Happy New Year!
December 31, 2011
Happy new year from all of us at The Bay Bridged! 2011 was a pretty big year for us — two major new events, blog coverage of more bands than ever before — and we have a bunch of exciting things already in the works for 2012! Have a safe and fun night tonight, and we’ll return on Monday.
(Amateur film of San Francisco in 1955 via BoingBoing)
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Random, Happy Memories of 2011
December 30, 2011
Some years are great for shows – like 2008. Some are great years for albums, like 2009. But this was a great year for both, from the start. In the order I remembered them:
Family Crest – My Living Room; 9/11
Duh. Can you believe this alterna-dad cream dream supreme? A stalwart and happy-go-lucky nonet of classically trained musicians show up at my house to play their lovely, life-affirming chamber pop on the anniversary of 9/11 and my teenage son sits in on clarinet? You just had to be there. But then we would have run out of pasta much sooner.
Deerhoof – Great American Music Hall; February 1
They’re just the best, in an age when it has become pointless to talk about the best. You know it’s a good show when legend Fred Frith shows up to sub for the first opener. Deerhoof primed and dimed their uniquely cereberal, detached shredding and just blew it out every pore. Great pix from Charlie Homo.
Tune-yards – Rickshaw Stop; August l5
When Merril Garbus takes the stage, it’s chills, thrills, more chills and a house full of sweaty, jumping converts. This was actually Vetiver’s show – Tunes added late. They were pretty tasty, but ultimately the latest to learn: don’t share a bill with Tune-Yards unless you like being used as a mop. [More...]
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Tonight: Ferocious Few, B. Hamilton, Feral Cat @ Amnesia
December 29, 2011
Tonight’s show at Amnesia is presented by Loving Cup — on the bill, Ferocious Few, new-on-the-scene from the East Bay, B. Hamilton, and Feral Cat (8pm, $10, RSVP).
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2011-in-Review Mixtape: 50+ Signs of a Strong Year for Bay Area Indie Rock, Indie Pop and Folk-Rock (Podcast #267)
December 28, 2011
After surveying a variety of sounds coming from the Bay Area this year, we’re ending our look back at 2011 with the world of indie rock, indie pop, singer-songwriters and folk-rock. While there were a lot of Bay-based success stories this year, no artist probably had a better year than tUnE-yArDs, and w h o k i l l is an innovative, ultra-catchy collection of experimental pop deservedly revered as one of the year’s best albums.
Beyond tUnE-yArDs, however, the list of big names releasing strong records this year shows why the Bay has the deepest talent pool in indie music today. 2011 saw new records from John Vanderslice, The Dodos, Thao & Mirah, Girls, Ganglians, The Sandwitches, Vetiver, Dominant Legs, Little Wings, Papercuts, Weekend, and many, many more. Seriously, that’s a pretty amazing list.
This three-hour-long, two-part mix surveys over 50 Bay Area artists who released new records in 2011. Follow each link in the track lists below to look back at our coverage of these artists in 2011.
Mixtape: SF Indie Rock in 2011 (Part 1)
Mixtape: SF Indie Rock in 2011 (Part 2)
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2011-in-Review Mixtape: Another Winning Year for SF Rock and Roll (Podcast #266)
December 27, 2011
The Bay Area has long been a leader in garage rock — see the annual Budget Rock Fest, which celebrated its tenth and final installment this year — and, from our perspective, that doesn’t seem likely to slow down any time soon. Put another way, there’s a reason so much of the national media spotlight has focused on SF garage bands.
Folks like Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees have developed into two of indie’s most reliable acts based on an astonishing mix of volume and consistency: playing tons of shows and putting out tons of records, and doing both with a commitment to intensity and quality. Beyond those two, there were plenty of important releases from SF rock bands in 2011. Shannon and the Clams, Bare Wires, and Mikal Cronin all put out some killer full-lengths, as did a number of the bands below, and new groups like Terry Malts, Poor Sons, and Twin Steps suggest that there is plenty more great local rock and roll to come.
This hour-long mix captures twenty Bay Area rock and roll, garage, lo-fi and punk bands that released new records this year. Follow each link to look back at our coverage of these artists in 2011.
Mixtape: SF Rock and Roll in 2011
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2011-in-Review Mixtape: Highlights from SF Psych, Drone, and Shoegaze (Podcast #265)
December 23, 2011
The San Francisco Bay Area’s psychedelic legacy leaves big shoes for modern bands looking to get weird, but 2011 saw no shortage of heady, trippy music from locals, with Wooden Shjips, Lumerians, and Magic Leaves leading the psych rock pack. Barn Owl, The Drift and Moholy-Nagy headed in more ambient directions, while Jonas Reinhardt and Phil Manley explored the reaches of the synth-based universe. For those who prefer their drones more shoegazer-influenced, The Soft Moon, Young Prisms, and Moonbell crafted soaring textures from echo and distortion.
This 90-minute mix captures twenty-one Bay Area and Northern California artists who released new records this year in the diverse, but related, areas of psych, drone, shoegaze and post-rock. Follow each link to look back at our coverage of these artists in 2011.
Mixtape: SF Psych, Drone, and Shoegaze in 2011
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2011-in-Review Mixtape: A Great Year for Bay Area Electronic Pop (Podcast #264)
December 22, 2011
Until the end of the year, we’ll be launching a series of mixtapes capturing a whole bunch of the great Bay Area releases from the past year. We’re kicking it off with this look at electronic pop.
As we first observed a little over a year ago, the Bay Area is a fertile place for musicians exploring the wide world of electronic pop. From bands like Exray’s, Mwahaha, Melted Toys, and Phantom Kicks, to one-man projects like Speculator, Parentz (a reader informs us Parentz is now a two-person group), Tycho, and Swiftumz, synths played a big role in the sounds emanating from many corners of the Bay this year.
This 90-minute mix captures over twenty Bay Area and Northern California artists who released new records this year, and showcases exciting, envelope-pushing work in a number of diverse sounds. Follow each link to look back at our coverage of Bay Area electronic pop in 2011.
Mixtape: SF Electronic Pop in 2011 (Podcast 264)
Track Listing:
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Ramon & Jessica prep for release of ‘Fly South’ on Porto Franco Records
December 22, 2011
Ramon & Jessica, the musical moniker of Dina Maccabee and Jesse Olsen (apparently, Dina is Ramon and Jesse is Jessica), are set to release Fly South on Porto Franco Records on January 20th, 2012. Fly South will be Ramon & Jessica’s third album, and their second from Porto Franco (2006′s Handyman’s Honeymoon will be reissued by PF in the new year as well).
Listen to a few songs from Ramon & Jessica on their website, including “Snow Day”, which makes an appearance on Fly South.
Help Ramon & Jessica celebrate the release of Fly South on January 20th at Community Music Center, where they’ll be playing with Foxtails Brigade (8:00pm, $10 suggested donation). Check out some Ramon & Jessica videos after the jump. [More...]
