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| Archives: Gig Journal Entries |
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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. Hijack The Disco/ Empty Rooms Thee More Shallows Birdmonster Echo & The Bunnymen/ Innaway The Wrens Aberdeen City BAGeL Radio Presents...The California Homegrown Music Series: Birdmonster/ Scissors For Lefty Mudhoney The Heartless Bastards/ Deadboy and the Elephantmen Metric Elephone/ The Otherside BAGeL Radio Presents...The California Homegrown Music Series: The Heavenly States/ Hijack The Disco The National/ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!/ Birdmonster Catholic Comb/ Serene Lakes/ Birdmonster The Bravery/ Maximo Park Hijack The Disco/ American Princes/ Birdmonster Birdmonster Loquat/
Citizens Here And Abroad/ Great American Music Hall, S.F., CA. 8/20/05 Birdmonster/ The Plus Ones/ Addison Birdmonster/ Serene Lakes/ The Dont's The Ex-Boyfriends Hard-Fi/ Send For Help/ Hijack The Disco Birdmonster The Red Thread/ Bedroom Walls The Ex-Boyfriends/ The Plus Ones/ Birdmonster BAGeL Radio Presents... Birdmonster What do they sound like? I've been asking myself that since their EP landed on my desk and the song "Janine" took the express train into rotation. I can tell you what they don't sound like, and that's anyone else in the Bay Area today or at any time in the seven years I have lived here. There's some Pixies noise pop aspects -- for example the vocals go from ferocious scream to sweetly melodic within the same line -- but they don't sound like the Pixies. There's some rockabilly sound and sensibility, but they are not rockabilly. When "Resurrection Song" was considered for and added to the playlist, the question of what Birdmonster sounds like came up again. The songs contain intricate rhythms and textured guitars, but this is not math-rock. The beats stutter and skip, but this is not Modest Mouse or glitch-hop. The off-center noise conjures Trail of Dead without the grandiosity. Even after pogoing to them live, I'm still asking the "what do they sound like?" question. I can tell you that they are energetic and accomplished and intentionally shambolic. They playfully interact with one another and with the crowd. They are having fun and their infectious buzz spreads past the monitors and permeates the room. Speaking of the room, this was the most people I remember seeing at the Bottom of the Hill for an opening act on a Tuesday for an all-local bill. All four Birdmonsters are adoreable, so much so that when frontman Peter Arcuni sings "I said I loved you...but I lied" the swooning females (and males, to be sure) in the crowd likely think, "Oh, he's so sweet and honest, I love him" instead of conjuring up ways to ruin his life. Honest. M'lady told me so. She also told me she wants to put them all in her pocket. Back off, fellas: this one is mine. The Ex-Boyfriends The Ex-Boyfriends temporarily pared down to a 2-piece for their first show since signing to Absolutely Kosher records and managed to rock the house and impress their new label all at the same time. Their cover of Madonna's "Burning Up," excecuted in rocking Ex-BF's style, was the perfect choice for set closer on Pride weekend in San Francisco. VHS or Beta Dressy Bessy/ Giant Value/ Jessica Fletchers I've seen Dressy Bessy a half dozen times now and this was by far the best full-band performance I've witnessed. The harder-rocking new material on ELECTRIFIED translates well in the live setting and Tammy's vocal, often buried in the mix previously, were front and center and the star of the show. That's not to say John Hill (guitar) and Robe Greene (bass) did not shine like always, just that Tammy seems to have taken her live performance up a level. New drummer Craig Gilbert kept the beats simple yet interesting and added sweet vocal harmonies from behind the drum kit. Say Hi To Your Mom/ Bento/ Cloud Cult This show was more like "say hi to everyone you know" for me than anything. I couldn't BELIEVE how many people I ran into, and not just people, but people who wanted to chat, before I even made it past the bar. Sheesh. Next time I go out I'm wearing a disguise. Enon/ Thunderbirds Are Now/ Sparrow Enon were good. Thunderbirds Are Now were slightly disappointing but still fun. Sparrow stole the show. How is it that I band I never liked (New Pornagraphers) keeps spawning bands I do (AC Newman, Sparrow)? Pirate Radio Hijack The Disco Seeing Hijack The Disco in an intimate venue like the Hemlock is such a treat. Take advantage while you still can, these guys are going to be massive. The Heavenly States/ Electro Group Back on form after a couple of less-than-stellar performances, The Heavely States made people sweat and ears bleed while collecting a bunch of new fans. Their set was very strong even though it contained a bunch of material from their forthcoming album which no one in the crowd has heard yet -- but the people still dug it. A very good sign indeed. The Wedding Present/ The Organ/ Every time I see the Wedding Present I become a fan all over again. The Ponys/ The Gris Gris/ The Ponys didn't play much off of their great 2004 album, Laced With Romance, the only work of theirs that I am familiar with. The set was mostly selections from their new album, CELEBRATION CASTLE, and despite being unfamiliar with the material the show was quite good. Of course, had they played more of LACED it would have been even better, but what can you do? Mando Diao The best Libertines knock-off band in the world today. Fortunately I like the Libertines, so this show rocked. The band seemed a bit disappointed in the lack of energy in the crowd, but it was a typical San Francisco crowd -- too cool (or is it too afraid to look like the awkward, herky-jerky hippies that sometimes infiltrate indie rock shows?) to dance and jump around. Bright Eyes/ The Faint Bright Eyes is going to blow up this year. Since hearing leaked copies of the two new albums back in December (thanks Dan!) it was pretty obvious that 2005 was going to be the year that Bright Eyes became the hot 'new' indie band to storm the pop charts, and with a live show as extensive and powerful and well-performed as this, Conor & Co. may just be featured performers on the Grammys. Laugh if you must, and feel free to call me on this if I am wrong, but I think that two of these three bands will perform at the Grammy Awards: Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and The Arcade Fire. The Faint had the all-ages crowd in a whirling, bobbing, dance-'til-you drop frenzy from their opening song. The new album out-Nine Inch Nails NIN themselves, but the kids don't seem to mind. The sound at the Design Center was better than I have ever heard it. Whoever is responsible deserves a big pat on the back. And a raise. 2005 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival Day 2:
Gram Rabbit/ Autolux/ Kasabian/ Futureheads/
Gang Of Four/ Arcade Fire/ Nine Inch Nails/ The Faint/ Bright Eyes 2005 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival Day 1: Ambulance LTD./ Snow Patrol/ The Kills/ Rilo Kiley/ Bauhaus/ Bloc Party BAGeL Radio Presents... Hijack The Disco/ Send For Help/ The first-ever BAGeL Radio Presents... night was a success thanks to the bands, the Make-Out Room, and everyone who came to the show. Thank you all. What a nice send-off that was! Death
From Above 1979/ The
Ex-Boyfriends/ 20 Minute Loop Hood/
From Monument To Masses Louis
XIV Bloc Party/ Erase Errata/ Bloc Party is the best band in the world right now. Kaiser
Chiefs/ Lovemakers It was pouring in San Francisco tonight. Despite finding parking directly across 11th Street from Slim's we still got soaked before we got in. And, in case you are wondering, Slim's still sucks. There is pretty much nowhere to stand where people don't constantly need to shove past you, and you can't begrudge the people -- the lone bar is on the far side of the room, the lone door is on the opposite side, and then there's that perennial lack of a main-floor men's room that can accommodate a full house...but I've bitched about Slim's enough. The Lovemakers did their sleazy, ass-shaking disco-wave and they did it well, but to be honest I was too far from the stage to get into it and just wanted them to clear the stage for Kaiser Chiefs so the evening could end at a reasonable hour. Unfair, I know. There was an annoying 45+ minute wait between bands (mainly due to problems with a keyboard, it appeared), so when Kaiser Chiefs spilled out onto the stage to a Beatles soundtrack ("Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey") I was afraid that the combination of negative factors and a potential lackluster start to the set would have me fleeing the premises before long. Oh, yes, and we were surrounded by idiots shouting bad jokes at the stage and screaming "less talk, more rock" over and over and over again, yet another ingredient that can contribute to having a crap night. That's a lot to live up to, and a lot to live down, and a big bad mood to overcome. Fortunately KC's singer Ricky Wilson is impossibly charming, funny, and playfully energetic. The band seem to be having so much fun, that even several technical difficulty-related delays during the set hardly affected the energy level and flow. They covered these delays like professionals without seeming practiced in it, it just seemed like everything they tried worked (except for Ricky's fudging the punchline of the "Two fish in a tank" joke). Is this really their first tour? Ricky danced, and sprinted across the stage, and spun, and mimicked the rock moves of his heroes (including scissor kicks and Daltrey-esque microphone whirling) with the adorable awkwardness of an eager child aping his more experienced older brother. Ricky talked to his bandmates. Ricky talked to the crowd. Ricky invited an audience member onstage to tell a joke ("nothing too saucy, and certainly nothing racist") during a technical difficulty. Pogoing arfo-wearing beanpole bassist Simon Rix pogoed around the stage throughout almost the entire set, his hair bouncing along with his bass lines. One key talent that separates Kaiser Chiefs from most of the other 80s-sounding guitar-synth bands currently playing to packed 500-1000 capacity venues across the country with barely an album to their credit is their simple, non-redundant, cleverly designed and well-executed backing vocals. Drummer Nick Hodgson delivers the bulk of these, but Rix and stoic-by-KC standards guitarist Andrew White also contribute. Here's how entertaining Kaiser Chiefs were tonight -- about three songs into the set, porkpie hat-wearing Peanut's keyboard started acting up again. The rest of the band killed a little time, then decided they could play their big hit single, "I Predict A Riot," without Peanut. They did. The crowd loved it, it sounded great, but when it ended Ricky said, "That was kinda like the difference between having sex with someone you just met and having sex with someone you known your whole life. That song is not the same without Peanut. Here's that song as it was meant to be heard," and right there, during the first third of the set, the Kaiser Chiefs launched back into their big hit single. And again the crowd loved it, it sounded even better, and the band did something I'd never seen a band do before: play the same song back-to-back in it's entirety. And since it was their big hit single and the crowd loved it, it was beautiful. Don't get me wrong, the Kaiser Chiefs aren't great. They have one handful of pop gems and another handful of serviceable fillers. Tonight they played each of these songs perfectly without sounding canned. With personality and charm to spare, studied-but-not-perfected rock move, friendly banter, obvious warmth between band members, plus an immediate comfort level established with the crowd, these guys have a recipe for success that works even in crappy circumstances. Ian
Brown (Stone Roses) Former (Stone) Roses Singer Loses Bloom Ian Brown hit the stage and was given much love from the 500 or so fans in attendance, myself included. I remain a big fan of both Stone Roses albums, and I think "Solarized" is the best album Ian Brown has put out since "Second Coming." The band played a song from one of his solo records, then played "Sally Cinnamon." Neither sounded particularly good, but hearing "Sally Cinnamon" performed live for the first time brought me back to a very happy time in my life and I enjoyed it. They then kicked into "Made Of Stone," but Ian stopped at the chorus because he didn't like what he was hearing through his monitor. He went off-stage to chat with the monitor person, asking the crowd to bear with him. Within a couple of minutes the band began "Made Of Stone" once more. Again Ian stopped and went off to have words with the monitor person. Two-thirds of the way through the third attempt at "Made Of Stone," some idiot jumped up on stage and barrelled into Ian's knees, wiping him out and sending him to the ground. Ian, understandably angry, started kicking the idiot. And punching the idiot. Ian was joined by his bass player. And guitarist. And drummer. And keyboardist. And percussionist. You could say it was overkill, especially since the idiot, laying on the stage, did not appear to be fighting back. It looked like they were trying to kill the guy. Up came the house lights. Finally a couple of security guys made it up on stage and pulled the now-pummelled idiot toward the exit to the left of the stage. Ian wasn't done pounding the idiot, however, and continued swinging at and kicking the idiot even as security had him nearly off the stage. One large, blond security guy peeled Ian off the idiot. Ian and the security guy exchanged words, then Ian tried to grab the idiot again, and the security guy grabbed Ian again. Ian attacked the security guy. Ian was joined in his attack by his bass player. And guitarist. And drummer. And percussionist. AND as-yet-unseen trumpet player. Attacked by the entire band, the blond security guy (the only security left on stage as the others had taken the idiot away) went down, and the entire band proceeded to punch and kick him. It looked like they were trying to kill the guy. By the time other GAMH security arrived, the blond security guy was bleeding from his head. The band left the stage. I'd never seen anything like this in San Francisco where the locals, even at rock shows, tend to be mellow and calm, sometimes to a fault. I was so stunned by the goings on that I failed to take a single photo of the melee until the tail end, when the blond security guy was having his head stomped by the percussionist. What photos I did get are available at /photos/index.html. During this downtime I learned that prior to the show my friend John had been in the ticket line next to the now-pummelled idiot. Said idiot was apparently drunk out of his mind, from England, and a huge Ian Brown fan who spent his time in line going on and on the greatness of Ian Brown. Twenty minutes passed before the crowd cheered the band's return. I did not cheer. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Ian had every right to be mad at the idiot, but regardless of what the blond security guy said to Ian, he was doing his job and did not deserve to be brutally beaten. I looked around at the cheering crowd and thought, "These guys you are cheering just beat up a guy who hadn't done anything wrong..." It was bewildering. Before the first song of act 2, Ian made matters worse by asking if anyone in the crowd wanted to fight. He invited potential pugilists up to the stage, even pointing out individuals, "You, with the glasses, come up, I'll fight you." It was distasteful at best. The crowd had just suffered through multiple delays and bloody violence -- the way to remind everyone that we were there to have a good time dancing around to music was surely not to invite more fighting. Then he took it a step further and asked if there were any members of the security staff that wanted to fight. He repeated his question several times before finally getting around to starting a song. It was creepy to see a peace and love guy taunting the crowd and security staff this way. I believe the band made it through three songs, including "Love Bug" and "Time Is My Everything," but I couldn't get into it. Ian's voice was completely flat, and the band couldn't save him, especially since he insisted on ending most songs acapella. The man was clearly unable to sing but insisted on sharing his voice with us without the cover of other instruments. Even mountains of chorus and delay on the vocals couldn't hide what was clearly lacking. Is it possible that Ian Brown was trying to hide faded vocal abilities behind a facade of faulty equipment? M'lady asked if I was OK. I told her I wasn't happy. She said, "That's obvious," and asked if I wanted to leave. I told her that if he would just do one Stone Roses song and not sound flat, he would probably win me back over. They then started a Stone Roses song. Ian was flat. About a minute into it Ian again decided that what he was hearing through his monitors wasn't good enough and headed off-stage to speak with the monitor person. At this point I shouted boos at the stage, something I don't recall having done since seeing The Butthole Surfers stink up the Rathskeller in Boston's Kenmore Square in the mid 1980s. Most of the friends I was with decided we'd had enough. They headed for the exit, I went to retrieve my checked bag. The band started up again. Ian was still flat and feedback was drowning out much of the music. About five minutes into the ride home we got a call from our friend Pauline who, wanting to get her 28 dollars-worth, had decided to stay at the GAMH and stick it out. Pauline was calling to tell us that Ian had chucked his mic down to the stage and stormed off. The bass player tried to take over on lead vocals because Ian wasn't coming back on stage. That's when Pauline decided to leave. Beyond the wasted $28, the needless violence, and the dumbass testosterone-fueled posturing, another thing that's bothering me is that next time I hear songs like "Waterfall" and "Sally Cinnamon," what will immediately come to mind is tonight's ugliness. Those famous orange slices have grown moldy for this Roses fan. Bimbo's, S.F., CA. 2/27/05 The Walkmen pulled a very ballsy move by opening the set with their best song, "The Rat," which came in as the #4 song on the BAGeL Radio best songs of 2004 list. Somehow they kept the set powerful and interesting even though we could hardly hear Hamilton's lead vocals. Even when audible, one couldn't understand a word he was singing. Certain songs were a total mess, but when they were on, they were on. Film
School/ 20 Minute Loop/ The Independent, S.F., CA. 2/26/05 The emotional highlight for me of Noise Pop 2005. The father of the genre did not disappoint. Only a few minutes before the previous act ended, Bob wandered onto the stage with no fanfare carrying with him a small gym bag. He pulled a foam mic filter from the bag, put it on the mic, picked up his acoustic guitar, said hello, and started playing. The set opened with oldies from his first solo record, "Workbook," and from his two bands, Husker Du and Sugar, and most brought a tear to this fan's eye. The middle of the set was dominated by a batch of new, not-yet-released songs played on his famous baby blue electric guitar. I would have broken up the batch, placing the unfamiliar material into some context with the famliar material, but what do I know? Bob closed the set with a string of Sugar and Husker Du songs that had the crowd screaming for more, and he obliged with a couple of encores before removing his now soaked mic filter from the mic, ringing it out, putting it back in his gym bag, and wandering off with a promise to be back to play in San Francisco again later this year. Micah
Paul Hinson From hearing his record I knew that Hinson was a talented singer, songwriter, and guitarist, what I learned at the BoTH tonight is that he is also charming and knows how to work a room. He also likes to keep his cell phone on a chair next to him while he performs. Okay/
Giant Drag After the first couple of track-scanning listens it became obvious that I needed to devote an entire weekend day to the endeavor of listening to the advance copies of the two new Okay albums. Once I found that day I woke up, made some tea, and sprawled out on the living room floor with LOW ROAD and HIGH ROAD in the CD player pouring through my old Sony V600 (headphones). I made it through both albums three times, back-to-back-to-back etc. before remembering that I hadn't eaten anything yet. That says something, because I LOVE to eat. The live show was nearly as engrossing, with added touches like songs ending with band members firing cap guns at one another while someone in the roped-off balcony made similar noises from behind the standing room only crowd. Giant Drag at Thee Parkside was just as entertaining as Giant Drag at the Bottom Of The Hill a few hours earlier -- strong songs, performance, and lots of personality from Annie: "Would those of you who were at the Bottom Of The Hill show please raise your hands. Now, those of you who weren't, go ask one of the people with their hands raised to tell you how good that show was." Earlimart/
Henry Miller Sextet/ Giant Drag Bettie
Serveert Sad that they didn't get to play t heir full set, glad they ended with "Leg," one of my favorite songs from one of my all-time favorite albums, Palomine. The band were as energetic and friendly as ever, and most of the new songs sounded as good as the old. If only they hadn't run out of time we could have heard their Bright Eyes cover... Ditty
Bops/ Inara George/ Nick Freitas Robbers
On High Street/ Von Iva Portastatic/
The Heavenly States Hot
Hot Heat/ Louis XIV Mates
Of State/ Aqueduct Ted
Leo & The Pharmacists/ Secret
Machines/ Moving Units Cool lights, dude. Hijack
The Disco/ Fastpass/ Beep
Beep/ Every Move A Picture/ Beep Beep are very interesting and entertaining but their music is not very accessible. Yet. The pop ideas are there, but subverted and submerged much of the time, just below the surface, probably in the name of art. Every Move A Picture? Every Dance Move A Picture, you mean. Shake your booty to the new wave stylings of Franz Interpol. Rocking good fun, and a dapper bunch to boot. The Catholic Comb listened to The Cure's "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" about 47 million too many times, but you know what? There are worse sources for inspiration. These Concord kids have a good gloomy synth-pop thing going, now they just need to harness their songs down to the 3-minute pop gems radio loves so much. The
Hidden Cameras ...And
You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead I don't care what TuningForkMedia says about the new album, Trail of Dead still rocks. The
Heavenly States The
Disappointment Wisely/
Pop Concentrate (fka Weff) We
Are Invisible/ No Condom Whatever The
Thermals/Ex-Boyfriends The
Arcade Fire
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