Dear Readers, As you've probably noticed, I have been very sporadic with posts and photography over the past few months. The reason; I am Active Duty Coast Guard and have been deployed to work in Portsmouth, NH on the CGC Tahoma. I have been working for the Coast Guard for over 11 years now and there's no turning back now. My job has provided the flexibility for me to maintain this website, travel to concert festivals, take concert photography, host a successful comedy variety show, and collaborate with some great personal heroes of mine, both musical and comedic. Now it's time to pay my [...]
Dark, gritty, and heavy on the shadows...I'm talking about the Brick & Mortar's stage lighting. But that could easily be used to describe Emily Jane White's recent US-release Ode To Sentience . This show was special, mainly due to the fact that Emily decided to play her entire album from start to finish for the lucky audience. She was even nice enough to tack on an intimate version of Wild Tigers I Have Known from her 2009 debut, Dark Undercoat . She is one of a kind... MP3: Emily [...]
You are cordially invited to the last Snob Theater showcase at The Dark Room Theater. After over two years of some of the most unique and sensational comedic and musical performances, Snob Theater will be taking an extended hiatus. So to bring this show to a close, we have brought back some of our biggest supporters of our show as kind of an "All-Star" line up of comedians and musicians that have been with us since the beginning. We have brought back the hilarious Chris Thayer (Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Funny Shits), the [...]
Enjoy this appropriately gorgeous video for Bowerbirds ‘ “ Overcome With Light ”. The band’s latest album, The Clearing , is out now via Dead Oceans . MP3: Bowerbirds - In The Yard from The Clearing (2012) [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
With a kind of Jonathan Richman style charm and demeanor added to the backdrop of an experimental yet modern electro-dub beat, Exray's did a swell job at making sure the room was aware of their unique brand of off kilter pop music. Celebrating the release of Trust A Robot (out June 26th on CD/MP3/Cassette Tape) the band drifted through tracks like the simplistic and spacious Yellow Light and the deeply psychedelic Ancient Thing . Now let's see what happens when they take this album on the road; I foresee positive feedback. [...]
In addition to this awesomely odd video, our own Grass Widow have scheduled their record release show on Friday, July 20 at the Rickshaw Stop. In the meantime, order the vinyl or mp3s here , or the cassette tape here . MP3: Grass Widow - Goldilocks Zone from Internal Logic (2012) [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Sydney based synth-pop types Circle have released a dramatic and well mooded video & track entitled Fashion Me a Drum . From their upcoming August 8th via Monday Records debut release, The Middle. Keep an eye out...
So as probably very few of you know, Destroyer created not only my favorite album of 2011 but one of my most obsessed about records of all time. There's something simplistic and meaningful about Kaputt that drew me in like no other album I've listened to. It was like Bacon & Eggs; basic by design but you keep returning to it because it's tied to something you find familiar...plus it's fucking delicious. So I was quite excited to see Dan Bejar and Co. take the Fillmore stage and recreate these songs that I've identified with. Plus with my recent discovery [...]
OPENING FOR: Destroyer at The Fillmore WHAT TIME? 9PM Sharp. WHEN? Tuesday, June 5th 2012 (Tomorrow) WHY SHOULD I GO? Although he's been compared to everyone from Tim Buckley to Vanguard-era Skip James to Fred Neil, with Impossible Spaces , it's clear that Sandro Perri , with his brilliant experimental guitar playing and innate sense of melody, is one of those rare and special talents who defy comparison and compartmentalization. His deft ability to create accessible experimental guitar pop [...]
You are cordially invited to another classy night of music and humor hosted by none other than Snob Theater. This night of smart humor and brilliant music will be accompanied by Dhaya Lakshminarayanan (SF Sketchfest, High School Quiz Show, NPR), Karl Hess (Montreal Just For Laughs, G4 TV, Bridgetown Comedy Festival), Mike Drucker (wrote for SNL, The Onion, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), and the amazing Rory Scovel (Comedy Central's The Half Hour, John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show, CONAN). And of course our musical guests will include dark [...]
I entered the slightly packed Regency Ballroom with minimal knowledge of what Yann Tiersen is like in a live setting. All I knew were his heartbreaking and simplistic compositions for the films Amélie and Good Bye Lenin . I did have a few tracks from 20102s Dust Lane , but I don't remember if I particularly enjoyed it enough to return to it. After carefully doing my research on his recent album, Skyline , I realized his non-soundtrack material is significantly different but no less engaging and cinematic. Like a Villain [...]
A few weeks ago I had the privilege to witness two extraordinary bands play the classy and echoing halls of The Palace of Fine Arts. Having seem Jonsi (of Sigur Ros) and The Books dominate this stage already, I was confident that both the mighty Explosions in the Sky and Books guitarist Nick Zammuto's aptly named new project Zammuto would mesh well with this elegant and seated venue. Zammuto Zammuto Zammuto It took a few songs before [...]
I've seen my fair share of the Bay Area's own WATERS perform at some of San Francisco's most prestigious concert venues and Van Pierszalowski always surprises. If you've been lucky enough to witness Delta Spirit live, you'd know this is a perfect line-up for May 11th at The Fillmore. So show up early and see these guys rock your gorgeous face off! Keep in mind that WATERS' debut full length was released last year and is a healthy addition to anyones music library. Buy it now . MP3: [...]
Finally! Lets wrap up this party of post about the festival I attended two months ago. Let's get something straight though before I describe the conclusion to my festivities; SXSW is more than just an interactive festival of music, film, and social media advances, it's a social experience on several different levels. Yes there is free live music (minus official shows), free beer, free food, and free transportation (see Ray-Ban Taxi), but what makes SXSW is the adventure of it all. Even though you're being bombarded with all sorts of corporate messages and absurdly ridiculous marketing techniques (see Giant [...]
I'll keep it short as Brown Bird's set was exactly that. If you haven't heard of the RI/Maine duo, it's about time you put down that Mumford & Sons album and list to what gritty folk rock can really sound like. With David Lamb at acoustic guitar in hand and cellist Morganeve Swain, the band displays passionate and intelligent songs of adventure, tear jerking stories of loss, and psychedelic journeys through the human mind only a seasoned mountain man would understand. With the foot stomping grandeur of Bilgewater from last year's Salt to Salt , the fierce [...]
"What's that Shawn? You haven't finished talking about SXSW?" No I haven't Mr. Made-Up-Person, I have not. It's called "being super busy with stuff." Now that those things are done, I can wrap this shit up and move on to other stuff. What do you say? Wanna read about a festival that happened two months ago? Yes? Okay one person, I shall! K.Flay Band : K.Flay Venue : Red Eyed Fly Thoughts : Going off my [...]
Ladies and gentlemen! Snob Theater will be celebrating two years of showcasing the best in Bay Area based music and stand-up comedy on April 27th at The Dark Room Theater! This night of smart humor and brilliant music will be accompanied by Snob Theater alumni (and performers at our first show) Jules Posner and Natasha Muse ; as well as the brilliant Brendan Lynch . In addition, the amazingly talented James Adomian ( Comedy Bang Bang , Last Comic Standing) will grace the [...]
We are giving away a pair of tickets to the Naked and Famous show with Vacationer on April 21st at the Warfield . All you have to do is leave a comment of 3 WORDS on this post of why you deserve these tickets and we will pick the winner on April 19th (Tomorrow!). In the meantime, check out these amazing and high production value videos as well as the Co-Pilots Remix (Russell Lissack of Bloc Party) of No Way . [...]
I honestly thought by this time I would be physically and mentally exhausted from the past two days of non-stop music, walking, and BBQ pork. But I guess it was the sheer excitement from what this specific day had in store that kept me going. My feet were already starting to hurt though, despite bringing comfortable shoes. That's my major problem with this festival; people will tell you to wear comfortable shoes but you could be wearing those ugly Bare Foot Sports Shoes and by Thursday I can guarantee you'll be wishing you had a Segway to get you around [...]
At first glance, this line-up seems to be pretty spot on for fans of both bands. You have Dry The River's explosive power rock anthems and the subtle communal folk efforts of Bowerbirds . Seems like a good mix if you think about it. However, I was concerned about at the energy balance being a bit off that night. You see, Dry The River is a more energetic band live and Bowerbirds is way more low-key. So you can understand my concern over whether or not Bowerbirds were going to be able to hold it together after [...]
kata rokkar...
Top 10 MP3s of the Week (5/24)
Earl Sweatshirt ft. Mac Miller – Guild
Disclosure – When A Fire Starts to Burn
Daft Punk: When anonymity goes wrong
