Noise Pop Review: Geographer, Butterfly Bones, K.Flay, Funeral Party
February 24, 2011
Photos by: Anna Gazdowicz
It is seemingly customary for any Noise Pop show to look like a bit of a head-scratcher on paper. Typically when I see a Noise Pop bill I think to myself “what an odd combination, will that work?” In my experience it always does. The shows are stylistically diverse and well-curated.
Funeral Party is an L.A. quintet, though their sound is a bit more New York. Propulsive drums and charging guitar are augmented by synthy keys. Frontman Chad Elliott has an engaging and powerful voice which was equally melodic and scorching. Their live performance lives up to their newly released debut album, The Golden Age of Knowledge. I recommend keeping an eye on these guys.
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Man/Miracle – “Don’t Waste It”
February 24, 2011
Yesterday, CMJ premiered a new song from Oakland’s Man/Miracle, entitled “Don’t Waste It.” According to the band, “Don’t Waste It” is their new single, out soon via Third Culture Records.
The sound of “Don’t Waste It” is huge, guitar-driven, exploding in every direction and buoyed by energetic percussion. Listen below, and download via CMJ.
Man/Miracle – Don’t Waste It by CMJ Network
Previously:
- Regional Bias photos featuring Man/Miracle, Exray’s, Thao and John Vanderslice
- Review & Photos: Radar Brothers, Man/Miracle, Mist and Mast @ Rickshaw Stop 6/24/10
- Man/Miracle team up with Rogue Wave on tour, release new 7″
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Noise Pop Review: Yo La Tengo & The Urinals
February 24, 2011
Being in a band is a lot like being married. Anyone who has been in an even remotely serious band can attest to this being the gospel truth. Much like a marriage, sustaining a band over twenty-something years occasionally requires switching things up to keep the relationship interesting. Some people try introducing another partner into the mix. Others try role playing as a orchestral prog outfit or a sexy cowgirl who’s been naughty. People have even gone as far as writing the score to an embarrassingly awful Broadway musical about Spiderman (not recommended).
Whatever you do, the key is to keep from getting bored and wandering off into obscure, self-indulgent solo projects/getting real jobs. On the opening night of Noise Pop 2011, Yo La Tengo (who have been making records and touring since 1986) went to great lengths to spice things up, although to be honest, they didn’t really need to. They still had magic to spare.
Opening for the nerdy elder-statesmen of indie rock were the seminal Los Angeles punk band, The Urinals. The three-piece looked dwarfed by the massive stage at the Fox Theater but made up for it by producing a constant wall of sound. The band (who strongly influenced both the night’s headlines and similarly venerated noisemakers Sonic Youth) are clearly punk rockers at heart. But they are ones more interested in the way two guitars can (when so inclined) bounce epic squalls of distortion off of each other, than making a bunch of kids with oddly colored hair jump up and down. Midway though the set, guitarist Roderick Baker commented on a song they just finished playing, “that song is always fun for us to play but it’s not always fun to listen to.”
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Out now: Melted Toys on Underwater Peoples, Tim Cohen on Captured Tracks
February 23, 2011
The debut release from the young New Wave pop trio Melted Toys went public yesterday on Underwater Peoples. Here’s more about the release from the UP site, and the track “Come On” from the EP:
Melted Toys Washed & Dried 12″ EP: Melted Toys is Steven Harkins on guitar and vocals, Daniel Rosado on guitar, and Brian Wakefield on bass. The band plays lurid and mischievous pop music via synthetic tones and persistently inspiring guitar riffs. Their music intimates, intimidates, envelops and envigors; they’ve managed to bottle up San Francisco in their songs and we’d like to share it with you.
The prolific (see this mixtape) songwriter Tim Cohen has yet another full-length out — his LP Magic Trick, which had its record release show earlier this month. Cohen’s simultaneously releasing an eight-song bonus EP, Bad Blood, as a 33 1/3-speed double 7-inch. Hear “Don’t Give Up” from the full length:
Upcoming shows:
2/24: Melted Toys with Film School for Noise Pop at Cafe Du Nord
3/2: Tim Cohen with Nodzzz, Personal and the Pizzas at The Knockout
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Ticket Giveaway Wednesday: Holy Shit, Death
February 23, 2011
To enter any contest submit an email to contest[at]thebaybridged.com with your full name in the body and the concert you’re entering the contest for in the subject line. You may only submit your name to one contest. Winners for each show will be decided using the guidelines listed below.
Thursday, February 24th
((folkYEAH!))) Presents: Holy Shit, Puro Instinct, Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick @ Great American Music Hall
To win a pair of tickets to the show be the SECOND and FOURTH person to enter!
The show starts at 8:30pm, $5, 6+. Purchase advance tickets here.
Friday, February 25th
Death, Zolar X @ Slim’s
To win a pair of tickets to the show be the THIRD person to enter!
The show starts at 9pm, $16, 6+. Purchase advance tickets here.
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Noise Pop Picks, 2/24-2/25: Bay Bridged Happy Hour, Tamaryn, The Stone Foxes and more
February 23, 2011
We’ll be offering our Noise Pop picks over the next several days. Then, as the festival proceeds, our writers and photographers will be reporting back from a whole bunch of Noise Pop events. Looking forward to something in particular? Let us know in the comments.
Looking toward Thursday and Friday, although a number of great shows are sold out at this point, Noise Pop badges remain on sale until Friday at noon. With a badge, you’re guaranteed entry to any Noise Pop show within the first hour after doors open.
Obviously, our top Friday pick is The Bay Bridged Happy Hour at Bender’s (806 S. Van Ness at 19th St, 5-8pm, FREE). With three great local bands — Shannon and the Clams, Jake Mann & The Upper Hand, Wet Illustrated — and Bender’s awesome beer selection, we are really excited for this. Come blow off some steam and enjoy some killer music with us on Friday!
Shannon and the Clams – “Sleep Talk”
Jake Mann & The Upper Hand – “Days Are Long”
Wet Illustrated – “Born Stoked”
San Francisco’s Tamaryn headlines a great show of dark rock bands at Cafe Du Nord on Friday (8pm, $13), ably paired with another shoegazey duo, Australia’s The Black Ryder. With The Soft Moon, who we recently interviewed, supporting, this is going to be quite a good one.
The Black Ryder – “Gone Without Feeling”
The Soft Moon – “Breathe the Fire”
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Listen to Mi Ami’s Dolphins 12″; band announces new tour dates
February 23, 2011
Dolphins is Mi Ami‘s first 12″ as a duo, out March 15th on Thrill Jockey. Since bass player Jacob Long’s departure, the group has swapped out guitars and drums for synthesizers and drum machines. As you can hear above, though, the result feels less like a wholesale reinvention than an intensity repurposed. In other words, it’s still Mi Ami, heading in an exiciting new direction.
Below, see Mi Ami’s East Coast/Midwest/Europe tour dates, and download “Hard Up.”
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Garrett Pierce signs to Narnack Records
February 22, 2011
“Statue Song,” which accompanies the video above, is the first offering from Davis/SF artist Garrett Pierce‘s upcoming album, City of Sand, due out later this year on Narnack Records. I recently commented on the inadequacy of the “singer-songwriter” label, and that sentiment certainly holds true for Pierce, whose mixture of moving melodies and frequently heartbreaking lyrics can produce results that are no less than astonishing.
By way of further example, 2009′s All Masks, one of my favorite records of that year, and an album full of beautiful music and aching subject matter. Pierce is currently giving the record away for free on his Bandcamp page, and if you enjoy dark folk rock, you have no excuse not to grab it.
