Noise

American Idol: Casey kisses J-Lo!

Zelda Bronstein
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2
American Idol: Casey kisses J-Lo!

Wow, a real-life Idol moment: Casey, who was voted off and saved by the judges a few weeks ago, who is by far the most emotional contestant, and who Jennifer Lopez has twice called cute and sexy, took things to a new level on 4/20: After offering a pretty strong rendition of Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe,” he ran onto the judges platform and planted a kiss on the cheek of the world’s most beautiful woman. And damn, J-Lo looked surprised and almost flustered; if it weren’t for all the makeup, I think the world would have seen her blushing.


That, and James doing a rocking “Uprising” made the show. Because the rest of it, frankly, was boring.


The theme: Music of the 21st century. That means pick any song of the past 11 years; lots to choose from. Scotty, who is still one of my faves, crooned a decent version of “Swinging,” but come on: He can do a song like that any time, anywhere, without an effort at all. Even the way-too-nice judges were a bit harsh on him — if only because he’s so naturally good that it sounded like he was slacking.


Haley did the best she could, and she’s got a great bluesy voice, but she’s just so goddam bouncy and happy and smiley and perky; doesn’t work with Janis, and it didn’t work with “Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.” Hard to watch her and Stefano, who also did the best he could with “Closer,” but he’s out of his league now.


Lauren? “Born to Fly.” Boring, boring. Jacob? An effort to be meaningful with “Dance with my Father,” but sorry: Boring.


Really, except for the kiss, the dullest show in weeks. Casey and James brought it; the rest were just phoning it in.


Tonight’s bottom three: Stefano, Lauren and Haley. Stefano, dude: it’s time to go home.


 

Live Shots: Bomba Estéreo at the Independent, 4/19/11

Andrew Lam
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0

Do you ever go to a concert and realize that the lead singer is your new style icon? From the peacock feather in her hair to the flamingo tee-shirt and chipped red nails, Liliana from Bomba Estéreo has got definite style chops. But the sold out audience at the Independent last night, April 19, wasn’t there just to see what hip threads Liliana might throw on. They were there to hear the band’s utterly unique music, a mix of electronica and traditional Colombian beats.

I grew up with a Puerto Rican dad, which meant that on Saturdays we’d be blasting classic salsa from the KPOO radio station. Those classic Latin rhythms just become a part of any Latino kid’s body, so I love that Bomba Estéreo has kept so much of their roots present in their music while at the same time venturing into the future by mixing in technology.

At one point in the show, someone yelled out “Psychedelic trip!” as a plethora of colors and images danced on the stage and the beat became almost trance-like and hypnotic. There was definitely some major heat and energy coming off the stage — luckily it didn’t become a full out fuego.

Live Shots: PJ Harvey at the Warfield, 4/14/11

Andrew Lam
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0

PJ Harvey has taken the Warfield stage at numerous points and in many forms during her career over the past two decades – never predictable, always engaging. Her performance on Thursday night, a pre-Coachella warm-up gig, was the sort of wonderfully unexpected showing you’d come to expect from Polly Jean.

Dressed in a white robe and black-feathered Valkyrie-esque headdress, Harvey spent much of the night cradling her autoharp, looking like a dreamscape figment from one Neil Gaiman’s Sandman novels. It was appropriate attire for the set of music she delivered – both ethereal and sublime.

With the backing of her deft three piece band (featuring longtime collaborator John Parish) Harvey delved deeply into the new material from her latest album, Let England Shake. By her standards, it’s a quiet body of work (resonating with the atmosphere of 1998’s Is This Desire), reflecting on our modern era of warfare and human strife. The material is excellent, and Harvey delivers it with an affected certainty, as if the entire setlist was handed down to her on divine authority. This then, made for a night that was far less rock concert and more of an artistic exploration of sorts. With most artists, that may have made it tedious, but with Harvey it was spellbinding.

She delivered some big favorites, of course, including “Down by the Water,” “Big Exit,” and “The Sky Lit Up,” though she fit them into the evocative mood she had been developing all evening. The crowd didn’t seem to mind in the least, spending many of the down moments in between songs broadcasting their love and gratitude to Harvey and her music.

Never content to just tow the line of what has worked in the past, Polly’s past three albums (most notably the hallucinatory piano balladry of White Chalk) have been mature and outside-the-box efforts unlikely to win huge commercial appeal. But like this unique performance at the Warfield, it stands as evidence that the 50 Foot Queenie is poised to age gracefully.

 

American Idol: Where’s Simon when we need him?

Zelda Bronstein
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4
American Idol: Where’s Simon when we need him?

Well, we don’t get far into the show before Ryan Seacrest reminds us all that Jennifer Lopez has just been named the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. Go, J-Lo. Tonight, however, she looks rather odd in a dress that included a big pink fluffy thing in her lap, as if she’d just given birth to a sea anenome.


The theme is “songs of the cinema,” which the contenders seem to take as “any song that’s evr been used in any movie anywhere,” which leaves a lot of room. Paul opens with Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll,” and it’s awful, a perfomance that should mark the end of his tenure on the show. Except that Lauren tries to sing that bad syrupy song from the Hannah Montana movie and can’t even hit all the notes. The Big Cringe. Two down.


Here’s the problem (and the reason I miss Simon Cowell, despite all the annoyance he brought): The three judges were all sunshine and roses, talking about how great those two performances were. Embarassing. Simon would never have tolerated this level of weak and worthless junk.


Then along comes Stefano, who has to be shaken up about what happened last week, but he’s a step up from the other two. Scotty’s next, and, as usual, far outclasses the rest of the field.


Casey. Whoa. He turns down a Phil Collins tune and does Nat King Cole. Really fine performance, something totally different — but I fear it’s way too weird for America. We shall see.


Haley: Blondie, “Call me.” She’s got the same problem as when she tried to sing Janis Joplin; she smiles too much. You need attitude for this shit, and she doesn’t have it.


Jacob, after a bit of flailing around, decides on “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” and it’s a knockout. Not my favorite Paul Simon song, but perfect for Jacob, who I still don’t like as much as my kids do.


And then James, the show closer, the show stopper. He takes a risk, too, and does … Metal. Real Metal, the theme song from the “Heavy Metal” movie, complete with Zakk Wylde on guitar. Give metal a chance, he says — and it’s the peformance of the night, an Idol moment, and it better not cost him in the votes.


If there’s an Idol God, then Paul, Lauren and Stefano are the bottom three and Paul is going home. I voted.


 

Live Shots: Queens of the Stone Age, Fox Theater, 4/11/11

Andrew Lam
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0

Racing up and down the pavement on Telegraph Avenue, the scalpers were grinding hard outside the Fox Theater on Monday night, perhaps with an inkling that the venue might not be standing by the time the Queens of the Stone Age left the stage in a few hours. True to form, Josh Homme and crew all but blew the Fox to pieces with a monstrous rendering of their debut album, as well as two hefty encores that showcased the stoner age rock royalty in all of their primal glory.

Winding down a ferocious “Walkin’ on the Sidewalks” behind their Mongol-on-a-warpath drummer Joey Castillo, keyboardist Dean Fertita (recently of Dead Weather fame) dialed up the intro for Homme to lay into the sleazy start-and-stop riff of “You Would Know.”  They were barely a half dozen songs in, but it was apparent that the juggernaut assault of the Queens’ self-titled debut was offering the audience a glimpse into the band’s nerve center, to the raw and infectious source of one of the best rock outfits of the past decade.

Though his has been dubbed stoner rock, Homme seems to have delved deeply into his Southern California music environment, with traces of Jane’s Addiction-channeling-Zeppelin against Hollywood glam and a dark dose of Doors psychedelia. Songs like “Mexicola” and “You Can’t Quit Me Baby” matched live wire energy against stunning musicianship. 

The following encores included a great cross section of the band’s more recent material, with radio hits “Little Sister” and “Go With the Flow” receiving the biggest ovations. But it was a pair of fan favorites – “Better Living Through Chemistry” and “Song for the Dead” – that capped off the performance with proper might, and caused you to wonder why so few live shows these days ever achieve such sonic magnitudes.

The crowd spilt out of the theater half dazed and nearly deaf, but mostly satisfied. Although this show at the Fox showcased the Queens at their beginning, it left you anxious for what they will do next.

 

Setlist:

Regular John

Avon

If Only

Walkin’ on the Sidewalks

You Would Know

How to Handle a Rope

Mexicola

Hispanic Impressions

The Bronze

Give the Mule What He Wants

I was a Teenage Hand Model

You Can’t Quit Me Baby

 

Encore:

Monster in the Parasol

Burn the Witch

Make It Wit Chu

Little Sister

 

Encore 2:

Better Living Through Chemistry

Go With the Flow

A Song For the Dead

 

Snap Sounds: Jessica 6

John Elberling
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0
Snap Sounds: Jessica 6

JESSICA 6
“White Horse” and “Fun Girl”
(Peacefrog)

Siren of the dance floor Nomi Ruiz is looking and sounding even better outside of Hercules and Love Affair; in fact, depending on the petty commercial whims and deeper prejudices of the world, she could be the most alluring pop diva since Aaliyah. Washing in on peerless cymbal-sprays, “White Horse” comes on like the 21st-century answer to Shannon’s “Let the Music Play” while also notching top spot in the current Madonna revival. Its video sashays through the kind of N.Y. nighttime sleaze that just about disappeared with the Gaiety, and does so with style. The older “Fun Girl” has traces of the Hercules sound as well as Janet Jackson’s and Aaliyah’s feline flirtations with guitar rock, and a warped horror-tinged sound that make sense when one considers Jessica 6’s original name was Deep Red. Check out the flawless combo of windblown hair/keyboard at 1:14. Can’t wait for the album. Videos after the jump.

Jessica 6, “White Horse”:

Jessica 6, “Fun Girl”:

iPod voyeur: YACHT looks into the future of the past

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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0
iPod voyeur: YACHT looks into the future of the past

The future has potential to be totally fun. Eco-friendly flying cars, new friends from outer space and moon parties sound like a great way to spend the year 3000, but these are only amateur, optimistic predictions. The Portland-bred dance duo YACHT has been surveying the possibilities for years, taking notes and spacey tips from musical scientists of days past. And today, a retro-futuristic playlist has been born. 

Don’t panic– the near future still looks hot. YACHT is currently touring its upcoming album, Shangri-La, their follow-up to 2009’s See Mystery Lights, coming out on DFA in June. And they’re playing a yet to be sold-out show at Bimbos (Wed/13) this week. 

Beyond that, there’s good news and there’s bad news. Looks like band members Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans aren’t thinking things will turn out so hot, hence their own new song, Dystopia, a totally amazing African-inspired electronic track about upcoming apocalyptic events. The good news: they’re not scared of fire nor jackals. I’m thinking they have a collection of magic lasers and protective suits prepared. 

The Guardian has requested proof of their research in playlist form; their current top 10 most-played tracks. Take note, drink water and wear comfortable shoes.

 

Zager & Evans, “In the Year 2525”

This song is the musical equivalent of one of our favorite books, Olaf Stapledon’s “Last and First Men,” a science-fiction future history that tells the tale of the next two billion years of time, touching on eighteen distinct versions of the human race, from regular flesh-and-blood people to birdlike creatures living on Neptune. Zager & Evans only go about ten thousand years into the future, put they hit some classic sci-fi themes on the way, like genetic engineering, mechanical automation, and test-tube babies.  

 

Chromium, “Fly On UFO”

This is a sentiment we at YACHT can all get down with. You see a UFO in the sky, beaming with promise, lights in primary colors like an 80s movie, and you yell up to the sky: “Come back later!”

 

Incredible String Band — Way Back in the 1960s

A psychedelic future-past ballad, about an old-timer looking back fondly on the 1960s — a time before World War three, before England “went missing and we moved to Paraguay,” and we still used the wheel. 

 

Cerrone. “Supernature”

In a world of depleted resources, the ambitions of science have no limits. Wouldn’t we do anything to feed the starving masses? Including poison the world with chemicals that would create mutants “down below”? If Mary Shelley  was a French disco producer, “Frankenstein” would have sounded like Supernature.

 

Hawkwind. “Silver Machine”

Simplicity is king. This song has the best lyrics in the world: “I just took a ride/ in a silver machine/ and I’m still feeling mean/I got a silver machine.” This is like ZZ Top for space hogs, an all-night truckin’ jam for the long haul to Alpha Centauri.  

 

Ganymed, “Future World”

Sick, almost disgustingly slick space disco from a band whose whole deal was wearing full-deck silver space costumes. 

 

Dee D. Jackson, “Automatic Lover”

Amid a soft pink haze, Miss Jackson looks at the erotic robot in her bed, polished chrome gleaming under white satin sheets, come-hither, raises her perfectly glossed lip in a snarl, and utters: “Your body’s cold.”

 

Marvin Gaye, “A Funky Space Reincarnation”

Is the future going to be a cold impersonal landscape dictated by the efficient will of our machine overlords? Or, light years ahead, are you and me going be getting down on a space bed, smoking some new shit from Venus? The prophet Marvin Gaye proposes the latter. 

 

Toni Basil, “Space Girl Blues”

Toni Basil is known for “Hey Mickey (You’re So Fine),” a song so ubiquitous in the brain of kids who grew up in the 80s that it doesn’t even seem like it should have an author. She also did this bonkers cover of Devo’s “Space Girl Blues,” perfectly embodying the new-wave space girl, cold as ice, destroying your mechanism. 

 

Charlie, “Spacer Woman”

Neo, neo, neo, neo, neo, neo, neo-feminism. In 2096, what wave will we be on?

 

YACHT
w/Bobby Birdman and DJ Pickpocket
Wed/13, 7:00pm
Bimbo’s 365 Club
1025 Columbus Ave, SF
www.Bimbos365Club.com

American Idol: The Pia shocker

Zelda Bronstein
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0
American Idol: The Pia shocker

When I first saw that Jacob was in the bottom three, I wondered: Did the hard-core Christian vote fail to turn out in a crucial election? Did his on-camera (much hyped) decision to make a moral statement about Marvin Gaye (he refused to sing “Let’s Get it On” because he couldn’t do a song about people “doing the nasty”) make enough of us want to puke that his incredible singing talent was eclipsed?


No: He made it through. Which is fine; the guy can sing. My kids love him. I just hope he’s not a finalist; there’s enough religion on the airwaves as it is.


Now to the real scandal: Pia.


A couple of weeks ago, I was the one complaining about her being boring, and she clearly needs a new stylist; if she’d worn the Thursday outfit (whoa!) for the Wednesday performance, instead of those silly bloomers, she’d have won about 10 million more votes.


But still — she has an amazing voice, and this week’s “River Deep Mountain High” was a breakout performance.
J-Lo was in tears when Ryan announced the last results: Stephano, in, Pia out. Stephano? One of the weakest competitors? One of the two (along wth Paul) who everyone knows is on borrowed time?


I have to feel a little sorry for the guy — the audience bitterly booed when he was left standing. But he didn’t deserve to continue on, and she did, and the judges knew it and the audience knew it and you know it too. And now he can’t possibly succeed — everyone pissed about Pia will vote against him next week.


Next week’s losers: Paul (who mangled “Folsom Prison Blues”), Stefano (see above) and Haley (you can’t sing Janis Joplin with a stupid shit-earting grin on your face.)


You read it here first. I haven’t been right yet.

Sinisterism and lost hills: The Slow Poisoner joins forces with Fantomas in San Francisco

John Elberling
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0
Sinisterism and lost hills: The Slow Poisoner joins forces with Fantomas in San Francisco

In conjunction with the continuing “Fantomas by the Bay” series presented by City Lights, the Cultural Services of the Consulate General of France, and the Mechanics’ Institute Library, here’s an interview with the Slow Poisoner, who may be casting a musical shadow over the Fri./8 event, “An Elegant Threat.” The man also known as Andrew Goldfarb holds forth on his Fantomas bonds, surrealist activity in San Francisco, and the Slow Poisoner’s current and next moves.

SFBG What is your interest in Fantomas, and do you have any favorite Fantomas-related works?
Andrew Goldfarb I first discovered French villain Fantomas during an absinthe binge abroad, and was immediately drawn to his unrepentant sinisterism and stylish fashion sense, especially the black mask and top hat combination. I would say that aside from the original 1911 literary serial, my favorite Fantomas work is the 1915 film series, because there’s nothing that captures the decadence of criminal Paris like a hand-cranked silent movie tinted with blood.

SFBG You’re a native San Franciscan. Do you feel there is surrealist activity present here at the moment, and if so, what are its facets?
AG As long as San Francisco is coated with a thick coat of fog in the morning, the City will remain mysterious, and surrealistic activity will be present. I’d say my favorite examples of modern surrealism in S.F., aside from the schizophrenic rants posted on telephone poles in the Tenderloin, are the costumed noise bands that flourish in the Mission District, such as the Spider Compass Good Crime Band, which features two oversized vultures, one of whom plays lounge music on an organ while the other generates electronic dissonance with analog synthesizers. Very entertaining, and feathered.

SFBG What is the Slow Poisoner up to these days?
AG I just completed a roots-rock-opera about ghosts and liquor, which is titled Lost Hills. It tells of my days as a traveling curio salesman, my brief engagement to a phantom hitchhiker, and my eventual hanging (after some misfortunes involving a tainted Mint Julep). I’ve been illustrating it with felt art, kindergarten-style. I’ve also just brewed up a new batch of my Slow Poisoner Miracle Tonic, which is made with pure Egyptian oil and is proven effective in the treatment of Consumption, Women’s Troubles, Gout, Neuralgia, Wandering Limbs, Stoutness, Onanism, Disinterested Bladder, Elephantiasis, Cholera, Barnacles and Boils, The Fits, Excessive Abscesses, Necrosis, Lavender Fever and General Wasting.

FANTOMAS BY THE BAY: AN ELEGANT THREAT
Fri/8, 8 p.m.
Location undisclosed and secret (invitations available at the front desk of City Lights); free
(415) 362-8193
www.citylights.com

Live Shots: Caitlin Rose at Cafe du Nord, 4/7/11

Andrew Lam
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0

To be honest, I could have cared less who the Cafe Du Nord headliners were that night. I was there for only one reason: to see the opener, Nashville-born singer Caitlin Rose.

I found Caitlin Rose’s music on one of those lucky Youtube click-happy sessions. You know what I’m talking about. Where you go from one “recommended” video to the next, until finally you land on something good. And that goodness was Caitlin Rose’s “Own Side,” a melancholy, sweet bluesy, twang-licious song. Oh yes, this was a very good recommendation. And as luck would have it, she was going to be coming to San Francisco in less than three weeks. Perfection.

At the show last night, Rose brought a beautiful set of songs to the stage about everything from sleeping around to pushing people into wells. Her voice has a bit of Iris Dement and Patsy Cline, mixed in with classic country chords, that rolled effortlessly off the lap steel guitar. 

I’ll confess, I used to be a pretty big country music fan back in high school, but then when Bush took over the White House, I just couldn’t do it anymore. It just felt dirty and wrong. But I think Caitlin Rose has got me back into it, because her music is not about American pride or getting a new washing machine. Her songs are about teen pregnancy and the inevitable shotgun wedding, or about falling in love with a gorilla man. This is new country, that’s quirky, catchy, and it’s music that I would definitely recommend to you and yours.

 

And below — this is amazing. Best cover by a 5 years old ever:

 

Snap Sounds: Arnaud Fleurent-Didier

John Elberling
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0
Snap Sounds: Arnaud Fleurent-Didier

ARNAUD FLEURENT-DIDIER
La Reproduction
(Columbia/Sony Music)

If you’re a lover of chanson-tinged pop and you found Benjamin Biolay’s recent double-LP a letdown, then there’s bittersweet relief to be found in this song collection, which covers similarly vast instrumental terrain with an ease that the ostentatious Biolay didn’t manage. Fleurent-Didier reminds me a bit of Gerard Manset, but not quite as brooding — there’s modernity and whimsy to his compositions and vocal delivery. The interplay between vulnerable voice, acoustic guitar, piano, electronics, and orchestration in “Reproductions” is flat-out gorgeous. The Contempt-inflected music video for that song is one of the best I’ve seen in quite a while. Totally, tenderly, tragically, after the jump.

ARNAUD FLEURENT-DIDIER, “Reproductions”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LFHL2KbJzU

Snap Sounds: Silk Flowers

John Elberling
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0
Snap Sounds: Silk Flowers

SILK FLOWERS
Ltd. Form
(PPM)

There’s something endearingly ungainly about Aviram Cohen’s singing, but Silk Flowers is most successful in instrumental mode, and the majority of Ltd. Form steers clear of the morbid imagery and Michael Gira-like or Andrew Ridgely-type baritone posturing that characterizes three of the album’s tracks. The highlight is “Small Fortune” (which I keep wanting to call “Small Wonder”), an electric dream Phil Oakey would covet. It cries out for a dramatic pop vocal, yet likely is more resplendent without one. Listen in after the jump.

Silk Flowers, “Small Fortune”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWutGTlS_WQ

Silk Flowers, “Small Fortune” live on WFMU:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s25cFudEDqs

Snap Sounds: Beach Fossils

John Elberling
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0
Snap Sounds: Beach Fossils

BEACH FOSSILS
What a Pleasure
(Captured Tracks)

Beach Fossils’ music possesses a brisk energy that — while sonically akin to great ’80s records on labels such as Postcard and Sarah — feels contemporary, or at least youthful. The group lost a guitarist after its debut album last year, yet its guitar sound remains its strong point: the jangly melodicism of this eight-song EP’s title track is early Johnny Marr-caliber, and the harmonic momentum of “Fall Right In” results in maybe the best Beach Fossils track to date, a declaration of affection that’s winning in its simplicity.

After “Out in the Way,” a plainly lovely rendering of abandonment that includes an instrumental contribution from Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum, the latter half of What a Pleasure strays into darker terrain, exploring melancholy and, as the title of the last song puts it, adversity. The sighing, rolling pattern of the EP’s instrumental opener creeps into the conclusion of “Adversity,” bringing a suggestive a hint of nostalgia as well as hypnotic suggestion (is it time to start all over again from track one?) to the song’s languor. There’s an urge to look backward while moving forward through life, and it suits the band’s sound.

Beach Fossils, “Fall Right In”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb4WkuCVFSI

Beach Fossils, “Out in the Way”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=001nD9NP2a4

 

Snap Sounds: Peter Gordon

John Elberling
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0
Snap Sounds: Peter Gordon

PETER GORDON
Love of Life Orchestra
(DFA)

With Arthur Russell duly sainted, the New York City avant-disco revival turns to this extensive, expansive studio project and its lush, sax-dominated epics. Blessed with the mastery of a conductor, Peter Gordon brought together a community of musicians — including Russell, David Byrne, David Johansen, Art Londsay, and vocalist Rebecca Armstrong — with distinctly lavish and madcap results. “Extended Niceties” and “Roses on the Dance Floor” are as terrific as their titles, and “Beautiful Dreamer” is exquisite. Two tracks after the jump.

Peter Gordon and Love of Life Orchestra, “Beautiful Dreamer”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoYJFJRDkKQ

Peter Gordon and Love of Life Orchestra, “Extended Niceties”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSBV2NLiQ2c
 

Fist Fam hits the Bay

Andrew Lam
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3

In the music video for rap collective Fist Fam‘s song “Posted,” emcee Philo stands on a Columbus Avenue median, the Transamerica Pyramid pointing into the sky behind the North Carolinan, traffic whizzing by on either side of him. “I’m posted in the middle of the street/And we don’t even look right/But I got that million dollar mouthpiece/So we gon’ be allright,” he sings, at home in his new city. 

It’s an apt portrayal of the group of back-home friends from Asheville who seem set on taking the music they grew up with to the ears of the Bay. Fist Fam’s latest album release, also called Posted, is straight up, laid back, “psychedelic country rap tunes,” so dubbed by Philo and producer Al Lover, who are sitting with me outside Farley’s on a gorgeous Potrero Hill morning.

The boys grew up in the embrace of early ’90s hip-hop: Goodie Mob, UGK. Their tunes still have that Southern feel, but the layering of soul samples and front porch hooks (see: the sunshine feel of “Drinkin’,” a track the group just shot a video for on Philo’s family’s Appalachian farm) betray a citified knowledge of sound. 

The group’s trickle west was led by Philo, who established connections with the SF music community that made everyone else feel at home upon their arrival. But. “I didn’t have a safety net!” Philo says. “I had a backpack and $400. Back in the Gold Rush of ’05…” he trails off in an old man voice, his San Francisco debut having already achieved mythic status. He’s urged to share more of the legend. “My first move? I went to a bar in the Sunset, got a quesadilla at Gordo’s and tried to fandangle a place to sleep.”

Did the crew run into any funny business? Hey, a lot of people have funny perceptions about Southerners out here. “But we have funny perceptions about West Coasters – and they’re all true, by the way,” Lover teases. 

But with a ready-made, tightly-knit clan like theirs, there’s really no need for Fist Fam to sweat whatever still exists of regional stereotypes. This is how they record an album: they’ll set up shop in someone’s house (Philo has been building studio space since he was a teenager and says with the techonology available today, he can do it pretty much anywhere — and besides “we’re not going for a super clean sound”). Alcohol is usually involved. Budweiser is the group’s beer of choice – the two have stories about earning the king of beers for catching fireflies when they were little, a story that sounds adorably Southern to this West Coaster. 

Back to recording: there’s usually a fair amount of bickering. “A lot of us have known each other since high school,” Philo says. “We really are the Fist Fam — and I think that’s why we work. A lot of people are afraid to hurt each other’s feelings — ” Lover picks up the thread: “but we like it.”

“You gotta be chaotic to produce something,” Lover continues, conceding that for Posted, the group took a slightly more structured approach – he produced all of the beats and told people which songs they’d be on. Lover got some attention earlier this year for an electronic remix he did of the recently departed blues surrealist Captain Beefheart, but his favorite palettes to work from are old R&B songs. He’s also been doing work with contemporary beats, mixing Fist Fam over the music of Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees. “Why use the old stuff when you have all these things going on now?” Added bonus: by using the tracks, Lover can cross-promote and strengthen connections with the psychedelic garage scene where the group sometimes find itself in the city.

Talking about the range of sound that Posted is built on takes me back to the image of Philo swinging his arms around, un-fuckwithable despite the North Beach traffic dashing around him. Sure, they’ve still got their twang, but you can’t quite see these boys doing what they do if they were still in Asheville. South comes to San Fran, welcome y’all. 

Fist Fam-Boac album release concert

feat. Trunk Drank

Fri/8 9 p.m., $10

Rasselas Jazz Club 

(415) 346-8696

www.thefistfam.com

Live Shots: Naughty By Nature at Yoshi’s San Francisco, 3/24/11

Andrew Lam
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2

Everyone get ready for a blast from the past — and the sudden realization that maybe we’re getting old. That’s right, turning into real fogies. That’s how it goes down when you’re at the concert of a group you listened to when you were young and sprightly and they keep throwing words out like “time machine” and “1989” — it’s like, wow, I’m at a 20th anniversary reunion concert for a band I actually like. Weird.

Luckily, Naughty by Nature, the award-winning hip-hop trio from New Jersey, don’t look like they’ve aged a bit and they’ve definitely still got the same contagiously groovin’ energy that made us love them so much in the first place, way back when.

But I was there to take photos, which you can read as dancing like a fool while snapping pics — precarious, but how could I stop myself when NBN is singing “OPP” right in front of me? And they were truly giving their fans their all. There was major sweat dripping on stage only two songs in, proof of their unfaltering commitment to genuine hip-hop-hooray.

Time to go find my Walkman and mix tapes, pull on a pair of stirrup leggings and spend the rest of the day soaking up the nostalgia. Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho!

You know you still jam this

American Idol, Motown edition

Zelda Bronstein
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American Idol, Motown edition

So Simon Cowell seems to think that the judges are too nice this year and there’s too much sappy drama. I’m with him on the second point, but a big difference this time around is that the talent is so consistently good, so much better than in the past, that there’s less reason to be harsh. That said, it is a bit of a lovefest and I do miss Simon.


On to the round of 11:


Jennifer’s got a shiny pink top on, which is fine, and her hair is much better, but my god, the makeup! The blue eyeshadow and pink blush makes her face look like a clown. Somebody backstage is out of control.


Steven has the best line of the night, as always. Ryan: “How did Motown affect you?” Steven: “It made me want to make out with girls.”


He’s also got the rock-performer ethos down. Casey does “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” good job if a bit over the top, and Steven says: “Perfect pitch and perfect mix of crazy-ass out-of-control ego.” Ayup.


Thia’s dress looks like a wedding cake and her singing isn’t exceptional. The judges love Jacob, and so do Vivian and Michael; I’m not such a fan. Maybe it’s my bad attitude toward anything remotely religious; he always sounds like he’s singing in church. And I don’t like church. Not his fault; he’s doing well.


Lauren’s probably the best of the women, and “You Keep Me Hanging On” was just right for her. The zebra dress was a problem, though.


Stefano. White lounge-lizard jacket; on anyone else, it would be a joke. He actually pulls it off, and does a fine Lionel Richie “Hello.” Haley’s doing her best, and “You Really Got A Hold On Me” was adequate, but she’s just not up to the level of the others. And she shouldn’t wear hot pants. 


I was worried about Scotty doing Motown, but wow! He sings “For Once In My Life” with a country edge, and it’s awesome. Steven says he’s just like Glen Campbell, which is kind of insulting, but he’s the breakout artist of the show so far, the one who’s going to wind up with a recording contract win or lose.


There’s something weird about Pia. I mean, lots of women can be really sexy without being classically beautiful, but Pia manages to be drop-deal gorgeous — and not sexy at all. She has an amazing voice — maybe the best in the show — but she’s … boring. She just stands there and sings ballads. Not working for me.


Paul. “Tracks of My Tears,” with the guitar. Bad hair day. He sounds a little like Rod Stewart trying to do Smokey Robinson, but it’s such a good song and he sorta pulls it off.


Naima. I was worried about her. She needed a big hit — and she got it. “Dancing in the Streets” was perfect for her, and the African drums at the end let her show off her dance moves, which frankly are better than her singing. So she ought to survive this round.


James is the other guaranteed star. “Living for the City” isn’t an easy song, and he nails it. He’s going to the final round.


Tonight’s bottom three: Thia, Haley and Pia. But pretty soon, this is going to get tough.


 

Live Shots: Fujiya and Miyagi with Fol Chen, the Independent, 3/21/2011

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Techno spaz dance-off. That’s how the evening started.


Fol Chen was on stage and one of their guitarists was doing some spaztastic moves, while his doppelganger in the front row played along. This went on for several of Fol Chen’s songs, the leg kicking, the head bopping. It was quite entertaining to watch. The rest of Fol Chen, wearing matching red band-camp uniforms, were equally enthusiastic on stage, while they belted out a song about a wedding cake.

Then it was the headliner’s, Fujiya and Miyagi, turn on stage. They did not rip out the cray-cray dance moves, but they did figure in some funky guitar riffs. This British band, with their whisper-sung lyrics and eery keyboard chords, create sounds that make you feel like you’re in a dark, dramatic film, speeding by on a subway, rain pouring down outside, and you have no idea where you’re even going. It’s music to get lost in, to daydream with, and hey, maybe even enjoy with your bowl of minestrone.

But he’s got talent: Withered Hand overcomes visa problems to reach SF

John Elberling
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But he’s got talent: Withered Hand overcomes visa problems to reach SF

On Sunday, March 20, Dan Willson, mastermind behind the Scottish outfit Withered Hand, took the stage with his acoustic guitar at SF’s Hemlock Tavern. Only weeks prior, however, the show was teetering on the precipice of being canceled. Despite being submitted months in advance with an expedite fee, Willson’s visa application was flagged a week before his flight by an U.S. Immigration official that demanded more proof of Willson’s “extraordinary talent,” his achievement of “significant recognition,” and performances at “events that have a distinguished reputation.”

“We ended up pulling together letters from various sources – managers, folks at our distributor, other artists – to prove [Willson] was of ‘extraordinary ability’,”  says Maren Wenzel, director of marketing and publicity at Willson’s home record label, Absolutely Kosher Records. Like fellow Scots Belle and Sebastian and Snow Patrol, Withered Hand was funded by the Scottish Arts Council while making its debut album, the just-released Good News.

Fortunately, nearly everything worked out. “Through my amazing visa agency Tamizdat and the graciousness of Creative Scotland, I received a great deal of support and advice, and with their assistance and that of U.S. officials, we managed to get everything in place to be able to secure my visa,” explains Willson. “Whilst there was a lot of stress and delays, we only had to cancel one show, and I was able to get my original flight.”

Withered Hand on They Shoot Music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-bJSOrFFY4

SxSW Music Diary: Day 4

Charles Russo
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SxSW Music Diary: Day 4

Last day in Austin. The hot daytime ticket was the MOG.com party at Mohawk. That meant getting there early and committing the entire afternoon… but the payoff was catching headliners TV on the Radio and Big Boi with just a few hundred other folks.

Austin’s Okkervil River was playing the outdoor stage when I got there and then Brooklyn’s Twin Shadow was playing inside. Even though they’re on the 80s synth-pop bandwagon they manage to keep things fresh. TV on the Radio’s SxSW shows officially put an end to their two year hiatus and previewed their highly anticipated upcoming album “Nine Types of Light.”

Next up on the outdoor stage was Big Boi. Songs from his recent release had some traction, but whenever an OutKast song dropped the crowd became instantly lost their shit. He seemed unfazed by the shift in response and was just having a good time. A funny moment was when he invited a sea of hipster girls to the stage to shake it with his ATL crew.

That eve the rumor mill about surprise shows was alive and well. Kayne, Jay Z, and Justin Timberlake were breathily being mentioned around town. The conundrum became one of whether to chase those dragons or stick with what was confirmed. After briefly checking out the Red Bull Freestyle DJ contest I decided on the latter approach.

The globetrotting Nat Geo showcase at Habana Bar was stellar. I walked in as the legendary queen of Malian desert rock Khaira Arby was rocking the house. A protege of Ali Farka Toure, her voice remains a powerful beacon of Mali’s enchanting soundscape even after decades on the scene.

Up next was Brooklyn’s Sway Machinery and then Aussie roots-reggae group Blue King Brown. The space started to get really packed for the closing act of Austin’s own Grupo Fantasma. The recent Grammy winning group marched the crowd through the paces of super tight cumbia, salsa, and funk grooves while experimenting with heavier psych rock influences. I enthusiastically made it through about half their set until my feet cried uncle. Call it SxSW Syndrome… the feet are the first to go.

I made my way through the sloppy 6th Street madness, dodging puddles of sick and teenage lotharios on the way to my bike and then home.

SxSW Music Diary: Day 3

Charles Russo
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As we walked through downtown Austin we ran into Red and Green of Peelander-Z, the outrageously festooned Japanese punk band. They sweetly obliged a snapshot and then continued on their way. Just found out that they’ll be touring with Anamanaguchi, the frenzied “Nintendo-core” band I saw on day 1. Make sure to check them out at DNA Lounge on April 7th.

Was dished up a tasty burger at the Alternative Apparel lounge as Matt got summoned to take pics of Linda Perry. We shared our table with Shane Lawlor of Electric Touch (an adorable brit rocker who looked to be straight out of central casting) and chatted about his band’s road from getting signed to playing the big festival circuit this year.

After that it was a walk in the sun to the Other Music and Dig For Fire lawn party. We made it in time to check out James Blake. It was way too packed to even catch a glimpse of him but it felt great listening from a shady spot on the grass. I agreed with Dan that the sound was like listening to all the sexy backing elements of a Sade song, without Sade.

Tune-Yards was incredible. I loved Merrill Garbus’s pygmy-esque vocal layering and percussive fervor. Her last song brought everyone to their feet with a Fela Kuti vibe. And !!! brought the crazy dance party. The party was on a gently sloped hilltop, the crowd was manageable, and there was free ice cream courtesy of the Ice Cream Man. It finally felt like I’d arrived at the festival.

Later that eve I caught a bit of the Shabazz Palaces set which was weighed down by sound issues. Ran into the ladies of HOTTUB as I went to see Toronto’s Keys N Krates who killed it. Two djs and a drummer juxtaposing amazing sampling and turntablism with live percussion. Unreal.

Cubic Zirconia‘s electro funk set at the Fool’s Gold showcase was also great. Singer Tiombe Lockhart held court. One girl in the audience made the mistake of jumping up on stage to show her enthusiasm… but Lockhart wasn’t having it. She quickly initimidated the girl into backing down and gave a speech about respecting her stage. The girl was mortified but Lockhart was right, it wasn’t cool.

The closer was seeing Chief Boima during the Dutty Arts Collective showcase. Oakland’s Los Rakas stopped by for a shout out and Chief Boima played their new single.

Be sure to check SFBG Contributing Photog Matt Reamer‘s slideshow from his Day 3 adventures.

 

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