Thirty-five years later, the Melvins are still rockin’ as hard & loud as they ever have

July 23, 2018 by Leave a Comment

MelvinsPhotos by Mike Rosati // Written by Andrew Pohl //

Melvins with ModPods, Yen Yen //
Great American Music Hall – San Francisco
July 16th, 2018 //

For as many times as the Melvins have performed in the Bay Area over their extensive career, I just hadn’t gotten around to seeing them. Several friends of mine have praised them as one of, if not THE best band to catch live, and though I admittedly didn’t know their material beyond a few songs that I had heard on occasion, I was happy to have the chance to catch them. With the sold-out gig taking place at one of my favorite venues in SF, that made it all the better.

Arriving at the Great American Music Hall about 15 minutes before showtime, I ran into a few good friends that I hadn’t seen in a while, which made the whole experience that much better. Kicking things off were Yen Yen, a Swedish electronic duo whose ethereal, 25-minute set was a refreshingly different sound when comparing it to what was supposed to be a Monday night of sonic bombardment by the mighty Melvins. As one of the band’s members twisted and turned knobs to manipulate some swelling synth-pad samples, the other waved his hands over what looked like a theremin type synth. Twenty-five minutes was the perfect length for their set, as much more than that might have become long in the tooth, but I did enjoy what I heard and it was pretty impressive to see what they could do with sound.

Next up were the Los Angeles-based ModPods. The three-piece dance/electro outfit proved to be another nice addition to the show’s bill and offered those in attendance a chance to shake their ass a bit. Singer Myriad Slits held court onstage as she delivered some strong vocals that exuded both soul and style. Instrumentalists Mindee Jorgenson and Daniel Guzman switched between bass, guitar and drums, layering sounds over backing tracks to each song. Although they were minimalist in their approach, the songs kept the crowd wanting more and I would venture to say that the ModPods won over the crowd with ease. I foresee them making some big waves in the future.

Melvins

But the time had finally come for the legendary Melvins to hit the stage. Over the years, the group has undergone quite a few lineup changes, with lead vocalist/guitarist Buzz Osborne (aka “King Buzzo”) being the one constant member and drummer Dale Crover being a close second. For this roster, former Butthole Surfers bassist Jeff Pinkus and Redd Kross/Off! bass player Steven Shane McDonald signed on to be part of the equation, creating a rich, punchy and crunchy element to the already fuzz-heavy sound. This was one show, after all, that you definitely wanted to have earplugs for.

I’m far from an expert on this kind of thing (because I’m not), but I didn’t expect to see the Melvins perform with the amount of energy that they showcased. For a band that has been touring and putting out new material for the past 35 years, they performed as if everything depended on it. You weren’t going to catch “King Buzzo” standing in one place for too long, with his signature fro whipping in the wind from the fans that were on the stage, McDonald and Pinkus holding it down on their own instruments, and Crover beating the living hell out of his drums. Fans were ready to receive the band and responded to the various sonic blasts coming from the amplifiers. During the thrashy songs, they formed a brutal pit, and during the sludgier songs, they lit up joints and bobbed their heads to the music.

I, myself, was pleased see that the Melvins were thoroughly enjoying themselves and weren’t just going through the motions. Their 18-song set in SF included cuts from across their entire catalog, a handful of covers — including David Bowie’s “Saviour Machine”, Butthole Surfers’ “Moving to Florida” and The Rolling Stones’ “Sway” — and toward the end, “Don’t Forget to Breathe” from their most recent full-length album Pinkus Abortion Technician.

Setlist:
Sesame Street Meat
At a Crawl
The Kicking Machine
Saviour Machine (David Bowie cover)
What They Say (Redd Kross cover)
Anaconda
Stop (James Gang cover)
Moving to Florida (Butthole Surfers cover)
Edgar the Elephant
Sway (The Rolling Stones cover)
Let It All Be
Honey Bucket
The Bit
Don’t Forget to Breathe
Onions Make the Milk Taste Bad
The Talking Horse
Evil New War God
Eye Flys

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Soulwax make up for lost time with a wild LA show

April 26, 2018 by 1 Comment

SoulwaxBy Zach Bourque //

Soulwax with Rory Phillips //
The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles
April 19th, 2018 //

Soulwax have always been an elusive force in music. The Belgian electronic group, led by brothers David Dewaele and Stephen Dewaele, has remained relatively hush over the past decade or so, particularly in North America.

Fabled performances at both the 2008 and 2010 editions of HARD Summer Music Festival in LA helped Soulwax’s live instrumentation and unconventional style stand out amid a sea of standard rave acts. The Dewaele brothers would occasionally stop by performing mashup DJ sets under the guise 2manydjs, but for the select few that caught one of those early Soulwax shows, it was the stuff of legends.

In 2016, the group debuted a new live setup, which went by the name of “Soulwax Transient Program for Drums and Machinery”, and this month it returned to the U.S. for two weekends at Coachella (read our festival review here). Fortunately for us (and San Francisco), Soulwax decided to bless our cities with side shows in between festival weekends. Last Thursday they invaded The Fonda Theatre for a sold-out affair that would further cement their live legacy in Southern California.

Their mammoth stage setup looked in part much like a mobile recording studio, engulfing the stage with more metal than a “Transformers” movie. But it actually starts to make more sense once you realize that their new album From Deewee was recorded in one 48-minute take using the same live stage setup. Given the entire rig’s sheer size, it was hardly a surprise that opener Rory Phillips was relegated to a nook off to the side due to the shear lack of space available.

Soulwax

Phillips’ upbeat and unpretentious set provided appropriate background music while the rabid crowd awaited Soulwax, and what a crowd it was. With the majority of the audience members looking like they just stumbled out of Coachella’s Sahara Tent, it was a notably inebriated collection of folks that broke new ground for a Thursday night.

Yes, in fact, we’re talking public nudity, incessant vomiting and more people stumbling to the exit than a San Andreas earthquake. For those who actually remembered the show though, it was one for the books.

While Soulwax’s recorded music has always been perfectly enjoyable, in person it becomes something else entirely. Their new, three-drummer lineup was the ideal format to hear new tracks like “Is It Always Binary” while giving older tracks such as “KracK” a newly textured and complex sound. Sitting stage right, drummer Victoria Smith, for one, offered the group some serious personality thanks to her animated facial expressions.

Soulwax capped things off with “E Talking” from 2005’s Nite Versions and “NY Excuse” off 2004’s Any Minute Now before snapping fans back into reality for their journey home. While their return to LA proved to be a highly memorable experience for those fortunate enough to share a spot inside the packed venue, we just hope that it won’t be another years-long hiatus before they return to the states.

Setlist:
No Drums (intro)
Do You Want to Get Into Trouble?
Essential 3
KracK
Is It Always Binary
Missing Wires
Conditions of a Shared Belief
Heaven Scent
Transient Program for Drums and Machinery
Essential 5
Another Excuse
Glass
The Singer Has Become a Deejay
Here Come the Men in Suits
E Talking
Inward
Miserable Girl
NY Excuse

Encore:
Goodnight Transmission

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With CyHi the Prynce on the bill, Big K.R.I.T. shows fans why his moniker is much bigger than him

April 25, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Big K.R.I.T.By Joseph Gray //

Big K.R.I.T. with CyHi the Prynce, Childish Major //
Echoplex – Los Angeles
April 19th, 2018 //

Big K.R.I.T. feels like an uncle.

Even though we are nearly the same age, the ambitious Mississippi rapper has always been unafraid when it comes to detailing his grief, mishaps and the veteran-like wisdom that he has soaked up along the way. And with the hope that his heartfelt vulnerability and growth can produce some good energy for his fans, the “King Remembered in Time” displayed why his moniker is much bigger than him.

Freed from his major-label frustrations after leaving Def Jam Recordings in 2016, Big K.R.I.T. appeared to be at ease when he took the stage in LA at Echoplex last Thursday as part of his “Heavy Is the Crown” tour that spans six weeks and 29 U.S. cities.

The show began with feel-good, Southern sets from emcee/producer Childish Major, who co-starred with energetic hip-hop duo EarthGang, and CyHi the Prince, who took us on a lyrical trip to the streets and the tabernacle.

CyHi the Prynce


CyHi the Prynce

But the sold-out crowd knew this was Big K.R.I.T.’s night, and he showed why the same uncle who will pull you aside for guidance is also often the same one dancing, smiling and serving as the life of the party whenever family gets together.

This duality is fitting coming on the heels of his 2017 LP, the double-sided 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time. While the first half of the album (entitled Big K.R.I.T.) brims with trunk-rattling confidence, the other (named Justin Scott) soulfully touches upon his battles with anxiety, contradictions and fame.

At Echoplex, we were treated to the “rapper” and the man himself as bass-heavy party starters like the title-track opener and “Confetti” from 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time got everyone hyped, while Atlanta’s T.I. came out to perform his verse on “Big Bank”. After singling out one excited fan, who was wearing a shirt with a giant picture of his face, during the easygoing “1999” and paying homage to Southern rap pioneers UGK, Big K.R.I.T. took the latter half of his hour-long set to connect with the crowd.

From his battles with alcoholism (as heard on “Drinking Sessions”) and inconsistency (from “Mixed Messages”) to his contrasting thoughts on religion (“Higher Calling”) and newfound clarity (“Bury Me in Gold”), a completely drenched Big K.R.I.T. painted a picture of his royal advancement — a positive one that he explained is not only meant to be a reminder for him, but also for us.

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Moby might think he’s old, but his 15th and newest album doesn’t sound it at Apogee Studio

March 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

MobyPhotos by Brian Feinzimer // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Moby //
Apogee Studio – Santa Monica, CA
March 26th, 2018 //

When Richard Melville Hall released his fifth album Play in 1999, probably much to many’s surprise now, it wasn’t an immediate success. Hall, after all, had hit a bit of a rough patch a few years earlier with his fourth LP Animal Rights, which saw him venturing into punk rock and straying far away from the eclecticism that delivered critical acclaim for its predecessor Everything Is Wrong in 1995.

But Play eventually propelled Hall — or “Moby” as his parents called him due to an ancestral tie to Moby Dick author Herman Melville — to mainstream status like his previous records had never before. Boasting eight singles (yes, you read that right) and selling more than 12 million copies worldwide at a point when music fans were still purchasing CDs, it became the biggest-selling electronica album of all time. Rolling Stone, in fact, has included Play as one of its 500 greatest albums on two different occasions. I don’t know about you, but it’s a masterful piece of work that immediately transports me back to the late 90’s, to a time when groove-oriented electronic music was actually starting to be considered “cool.”

Employing everything from early blues, African-American folk music and gospel to hip-hop, disco and techno on Play, Moby created sounds that our ears had never heard before. Today, he stands as one of electronic music’s, if not simply music’s, most important figures, having worked with David Bowie, Daft Punk, Brian Eno, Pet Shop Boys, Britney Spears, New Order, Public Enemy, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and Soundgarden over a career that has spanned 40 years to date.

That’s a long time for anyone to be making music, but at the age of 52, Moby hasn’t let it catch up to him. Part of that could be related to his diet (he has been vegan for about three decades now), leaving his longtime home of New York City for sunny Los Angeles back in 2010 and an unwillingness to tour extensively anymore, though his latest studio material doesn’t offer any evidence that he has lost the ability to craft a well-conceived/produced song either.

Moby

On Monday night in Santa Monica, Hall took the stage for KCRW’s Apogee Sessions series in support of his 15th full length Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt, which arrived via Mute earlier this month. The record’s title serves as just another reminder of Moby’s passion for the late Kurt Vonnegut’s work, referencing Billy Pilgrim’s epitaph in Slaughterhouse-Five, but he isn’t the only literary influence who shines through on the 12-track album. The second single “Mere Anarchy” from Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt, in fact, was inspired by a quote from Irish poet W. B. Yeats, someone Moby has been a fan of for quite a while and even more in these chaotic, uncertain times under the Trump administration (as you can see from his Instagram account here, he is also very politically outspoken).

Still, despite all of the negativity that’s out there in the world at the moment, Moby appears to be in a relatively happy place on a personal level. He has been sober for about four years after being a self-proclaimed alcoholic and has owned his vegan restaurant Little Pine in LA’s ultra trendy Silver Lake neighborhood since 2015. And for the past two years, he has also found the time to organize his own Circle V festival as a way to celebrate music, vegan food and animal rights, the latter of which being another cause that Hall has dedicated his life to from an early age. Oh, and did we mention that he had a collaborative LP with The Void Pacific Choir come out last year? When you stack them all up, it’s pretty incredible to see Moby juggling so many projects simultaneously and juggling them all well (props to his manager, that’s for sure).

His guitar playing, meanwhile, may be just as impressive, if not surprising to some. Less than two weeks before Moby stepped into Bob Clearmountain’s diminutive recording studio, I was fortunate enough to catch him the final of his three shows at The Echo, and it was there as he performed a variety of songs from Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt, Play and a few other albums, that I fully realized just how talented he is with a black Gibson SG in his hands. He may be an electronic musician, but unlike a lot of them today, Moby is a musician in every sense of the word. While his vocals at times sound more like spoken word than actual singing, he has found more than capable sidekicks in Julie Mintz (keyboards, vocals) and Mindy Jones (vocals) to assist him in that department. Jones’ ranging voice, in particular, is one that suits his music well, and when you hear her sing, her pipes elevate the song to a whole new level.

Moby is no doubt a quirky guy. He’s not too insecure to make fun of himself, call some of his music “bad” or say what’s on his mind. Having been his friend for more than 25 years, KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley most certainly knew this, but as he traded questions for answers midway through his performance at Apogee Studio, you could tell even Bentley was surprised by how candid Moby was. The small crowd, of course, couldn’t help but laugh, as Moby made a point of telling us that he’s “old” and later on how the music video for his single “We Are All Made of Stars” was a $1 million disaster that never saw the light of day after being played only once on MTV. But as he juxtaposed the trip-hop that permeates throughout his newest album against the more old-school, ambient vibes of his past work, it was Moby who proved that his star, almost 20 years after Play dropped, continues to burn bright in 2018.

Setlist:
The Ceremony of Innocence
Falling Rain and Light
Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
Porcelain
Like a Motherless Child
This Wild Darkness
The Tired and the Hurt
Extreme Ways
The Sorrow Tree
We Are All Made of Stars

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Going below the surface with Will Varley in SF

March 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Will VarleyBy Gina Lopez //

Will Varley //
The Independent – San Francisco
February 25th, 2018 //

Opening for London folk-punk act Skinny Lister on a Sunday night, British singer-songwriter Will Varley captivated fans at The Independent while touring in support of his fifth and most recent album Spirit of Minnie, which he released just weeks before the show.

The crowd, ready for a rowdy set from Skinny Lister, was silent as Varley, with his raspy voice, began his acoustic set by singing “The Concept of Freedom” that sounded reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” in rhythm and depth. Although it wasn’t at capacity, The Indy held the largest, most attentive crowd I had ever been among — even more than an intimate coffee shop performance. But Varley has a way about him that engages his listeners, as though they are not just listening to him but listening with him.

And with that inviting nature, Varley manned his own merch table after his set so he could meet fans while being kind enough to let me interview him.

With this being my first exposure to Varley, besides having listened to a few of his songs online to prepare for the show, I was struck by the depth of his material. So, I started by asking him to tell me about his lyrics. What inspired his introspective words?

“I like the way words come together,” he told me. “It never feels too difficult or too deep. I feel like something is in my head that I can’t get out, and writing releases it and brings me a sense of peace.”

Varley creates narratives around what he observes. While onstage, he explained to us that one day this past summer, he noticed ants invading his kitchen, and that led to the “ant song”, an exploration of an ant’s point of view.

“Little things can get your mind going, a trigger, I guess,” he said when I asked him more about the songwriting process for his “ant song”.

Varley’s lyrics, whether lighthearted or profound, are observant. Only a man who is observant and a protagonist of his own life can write lyrics like “By the time you can speak, they got you in school / Where just asking questions is breaking the rules” on “King for a King”. Varley is a rule-breaker whose lyrics confront political systems and social norms, try to make sense of life (i.e. “The Man Who Fell to the Earth”) and laugh at the absurd.

Will Varley

While Varley struck fans silent by showcasing a profound folk repertoire, he also had many laughing when he sang the buoyant “Talking Cat Blues”, a layered, yet fun tune that jabs at capitalism, war and pop culture’s obsession with cat content on social media. As he played the song, Varley acknowledged a couple of fans standing in front of the stage. Recognizing them from the Los Angeles and Phoenix shows earlier that week, he invited one of them to provide a meow sound. The crowd hooted and clapped with approval at the meow that was heard throughout the venue. From cats to beer, he then delivered “As for My Soul” as some audience members raised their glasses as if they were toasting him.

Along with being a talented musician, Varley is a funny storyteller and not just through his lyrics. In between songs, he engaged with those in attendance, telling humorous anecdotes about changing a lyric when the original reference to some British brands was unknown to foreign ears.

“Sometimes I’d say a lyric and realize it doesn’t make sense in America,” he told me.

As he performed his cynical cut “Weddings and Wars” and got to the line “Instead of hunting now we go to Tescos”, Varley stopped for a minute to explain that Tesco is a large grocery and general merchandising retailer in the UK. He then asked the audience to tell him what Tesco’s equivalent in the U.S. might be. Walmart was the consensus among the crowd. Subsequently, Varley continued singing and comically inserted Walmart into the lyrics.

Though cultural differences vary around the world, Varley said, “People seem to be the same everywhere you go. Folk music runs through all human beings. Folk music goes beyond you, beyond geography.”

Indeed, his music goes beyond the surface of things and reaches into the enormously rich experience of the human heart.

My final question to Varley on this night was what he liked most about SF. He said a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown called House of Nanking is his favorite restaurant that he frequents every time he visits the City. He also enjoys the views of the Bay.

Telling me that “the people here are amazing, and I’ll be back as soon as I can”, it seems as though Varley’s return to the Bay Area isn’t far off.

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

February 22, 2018 by 1 Comment

JoywaveBy Gina Lopez //

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

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

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

Joywave

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

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

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Lo Moon are officially LA’s newest buzz band after their sold-out show at the Troubadour

November 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Lo MoonBy Josh Herwitt //

Lo Moon with Psychic Twin //
Troubadour – West Hollywood, CA
November 16th, 2017 //

If there’s one public radio station in Los Angeles that always seems to have its finger on the pulse of all things music, it’s KCRW.

The NPR member station broadcasting from Santa Monica College has long had a penchant for discovering some of today’s most buzzworthy bands, and since 1977, its signature music program “Morning Becomes Eclectic” has played an instrumental role in maintaining what has been a strong track record for years. In fact, quite a few up-and-coming acts have come out of KCRW’s own backyard, whether it has been indie-rock groups like Silverlake’s Local Natives or solo artists such as Inglewood-bred jazz virtuoso Kamasi Washington.

But the latest group from the City of Angels to catch the station’s eye has been Lo Moon, the atmospheric, yet soulful indie-electronic trio that has only officially released three songs to date. One of them is called “Thorns”, which opened their sold-out show last Thursday at the Troubadour. With KCRW sponsoring the event, Illinois native/now LA transplant Erin Fein’s dreamy, synth-pop project Psychic Twin paved the way for the evening’s headliner, as a half-empty room prior to 9 p.m. turned into a crowded one 30 minutes later.

Despite what they call home right now, Lo Moon don’t consider themselves an “LA band,” at least not yet. All three full-time members — Matt Lowell (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Crisanta Baker (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Sam Stewart (guitar, keyboards, vocals) — arrived in LA from different parts of the world and wrote most of their forthcoming debut LP that’s due out next year in Seattle, a city Lowell says helped shape the album’s overall sound.

Lo Moon

Lo Moon, sonically, can be somewhat difficult to pin down. With a range of influences, their music has drawn comparisons to many of the UK’s biggest bands: Talk Talk, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead, Massive Attack and The xx, among others. That’s certainly some impressive company to be mentioned in when you get right down to it, especially for a band that took several months to unveil its second song. But Lo Moon have much more than just comparisons to hang their hat on at this point. The three-piece, for one, has inked a deal with Columbia Records and gotten the attention of former Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, who has since signed on to produce its first full length.

Lately though, Lowell, Baker, Stewart and touring member Sterling Laws (drums) have been hitting the road with some pretty big names, including AIR (read our show review here) and Phoenix, with shows lined up next month as support for London Grammar, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and The War on Drugs. With those kind of opportunities this early in the band’s career, don’t be surprised if you find Lo Moon listed on the 2018 Coachella lineup in January.

Back at the Troubadour, Lo Moon ran through a number of tracks that we can expect to hear on their upcoming release, performing “The Right Thing” for the first time before closing the set on a high note with “This Is It”, their sophomore single that you could mistake for a Peter Gabriel song if you didn’t know any better. There’s no question Lowell and company have an affinity for synthesizers, and the limited studio material they’ve revealed so far suggests that. But what also makes them stand out is Lowell himself, who offered a poignant solo rendition on the piano titled “All In” to kick off the band’s brief encore.

Of course, as Lo Moon fans know or will come to know, the show couldn’t have ended without the song that started it all: “Loveless”. The sprawling, seven-minute anthem, which hooked a major record label, an A-list producer and listeners all over the world, is what initially put the threesome on the map, and with Laws’ drum rolls delivering one powerful crescendo after the next down the stretch, the crowd came visibly alive like it hadn’t all night. Sure, this may only be the beginning for these guys, but LA’s newest buzz band knows how to shoot for the moon.

Setlist:
Thorns
The Right Thing (live debut)
Wonderful Life
TTMYMO
Real Love
My Money
Camouflage
This Is It

Encore:
All In (Matt Lowell solo on piano)
Loveless

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Beach Slang make good on their promise in LA, punching us in our ‘big, dumb heart’ at Echoplex

November 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Beach SlangBy Zach Bourque //

Beach Slang with Dave Hause & The Mermaid //
Echoplex – Los Angeles
November 16th, 2017 //

“Hi, we’re Beach Slang and we’re here to punch you in your big, dumb heart.”

Philly punks Beach Slang cut a unique cloth within the genre. Their music is tinged with shades of country and Americana without going full-force Stagecoach. They’re emotional without the emo, angsty without the anger and loud without the shouting. They’re punk music at its most authentic: raw, real and full of life.

Echoplex on a Thursday night appeared to be an ideal and logical location for Beach Slang’s return to LA as part of their “A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings” tour. While most shows at the Echo Park venue border on claustrophobia, the lighter-than-usual crowd was both a pleasant surprise and a head-scratcher. Was this really the extent of the band’s fan base in LA? Finding a place close to the stage was refreshingly easy, which made the evening’s opening course all the more enjoyable.

Dave Hause & The Mermaid


Dave Hause & The Mermaid

Doubling down on the Americana trend this night was fellow Philly punk rocker Dave Hause. Backed by his band The Mermaid, the singer-songwriter who is now based in Santa Barbara had a surprisingly robust fan presence, many of whom provided backing vocals throughout his set. With a fantastic cover of Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” serving as a standout track from his set, Hause put on a great show and certainly gained a few new fans within the less-than-packed house.

Despite getting their gear stolen in Austin just days before, Beach Slang arrived ready to rock. With his now-ubiquitous ruffled suit and shag of hair, frontman James Alex remains a unique figure onstage. Crooning into a microphone wrapped in flowers, Alex’s vocals filled the room with his trademark gruff energy. The group tore into an eclectic set with nary a hiccup despite their new, unfamiliar instruments. Highlights included “Wasted Daze of Youth” and “Punks in a Disco Bar” along with … wait for it, a rousing rendition of Santana’s “Smooth” featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty.

While the show wasn’t sold out, those who made it out definitely got an intimate fix of Beach Slang. With their unmatched energy and peerless sound, they will undoubtedly be a favorite of many for some time to come.

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After two sold-out nights at The Fillmore, LANY’s popularity only continues to trend upward

November 3, 2017 by Leave a Comment

LANYBy Steve Carlson //

LANY with Dagny //
The Fillmore – San Francisco
October 30th, 2017 //

The first time I saw LANY perform in SF, they opened for X Ambassadors at The Independent back in 2015. I remember being impressed by their brief set and pondering that if there were ever a band that had the perfect ingredients to launch to stardom on a rocket ship, which in this case is the teen-female demographic, it was this one.

Raw, unapologetic lyrics about the joy and inevitable heartache of falling in and out of love? Check. Catchy, synth-laden pop hooks that you can’t get out of your head for days? Check. A deeply emotional and earnest male model for a frontman? Check!

And so, two years since LANY’s show at The Independent, the Los Angeles-based three-piece made a triumphant return to the Bay Area for two sold-out nights at The Fillmore in support of its debut self-titled LP. It was immediately clear from the line, which wrapped around the block, that despite cool temperatures, the band has grown an enviable, die-hard audience.

LANY

Opening the show was Norwegian pop singer Dagny, who charmed the packed room with her infectious smile and had the whole crowd dancing to her hook-filled grooves. You can expect to hear more from the “Backbeat” singer in the near future. And if her brief, yet energetic set was any indication, she has both the confidence and talent to be a star before long. But once the evening’s headliner stepped onstage (with an audio recording of a British woman politely informing us that we were about to experience “the best 80 minutes of our life”), it was clear that liftoff had been achieved.

LANY’s Jake Goss (drums) and Les Priest (guitar, keyboards) spent the majority of the night in the background, laying down ample beats and textures as frontman Paul Klein (vocals, guitar, keyboards) did what he does best, wearing his heart on his sleeve while engaging the mostly-female audience. Countless long-stem roses littered the antiseptically clean, shiny stage as the night went on, and Klein seemed to genuinely enjoy every minute of the promised 80-minute set, which felt like it was packed with far more hits than a band its age should already have (a benefit of releasing fresh tracks regularly in the form of EPs over the last two years), as well as a smartly chosen cover of Harry Styles’ recent hit “Sign of the Times”.

When Klein spoke, he did so with a noticeably greater maturity since that opening slot back at The Indy, which perhaps owes itself to the comfort and confidence that comes with achieving a certain measure of fame. Whatever the reason, it was clear from this performance in SF that LANY’s popularity is trending upward and their confidence is growing with it. It seems to me that their potential could perhaps be most closely compared to another emotionally charged pop band with a curly-haired frontman that’s hit another level in recent years: The 1975. That would not be bad company to be in if it pans out for them, but in the meantime, it should be interesting to see where LANY go with their future songwriting.

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Back on the road, Broken Social Scene rock The Fox with a career-spanning set

November 2, 2017 by 1 Comment

Broken Social ScenePhotos by Norm de Veyra // Written by Brett Ruffenach //

Broken Social Scene with The Belle Game //
Fox Theater Oakland – Oakland
October 26th, 2017 //

To cap off a stellar “Rocktober” season in the Bay Area, one of the true titans of early-aughts indie rock brought their All-Star lineup of musicians to the Fox Theater Oakland as Toronto’s Broken Social Scene headlined with support from The Belle Game.

With the venue beginning to fill up, The Belle Game arrived onstage. Their music combines rock-band sensibilities with a dreamy, ethereal pop sound to create a powerful effect. It was quite clear that Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear and other heavy hitters from the mid-2000’s were a major influence on their sound.

A five-piece act hailing from Vancouver, The Belle Game’s greatest asset — the stunning vocal range of lead singer Andrea Lo — became clear from their rendition of “Spirit”, the lead single off their sophomore LP Fear/Nothing. Through soaring synths and reverb-heavy guitar effects, they certainly garnered a few new fans in Oakland this time around.

Broken Social Scene

After a short break, Broken Social Scene took the stage as an eight-piece band backed by a six-piece horns section. They kicked things off with the thumping and fast-paced “KC Accidental” from 2002’s You Forgot It in People, which quickly demonstrated the roles of all four guitarists onstage and the unstoppable power of drummer Justin Peroff.

Racing through the first three tunes of what would be a career-spanning, 20-song set, BSS eventually revealed what the rush was all about — the horn section joining them featured members of the Brooklyn-based afrobeat band Antibalas, and they had a gig to play just a block away at The New Parish later that night. Nevertheless, it was a special way to get the show started.

In my head, I counted 22 different people taking stage at one point or another. It was one of those shows where the crowd roared in excitement at the opening notes of each song, from older tracks like “Fire Eye’d Boy” on their 2005 self-titled LP to newer material off their 2017 studio effort Hug of Thunder, including a booming version of “Halfway Home”.

Broken Social Scene

At The Fox, BSS’ newest female vocalist, Ariel Engle, was able to confidently fill the shoes of her predecessors Emily Haines and Leslie Feist. For “Stay Happy”, the first track demanding two female vocalists, The Belle Game’s own Andrea Lo joined Engle onstage. This song was a personal highlight of the set for me; not only is it one of BSS’ best cuts off of Hug of Thunder, but they cleverly turned the glitchy, staccato guitar lick into a cool saxophone melody.

As the night went on, Lo joined Engle onstage once again to sing one of the Canadian outfit’s most famous songs: “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl”. But instead of using the studio version’s heavy vocal distortion, Lo and Engle sang, perfectly in sync, contrasting harmonies that produced a repetitive, swelling effect. It was truly a breathtaking moment to witness.

BSS were certainly feeling the love, too. After closing their set with “It’s All Gonna Break”, they returned for an encore, informing us that they had time for only one more song.

Broken Social Scene

But in an attempt to decide whether to play “Lover’s Spit” or “Cause = Time” by the crowd’s applause, BSS founding member and bandleader Brendan Canning said that they were just going to have to do both. I initially took this as an (admittedly successful) attempt to rile up the crowd, but after later seeing a picture of the setlist, it looked like the band chose to play an additional three songs due to the energy in the room.

Here’s the thing about BSS — after 15 years, the web of musicians that makes up the collective have created their own individual projects, from Metric to Stars to Feist to Do Make Say Think to Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton. And while many of the band’s members who have gone on to find success in their own solo careers didn’t happen to join the group on this particular tour, the sense of professionalism built into the BSS live experience remains prevalent. Every person who stepped onstage demonstrated consummate abilities in their own realms, never missing a beat or a note.

Fortunately for those who didn’t make it to this incredible show, word on the street is they’ll be heading back to The Fox early next year for Noise Pop 2018.

Setlist:
KC Accidental
7/4 (Shoreline)
Halfway Home
Protest Song
Fire Eye’d Boy
Texico Bitches
Stars and Sons
World Sick
Stay Happy
Hug of Thunder
Sweetest Kill
Skyline
Almost Crimes
Major Label Debut (Fast)
Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)
Looks Just Like the Sun
Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
It’s All Gonna Break

Encore:
Lover’s Spit
Play Video
Cause = Time

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Touché Amoré bring it back home to LA, headlining two intimate nights at Teragram Ballroom

October 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Touché AmoréBy Zach Bourque //

Touché Amoré with City of Caterpillar, Thou //
Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles
October 18th, 2017 //

Los Angeles post-hardcore native sons Touché Amoré returned home to play two nights of deep cuts at the Teragram Ballroom as part of their first club tour in years. Despite several local appearances supporting Thursday and Rise Against at larger venues like The Wiltern, the band hasn’t done a small headlining tour in quite some time. With no barricade at the front of the stage and a wide-open floor plan, the Teragram Ballroom proved to be a fitting location for Touché’s return to LA last Wednesday.

While Tuesday’s show (and the other tour dates) featured support from Single Mothers and Gouge Away, the following night’s bill was a rather unique one. Opening things were Baton Rouge metal act Thou as well as recently reunited, screamo cult favorites City of Caterpillar, the latter of which were back on the road after nearly 15 years removed from the stage.

With their slow, calculated doom metal, Thou were a heavy and fulfilling first course. The group was shrouded in a suitably dim stage setup and managed to capture the attention of everyone in the room despite many seemingly unaware of where this beast crawled in from. Drawing from 10-plus years of material, they filled their set time with ease, though that only amounted to a handful of songs when you factor in the band’s particularly long songs.

Touché Amoré

A decade and a half away did little to dull the sound for City of Caterpillar, as their remarkable set certainly lived up to the hype. While they have more than 15 years of studio material at this point, the foursome tore through a nearly hour-long set that featured tracks off their self-titled 2002 LP and a few other albums, including their newly recording epic Driving Spain Up a Wall. The jury is still out as to whether we’ll have to wait another 15 years before CoC tours again, so needless to say, this was a special one.

Over their relatively brief existence since 2008, Touché Amoré have amassed an impressively rabid fan base. This is due in large part to the band constantly touring, but also because of its frenzied, intense live shows. Frontman Jeremy Bolm is a force to be reckoned with, and it only becomes that much more apparent when Touché perform in a small venue like the Teragram. The band wasted no time plowing through three songs from their debut LP …To the Beat of a Dead Horse in rapid succession. Bolm noted that smaller venues have offered the band more freedom with its setlists, and Touché tapped into plenty of older songs while mixing in some newer songs like “Palm Dreams” and “Flower and You” off their latest album Stage Four. The audience rarely stopped moving throughout their set, and many fans were eager to get up as close to the stage as they could to be a part of the action.

When you tour as broadly and universally as Touché Amore have over the past couple of years, a pair of small hometown shows means something. Factor in Wednesday’s special support from City of Caterpillar and Thou, and it was all the makings for a truly once-in-a-lifetime show. Bolm was well aware of this fact, and appeared to be both humbled and appreciative for the opportunity to be a part of something so special. Looking around the venue after the dust settled and the show ended, I think everyone in the room shared that same sentiment.

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Coldplay live up to their “biggest band in the world” claim in front of 60,000 strong at Levi’s Stadium

October 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment

ColdplayBy Steve Carlson //

Coldplay with Tove Lo, Alina Baraz //
Levi’s Stadium – Santa Clara, CA
October 4th, 2017 //

British rockers Coldplay brought their massive “A Head Full of Dreams” tour to Levi’s Stadium just a little over a year after their first visit, and it proved to be quite the spectacle.

Kicking off the night for the few fans who made it inside the stadium before sundown was LA-based rising star Alina Baraz, whose soulful, downtempo R&B vibes didn’t bring much energy to the lineup and felt overwhelmed by the massive stage. Nevertheless, her performance did hint at her immense talent. Be sure to catch her when she plays a smaller space in the future.

Next up was Swedish pop provocateur and Bay Area favorite Tove Lo. The Djursholm native showed considerably more energy out of the gate, confidently running out onto the stage and launching into spirited renditions of “True Disaster” from her 2016 LP Lady Wood and its title track. Unlike Baraz, Tove Lo seemed to enjoy herself (in more ways than one) and fed off the crowd’s growing energy.

Tove Lo


Tove Lo

The inclusion of the “Disco Tits” singer — with her confident sexuality, explicit lyrics and well-known tendency to expose herself onstage — might have seemed like an usual pairing with the unoffensive, family-friendly arena rock Coldplay are known for, but judging by the enthusiastic reactions from the significantly larger crowd, most were happy to go along for the ride.

Coldplay took the stage shortly before 9 p.m. as a video montage of fans who introduced them as “the biggest band in the world” played onstage. While I’m pretty sure there are a few other artists or groups from their side of the pond (ehem, U2) who might take issue with that claim, they certainly did nothing during their electric, almost two-hour performance to dissuade that sort of thinking. Chris Martin and company, in fact, wasted no time getting down to business, flooding the stadium with confetti and firing off pyrotechnics at a steady clip while opening with “A Head Full of Dreams” and subsequently all throughout the night.

By now, Coldplay’s show has been around the block a few times (this show being one of the last of their year-and-a-half long tour) and their shtick is well-known — the aforementioned confetti and pyro, light-up audience wristbands that sync with the music and Martin’s hyper-endearing goofiness cranked up to 11 — but more than a few concertgoers seemed genuinely concerned when the band abruptly cut off the intro to “Charlie Brown” to hold what looked like a “band meeting” by Will Champion’s drum kit.

Coldplay

Though Coldplay has been doing this every night as of late (they tell everyone it’s to discuss how they can get the audience to put their phones down and jump around more), it occurred just close enough to the well-publicized and somewhat controversial 10 p.m. curfew set by the City of Santa Clara that some seemed to think the band’s sound had been cut off. However, it wasn’t, and the band continued to mesmerize for another 45 minutes, well past curfew, to the delight of the more than 60,000 faithful.

That’s not bad for a band, which during their 2002 appearance at the Greek Theatre Berkeley suggested that one day we might stumble upon them playing a small room in Las Vegas and remark, “Oh, there’s that little Coldplay band!”

The biggest band in the world? Maybe, or maybe not. But there’s no doubt that Coldplay know how to play the part convincingly and won’t be slumming it in any Vegas bars any time soon.

Setlist:
A Head Full of Dreams (extended intro with Charlie Chaplin speech)
Yellow
Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall
The Scientist
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face (with “Oceans” excerpt in intro)
Paradise (with Tiësto Remix outro)
Always in My Head
Magic
Everglow (dedicated to Tom Petty and victims of recent disasters)
Clocks (with “Army of One” excerpt in intro)
Midnight (partial)
Charlie Brown (restarted with Chris asking the crowd to turn off their phones for this song)
Hymn for the Weekend
Fix You (with “Midnight” excerpt in intro)
Viva la Vida
Adventure of a Lifetime
In My Place (acoustic, with a snippet of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling”)
Don’t Panic (acoustic; Will on lead vocals)
O (with fan from audience called Rece on piano)
Something Just Like This (The Chainsmokers & Coldplay cover)
A Sky Full of Stars
Up&Up (extended outro)

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The Accidentals take their Bay Area fans on a musical odyssey in support of their latest LP

October 11, 2017 by Leave a Comment

The AccidentalsBy Gina Lopez //

The Accidentals //
Café du Nord – San Francisco
October 4th, 2017 //

Bay Area fans of The Accidentals set sail on a musical odyssey at Café du Nord inside the Swedish American Hall, with the trio putting on an electrifying performance as part of a national tour in support of its third LP Odyssey.

Multi-instrumentalists/vocalists Katie Larson and Savannah Buist as well as drummer Michael Dause were joined by guest keyboardist/guitarist Jake Allen, who added to the group’s rich instrumentation of its indie, alt-Americana repertoire.

Hailing from Michigan, The Accidentals made the basement of the Swedish American Hall feel like the basement of their own house, where concertgoers were welcomed like friends coming over to hang out. It was also easy to see that these 20-something musicians enjoy what they do.

The stage lights at Café du Nord were dim, but The Accidentals still lit up the room with their animated stage presence and continual head-banging, even jumping off the stage to perform amid the crowd.

Finding strength in vulnerability is a theme expressed throughout Odyssey. And though the band’s members are self-proclaimed introverts and bookworms, performing live presents a kind of vulnerability for them. Consequently, they radiate joy and have no shame divulging some embarrassing stories to the audience.

In between songs, The Accidentals shared anecdotes about the hardships of life on the road, from urinating in a Starbucks cup and breaking down in the middle of the night — twice, in fact — while on tour to more of the happier moments like cuddling with the inn keeper’s cat and enjoying all things cookie dough.

The Accidentals

Besides playing music and sharing stories, what else do friends do while they’re hanging out in a basement?

Poke fun at each other.

While explaining the origin of the band’s name, Dause credited Buist as the inspiration due to her being the clumsy one who causes accidents onstage, often knocking over instruments no matter how spacious the stage. But the real reason comes from the musical term “accidental”, which describes unexpected off-key notes. The authenticity of The Accidentals’ lyrics, though, is no accident — it’s animated by their outlook on life.

“The No. 1 thing we try to take away is to be present, to observe the things around us and take that with us,” Buist said.

Making music in this day and age certainly has its challenges, but The Accidentals choose to continue on “not without fear, but in spite of it,” said Larson as she described her and Buist’s choice to dedicate themselves to their band rather than go to college to study music.

Their dedication is not in vain. There is no doubt that the authenticity, lyrical depth, musical deftness and energetic stage presence of The Accidentals will launch their musical odyssey to the top of the charts.

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Bonobo gives his new hometown a beautiful night to remember at LA’s Greek Theatre

October 4, 2017 by 2 Comments

BonoboBy Josh Herwitt //

Bonobo (Live) with Bob Moses //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
September 27th, 2017 //

More than 17 years have passed since Simon Green dropped his debut album. In fact, the British musician, producer and DJ wasn’t even known as Bonobo at the time.

But five LPs and a plethora of other releases later, and Green has established himself as a pioneer of the modern downtempo scene. And in many ways, he’s still leading the charge.

What makes Bonobo’s music so intriguing to listen to is its detachment from any one genre. Green, rather, draws from a variety of musical styles that can be heard all over the world in creating a sound that is uniquely his own.

However, for as popular as Bonobo has become in electronic music circles, it wasn’t until he started touring with a full band in support of 2010’s Black Sands that a whole new light was shone on the project. And as the push-play EDM scene began to take hold, it was a different and refreshing way to see downtempo electronic music being performed live.

Bob Moses


Bob Moses

The move to play with a cast of sidekicks has opened the door for Green to explore new sonic territory, and at the seemingly always-serene Greek Theatre in LA, that transformation, much like his performance up north just a few days prior (see our photos from the show here), was more evident than ever before. This wasn’t my first time seeing Bonobo perform with a band, but it did feel a little different for a few reasons. One was simply that it wasn’t at Coachella or a music festival, while the other was I hadn’t seen Bonobo perform live in his new hometown. Green, after all, moved to LA several years ago following the release of his fifth full length The North Borders in 2013, and this year’s follow-up, Migration, clearly draws inspiration from that significant change in his life as the album’s title suggests.

The real reason things felt different this time around, though, was the music. Extending and reimagining his tracks for easily one of the largest crowds he has ever performed in front of, Bonobo followed an uplifting opening set from Canadian electronic duo Bob Moses with an array of soothing sounds that paired beautifully with his lighting setup and entrancing stage production in the same way Scott Hansen (aka Tycho) creates an awe-inspiring audio-visual experience during his live-band performances. But one difference between the two electronic-leaning artists is Bonobo’s knack for working with vocalists, and British singer Szjerdene has been one of the latest as she continues to join him on the road in support of Migration, which features LA-based R&B duo Rhye and Aussie singer-songwriter Nick Murphy (fka Chet Faker). And while neither of those aforementioned collaborators made an appearance on this early fall night that in many ways still felt like summer in LA, Szjerdene and an orchestral section only added to the magic of the evening.

As Bonobo’s popularity continues to grow in the U.S. with every new album he puts out, it’s curious to think how far it could go. With his move to the states and more specifically to The Entertainment Capital of the World, you can expect him to flourish in a city that’s absolutely flooded with talent in all facets. LA has long been home to one of the biggest electronic music scenes in the world, and with the rise of satellite and independent radio — in particular, NPR member station KCRW — over the past decade, Bonobo’s music has reached many more ears across the Southland.

So, if the nearly sold-out crowd at the 5,870-seat Greek Theatre on a Wednesday night was any indication as to how far he has come, then Green picked just the right place to now call home.

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Peaches leaves her fans at The Chapel dripping wet

October 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment

PeachesPhotos by Marc Fong // Written by Misty Dawn //

Peaches //
The Chapel – San Francisco
September 27th, 2017 //

Peaches has been a regular fixture in my playlist for about 13 years now. I’ve always loved her flawless, candy-coated voice as well as her unapologetic lyrics and unique expression when it comes to all things sex, sugar and electric.

I had been dying to see Peaches for years and finally got the opportunity to do so last year — and she didn’t disappoint. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

So when she was in town again this year at the mortuary-turned-music-venue/restaurant, aka The Chapel, I jumped at the opportunity to once again bask in her fleshy glory. And yet again, I left the weekday show sweaty, beaming and covered in cheap champagne. I love Peaches.

Peaches made her grand entrance onstage in a full-body merkin with a larger-than-life vagina headpiece to the song “Rub” because you always have to warm up before diving in to the main event. Glitter, grit and sweat was thick throughout the crowd.

Peaches

After she got us wet, Peaches moved below the belt and brought out her vagina-clad backup dancers to visually support her ode to her gash “Vaginoplasty”. Her dancers were dressed in what I can only assume were replicas of her lady bits covering their heads and long, flowing pastel merkins — and that was it. I’m happy to know that while Peaches is blessed with huge lips, she also likes to keep it nasty.

As the show went on, it was one costume change and kick-ass song after another. Highlights included “Dick in the Air” in which Peaches inflated an enormous “condom” over the crowd and proceeded to crawl through the shaft-casing while the crowd chanted “Dick! Dick! Dick” in support.

The show climaxed with champagne sprayed over the crowd directly from Peaches. Everyone went nuts, and she leaned over the audience and poured whatever liquid wasn’t sprayed into her fans’ eager mouths.

A Peaches gig is 50 percent rock show, 50 percent genitalia-forward performance art and 100 percent awesome — and you’re sure to leave dripping wet.

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Grizzly Bear are making ‘chamber pop’ sound cool again as we discovered at Apogee Studio

October 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Grizzly BearPhotos by Dustin Downing // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Grizzly Bear //
Apogee Studio – Santa Monica, CA
September 26th, 2017 //

With the way the world moves now — one tweet, status update or Instagram photo at a time — five years between studio albums can feel like an eternity, even when your last one received as much critical acclaim as Grizzly Bear’s did.

But for the quartet that formed in Brooklyn more than 15 years ago, 2012’s Shields served as more than just a strong follow-up to the group’s seminal LP Veckatimest. The album, which saw the band purposely take a more collaborative approach during the writing process than ever before, became Grizzly Bear’s highest-charting effort, surpassing the No. 8 position that Veckatimest reached on the Billboard 200 by one spot. And even with the struggles that they faced along the way, with the band scraping most of the early material it recorded for Shields in Marfa, Texas, and subsequently starting over by returning to Cape Cod, Mass., where they conceived their sophomore LP Yellow House, Grizzly Bear managed to still come out on top.

If one thing is clear, it’s that patience has been a virtue for Ed Droste (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Daniel Rossen (guitar, vocals), Christopher Bear (drums, vocals) and Chris Taylor (bass, vocals). It’s why we shouldn’t be surprised that their fifth full length Painted Ruins, which dropped in mid-August on RCA (their first with the label since they left Warp), took almost twice as long to reach fans as any of their previous albums did and yet, at the same time, holds just as much water as any of them, Veckatimest included. Painted Ruins, in fact, could very well be Grizzly Bear’s most accessible album to date with four singles and one of them being “Four Cypresses”, which opened their private show in Santa Monica for KCRW’s Apogee Sessions last Tuesday.

Grizzly Bear

Apogee Studio has been a special place for artists and bands to showcase new music over the last five-plus years, but this performance was particularly significant, and not just because it was a celebration of Grizzly Bear’s latest feat, but also because it marked the 75th live session at Bob Clearmountain’s private recording studio since he first opened his doors to KCRW back in 2011. From Ryan Adams to The War on Drugs (read our review here) and everyone else who has graced the room’s diminutive stage, it’s arguably KCRW’s best series to date, bringing fans as close as humanly possible to some of their favorite musicians in a setting that’s as intimate as you’ll find anywhere.

While the champagne flowed on this celebratory night, that intimacy played exceptionally well for Grizzly Bear, as the band and touring member Aaron Arntz (piano, keyboards) dug into tracks almost exclusively from Painted Ruins for the first half of their set before Rossen and Taylor both sat down with KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley to share their own stories as a band (and a few laughs, too). But despite some awkward moments during the interview, Bentley did offer an interesting observation, at one point describing Grizzly Bear’s music as “chamber pop.” For those not familiar with the term, chamber pop refers to a style of rock ‘n’ roll that was born out of the 60’s by groups like The Beach Boys and predicated on the use of strings, horns, piano and vocal harmonies, the latter of which being a characteristic you can often hear in Grizzly Bear’s music. Because it’s not all that common that you find a band with members who all can sing (and do it well collectively), and with that in mind, Grizzly Bear are certainly among rare company these days.

For a long time, I couldn’t quite put my finger on Grizzly Bear’s sound. The only descriptor I could conjure up was the lame and trite “indie rock” label, even though I knew I was doing a total disservice to the music. But as the four-piece ran through some of its fan favorites, from “Sleeping Ute” to the wildy popular “Two Weeks” that hinges on a beautiful vocal harmony, I thought about what Bentley had said minutes earlier and just how much truth there was to it. Chamber pop might be a thing of the past, but if there’s one band making it sound cool again, Grizzly Bear, as we came to find out, are that band.

Setlist:
Four Cypresses
Losing All Sense
Yet Again
Cut-Out
Mourning Sound
Sleeping Ute
Two Weeks
Three Rings
Foreground
While You Wait for the Others

Encore:
Sun in Your Eyes

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Lil Yachty continues to carve out his own path in SF

September 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Lil YachtyPhotos by Lisette Worster // Written by Brett Ruffenach //

Lil Yachty //
The Warfield – San Francisco
September 21st, 2017 //

We’ve certainly arrived at a unique point in hip-hop. As the internet continually levels the playing field for how artists release music, we’re seeing styles of a once easily identifiable genre become increasingly fragmented.

Case in point: Lil Yachty.

The Atlanta native turned heads in 2015 with his viral hit “1 Night” and has since carved out a unique following by turning his self-described “bubblegum trap” into, arguably, a completely new genre. Riding a wave of success built on Instagram and Soundcloud while hitting nearly every major festival around the world, Lil’ Yachty brought his crew to The Warfield for a night of bubblegum trap last Thursday.

With no official support listed on the bill, the venue slowly filled in after opening its doors. After the DJ warmed up the crowd by switching roughly every two minutes between today’s biggest hip-hop bangers — Travis Scott’s “Antidote”, Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” and of course, Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” — Lil Yachty’s entourage, The Boat Crew, took the stage. First up was TheGoodPerry (born Perry Paris Moise), who was celebrating his 21st birthday, and at one point, Lil Yachty even came out to contribute vocals on a song and afterward led the crowd in a singing of “Happy Birthday” for Moise. It was an endearing, if not awkward, gesture from the evening’s headliner.

With a new emcee coming out every two or three songs, The Boat Crew’s remaining cast of JBANS$, EarlThePearll and BigBruthaChubba continued to make their way to the stage. Yet, each of them displayed a stunning disinterest in, well, actually rapping. As the DJ changed the song every 90 seconds, music came blaring out of the PA system with a backing track to cover for the many moments in which a performer either forgot the words, ran out of breath between rhymes or was busy grabbing a fan’s phone to take a selfie. Furthermore, The Boat Crew repeatedly counted down to the next beat drop in what felt like some sort of half-assed attempt to keep the crowd hyped.

Lil Yachty

Kodie Shane wrapped up The Boat Crew’s time onstage. With a bit more variation in sound than your standard auto-tune and trap, the female emcee brought a new energy to the stage, running from one side to another and ending things on a high note.

As the 25-minute intermission passed, fans eagerly waited for the headliner to take the stage. Pulling the tablecloths from the objects they had been covering onstage, it became clear that Lil Yachty’s stage design was a late-night talk show set.

“The Lil Boat Show” opened with a recorded message from Lil Yachty thanking the crowd for coming and supporting him. Subsequently, Lil Yachty himself jumped onstage and kicked off a 75-minute set with hits like “Harley”, “Minnesota” and “Fresh of The Boat”. With each track, Yachty demonstrated a sense of focus and vocal power completely set apart from the previous performance by The Boat Crew. Not relying solely on drop after drop, he mixed up the energy with more brooding tracks like “Lady in the Yellow” and “Peek a Boo”.

Lil Yachty has certainly carved out his own path in the world of hip-hop and with it, has captured the attention of an increasingly distracted generation. Watching him jump from track to track, the sense of excitement I witnessed in the audience was perhaps the most memorable part of the entire experience. Dressed in a variety of styles that triangulated between androgynous, hip-hop and hipster, it makes sense that his debut LP was titled Teenage Emotions.

Like many musical styles, Lil Yachty’s felt like one for the kids who want to demonstrate their weirdness and individuality. And for one night in SF, they got to express that weirdness. Even though Lil Yachty’s music might not be for me, it means a lot to many — and that’s something worth recognizing.

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The War on Drugs’ new album sounds like another masterpiece after their preview at Apogee Studio

August 7, 2017 by 3 Comments

The War on DrugsPhotos by Larry Hirshowitz // Written by Josh Herwitt //

The War on Drugs //
Apogee Studio – Santa Monica, CA
August 5th, 2017 //

In today’s hypercompetitive, oversaturated music industry, following a great album with an even greater one can be a tall task for any band, no matter how much commercial success it has had.

Adam Granduciel, for one, should know that by now.

Because when the once-Philadelphian dropped The War on Drugs’ third LP Lost in a Dream more than three years ago on longtime indie label Secretly Canadian, there was no way for him to know what the response would be. As the band’s frontman and primary songwriter, Granduciel and a rotating cast of sidekicks had received a modest amount of fanfare up to that point, with 2011’s Slave Ambient garnering critical acclaim from the music media, but nothing quite like what he would amass by the end of 2014.

After debuting at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 chart, Lost in a Dream would go on to produce five singles and top numerous “Best Album of the Year” lists, earning universal praise from fans and critics alike. It’s an album, with plenty of depth both lyrically and sonically, that’s undeniably one of the best soundtracks for the open road — a modern-day hybridization of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart all rolled into one aural experience that fits perfectly as you roar down a long stretch of highway in the middle of nowhere with the top down on your 1967 Ford Mustang convertible.

The War on Drugs

Granduciel’s raspy voice, as well as his driving (no pun intended) guitar rhythms and reverb-laden riffs, are largely what separates The War on Drugs from the rest in a crowded indie-rock scene, but the sum of the band’s parts — Charlie Hall (drums), David Hartley (bass), Anthony LaMarca (guitar, keyboards), Robbie Bennett (keyboards) and finally Jon Natchez (saxophone, keyboards) — also creates a sound that while familiar, still feels uniquely different. And as we came to find out last Saturday night in Santa Monica, that formula only continues to shine on The War on Drugs’ forthcoming record A Deeper Understanding, which they previewed in part during their private show for KCRW’s Apogee Sessions.

The last time we were invited to Apogee Studio, we were lucky enough to catch psychedelic indie rockers Spoon (read our review here) performing songs off their new album titled Hot Thoughts before unleashing it earlier this year. But in the same way Britt Daniels’ departure from Los Angeles and return to Texas informed Spoon’s latest studio effort, Granduciel also told KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley during a brief interview midway through the group’s performance that his recent move to the City of Angels provided the same kind of inspiration during the writing and recording process for A Deeper Understanding.

With the LP’s release date set for August 25th, it won’t be long before the whole world gets to hear what Granduciel and company have been up to over the last two years — and after what we heard inside Apogee Studio, there’s a lot to be excited about. Opening with “Pain”, which they released just one day prior, The War on Drugs presented four other tracks from A Deeper Understanding, including their single “Holding On” that picks up right where Lost in a Dream left off, before closing the first set with “An Ocean Between the Waves”, a seven-minute-plus voyage through peaks and valleys that ranks right up there with their more celebrated songs like “Red Eyes” and “Under the Pressure”.

Though we only got to hear half of A Deeper Understanding, what we did get to hear from the 10-track LP felt like something that believe it or not, has all the makings to be just as special as 2014’s Lost in a Dream. That may be hard to fathom considering that the band’s luster has likely worn off by now, but if so, it will be a testament to Granduciel’s vision and an ability to forge a deeper connection with his bandmates than he has ever had to before. Unlike Lost in a Dream, which was written entirely by Granduciel, A Deeper Understanding has been coined a “band record,” and as we witnessed on this warm, summer night in Southern California, one that’s certainly worthy of our time and attention once again.

Setlist:
Pain
Holding On
Strangest Thing
Accidentally Like a Martyr (Warren Zevon cover)
An Ocean Between the Waves
In Reverse
Eyes to the Wind
Lost in a Dream
You Don’t Have to Go
Under the Pressure*

*Editor’s Note: “Brothers” was originally listed on the setlist.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Blonde Redhead deliver a poignant performance at The Regency Ballroom

July 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Blonde RedheadPhotos by Karen Goldman // Written by Omar Amador //

Blonde Redhead with Porcelain Raft //
The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco
July 22nd, 2017 //

The last time Blonde Redhead came to the Bay Area, they introduced us to Canandian indie rockers Wintersleep. On this night, they gifted us with Porcelain Raft, a New York-based solo artist armed only with a Fender Telecaster and a set of samplers.

Mauro Remiddi’s staccato-rich voice floated along to the rhythm of his samplers, setting the mood for the night. The Italian singer-songwriter’s compositions were a mix of pre-recorded, downtempo bass and percussions, a clean guitar sound and his vocals with reverb.

Porcelain Raft’s performance paired perfectly with The Regency Ballroom’s dim lights and turn-of-the-century architecture, though his music can pair well with just about anything. Many live music fans often choose to skip an opener, but with Blonde Redhead billed as a headliner, one can expect to be introduced to something profound — and Porcelain Raft is definitely one you’ll want to keep an eye on down the road.

Despite being around for more than 20 years, Blonde Redhead is anything but stagnant. Their sound encompasses a wide range of styles that draw on various emotions: somberness, anger and euphoria. It is no wonder that the band continues to draw a major and diverse following, ranging from “scenesters” who hem their own clothing to frat-boy types with cargo shorts and tilted baseball caps.

Blonde Redhead

The trio composed of Kazu Makino and brothers Amadeo and Simone Pace began in the early 90’s and has released nine studio albums, each with a unique sound and narrative. All three musicians are fluid in their compositions, with Makino and Amadeo Pace switching between guitars, synthesizers and vocals throughout their live performance. Blonde Redhead are also relentless in their art as just last year, they visited SF and were already back this summer on a Saturday night to introduce their brand-new EP 3 O’Clock.

Blonde Redhead kicked things off with “Equally Damaged”, the subtle, yet powerful vorspiel to their 2000 LP Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. Although it was less than a minute, the quant organ loop was at first melancholic before it spiraled into the playful “In Particular”.

The group played much of its crowd-pleasing songs from Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, with a few tracks from 2014’s Barragán, 2007’s 23 and 2004’s Misery Is a Butterfly. Makino and the two Pace brothers barely interacted with the audience but instead focused on playing one song after the next.

The highlight of the night was the memorable performance of “For the Damaged”. Makino sat at the edge of the stage and serenaded the audience with the beautifully somber song. Had it not been for the onslaught of camera phones that were recording the moment, it would have been a powerfully emotional experience. Unfortunately, I was interrupted by two tall, girthy men in front of me that thought it was necessary to hold up their phones, though I did find some humor in overhearing someone contemplating whether to confront the men, only to stop themselves with, “Fuck, it’s so fucking beautiful,” before pulling out a phone, too.

Setlist:
Equally Damaged
In Particular
Melody of Certain Three
Hated Because of Great Qualities
Loved Despite of Great Faults
Ballad of Lemons
This Is Not
For the Damaged
Mother
Where Your Mind Wants to Go
Doll Is Mine
Elephant Woman
Dripping

Encore:
3 O’Clock
Give Give
23

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: , ,

The Drums entertain a sold-out Fillmore with their energetic brand of indie pop

July 28, 2017 by 1 Comment

The DrumsBy Jacqueline Moore //

The Drums with Stef Chura, Soccer Mommy //
The Fillmore – San Francisco
July 21st, 2017 //

The Fillmore is known as a SF music staple due to its long history dating back to the early 1900’s. Starting as a dance hall, it grew in the late 60’s and became a pinnacle of creative music making and live performance, continuing down that path ever since. Along with its ballroom-style layout, it proved to be the perfect setting to watch The Drums perform for a sold-out crowd on a Friday night.

Nashville native and 19-year-old DIY rocker Sophie Allison kicked off the evening with her solo project known as Soccer Mommy. Allison gets personal in her songs as she reveals her experiences with relationships gone wrong and reflects on the bittersweet feeling of being a teenager. Currently signed to Fat Possum Records, her maturity is well beyond her years. Her performance was playful, rhythmic and leisurely as she spilled out her heart to the audience with songs that included hits such as “Allison” and “Henry”.

Shortly after Soccer Mommy’s set, Detriot’s own Stef Chura commanded the stage with her upbeat, yet fuzzed-out/DIY style, giving off the vibe that Chura was an indie-rock force to be reckoned with. Her band’s flavor and grit quickly separated themselves from the artists you would normally find opening for an act like The Drums.

Stef Chura


Stef Chura

Songs such as “Spotted Gold” and the gleaming guitar jam “You” were layered with emotion and unique rhythms that had the crowd singing and dancing along. Chura’s debut LP Messes came out back in January via Urinal Cake Records after working with drummer Ryan Clancy (Jamaican Queens, JR JR) and multi-instrumentalist Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me) in the studio.

By the time The Drums took the stage, the intimate venue was packed to the brim with fans. The Brooklyn outfit made as much of an impression as it did when frontman Jonathan Pierce and company exploded onto the scene in 2009 with their initial EP Summertime! From then on, it became glaringly obvious with their eccentric band members and seemingly effortless style that they possessed an energetic presence. And at their SF show, it didn’t take long for the capacity crowd to fall into a groove as the venue’s whole atmosphere lit up.

During The Drums’ set, Pierce projected a primal, uplifting energy as he twirled all across the stage and interacted with the crowd. The band played a mix of old and new songs, including such popular hits as “Let’s Go Surfing” and “Down By The Water”, both of which caused the audience to go wild. On this night, The Drums sounded rather polished, and with their fans’ energy becoming increasingly evocative, the evening ended on quite a high note.

Filed Under: Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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