Sugar & Gold surprise openers for The Whitest Boy Alive tonight @ Slim’s
April 14, 2010
Berlin electro-dance band The Whitest Boy Alive is making their first adventure in the states quite adventurous. With known plans to play Coachella later this week and a sold-out Slim’s show tonight, they whispered notice via an anonymous craigslist.org post yesterday that they were pre-partying in Oakland. They played two sets last night — throwing in a “Nobody Loves Me” Portishead singalong — and we’re thrilled to have evidence to prove it (thanks to Scott and Trazmick!).
Tonight’s show at Slim’s had “surprise guests” until now: opening is Sugar & Gold! They’re warming up for their big Get Wet! release party with Nite Jewel (April 29 @ Bottom of the Hill). Enjoy a taste with the recently premiered video for “Aya”:
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Sugar & Gold – “Feels Like Fire”
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Sunday: Local artists celebrate Buffy Sainte-Marie
April 14, 2010
Sunday night, SeaweedSway and Songbird Festival present a night of music celebrating Native American songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. If you’ve heard “Up Where We Belong” then you’ve heard a Sainte-Maire-penned song, but she has had an artistically and musically diverse career. A number of terrific local musicians are celebrating Sainte-Marie’s music on Sunday, April 18th at the Make-Out Room (7:30pm, $8).
From SeaweedSway:
Cree Indian folksinger Buffy Sainte-Marie first made a name for herself in the folk revival scene of the early 1960s, and released her successful debut “It’s My Way!†in 1964. Her intense vibrato and complete vocal fearlessness are often compared to Joni Mitchell or Joan Baez, but her political stances are very much her own. After recording “Universal Soldier,†a song which takes individual soldiers to task for participating in war (“He’s the Universal Soldier, and he really is to blame,†she sang) Sainte-Marie was blacklisted from radio on orders from the White House itself — in the late 1960s, this was a career death sentence.
Not one to let others slow her down, she became a regular cast member of children’s television show Sesame Street, noting that she wanted kids to know that Indians still existed and were part of society. Popular culture, then as now, wasn’t forthcoming with that information. Education was and remains important to her, and she also saw Sesame Street as an exercise in democratic learning. She continued to make music, however, enjoying success overseas and in “Indian Country.â€
In 1969, she came out with one of the first records to feature electronically generated sounds, with her voice and guitars altered to psychedelic effect by a Buchla synthesizer. This went against the “Pocahontas with a guitar†image that many had formed of her, and “Illuminations†apparently scared a lot of fans away. Today, it’s seen as an important musical advance and a skilled collaboration between musician and scientist, in addition to being yet another signal of a great mind at work. Currently on tour behind her new, well-reviewed record, “Running for the Drum,†Sainte-Marie continues to enchant her fans, who include Morrissey, Rufus Wainwright, Robbie Robertson, and Neko Case, among other notable people. For these reasons and many others, and out of admiration for her eclectic, adventurous fashion sensibilities, we pay her tribute.
Performing on Sunday: Emily Jane White, Mariee Sioux, Michele Hannigan (The Sarees), Heidi Alexander (The Sandwitches), Conspiracy of Venus, Windy Gap, Michael Musika and Gabrielle Ekedal.
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Ticket Giveaway Wednesday: The Almighty Defenders with Black Lips and Mark Sultan @ GAMH
April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 20 – The Almighty Defenders (Black Lips + King Khan & BBQ) with opening sets by Black Lips and Mark Sultan @ Great American Music Hall
Almighty Defenders @ Amsterdam Brewery from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.
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The Almighty Defenders – “Cone of Light”
To enter send an email to contest@thebaybridged.com with your full name and the phrase “I want to see The Almighty Defenders!” in the subject line. The EIGHTH person to enter will win a pair of tickets to the show!
The show starts at 8pm, $16, 6+. Purchase advance tickets here.
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Photons (Podcast #209)
April 14, 2010
Stream the episode:
This week’s podcast features San Francisco band Photons, a seven-person group who first caught our ears with their self-titled debut EP of Brit-influenced chamber pop. The band began as a new project for drummer Calvin Liu, who found kinship with a talented group of multi-instrumentalists and, perhaps improbably, former metal singer James Parrish. The Glory! EP followed Photons in 2009, further showcasing the band’s knack for rich, crazy-catchy orchestral pop, and built anticipation for their first full length record.
And now here’s the bad news. Just as we’re featuring the band on the podcast comes news that the group is breaking up, releasing the new full length at their final show at the beginning of May. It’s a sad development for indie pop fans, but they’ve given us with some terrific music during their existence, and we hope the band’s members will find new projects soon.
We sat down with the band in January to discuss their beginnings, as well as what to expect on their first full length album. We’ve also included four songs from Photons’ catalog, including a brand new one, in the show.
Upcoming Shows:
Friday, April 23rd
House of Shields
with Odd Owl
10pm, $5
Friday, May 1st
Make-Out Room
with Tremor Low (Photons’ Final Show and CD Release Party!)
7:30pm, $7
Links:
- Visit Photons at MySpace, their web site and Facebook.
- Purchase the Glory! and Photons EPs from iTunes. The Glory! EP is also available on CD from Insound.
- See tour videos and live performances on Photons’ YouTube channel.
- Check out Photons’ Song Club blog.
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Audio Visual – local music meets fashion with Hottub
April 13, 2010
Audio Visual is a series exploring the fashion choices of local musicians. The Bay Area music scene is nothing but diverse, and this nonconformity is as evident in clothing as it is in music. With this in mind, Audio Visual strives to analyze the connection between the sartorial choices of musicians and their work, beginning with Oakland ‘s Hottub.
Hottub blends DJ Sonic’s old-school and funk-inspired beats with the rough-and-tumble lyrical stylings of CoCo (Nic), Ambr33zy (Amber) and Loli Pop (Jen). The trio rap in unison in a humorous and frank way about love, sex and relationships. Their live shows include on-stage antics and audience participation, often in the form of mic-cable jump-rope and piggy back rides. Our first installment of Audio Visual explores Hottub’s colorful clothing choices — Hottub is opening this evening and the next for Little Dragon at The Independent (9pm, $30).
Q&A and photos after the jump: [More...]
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New local show series: SanFolk Disco IV Thursday
April 13, 2010
We’re pleased to report on yet another new regular show series making San Francisco a happening place, SanFolk Disco. They’re holding their fourth event Thursday, with Bart Davenport, JL Stiles and Kacey Johansing at Cafe du Nord (8:30pm, $12).
According to the organizers, SanFolk Disco’s mission is:
“[SanFolk Disco] aims to mix three interesting on-the-rise Bay Area artists every month at a different venue in the city. The music will be only slightly rooted in any particular genre and uses the term folk to mean more ‘music of the people,’ than man with sandals and a woolen hat, call it new-folk if you like.”
So far, SFD has featured The Ferocious Few, Blank Tapes, Indianna Hale, Tiny Television, Hobo’s Paradise and others. After Thursday, the next installment will be on May 13th; so far Eric McFadden has been booked, with more details TBA.
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Bart Davenport – “Jon Jon”
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Kacey Johansing – “Angel Island”
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Judgement Day and Battlehooch: new albums, release show
April 12, 2010
Two new releases from SF bands flouting rock conventions in search of farther-out pastures. Judgement Day‘s Peacocks/Pink Monsters is the second studio album from the string metal trio, showcasing the band’s penchant for epic, dramatic music.
Fearless prog-rock sextet Battlehooch also have a new album, a self-titled one that’s the group’s third. According to the band, a stripped-down approach makes this record more like the group’s energetic live shows than their past releases. New tracks below:
Judgement Day and Battlehooch are sharing a record release show this Saturday, April 17th at Bottom of the Hill (9pm, $10, All Ages). 7 Orange ABC opens the show. Judgement Day will also be at Amoeba in Berkeley on Tuesday at 6pm.
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Beatbeat Whisper, Todayokay, Vandella @ Cafe du Nord Wednesday
April 12, 2010
This Wednesday, April 14th will see a trio of local folksy bands at Cafe du Nord, some familiar, some not as much. Beatbeat Whisper will headline, with the sibling songwriting duo of Ayla and Davyd Nereo bringing their plucky, soft-spoken folk.
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Beatbeat Whisper – “Mismanaged Skies”
Todayokay will assist in opening the evening, and will simultaneously be celebrating the release of their debut EP, All This Weaponry. The darkly rich songs from the EP can be streamed in full on Todayokay’s website. Light-hearted, bluesy rock in the form of Vandella will kick things off; to prepare for the show, the band’s music can be streamed via MySpace and Facebook.
