Photos: Spectrum Festival @ The Regency

Photos by: Charlie Homo

[More...]

REMINDER! The Bay Bridged Presents: The Fourth Annual El Rio Big Time Freedom Fest

The Bay Bridged is proud to co-present The Fourth Annual El Rio Big Time Freedom Fest this Fourth of July on the lovely El Rio patio. Presented in conjunction with Tartufi, Thread Productions and the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the show features eight great bands at a price that can’t be beat, including Bay Area/Bay Bridged favorites like Birdmonster, Two Sheds, Low Red Land, and Birds & Batteries. The show’s an all day affair, meaning that once you’re nice and buzzed on El Rio’s wonderful patio, you’ll still be able to head down to the Bay to not see the fireworks that are totally obscured by the fog.

If you absolutely can’t attend, however, we’ll be streaming the show live over on Justin.tv. Stay tuned for more details on that.

Set times for all of the bands, more info and mp3s below: [More...]

“Jesus on that mainline”: The Moondoggies at Rickshaw Tonight

Written by: Chris DeMento

Well, what about it? The Moondoggies‘ Don’t Be a Stranger is truly bluesier than a lot of what gets called garage cuts these days, and I’m burned out again on the whole what-makes-indie-or-not so let’s cut to chase then and interrupt”–great album for rock and roll,” this Don’t be a Stranger, I mean, if that’s what you’re into, rock and roll.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Moondoggies – “Changing”

No doddering, no drolls, the sort of lyrical content that defies abstraction but which might also provide the complete syntactic rudiments for its critical review, as if written to say, “I do not fear the undertaker . . .” Hold-on sweet dears. [More...]

Weekend Mix: 7/2-7/5

Thursday: Moondoggies, Harbours, Sarah Bethe Nelson @ The Rickshaw Stop

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Harbours – “Situation”

Thursday: Double Dagger, Awesome Tapes From Africa (DJ), Mi Ami, Beast Of Thought, Psychic Reality @ The Knockout

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mi Ami – “New Guitar”

Friday: The Heavenly States, Boatclub, The West Of, The Dashing Suns @ The Uptown in Oakland

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Heavenly States – “The Race”

Saturday: Birdmonster, Two Sheds, Low Red Land, Finn Riggins, D Numbers, Birds & Batteries, Writer, Murray The Thief @ El Rio

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Writer – “Try and Stop Me”

Sunday: Weather Pending @ Mojito’s in North Beach

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Weather Pending – “Tide”

Ticket Giveaway Wednesday: Tall Men and Unclean Projectors

It’s time for our weekly installment of Ticket Giveaway Wednesday. There are some great bands playing around the area – and you can see them for free!

Thursday, July 2nd – The Tallest Man on Earth, Nathaniel Rateliff + The Wheel @ The Independent

The Tallest Man on Earth – “It Will Follow in the Rain”

Swedish folk-pop artist The Tallest Man on Earth completes his US tour with a show at the Independent on Thursday night, with Nathaniel Rateliff + The Wheel opening. The Tall Man received great reviews for 2008’s Shallow Grave and we’ve heard nothing but great things about his live shows. Thursday’s show is at 8pm. Tickets are $12 adv/$14 door.

We have two pairs of tickets to give away. One pair will be given to the first person on Twitter to reply @thebaybridged “I want to see the Tallest Man on Earth!”

The other pair will be given to the first person to e-mail contest@thebaybridged.com with your full name, “Tallest Man Giveaway” in the subject, and the sentence: “I want to see the Tallest Man on Earth!”

Tuesday, July 7th – Dirty Projectors, What’s Up? @ The Independent

Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move”

Do we even need to introduce Dirty Projectors to you? Their new album, Bitte Orca, is being hailed as one of the year’s best, and their show next Tuesday at the Independent is completely SOLD OUT. Not to worry, though, we’ve got a pair of tickets up for grabs! The show starts at 8pm, with What’s Up? opening.

To enter: send an E-mail contest@thebaybridged.com with your full name, “Dirty Projectors Giveaway” in the subject, and a completed version of the following sentence: “The projector became dirty when _______________.” The fourth person to send an E-mail will win the tickets.

New, Improved, LIVE: Exclusive Studio Session with Citay!

TheBayBridged.com and New, Improved Recording are proud to present the second installment of New, Improved, LIVE, our ongoing monthly series of live studio sessions with top indie bands, recorded at the New, Improved Recording studio in Oakland, California. This month’s session features San Francisco psychedelic rock band Citay, with free high-quality mp3s from the session exclusively available right here.

Citay bandleader Ezra Feinberg is no stranger to the studio setting–Citay actually began as a studio project for him and producer Tim Green in 2004–but his group quickly developed into one of the Bay’s best live rock bands. A large ensemble that creates intricate, dynamic rock epics relies on great players, and Citay overflows with talented performers who understand how to excel in the quieter moments as well as the grand ones. With two great albums under their belts, including 2007’s acclaimed Little Kingdom (Dead Oceans), we were please to host the band for a session.

As per New, Improved, LIVE rules, Citay’s set below includes tracks from both of the band’s excellent albums and their first ever recorded cover: a rocking take on Sweet’s “Set Me Free”, from 1974’s Sweet Fanny Adams. As you’ll hear in the mp3s, the New, Improved Recording team managed to not only fit everyone from Citay into the same room, but to perfectly capture the band’s sweeping live performances in all their glory.

For even more, check out photos from the session and an interview with Citay’s Ezra Feinberg at our New, Improved, LIVE page! Videos from the session courtesy of Pandora will be published later this month!

New, Improved, LIVE, featuring: Citay

1. Citay – “Nice Cuffs” (originally from Citay)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download: 160kbps mp3 / 320kbps mp3

2. Citay – “First Fantasy” (originally from Little Kingdom)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download: 160kbps mp3 / 320kbps mp3

3. Citay – “Little Kingdom” (originally from Little Kingdom)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download: 160kbps mp3 / 320kbps mp3

4. Citay – “Set Me Free” (cover; originally by Sweet off their 1974 album Sweet Fanny Adams )

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download: 160kbps mp3 / 320kbps mp3

We’d like to thank Ezra and Citay for the superb performance. A number of exciting artists are lined up for future New, Improved, LIVE sessions, which will be published at thebaybridged.com/new-improved-live/ on a monthly basis. Acclaimed performers and a top notch studio means great free music that redefines the studio experience: New, Improved, LIVE.

Photos and Review: Papercuts, Port O’Brien, Still Flyin’ @ The Independent, 6/25

Photos by: Charlie Homo

It was a weird night over at the Independent on Thursday. The specter of Michael Jackson’s death hung over the night like bubble wrap on your grandma’s antique china. It felt slightly awkward to be seeing what was sure to be a solid night of live music knowing what went down earlier that day was, in fact, a reality.

Time marches on, as I’m sure someone great once said, and I suppose we were to be the first cavalry. Three amazing bands were scheduled to take the stage in what felt like a strangely paced night, but was ultimately a great show anyway.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Still Flyin – “Good Thing It’s a Ghost Town Around Here”

Still Flyin’ took the floor first, and while the Independent’s wide stage allowed this 15+ member band to stretch out and move around a little bit, something they are very good at, the crowd was sparse…It was pretty much to be expected that early in the night, but a drag nonetheless as these guys are in their element when playing to a full room. Regardless, they played a solid set full of great tunes that can’t help but infect your jaded sensibilities with a need to get down. Even thought the crowd was small, in the end, the band got the people moving Also, their re-interpretation of Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train” was a real treat.

Next up was the formidable Port O’Brien, who I have to admit, I’d never seen live before. (I know, Shame on me.) After this set, though, I’ll be making catching the band a regular thing. First off, guitar/keyboardist/whatever else, Gram Lebron (Rogue Wave) took the stage and sang a few little ditties all by his lonesome. Then Port O’Brien proper joined him on stage with Tyson Vogel (Two Gallants) on drum duty and the show really started. [More...]

Monthly Mix: June 2009 (Podcast #170)

Stream the episode:

Download

Our latest Monthly Mix episode of the weekly podcast includes music from nine great Bay Area bands — some submissions we’ve received at TBB headquarters, some stuff we’ve posted on the web site recently, all really good stuff.

Subscribe to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it’s published!

About all of the bands:

Oakland songwriter Brian Glaze (”Leader of the Band”) returns with his third LP Green Living, out July 13th on World Famous In San Francisco. He’ll be at McLaren Park on July 18th as part of the Mission Creek Music Festival.

We recently witnessed The Blacks‘ (”Sunday Boys”) stunning and bittersweet final performance, but the band’s legacy lives on with their new album Tiger Songs, out July 21st on Tricycle Records. Check out a great collection of photos from their final show on Flickr.

Oakland’s Sir Lord Von Raven (”Take It or Leave It”) includes members of The Time Flys and The Gris Gris, and their debut LP Please Throw Me Back In The Ocean is out now on HappyParts Recordings. The band has upcoming shows on July 3rd at the Ghost Town Gallery, and July 9th at The Stork Club.

Von Iva (”Guise”) recently released their latest EP Girls on Film, featuring a bunch of new songs alongside tracks from their previous album. The trio has a number of August dates on the East Coast that you can see on their MySpace page.

[More...]

Our new Artist in Residence: Claire Nereim

We are pleased to introduce the newest member of our Artist in Residence program, Claire Nereim. Claire is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in San Francisco. Born in Chicago in 1981, she studied Visual Art at Oberlin College. In her work she explores the relationship between form, meaning, and the invention of memory. Her work has been featured in the Believer, Paper, and Print Magazine.

You can view more of her work at her website; check out her brand new blog; and, if you’re in the mood to purchase something, you can head here.

Starfucker Bring the Medicine to Bottom of the Hill

Photos by: Charlie Homo

White Cloud, Atole and Starfucker deserved a better slot than a Tuesday evening, and dished out a unique blend of feedback-heavy electro pop that felt better suited for a Friday.  Local group White Cloud opened the night with a mellow – at least in comparison to Starfucker – set featuring rhythmic change-ups and occasional dissonance, while Atole delivered lots of dance-worthy synth rock punctuated with abstract vocals.

Live touches like beat-boxing, scratching and ubiquitous Alan Watts samples did good things for Starfucker’s performance, which also saw the the Portland quartet branching out into more intentional feedback than before.  While their show was made up exclusively of released material, some creative guitar timing and a mischievous look lent the performance an enjoyable touch of suspense.

Check out more photos from this show below: [More...]