Live This Month: February 2008 Preview
January 31, 2008
Over the past two years, The Bay Bridged has become recognized as a leader in local music coverage, but we’re continuing to expand our efforts this year to bring you the most comprehensive local music news. One of our new efforts is our new podcast The Bay Bridged: Live This Month.
In this new monthly podcast, we’ll bring you a mix of songs from some great local and touring bands that will be playing in the Bay Area during the coming weeks. We’ll also give you some details about who they are and when they’re playing.
We are currently in the midst of working with iTunes to get this new show in a separate podcast directory, but for now if you subscribe to the original Bay Bridged Podcast you will also be able to download this new series. To subscribe, click on the icon below:
And if you have any feedback about how to make the new podcast better, drop us a line!
About this month’s bands:
Nada Surf have a new album titled Lucky that comes out on February 5th on Barsuk Records. The band hits the Swedish American Hall for an acoustic show on February 2nd alongside the recently featured Port O’ Brien (TBB Feature).
Love is Chemicals (TBB Feature) celebrate the release of their brand new full length CD Song of the Summer Youth Brigade this month. The band’s CD release show is at Bottom of the Hill on February 22nd, where they’re joined by HIJK (TBB Feature) and The Dont’s (TBB Feature).
Supporting their latest album Good Bad Not Evil, Atlanta’s Black Lips are coming to the Great American Music Hall on February 8th. The show is presented by KALX and also features Pierced Arrows.
Seattle’s Grand Archives are playing at one of the best bills at Noise Pop, joining Kelley Stoltz and The Morning Benders (TBB Feature) at The Independent on February 28th. The band’s self-titled album comes out on Sub Pop Records on February 19th. Stay tuned for more Noise Pop coverage here in the coming weeks.
San Francisco’s Black Fiction (TBB Feature) headline an excellent all-local bill over at Thee Parkside on February 20th. The show also features 60 Watt Kid (TBB Feature) and Chairman Wow.
Portland duo Talkdemonic will be performing at the Rickshaw Stop on February 13th, the last stop on the band’s West Coast tour. They will be joined by Birds & Batteries (TBB Feature) and The Drift.
One of our favorite recent featured artists, Emily Jane White (TBB Feature) kicks off our next The Bay Bridged Presents show on February 9th at the Starry Plough in Berkeley. Also performing are Beatbeat Whisper (TBB Feature) and Or, the Whale (TBB Feature) , and you can find out all of the details here.
Sacramento’s Agent Ribbons are no strangers to the Bay Area. They are playing a couple of SF shows this month, including one with The Lovely Public (TBB Feature) on February 24th at the Hemlock Tavern.
Blood on the Wall arrive in San Francisco on February 6th in support of their new album Liferz. They’re playing at Bottom of the Hill with Erase Errata and Thee Oh Sees.
Although it’s been out for a while overseas, Basia Bulat’s debut album, Oh, My Darling, comes out stateside on February 5th. On the 16th, she headlines a great lineup including Payam Bavafa from Sholi (TBB Feature) and Mist and Mast (TBB Feature) at Bottom of the Hill.
Battlehooch is one of the many great local bands playing at the Scatterbrain Jamboree on February 22nd and 23rd at Thee Parkside. The event benefits the San Francisco Aids Foundation and also features performances by Pidgeon (TBB Feature), Master/Slave, The New Centuries and more.
Everybody Loves Groundhog Day – Social Studies, OFW, Pillows at Hemlock Saturday
January 30, 2008
Social Studies, The Old-Fashioned Way and Pillows will be playing at Hemlock Tavern this Saturday to celebrate everyone’s favorite holiday, Groundhog Day.
Social Studies’ EP This is the World’s Biggest Hammer has brought joy to the lives of many a Bay Area indie fan this past year and their high-energy live shows have made them a must-see local band.
You can expect to hear much more from Social Studies this year as they are currently completing their first full-length album and planning a national tour. You can also catch Social Studies at the Bay Area Takeover at South By Southwest.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Social Studies!
Though there are no signs yet of a debut Old-Fashioned Way EP that was set to come out in the fall, the band has continued to play shows, much to our delight. Hopefully this year will bring a new project from this happy-go-lucky, deep-voiced, multi-instrumental ensemble. Here’s a preview of what’s in store:
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The Old-Fashioned Way – “Robot on Fire”
Pillows, known to friends as Julia Shirar and Jessica Cowley, had an incredible 2007, showing up in a “best of the east bay” spot with East Bay Express and garnering multiple press spots after the release of their debut album Two Step. Mixing their folk-with-a-punk-edge tunes with personal, honest lyrics and experimental instruments (”glockenspiel, beer bottle & birdcage”), the duo has us holding our breath for their next release, titled Ten Minutes Past Two Months.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Pillows!
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Pillows – “Mary Mary” (from the forthcoming Ten Minutes Past Two Months)
Definitely a show to see – the party starts at 9:30 and is $7.
Le Fits Tonight at the Rickshaw
January 30, 2008
Oakland’s Le Fits will bring their faulty French and painfully catchy tunes to The Rickshaw Stop tonight. Their latest album, Le Fits Sportif, is a fantastic blend of traditional but solid guitars, the occasional electro or keyboard appearance and a punctuated, talky vocal style that can appeal to country, pop and indie fans alike. You can pick the CD up on CDbaby or from their MySpace page. As the French would say, la musique parle pour elle-même, so here’s a sample:
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Le Fits – “Sign Language”
Le Fits were recently featured on the soundtrack for the independent film Birds of America starring Ginnifer Godwin, Matthew Perry and Hillary Swank. The film premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
Le Fits are on UFI records, Riesman’s brain child label and studio, in which he has produced, engineered and/or contributed string parts to artists such as Bart Davenport, Snowblink and The Morning Benders. Rumor has it that Le Fits will be leaving the Bay Area in March, so catch them while you can.
Le Fits will be opening for Willie Wisely (LA) and Rocket (LA) tonight. 8pm, $8. Allez!
Episode 99: Beatbeat Whisper
January 29, 2008
This week’s featured band is Beatbeat Whisper, the Oakland duo of siblings Davyd and Ayla Nereo. The group’s self-titled debut has been championed by a number of critics, taken by their intuitive use of sound and space to craft full, strong melodies from, at most, two voices and sparse instrumentation. Ayla and Davyd describe the sound as “folk-ish”, with that “-ish” incorporating a variety of pop and rock influences that further set them apart from a more traditional folk setup.
It’s a surprisingly unified and consistent sound from a band with two individual songwriters, both of whom continue to also work on solo projects alongside the band. It’s also a sound that continues to grow and develop. In our interview a couple of weeks ago, the group discussed the exciting challenges of writing new songs together and involving collaborators and new instruments.
Beatbeat Whisper brought their guitars to The Bay Bridged Studios for an exclusive live performance prior to the interview. We’ve included a few songs from that terrific performance along with a couple of others in the show.
We’re excited to present Beatbeat Whisper’s next show at the Starry Plough in Berkeley next weekend:
Saturday, February 9th
The Starry Plough
8:30pm, $8
with Or, the Whale and Emily Jane White
presented by The Bay Bridged and ipickmynose
You can check out more Beatbeat Whisper at their web site and MySpace page. The band’s self-titled album is available here and on iTunes. The band is also featured on the Digital Cloud Records compilation Firsts, which can be purchased in our store.
Thanks for listening!
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BAGeL Radio: 5 Years In and Still Rocking
January 28, 2008
This Friday night, BAGeL Radio celebrates its fifth anniversary over at Bottom of the Hill. The Internet radio station has become a modern Bay Area institution and, as we noted a few weeks back, BAGeL Radio’s Ted Leibowitz recently became a two-time winner of CMJ’s Specialty Music Director of the Year.
Friday’s show features a couple of Bay Bridged favorites in Peloton and Audio Out Send, along with LA’s Lemon Sun. Check out these podcast episodes to learn more about these bands:
Click to listen to our feature episode on Peloton!
Click to listen to our feature episode on Audio Out Send!
You can buy advanced tickets for the show here. The show starts at 10pm, is $10 and is all ages.
The Morning Benders: Tonight, Noise Pop, New Album
January 28, 2008
Click to listen to our feature episode on The Morning Benders!
2008 looks to be a big year for The Morning Benders, as the indie pop-rock band’s debut full length (and first studio record) Talking Through Tin Cans comes out this Spring as one of the first releases on +1 Records. The label is the newly launched offshoot of the successful +1 management/PR firm.
Tonight the Benders are playing a sold-out show at Bottom of the Hill with highly buzzed-about MGMT and Yeasayer, after which they head down to the LA area for a few dates. If you can’t get in tonight, you’d better get tickets for what looks to be a really terrific Noise Pop bill featuring the Benders, Kelley Stoltz and Seattle’s Grand Archives. That show’s on February 28th at The Independent.
The Morning Benders have posted three excellent tracks from their upcoming album to their MySpace page and regularly update their blog and web site.
Weekend Picks: January 24th-27th
January 24, 2008
Low Red Land
It is a packed weekend for local music. We’ll be back tomorrow with a great announcement!
Thursday
- Tempo No Tempo and Man/Miracle at the Rickshaw Stop with The New Up. 8pm, $8.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Tempo No Tempo!
- Silian Rail and Parker Street Cinema at the Hemlock Tavern with Judgement Day. 9:30pm, $6.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Silian Rail!
- Anaura (CD release show) at Bottom of the Hill with Reduced To Ruin and In Reverent Fear. 9pm, $8, 18+.
Friday
- Tartufi at Atlas Cafe. 7:30pm, FREE.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Tartufi!
- The Hot Toddies, Ex-Boyfriends and Dealership at 12 Galaxies. 9pm, $8.
Click to listen to our feature episode on The Hot Toddies!
- Rykarda Parasol and the Tower Ravens and Excuses For Skipping at Cafe du Nord, with Mellowdrone. 9:30pm, $12.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Rykarda Parasol!
- Lady Genius at House of Shields, with RACCOONS. 9pm, $5
Saturday
- Low Red Land, The Aimless Never Miss, and Form and Fate at El Rio. 9pm, $7.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Low Red Land!
- Campo Bravo, The Harbours and Two Sheds at Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $6.
Click to listen to our feature episode on The Harbours!
- Loquat and The Botticellis at The Independent, with Au Revoir Simone. 9pm, $12.
- The New Centuries at The Knockout, with The Holy Kiss and Jail Weddings. 10pm, $5.
Sunday
- The Ian Fays at the Hemlock Tavern, with Harpeth Trace and Sweetie. 9:30pm, $6.
Click to listen to our feature episode on The Ian Fays!
- The Special Goodbye at the Make-Out Room, with Pillars of Silence. 8pm, $6.
Master/Slave Tonight at Hotel Utah
January 23, 2008
After a healthy countrywide tour in the fall, Master/Slave is keeping the momentum with a few local shows followed by a cross-country tour in March and April.
To say the past three years have been eventful for Master/Slave would be an understatement, as the band has been on five tours – four of which were coast-to-coast – released two 7″ albums and an EP, and gone through three different drummers. Apparent masters of the art of time-suckage, they have a strikingly comprehensive tour blog via their MySpace page, which details their 2007 excursions with vigor.
The band in its current manifestation is made up of Matt Jones, the mastermind of Master/Slave and single permanent member, and Ephriam Nagler, brother of The Velvet Teen’s Judah Nagler. Nagler also engineered, mixed and produced their debut album, SCANDAL which should be released sometime in March or April. The band prides itself on having no bass player, and relying on the creative juxtaposition of keyboard synths, drums and guitar. The result is reminiscent of 80s new wave with a garage rock edge, and you can check out a song from the band in yesterday’s podcast episode.
Tonight they appear at Hotel Utah with Vows, Hazelden (LA) and Feral Children (Seattle). The show starts at 9pm and is $7.
