Hellaween and the local scene

I realize we're still a few days out, but since Halloween is on a Wednesday this year and this last weekend was the unofficial but publicly understood time to dress up and get weird, I figured I'd wish everyone on the interwebs a happy and safe All Hallow's Eve. This year I dressed up as pop art by Roy Lichtenstein--a risky choice considering the make up-heavy look could have gotten extremely messy/scary throughout the night.

Anyways, I've recently (finally) confronted the conclusion that I need to immerse myself into the local music scene for so many reasons, not least of which is the fact that this is my city and music is one of my favorite things to write about. After talking to my friend Peter of Down and Outlaws, a raw, blues-tinged rock and roll band that gorgeously and appropriately employs a harmonica, he kindly offered to keep me in the loop about the better local shows going on in the city. He also told me that at any given show I'd meet a bunch of people who either play in other bands or know of another band I should be familiar with. That claim proved entirely true after I caught a Down and Outlaws set at 50 Mason last Tuesday. The night just happened to be a weekly event called Scared to Dance, which features three or four rock bands hand-picked by Nic, 50 Mason's bartender and vocalist/guitarist of Zodiac Death Valley. Nic was nice enough to tell me a little about the bands he chooses for Scared to Dance, and from what I've gathered, he's very proud of bringing real rock bands together for a FREE night of music. I'll definitely be making it out to another Tuesday night at 50 Mason, and if you're looking to catch some live music in an laid back bar setting you should too! Did I mention it was free?

In the next few weeks, expect a lot of local band coverage because a lot of rad stuff is going on.

Last thursday, I caught the EP release party for an americana indie rock band named Brother Pacific and currently reviewing its Give it to Me EP for the eventseekr blog. Check in sometime later this week for the link!

Also, Down and Outlaws are playing a show at El Rio on November 4. The band makes some seriously raw, loud tunes and the venue has the best back patio ever, so come out! In the meantime, here's a video of the band playing "Back into Your Arms."

Mac Demarco VS Mac Demarco

Former member of the garage outfit Makeout Videotape, Mac Demarco creates a blend of lo-fi and experimental music inspired by post punk of the 1980s. He's known for his youthful energy, and for taking on two different personas: Demarco the dreamy baritone crooner and Demarco the droning goofball/unabashed creeper. Here are two tracks that fit each archetype. Decide for yourself which one is which...

Moon Duo: Wooden Shjips' guitarist Ripley Johnson's side project!

Moon Duo is a San Francisco-based project featuring Ripley Johnson of the Wooden Shjips and Sanae Yamada. Armed only with a guitar and keyboard, the band creates krautrock-inspired psychedelic garage stuff that's dreamy and creepy at the same time. I like it, and if you like the fuzZz of the Wooden Shjips and a lo-fi aesthetic, I think you'll like it too.

Although the band created a light, expansive sound on its 2011 debut album Mazes, Moon duo offers much darker tones on its 2012 effort, Circles. Weighed down by a fair amount of reverb and processed guitar, the record is a product of the winter Moon Duo spent isolated in the Rocky Mountains. The band hasn't completely lost its buoyant energy though, as there is as much ridiculous charm packed into the album as there are sinister vibes. "Sleepwalker," the lead single and first track off of Circles, sets the tone for the entire album. The video is an absolute masterpiece. It makes me grin and grimace at the same time.

Kurt

I was a three years old when Kurt Cobain died on April 4, 1994. I don't remember when the news broke, or the hysteria that ensued afterwards, but I do remember the first time i heard Nirvana's Unplugged album. His version of "The Man Who Sold the World," is my favorite take on the song (yeah, it IS better than Bowie's) and I know that if I was born a decade earlier, I would have been among the millions of fans mourning and celebrating the life of one of the greatest artists to ever live. Even though he wilted under the mainstream spotlight, he ultimately paved the way for the various incarnations of alternative rock that exists in the music scene today. And he was a total babe.

Meanwhile, in Russia... a street performer by the name of Nikolay Petrovsky is the focus of a video that's been circling the interwebs over the last month. The Siberian musician's voice sounds eerily close to the beautifully strained vocals of the pioneer of grunge and the last great rock star, Kurt Cobain. Here he is singing "Pennyroyal Tea." Click play and have a listen!

And just for good measure...

FIDLAR: album news and tour info!!

album art from FIDLAR's upcoming LP

One of my favorite live acts of the year has been the garage punk band FIDLAR. The four-piece band of misfits kills it during shows with its loud, abrasive, substance-inspired catalog of songs and always matches its audience's energy. So if you like whiskey and cheap beer, check out FIDLAR's US and European tour schedule to see if the bands stopping in your city. The tour tonight! So brace yourself, San Diego.

10-08 San Diego, CA - House of Blues **
10-09 Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre **
10-10 Ventura, CA - Ventura Theatre **
10-26 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo ^
10-31 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues %
11-01 Houston, TX - House of Blues %
11-02 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11-04 Dallas, TX - House of Blues +
11-08 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern +
11-09 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore +
11-12 Salt Lake City, UT - The Grand +
11-14 Columbia, MO - Mojo's
11-15 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant #
11-16 Cincinnati, OH - Bogarts #
11-17 Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall #
11-19 Chicago, IL - House of Blues #
11-21 Cleveland, OH - Cambridge Room #
11-23 Phadelphia, PA - TLA #
11-27 New York, NY - Irving Plaza #
11-28 Boston, MA - House of Blues #
12-01 Paris, France - Espace B
12-02 Utrecht, Holland - Le Guess Who Festival
12-04 London, England - Dingwalls
12-06 Manchester, England - Soup Kitchen

** with the Hives
^ with Pangea, the Shrine and Meat Market
+ with Delta Spirit
# with Delta Spirit and JEFF the Brotherhood

FIDLAR's debut LP will be out in the States on January 22nd and on February 4th in the UK. Here's the leading track off the album-- "Cheap Beer" !!

nu record: Holograms by Holograms.

Floating somewhere between 1970s punk and new wave of the 1980s, the Swedish rock band Holograms makes some dance-worthy post punk that pairs nicely with the recent heat wave we're having in San Francisco. I seriously dig the band's song "Fever," and if you like straight-forward guitar music and analog synthesizers I think you'll dig it too! The Indian summer is finally here so, even though we're in the middle of the work week, kick back for a moment, press play and let this seditious and energetic quartet fill your mind with visions of your last substance-induced summer.

Holograms just released its eponymous self-titled LP. The limited edition vinyl is CLEAR and soooo rad. Grab a copy here!

By the way...

 

Photographic evidence that it DOES get hotter than 65 in this city. SIDE NOTE :: I hear people complaining about SF's grey weather alllll the time. I do it probably on a daily basis. But anytime it gets above 75, San Franciscans are officially out of their element and don't know what to do with themselves. So instead of complaining about the cold we wine about the heat. But then we get over it, buy a twelve pack and go sit in a park all day. It's a beautiful thing. If you haven't spent a sunny day at Dolores / Duboce / Golden Gate Park (take your pick--we have plenty of little pocket parks), I highly suggest you pack some beer, snacks and cash for the truffle man (if you're going to Dolo) and get yourself to patch of green grass before October is over.

nu record: Come of Age by The Vaccines.

Ever since I first heard the Vaccines' indie rock tune "A Lack of Understanding," I've been captivated by the band's infectious sound and lead vocalist Justin Young's magnetic vocals. The four Londoners who make up The Vaccines captured a post-punk sound packed full of youthful energy on their band's 2011 debut album What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?, and after hearing the record all the way through for the first time, I knew I had found my next group to obsess over. I hadn't been so taken with an album since Arcade Fire's The Suburbs, and several of the album's tracks have secured a spot on my daily playlist that is usually reserves for my all-time, good-no-matter-what-mood-i'm-in list of songs (ie. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" by Radiohead, Nirvana's Unplugged version of "The Man Who Sold the World,""Engine Driver" by the Decemberists, etc. etc.)

Tomorrow is the American release of the Vaccines' sophomore effort Come of Age, and as I noted in this review of the No Hope EP, the band turned the volume way up this time around. Retreating a bit from post-punk and leaning into the realm of punk rock, the band takes on the attitude of a classic, self-centered misfit youth and injects it with a healthy dose of sarcasm. The Vaccines poke fun at that angsty stage of life but also validates it, asserting that those unsatisfied and bored feelings are not exclusively reserved for lonely high school students. Young's vocal performance is less perfect in Come of Age, but fittingly so for this rawer and more intimate record. Check out the opening track of Come of Age, fittingly titled "No Hope," below!

And for those who haven't heard What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?, here's the track that made me fall in love with the four-piece outfit in the first place.