I'm completely obsessed with Daptones Records, an indie soul label cranking out amazing new music from modern-day soul acts, most notably Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. I was looking for some pics of the outside their studio, an old brick house in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and came across a video tour of the studio posted on Wire to the Ear.
No, it's not in San Francisco, but it is awesome.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
25 Feb 2009: Stephen Malkmus
25 February 2009
Stephen Malkmus
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell Street (btwn Polk & Larkin) [Map]
I went into this show with low expectations, not because I thought it wouldn't be good, but because I'm a huge Pavement fan and Malkmus has long moved on to his Jicks material. Going to a Malkmus show hoping to hear a set riddled with Pavement's greatest hits is a great way to set yourself up for disappointment. There has been one famous show (famous to Pavement fans, anyway) with the Jicks, in 2003, where they played all Pavement songs in chronological order of their release. It's been called "The Milwaukee Show." As far as I know, such a thing has not happened since.
Yet—and much to the chagrin of a couple of friends who arguably love Pavement even more than I do but skipped the show expecting Malkmus to try out new Jicks songs—Malkmus played a mostly Pavement set. Maybe it was Noise Pop, or maybe it was all the buzz a year ago about a potential Pavement reunion. Or maybe he just felt like taking those of us who are old enough to remember when Pavement was a band on a trip down a shady memory lane. Regardless, Malkmus gave the Pavement fans in the room something to talk about for a long time to come.
Malkmus came out with his MacBook and explained that since he was unable to find a pen backstage he had to type the setlist. I suck at writing down setlists in general, but in this case I was completely unprepared for what was happening, so I must credit Hippies Are Dead for recording a reliable setlist. Malkmus opened with "Harness Your Hopes," the B-side of Pavement's "Spit on a Stranger" EP. I thought this was a fluke. Next came "Us," a Malkmus & the Jicks track and "Blue Arrangements," a Silver Jews song. After the song ended, Malkmus muttered "That was the Silver Jews. They broke up. All we can do now is mine their catalog." Sadness.
With the exception of "Pink India," the next five songs were all Pavement: "Spit on A Stranger," "Starlings of the Slipstream," "Fin," and "Range Life," a song to which everyone in the room knew all the words. I no longer thought the first Pavement song was a fluke. He returned to the Jicks catalog for "Real Emotional Trash," back to Pavement for "Loretta's Scars," threw in a cover, then Pavement's "Lions (Linden)" and "Freeze the Saints," another Jicks song. The rest of the set went like this: "Shoot the Singer" (Pavement), "Zurich is Stained" (Pavement), "Heaven is a Truck" (Pavement), "Vanessa from Queens" (Jicks)," and "Here" (Pavement).
At some point during the middle of the set Malkmus broke a guitar string and spent four minutes replacing it with the wrong string, a mistake he blamed on nerves and the high quality of the pot the kids in the front row were smoking. He borrowed Kelley Stoltz's guitar for the next song while the stage crew restrung his, but instead of taking his back, finished the set on Stoltz's Gibson.
The encore started with two hilarious but oddly great covers. First, O'Jays' "Love Train," then "Emotional Rescue" by the Rolling Stones. Refusing several requests shouted from the audience because they'd be almost impossible to play acoustic, Malkmus decided to close with "Summer Babe."
This was admittedly the first time I've seen Malkmus live and I got really, really lucky. I can't remember the last time I was at a show where so many people shouted so many lyrics. It was a Pavement sing-along. He is the kind of performer who knows that his audience is on the verge of worship and appreciates it, but also seems to be somehow gracious about it.
Stephen Malkmus
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell Street (btwn Polk & Larkin) [Map]
I went into this show with low expectations, not because I thought it wouldn't be good, but because I'm a huge Pavement fan and Malkmus has long moved on to his Jicks material. Going to a Malkmus show hoping to hear a set riddled with Pavement's greatest hits is a great way to set yourself up for disappointment. There has been one famous show (famous to Pavement fans, anyway) with the Jicks, in 2003, where they played all Pavement songs in chronological order of their release. It's been called "The Milwaukee Show." As far as I know, such a thing has not happened since.
Yet—and much to the chagrin of a couple of friends who arguably love Pavement even more than I do but skipped the show expecting Malkmus to try out new Jicks songs—Malkmus played a mostly Pavement set. Maybe it was Noise Pop, or maybe it was all the buzz a year ago about a potential Pavement reunion. Or maybe he just felt like taking those of us who are old enough to remember when Pavement was a band on a trip down a shady memory lane. Regardless, Malkmus gave the Pavement fans in the room something to talk about for a long time to come.
Malkmus came out with his MacBook and explained that since he was unable to find a pen backstage he had to type the setlist. I suck at writing down setlists in general, but in this case I was completely unprepared for what was happening, so I must credit Hippies Are Dead for recording a reliable setlist. Malkmus opened with "Harness Your Hopes," the B-side of Pavement's "Spit on a Stranger" EP. I thought this was a fluke. Next came "Us," a Malkmus & the Jicks track and "Blue Arrangements," a Silver Jews song. After the song ended, Malkmus muttered "That was the Silver Jews. They broke up. All we can do now is mine their catalog." Sadness.
With the exception of "Pink India," the next five songs were all Pavement: "Spit on A Stranger," "Starlings of the Slipstream," "Fin," and "Range Life," a song to which everyone in the room knew all the words. I no longer thought the first Pavement song was a fluke. He returned to the Jicks catalog for "Real Emotional Trash," back to Pavement for "Loretta's Scars," threw in a cover, then Pavement's "Lions (Linden)" and "Freeze the Saints," another Jicks song. The rest of the set went like this: "Shoot the Singer" (Pavement), "Zurich is Stained" (Pavement), "Heaven is a Truck" (Pavement), "Vanessa from Queens" (Jicks)," and "Here" (Pavement).
At some point during the middle of the set Malkmus broke a guitar string and spent four minutes replacing it with the wrong string, a mistake he blamed on nerves and the high quality of the pot the kids in the front row were smoking. He borrowed Kelley Stoltz's guitar for the next song while the stage crew restrung his, but instead of taking his back, finished the set on Stoltz's Gibson.
The encore started with two hilarious but oddly great covers. First, O'Jays' "Love Train," then "Emotional Rescue" by the Rolling Stones. Refusing several requests shouted from the audience because they'd be almost impossible to play acoustic, Malkmus decided to close with "Summer Babe."
This was admittedly the first time I've seen Malkmus live and I got really, really lucky. I can't remember the last time I was at a show where so many people shouted so many lyrics. It was a Pavement sing-along. He is the kind of performer who knows that his audience is on the verge of worship and appreciates it, but also seems to be somehow gracious about it.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
11 Feb 2009: Gutter Twins w/Dave Rosser
11 February 2009
Gutter Twins w/Dave Rosser
The Independent
628 Divisadero St (btwn Hayes & Grove) [Map]
Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees) have been playing together as the Gutter Twins since 2003, but they've collaborated on various projects since 2000. I didn't expect it to be sold out but I should have known better. Dulli has a following of very loyal fans. While the audience was predominately guys, and there was quite a bit of bromance afoot, the few ladies sprinkled in the mix loooooove their Dulli too.
I don't know their songs well enough to track the set list, but I did recognize a couple Afghan Whigs songs, which sounded awesome. They also closed out the set with song by delta blues artist Bukka White. Some in the overwhelmingly white crowd were so inspired that they tried to clap along, not realizing that when clapping along to delta blues (or any gospel-y kind of music) you don't start the clap on the first beat of the measure.
Something happened backstage between the set and the encore which had Lanegan and Dulli cracking up on stage, but they never shared the joke. They just laughed. A lot.
Meanwhile, Lanegan really looked like he might keel over during the show at any time. He also has amazing star tattoos on his hands.
The show was great but I couldn't help but think of the Fleetwood Mac and Eagles Unplugged stuff. Sadly, rock heroes like Dulli get old too.
Gutter Twins w/Dave Rosser
The Independent
628 Divisadero St (btwn Hayes & Grove) [Map]
Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees) have been playing together as the Gutter Twins since 2003, but they've collaborated on various projects since 2000. I didn't expect it to be sold out but I should have known better. Dulli has a following of very loyal fans. While the audience was predominately guys, and there was quite a bit of bromance afoot, the few ladies sprinkled in the mix loooooove their Dulli too.
I don't know their songs well enough to track the set list, but I did recognize a couple Afghan Whigs songs, which sounded awesome. They also closed out the set with song by delta blues artist Bukka White. Some in the overwhelmingly white crowd were so inspired that they tried to clap along, not realizing that when clapping along to delta blues (or any gospel-y kind of music) you don't start the clap on the first beat of the measure.
Something happened backstage between the set and the encore which had Lanegan and Dulli cracking up on stage, but they never shared the joke. They just laughed. A lot.
Meanwhile, Lanegan really looked like he might keel over during the show at any time. He also has amazing star tattoos on his hands.
The show was great but I couldn't help but think of the Fleetwood Mac and Eagles Unplugged stuff. Sadly, rock heroes like Dulli get old too.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Musicians using Twitter
When I'm not going to shows and drinking too much, I have an actual day job working at Institute for the Future. Part of my job is to track social media use, and since I'm obsessed with music, I try to leverage that in my work as much as possible.
Today I came across this Google spreadsheet of artists using Twitter. As with many major artist MySpace pages or blogs, the "big" ones are more likely label interns—or impostors with entirely too much time on their hands—than actual artists, but there's a good chance that a bunch of the smaller acts are actuallyspeaking tweeting for themselves.
I've carefully combed the list and here are a few favorites...
Chris Cornell, formerly the lead singer of Soundgarden. Guessing it's fake but if it really is him... wow. Good to know he eats shrimp?
Mike Doughty, formerly of Soul Coughing. Pretty sure Mike is the man behind the tweets.
Sonic Youth. Not sure what's going on here. Thurston, is that really you?
MC Hammer which, since he owns a tech company here in Silicon Valley, may very well be the one and only Hammer. Or maybe his iconic baggy pants are doing the tweeting. Either way, I'm genuinely disappointed that his username isn't Hammer Time.
SFJukebox doesn't have it's own Twitter account but I do. I assure you it's not really that interesting—certainly not as interesting as Hammer—but feel free to follow if you are inclined to do so.
Today I came across this Google spreadsheet of artists using Twitter. As with many major artist MySpace pages or blogs, the "big" ones are more likely label interns—or impostors with entirely too much time on their hands—than actual artists, but there's a good chance that a bunch of the smaller acts are actually
I've carefully combed the list and here are a few favorites...
Chris Cornell, formerly the lead singer of Soundgarden. Guessing it's fake but if it really is him... wow. Good to know he eats shrimp?
Mike Doughty, formerly of Soul Coughing. Pretty sure Mike is the man behind the tweets.
Sonic Youth. Not sure what's going on here. Thurston, is that really you?
MC Hammer which, since he owns a tech company here in Silicon Valley, may very well be the one and only Hammer. Or maybe his iconic baggy pants are doing the tweeting. Either way, I'm genuinely disappointed that his username isn't Hammer Time.
SFJukebox doesn't have it's own Twitter account but I do. I assure you it's not really that interesting—certainly not as interesting as Hammer—but feel free to follow if you are inclined to do so.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Q&A with Thao Nguyen for Noise Pop 2009
I recently interviewed Thao (of Thao with the Get Down Stay Down) for this year's Noise Pop Festival. It was one of the most fun conversations I've had with an interviewee. The piece is up on Thao's profile page on the Noise Pop site here. [Band's official site and their MySpace page.] This is the super edited version of the interview. We talked for a half an hour and got into a discussion of mutual love of soul music, particularly Mr. Sam Cooke. Damn you, word limits.
Thao
Thao Nguyen fronts the trio Thao with the Get Down Stay Down with Adam Thompson on bass and Willis Thompson on drums (no relation) whose second album, We Brave Bee Stings and All, came out on Kill Rock Stars in 2008. With Thao’s airy, animated voice dancing over jangly guitars and light, poppy rhythms, you can’t help but feel a little happier when you listen to them. Thao headlines solo at the Swedish American Hall on February 26 and promises to find out what puts the “Swedish” in Swedish American Hall.
Noise Pop: Are you excited to headline Noise Pop?
Thao: Am I headlining?
NP: Yes.
T: Really? Holy shit! No one tells me anything, I swear. I better be better than I thought I would have to be.
NP: So you’re excited.
T: Yes, totally. Sorry, it's just funny. If you knew the amount of things I don't know about what I'm doing for my job it would crack you up.
NP: Did opening for Rilo Kiley and Xiu Xiu in the beginning of 2008 pay off when you went out on your own later in the year?
T: When we released [We Brave Bee Stings and All], if we had gone on our own headlining tour it would have been just a string of shitboxes. But when we did that headlining tour a lot of people showed up who would not have had they not seen us otherwise with these other bands. There's no way that we had any sort of footing or clout. We used to play so many places with "tavern" in the name and it's just not that cool.
NP: Taverns can be tough. Any artists you’d love to play with?
T: I have a very deep affection for Andrew Bird, but I feel like if we shared the same bill I would be paralyzed because I'd feel too inadequate to play. And Mirah, I've always been a really big fan of her.
NP: How much songwriting does the rest of the band do?
T: I would say that I write all the songs. It's weird, I'm not really into control but definitely with songwriting I want it, so I prefer that the guys in the band not even hear the song until I feel like it is complete. And they write their own parts because they're much better at drums and bass than I am. I love that collaborative energy, it's just that the song—I need it to be my own.
NP: How did you find each other?
T: Willis and I went to college together and he was pretty much the first drummer I've ever played with. He's like my first rhythmic love and I think he's amazing. I know that he's irreplaceable because I've tried before and it didn't work out.
NP: And Adam?
T: We dated for a minute a long time ago. They are the best musicians that I have had the pleasure of working with. At the same time, we gel enough personality-wise, and we're of the same ethos and the same goals so it works, for the most part, really well.
NP: Working and traveling with these two guys all the time, do you sometimes crave the company of women?
T: I swear, for every 14,000 men there's one woman. Other bands you play with, the people in crews, the staff at venues—everyone is a dude. I know a lot of great female musicians but for whatever reason there's just less. When you do meet a woman that plays music—a touring musician, which is kind of a weird lifestyle—the camaraderie is almost immediate because we have so much to talk about, grievances and triumphs.
NP: I hear you’re looking for a fourth member, now’s your chance.
T: Yeah, and I would love if it was a woman. Mostly they have to be cool, but think I need that balance. Sometimes after three weeks or two weeks with these two dudes I haven't talked about my feelings in forever.
NP: Speaking of feelings, what music do you love?
T: Motown, late 50s and 60s soul and some pop, rock, and folk. That era and into the early 70s is primarily what I listen to, which is why it's such a disability for me to talk about new music that I might be interested in. I also listen to a lot of hip-hop and R&B and want to incorporate that more into the next album (not in an embarrassing way).
NP: No freestyling.
T: I’m not cool enough to do that.
NP: Are you glad you game out to the West Coast?
T: I'll say this about San Francisco: I think I've been to a lot of cities now—actually I'm pretty sure that they all blur together—but I only want to live here.
- JESS HEMERLY
Thao Nguyen fronts the trio Thao with the Get Down Stay Down with Adam Thompson on bass and Willis Thompson on drums (no relation) whose second album, We Brave Bee Stings and All, came out on Kill Rock Stars in 2008. With Thao’s airy, animated voice dancing over jangly guitars and light, poppy rhythms, you can’t help but feel a little happier when you listen to them. Thao headlines solo at the Swedish American Hall on February 26 and promises to find out what puts the “Swedish” in Swedish American Hall.
Noise Pop: Are you excited to headline Noise Pop?
Thao: Am I headlining?
NP: Yes.
T: Really? Holy shit! No one tells me anything, I swear. I better be better than I thought I would have to be.
NP: So you’re excited.
T: Yes, totally. Sorry, it's just funny. If you knew the amount of things I don't know about what I'm doing for my job it would crack you up.
NP: Did opening for Rilo Kiley and Xiu Xiu in the beginning of 2008 pay off when you went out on your own later in the year?
T: When we released [We Brave Bee Stings and All], if we had gone on our own headlining tour it would have been just a string of shitboxes. But when we did that headlining tour a lot of people showed up who would not have had they not seen us otherwise with these other bands. There's no way that we had any sort of footing or clout. We used to play so many places with "tavern" in the name and it's just not that cool.
NP: Taverns can be tough. Any artists you’d love to play with?
T: I have a very deep affection for Andrew Bird, but I feel like if we shared the same bill I would be paralyzed because I'd feel too inadequate to play. And Mirah, I've always been a really big fan of her.
NP: How much songwriting does the rest of the band do?
T: I would say that I write all the songs. It's weird, I'm not really into control but definitely with songwriting I want it, so I prefer that the guys in the band not even hear the song until I feel like it is complete. And they write their own parts because they're much better at drums and bass than I am. I love that collaborative energy, it's just that the song—I need it to be my own.
NP: How did you find each other?
T: Willis and I went to college together and he was pretty much the first drummer I've ever played with. He's like my first rhythmic love and I think he's amazing. I know that he's irreplaceable because I've tried before and it didn't work out.
NP: And Adam?
T: We dated for a minute a long time ago. They are the best musicians that I have had the pleasure of working with. At the same time, we gel enough personality-wise, and we're of the same ethos and the same goals so it works, for the most part, really well.
NP: Working and traveling with these two guys all the time, do you sometimes crave the company of women?
T: I swear, for every 14,000 men there's one woman. Other bands you play with, the people in crews, the staff at venues—everyone is a dude. I know a lot of great female musicians but for whatever reason there's just less. When you do meet a woman that plays music—a touring musician, which is kind of a weird lifestyle—the camaraderie is almost immediate because we have so much to talk about, grievances and triumphs.
NP: I hear you’re looking for a fourth member, now’s your chance.
T: Yeah, and I would love if it was a woman. Mostly they have to be cool, but think I need that balance. Sometimes after three weeks or two weeks with these two dudes I haven't talked about my feelings in forever.
NP: Speaking of feelings, what music do you love?
T: Motown, late 50s and 60s soul and some pop, rock, and folk. That era and into the early 70s is primarily what I listen to, which is why it's such a disability for me to talk about new music that I might be interested in. I also listen to a lot of hip-hop and R&B and want to incorporate that more into the next album (not in an embarrassing way).
NP: No freestyling.
T: I’m not cool enough to do that.
NP: Are you glad you game out to the West Coast?
T: I'll say this about San Francisco: I think I've been to a lot of cities now—actually I'm pretty sure that they all blur together—but I only want to live here.
- JESS HEMERLY
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sketchfest Salutes The State
Koshi and I went to the Sketchfest tribute to The State yesterday at Herbst Theater, and while it wasn't "music" per se, it was on MTV long enough that I think I can justify posting about it here. And as the cast pointed out, the Spin Doctors came up at least once every episode.
While many think The State is one of the stupidest shows on MTV in a time when MTV still showed music videos, I liked it. A lot. It was unpretentious, absurd, and with its endless stream of catch phrases and recurring characters, it was extremely viral. And with present-day gems like Next and The Hills, even those who hate The State have to admit it's really not the stupidest thing MTV has ever aired.
Here's an MTV promo for the show using quotes from the abysmal reviews they got:
This weekend marks the first time that all 11 cast members have been on stage together in over 10 years. They did two shows of new sketch comedy at Cobb's on Saturday night but I was unfortunately out of town, in lovely Tempe, Arizona in a hotel on Mill Avenue at the corner of Slut and Douchebag. But I got back in time for the 2pm tribute at Herbst so dropped my stuff off at home and headed straight to the theater.
It was a hilarious and worthy tribute, and Janeane Garofalo was a fantastic moderator. In addition to making them talk about the end of times—their leaving MTV for CBS (they weren't canceled) to getting hammered in the Bahamas while making an album—she stepped back and let them sort of run their own panel. The audience even asked good questions!
We don't have any pictures because I'm a huge fan and just bought the tickets instead of trying to get in as press. But Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black both posted some shitty but charming iPhone pics of the rehearsal for Saturday night's performances at Cobb's on their blogs.
Fans of The State who haven't discovered this yet should know that you can download Season 1 in the iTunes Store. But if you need a quick fix, here are some videos from back in the day (the ones that Viacom hasn't pulled from YouTube yet, anyway, fuckers... PS Viacom, I'd be happy to buy the DVDs—yes, buy them with actual money—if you would stop being vindictive and just release them already).
Some more clips... And of course there are Barry and Levon, but embedding is turned off on this video and it looks like Viacom had all others pulled.
While many think The State is one of the stupidest shows on MTV in a time when MTV still showed music videos, I liked it. A lot. It was unpretentious, absurd, and with its endless stream of catch phrases and recurring characters, it was extremely viral. And with present-day gems like Next and The Hills, even those who hate The State have to admit it's really not the stupidest thing MTV has ever aired.
Here's an MTV promo for the show using quotes from the abysmal reviews they got:
This weekend marks the first time that all 11 cast members have been on stage together in over 10 years. They did two shows of new sketch comedy at Cobb's on Saturday night but I was unfortunately out of town, in lovely Tempe, Arizona in a hotel on Mill Avenue at the corner of Slut and Douchebag. But I got back in time for the 2pm tribute at Herbst so dropped my stuff off at home and headed straight to the theater.
It was a hilarious and worthy tribute, and Janeane Garofalo was a fantastic moderator. In addition to making them talk about the end of times—their leaving MTV for CBS (they weren't canceled) to getting hammered in the Bahamas while making an album—she stepped back and let them sort of run their own panel. The audience even asked good questions!
We don't have any pictures because I'm a huge fan and just bought the tickets instead of trying to get in as press. But Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black both posted some shitty but charming iPhone pics of the rehearsal for Saturday night's performances at Cobb's on their blogs.
Fans of The State who haven't discovered this yet should know that you can download Season 1 in the iTunes Store. But if you need a quick fix, here are some videos from back in the day (the ones that Viacom hasn't pulled from YouTube yet, anyway, fuckers... PS Viacom, I'd be happy to buy the DVDs—yes, buy them with actual money—if you would stop being vindictive and just release them already).
Some more clips... And of course there are Barry and Levon, but embedding is turned off on this video and it looks like Viacom had all others pulled.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
2 Dec 2008: Sea and Cake
Best Expected Best Show of 2008
2 December 2008
The Sea & Cake
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell Street (btwn Polk & Larkin) [Map]
We've seen Sea and Cake play twice here in SF and we learned the first time around that they always mix their new songs with songs the long-time fans want to hear. As far as many people are concerned it all sounds the same, but most of them admit it all sounds good. Why mess with a great thing? I willed them to play one of my old favorites off of Nassau, "Lamont's Lament," and I didn't even realize they played it until after the show. [Ed note: Actually it was when we got home and Koshi said something about them not having played it that I told him that indeed they had. Then we listened to it, he remembered them playing it, and was again ecstatic.] Even still, it was all well played, highly articulated, and meticulously crafted—everything that draws a fan back in and keeps us coming back for more. They were flawless.
We saw the Sea and Cake at Bimbo's 365 last May, and it was among our favorite shows of 2007. Much like going to a Police show, a Sea and Cake show is about exact replication of sound. The immersiveness of live music makes seeing Sea and Cake in concert a treat unlike hearing them in studio; even still, they are as much about the craft as they are about the artistry.
The continual requests for adjustments in the levels was at once a sign of respect for each other's musicianship as much as it was a true effort toward the "exact to me" sound. "More in his vocals," Archer would say, just as Sam asked for more volume in his partner's guitar. After a series of adjustments over three or so songs, the songs didn't just sound right, they were truly satisfying. Fans nodded and grinned the grin of approval.
I stood up front for all but the last few songs, tearing myself away to tend to the small crew of friends I had come with. It is truly the best way to determine whether or not you want to see a band play, and next year, if they are in SF, I will be in attendance. I still want to see them play in some tiny venue in Chicago one day.
The re-constructed set-list (we have no idea what order, but we're pretty sure we heard it).
Aerial
Lamont's Lament
A Man Who Never Sees a Pretty Girl that he Doesn't Love a Little. (A familiar face with a coco puffs box and written cards inside.)
Car Alarm
Lightning
Middlenight
Crossing Line
Exact To Me
Soft and Sleep
The Cantina
Flat Lay the Water
Nature Boy [1st encore]
Parasol [1st encore]
Jacking the Ball [2nd encore]
2 December 2008
The Sea & Cake
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell Street (btwn Polk & Larkin) [Map]
We've seen Sea and Cake play twice here in SF and we learned the first time around that they always mix their new songs with songs the long-time fans want to hear. As far as many people are concerned it all sounds the same, but most of them admit it all sounds good. Why mess with a great thing? I willed them to play one of my old favorites off of Nassau, "Lamont's Lament," and I didn't even realize they played it until after the show. [Ed note: Actually it was when we got home and Koshi said something about them not having played it that I told him that indeed they had. Then we listened to it, he remembered them playing it, and was again ecstatic.] Even still, it was all well played, highly articulated, and meticulously crafted—everything that draws a fan back in and keeps us coming back for more. They were flawless.
We saw the Sea and Cake at Bimbo's 365 last May, and it was among our favorite shows of 2007. Much like going to a Police show, a Sea and Cake show is about exact replication of sound. The immersiveness of live music makes seeing Sea and Cake in concert a treat unlike hearing them in studio; even still, they are as much about the craft as they are about the artistry.
The continual requests for adjustments in the levels was at once a sign of respect for each other's musicianship as much as it was a true effort toward the "exact to me" sound. "More in his vocals," Archer would say, just as Sam asked for more volume in his partner's guitar. After a series of adjustments over three or so songs, the songs didn't just sound right, they were truly satisfying. Fans nodded and grinned the grin of approval.
I stood up front for all but the last few songs, tearing myself away to tend to the small crew of friends I had come with. It is truly the best way to determine whether or not you want to see a band play, and next year, if they are in SF, I will be in attendance. I still want to see them play in some tiny venue in Chicago one day.
The re-constructed set-list (we have no idea what order, but we're pretty sure we heard it).
Aerial
Lamont's Lament
A Man Who Never Sees a Pretty Girl that he Doesn't Love a Little. (A familiar face with a coco puffs box and written cards inside.)
Car Alarm
Lightning
Middlenight
Crossing Line
Exact To Me
Soft and Sleep
The Cantina
Flat Lay the Water
Nature Boy [1st encore]
Parasol [1st encore]
Jacking the Ball [2nd encore]
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Happy Election Day!
In honor of this historic Election Day, I've made a digital mixtape. Play it from the embedded player or the regular page player here.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
27 September 2008: Silver Jews @ (((folkYEAH!)))
27 September 2008
Silver Jews @ (((folkYEAH!)))
Fernwood Big Sur
Highway 1, Big Sur [Map]
Drinks consumed: It was a weekend of camping. There's no such thing as counting.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this festival. Surely we assumed there would be hippies, freak folk people, and city hipsters, but we weren't sure if it would be extremely crowded or just weird. Fortunately, it was one of the most chill festival crowds I've ever seen. Fernwood did a great job hosting the event, keeping the store full of cold beer for us to buy when our supplies began to run low (which happened quite frequently). The bartender also makes a hell of a bloody mary.
Dave Berman, Silver Jews
The highlight on Friday was, for me, SF-based Citay. I've seen them a couple times now and I actually think they are more interesting to see live than to listen to at home (but I like their albums too). They don't wear weird costumes or jump around or anything, they just play sweet, soothing music. It was perfect in the redwoods setting of the Fernwood campground.
Citay
Honorable mention for Friday goes to Tussle, who were also great. Loser of the night was Entrance Band, who unfortunately played Saturday as well. I wasn't that into Devendra Banhart's latest band, Megapuss, but they did put on a good show. On Saturday, if I remember correctly, we enjoyed Little Wings, Little Joy, and Beach House, whose music can best be described as "pretty" and "airy" a la Aislers Set.
Silver Jews via fish eye lens
But the main reason we even went to this festival, as you may have guessed from the images accompanying this post, was to see Silver Jews play under the stars in Big Sur. Corny, yes. But was it awesome? It was, in fact, amazing. Thanks in part to Koshi stationing himself at the front of the stage with his camera during Entrance Band's seemingly endless Saturday performance, we were basically up against the stage when the Jews came on.
I've been a Silver Jews fan for years but I have never seen them live. I couldn't imagine a better setting. There's no point in listing the songs they played since Koshi got a pretty readable shot of the setlist on stage (which my friend nabbed after the show):
Berman reminds me of an indie rock Hunter S. Thompson for some reason. Maybe it's the glasses. He roams around like some kind of deranged rock and roll preacher, tangling the mic cord along the way. He sounded great, he looked great, and the show was fantastic.
Let's just say that I had Berman's voice in my head for about 4 days after the show. That was a very good thing.
Silver Jews @ (((folkYEAH!)))
Fernwood Big Sur
Highway 1, Big Sur [Map]
Drinks consumed: It was a weekend of camping. There's no such thing as counting.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this festival. Surely we assumed there would be hippies, freak folk people, and city hipsters, but we weren't sure if it would be extremely crowded or just weird. Fortunately, it was one of the most chill festival crowds I've ever seen. Fernwood did a great job hosting the event, keeping the store full of cold beer for us to buy when our supplies began to run low (which happened quite frequently). The bartender also makes a hell of a bloody mary.
Dave Berman, Silver Jews
The highlight on Friday was, for me, SF-based Citay. I've seen them a couple times now and I actually think they are more interesting to see live than to listen to at home (but I like their albums too). They don't wear weird costumes or jump around or anything, they just play sweet, soothing music. It was perfect in the redwoods setting of the Fernwood campground.
Citay
Honorable mention for Friday goes to Tussle, who were also great. Loser of the night was Entrance Band, who unfortunately played Saturday as well. I wasn't that into Devendra Banhart's latest band, Megapuss, but they did put on a good show. On Saturday, if I remember correctly, we enjoyed Little Wings, Little Joy, and Beach House, whose music can best be described as "pretty" and "airy" a la Aislers Set.
Silver Jews via fish eye lens
But the main reason we even went to this festival, as you may have guessed from the images accompanying this post, was to see Silver Jews play under the stars in Big Sur. Corny, yes. But was it awesome? It was, in fact, amazing. Thanks in part to Koshi stationing himself at the front of the stage with his camera during Entrance Band's seemingly endless Saturday performance, we were basically up against the stage when the Jews came on.
I've been a Silver Jews fan for years but I have never seen them live. I couldn't imagine a better setting. There's no point in listing the songs they played since Koshi got a pretty readable shot of the setlist on stage (which my friend nabbed after the show):
Berman reminds me of an indie rock Hunter S. Thompson for some reason. Maybe it's the glasses. He roams around like some kind of deranged rock and roll preacher, tangling the mic cord along the way. He sounded great, he looked great, and the show was fantastic.
Let's just say that I had Berman's voice in my head for about 4 days after the show. That was a very good thing.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Out of Africa, Back in SF
Koshi and I have returned to the US after a really incredible time in South Africa. On one hand, we couldn't wait to come home. On the other, our time there was not long enough.
I have a ton of music-related things to write about, but after 24 hours of planes and airports I'm not in a position to write about much of anything. For now, enjoy this kwaito video. Kwaito is a South African brand of house that combines house beats and sweet basslines with (usually) lyrics rapped or sort of chanted.
Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia entry for kwaito is one of the most thorough I've seen recently. We also bought two kwaito CDs on the way out of the country, both recommended by the lovely gentlemen working at Musica.
I have a ton of music-related things to write about, but after 24 hours of planes and airports I'm not in a position to write about much of anything. For now, enjoy this kwaito video. Kwaito is a South African brand of house that combines house beats and sweet basslines with (usually) lyrics rapped or sort of chanted.
Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia entry for kwaito is one of the most thorough I've seen recently. We also bought two kwaito CDs on the way out of the country, both recommended by the lovely gentlemen working at Musica.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
SF Jukebox Goes to Africa
Early tomorrow morning, Koshi and I will depart for what is guaranteed to be an adventure to a continent that neither of us have visited before: Africa. Granted, we'll be going to what is arguably the most civilized of nations on the continent, South Africa, but given the country's history and its present state, it's certainly no San Francisco (although Cape Town seems to have a lot in common with our fair city by the bay). Naturally we will seek out jukeboxes in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, but may be limited in our exploration by a variety of factors including but not limited to matters of safety. Who knows where we'll end up.
In preparation for my trip, a coworker lent me his iPhone for an hour this morning so I could listen to a compilation of South African music that he really likes, Indestructible Beat Of Soweto, Volume One [on Last.fm]. This leads me to believe I might come back with a suitcase full of CDs (remember those things?)
This compilation inspired me to search for South African music on YouTube where I very quickly learned that the 60s vocal group hit "Grazin' in the Grass" by Friends of Distinction was an instrumental track written and originally recorded by a South African musician Hugh Masekela. The song was also a hit for him.
Friends of Distinction version:
Hugh Masekela's original version:
The next post I make will be from Johannesburg! After this trip I'll just have to get to Australia, South America, and Antarctica to complete the globe.
In preparation for my trip, a coworker lent me his iPhone for an hour this morning so I could listen to a compilation of South African music that he really likes, Indestructible Beat Of Soweto, Volume One [on Last.fm]. This leads me to believe I might come back with a suitcase full of CDs (remember those things?)
This compilation inspired me to search for South African music on YouTube where I very quickly learned that the 60s vocal group hit "Grazin' in the Grass" by Friends of Distinction was an instrumental track written and originally recorded by a South African musician Hugh Masekela. The song was also a hit for him.
Friends of Distinction version:
Hugh Masekela's original version:
The next post I make will be from Johannesburg! After this trip I'll just have to get to Australia, South America, and Antarctica to complete the globe.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
An Air Guitar Teaser
We went to the US Air Guitar National Championship a few weeks ago and I'm horribly behind on my freelance stuff so I still haven't written the recap. But the National Champion, Hot Lixx Hulahan, was crowned in San Francisco that evening, and he kicked ass in Finland and came out on top as the Air Guitar World Champion. I'm not terribly patriotic, but USA! USA! USA!
Way to go Hot Lixx!
Real recap to come soon, I promise.
PS Hi to everyone visiting from the link to SF Jukebox on Blogger's "Blogs of Note!"
Way to go Hot Lixx!
Real recap to come soon, I promise.
PS Hi to everyone visiting from the link to SF Jukebox on Blogger's "Blogs of Note!"
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Stumbling Upon a Relic at Dry Creek General Store
Dry Creek General Store
3495 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA [Map]
Total Spent: $0, I just passed it on the way to the bathroom
Tucked among the wineries of Sonoma County, Dry Creek General Store is a popular rest stop for wine connoisseurs and cyclists alike. They have a deli with sandwiches and a little store of presumably handmade goods. It's overpriced and the sad amount of pastrami on my sandwich was depressing. However, there is a bar attached to the general store, and it's inside of this bar that I found one of the coolest jukeboxes I've ever seen. Koshi didn't have his camera available, so I did my best with this one.
I didn't put any money in it. I didn't even have a beer. I just had to use the bathroom and the bathroom happens to be in the back of the bar, next to the jukebox. Had I not been tasked with driving a ridiculously huge Chrysler SUV through Sonoma that weekend, I certainly would have invested some time in that bar, particularly since beer and I get along much better than wine.
Alas, I only had enough time to browse a little. There are some amazing oldies, pop and country alike, with newer stuff sprinkled among the good old stuff. I could imagine, though, that a bunch of wine-soaked tourists could do terrible things with this selection.
If I'm ever in Healdsburg again, I'll have to make someone else drive so I can spend some time and a lot of change in this little tourist bar.
3495 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA [Map]
Total Spent: $0, I just passed it on the way to the bathroom
Tucked among the wineries of Sonoma County, Dry Creek General Store is a popular rest stop for wine connoisseurs and cyclists alike. They have a deli with sandwiches and a little store of presumably handmade goods. It's overpriced and the sad amount of pastrami on my sandwich was depressing. However, there is a bar attached to the general store, and it's inside of this bar that I found one of the coolest jukeboxes I've ever seen. Koshi didn't have his camera available, so I did my best with this one.
I didn't put any money in it. I didn't even have a beer. I just had to use the bathroom and the bathroom happens to be in the back of the bar, next to the jukebox. Had I not been tasked with driving a ridiculously huge Chrysler SUV through Sonoma that weekend, I certainly would have invested some time in that bar, particularly since beer and I get along much better than wine.
Alas, I only had enough time to browse a little. There are some amazing oldies, pop and country alike, with newer stuff sprinkled among the good old stuff. I could imagine, though, that a bunch of wine-soaked tourists could do terrible things with this selection.
If I'm ever in Healdsburg again, I'll have to make someone else drive so I can spend some time and a lot of change in this little tourist bar.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
25 June 2008: US Air Guitar, San Francisco Regional Championships
25 June 2008
US Air Guitar: San Francisco Regional Championship
The Independent
628 Divisadero St (btwn Hayes & Grove) [Map]
Drinks consumed: too busy taking notes in the dark to count
Review at the OwlMag
*** Now with videos!
Thanks to the madmen behind US Air Guitar, a show consisting entirely of performers playing invisible guitars can sell out the Independent. For those unfamiliar with the magic and mystery of air guitar, it is an annual collection of freaks, wannabes, amateur comedians, and rock lovers who "play" air guitar on stage. Sometimes a contestant seems to be completely disconnected from both his body and the music. Other times, a contestant is so good that it's as if a guitar will materialize in his hands any second.
The spectacle's inventors have designed a rubric for measuring this skill, employing three judges—think The Muppet Show's Statler and Waldorf with unlimited drinks and a third, equally critical sidekick—to drink heavily and rate the contestants on technical merit, stage presence, and airness. Airness is that certain je ne sais quois that launches an air guitarist from novice to virtuoso. Although no scientific studies have been done on the subject, it's likely that alcohol plays a role in one's airness (or lack thereof). Alcohol also enhances one's ability to be a fair and critical judge. Like the last two years, judges Marc Hawthorne (Onion AV Club), Jennifer Maerz (SF Weekly), and John Trippe (FecalFace.com) were completely hammered by the end of the night.
The event is decided in two rounds. In Round 1, each contestant performs to 60 seconds of the song (or medley) of his or her choosing. Round 2 brings the highest scorers from Round 1 back on stage for the compulsory round, where each contestant has to perform to the same clip of the same song. The audience has the honor, or horror, of hearing that song (in this case "I'll Stick Around" by the Foo Fighters) ad nauseum. Judges' scores range from 4.0 to 6.0, a system inspired by Olympic Figure Skating. The highest-scoring contestant from Round 1 has a significant advantage going into Round 2. The contestant with the highest combined Round 1 and Round 2 score wins the Regional Championship and moves on to compete in the US Finals, which will be held at the Grand Ballroom in San Francisco this year. Asked in the pre-show press conference why San Francisco was chosen to host the finals, Another Planet Entertainment's Bryan Duquette responded, "People in San Francisco like to dress up in costume."
Yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds. Reflecting on his victory at the press conference, the 2006 San Francisco Regional champ Hot Lixx Hulahan remembered asking himself, "Do I tell people I won air guitar?" But with sponsors like Cuervo Black (who failed to sponsor any kind of tequila special at the bar), a documentary called "Air Guitar Nation," and a pre-show press conference, it's sometimes hard to tell if this is all in the name of irony or if the organizers and contestants actually take the whole thing at least a little seriously. Regardless, this year's San Francisco Regional Championship attracted a perverse and often baffling selection of the Bay Area's, um, talent making for another fun night.
The evening began with the ceremonial air-ing of "War Pigs," where master-of-air-emonies and retired contestant Bjorn Turoque invited audience members to join him on stage and play air bass and air drums as he sang (really sang, not air sang) and aired lead guitar. Turoque's career includes five second-place finishes, with the exception of a win at the New York Regional in 2005. Despite never having won the national title, Turoque has become the face and voice of US Air Guitar. Turoque's bandmates were both women, and the drummer out-shined the bassist, who probably thinks Black Sabbath is a holiday for Satanists.
With that out of way, the competition was underway. The Independent's own Ricky Stinkfingers, last year's Regional Champion, was up first. Clad in pink lyrca, Stinkfingers sported a much larger bulge in his pants than last year, either an indication that he's been taking performance-enhancing substances or that he brought his pet armadillo to the contest. His spirited performance fell short for the sober judges, who are unfortunately always hardest on the first performers of the night. Fortunately, Stinkfingers already secured a spot in the national finals with a first-place finish in the Portland regional.
A chain of mediocrity followed Stinkfingers. Plaid-pants-wearing Stoney Iommi may have been the Black Sabbath guitarist's namesake, but this Iommi's "Iron Man" was tedious, albeit accurate. Lieutenant Castille's followed with an inspired but horrific version of the theme from Miami Vice. Aside from the white Members Only jacket, the only thing remotely Don Johnson about it was the cheese factor. Dan the Man's rendition was more Bill Nye the Science Guy than Freddie Mercury, and a hirsute Bad Ass Blondini, sporting a black vest with no shirt, tight black and white pants, and the world's worst mullet wig, just didn't have what it takes to impress the judges, who were starting to get tipsy.
Mediocre turned to abysmal with David "Air Guitar" Freeberg, nearly booed off the stage when his performance of "Bad to the Bone" proved to be just bad. Another crowd disappointment, Tiger Claw, failed to come close to the greatness of his appearance last year but still had some of the best technical skills of anyone that night. Taxi-Driver–t-shirt wearing Gobo didn't so much air guitar as half-breakdance toDead KennedysThe Melvins with a stiff arm. Torque called the performance a "psychotic punk rock ballet." It could only get better, right?
Wrong. Daddy's Little Smashing Pumpkin came out next in a pink lace baby dress, blond Annie wig with a pink bow, and an overloaded diaper, performed miserably to some kind of death metal song, and responded to the judges' low scores by pulling cooked spaghetti out of his diaper and throwing it at the audience. Another repeat contestant, Downright Dirty Diamond, basically did air guitar warm-ups, earning himself the most disappointing score of the round, 4.8. Then came the first female contestant, Gloria Stun 'Em, whose rendition of a bizarre metal version of "Kung Fu Fighting" resulted in the best judge comment of the night, from Marc Hawthorne: "It reminded me of the third hand job I ever got in junior high."
A disheartened crowd finally started to get their money's worth with Jammin' J-Bone. Yet another repeat contestant, J-Bone punctuated his performance of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" with a well-executed—perhaps even graceful—stage dive. Shred Nugent, also a returning contestant and last year's San Jose champion, strapped on another contestant's discarded black bra and aired it out, earning the second highest score of the night. The good streak continued with Eleven, whose Doobie Brothers-esque appearance concealed an awesome air guitar hero within.
Eleven from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
Things slowed down again with Captain Nowhere, who, in unmistakable hipster attire, went the medley route and earned mixed reactions from the crowd. Then came Madame Deathface, the night's second female contestant, whose blasting Vornado and funereal shtick wasn't enough to make up for her awful spastic style.
The lull came to an abrupt end with Shred Begley Junior. Donning black-rimmed plastic glasses with flip-up Kanye West–style plastic shades, an afro, and a shirt bearing the word "AWESOME," Shred Begley Jr. did just that: shred. Well, shred air. He earned the highest score of the night and inspired the crowd to chant "Awe-some! Awe-some!" as he left the stage.
Round 1: Shred Begley Jr. from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
Stringbean made a spirited effort to follow a tough act, choosing a song I think was Avenged Sevenfold (although a commenter tells me it's Coheed and Cambria, which also makes sense since I know the song from Rock Band and that band is also in the game). The final two acts in round 1, Dr. Wankenstein (I-Roq Z from 2007) and Sister Lixx simply could not compete.
During the break, while judges tallied up their beverages and scores, and the top five contestants were corralled backstage, hometown hero Hotlixx Hulahan performed to an odd medley but showed his chops to the audience's adoration.
Guest Performance: Hotlixx Hulahan from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
With that interlude over, it was time for the compulsory round. In 2006 and 2007, the organizers made great picks for the compulsory round: "California Uber Alles" (Dead Kennedys) and "Youth Gone Wild" (Skid Row), respectively. This year, however, I have to question their pick. "I'll Stick Around" (Foo Fighters) may be catchy as hell, but it's hardly a guitar anthem. If we're going to choose the best of the best at this made-up talent show, at least pick something with a little grit. As judge Marc Hawthorne demonstrated for those that could see him in the balcony, "I'll Stick Around" makes a great air drumming song but not so much a good air guitar track. The contests seemed to have an easier time with this song than previous ones, however, probably because this one was more familiar. (Apparently there are still a few people in California who have never heard "California Uber Alles.")
Marc Hawthorne Air Drumming from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
The first top-five contestant was Captain Nowhere, whose enthusiastic windmills and good technique weren't enough to overcome his on-stage stiffness. Stringbean gave a mediocre and fidgety performance, and couldn't convince the judges that he would be able to win the national championship. Eleven seemed oddly natural with good rhythm, but showed his age with some crazy dance best suited for Golden Gate Park. Unfortunately, all but one judge, Mr. Hawthorne, gave Eleven a score lower than 5. Shred Nugent was great, channeling Dave Grohl to display his unrivaled technical skills.
But the man to beat this night was Shred Begley Jr. Punctuating his awesome performance with a surf of the crowd, Begley received a 10 from John Trippe, another round of "Awesome!" chanting, and was crowned San Francisco US Air Guitar Regional Champion.
Shred Begley Jr. from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
An elated Begley picked up Bjorn Toroque as the crowd prepared for the free on-stage jam to "Free Bird."
US Air Guitar, SF Regional from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
After a few attempts to lift Begley, the contestants and audience members gathered on stage for air guitar jam managed to get him up off the ground.
Shred Begley, Jr. will now move on to the 2008 Cuervo Black US Air Guitar National Finals, Presented By TouchTunes on August 8 at San Francisco's Grand Ballroom.
US Air Guitar: San Francisco Regional Championship
The Independent
628 Divisadero St (btwn Hayes & Grove) [Map]
Drinks consumed: too busy taking notes in the dark to count
Review at the OwlMag
*** Now with videos!
Thanks to the madmen behind US Air Guitar, a show consisting entirely of performers playing invisible guitars can sell out the Independent. For those unfamiliar with the magic and mystery of air guitar, it is an annual collection of freaks, wannabes, amateur comedians, and rock lovers who "play" air guitar on stage. Sometimes a contestant seems to be completely disconnected from both his body and the music. Other times, a contestant is so good that it's as if a guitar will materialize in his hands any second.
The spectacle's inventors have designed a rubric for measuring this skill, employing three judges—think The Muppet Show's Statler and Waldorf with unlimited drinks and a third, equally critical sidekick—to drink heavily and rate the contestants on technical merit, stage presence, and airness. Airness is that certain je ne sais quois that launches an air guitarist from novice to virtuoso. Although no scientific studies have been done on the subject, it's likely that alcohol plays a role in one's airness (or lack thereof). Alcohol also enhances one's ability to be a fair and critical judge. Like the last two years, judges Marc Hawthorne (Onion AV Club), Jennifer Maerz (SF Weekly), and John Trippe (FecalFace.com) were completely hammered by the end of the night.
The event is decided in two rounds. In Round 1, each contestant performs to 60 seconds of the song (or medley) of his or her choosing. Round 2 brings the highest scorers from Round 1 back on stage for the compulsory round, where each contestant has to perform to the same clip of the same song. The audience has the honor, or horror, of hearing that song (in this case "I'll Stick Around" by the Foo Fighters) ad nauseum. Judges' scores range from 4.0 to 6.0, a system inspired by Olympic Figure Skating. The highest-scoring contestant from Round 1 has a significant advantage going into Round 2. The contestant with the highest combined Round 1 and Round 2 score wins the Regional Championship and moves on to compete in the US Finals, which will be held at the Grand Ballroom in San Francisco this year. Asked in the pre-show press conference why San Francisco was chosen to host the finals, Another Planet Entertainment's Bryan Duquette responded, "People in San Francisco like to dress up in costume."
Yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds. Reflecting on his victory at the press conference, the 2006 San Francisco Regional champ Hot Lixx Hulahan remembered asking himself, "Do I tell people I won air guitar?" But with sponsors like Cuervo Black (who failed to sponsor any kind of tequila special at the bar), a documentary called "Air Guitar Nation," and a pre-show press conference, it's sometimes hard to tell if this is all in the name of irony or if the organizers and contestants actually take the whole thing at least a little seriously. Regardless, this year's San Francisco Regional Championship attracted a perverse and often baffling selection of the Bay Area's, um, talent making for another fun night.
The evening began with the ceremonial air-ing of "War Pigs," where master-of-air-emonies and retired contestant Bjorn Turoque invited audience members to join him on stage and play air bass and air drums as he sang (really sang, not air sang) and aired lead guitar. Turoque's career includes five second-place finishes, with the exception of a win at the New York Regional in 2005. Despite never having won the national title, Turoque has become the face and voice of US Air Guitar. Turoque's bandmates were both women, and the drummer out-shined the bassist, who probably thinks Black Sabbath is a holiday for Satanists.
With that out of way, the competition was underway. The Independent's own Ricky Stinkfingers, last year's Regional Champion, was up first. Clad in pink lyrca, Stinkfingers sported a much larger bulge in his pants than last year, either an indication that he's been taking performance-enhancing substances or that he brought his pet armadillo to the contest. His spirited performance fell short for the sober judges, who are unfortunately always hardest on the first performers of the night. Fortunately, Stinkfingers already secured a spot in the national finals with a first-place finish in the Portland regional.
A chain of mediocrity followed Stinkfingers. Plaid-pants-wearing Stoney Iommi may have been the Black Sabbath guitarist's namesake, but this Iommi's "Iron Man" was tedious, albeit accurate. Lieutenant Castille's followed with an inspired but horrific version of the theme from Miami Vice. Aside from the white Members Only jacket, the only thing remotely Don Johnson about it was the cheese factor. Dan the Man's rendition was more Bill Nye the Science Guy than Freddie Mercury, and a hirsute Bad Ass Blondini, sporting a black vest with no shirt, tight black and white pants, and the world's worst mullet wig, just didn't have what it takes to impress the judges, who were starting to get tipsy.
Mediocre turned to abysmal with David "Air Guitar" Freeberg, nearly booed off the stage when his performance of "Bad to the Bone" proved to be just bad. Another crowd disappointment, Tiger Claw, failed to come close to the greatness of his appearance last year but still had some of the best technical skills of anyone that night. Taxi-Driver–t-shirt wearing Gobo didn't so much air guitar as half-breakdance to
Wrong. Daddy's Little Smashing Pumpkin came out next in a pink lace baby dress, blond Annie wig with a pink bow, and an overloaded diaper, performed miserably to some kind of death metal song, and responded to the judges' low scores by pulling cooked spaghetti out of his diaper and throwing it at the audience. Another repeat contestant, Downright Dirty Diamond, basically did air guitar warm-ups, earning himself the most disappointing score of the round, 4.8. Then came the first female contestant, Gloria Stun 'Em, whose rendition of a bizarre metal version of "Kung Fu Fighting" resulted in the best judge comment of the night, from Marc Hawthorne: "It reminded me of the third hand job I ever got in junior high."
A disheartened crowd finally started to get their money's worth with Jammin' J-Bone. Yet another repeat contestant, J-Bone punctuated his performance of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" with a well-executed—perhaps even graceful—stage dive. Shred Nugent, also a returning contestant and last year's San Jose champion, strapped on another contestant's discarded black bra and aired it out, earning the second highest score of the night. The good streak continued with Eleven, whose Doobie Brothers-esque appearance concealed an awesome air guitar hero within.
Eleven from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
Things slowed down again with Captain Nowhere, who, in unmistakable hipster attire, went the medley route and earned mixed reactions from the crowd. Then came Madame Deathface, the night's second female contestant, whose blasting Vornado and funereal shtick wasn't enough to make up for her awful spastic style.
The lull came to an abrupt end with Shred Begley Junior. Donning black-rimmed plastic glasses with flip-up Kanye West–style plastic shades, an afro, and a shirt bearing the word "AWESOME," Shred Begley Jr. did just that: shred. Well, shred air. He earned the highest score of the night and inspired the crowd to chant "Awe-some! Awe-some!" as he left the stage.
Round 1: Shred Begley Jr. from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
Stringbean made a spirited effort to follow a tough act, choosing a song I think was Avenged Sevenfold (although a commenter tells me it's Coheed and Cambria, which also makes sense since I know the song from Rock Band and that band is also in the game). The final two acts in round 1, Dr. Wankenstein (I-Roq Z from 2007) and Sister Lixx simply could not compete.
During the break, while judges tallied up their beverages and scores, and the top five contestants were corralled backstage, hometown hero Hotlixx Hulahan performed to an odd medley but showed his chops to the audience's adoration.
Guest Performance: Hotlixx Hulahan from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
With that interlude over, it was time for the compulsory round. In 2006 and 2007, the organizers made great picks for the compulsory round: "California Uber Alles" (Dead Kennedys) and "Youth Gone Wild" (Skid Row), respectively. This year, however, I have to question their pick. "I'll Stick Around" (Foo Fighters) may be catchy as hell, but it's hardly a guitar anthem. If we're going to choose the best of the best at this made-up talent show, at least pick something with a little grit. As judge Marc Hawthorne demonstrated for those that could see him in the balcony, "I'll Stick Around" makes a great air drumming song but not so much a good air guitar track. The contests seemed to have an easier time with this song than previous ones, however, probably because this one was more familiar. (Apparently there are still a few people in California who have never heard "California Uber Alles.")
Marc Hawthorne Air Drumming from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
The first top-five contestant was Captain Nowhere, whose enthusiastic windmills and good technique weren't enough to overcome his on-stage stiffness. Stringbean gave a mediocre and fidgety performance, and couldn't convince the judges that he would be able to win the national championship. Eleven seemed oddly natural with good rhythm, but showed his age with some crazy dance best suited for Golden Gate Park. Unfortunately, all but one judge, Mr. Hawthorne, gave Eleven a score lower than 5. Shred Nugent was great, channeling Dave Grohl to display his unrivaled technical skills.
But the man to beat this night was Shred Begley Jr. Punctuating his awesome performance with a surf of the crowd, Begley received a 10 from John Trippe, another round of "Awesome!" chanting, and was crowned San Francisco US Air Guitar Regional Champion.
Shred Begley Jr. from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
An elated Begley picked up Bjorn Toroque as the crowd prepared for the free on-stage jam to "Free Bird."
US Air Guitar, SF Regional from agreatnotion on Vimeo.
After a few attempts to lift Begley, the contestants and audience members gathered on stage for air guitar jam managed to get him up off the ground.
Shred Begley, Jr. will now move on to the 2008 Cuervo Black US Air Guitar National Finals, Presented By TouchTunes on August 8 at San Francisco's Grand Ballroom.
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