Slim stopped by The Independent Monday evening for an energetic, foot stompin’ good time.
The night’s headliner proved to be an energetic and fun performer – just check out the photos below for evidence. Slim (née Sean Scolnick) danced and jumped around the stage and the crowd ate it up. A group from Oregon even made trek to SF just to catch the show.
Langhorne Slim and his band “The Law” brought the folky-fun to the bay, and he even played a couple dance numbers. Marc Fong was on the scene to capture the moments.
Photos by Marc Fong ~ Written by Mike Frash
The alt-rockin’ punk-pop theatrics of Fall Out Boy returned to the Bay Area Sunday (June 16) at Fox Theater Oakland. Frontman Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley had been on hiatus from 2010-2013, but they’ve returned to play a sold out US theater-based tour in June before stepping it up a notch with arenas in the fall. Fall Out Boy is on the road in support of their new record Save Rock and Roll. Marc Fong was on the scene in Oakland Sunday to catch some snaps.
Photos by Marc Fong ~ Written by Mike Frash
Oakland indie group Trails and Ways performed at The Independent June 7th before heading out on the road for a jam-packed June they’ve dubbed the “Trans-America Trilingual Tour”. It’s great to see a deserving local act make it to the stage at The Independent – let’s see if these hard working locals can continue their steady rise.
Photos by Marc Fong ~ Written by Mike Frash
The candy-coated pop group Youngblood Hawke from Los Angeles headlined Popscene at Rickshaw Stop May 23, bringing their super-shiny, summertime songs to San Francisco. They’ve gained significant traction this year with their radio-friendly anthem “We Come Running” from their debut album Wake Up, released in April. Their lead single is so catchy, it’s already by remixed by Tiësto, RAC, The Knocks & others. Listen to these remixes below.
Photos by Marc Fong ~ Written by Mike Frash
Of Monsters and Men‘s meteoric rise since stomping onto the music scene in early 2012 is something to behold. Sure, one-album phenomenons like Alabama Shakes and Imagine Dragons have become more common in the age of streaming, where easier and earlier access to music has created legions of burgeoning critics and a generation of music ‘experts’ who spread opinion faster than it took the same folks to judge the new Daft Punk album. In early 2012, it was these early adaptors that catapulted the Icelandic upstarts to buzz-worthy status, securing venues for Of Monsters and Men before they had even released an album.
And here they are 14 months later, selling out venues in minutes and rocking a visual aesthetic that’s gone gothic-chic, the effect of making money hand over-fist and having a promoter that cares about your long-term success. Of Monsters and Men have themselves to thank for success, as their anthemic songs are some of the catchiest material to come around in a while; you can listen to one of their songs like “Six Weeks” and you’ll be singing along to the refrain by the end of the first time you hear it. Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson are the heart and soul of the group, but it’s the collective wall-of-sound this seven-piece touring act creates that has made Of Monsters and Men one of the most popular groups around.
Of Monsters and Men performed at Fox Theatre Oakland May 16. View their setlist below the photo gallery.
Encore
13. “Numb Bears”
14. “Little Talks”
15. “Yellow Light”
Photos by Marc Fong ~ Written by Mike Frash
Progressive trance DJ, producer & consistent innovator Armin Van Buuren performed at Fox Theater Oakland to a super-sold out Bay Area crowd May 5th ready to rage.
Considered by many to be the Ambassador of Trance, Van Buuren hosts a weekly radio show dubbed “A State of Trance”, which has around 25 million weekly listeners in 26 countries around the world. The Dutch selector was named the number one DJ in the world a fifth time in 2012 by DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs fan poll.
Armin Van Buuren just dropped his fifth studio album Intense April 30th in the United States, and it combines techno, house & pop elements based around a mostly euphoric tone.
English singer-songwriter Ben Ottewell, best known as one of the three leads from the indie group Gomez, brought his soothing sounds to The Independent April 25 in continued support of his 2011 solo LP Shapes & Shadows.
Photos by Marc Fong ~ Written by Mike Frash
Groundbreaking electronic duo Crystal Castles brandished controlled chaos Saturday April 27 at Fox Theater Oakland, with featured acts Doldrums & Buried Child setting the stage. Still touring in support of their excellent 2012 record (III), their live show tiptoes on the edge of bedlam, utilizing intense strobe lights that flash to the beat & intensity of Ethan Kath’s noisy, dystopian hooks. Front-woman Alice Glass whips her hair without restraint and smokes cigarettes while dancing, singing & feverishly trashing away. And as you can see below, Ethan Kath has one hell of a photographer stare-down.
Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Mike Frash //
Savages with No Bra //
The Independent – San Francisco
April 18th, 2013 //
London-based rock band Savages displayed range and rage that went through the roof on Thursday at The Independent with No Bra attached as support.
The all-female post-punk rockers have made quite the impression so far this year. They made a big slash at South by Southwest in March, and now the quartet is finishing up the U.S. leg of its tour at Coachella before heading back across the pond to perform in the UK and Europe over the next few months. And this has all happened without Savages having dropped their first album.
Lead singer Jehnny Beth is a stoic force onstage, constantly projecting strength by flashing fierce, wide eyes and holding traditional masculine body language alongside her bandmates in Gemma Thompson (guitar), Ayse Hassan (bass) and Fay Milton (drums). It’s refreshing to witness an act live as exciting as Savages, which successfully flips gender stereotypes on their head with ease.
But after catching them at this show in SF, you can bet that we will be spinning their debut LP Silence Yourself when it’s released stateside on May 7th via Matador Records.
Setlist:
No Face
Shut Up
City’s Full
Strife
Waiting for a Sign
Flying to Berlin
Another War
Give Me a Gun
Hit Me
My Condition
I Am Here
She Will
Husbands
Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Molly Kish //
Vampire Weekend with Tanlines //
Fox Theater – Oakland
April 17th, 2013 //
Vampire Weekend stopped by the East Bay on Wednesday night to a sold-out Fox Theater. Following the opening act dance party provided by the New York electro outfit Tanlines, the crowd’s energy was high and filled with anticipation for the east coast darlings to take the stage. Near identical to their Coachella performance on Sunday, the band rattled off a set list full of fast paced hits with no time for banter in between.
Vampire Weekend gave a teaser of their forthcoming album playing the two recently released singles “Diane Young” and “Step” and Ezra Koenig said they will have a setlist full of new material when they return in August. Be sure to catch them this summer at Outside Lands 2013, providing a welcome burst of energy to a festival bill near you!
Written by Mike Frash
Purity Ring arrived in mid-2012 amid massive hype – they became one of the most anticipated groups in years after Megan James and Corin Roddick dropped “Ungirthed” in early 2011. Music blogs swooned over Roddick’s warped beats matched with James’ innocent, captivating voice.
Since releasing Shrines to critical acclaim, Purity Ring has repeatedly proven themselves as innovators on the live circuit. They did it again Monday at The Independent, the first of a three night stand in San Francisco (they played again at The Independent Tuesday and will be at Bottom of the Hill Wednesday). The samples and lighting are controlled by Corin Roddick and his custom-made drum kit that looks like it was transported from the future. He hits 8 or 10 bulb-shaped apparatuses that rise up from crooked, vine-like arms as if he’s playing a normal drum kit, but with each contact the cocoon lights that surround Megan James’ performing space react and change with a hypnotic effect that parallels Purity Ring’s music. James’ stage presence shows strong range; she portrays an innocent, lost girl with a low-glowing nightlight then transforms to a powerful woman striking a massive war drum, commanding attention.
Now that Purity Ring is on their victory lap in San Francisco playing three sold-out shows between two weekends at Coachella, it’s clear that Purity Ring is part of music’s new mainstream – they may not be on the radio, but anyone that pays a bit of attention to new music has heard a couple of their tracks.
Upcoming Shows at The Independent
Savages – Thursday April 18
Deap Vally – Friday April 19
Palma Violets – Tuesday APril 23
