Photos: Noise Pop Opening Night Party

February 25, 2009

Photos by Nicole L. Browner

Deerhunter

Lilofee

[More...]

Written by Nicole L. Browner · Filed Under Day 1, MCMF, News, Noise Pop 2009

Live Blog: Noise Pop 2009 Opening Night Party

February 24, 2009

Deerhunter

Most of The Bay Bridged staff is headed out tonight to celebrate the start of Noise Pop 2009! Although admission was free, RSVPs went quick. But fear not, we’ll be here live blogging the event for those who couldn’t make it – or just want to relive it!

8:45pm – On our way to the Mezzanine now in a snazzy little Karmann Ghia! Can’t wait to see what the line is like.

8:53 – Waiting outside, the line is surprisingly short! Just hanging out to gather the Bay Bridged crew and then headed inside.

9:08 – Well, now we know why there was no line…everyone’s inside! It’s a madhouse in here.

9:23 – Fully equipped with libations – another half hour before the music starts. Large screens with projections of random colorful images are all around the place. Aaron Axelson of Live 105 is DJing.

9:33 – Lilofee just took the stage, a bit early.

9:38 – Playing their hit “Lock and Key.” Lead singer Kimi Recor is the focal point with lots of energy. The music reminds us of a harder New Order – with 80s synths as a base, but with more industrial sounds.

9:48 – Ben and Christian were just photographed with the Red Stripe girls. Classic moment.

9:52 – Recor’s stage energy just continues to grow, it’s pretty amazing.

10:09 – Lilofee is finished and the DJ is back on. People are scrambling, vying for their spots for Deerhunter. The crowd is officially packed straight back to the sound board.

10:10 – Deerhunter fun fact – TBB staffer just revealed that the lead singer of Deerhunter and Diplo (who are friends) share common ancestry! Little tidbit…

10:38 – Chatting with Zach of Rogue Wave and John Vanderslice. Great to see two amazing local musicians out supporting Noise Pop!

10:55 – Deerhunter just came on, through a sea of fog and blinding white lights. Now THAT’S an entrance.

11:02 – Started the set with a couple new songs. Nothing from the famed Microcastle yet, but the crowd is responding well to the songs.

11:10 – …so much so the few people in front if me are dancing like crazy. A great start to what should be another great year for Noise Pop.

11:15 – Picked up the pace and got the audience going a bit with “Nothing Ever Happened.” Sounds really great live, ending with a bit of a jam.

11:34 – Bradford Cox dedicates the next song to Harvey Milk, then clarifies “the man, not the band.”

11:41 – “Agoraphobia” is another one of the band’s great jams. The dreamy parts remind me of Atlas Sound, Cox’s excellent side project.

11:49 – The band closes out their set to strong applause from an approving crowd, but I’ve got a feeling they’ll be back for more.

11:53 – Clips of KISS’s Paul Stanley hyping up a crowd with his insane stage banter play over the speakers while the band is off stage. If you enjoy awkward hilarity, look for a compilation of Stanley stage banter that’s floating around online. It’s unbelievable.

12:10 – Okay, these guys put on one hell of a show tonight, with a loud energetic set that felt at times like I was watching the biggest band in the world. At the same time, they’re able to mix in tender moments with the anthems and spacey psych stuff. Very impressive and a great performance.

Stay tuned for a full review and photos from the event tomorrow!

Written by The Bay Bridged · Filed Under Day 1, MCMF, News, Noise Pop 2009

BAGeL Radio’s Half Dozenth Birthday Saturday at BOTH

February 6, 2009

It’s birthday season, and this Saturday our friends at BAGeL Radio will be celebrating a big one – six years! The show will feature three great local acts: Birdmonster, Railcars and Ricky Lee Robinson, plus DJ Cory of Absolutely Kosher Records.

05-bohemia-is-without-a-sea.mp3
Railcars – “Bohemia is Without a Sea”

For those who don’t know about BAGeL Radio, it’s a 24/7 radio station that plays the best new and old indie music. As 7×7 magazine described: “Listening to indie genius DJ Ted spin live at shows around town or online at his CMJ awardâ€“winning site BAGeL Radio sounds just like listening to your iPod on shuffleâ€”if your iPod had magically been filled up with stuff you always wish you owned or didnâ€™t know about yet but will later want to own.”

Indie folksters Birdmonster has been a favorite of BAGel Ted. They’ve brought their sentimental, richly orchestrated tunes throughout the Bay Area and recently to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Check out their new video for “Concrete Lights” below.

Railcars, the latest project from Aria C Jalali, has turned many heads in the bay area scene for his eclectic and experimental electronic music. His songs go from moody and mellow to dancey and noisy. Railcars will soon head to Europe for an all-month tour.

One-man band Ricky Lee Robinson made BAGel Radio’s top ten albums of 2008 with his old-timey, energy-infused rock. You won’t believe this New York transplant actually creates all of these sounds until you see him do it live.

BAGel Radio has brought us six great years of music, and we’re looking forward to the celebration. The show is at Bottom of the Hill. You can buy tickets here. 9:30, $10.

Birdmonster – “Concrete Lights”

Written by Emily Logan · Filed Under MCMF, News

Mission Creek Music Festival Official Coverage Overview

May 24, 2007

As you probably have noticed, for the last week and a half The Bay Bridged has been focused on the Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival. We made some calls, sent out some E-mails, and gathered 15 writers, photographers, and videographers to document this great local festival.

This event also marks the very first time TheBayBridged.com has ever featured bands from outside of the Bay Area. This will not be a normal occurrence, but we believe in the ideals this festival was created on and wanted to showcase as much of it as possible.

Below you will find links to all of the writing, photos, and videos we amassed throughout the festival. So enjoy and check something out you’ve never heard of or a local favorite!

Festival Show Reviews

Festival Photos

Festival Videos

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Written by Christian Cunningham · Filed Under MCMF, News

MCMAF Show Review: Pillows and Roman Ruins @ The Make-Out Room

May 23, 2007

Photo by: Reid Williams

Truthfully, I had never seen Pillows play live until this show, despite being a huge fan of Two Step, an album I’ve been replaying since our feature episode on the band over a year ago. I am quite pleased to report that the band did not disappoint, playing through a number of great songs from their debut album intermixed with a few new ones. For the band recently named “Best Musical Duo” by the East Bay Express, the set was an exhibition in how to make big sounds with only two people and a few instruments, as even the songs with more sparse instrumentation felt full thanks to Julie and Jessica’s warm, rich vocals.

On the more electric numbers, the band displayed why they don’t fit into easy classification as a folk group. The churning “Incantation,” for example, owes more to garage rock than it does folk, with its simple, effective electric guitar lines and rolling drums. To my mind, the garage comparison extends beyond the sound to the overall quality of the band. Like the best garage rock, nothing feels missing in Pillows’ music, despite the band’s minimal setup. Quite the contrary, the configuration allows the lyrical and musical details to more easily take center-stage.

Roman Ruins performed before Pillows, and delivered a set that made me want to hear more in the future. Although some of the songs on his MySpace page reminded me of the lusher side of California pop–and there were certainly some songs that went in that direction–Graham Hill’s solo performance displayed a greater variety of sounds and styles.

In a live setting, it’s a tough and, from my perspective, unenviable task to be a solo performer in a live setting, especially when some of your attention has to be directed toward coaxing interesting sounds out of the devices on-stage. While there wasn’t an explosive stage show, Hill’s melange of loops and samples kept the sound interesting. With only a single 7″ out officially, I’m curious to see where Hill takes the project in the future, as he clearly has an eye for sound layering and song construction.

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Written by Ben Van Houten · Filed Under MCMF, News, Show Coverage, Show Reviews

MCMAF Photos: Festival Closing Party @ Thee Parkside

May 23, 2007

Photos by: Cynthia Furhmann-Kelch

Miguel Z. (of The Harbours)

The Old-Fashioned Way

Pillows

Do NOT reproduce any photographs without explicit permission from The Bay Bridged

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Written by The Bay Bridged · Filed Under MCMF, Show Coverage, Show Photos

MCMAF Show Review & Video: The Music Lovers, The Hot Toddies @ the Make-Out Room

May 23, 2007

Alas, the Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival had to end. I couldn’t think of a much better way to end this eventful week of local music than by enjoying a pair of bands whose sound could not be lumped in with any local trend or scene. Both bands draw a great deal from the sounds of the past, yet each puts their own distinctive modern spin on it.

The Hot Toddies come complete with tight harmonies and unapologetic “shooby-doo-wops,” welcoming the obvious comparison to sixties female vocal groups. At the same time, they’re playing their own instruments and the lyrical content is not drenched in nostalgia. Instead, the quartet sings about the disappointment of teenage internet dating and missing your boyfriend when you’re in Seattle because, well, you’d like to “ride him like a horse without a saddle.” “Seattle” is my personal favorite, but each song – most sung with tongue firmly in cheek – is a custom-made crowd pleaser. Most importantly, it’s really, really fun, which – on a night before I must return to the confines of my office job – is just what I needed.

I’ve been following The Music Lovers rather closely since I heard them on The Bay Bridged. Under the watchful eye of frontman Teddy Edwards, the Music Lovers are performing well-crafted pop music at its finest. When the band transitions into a sea shanty, it feels totally natural. If you’re going to call yourselves the Music Lovers, you better be fucking serious – and it’s clear the band loves music and loves what they’re doing. Smiles are all around for the quintet who are also, undoubtedly, the most stylish band in the Bay, with each of their outfits complementing the next. The video posted is of a new song called “Saturday” which I thought was just absolutely fantastic.