Live this week: Bay Area Shows 7/27-8/3
July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 27:
THE DELTA MIRROR, Borneo, Here Come the Saviours @ Rickshaw Stop
Wednesday, July 28:
Bare Wires, Goodnight Loving, The Wrong Words @ The Knockout
Pocahaunted, Mi Ami, Late Young, Peaking Lights @ Rickshaw Stop
Phosphorescent, Little Wings, J. Tillman @ Bottom of the Hill
Thursday, July 29:
The Mantles (EP release), The Fungi Girls, Royal Baths @ The Knockout
Hottub, Afghan Raiders, Woodhands, Loose Shus @ Milk
Michael Musika, Zoyres, The Blank Tapes @ Viracocha
Friday, July 30:
Memoryhouse, Baths, Mountain Animal Hospital, Brown Irish @ Kuumbwa (Santa Cruz)
Bare Wires, Ty Segall, The Sandwitches @ Amnesia
Make Me, Dreamdate, Schande @ Uptown
Boy in the Bubble, Grand Lodge, Griddle @ Red Devil Lounge
Saturday, July 31:
The Love Dimension, These Hills of Gold, Nectarine Pie, The Aerosols, B and Not B @ el Rio
Sean Hayes, Judgement Day + more at the Bicycle Music Festival
Sunday, August 1:
Tartufi, Silian Rail (record release), Honeycomb @ Rickshaw Stop
Il Gato, Bill Baird, Jesse Woods @ Hemlock
Dark Dark Dark, Indianna Hale, Fight or Flight @ Amnesia
The Wrong Words – “What Went Wrong”
The Sandwitches – “Song of Songs”
Mi Ami – “Cut Men”
Michael Musika – “Playing the Violin with Broken Strings”
Il Gato – “Burning Red (demo)”
Indianna Hale – “Ode to Sleep”
Sean Hayes – “When We Fall In”
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Mi Ami becoming a duo; final SF shows as a trio 7/28 and 8/8
July 22, 2010
Mi Ami is undergoing some changes in the near future, as bassist Jacob Long is leaving the band after a few final shows. From the Thrill Jockey press release:
San Francisco band Mi Ami are coming to the end of an era and starting anew. Jacob Long has decided to part ways with Mi Ami in order to spend more time with family and pursue other hobbies. Daniel Martin-McCormick and Damon Palermo wish him well and will carry on under the moniker as a two piece for now. Over the next fews months they will be experimenting with different setups in new situations and contexts. Things are still pretty loose but we can likely expect to hear something new in the not so distant future and likely something that will sound very different than previous releases.
The band has two more local shows with Long, on Wednesday, July 28th at the Rickshaw Stop (with Peaking Lights and Pocahaunted) and Thursday, August 8th at The Knockout (with Bookworms).
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Review: Mi Ami release ‘Steal Your Face’ with Baths, Ecoli at Amnesia 4/29
May 4, 2010
Photos by Rachel Keenan and Nicole Browner
Maybe it was Amnesia’s ruby-red glow properly enveloping The Baths’ 60s tinged dark-gaze that did it. Having now seen them on multiple occasions, The Baths’ live set last Thursday validated all the flattering commentary I’d heard in passing; either way, the four-piece owned that space in both sound and sight. The Baths weld several decades of melancholy into one timelessly dreary sound, and reinforced it onstage with fashion choices of velvet blazers and monochrome stripes. The summer looks quite fortuitous for The Baths: they’ve partnered with Ty Segall, first at Bottom of the Hill late July with Grass Widow, and then on to tour the East Coast in August (dates on MySpace). Though the show had a strong opening, the subsequent Ecoli came as a left-field selection for the middle slot. The 80s-style hardcore punk band performed their art form faithfully, as the singer cleared the floor for ranting and rolling (much to Mi Ami’s guitarist’s entertainment).
For their sophomore Thrill Jockey release, Mi Ami truly celebrated the success of Steal Your Face with Amnesia packed like a dedicated sardine can. The album’s single “Latin Lover” behaves as the most dynamic and therefore enjoyable song in their live set — keeping in sync, the way most of Mi Ami’s songs do, to jungle time. Daniel’s effeminate groans turn violent, somehow above the other chaotic rhythms, then exit the song to conclude with what might as well be the symphony of space battle from an 80s video game. And with that kind of experience to offer, Mi Ami will forever have the live show as their gateway for new admirers. It’s too easy be sucked into all three supercharged instruments, colliding against each other as if in a particle accelerator.
Slightly contrary to the live show, however, the compositional decisions behind Steal Your Face suggest that some intensities are better enjoyed in moderation. Listening to the album is a more linear experience than it is chaotic. Thoughtfully arranged, the opener “Harmonics (Genius of Love)” is brash enough to precede the climactic “Latin Lover,” before traveling through well inserted lulls, tempo changes, and stylistic peaks to the album’s superb two closers. Steal Your Face is an EP by definition of its 6-song limit, flushed out with an ambient quality unlike many of the dance-punk masterpieces of the past. Alongside some of the other catalog additions from currently popular roster members (Future Islands, High Places, Javelin), Thrill Jockey has acquired a gem out of San Francisco to add to their jewelry case.
Photos after the jump: [More...]
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Weekend Mix: 4/29-5/3
April 29, 2010
Thursday: Mi Ami (record release), The Baths, Ecoli @ Amnesia (9pm, $8)
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Mi Ami – “Cut Men”
Friday: Rogue Wave, Man/Miracle @ The Fillmore (8pm, $19)
Rogue-Wave-Good-Morning.mp3
Rogue Wave – “Good Morning”
Saturday: Maus Haus, White Cloud, Rafter @ Bottom of the Hill (10pm, $10)
GALAPAGOS.mp3
White Cloud – “Galapagos (demo)”
Sunday: Tempo No Tempo, Dinowalrus @ Crepe Place (Santa Cruz, 8pm)
Kilometer.mp3
Tempo No Tempo – “Kilometer”
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Review: High Places, Mi Ami, Protect Me @ Rickshaw 3/24
March 31, 2010
Photos by: Rachel Keenan
Weeknights can be tough on the concertgoer, and pushing the time limit you’ll allow yourself to stay out often requires absorbing enough energy from the band onstage just to stay awake. It was no surprise, though, that the middle act last Wednesday at the Rickshaw had my interest piqued: the noisy trio Mi Ami, based out of the uncharted jungles of San Francisco.
In an increasingly stratified music scene, where new niche genres come in fast and strong and leave little space for others, quality post-punk almost feels like a lost art. Mi Ami ably reclaims a lot of that forgotten territory, reeling in worldwide fandom and at the Rickshaw, a very ecstatic front-and-center male dancer in particular. The band’s live getup is a sight to see just as much as it is to hear. They succeed in melding three distinct styles — gutting tribal dance beats, sludgy bass grooves and shrill, reverb spasms on guitar — but I think a purer isolation of each element would sound just as good.
This weekend, Mi Ami will be playing a house show with LA’s Pocahaunted (who once counted Bethany of Best Coast as a member) at BayArea51 (8:30pm, $5, more details on MySpace). Mi Ami’s second release on Thrill Jockey, the Steal Your Face LP, comes out next Tuesday. To read more about Mi Ami, visit the trustworthy Dusted Magazine.
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Mi Ami LP out next week, support High Places Wednesday @ Rickshaw Stop
March 23, 2010
Mi Ami and High Places (LA) are both headed to the Rickshaw Stop this Wednesday to support their newest Thrill Jockey releases with LA’s Smell allstars, Protect Me (8pm, $12). While High Places’ High Places vs. Mankind is out today, Mi Ami’s Steal Your Face LP has been announced to drop April 6.
The Steal Your Face LP will include “Latin Lover” (featured below), plus five other songs embodying Mi Ami’s loud, erratic style of avant-garde. Mi Ami has done a fine job of creating a sound that you can’t quite put your finger on, but applies an anthropological wonderment to dance-punk and noise. This EP will be Mi Ami’s second Thrill Jockey release, and will include a supporting tour through the Midwest, a record release show at home April 29 (details TBA), and a trip to Europe this spring (dates on MySpace).
As I plan to pick up High Places vs. Mankind Wednesday at the show, it’s fair to make some predictions — as “On Giving Up” insinuates, High Places’ newest batch of material maintains their experimental side of arrangement, but orbits dub-dance rhythmics more than before.
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High Places – “On Giving Up”
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Dame Satan -> Sands, @ El Rio Sat. with Mi Ami + 3 Leafs
February 3, 2010
Sands (formerly known as Dame Satan) is playing El Rio Saturday (9pm, $7), smoothing out the sounds of the evening with the mellower side of psychedelic. They’re up with 3 Leafs (mentioned back in December) and recent Thrill Jockey signees, Mi Ami, who recently posted April national tour dates on their MySpace.
DameSatan_Dawn_and_Delta.mp3
Sands – “Dawn and Delta”
Sands has undergone more retrofit than just the name change in December; for this show they’re bringing two guests on board: Sam Coe (Two Sheds, Low Flying Owls, Seventeen Evergreen) on drums and their friend Phil from DC on keys. After this weekend of shows, Sands heads to Sacramento’s Hangar Studios (Devil Makes Three, Devendra Banhart, The Mumlers) to record 5 new songs.
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Live This Month: December 2009 (Podcast #192)
December 1, 2009
Stream the episode:
Every month, we dedicate the first week’s podcast to highlighting some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing soon in the San Francisco Bay Area. We’ve got ten great bands playing some excellent shows this month, so head out and see some live music!
About the bands:
Califone‘s (“Funeral Singers”) All My Friends Are Funeral Singers is their first album in three years. On Monday, December 7th, they’ll be at the Great American Music Hall for a special multimedia performance.
San Francisco’s Sic Alps (“L. Mansion”) have a couple of upcoming shows this month. They’ll be at the Hemlock Tavern, with Magik Markers and Wiggwaum, and at Amnesia on New Year’s Eve.
Costa Mesa’s The Growlers (“Swallowed Whole”) recently released their debut 12″, Are You In Or Out. Catch them with Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band and My First Earthquake at the Rickshaw Stop on Wednesday, December 2nd.
III is the new album from Espers (“Caroline”). The folk-rock band will be at The Independent on Thursday, December 10th, with Wooden Shjips and Colossal Yes.
Amores Vigilantes (“Millions of Brazilians”) celebrate the release of their debut CD at Cafe Du Nord on Thursday, December 17th. Scrabbel, Seventeen Evergreen and DJ Neil Martinson join them at the show.
