Noise

NIN/JA online

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By Molly Freedenberg

Good news, Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction fans! The bands justlaunched a special website to promote this summer’s joint tour (also with Street Sweeper), charmingly called NIN/JA and even more charmingly offering free downloads of previously unreleased songs, as well as an audio player featuring NIN and JA classics.

The show comes to Shoreline May 22. I can’t wait! (And neither can my inner angsty teenager.)

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Trent Reznor at Coachella in 2005. I saw that show. And yes, I cried like a baby. Join me May 22 and watch it happen again.

Snap Sounds: Great Lake Swimmers — Lost Channels

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GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS
Lost Channels
(Nettwerk)

Great Lake Swimmers walks a fine line. When the group succeeds, it does do so by satisfyingly convincing me — as long as I’m in the mood — that its slow-paced and shy songs, which often pair thick reverb and a finger-picked guitar line, are cozy instead of cheesy. On GSW’s latest release, mastermind Tony Dekker records songs in the castles, churches, and community centers of the Thousand Islands of Lake Ontario. This site-specific approach could describe earlier recordings as well, if you replace church with silo, and make one other adjustment: Lost Channels is less stark, at least throughout the first half, and aims for a feeling of exhilaration. It succeeds some of the time.

Like Ongiara (Nettwerk, 2007), Lost Channels opens buoyantly: “Palmistry” is an upbeat jangle-pop number that showcases Dekker’s hearty voice even as a full band nudges through the subtler spaces. “The Chorus in the Underground” is a cheery country sing-along with a background choir. The album’s two halves are divided by “Singer Castle Bells,” an interlude recorded at St. Brendan’s Church that is followed by the goose bump-inducing “Stealing Tomorrow.” On “River’s Edge,” pastoral poetics take over. “Now the wind picks up swiftly and suddenly and it is breathing as if from a mouth and the edges are lungs that are heaving,” Dekker sings, searching for spirituality in nature.

One can sense that the perimeters of the buildings where Great Lake Swimmers record have changed. Subsequently, the group’s sound has changed as well. Even though the experimentation on Lost Channels isn’t always successful, the band — and its promise — continues to evolve. (Michelle Broder Van Dyke)

GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS
with Kate Maki
Fri/3, 9 p.m., $12
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St, SF
(415) 621-4455
www.bottomofthehill.com
www.greatlakeswimmers.com/

Endtroducing … Kutiman

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By Marke B. Kutiman, “Wait for Me” In the future when vids are vinyl, and vinyl is — what? La Chanson de Roland, maybe — people might claim that Kutiman, the Israeli Vegas Pro genius who collages up backwater YouTube vids into breathtaking electronic atmospheric joyrides (see the complete work at http://thru-you.com), was the DJ Shadow of the ’00s. Kutiman, “I M New” I think those people would be wrong (and there are already a number of them). Searching through the all the minor dreck of YouTube to fish out suitable usable samples and build them into destabilized microsymphonies can surely be compared to Shadow’s impeccable crate-diving technique. And the dense sound both derive from their purely sample-driven compositions elicits a similar melancholy (why is that?). But Shadow traded in rarity nostalgia — who the hell else had that 78, man? — whereas Kutiman’s brilliant corners are purely of the moment and completely accessible to all. Except for one of them, now set to “private,” ha. Kutiman is also way more international in musical scope than Shadow — something perhaps more necessary in our globalized age, that Shadow could only hint towards in his Endtroducing… ’90s heyday — which brings Kutiman more in line with the likes of that other frequent Bay boy Amon Tobin, another sample-based innovator who opened the West’s ears to a different native music contextuality and who eschewed nostalgia in favor of up-to-the-minute headtrip breaks. Kutiman, Babylon Band

Sonic Reducer Overage: Snoop Dogg, Eugene Mirman, Jeremy Jay, Skin Horse, and so much more

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San Francisco just can’t, just won’t stop. More musical – and comedic – worthies than one can jam into print.

The Get Up Kids
These lesser-known monsters of emo, progenitors of punk-pop, are back. With Approach. Thurs/2, 8 p.m., $26-$29. Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell, SF. (415) 885-0750.

Snap Sounds: The Juan MacLean — ‘The Future Will Come’

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By Brandon Bussolini

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THE JUAN MACLEAN
The Future Will Come
(DFA)

Whether or not you were up enough on your rock genealogies to make the connection between John MacLean, guitar scraper for synth-punks Six Finger Satellite, and The Juan MacLean, the latter unit’s 2005 debut Less Than Human (DFA) probably took you by surprise. Like LCD Soundsystem, TJM looked towards history to fashion its electro-futurism, but while LCD appealed to rock kids with nods to the Fall, Can, and Daft Punk, TJM’s necro fantasies tended towards marrying Chrome’s glimpse of future-shock with Cybotron’s sleek, muscular productions. On The Future Will Come, the results remain strangely successful, all the more remarkable given techno’s way of sloughing off its skin every two years.

The Juan Maclean, “One Day”

Last year’s Happy House EP displayed just enough refinement and innovation to make up for the group’s three year silence: the 12-minute main track is a mainline rush of looped house piano figures and Nancy Whang’s mantra-like vocals. Of course, it’s not as hard to eliminate the extraneous moments on an EP. Part of what makes this new full-length recording durable is that it moves confidently away from the digressive, instrumental style of the first album towards a minimal, vocal-heavy style that makes its point more effectively, in less time.

I had to make an exception, at first, for MacLean’s singing style. Less chanty and easily endured than on Less Than Human’s “Give Me Every Little Thing,” it remains stiff. With added Brian Eno-like modulations, it resolves less quickly than the album’s other pleasures. Whang’s increased presence in particular is welcome: it allows her monotone to reveal subtle emotional inflections. The assertive vocal cadences of the incredible “One Day” split the difference between disco and hi-NRG, for example, before the chorus melts them down into a strange, bliss-inducing alloy. It’s tempting to see The Juan MacLean as a kind of genre-supercollider: they work in a tradition too perverse to accurately be called either techno or rock or even fit under the umbrella of a catch-all like “electro.” More likely, and less common, TJM is making it up as they go along, which must be where some of that joy they’re singing about comes from.

Sonic Reducer: Madonna! Kanye! Jonas Brothers! Michael Jackson!

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By Kimberly Chun

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Chris Brown on Dancing With the Stars

SONIC REDUCER Due to April 1 budget cuts, the original content in this space has been replaced by a selection of music news items from the wire.

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MADONNA ADOPTING COUNTRY OF MALAWI

LILONGWE (Rutters) — Madonna announced her plans to adopt the entire southern African nation today after local friends told her that her adopted Malawian children, David and Mercy James, were lonely and needed companionship. In 2006 some Malawian activists attempted to block David’s adoption, but this time many are endorsing the idea of a high-flying life attached to a parent with a global pop brand. "We had no idea she would take her name so literally," opined a High Court clerk. "Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to meeting my nanny and hanging with the backstage crew at mom’s next arena show."

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Jacko in Twilight 2: Teens Suck

MICHAEL JACKSON STARRING IN LATEST TWILIGHT INSTALLMENT

LOS ANGELES (APE) — In a surprise move, Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson has been dropped from the lead role of vampire hottie Edward Cullen. His replacement: the King of Pop. Producers believe that despite his age and HIStory, Michael Jackson has the tween idol beat in the unnatural skin pallor department. "He’s much more believable as a vampire," said one source.

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CHRIS BROWN PICKED LAST FOR DANCING WITH THE STARS

LOS ANGELES (FuxNews) — Just weeks after Chris Brown was charged with felony assault, commercial endorsements were suspended, and his music withdrawn from radio stations, the Platinum recording artist took another backhand blow to his ego: he was snubbed by the entire cast of the popular TV show and picked last in a very special dancer’s-choice episode. "Sure, the guy can cut a rug," said an unnamed contestant. "But everyone saw those unauthorized TMZ pics of his last cut-up partner. Performers always say, ‘Break a leg.’ I don’t want to take that chance."

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KANYE WEST: ‘YEAH, I HAVE AN AUTO-TUNE IMPLANT — SO WHAT?’

NEW YORK CITY (Eek! Online) — "It’s just another tool in the studio," hip-hop artist Kanye West said. "Now I don’t even need to touch a computer to get my sound." Emboldened by the success of the operation, West’s surgeons plan to remove a part of the G.O.O.D. Music founder’s brain and install an entire suite of Pro Tools plug-ins.

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Jonas Bros in 2012 (projected)

JONAS BROTHERS BUSTED IN HUMAN ANTI-GROWTH HORMONE STING

WYCKOFF, N.J. — (EmptyV.com) In an effort not to become Hanson or New Kids on the Block, Kevin, Nick, and Joe Jonas have been taking massive amounts of HAH in an effort to retain their tween demographic, allege Wyckoff police after a 4 a.m. raid on the Jonas family McMansion. "Our management told us we were taking flaxseed oil," Kevin said. "They claimed it was pixie dust," added Joe.

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ALL-GIRL INDIE ROCK GROUP TAKE HAIR BAND EFFORT TO NEW LEVEL: WITH BEARDS

PORTLAND, Ore. (Ditchfork) — As one of the most pervasive trends in indie rock, beards have stood the test of time and triple-blade, pivoting shavers. One all-girl combo, however, is proving that they can play that game too: this week the Portland-based Her Suit obtained beard transplants at the O’Hare Baldness Clinic outside Chicago. The number of friends on the band’s MySpace page has risen tenfold, particularly among the follically challenged.

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MP3S FOUND TO CAUSE CANCER, NEW VINYL FORMAT CONSIDERED ‘ANTI-CARCINOGEN’

SAGINAW, Mich. (AFPEE) — Scientists have determined a link between heavy use of iPods and other MP3 players and increased risk of cochlear cancer. The same team of scientists also determined a simple preventive measure: a protective vinyl coating applied to the actual MP3 players. "Vinyl is not only better," said one researcher. "It makes everything better."

Music pick: Pier Paolo — uberexperimental post-cultural pan-Euro Situational demigods one-upped indie before indie was all uptight about it

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They thought through it first, then

By Max Goldberg

PREVIEW Though not as well known as contemporaneous post-punk politicos Gang of Four and Scritti Politti, Milanese quintet Pier Paolo produced a trio of wildly experimental EPs in the late 1970s that refuse to assimilate to faddish rock historiographies. Avanti (Rabbit’s Moon, 1978) and Naked City (Dérive, 1978) shadow Gramsci-inspired lyrical denouements with febrile musical leitmotifs that seem to dissolve as soon as they are discerned. Putting to shame Factory Records’ later situationist-ripping tactic of sheathing 12-inch singles in sandpaper, they even released one single as a 78 rpm wrapped in pages from Cuir magazine. Pier Paolo has long known how to cultivate an enigmatic image, right down to posing for their own photos. The group’s central innovation — a split-screen approach to rhythm and textural ambience, set astride by Gérard Lebovici’s dry production — may not sound like much on paper, but the double-drummer chaos suggests what would have happened if the Talking Heads and Brian Eno had pushed past bourgeois niceties. The band’s unmatched achievement is Abjection (NoNo, 1979), a mutant mix of millennial dub, soft-hewn minimalism, and verses cribbed from The Society of the Spectacle. Thirty years later, Pier Paolo is making its first stateside appearances, and the shows promise to be a bold redress of the usual reunion tactics.

PIER PAOLO with Conrad’s Bane. Wed/1, 8 p.m., $20. Direland, 401 Paril Loofs, SF. (555) TEO-REMA, www.fakebands.com

Don’t fear Bonnie “Prince” Billy – ‘Beware’ marks his most accessible effort to date

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BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY
Beware
(Drag City)

After multiple career tangents, name changes, and rambles hither and yon, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, ne Will Oldham, appears to have finally arrived. The accolades are pouring in from NPR to small-town daily newspapers — a marvel when one considers the fact that the Louisville, Ky., post-punk scene that Oldham sprang from was so roundly ignored during its most vital years in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when Squirrel Bait, Slint, and later Oldham and brothers Ned and Paul performed as Palace (Brothers/Songs/Music).

The most accessible, clean, and least eccentric recording to date from Oldham, Beware might be considered the recording in which the songwriter assumes his rightful place in the current rock canon as the music-maker who prefigured the so-called freak/out-folk scene and the enabler and encourager of such talents as Joanna Newsom and Dawn McCarthy.

This time, his roving sensibility finds its soothingly smooth fit with help from Josh Abrams of Town and Country, Emmett Kelly of Cairo Gang, Akita Youssefi, Jon Langford of the Mekons, Rob Mazurek of Isotope 217, and renowned pedal steel session player Greg Leisz, among others – likely his most accomplished set of contributors to date. Still, despite Beware’s full-bodied, country-soul sound, I feel almost nostalgic for the humanizing glitchy folk Palace and early Bonnie “Prince” Billy was known for – perhaps that’s just my indie rock values rearing their scruffy heads.

Black Joe Lewis gets raw on the good foot

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By Todd Lavoie

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BLACK JOE LEWIS & THE HONEYBEARS

Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!

(Lost Highway)

Well, great gosh-a-goddamn, what a sweet surprise: two weeks ago, I’d never even heard of Austin-based soul-whuppers Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, and now here I am, once again, swervin’ and stompin’ away to their major-label debut for the millionth time. As far as brassy, blazing tear-’em-up and tear-’em-on-down soulful sonic bad-assery is concerned, this high-octane octet has the genuine know-how: gritty and greasy garage rock meets old-school Wilson Pickett/Otis Redding-style vein-popping r&b, packed into a lean and hungry thirty-minute roar.

With its quick-and-to-the-point playing time and unfussy, straight-to-tape production (courtesy of Spoon’s Jim Eno), Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is! could probably be easily mistaken for a lost treasure from the late Sixties/early Seventies— and that’s exactly the whole idea, judging from Lewis’ obvious adoration for the Pickett/Redding era. Still, with the band frequently playing like their hair’s on fire — charging and crashing and running gleefully into the red — these folks at times remind me of Texan spiritual cousins to The Dirtbombs and The Bellrays, two contemporaries also serving up swaggering minglings of soul and garage sounds. Live, I imagine they must be riveting— we’ll get a chance to catch them in the Bay Area at Slim’s on May 16.

Black Joe Lewis, “Sugarfoot”

A look-see of the band’s MySpace will steer you right to the sources of the disc’s raw-and-ready firepower. The members cite James Brown, Hound Dog Taylor, and Rocket From The Tombs as influences, for example. They all make sense, too: Lewis’ full-throated shout definitely hoots a potent analog to Brown’s get-on-the-good-foot, and his formidable backing band the Honeybears are deserving of all the JB’s comparisons they get.

Sonic Reducer: Lil Wayne, the Mae Shi, Starfucker, and more this weekend

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Pros to go: “A song by the Mae Shi celebrating the life and work of Xtian Bale.”

You have until Monday to find your place in the sun – or in the shadows. More fun musical offerings than we could fit into print – as usual in super-sweet SF.

Lil Wayne
The Nawlins rapper is said to pumped a good deal of performance-enhancement production values into his stage show – courtesy of a full band, a smoke machine, pillars of fire, and a set of backup dancers. But will Wayne deliver the goods? Or at least appear on time? With T-Pain, Gym Class Heroes, and Keri Hilson. Fri/27, 7 p.m., $42.50-=$147.75. HP Pavilion, 525 W. Santa Clara, San Jose. www.livenation.com

The Mae Shi, Pre, and Past Lives
Hey, it’s all good here. Well, I’ve never seen Pre but the Mae Shi are monsters (gag songs or no) and Past Lives – a band of ex-Blood Brothers – impressed at South by Southwest. Seems to me, though, that Skin Graft’s Pre combines squealing girly vocals with propulsive, clanging post-punk in a way that I’m sure SF kids can get with. Fri/27, 9:30 p.m., $8. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.

Starfucker
Don’t hold the fucked-up name against them – the Portland, Ore., combo could be the next Glass Candy, with a newly amplified sense of humor. With Grand Lake and Guidance Counselor. Sat/28, 9:30 p.m., $8. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.



Bonfire Madigan
Sometime SF dweller Madigan Shive whoops it up for her blessed b-day – and for the release of her new EP. With Excuses for Skipping. Sun/29, 8 p.m., $12. Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016.

White Magic
The Brooklyn psych-folk spell-casters send us spiralling. With Avocet. Sun/29, 5 p.m., $10. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.

This week: A six-pack of rock picks

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By L.C. Mason and Andre Torrez

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THEE OH SEES AND EAT SKULL

Fuzz is the new black — at least according to the gospel preached by Thee Oh Sees and Eat Skull. The two West Coast combos will take the beer- and noise-soaked pulpit at the Eagle Tavern to bang out hazy sermons of garage wit and wisdom.

With Grant Hart and the Fresh and Onlys. Thurs/26, 9 p.m., $5. Eagle Tavern, 398 12th St., SF. (415) 626-0880. www.sfeagle.com

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DARK DARK DARK

Dark Dark Dark released its debut album in 2008 on Rhode Island’s Supply and Demand label. The group’s folky, rootsy instrumentation and female-to-male vocal tradeoffs take over the Caretaker’s House.

Fri/28, 8 p.m. www.myspace.com/darkdarkdarkband

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TRANS AM, EZEE TIGER, FUTUR SKULLZ

Imagine you’re in high school: Trans Am are the electronics nerds who jam to Rush, Anthony Petrovic of Ezee Tiger is the misunderstood indie guy who is into the Flaming Lips and Lightning Bolt while you’re still spinning Sublime, and Futur Skullz are the long-hairs who know metal is cool five years before you will — and who just got busted for stealing Dad’s whiskey.

Sun/29, 9 p.m., $14. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455. www.bottomofthehill.com
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Snap Sounds: The New Dawn — There’s a New Dawn

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Hey, man (and woman). One of the recordings I’m most enjoying lately is There’s a New Dawn, by…(wait for it)…the New Dawn. It’s on Jackpot Records.

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I’ll admit it, I don’t know a ton about the New Dawn, or this recording, other than that in vinyl form it has been known to fetch outrageously high prices from collectors. You could view the New Dawn as a precursor to the Wipers, though they seem overtly Christian today. This is a way-too-underknown but increasingly appreciated Northwest band.

Some things I like about There’s a New Dawn:

— amazing movie preview-like spoken intro about walking hand in hand and gazing out across the sea
— the raw, minimal, tough, electric-mosquito-on-the-attack guitar sound of “I See a Day”
— the vintage-Vietnam Era lyric “I see a day when life will mean much more/Than growing up to die”
— the pounding, surging rhythms of “It’s Time”
— the creepy yet seductive ballad “We’ll Fall in Love”
— the classic 1970s romantic Hallmark Card-style cover art

Viva the New Dawn, again. Read all about them in Ugly Things and here.

SCENE: RedLine shakes the bass up

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Taken from SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour — on stands in the Guardian now. Interview by Marke B. Photo by Pat Mazzera. Art Direction by Mirissa Neff. Mens room courtesy of Matador.

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Ultraviolet, Kozee, Roommate, Rob Cannon, and Blackheart

To say that the woofer-rumbling, ragga-ripping dubstep sound has exploded on the club scene in the past few years is an understatement almost as low as the genre’s freakiest frequencies. Dubstep seems perfect for our hyper-multicultural, urban-nomadic age, blending street rhythms with the most intricate laptop sonic technology available. It’s especially perfect for the Bay, with its shimmering blend of moody menace and artistic bombast, and has duly been embraced by a number of DJs here, many with roots that stretch back to the early days of 2-step, drum ‘n bass, and even rave.

DJ Ultraviolet (pictured in red, at left), heads up the fab two-year-old RedLine dubstep collective, and has been bringing her immaculate technique and overflowing energy to the decks in San Francisco since 1997. She was a seminal player in the drum ‘n bass and breakbeat scene, as part of the Sleeveless collective with the Femmes Fatales, and was associated with the legendarily raucous Sister DJ crew. As a true vinyl fetishist, she was being booked at the tender age of 19 to play jungle at underground ’90s raves and played a part in the Future Breaks FM (miss you!) juggernaut of the early aughts.

Now, along with the wonderfully gifted DJ Kozee, her "second in command," Ultraviolet reps the burgeoning female dubstep explosion, producing tracks and bringing a touch of grimy glamour to the scene with the MakeOut Sessions, RedLine’s regular blowout at Matador. The upcoming installment of MakeOut features Matty G of Santa Cruz (www.myspace.com/mattygbeatz) pumping tracks from his new album, Take You Back.

MAKEOUT SESSIONS
Fri/27, 9pm, free
Matador
10 Sixth Street, SF.
www.myspace.com/redlinedjs

SFBG Who’s all involved in RedLine?

ULTRAVIOLET Kozee and I, who do a lot of the event planning and are working on a big project together; Babylon System (www.myspace.com/thebabylonsystem), a.k.a Roomate and No Thing, is one of the top production crews in dubstep, currently on tour in Europe; the three DJs of Blackheart (www.myspace.com/lordsofblackheart) from Oakland are our newest addition; DJ Rob Cannon (www.myspace.com/djrobcannon), our youngest member; our L.A. residents Emu and Pawn, who are also a part of the SMOG crew down there, and on our business end, Cyn, Bruxxy, and Dymphna.

SFBG Do you think the dubstep sound is reaching a critical mass? Is the scene in danger of getting stale?

SCENE: Kalri$$ian comes on to your sister

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Taken from SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour — on stands in the Guardian now. Interview by Marke B. Photo by Matthew Reamer. Art Direction by Mirissa Neff. Crotch-buffing by Kalri$$ian. Location: Shattuck Downlow

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In these trying economic times, does the Bay really need a motor-mouthed, drug-snorting, pussy-obsessed playboy hip-hop collective — one that shouts out Eric Estrada, acid house, and Optimus Prime while bragging about using paper bags for condoms and instructing someone to "juggle balls in your mouth like a circus act"? Well, yes, actually. Hilariously quick-witted San Francisco-based beastly boys Kalri$$ian certainly bring the sparkling regression to match the recession — by channeling naughty spirits from rap’s past like Kool Keith, Shock G, and Prince Paul, and literally melting themselves to audio gaga as they "lick Cool Whip off your flatmate." The bouncy braggadocio of Kalri$$ian’s new album, Tales from the Velvet Pocket (Psychokinetics) and over-the-top flashback image somehow seem perfectly refreshing right now.

Experienced Bay nightlifers will recognize some long-time scenesters among the Kal’s colorful cast. No need to fret over missing all the in-jokes, though — Kalri$$ian’s got a million of ’em, and most involve doing lines off your girlfriends’ ass. Check them out live at the release party for Daly City cool kid Mochipet’s new Bunnies & Muffins platter:

KALRI$$IAN

April 4, 9 p.m.– 5 a.m., all ages
The Ranch
1433 Van Dyke, SF
www.kalrissianbaby.com

SFBG You sure got a lot of people — it’s like you’re a super group or something. Tell me about who’s all involved …

"UNCLE" TONY HIGHRISE (producer) You’re goddamn right this group is super! I’ll tell you what — I wouldn’t have left Miami unless it was for something really, really super. I came up on the scene in Delaware back in the day. I was a freelance hype man for a while with my cousin Wicked Awesome J, rest his soul. After the accident, I drifted south and started wearing polyester. It just seemed like the thing to do. Polyester was tough in Miami — it’s not that breathable, you know. But I was committed.

KEYLO VENEZUELA (producer) We ARE super group. We make fantastic sound music and tell our stories to everybody. The music is the passion that covers the world.

SMOOTH RICK CHOSEN (vocalist) I’m an ex-Barbazon School of Modeling student who got hooked on pills and realized he had a gift, in his pants.

SXSW: Petering out with PJ Harvey, AIDS Wolf, Moriarty, Sons of Albion, and more

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By the light of the moon: PJ Harvey and John Parrish at Stubb’s.

South by Southwest peters out with… Peter, Bjorn and John. Actually, not really – I dig those Scandinavian whistle-bait popsters and they were playing multiple shows – but there were other less familiar artists and rare diversions to seek out on Saturday, March 21, in Austin, Texas.

The sweet ‘n’ sunny Saturday morn started with slowly with some quality, low-price thrifting at Texas Thrift Store (Joanna Newsom and folk-psych gals would have appreciated the dusty rose, homemade patchwork vest and nautilus-shell purse) and a visit to western wear superstore Shepler’s, both off I-35. Then off to the Convention Center – which, by the end of the week during each SXSW, starts to seem a little like home (that is, if home was strewn with fat bundles of The Austin Chronicle and free bottles of Fuze green tea). There, Neil Young’s famed manager Elliott Roberts and his documentarian Larry Johnson talked up Young’s forthcoming series of box sets, starting with Neil Young Archives Volume 1 (1963-1972), on BluRay, DVD, and CD. Pretty amazing stuff – the BluRay edition will offer interactive components that will allow Young and company to offer up new photos, music, and film when they become available (one example, Robert said, are the Mynah Birds recordings made by Young and Rick James, which aren’t the now-locked box set – they just managed to license the tracks from Motown so when they’re available the BluRay owners will be notified and can likely download them directly).

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Mystery crust theater: Imperial Battlesnake takes aim.

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Pedal mettle: Increased bike presence at this year’s SXSW and surrounding day shows.

SXSW: Taking stock of the art of the rock poster at Flatstock

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Eats and beats: Bob Motown of Two Rabbits Studios, N. Hollywood.

Who says the so-called rock poster is dead? A bevy of bright talents in full effect at SXSW’s Flatstock 20 at the Austin Convention Center.

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Dan MacAdam’s Crosshair, Chicago.

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LeDouxville.

SXSW: Metallica, Echo and the Bunnymen, Mayyors, Glasvegas, the Pains of Being Pure of Heart, and more

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Thrill them all: Metallica at Stubb’s at SXSW. All photos by Kimberly Chun.

“All my heroes are weirdos,” to crib the title of a !!! number – and Guitar Heroes, beloved weirdos, and pop party kids were out in force Friday, March 20, at South by Southwest.

I started the day with sweet tea and a conference panel, “Great Expectations: Artist Development Meets Economic Reality,” including Dan Mackta of Jive, Pete Ganbarg of Atlantic, Tony Kiewel of Sub Pop, and Michael Goldstone of Mom and Pop Music Co.

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That’s their name – don’t wear it out: The Audacity take to the streets.

SXSW: Quick fixes with Flower Travellin’ Band, Fleet Foxes’ J. Tillman, Garotas Suecas, and more

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Funky love: Brazil’s Garotas Suecas seduces at Emo’s.

SXSW memories – fading now, but hey, it’s only Friday. Among the highlights yesterday, March 18: Brazil’s Garotas Suecas – the bright-eyed, fun ‘n’ funky heirs to Booker T. or at least Sharon Jones. My Portuguese is a bit nonexistent, but we got the picture loud and clear, thanks to the ensemble’s hyper-expressive vocalist.

Even more mind-blowing: Flower Travellin’ Band at Smokin’ Music. The band sometimes best known for its nekkid, motorcycle-riding album shot finally made it to the states for the last of five shows on its first U.S. tour. Previous sojourns have been scuttled for various reasons, but wow! Deeply eccentric power-centered psych-stoner rock – Hideki Ishima’s huge sitarla is only part of the story, generating resonant, almost boomingly bass-like sounds. Have to see more of them if/when they get to SF.

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Massive massive: Hideki Ishima wields his mighty sitarla.

SXSW: Q queue, Devo, Dirty Projectors, Girls, and more

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Chapel of the chiming guitar: SF’s Girls fill the Central Presbyterian Church March 19.

Impressions – watercolor, guyliner-streaked, skinny jeans-clad impressions – of SXSW. Here are a few from the frontlines on what turned out to be a stellar Thursday, March 19: I may have missed the Jane’s Addition reunion with Eric Avery at the Rock the Bunny after-hours bash at an old Safeway, but who needs the LA grunge-era implants when there’s so much happening elsewhere?

Rumor has it that Kanye West will be headlining the last Fader Fort show Saturday – a sweltering mecca of lines and bees drawn by the spilled fruity cocktails, out on the other side of I-35 – and that Neil Young is in town. Otherwise the vague official word round the Austin Convention Center is that attendance is down about 10 percent, though artist attendance is up. “Not bad, considering” – the new buzz words?

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Charm (in)offensive: Quincy Jones gives the SXSW keynote.

SXSW: Explosions as Sahm, Floyd are toasted, the Bronx pounds, Tara Jane O’Neil tears it, Explode into Colors does just that

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Back to the basics: The Bronx whip it out March 18. All photos by Kimberly Chun.

Get away from the grip-and-grin events and rambles through parties that offer free drinks and barbecue (though Jackpine Social Club’s Nick Tangborn supposedly threw an ace bash yesterday for ex-Parkside honcho Sean’s Batter Blaster pancake spray product) – there’s music out there if you seek it out. The corporate sponsors may be relatively absent, but there’s still plenty of intrigue, sonically, if you seek it out: PJ Harvey and John Parish, J. Tillman of Fleet Foxes going solo, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Blk Jck, We Have Band, et al.

One great budding band of women: Portland, Ore., trio Explode Into Colors. An all-power two-drum approach draws from the Slits and Gang of Four to fashion impassioned, sinewy primal punk. Fully formed and in full possession of their own voice. The group played March 18’s Finally Punk-curated all-ages music-made-by-women show at Ms. Bea’s, which also included Pocahaunted, Yellow Fever, Micachu, and the East Bay’s Splinters.

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Boy meets girls: Explode Into Colors.

SXSW: It begins… with a whisper?

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More Mochi: 215 the Freshest Kids hurl some words at Daly City Records’ Pre-SXSW/St. Patrick’s Day Party at Beso Cantina March 17. All photos by Kimberly Chun.

Or is a whimper more accurate. Yes, the signs are in the air and in the program, as we scan the pages of the official guide and the unofficial day party lists. Welcome to South by Southwest on the downlow, rocked by the turbulent winds blowing off a global economic meltdown.

The big conference keynote names like Pete Townshend, Neil Young, Robert Plant, and Lou Reed? This year we get the uber-talented and esteemed but nonetheless much less sexy – sorry, Quince – Quincy Jones. Instead of the Stooges and Morrissey, we will have onstage interviews with Carlene Carter and the Hold Steady. The corporate banners are still here, but with a not-quite-as-splashy, diminished presence – just where is that MySpace South By Party Bus? The major labels and glossy publications are quieter than usual – whither the Vice party? Is there a Vice party?

Instead Rachael Ray – wholesome indie rock fan incarnate – is serving up the New York Dolls and the aforementioned Hold Steady at her showcase. Hey, after all, we’re all eating in these days – we can use some new recipes. This is SXSW on the cheap, forced onto a low-budg diet by a still-suffering music biz. Yes, music continues unabated, but can its makers afford to make it out here this year? The underground bashes around SXSW appear to slowing down or maybe they just aren’t on the public radar – in any case I still want to make Todd P’s Ms. Bea free all-ages shows and the French Legation outdoor bills – now Arthur-free (R.I.P.). We’ll see if there’s anything as fun as Dan Deacon and Fucked Up’s guerrilla throwdowns shaking up the university campus and the bridge, after hours.

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Sonic Reducer Overage: Farflung, MSTRKRFT, Eleni Mandell, the Homosexuals, and mo’

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Men at work: MSTRKRFT’s “Work on You.”

Yes, San Francisco, you’re unstoppable. As usual, the city by the Bay bays – nay – howls at the moon. More worthy sounds that didn’t make it to print.



Judgement Day
The Bay Area band is using the tools of Bach and Beethoven for… devil horn-throwin’ eve-ill! Wed/18, 8 p.m., $10. Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016.

Eleni Mandell and Victor Krummenacher
The LA singer-songwriter strikes an arch, jazzy note with her praised **Artificial Fire** (Zedtone) and the ex-**Guardian** art director digs deep with **Patriarch’s Blues** (MagneticMotorworks, 2008). Thurs/19, 8 p.m., $12-$15. Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016.

Super Ego: All aboard for Trannyshack Reno, woot

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By Marke B.

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Your hostesses Heklina and Renttecca, rolling loaded. Photo by Eric Stein.

Oh lord, is it really that time again already? Time for SF’s crazy drag queens to take their “retarted” acts to a largely unsuspecting hinterland?

I just got wind that homelesslike party Charlie Horse is headed to Fresno (more on that later), and now, here I am posting about the annual Trannyshack bus-terfuck road trip to Reno. Oh hell yeah, there’ll be spastic vogue drops droppin’ in the Mickey D’s.

And really, it’s all about the journey:

Isn’t this the real reason that California might split in two?

So, yes, the much-bemourned Trannyshack is rising from the zombie-swamp, loading a bunch of freaks up onto a couple of busses, and taking over Reno’s bars, hotels, casinos, and sidewalks for a couple of days. It all goes down April 11-12 (Easter weekend). Won’t you join them in a total blackout? Tickets available now!

Full release deets straight from the whorses mouth at www.trannyshack.com and after the jump. Try not to gag on the professionalism!

Six-leafed clover for St. Patty’s

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Besides following your priorities and getting green drunk (even ecologically drunk) tomorrow night, here’s six four-star musical events totally worth tottering off your pub stool toward. But don’t mistake that leprechaun for your designated driver! Call a cab, Molly O’Shaumessy!

St. Patty’s Day Punk Bash
With La Plebe, Ribzy, Get Dead, Abrupt, Dope Charge, and Excuse the Blood.
Tue/17, 6pm, $8
Elbo Room
647 Valencia, SF
(415) 552-7788
www.elbo.com

Culann’s Hounds, Hooks, Gasmen
Part of the San Francisco Irish Music Festival
Tue/17, 8pm, $20
Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell, SF
(415) 885-0750
www.gamh.com

A Very Special St. Patrick’s Day 45 Club
The funky side of soul on 45 rpm with dX the Funky Grandpaw, Dirty Dishes, and English Steve.
Tue/17, 9pm, $2.
Knockout
3223 Mission, SF
(415) 550-6994
www.theknockoutsf.com

Farley’s Coffee 20th Anniversary and St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
Bagpipes and Irish music from 9am-noon; 8pm music and dancing, with a performance from local faves Soul Delights.
Tue/17, 9am-10pm, free
Farley’s coffeehouse
1315 18th St, SF
(415) 648-1545
www.farleyscoffee.com

Food Stamp Tuesdays
This new monthly (second Tuesdays) kicks off with a cheap drink Patty’s Day special at the usually pretty pricey Vessel. With disco soul glammers from DJs Miss Juanita More, Initials P.B. and Pete Notori
Tue/17, 5pm-midnight, free
Vessel
85 Campton Place, SF
(415) 433-8585
www.vesselsf.com

Get Wild St. Patty’s
New crazy-boots band The Primitivas, featuring members of the La-Teenos and the Guardian’s own Dulcinea Gonzalez will funk up Aunt Charlies, with DJ Alexis and hostesses Hunx and Liza Thorn.
Tue/17, 10pm, cheap
Aunt Charlie’s Lounge
133 Turk, SF
www.auntcharlieslounge.com

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