PHOTOS: NO, Yann Tiersen at The Regency Ballroom 6/17

June 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
NO performing at The Regency Ballroom

NO performing at The Regency Ballroom

By Tom Dellinger //

Yann Tiersen with NO //
The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco
June 17th, 2014 //

Featured earlier this year at Noise Pop, NO returned to San Francisco on Tuesday night as they opened for Yann Tiersen at The Regency Ballroom. Playing to a near capacity crowd, the band focused on their most recent release, El Prado. Large, expansive sound is typical of their style as they comfortably rolled through their set and no doubt picked up many new fans along the way.

Breton multi-instrumentalist Tiersen served up a sonic journey that covered a broad range. A long history of film scores behind him, he’s possibly best known here for his soundtrack on the film, Amélie. Supporting his most recent release, Infinity, it was a night of rich, multi-layered soundscapes.

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Noise Pop explodes with The Soft White Sixties at The Chapel

March 3, 2014 by 2 Comments

TSWS_1

By Tom Dellinger //

NOISE POP 2014
The Soft White Sixties, NO (LA), The SHE’S, Cannons and Clouds //
The Chapel — San Francisco
February 28, 2014 //

Noise Pop was in full swing Friday night at several venues throughout San Francisco and at The Chapel, on Valencia, the venue was serving up a deep sampling of four bands, featuring local sensations The Soft White Sixties as the headliner.

From the start, the music was strong as things kicked off with Cannons and Clouds, who were followed by the gentler style of The SHE’S. Things again picked up as the LA based band NO took the stage and delivered an excellent, polished set which was then followed by the much anticipated performance from The Soft White Sixties, who exploded onto the stage and gave a flawless, high energy performance to a loud and appreciative sold out house.

NO

There were some sound problems early in the night, but the audio continued to improve as the evening went on and by the time NO hit, it was sounding on point. Good thing too, because this band offers some sensational songs with dense instrumentation. They have a very engaging stage presence as lead singer, Bradley Hanan Carter, intensely works the stage and sings with passion. Backed with a large, multi-layered sound from the band and rich backing vocals, it quickly became evident that this is a band with depth, leaving an intrinsic desire to see and hear them again when they return to SF. They proved to be an excellent lead-in to headliner, The Soft White Sixties.

TSWS_2

As TSWS was about to hit, the house became noticeably packed, and the crowd hummed excited with anticipation. Before it started, this evening had the feeling it was going to be one of those more memorable performances. With a SXSW run on the very-near-horizon, this band has serious potential to explode on the music scene, and that feeling was confirmed as soon as they hit their opening note.

Dressed well for the occasion, the band was on fire from the start. Lead vocalist, Octavio Genera was instantly wooing the crowd as he effortlessly danced and sang up and down the length of the stage with explosive dance moves. He has a voice that is both smooth and soulful with an edge of grit and growl. These are vocals that are well suited to their songs, which are reminiscent of some of the best rock and soul from the past.

This band excels at hard-driving rock, which they delivered in a big way many times throughout the night with well-placed lighter songs to bring things back to earth once in a while. In essence, The Soft White Sixties curate a well-paced show. After their set of about an hour and a half, it was confirmed that this was one of those performances that will be well remembered. Surely, TSWS are destined to launch onto larger stages and broader success as a band. Ready and poised, all the ingredients are there.

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Electric Guest ignite The Independent

November 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Photos by Mike Frash // Written by Kevin Raos //

Electric Guest //
The Independent – San Francisco
November 2nd, 2012 //

Indie/electro/dream/neo-psych/chillgaze/wave-tronica/pop sensation Electric Guest showed Friday night at The Independent that pure talent can still ascend you quickly to stardom.

In a music world filled with so much synth, it seems just about anyone can make a hit record with a keyboard and a laptop. Just look at, say, any DJ. However, Electric Guest demonstrated musical prowess and a refined ability to write a captivating pop song, and it was all materialized by front man Asa Taccone.

Singer, songwriter and mastermind behind Electric Guest, Taccone had the capacity crowd enchanted every moment he was onstage. His fluid dance moves and infectious smile attempted to distract the audience from his immaculate voice, to little success.

Asa Taccone’s voice alone is worth an entire paragraph, perhaps an entire article. Weaving effortlessly in and out of falsetto, Asa’s voice was soothing and inspiring. A master with the mic, Asa would cup the microphone to create a reverb effect that echoed through the expanses of The Independent.

Asa’s vocals were on display to the marveling crowd, who showed their complete and utter adoration of the band during the short but sweet set. A Bay Area local, Taccone showed his love for the audience, not only with the mandatory Los Angeles jab, but also by telling stories of times spent in SF.

One of these times was while recording their recently released album, Mondo. Record producer Danger Mouse and the band reached a creative standstill, and in order to reignite an inspirational spark Danger Mouse and Asa Taccone took a trip to SF, where they spent over a week doing whatever it is people do to regain their creative mojo.

It must have worked. They returned from SF and continued to create one of the best electro-pop albums of the year.


“Troubleman” was a highlight of the show, and we were told this was a song that came from a trip to SF with Danger Mouse.

For as many good things I have to say about this show, I must say it was very short. Taccone commented when returning from the encore break, “we only have 10 songs and we just played nine of them,” before kicking into their encore song. Before they find some more creative juices, a cover or two might bolster their repertoire nicely. Taccone definitely has the vocal ability to pull off Michael Jackson. Just sayin’.

In the end, the crowd got exactly what it was looking for: an upbeat dance party to some well-crafted pop songs.

It’s worth noting the opening band No. These kiwis probably had a longer set than Electric Guest and were great, blending rock and electronic. It’s equally astounding that they have rights to the twitter handle @NO!

All in all, Electric Guest killed it, but left the crowd thirsting for more. I eagerly anticipate their sophomore offering.

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