Brewery sans Botticellis (updated 3/25)
March 24, 2008
Update: The Botticellis have informed us that they will not be playing the brewery show this weekend. They will, however, be playing a similarly atraditional venue in the next week. Details below:
It’s not your traditional venue, but there’s a great afternoon show at the Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley this Saturday, featuring an excellent local band in Man/Miracle. Saturday’s show at the brewery in Berkeley starts at 1pm and is free.
For The Botticellis, it’s been a long time since we interviewed them last year, and thankfully Old Home Movies, their debut full length, is finally going to be released on local label Antenna Farm Records in May. The record is a great dose of warm California pop with some wonderful soaring melodies.
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The Botticellis – “Old Home Movies”
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The Botticellis – “Up Against The Glass”
The Botticellis will be celebrating their surfer roots with a free show on Thursday, April 3rd at 7:30pm at the Aqua Surf Shop at 1742 Haight Street. The band’s official CD release party is on Friday, April 18th at Cafe du Nord with Papercuts (whose Jason Quever helped the band with its recording).
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The Lower Class Revolt
March 24, 2008
There’s an exciting new movement going on every last Wednesday of the month at The Knockout, and it’s called The Lower Class Revolt. The LCR folks book a mix of local and touring bands to create some great bills at cheap prices. This Wednesday’s show will be the third in the series, and it’s a winner, featuring locals The Harbours and Dora Flood alongside Modesto’s Trees and Vines and Portland’s Carcrashlander. It’s a lineup that mixes singer-songwriter rock with dream pop and it should be a swell time. 9:30pm, only $4.
Check out our feature episode on The Harbours!
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Dora Flood – “The View” (from 2004′s Highlands)
According to their web site, the Lower Class Revolt collective has plans beyond the monthly shows, including the release of a compilation later this year featuring a whole bunch of great local bands and the launch of a couple of fashion lines. The group expresses a commitment to an artist-friendly, DIY aesthetic and we’ll keep watching for their future developments.
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Weekend Picks: March 20th – 23rd
March 20, 2008
Blammos
Thursday:
- Travis Morrison Hellfighters (DC), Facing New York and Social Studies at Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $10.
- Bart Davenport, Kasey Johansing, Vera Gough and honey.moon.tree at Amnesia. 9pm, $?.
- Laura Cortese, Blammos and The Special Goodbye at 12 Galaxies. 9pm, $8.
- Last of the Blacksmiths, The Speakers and Ash Reiter at Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $6.
Friday:
- Jill Tracy, The Holy Kiss and Rykarda Parasol at 12 Galaxies. 9pm, $10.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Rykarda Parasol!
- The Aerosols, The Parties, The Matinees and DJ Neil Martinson at The Knockout. 9pm, $5.
- Loquat, The Prids (Portland) and Black Kites (LA) at Cafe du Nord. 9:30pm, $10
Saturday:
- The Ghost of Curtis (Joy Division Tribute), Astral and DJ Dx at The Knockout. 10pm, $6.
Sunday:
- Polka Madre (Mexico City), Graves Bros. Deluxe and San Kazakgascar (Sac) at Make-Out Room. 8pm, $7.
- Trespassers William (Seattle), Or, The Whale and Petracovich at 12 Galaxies. 9pm, $8.
Click to listen to our feature episode on Or, the Whale!
- The Blank Tapes, These United States and Indianna Hale at Hotel Utah. 9pm, $7.
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Triclops!: Out of Africa
March 19, 2008
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Triclops! – “March of the Half-Babies”
While they’ve retained the biting lyricism associated with the genre, musically it might surprise the unassuming listener to learn that San Francisco quartet Triclops! contains four local punk scene veterans. But Fleshies and Bottles and Skulls, whose members John Geek and Christian Beaulieu formed the new group in 2005, were unpredictable bands to begin with, so maybe it isn’t really a left turn that Out of Africa, Triclops!’s debut full length is punk subject matter caught in a swirl of frenzied and psych-rock. The CD reminds me of some of the other old GSL bands and nicely balances intense repetitive grooves with some surprising melodies. Check out a song above.
Out of Africa comes out next Tuesday on the venerable Alternative Tentacles label and Triclops! celebrates the release with a show this Friday at Annie’s Social Club, also featuring music from Lozen (from Tacoma) and Turks and comedy by locals Brent Weinbach and Alex Koll. The show starts at 9pm and is $7. After Friday’s show, they’ve got a number of dates up and down the West Coast and you can find them all at their MySpace page.
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Episode 106: Here Here
March 18, 2008
Stream the episode:
This week’s podcast features San Francisco’s Here Here, a chamber pop seven-piece who have quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting young bands in the Bay, with a single EP, The Boy With An Orange, and an energetic live show attracting college and mainstream radio alongside a growing local fan base. It’s been a fast ascent, but an understandable one as the group’s driving sound, with its emphasis on dynamic shifts and layers of instruments, has drawn them comparisons to The Arcade Fire and other indie titans. Such comparisons can be a double-edged sword for a young band whose sound is still in a formative stage, but the former group’s many fans should find much to like about this band.
It’s worth emphasizing the evolving state of things in Here Here. The group started out as a solo project for Christian, an experienced musician who had never before assumed the role of bandleader and chief songwriter; the singer, guitarist and songwriter largely recorded the band’s debut EP on his own, layering guitar, piano, banjo and brass textures with swooning string arrangements from violinist Chloe to create epic, emotional rock songs. In order to bring the songs to life on stage, Here Here has become a seven-member band, with plans for additional recordings in the near future.
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The Mantles at Stork Club Tomorrow
March 17, 2008
Tomorrow brings SF’s The Mantles to Stork Club in Oakland. I saw The Mantles back when I was going to see fellow Dulc-i-tone band The Finches on any opportunity possible, and these guys put on a great show. Though the band has gone through some line-up changes sing then, the tunes are still just as striking.
Their sound is far reaching, drudging up such genre-bending terms as “drone pop” and “manicured garage-psych.” Their self-titled debut 7″ EP was released late last year and received some great praise from local mags and blogs, but the band is now working on a new project and playing a few shows in the meantime.
The Mantles will be joined by Citadelle and The Hysterians. 8pm, $5.
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Directions in Sound Tomorrow Night at Rickshaw
March 17, 2008
Tomorrow night music and film will come together, as the Rickshaw Stop will host “Directions in Sound,” a party for the International Asian American Film Festival featuring three great local acts. The blend of musical styles will be a treat in itself.
Kicking off the night is Goh Nakamura, whose smooth acoustic guitars and winding melodies will get the audience nice and relaxed. For a sample, check out his home recording of “Home for New Year’s Day”:
Next up will be the Old Fashioned Way, who will kick it up a notch with their multi-instrumental, deep-voice indie pop jewels featuring every instrument under the sun. [More...]
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Noise Pop 2008: The Mountain Goats, So Many Dynamos, Caves
March 14, 2008
Photos by: Josh Uziel
Mountain Goats
