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Little Scream shows off her versatile songwriting at the Swedish American Hall

July 18, 2016 by Norm de Veyra Leave a Comment

Little Scream with Gracie and Rachel, Vanwave //
Swedish American Hall – San Francisco
July 12th, 2016 //

Montreal-based singer and multi-instrumentalist Laurel Sprengelmeyer, who performs under the moniker Little Scream, stepped inside the Swedish American Hall last Tuesday night for an intimate show highlighting new songs from her sophomore studio effort Cult Following.

Sprengelmeyer’s talent was on full display as she navigated an eclectic sound that ranged from hand-clapping indie pop to ethereal, ambient soundscapes. Such variety could have resulted in a mixed experience for fans, but her clear and confident singing still provided a common thread for the audience to follow.

Along with SF “witch rock” four-piece Vanwave, joining Little Scream for the evening was New York City orchestral-pop duo Gracie and Rachel, who, in particular, impressed with a minimal, yet engaging and emotional performance, capped off by a beautiful (though quite tongue-in-check) rendition of Bay Area rapper Kreayshawn’s novelty hit song “Gucci Gucci”.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Gracie and Rachel, Little Scream, Vanwave

Ben Hoffman is putting a whole new spin on country music with his Wheeler Walker, Jr. act

July 15, 2016 by Laura Tsu Leave a Comment

By Laura Tsu //

Wheeler Walker, Jr. with Birdcloud //
The Independent – San Francisco
July 10th, 2016 //

Ben Hoffman, comedian and creator of “The Ben Show” on Comedy Central, has had a career change. As Wheeler Walker, Jr., Hoffman began embracing the persona of a country musician and recording songs like “Fuck You Bitch” and “Fightin’, Fuckin’, and Fartin'”.

According to his (fictional) biography, Wheeler Walker, Jr. has been signed and consequently dropped from three record labels for refraining from censorship, fighting with label executives and refusing to curtail attitude. Due to issues with the record label, his studio album Redneck Shit this year was financed with his own life savings and recorded on his terms. Getting help from producer Dave Cobb, who’s also worked with Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell, Walker has created a professionally sounding country album, yet with foul lyrics.

Ben Hoffman aka Wheeler Walker, Jr.

Hoffman embraced Walker’s personality full-heartedly for his first tour. His outfit of a dark button-up, black Western hat, obscuring shades and scruffy beard looks exactly like what he wore for his promo pictures, evoking mystery and gravity that contrasts his lyrical content. Walker himself plays an acoustic guitar, and a talented band supports him for a full-blown studio sound. This distinguished musicianship in this polished performance would suggest that Walker and his band have been professional country performers for a number of years. However, upon closer inspection, his lyrics remind you that Hoffman the comedian is truly the mastermind behind Wheeler Walker, Jr., mocking the honky-tonk lifestyle of the genre and the generic country songs you can hear on the radio.

Opening the evening was Birdcloud, the Nashville-based female country-pop duo. Jasmin Kaset and Makenzie Green perform no-frills music with just a mandolin and acoustic guitar, but their lyrics and performance contain similar tongue-in-cheek adult content like Walker’s music. While onstage in their glittery gold mini dresses, Kaset and Green apply their female perspective to address topics like drug and alcohol abuse, race and sexuality. The content pushes social norms, but just like with Wheeler Walker, Jr.’s music, your opinion of them is determined by whether you take it seriously or not.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Ben Hoffman, Birdcloud, Comedy Central, The Ben Show, The Independent, Wheeler Walker Jr.

A hometown crowd fuels Midi Matilda’s high-energy performance at The Independent

July 15, 2016 by Norm de Veyra Leave a Comment

By Norm de Veyra //

Midi Matilda with Panic Is Perfect, The Tambo Rays //
The Independent – San Francisco
July 8th, 2016 //

Midi Matilda, the Oakland-based indie-dance duo comprised of Skyler Kilborn and Logan Grimé, came back strong with new material and delivered a stellar show last Friday at The Independent.

With a couple of other Bay Area bands in SF’s Panic Is Perfect and Oakland’s The Tambo Rays on the bill, the evening proved to be a great showcase of local talent. Feeding off the energy of a hometown crowd, both bands built on the momentum of the previous group’s performance, creating a great buzz and energy in the room that peaked by the time Kilborn and Grimé took the stage for their late-night set.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Midi Matilda, Panic Is Perfect, The Independent, The Tambo Rays

At the recently reopened UC Theatre, M. Ward digs into his dreamy folk-pop

July 12, 2016 by Steve Carlson Leave a Comment

By Steve Carlson //

M. Ward with NAF //
The UC Theatre – Berkeley, CA
July 8th, 2016 //

Known for his excellent work with Monsters of Folk (Jim James, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis) and Zooey Deschanel as one half of She & Him, M. Ward brought his dreamy style of folk-pop to the recently reopened UC Theatre in Berkeley last Friday night while on tour in support of his latest studio release More Rain.

Support was provided by Jenny Lewis’ newest project NAF (Nice As Fuck), a supergroup of sorts featuring Au Revoir Simone’s Erika Forster and The Like’s Tennessee Thomas. The trio performed its entire set in relative darkness in the middle of the main floor while surrounded by the audience.

Concertgoers were repeatedly asked to keep their cellphones in their pocket and be in the moment at the request of the artists, and thankfully the plea did not fall on deaf ears in the packed house, which made for a welcome respite from the usual sea of cell phone screens seen at shows nowadays. Luckily though, Showbams was on hand to document M. Ward’s memorable headlining performance.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Au Revoir Simone, Jenny Lewis, M. Ward, Monsters of Folk, NAF, She & Him, The Like, The UC Theatre

Battles school their SF fans at The Independent with their math-leaning prog chops

June 29, 2016 by Kevin J Quandt Leave a Comment

Photos by Laura Tsu // Written by Kevin Quandt //

Battles with Once and Future Band //
The Independent – San Francisco
June 13th, 2016 //

One of the reigning bands of math-leaning prog rock made a little stop in SF this month to fully demonstrate their technical prowess in front of a happy handful of devout fans.

Up-and-coming Oakland outfit Once and Future Band not only handled support duties, but also damn near showed up the headliners. Playing mostly material off their debut EP Brain, which fully dials into a more psychedelic take on Steely Dan, it’s safe to say these guys are ready to bring their sound to wider audiences as psych rock continues to gain new followers.

It’s now been a few years — and tours — since Battles shaved off a quarter of their personnel (former lead vocalist/guitarist Tyondai Braxton), and it’s still taking the band some time to make the adjustment. However, similar to what we witnessed at Battles’ gig in LA last year (read our review of the show here), this latest jaunt behind 2015’s La Di Da Di presented a tighter performance from them.

The one-two punch of “Dot Com” into “Ice Cream” is always a surefire crowd-pleaser that fully demonstrates a wide range of chops Ian Williams (guitar, keyboards), Dave Konopka (guitar, bass) and John Stanier (drums) each possess. “Atlas” was nicely placed in the second half of Battles’ setlist and has become a shiny beacon during their shows, even if the song’s vocals are triggered rather than performed live. All in all, the NYC trio is always a romp into unique territory, which remains pretty rewarding to those who seek something different from the rest.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Battles, The Independent

Chelsea Wolfe shows her dark side at The Chapel

June 14, 2016 by Marc Fong Leave a Comment

By Marc Fong //

Chelsea Wolfe //
The Chapel – San Francisco
June 1st, 2016 //

Chelsea Wolfe is a dark woman.

At one of her two sold-out shows in SF this month, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter, who released her fifth and most recent LP Abyss last summer, crept onstage like a determined apparition in the murk.

Particularly dark for Wolfe’s performance, The Chapel proved to be a great venue for her gothic folk rock and was absolutely packed to the gills on this night.

Wolfe’s sound is unique and familiar. A lovely marriage of electronic, folk and metal, the California native’s music has a beautiful, yet lonely appeal.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Chelsea Wolfe, The Chapel

Yeasayer bring their A game to The Fillmore

June 13, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Photos by Norm de Veyra // Written by Timothy Francis Alva-Melville //

Yeasayer with Young Magic, Miya Folick //
The Fillmore – San Francisco
May 31st, 2016 //

Walking into The Fillmore, the venue Brooklyn experimental rockers Yeasayer booked for the Bay Area stop on their recent U.S. tour, you could feel the deep synth bass, jerky snare-drum hits and the marching tom toms from opening act Young Magic.

Gliding through Isaac Emmanuel’s percussion was the ethereal, superimposed vocals and guitar work from Melati Malay. Young Magic added another piece to their already full sound with cellist Kelsey Lu — and to say the least, it was powerful. The group’s slightly dark and layered electronic sound still has an underlying groove that kept the audience in a state of mesmerized body shaking.

For this writer, it was my first experience seeing Yeasayer, but hopefully not my last. Their performance was filled with spacey, lush sounds as well as wonderful falsetto harmonies, walking synthesizers and an organized chaos of instrumentation from a band on top of its game at the moment.

Many audience members were eating up every word, which was to be expected from a band as unique and entrenched in the indie seen as Yeasayer are. While I did overhear some fans say they wished Yeasayer played a few more older tunes, it was understandable that they wanted to showcase material from their recently released record Amen & Goodbye. Though you can’t please everyone, they certainly tried.

The show was energetic, and from what I could tell, the band seemed to be having a whole lot of fun performing live. Yeasayer packed a lot in, and hopefully their newest album title isn’t as much a foreboding message as it is a poetic concept so that we can see what else they have in store down the road.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Miya Folick, Yeasayer, Young Magic

With one of the best frontwomen in the business, The Kills are an unstoppable duo

June 7, 2016 by James Pawlish Leave a Comment

By James Pawlish //

The Kills with L.A. Witch //
Fox Theater Oakland – Oakland
June 4th, 2016 //

Hitting the road in support of their fifth and latest album Ash & Ice, which dropped just the day before, The Kills made one final stop on their spring U.S. tour and played to a packed house at The Fox Theater Oakland.

The night began with a killer set by the three-piece rock outfit L.A. Witch, whose sound hearkened back to the days of 90’s garage rock. Full of chunky, distorted riffs, the band turned out one classic track after another. If any rock band was to open up for The Kills, certainly L.A. Witch were it.

When the house lights came down for a second time, the brilliant power duo known as The Kills came out. Led by vocalist Alison Mosshart and lead guitarist Jamie Hince, they dove right into what would be a night full of hits and new songs, delivering a solid set of punk blues that spanned each of their albums.

As with any Kills show, the band was raw, untamed and ready to sonically destroy everything in their path. This was achieved by Hince’s voracious guitar playing, which saw him coxing a plethora of harmonically distorted riffs, with Mosshart taking duties on rhythm guitar when needed.

However, it was Mosshart’s stage presence that was the true highlight of the show. Being one of a few frontwoman in rock, she twirled, gyrated and belted out each lyric with a powerful veracity.

To say there aren’t any formidable frontwomen in rock today is ridiculous. Mosshart is up there with the likes of Joan Jett — rock ‘n’ roll seeps from every pore of her body.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Fox Theater Oakland, L.A. Witch, The Kills

The Struts bring retro rock and a swagger to Napa

June 2, 2016 by Norm de Veyra Leave a Comment

By Norm de Veyra //

The Struts //
Napa Valley Opera House – Napa, CA
May 28th, 2016 //

UK four-piece The Struts seem prime for an explosive 2016 if their rousing performances last weekend surrounding BottleRock Napa Valley were any indication.

Led by their dynamic and charismatic frontman Luke Spiller, the band took the stage at the Napa Valley Opera House this past Saturday for a sold-out, late-night show and laid down an hour-long set of retro-cool, over-the-top rock ‘n’ roll that delighted the enthusiastic crowd.

As The Struts blazed through several of their massive singalongs from their debut album Everybody Wants, the audience couldn’t help but feed off the high energy and attitude from Spiller. His style and swagger most definitely hearken back to a different time and space in popular music — and that’s a positive.

For many inside the venue, it was their second viewing of the band that day as the late-night show capped off a buzz-worthy BottleRock debut at the three-day music festival hours earlier. After experiencing their live show for the first time, it’s tough to imagine a group with such a sheer amount of swagger, energy and fun NOT becoming your next favorite band. It’s word of mouth that just may endanger The Struts’ “under-the-radar” status now.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: BottleRock, BottleRock 2016, BottleRock Napa, BottleRock Napa 2016, BottleRock Napa Valley, Napa Valley Opera House, The Struts

Jack Beats bring the heat to Love + Propaganda

May 26, 2016 by Lisette Worster Leave a Comment

By Lisette Worster //

Jack Beats //
Love + Propaganda – San Francisco
May 21st, 2016 //

Walking down the stairs into Love + Propaganda, the newly remodeled club where Vessel was once located, served as a brief reminder of all the top-notch electronic music acts that SELECT Entertainment has been bringing to Union Square recently.

After two nights of Disclosure at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Friday and Saturday, Jack Beats were a nice change of pace last Saturday. With the room at capacity to catch the duo of DJ Plus One and Beni G hit the decks, it turned out to be one hot, sweaty evening in SF.

Since releasing their One Love Remixes EP last year, Jack Beats have followed that short studio effort up with another, entitled Work It, back in March on Los Angeles-based event series and record label Night Bass. The twosome’s current 16-date, North American tour has so far seen them perform everywhere from Miami to Las Vegas, with four shows in the state of California booked before wrapping things up in Toronto next weekend.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Jack Beats, Love + Propaganda

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

Mac DeMarco gets weird and wild in his return to SF

May 26, 2016 by James Pawlish Leave a Comment

By James Pawlish //

Mac DeMarco //
The Warfield – San Francisco
May 21st, 2016 //

Last Saturday night, less than a day after his sold-out show at The Independent, we caught up with Mac DeMarco at The Warfield to partake in all things jazzy, strange and weird.

The 26-year-old king of slacker rock, who over the past few years has become a fan favorite of many Bay Area audiophiles, never seems to hold back when he comes to town. His first night in SF last week saw him jump from The Indy’s balcony into an awaiting crowd (a feat that was later imitated by a female audience member at The Warfield the next night), run around half naked while playing new songs and perform a 25-minute cover of Eric Clapton’s 1971 hit single “Layla” with fart solos sprinkled throughout.

Who said Canadians don’t know how to have fun, or that DeMarco got tame while on tour?

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Mac Demarco, The Warfield

Bernhoft and The Shudderbugs get their groove on at The Chapel

May 24, 2016 by Norm de Veyra Leave a Comment

By Norm de Veyra //

Bernhoft and The Shudderbugs with Jonny P //
The Chapel – San Francisco
May 20th, 2016 //

Bernhoft and The Shudderbugs got a near-capacity crowd at The Chapel moving to frontman Jarle Bernhoft’s repertoire of disco-tinged neo-soul last Friday.

The Norwegian singer-songwriter and his band started off their set in blazing fashion with performances of “Stop, Shut Up” and “Writings on the Wall”, two up-tempo tracks from the group’s latest EP Stop/Shut Up/Shout It Out that signaled a full-on dance party was about to take place.

It was a party that continued into the weekend as Bernhoft revisited his older songs “Come Around”, “Everything Will Be Alright” and “One Way Track” to the audience’s delight.

Yet, the night’s best moments came toward the end of the show as Bernhoft slowed things down for “Space in my Heart” and “Falter”, two ballads that brilliantly showed off the Oslo resident’s emotive and textured croon.

Of course, the show couldn’t end on such melancholy terms. Instead, Bernhoft and his four bandmates closed out the night by busting out a rocking rendition of “C’mon Talk”, which brought back the same funky groove that kicked off the evening.

Shout out, as well, to Nashville-based artist Jonny P, who opened up the show with his lovely and soulful tunes.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Bernhoft and The Shudderbugs, Jarle Bernhoft, Jonny P, The Chapel

Summer Cannibals deliver a fiery, ferocious set

May 23, 2016 by Norm de Veyra Leave a Comment

By Norm de Veyra //

Summer Cannibals //
The Chapel – San Francisco
May 17th, 2016 //

Summer Cannibals lit up The Chapel last Tuesday with a fiery set that showcased songs from their upcoming album Full of It, which drops this Friday.

The Portland rockers, who were supporting another Rose City outfit in The Thermals, didn’t hold back, delivering an energetic evening of catchy, anthemic jams that ignited the sizable crowd in SF.

Led by lead vocalist/guitarist Jessica Boudreaux, Summer Cannibals no doubt opened many eyes — and piqued many ears — with their loud, fast-paced and ferocious performance.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Summer Cannibals, The Chapel

Cate Le Bon lets her music do the talking in SF

May 19, 2016 by Pedro Paredes Leave a Comment

By Pedro Paredes //

Cate Le Bon with Mega Bog //
The Chapel – San Francisco
May 16th, 2016 //

With the release of her fourth studio album Crab Day last month, Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon played the final stop of her North American tour in SF on Monday night.

Opening the show was Mega Bog, Erin Birgy’s Brooklyn-based project that just released a new LP entitled Happy Together.

While it took a while for guests to arrive at The Chapel, the room was full by the time Le Bon took the stage. Most of the songs she played were from Crab Day, but she also incorporated a few older tunes like “Are You With Me Now?”, which seemed to get an enthusiastic response from the crowd. Though to be fair, her fans were pretty enthusiastic the entire night.

Le Bon’s interactions with the audience were pretty short and polite, offering some simple thank you’s during her set. The crowd answered her by shouting excitedly, but she didn’t engage in any conversations. Instead, she let her music do most of the talking because the 33-year-old now based in Los Angeles is one excellent guitar player.

I arrived at the show only knowing her 2013 record Mug Museum, and by the end of the show, I was impressed by how good both she and her band were live, even during songs I wasn’t all that familiar with. Immediately after the show, I made sure to listen to the rest of her albums, and I have to say that I am loving all of them now. Le Bon will definitely be on my radar going forward, and I can’t wait to hear more from her in the future.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Cate le Bon, Mega Bog, The Chapel

A brash, confident homecoming for Thao & the Get Down Stay Down

May 6, 2016 by Norm de Veyra Leave a Comment

By Norm de Veyra //

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down //
The Fillmore – San Francisco
April 30th, 2016 //

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down kicked off their Fillmore show last Saturday by blasting English hip-hop artist M.I.A.’s anthem “Bad Girls” while Thao Nguyen and her bandmates sauntered onto a dark stage.

As the chorus (“Live fast, die young. Bad girls do it well.”) reverberated through the venue and then slowly faded, the stage lights went up and the SF-based band swung right into the opening groove of “This Evening”. It was a killer intro that set the mood right for a night of brash, funky alternative folk.

Touring since their fourth studio album A Man Alive dropped in early March, Nguyen and company were well at ease, loose and visibly excited to play for their home city. Especially during tracks like “Nobody Dies” and “Astonished Man”, Nguyen performed with such a swagger and attitude that elevated the atmosphere inside The Fillmore to new heights.

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down with Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs

The vibe seemingly hit its apex when Nguyen invited A Man Alive producer Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs fame onstage to perform “Meticulous Bird”. The hometown fans didn’t hold back their appreciation, doling out several prolonged applause breaks that appeared to genuinely catch the charismatic Nguyen by surprise.

Kudos, as well, to the Seratones, who led by vocalist AJ Haynes, dropped a dizzyingly bold opening set of Louisiana punk-tinged soul and funk, laying the groundwork for Thao & the Get Down Stay Down’s headlining set.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Seratones, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, The Fillmore, tUnE-yArDs

Aubrie Sellers gives us a lesson in ‘garage country’

May 4, 2016 by Norm de Veyra Leave a Comment

By Norm de Veyra //

Aubrie Sellers //
The Independent – San Francisco
April 28th, 2016 //

Last Thursday, Aubrie Sellers rolled through The Independent with headliner Jamestown Revival and delivered a blazingly raucous set that showcased tracks off her debut studio album New City Blues, which came out in January.

The Nashville native treated the sold-out crowd to a rollicking evening of “garage country,” a term she has used to describe her dirty, messy rock/soul/country-inspired jams.

All of those influences were evident on this night, as Sellers and her bandmates performed a high-energy stretch of tunes that turned the show into a thumping dance party, highlighted by the rousing “Paper Doll” and “Sit Here and Cry”.

But it was during the quieter moments of the performance that offered the most intriguing and revealing glimpses into the mindset of the young singer-songwriter. Particularly as she dove into the song “Losing Ground”, Sellers sang with a sly, matter-of-fact tone in her voice that enhanced the honesty and vulnerability laid bare within the lyrics of the song about her struggles with mental health.

When a performer can deliver that kind of subtlety, you take notice because it differentiates her from the rest of the pack. That’s not to say Sellers can’t belt out a tune and rock out hard. She and her crew most definitely did so in SF, but beneath her heavier country-rock stylings, she proved capable of wooing fans with merely her voice and her words.

To that end, it is no wonder why Sellers has quickly been recognized as a rising star within the country music scene. She displayed none of the nervousness or awkwardness one might expect from a relatively new artist with just one album under her belt. With great ease and command, she simply got down to business and delivered a solid show. Aubrie Sellers will continue to tour through much of 2016, returning to SF in late June for a gig at Slim’s.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: Aubrie Sellers, Jamestown Revival, The Independent

MC YOGI gets personal at The Independent

April 29, 2016 by Marc Fong Leave a Comment

By Marc Fong //

MC YOGI with Noah Levine //
The Independent – San Francisco
April 24th, 2016 //

Hip-hop artist and yoga enthusiast MC YOGI (born Nicholas Giacomini) never fails to throw a fun party, and his show last Sunday in his hometown was no different. The SF native started on a poignant note with an introduction from Noah Levine, author of the 2003 book “Dharma Punx”. Part inspirational speech and part prayer, Levine’s talk was a slow opener but rather fitting when considering MC YOGI’s themes.

Giacomini’s set at The Independent started with a peek into his youth as photos and video clips accompanied him. The slight glimpse into his past added depth to the hip-hop music that would ensue.

MC YOGI’s sets are always a fascinating show of reality and hope. After listening to stories of his humble beginnings and finding his now wife-to-be, he gave the crowd what it wanted to hear. Since releasing his debut album Elephant Power in 2008, his transcendental brand of hip-hop is still energizing and heartfelt.

His performance in SF, meanwhile, was fantastically real and positive. He engaged with the crowd not just like a performer does with his fans but on a deeper, more personal level. As a result, the show was uplifting and an all-around fantastic time.

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: MC YOGI, Noah Levine, The Independent

Wild Nothing leave their SF fans dreaming for more

April 28, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

By Kelly Diepenbrock //

Wild Nothing with Whitney //
The Independent – San Francisco
April 22nd, 2016 //

Whitney, a six-piece band based in Chicago and Portland, opened to a sold-out crowd in SF at The Independent last Friday. Over two guitarists, a bassist, a keyboardist and a trumpet player floated the smooth falsetto of lead singer and drummer Julien Ehrlich, who used to play in the now-defunct, indie-rock band Smith Westerns. The newly formed group played a combination of melancholic songs from their upcoming album Light Upon the Lake and a few classic covers of artists like Bob Dylan.

Serving as the evening’s headliner was Wild Nothing, the brainchild of frontman Jack Tatum. After receiving critical acclaim for his first two studio albums, Tatum, who started the project in Blacksburg, Va., recently left New York City for Los Angeles to record his latest LP, the 90’s dream-pop-inspired Life of Pause. At The Independent, his effortless musicality immediately captivated the room. Backed by guitarist Nathan Goodman, bassist Jeff Haley and drummer Max Brooks, Wild Nothing performed songs like “A Woman’s Wisdom” from Life of Pause as well as some older fan favorites such as “Live in Dreams” from 2010’s Gemini and “Shadow” off of 2012’s Nocturne.

Setlist:
To Know You
A Woman’s Wisdom
Nocturne
Alien
Live in Dreams
Lady Blue
Only Heather
Life of Pause
Summer Holiday
Paradise
TV Queen
The Blue Dress
Reichpop

Encore:
Shadow

Filed Under: Featured, Photos Tagged With: The Independent, Whitney, Wild Nothing

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.