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2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006
Note: The Gig Journal entries are primarily links to the respective photo albums, but occasionally I have posted a review as well. All journaling is now done on the BAGeL Radio Blog.
Rogue
Wave/ Kelley
Stoltz/ The Herms
Bottom Of The Hill, S.F., CA. 12/31/04
The
Red Thread/ Citizens Here And Abroad/
Fojimoto
12
Galaxies, S.F., CA. 12/19/04
The
Heavenly States/ Ex-Boyfriends/
Mosaics
Thee
Parkside, S.F., CA. 12/15/04
The
Arcade Fire/ The Heavenly States/
Citizens
Here And Abroad
Bottom Of The Hill, S.F., CA. 12/8/04
The
Otherside/ Send For Help
Cafe
du Nord, S.F., CA. 12/2/04
We
Are Invisible
Studio
Z, S.F., CA. 11/30/04
Sondre
Lerche/ The Golden Republic
Slim's,
S.F., CA. 11/30/04
Difford
& Tilbrook (Squeeze)
Borders
Books Charing X Road, London 11/18/04
Juliette
& The Licks
Cafe
du Nord, S.F., CA. 11/7/04
Fiery
Furnaces/ Rogers Sisters/ Black Lipstick
Bottom Of The Hill, S.F., CA. 10/15/04
Mark
Lanegan Band/ Nick (QoTSA) Oliveri
Great American Music
Hall, S.F., CA. 10/12/04
The
Eagles of Death Metal
Cafe
du Nord, S.F., CA. 10/10/04
Kelley
Stoltz/ Jackpot/ Herms
Cafe
du Nord, S.F., CA. 10/8/04
Scissor
Sisters
The
Fillmore , San Francisco, CA. 9/27/04
no
photos allowed at show (boo, hiss)
Pixies/
Fear
Greek
Theatre, Berkeley, CA. 9/24/04
no
photos allowed at show (boo, hiss)
Rilo
Kiley/ Tilly And The Wall
Bimbo's,
S.F., CA. 9/23/04
no
photos allowed at show (boo, hiss)
Two
Gallants
The
Independent, S.F., CA. 9/10/04
The
Slow Poisoners (SF*ND BBQ)
Thee
Parkside S.F., CA. 9/4/04
Ben
Kweller/ The Unicorns
The
Fillmore, S.F., CA. 8/28/04
The
Dresden Dolls
Cafe
du Nord, S.F., CA. 8/20/04
PJ
Harvey
Great American Music
Hall, S.F., CA. 8/19/04
no
photos allowed at show (boo, hiss)
Sebadoh
Bottom Of The Hill,
S.F., CA. 8/10/04
I Love
You But I've Chosen Darkness/ Ratatat
Cafe du Nord, S.F.,
CA. 8/4/04
Finn
Andrews of The Veils
Cafe du Nord, S.F.,
CA. 8/1/04
Rilo
Kiley
Bottom Of The Hill,
S.F., CA. 7/30/04
The
Everyones
Cafe du Nord, S.F.,
CA. 7/28/04
!!!/
Deerhoof
Great
American Music Hall, S.F., CA. 7/27/04
no
photos allowed at show (boo, hiss)
Kelley
Stoltz/ Steve Burns
Bottom Of The Hill,
S.F., CA. 7/25/04
Rogue
Wave
Amoeba Records, S.F.,
CA. 7/24/04
The
Velvet Teen
Bottom Of The Hill,
S.F., CA. 7/20/04
The Wrens/ Jim Yoshii Pileup
Great American Music
Hall, S.F., CA. 7/16/04
Deerhoof
Bottom Of The Hill,
S.F., CA. 7/13/04
Devendra Banhart/ Joanna Newsom
Great American Music
Hall, S.F., CA. 7/11/04
Emily
Haines of Metric
Cafe
du Nord, S.F.,
CA. 7/10/04
AC
Newman/ The Neins
Bottom Of The Hill, S.F.,
CA. 7/9/04
AC Newman was
great; the Neins were great; the middle band started out OK then blatantly
and without attribution ripped off The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry"
to such an extent that I don't care to list their name; I got to spin
which was (wait for it....) great! Fun, fun, fun.
Harvey
Danger
Cafe
du Nord, S.F.,
CA. 6/18/04
When I saw
the listing for this show I bought tickets immediately...admittedly mainly
to finally hear "Flagpole Sitta" performed live. This
once-promising Seattle band imploded after the massive radio success of
the aforementioned single ("Paranoia, paranoia, everybody's coming
to get me/ Just say you never met me/ I'm running underground with the
moles/ Digging holes") in 1997-98. That whole first album,
WHERE HAVE ALL THE MERRYMAKERS GONE, was quality. The second album
didn't do anything sales-wise and since then Harvey Danger had fallen
out of sight and out of mind. At least as far as I could tell.
This was apparently
their first show together in years. They said that they aren't sure
how many more they are going to do, but this show was a reminder of why
it was such a shame that Harvey Danger couldn't hold it together under
the crush of their success and the implosion of their record label.
Power chords, terrirfic melodies, clever and insightful and sing-along-friendly
lyrics, a great voice personality up front...and oh so many great lines:
"Pomposity
is when you always think you’re right/ Arrogance is when you know."
"Hear
the voices in my head/ I swear to God it sounds like they're snoring/
Well if you're bored then you're boring."
"Like
everybody else, i wanna pay my dues/ I only want someone to tell me who
to make the check out to."
Here's hoping
they can hold it together long enough to put out another batch of high
quality power pop songs. Take it one record at a time, fellas, one
record at a time.
Wisely/
Whitey On The Moon/ Goh Nakamura
The
Rickshaw Stop, S.F., CA. 6/12/04
Willie Wisely
is back and he wisely dropped the Willie and is now goes by just Wisely.
His new record label has put out a compilation of his first two solo albums
under the name "Go!" and if you don't have those two albums
"Go!" serves as an excellent Wisely primer to prepare you for
his new release this Fall.
The Rickshaw
set combined "Go!" material and new stuff. The new songs
were poppy and strong...perhaps more grown up and focused than his other
solo material.
The small crowd,
which included Willie's dad and Aunt Sue, was treated to a set of grinning,
mood-elevating pop songs peformed by a talented songwriter, singer, guitarist,
and entertainer -- if there is any justice in the world, Wisely will soon
be headling places like The Fillmore.
Acid
Mothers Temple/ Psychic Paramount/ Parchman Farm
Bottom Of The Hill, S.F., CA. 6/5/04
Parchman Farm
is dark: Black Sabbath meets Deep Purple. On-stage it seems like
none of the four band members know that it's 2004. Or that the millenium
turned. Or that the 1990s happened. Nor the 1980s, for that
matter. And their brand of meteorite-heavy psychedelic rock is
all the better for that witting myopia. Grow your hair and bang
your head: Parchman Farm is here to rock you back to the stoned
age.
I was walking towards the front door when Acid Mother's Temple arrived
at the Bottom Of The Hill. They strode in side-by-side like they
were on their way to the OK Corral. With their long leather coats
and long, wavy hair, they reminded me of Star Trek The Next Generation
Kingons. Only shorter. And with smoother foreheads.
Mountain
Goats/ Destroyer/ Frog Eyes
Bottom Of The Hill, S.F., CA. 5/26/04
How did I miss Frog
Eyes before this? What rock was I living under? I am ashamed.
But now I am saved for having seen them and bought their album.
Mountain Goats
were terrific, too.
Clinic/
Midnight Movies/ Low Flying Owls
Bimbo's,
S.F., CA. 5/21/04
I love the
first two Clinic albums. I also love all of the singles, and most
of the b-sides. In fact, my favorite Clinic songs is a b-side, "Porno."
I've seen Clinic twice before and went home happy both times.
Not so this
time. The boys in scrubs have recorded a new album and 3 of the
first 4 songs in the set were from said new album. About half the
set consisted of songs from the new album. Normally that percentage
would be about right: bands need to promote their new material so fans
will buy it. Problem is the new album isn't out yet. The crowd
didn't know any of the new songs. While I was looking forward to
hearing new Clinic songs, I would have been much happier with a 3-1 ratio
of old songs to new.
It would also
be nice to hear something other than "cheers, thanks" between
songs, and perhaps see a modicum of interaction between the masked band
members on stage.
I'll probably hate
myself for having written this when the album comes out and is as great
as INTERNAL WRANGLER and WALKING WITH THEE...
Midnight Movies
were again very good, although not quite as good as the previous three
times I've seen them. The highlight this time was that guitarist
Larry Schemel deviated a bit from his normally rigid, angular style and
in so doing seemed to expand his own palette, leading the melody in places
for a nice change.
Low Flying
Owls are a band to watch out for. They wear their influences on
their sleeve (think Black Rebel Mary Chain rocking Warlocks tunes), but
they do what they do very well and already have a couple of could-be-alterna-hits
in "What My Friends Say" and "Glad To Be Alive," in
their catalogue.
Elephone/
Audio Out Send/ Cerebus Shoal
Bottom Of The Hill, S.F., CA. 5/14/04
Elephone is
like a more guitar-oriented New Order with a brash lead vocalist combined
with Joy Division without the bleakness and The Cure without the over-the-top
pop sensibility...yet somehow they don't sound retro, their sound is very
2004. Elephone will move units.
Death
Cab For Cutie/ Ben Kweller/ Thermals
The
Fillmore, S.F., CA. 5/4/04
Death Cab for
Cutie remains my favorite band discovered since the calendar rolled over
to 2000. Each album is strong in it's own right, and the latest,
TRANSATLANTICISM, is their best collection of songs to date. Ben
Gibbard's hopeless hapless romantic lyrics ("I am waiting for something
to go wrong/ I am waiting for famliar results") remain the best this
side of David Gedge, and his vocals have grown stronger and more confident.
He even manages to keep his mouth near enough to the mic most of the time
these days, despite still swaying from one side of the stand to the other
constantly (view the photos to see what I mean).
Ben Kweller
was as entertaining as ever, and told great stories like always, but the
new record is not as strong as the first album. The songs are good,
but not as clever, not as engaging, and perhaps a little too serious for
a performer as loose and good-time giddy as Ben.
Coachella
Valley Music Festival featuring
The
Pixies/ Radiohead/ Death Cab For Cutie/ Broken Social Scene/ Bright Eyes/
The Cure/ Stellastarr*/ The Stills/ The Cooper Temple Clause/ ...And You
Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead/ Flaming Lips/ !!!/ The Rapture/ Muse/
The (International) Noise Conspiracy/ Desert Sessions/ Kraftwerk/ Erase
Errata/ Pretty Girls Make Graves/ The Sounds/ Sahara Hotnights/ Elefant/
The Killers/ Black Keys/ Moving Units/ Air/ DJ Danger Mouse/ Kool Keith
and others
Empire
Polo Field, Indio, CA. 5/1 & 5/2/04
I got to see
four of my all-time favorite bands this weekend: The Pixies, Radiohead,
Death Cab For Cutie, and The Cure.
There were
about 55,000 people at the Empire Polo Field on Saturday, which was about
20,000 people too many. Oh, and it was 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
Someone thought it was a good idea to put Radiohead, perhaps the biggest
band in the world, on the same day as the reunited Pixies. Not a
good idea. Too many people. It took 2.5 hours to drive the
last mile into the parking lot, and it took 2.5 hours to get out.
That SUCKED.
On Sunday there
were about 35,000 people at the Empire Polo Field and one could move freely
around the place and from stage to stage -- Saturday would have been SO
much better if the crowd had been this size. Even though Sunday
was even hotter (107 degrees), it was by far the more pleasant day.
Best performances
of the weekend: The Pixies (reunited and sounding better than ever, they
held the attention of just about all 50,000+ people at the event, and
managed to squeeze in not one but two b-sides in their 45 minute set --
bravo!), Broken Social Scene (great, just great, with the added bonus
of vocals by Metric's Emily Haynes), Bright Eyes (emotional lyrics evoked
tears from males and females throughout the crowd), and Death Cab For
Cutie (didn't really like the white jump suits, and there was a little
too much time wasted considering the festival-length short set time, but
DCFC still made my day).
Most disappointing
performances of the weekend: Radiohead (likely due more to the sound bleeding
over from the other big stage than the performance itself...but they did
unearth "Creep" which was a pleasant surprise), Flaming Lips
(I enjoyed the spectacle of Wayne arriving on stage in a huge plastic
bubble, and I appreciated the content of his commentary, but just four
songs?! Come on!), and The Cure (Robert sounded great and the sheer
volume of great songs he wrote from 1977-1989 is astounding, but the band
sounded like an 80s covers band that didn't really like Cure albums all
that much).
The
Pixies
Freeborn Hall, Davis, CA. 4/29/04
It had been about 12 years since I last saw the Pixies play. Back
in 1992 I saw them a few times playing to half-empty arenas as the warm-up
act for U2: Boston, San Diego, LA...the band was great then.
They didn't even pretend to be into it for the mostly disinterested crowds,
but to me they were great anyway.
Playing in a high school prom gymnasium-type room in Davis, CA. (where
is Davis, you ask? Good question) didn't seem like the ideal place
for their big comback after all these years, and the sound in the room
was as muddy as one might expect from such a venue. The band wasn't
particularly tight, either -- at one point early in the set the boys in
the band started "Wave Of Mutilation," which was great, except
that Kim was playing "Debaser." It did not matter.
They laughed off that misstep and started over from the top. In
the end they had rumbled through 24 songs, most of which brought tears
to my eyes.
I was ambivalent about seeing them get so much well-deserved love from
the crowd -- part of my found it heartwarming, the selfish part of me
felt cheated out of a secret that was no longer a secret.
I must say that it was downright bizarre to see Black Francis and Kim
Deal with their arms around each other smiling and waving to the adoring
assembly.
I can't believe I'd forgotten how great the Pixies were. Shame on
me. Catch them while you can.
Stellastarr*/
The Killers
Great American Music Hall, S.F., CA. 4/28/04
Even though I went to see Stellstarr* immediately after seeing TV On The
Radio, who were too great to be upstaged by anyone, Stellastarr* more
than held their own. I already knew they had an album full of good
pop songs, what I didn't know is that those songs would come across even
better live than they do on record. From the propulsive Pixies-esque
"Jenny" to the pop march "My Coco" to the 80s WLIR
New Wave of "Somewhere Across Forever," Stellastarr* did just
about everything right. And man, that is one good-looking band.
Wait 'til you see the photos!
The Killers paled by comparison. Although the guitarist wore way
cool shoes that glow like unearthly beings in photos. It's gotta
be the shoes.
TV
On The Radio/ The Pleased
Bottom of the Hill, S.F., CA. 4/28/04
You know how when you get all excited about a new band, and you think,
"My goodness, this is the greatest thing I've heard in ages?"
And then you hear more by that band and you think, "My goodness,
it just keeps getting better!" And you fall in love with the
band, even though your know next to nothing about them. And then
said band passes through your town on tour and the show sells out so quickly
that you don't have a chance to get tickets. And then they add an
early show so you get to go after all. So you go. And
then they suck.
Most of that is what happened to me with TVotR. All except for that
last bit about them sucking. Not quite. In fact, they put
on one of the best shows I've seen in the last calendar year, managing
to exceed my too-high-to-not-be-disappointed expectations. Some
of the subleties of the record were replaced with ferocious rocking out,
and I admit that I missed some of the subtleties, but if you are
going to replace them with anything, rocking out is the way to go.
Musically they did not disappoint.
The band was most engaging as well. They were personable, likeable,
funny, and had a good rapport with the audience and with each other.
If you don't have their album DESPERATE YOUTH, BLOOD THIRSTY BABES do
yourself a favor: buy it, listen to it over and over, then go see TV On
The Radio play live. Then buy their debut EP, which contains a barbershop
quartet-like version of the Pixies song, "Mr. Grieves," that
has to be heard to be believed.
The Pleased opened the show and were quite good. The singer needs
to get rid of the Peter Frampton meets 80s glam metal look, but they sounded
great and there was definitely a strong song or three in the set.
Then again, don't quote me on that just yet. When The Pleased were
playing I was kinda just standing around distractedly waiting for TVotR.
Metric/
Mellowdrone
Great
American Music Hall, S.F., CA. 4/14/04
So I missed Mellowdrone for a fourth time in five attempts. Go figure.
They have a new EP ("Go Get 'Em Tiger") out, though, which I
bought at the show and after one listen I think it might be even better
than their first, which was excellent. Buy the EP. Support
these guys.
I did get to see Metric. They made us stand through an unreasonable
wait after the Mellowdrone set ended (which was doubly annoying for me,
'cause had they just let Mellowdrone go on later, I might have caught
a song or two). No surprise here: Metric was worth the wait.
More on them later. I need to upload the photos, build a page, and
get to bed.edMissed
The Vines/ JET/ The Living End
The Warfield, S.F., CA. 4/11/04
Disclosure: this show on a was Sunday night after a busy, tiring weekend
during which I had to work, party, and squeeze in time with my lady who
was out of town last week on vacation and is out of town this week on
business. Then we waited 20 chilly minutes for an F-Market train
that never came, so we hopped in a mock London black cab. It wasn't
black, the passenger doors opened in the normal direction, the engine
was not diesel, and the cabbie expected a tip even though he was whistling
along to Celine Dion's "My Life Will Go On." Other than
that is was real authentic. It was one of those Murphy's Law moments.
On top of that we had balcony seats for the show. The Warfield is
a beautiful room, and the only vantage point from which to truly enjoy
that beauty is from the balcony. I just don't like sitting down
at rock shows. Can't get into it.
That said, JET was somewhat energetic in their romp though their catalog
of AC/DC-Skynard-BTO-Bad Company cutting room floor gems. Every
now and then a song would merit some attention, but often the inanity
of the lyrics would take that merit right back. Ah, competantly
played heavy bar blues with words that are dumb like wood. With
a rolling Beatlesque bassline here and there. Put that in
a blender and you have a hit, my friends. JET will be a hit.
Last time I saw them they seemed more personable and more engaged with
each other on stage, which may have had something to do with the size
of the venue (Slim's holds 500, The Warfield approximately 2000).
The other noticible difference was this time there was one lead singer.
Last year, opening for Kings Of Leon, three different JETs took turns
on lead vocals. What's up with that?
The Vines. Such disappointment. Craig can sing, and play his
guitar, and he did attempt to sing on a couple of songs and those sounded
good. The rest of the time he opted for whiny screechy screams that
had the effect of clearing out a good portion of the balcony after the
first 4 songs. We left after 5.
It almost seems like he's bored up there on stage and needs to do
things other than sing the songs as they are written to keep himself interested.
What he will start to learn on this tour if he pays attention is that
this show is not keeping his audience interested.
[the]
caseworker/ Minmae
The Starry Plough, Berkeley, CA. 4/9/04
The
Evening/ Elephone/ Making Movies
The Independent, San Francisco, CA. 4/2/04
The free tickets I'd won in a contest run by local promoters somehow didn't
make their way to the box office, but I plan to parlay this mess-up into
s between bands DJing gig, so I'm taking the mildly annoying oversight
and turning it into a positive.
Making Movies once again impressed with their ability to look dour throughout
the entire set. Not a hint of a smile, grin, smirk, other other
look that would be inconsisten with the Goth ethos. Even more impressive
was the set itself. While not flawless it was certainly a leap in
the right direction for a young band finding it's legs and establishing
a fanbase away from home. Finishing with a quality version of their
stormer, "Strange Design" closed the statement they made to
San Francisco with an exclamation mark: "We're here.
We're very, very good. And you are going to like us. Even
if we appear to be mopey!"
The
Cooper Temple Clause
The Independent,
San Francisco, CA. 3/25/04
These British fellas have way too much nice equipment and a tour bus that
far exceeds their Stateside stature at the moment, but they put the instruments
to good use and rocked the house, so we shouldn't let petty jealousies
get in the way of enjoying their show. They fuse heavy rock with
some electronics and whiny vocals coming out with the bastard child of
Radiohead and System Of A Down with that Oasis prick on vocals.
Stone Temple Oasis, perhaps? Not all of the song do it for me,
but with gems like "Did You Miss Me," "The Same Mistakes,"
"Blind Pilots," and that anthem of a generation, "Let's
Kill Music," TCTC proves once and for all that they are for real
and will come through this coddled phase of their existence all the better
for having experienced it. Just do me a favor fellas -- a less cumbersome
album title on the next one, OK?
Yeah Yeah Yeahs/ Har Mar Superstar
The Fillmore, S.F., CA. 3/17/04
Note: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs do not make the list of my top 5 favorite bands
of the decade, but their song "Maps" may well end up being my
favorite single of the first half of the 2000s.
I like just about everything the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have released so far,
and they live up to and often surpass those recordings when they perform
them live. That said, "Maps" is so far and away their
best song (recorded and live) that listening to YYYs always leaves me
conflicted. On the one hand, the EPs were so good (we don't
need to include MACHINES here), and the album was so good, and the live
performance is so good...so what is there to complain about? On
the other hand, "Maps" is so much better than "so good"
that I am left wondering if (a) they aren't trying hard enough or (b)
they will never reach such heights again.
That said, Nick's guitar licks were MASSIVE, Brian's drumming was boththunderous
and meticulous, and Karen was born to be on stage. Maybe they will
become my favorite band of the decade after all.
Psychedelic
Furs/ Berlin
Great American Music Hall, S.F., CA. 3/16/04
Berlin brought the house down around me but left me underwhelmed.
"Take My Breath Away" became marginally interesting when a friend
suggested it was really about auto-erotic asfixiation, otherwise it sounded
like any number of other junior high school slow-dance tunes. "Sex
(I'm A)" was good, and "Metro" was even better, but the
highlight for me was "No More Words" which seemed to posess
a depth lacking in most of the rest of the set.
The Psychedelic Furs rocked when they played stuff from my favorite Furs
albums Mirror Moves, Forever Now, and their eponymous debut. The
other material, which made up about two thirds of the set, felt like a
collection of b-sides. Since they are Furs "b-sides" they
are not atrocious or even hard to listen to, but the inclusion of so many
of them squeezed out classics like "India," which was
disappointing.
That said it was great to see singer Richard Butler in such good spirits
and enjoying himself on stage. Butler seemed sincerely pleased with
the warm response his band received from the crowd. He even signed
a few autographs while on stag...during songs. At times he got all
snarly and angry-looking like the poor man's John Lydon, and for the encores
he came out wearing a sweater much like the one I wore when I spun and
danced around the room to early Furs records the first time around.
Before long, though he'd smile at a bandmate or the crowd and the punk/art
rock facade would fade to reveal an entertainer quite pleased to be doing
what he's doing.
Bob
Log III
Cafe du Nord, S.F., CA. 3/10/04
Bob Log III, the one man band with the guitar, foot-controlled drums,
and full-face crash helmet/analog telephone handset microphone gizmo rocked
the house last night. Who needs Meg, anyway? Not this Tuscon,
AZ.solo blues explosion. With me at the show were a half dozen BLIII
virgin friends. I believe that each now can be considered dirtied
Log fans.
More
Noise Pop 2004
Various
Venues, S.F., CA. 2/28/04
Super Furry
Animals, The Wrens, 28th Day, Film School, Swords Project, Midnight Movies,
Decemberists, Earlimart, and The Rum Diary.
Noise Pop 2004
Various
Venues, S.F., CA. 2/25 - 2/27/04
The Unicorns,
The Red Thread, and Rilo Kiley.
The Red Thread
The Makeout Room,
S.F., CA. 2/18/04
This CD-release party performance did not do justice to either the first
or the brand new Red Thread CD, TENSION PINS. Singer Jason Lakis'
vocals were often drowned out in the mix and without their presence songs
fell flat. When Lakis was on form and audible, the songs came across
beautifully. The new material is strong, better even than the debut
album, AFTER THE LAST. Expect that their upcoming Noise Pop slot at Bimbo's
on Friday, February 27th, will be the time for the new material to shine.
The Notwist
Slim's, S.F., CA.
2/16/04
Gotta love The Notwist. Although less intense than last year, the
Bavarian indie rock/ industrial metal act once again came through with
a solid set of oldies, not-so-oldies, and brand new material.
Starsailor
Slim's, S.F., CA. 2/7/04
Dear bands--please stop hiring blind guys with toy fetishes to do your lighting.
We, the fans, like to be able look at the stage without having our retinas
scarred by bright lights that cause the early onset of hangover-like headaches.
Thanks.
Starsailor singer James Walsh now sports a mullet and an even more pronounced
center stage persona. It was not surprising, then, when he
gave the rest of the band a break and decided to do solo version
of the first vinyl he ever bought, U2's "Angel Of Harlem."
He should take Bono's cue and have someone else take the lead guitar chores,
at least live. James' main asset is his voice and that's what he
should be devoting his attention to. If young Walsh isn't careful
he could end up with a head the size of Bono.
Of course, Walsh is so vocally talented he could also end up with the
success and riches like that of the aforementioned Irish pop singer.
The songs are good, the performances are good, the lighting was at times
lovely and at others downright unbearable, but the encore's of "Fever"
and "Good Souls" left even those us of who were gifted with
migraines by the damaging lighting feeling positive about Starsailor,
their sophore effort, and their future.
Mates of State/
Hawney Troof/ Rogue Wave
Bottom of the Hill,
San Francisco, CA. 2/7/04
Since I had another show later at Slim's I opted for the 5 o'clock Mates
of State show. As friend Alex pointed out, it feels a little weird
going to the bar to order a drink at that hour on a Saturday. Almost
dirty. Especially when there's another show at another venue later.
I kinda liked it. When Rogue Wave multi-instrumentalist Golden Gram
joined Hawney Troof on stage to dance around in his tighty whities, I
was sure I'd made the right decision.
[the] caseworker
The Hemlock Tavern,
S.F., CA. 1/31/04
The best-attended Caseworker show I've seen presented the moody, dark
atmospherics of THESE WEEKS SHOULD BE REMEMBERED, but saw the band suffer
through a less-than perfect night. Integral to The Caseworker's
success at conveying a mood is the level and integration of the individual
sounds. The vocals (lead and backing) weren't loud enough, and while
at times the sound mix was just right, it was not consistent. New
drummer Will is excellent and at times seemed like the glue holding this
performance together. He had a couple of advantages over the other
'workers -- he was the only member of the band that didn't have nearby
head-level pinspots shining directly into his face, plus his performance
is less affected by the house sound system than the others.
"No One Lives Here," the one song from the album on which bassist
Eimer Devlin assumes lead vocal chores, was sadly omitted from this set
list.
I did get some pretty good video of this show. And the ride home.
South/
Metric/ Mellowdrone
Slim's, S.F., CA.
1/30/04
Somehow I missed Mellodrone three times in 2003. Twice I showed
up too late, once I missed the show entirely. Not so last night.
Happy to report they were well worth the wait. Excellent songs performed
in a seated, subdued, yet emotionally searing delivery. I look forward
to seeing what they can do once they figure out they are a rock band and
they stand up for their shows (although, based on past history, I will
probably miss it).
Metric is fun, singer Emily is cute and quirky and sexy and just odd enough
to be interesting but not so odd as to be forced and annoying. They
can play, she can sing, and they know how to put on a good live show.
It doesn't hurt that they have an album's worth of quality songs to perform.
From the pop brilliance of "Combat Baby" to the bouyant new
wave of "Wet Blanket" to that one song ("Succsexy")
that sounds like The Cure's "A Forest" played at 45 rpm instead
of 33, they have catchy hooks and strong melodies and interesting lyrics...performed
well, there's not much else one can ask of a pop band.
Not unlike their second and most recent record, WITH THE TIDES, South
was disappointing. Uninspiring. They tried, and they are obviously
very talented, and some of the songs are very good, and the vocals are
always great, but somehow it all fell flat. Even "Paint The
Silence," the sublime single from their first album, didn't do the
trick. Maybe it was an off night, maybe they couldn't outshine the
high quality opening acts, maybe I just wasn't in the mood for South.
Whatever it was, I hope that this is not a trend. Their first record
and tour made me believe they were a force to be reckoned with.
I am hoping that they survive this sophomore slump and score big with
album number three.
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