James Riotto – “Slow Down”
April 2, 2013
There’s a good chance you’ve already heard the work of James Riotto even if you don’t recognize his name right away. He sang and played bass for The Moanin Dove, has played standup bass in the studio and on tour with John Vanderslice, and as an engineer at Tiny Telephone studios, he has worked with Thao and Mirah, Kacey Johansing, Guy Fox, Geographer, DRMS, and many more. He is now releasing a solo EP entitled End of the World.
Riotto says he began recording the EP without any intention of ever releasing it to the public. “I was also going through a period of personal turmoil as I struggled to make sense of a complicated relationship,” explains Riotto. “I was making the music because I wanted to, because the ideas were there, and because it was an emotional release for me. The more time I spent on it, though, the more I became excited at the idea of getting it out into the world. By the time I finished mixing, I was sure it was some of my best work, and I realized it was silly to keep it to myself.”
It’s a good thing Riotto decided to share End of the World. So far, he has released two songs from the EP on his Bandcamp page, and both are experimental pop at its best. Riotto has assembled a band that will perform songs from the EP at Bottom of the Hill on April 27, along with DRMS and Bells Atlas. Listen to “Slow Down” below.
DRMS, James Riotto, Bells Atlas
Bottom of the Hill
April 27, 2013
9:30pm, $10
21+
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This Week in SF: Picks and a Mix for 4/1-4/7/13
April 1, 2013
Enjoy this 8tracks mix featuring local and touring bands performing in SF during the rest of this week. After the jump, find out more about when they’re all playing! For a full list of upcoming concerts in the SF Bay Area, check our Local Concert Calendar.
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Warm Soda stream new album, ‘Someone for You,’ on Paste
March 29, 2013
Released only a few days ago, Warm Soda’s debut record, Someone for You, is now available for streaming at Paste. If you’re not ready to pony up for the Oakland quartet’s record, you can listen to it here. The album is also available for purchase on Castle Face Records (which we recommend: it sounds better at a decibel level your laptop speakers can’t handle).
Fresh off SXSW, Warm Soda are currently on tour. They will be on the road until the end of April, wrapping up at Brick and Mortar and Bottom of the Hill on the 20th and 26th.
Warm Soda, White Mystery, Burnt Ones, GLITZ and a ton of other bands
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
April 20th, 2013
4:20pm, $10
Warm Soda, Phenomenauts, Emily’s Army,
Bottom of the Hill
April 26th, 2013
8:30pm, $12
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Ticket Giveaway Thursday: Lee Ranaldo, Jessica Pratt, Daedelus, Fol Chen and more
March 28, 2013
To enter this 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 once to only one contest. Winners for will be chosen at random and will be awarded one pair of tickets unless otherwise noted.
CONTEST CLOSED
Thursday, March 28th
Fol Chen, Royal Canoe, Sands @ Bottom of the Hill
The show starts at 9pm, 21+, all ages. Purchase advance tickets here.
Friday, March 29th
Lee Ranaldo, Jessica Pratt @ The Chapel
The show starts at 9pm, $15, all ages. Purchase advance tickets here.
Saturday, March 30th
Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, Alan Evans Trio @ The Independent
To win, be the first or second person to enter. Winners will receive one pair of tickets each.
The show starts at 9pm, $16, 21+. Purchase advance tickets here.
Sunday, March 31st
Daedelus, Two Fresh, Ryan Hemsworth, Samo Sound Boy @ The Independent
To win, be the first or second person to enter. Winners will receive one pair of tickets each.
The show starts at 8pm, $18, 21+. Purchase advance tickets here.
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Review: Wavves, FIDLAR @ Bottom of the Hill, 3/22/13
March 27, 2013
Both hailing from Los Angeles, Wavves and FIDLAR are probably two of the most divisive bands currently making music. Critics are torn, fans are torn: are they genuinely as immature and irresponsible as their lyrics portray? Or is it an act — a character of excess (FIDLAR > beer :: Wavves > whining) inspired by rap music’s character-driven style? The answer, as always, lies somewhere in the middle and Friday night’s sold-out show at Bottom of the Hill reminded everyone in attendance that yes, both bands intend to be, in their own way, slightly annoying. And yes, both groups write unbelievably catchy pop-garage rock songs, a style that is easy to half-assedly imitate but surprisingly difficult to deliver.
FIDLAR played a nearly identical set to their sold-out January headlining show at BOTH (which I also reviewed) and, while the crowd wasn’t quite as rowdy (leading singer Zac Carper to reminiscence about the “fucking insanity” of their last San Francisco show), the band’s energy never faltered. They opened with the whiplash-inducing “Cheap Beer” and never let down from there, running through most of their self-titled debut album, including an inspired, head-banging version of “Cocaine,” and a set-closing rendition of the unemployed-slacker anthem “Wake Bake Skate.” I overheard a few audience members mention that they only bought at ticket to see FIDLAR — fair enough, but I don’t think the band has proven themselves multi-dimensional enough to overtake the headlining Kings of the Beach.
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This Week in SF: Picks and a Mix for 3/25-3/31/13
March 25, 2013
Enjoy this 8tracks mix featuring local and touring bands performing in SF during the rest of this week. After the jump, find out more about when they’re all playing! For a full list of upcoming concerts in the SF Bay Area, check our Local Concert Calendar.
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Cool Ghouls releasing debut LP on Empty Cellar, playing release party tonight at Brick & Mortar Music Hall
March 25, 2013
San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls are gaining some serious momentum so far in 2013. Shortly after the New Year, they may or may not have played a brilliant gig in the Sutro Baths caves that yours truly and another blogger may or may not have attended. Next up was a Noise Pop gig supporting scene mainstays Sonny Smith and Tim Cohen at Bottom of the Hill. Now, the quartet is set to release their debut LP, a self-titled effort that is due out April 23 on Arvel Hernandez’s Empty Cellar Records, and they’re celebrating tonight at Brick & Mortar Music Hall.
The forthcoming record, Cool Ghouls, is a collection of tracks that had been played at shows before the band headed into the recording studio. “The recording process was essentially a matter of putting down the songs as they had already existed in a live setting,” bassist Pat Thomas recently told me over email.
The band’s three primary songwriters – Thomas along with guitarists Pat McDonald and Ryan Wong – all write songs on their own, and then bring their ideas to the group for the full treatment. “The ones that I sing lead on are the ones that I write; the ones that Pat and Ryan sing lead on are the ones that Pat and Ryan write,” Thomas wrote. “Most of the time, the songwriter has guitar riffs, vocal harmonies, drumbeats, etc. in mind before bringing the song to the band. But ultimately, the arrangement for every song is figured out as a group, jamming together in our rehearsal space.”
It was the band’s strong songwriting skills that caught the attention of some local mainstays, who eventually played major roles in the self-titled record’s release.
The album was recorded by the aforementioned Mr. Cohen (of The Fresh & Onlys and Magic Trick fame), who the members of Cool Ghouls met through their label’s founder. “Arvel hooked us up with Tim. We showed Arvel some recordings that we were hoping to press on vinyl (six of those recording ended up being the Alright cassette), and he told us he didn’t think they were vinyl caliber, fidelity-wise. Then he offered to set up recording time with Tim and release those recordings on Empty Cellar.”
No tracks off Cool Ghouls have been officially released yet, but you can still catch a preview of the record, a track called “Witch’s Game”, which the band previously included on their 2011 Sneek Peek release. It’s a proper dose of the band’s trademark ’60s-influenced surf/psych rock ‘n’ roll sound. Listen below:
Cool Ghouls won’t slow down after the new LP drops – no, they have already begun recording their follow up album. “For our next record, which we hope to start recording before the summer, the process will probably be similar,” Thomas said. “Ideally, I would like to have more experimentation/exploration while recording this time around. And these songs aren’t as developed/show-tested as the last ones, so they’ll be more malleable as we lay them to tape.”
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Ticket Giveaway Wednesday: The Joy Formidable, Ducktails, Murs and more
March 20, 2013
…and we’re back with another Wednesday ticket roundup for shows happening across the Bay this week. See something you like? Get at us at contest@thebaybridged.com.
To enter this 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 once to only one contest. Winners for will be chosen at random and will be awarded one pair of tickets unless otherwise noted.ALL CONTESTS CLOSED
Friday, March 22nd
The Joy Formidable, Guards, Fort Lean @ The Fillmore
The show starts at 9pm, $32.50, all ages. Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Friday, March 22nd
Ducktails, Mark McGuire, Magic Trick @ The Chapel
The show starts at 9pm, $15, all ages. Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Friday March 22nd
Murs, Prof, Fashawn, Black Cloud Music @ Slim’s
The show starts at 9pm, $21, all ages. Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Saturday, March 23rd
Black Star @ The Fox Theater
The show starts at 8pm, $39.50, all ages. Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Saturday, March 23rd
Peter Case, Deep Ellum @ The Chapel
The show starts at 9pm, $20, all ages. Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Saturday, March 23rd
Matt Costa, Carly Ritter, Sam Outlaw @ Slim’s
The show starts at 9pm, $15, all ages. Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Saturday, March 23rd
Milk Music, Gun Outfit, Neon Piss @ Bottom of the Hill
The show starts at 9:30pm, $10, all ages. Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Wednesday, March 27th
Living Colour @ The Fillmore
The show starts at 8pm, $39.50, all ages. Click here to purchase advance tickets.
