Photos & Video: Sixth Annual El Rio Big Time Freedom Fest 2011
July 6, 2011
Monday’s Sixth Annual El Rio Big Time Freedom Fest was a really, really good time, and Low Red Land‘s final performance ever was appropriately heartfelt and nostalgia-inducing. Perhaps a little more surprisingly, considering how long it’s been since the trio last played together, they sounded as tight and powerful as ever, and we briefly considered rushing the stage to beg them to reconsider the many new endeavors that necessitate the band’s dissolution.
Instead, Low Red Land’s set served as a fitting end to a day that also included great performances from John Vanderslice, Tartufi, Walking in Sunlight, Finn Riggins, and Whisperlights. Check out videos and photos from the Freedom Fest below.
John Vanderslice – “Pale Horse” from The Bay Bridged on Vimeo.
Low Red Land – “Battles” from The Bay Bridged.
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Noise Pop: Way Behind the Music @ The Makeout Room 2/24/11
February 25, 2011
Anthony Bedard (Hank IV) at Way Behind the Music, Noise Pop 2011 from The Bay Bridged on Vimeo.
By far the quirkiest event on Noise Pop’s schedule this year was Way Behind the Music, a showcase of readings of musicians’ memoirs by local musicians, writers and comedians, sponsored by the literary festival Litquake. With such a curious description, choosing Way Behind the Music as my one night off from live music was destiny. Work being read and performed came from a variety of authors — from Marilyn Manson to Gene Simmons and Justin Bieber — and the execution went above and beyond the imaginable limits of humor. I ended up leaving early because my bladder couldn’t handle it, and I scurried off to another bar for a potty break on my walk home.
I mean, it’s one thing to recognize that these celebrated musicians (or rather, celebrities of the music industry) have such fucked up stories to begin with. But it’s another thing to deliver such deranged memories from the stage, acting as if you are the mother of Backstreet Boy AJ McLean, or a KISS member who at one point joined Cher’s aristocratic celeb social circle. Each performer made their chosen memoir sound like a must-read.
Way Behind the Music host Anthony Bedard (local musician from the band Hank IV) shared excerpts from press releases submitted to the Hemlock over the years, where he has worked as a booker. This I could really relate to. As a recipient of thousands of press releases over the years, I’ve tried to keep my merciless judgments to myself; nonetheless, I felt quite liberated hearing the fun-poking coming from someone else. Bedard coined a hilarious term for the genre of publicity submissions: “folder rock.” It refers to the wasteful packaging and paraphernalia that comes with every band’s PR materials, an eco-hazard saved by the invention of MySpace, Bedard claims.
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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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Video & Photos: Farewell to Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (1997-2010)
December 7, 2010
It starts and ends here in San Francisco for Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, the musical diary of Owen Ashworth which closed its covers this Sunday evening at Bottom of the Hill. What started as a simpler venture into electronic pop and nostalgic imagery, the early songs referencing San Francisco’s beloved bars and transit systems, matured and moved as Owen did geographically. Though he’s resided in Chicago for some years now, Ashworth concluded the project where it started on its thirteenth anniversary (first show ever was in 1997), and not onstage alone, but with friends. The Donkeys were his backing band for the second half of Ashworth’s set; additionally, there were appearances by Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon/Red House Painters) and Owen’s longtime friend and musical influence, Jason Quever of Papercuts.
The set commenced in the quintessential Casiotone way: just Owen and his undersized table of magical knobs, with focus and sentiment toward creating a memorable last performance of these songs. The crowd was given a great survey of old numbers, though they weren’t performed in a routine fashion, but often reinvented or cranked up to rattling volumes. There was also an encore, and the last two Casiotone songs to ever be performed were “Toby Take a Bow” and his cover of Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia.”
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Video: Tennis, Eulogies at Hotel Utah 11/14
November 18, 2010
That many people walked out of the Hotel Utah Sunday night without warm fuzzies, a Tennis 7″ or two in hand, or the conclusion that he or she had just discovered their new “band to watch,” is highly doubtful. It was packed to the brim with people excited to see Tennis’ first San Francisco show, just as I had expected. For me, this meant finding a spot to sit on the floor down in front, limited to bobbing my head and no chance of cutting a rug. But behind me, I saw those little sardines swaying back and forth.
Tennis trudges their surf-pop on to the Midwest through December, wrapping up tour in the UK in January (all dates on MySpace).
More photos and videos of Tennis and Eulogies after the jump!
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Review: Shows 28 & 29 with Will Johnson in the living room
September 24, 2010
I shot this video in Texas in 2004. It was my last intimate encounter with Will Johnson and the first time I had heard “Nothin’ But Godzilla.” I’ve seen Will with Centro-matic and South San Gabriel, indoors, outdoors and in the rain.
This week he came to my neighborhood, on his current tour, which is house shows only! Show number 28 took place in Oakland and the 29th in SF. Will was joined by Anders Parker, former Varnaline frontman. Both told great stories of broken down trucks; Will spoke of dog sex, and Anders drank wine and had Neil Young moments as he sang of “stayin’ up all night.” Will drank beer and pulled out sweet renditions of “Flashes and Cables” and yes, “Nothin’ But Godzilla.” We drank our own blend of whiskeys and hung out in the kitchen with them, like we were in high school, giggling nervously, wondering why there are not more living room tours.
Thanks to the good people at The Undertow Music Collective for putting it together and sneaking me in.
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Videos & Photos: Grass Widow, Ganglians @ Mission Creek Music Festival 2010
July 21, 2010
Mission Creek Music Festival – Grass Widow 7/17/10 from The Bay Bridged on Vimeo.
Mission Creek Music Festival – Ganglians 7/17/10 from The Bay Bridged on Vimeo.
Photos by: MBL
This year’s outdoor portion of the Mission Creek Music Festival was again held in the southern tip of the city at McLaren Park, including performances from Miranda Lee Richards, Brian Glaze and the Night Shift (Brian Jonestown Massacre), Grass Widow, Ganglians, The Fresh & Onlys, Thorny Brocky, The William Winant Percussion Group and Teri Gender Bender.
Though the weather didn’t stand strong for a warm day, the throng of sun-hungry, summer-dressed Mission Creek-goers stuck it through to F&Os’ late afternoon set.
Ganglians were caught in traffic and had to switch set times with Grass Widow. But unperturbed by the delay, Ganglians played a great set, which included the new song in the above video.
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Review & Video: A B & the Sea, What Laura Says, So Many Wizards @ Cafe Du Nord 7/7
July 12, 2010
Local favorites A B & the Sea brought their retro pop to Cafe Du Nord last Wednesday as a part of the local showcase The Rumble. Two out-of-towners — So Many Wizards (LA) and What Laura Says (Phoenix) — kicked off the free (with RSVP) show, presented by a consortium of Noise Pop, Future Sounds and The Owl Mag.
So Many Wizards describe their music as “bedroom pop,” but I would add “late-night romantics” to that description; the trio navigates short, atmospheric songs centered on songwriter Nima Kazerouni’s forlorn lyrics. They sounded best when Kazerouni dropped his guitar and let his voice ride on the drums and bass. Their latest EP Love Songs for When You Leave Me, which they gave out for free at the show, was recorded in San Francisco at Different Fur Studios with Chris Chu (The Morning Benders).
Next up, the long-haired boys of What Laura Says capably set a different tone, evoking 70s rock and blues in both their music and aesthetic. Their music culls the ear-tugging parts of soul harmonies and blues improvisation and creatively marries them. Given their diverse instruments, from guitars and keys to vases and lutes, they are definitely a fun live band.
A B & the Sea headlined with their throwback beach pop. I first saw them play at Noise Pop this past spring and really enjoyed the band’s economy of sound and lyrics. This time around they had a more rock sound, amping up the bass and letting the guitarist rip. The heavier sound does a nice job of grounding the lightness of their tunes. They played a new song, “The Current,” that suggested there was plenty more rock to come.
