By Steven T. Jones
Good for Nancy Pelosi! It’s great to see her finally get serious about ending this disastrous war and to start being a long overdue check on this out-of-control imperial presidency. Win or lose, it’s the right thing to do and a move that makes me proud to be from San Francisco. And if Bush indeeds vetoes this thing, maybe she’ll reconsider her opposition to impeachment. After all, the Constitution vests Congress with the power to start and end wars, not the president.
SFBG Blogs
End the war!
Killing closure
By Steven T. Jones
How desperate is the pro-car crowd to kill Healthy Saturdays? Sources tell us that De Young Museum matriarch Dede Wilsey and other allies talked rookie Assembly member Fiona Ma into writing state legislation that would have required voter approval for creating car-free spaces in San Francisco parks, and that she was talked out of doing so by financier and backer Warren Hellman — a supporter of Healthy Saturdays — just before the Feb. 23 deadline for introducing bills. Contacted by the Guardian, Hellman confirmed the basic story, telling us, “We talked and she had an idea of proposing something, but I thought it was unnecessary.” He thinks the issue is likely to end up before voters either way, either through a referendum on the passage of Healthy Saturdays or a measure placed on the ballot by four supervisors if it fails. Ma’s office refused to comment on whether she pursued legislation to prevent Healthy Saturdays — which she opposed last year as a member of the Board of Supervisors — and would say only, “I do not discuss private conversations with constituents in the media.”
Saturday closure is an emotion-packed issue for both sides, which may be why Newsom decided to announce his opposition fairly early, just to avoid the acrimony. But that left Sup. Bevan Dufty (who voted against it last year) as the swing vote and someone who admits that his phone has been ringing off the hook lately. But he’s pledged to stay engaged and try to do the right thing: “I’m trying to stay refreshingly open on the issue of Healthy Saturdays and consider different viewpoints.”
Josh Wolf vs. Howard Kurtz, the Washington Post, and the inside-the-beltway gang
By Bruce B. Brugmann
Marvelous. Simply marvelous. While ten of the l9 witnesses testifying in the Libby trial were singing journalists, and three of them were central to securing Libby’s conviction, Howard Kurtz, the media critic of the Washington Post and the voice of the inside-the-beltway media establishment, did not raise any of the obvious issues and questions in this unprecedented mass outing of sources by journalists in federal court in Washington, D.C. It was a “spectacle that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago,” as Adam Liptak put it rightly in the New York Times March 8.
Instead, one day after the Libby guilty verdict, Kurtz went after Josh Wolf, the longest jailed journalist in U.S. history for contempt of court, in his March 8 column headlined “Jailed Man Is A Videographer And a Blogger but Is He a Journalist?” Kurtz, who tosses softballs about every Sunday morning in his media show on CNN, hit Josh hard with a lead that said, “He is being cast by some journalists as a young champion of the First Amendment, jailed for taking a lonely stand heavy-handed federal prosecutors.”
Then: “But Wolf’s rationale for withholding the video, and refusing to testify, is less than crystal clear. There are no confidential sources involved in the case. He sold part of the tape to local television stations and posted another portion on his blog. Why, then, is he willing to give up his freedom over the remaining footage?”
And then he quoted, not a media lawyer nor a journalist with knowledge of
California law, but a professor who ought to be flunked out of law school (Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California Los Angeles). Kurtz quoted Volokh as saying without blushing, “It’s one thing to say journalists must respect promises of confidentiality they made to their sources. It would be quite another to say journalists have a right to refuse to testify even about non-confidential sources. When something is videotaped in a public place, it’s hard to see even an implied agreement of confidentiality.”
Tom Newton, general counsel of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, had the appropriate polite response in an email to Kurtz: “Huh?”
“That, as they say, would be a settled right in California. In California, the people have flatly rejected the idea that police and prosecutors ought to be able to deputize journalists whenever they can’t figure out how to do their job themselves.”
“Moreover,” Newton continued, “the test for whether Josh is a journalist or not should not be based on who the U.S. attorney says he is, (“simply a person with a video camera”), or even who Josh says he is (an “artist, an activist, an anarachist and an archivist”), but on what he does and what he was doing when gathering the information at issue (i.e., creating videotape of a public and newsworthy event and actually selling portions of it for a profit to a news organization which made it part of the local evening TV news).” Read Newton’s full comment below.
So, when the chips are down and the question is raised in time of war, who stood the test of being a real journalist? Josh Wolf, who went to jail on principle, and is still there, and may be there until a new federal jury is impaneled in July? Josh Wolf, who was put in jail in my view by the Bush administration to send a don’t-mess-with-us message to anti-war protestors inside and outside of San Francisco and to journalists at large. Or the l0 journalists warbling away in federal court and thereby avoiding jail (excepting Judith Miller from the New York Times, who did jail time but still ended up testifying)?
I stand with Josh Wolf. I think he is not only a real journalist in the best sense of the word, but a journalistic Hero and a First Amendment Hero who is paying his dues and more every day he serves in federal prison in Dublin, California. As for Howard Kurtz and the Washington Post and the inside-the-Beltway gang, well, they helped George Bush march us into Iraq, no real questions asked, and they are now helping keep us there with this kind of logic and reporting.
There are lots of real questions for Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post/inside the beltway gang who asked the is-Josh-a-journalist question the day after the verdict and to some extent for Debra Saunders of the San Francisco Chronicle who asked the same question a few days before the verdict. The questions do not involve whether whether Josh Wolf is a journalist or not. The questions are, how in the world did those hotshot inside-the-beltway journalists with access and those hotshot inside-the-beltway media organizations with access so screw up the story of the biggest foreign policy mistake in U.S. history? And how did they so screw it up when millions of us without access, in San Francisco and around the world, figured out the real story, knew it was a terrible mistake to go to war with Iraq, and went into the streets to protest the decision? And when will they start reporting the real story behind the Libby trial: that Bush and Cheney lied us into war, that Libby was key to the much larger story of the cover up of the campaign of lies, that the war is now lost but the lies go on, and that our only option left is to get out as quickly as possible? Kurtz and the inside-the-beltway gang are the journalists who have the explaining to do, not Josh Wolf.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030702454.html>
Newton’s email to Kurtz:
“While the national attention on shield law issues has focused almost entirely on the protection of confidential sources, out here in California we have for many years granted journalists the ability to protect both their confidential sources and unpublished information associated with newsgathering. Had the San Francisco situation not rather bizarrely become a federal case (it was, after all, an incident involving a San Francisco crowd, a San Francisco peace officer and a San Francisco police car), there would be no question that Josh, assuming for a moment he is a journalist covered by California law, would be immune from a contempt order for his steadfast refusal to disclose his unpublished information to a state prosecutor. This immunity is squarely set by popular vote in the state’s constitution (Article I. Sec. 2).
“I am totally puzzled by this quote in your column from an esteemed constitutional scholar: “It’s one thing to say journalists must respect promises of confidentiality they made to their sources,” says Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. “It would be quite another to say journalists have a right to refuse to testify even about non-confidential sources.” Huh? That, as they say, would be a settled right in California. In California, the people have flatly rejected the idea police and prosecutors ought to be able to deputize journalists whenever they can’t figure out how to do their job themselves.
“Moreover, the test for whether Josh is a journalist or not should not be based on who the U.S. Attorney says he is, (“simply a person with a video camera”), or even who Josh says he is (an “artist, an activist, an anarchist and an archivist”), but on what he does and what he was doing when gathering the information at issue (i.e., creating videotape of a public and newsworthy event and actually selling portions of it for a profit to a news organization which made it a part of the local evening TV news). Based on a recent California case involving a blogger’s attempt to quash a subpoena pursued by Apple in an attempt to identify an internal leak, it’s clear to me Josh would be found to be a journalist for purposes of California’s Shield Law and would be a free man right now, but for this becoming a federal case.”
Full disclosure: I asked CNPA, as a member publisher, to support Wolf, his cause, and a federal shield law. To its immense credit, the CNPA board and staff rose to the occasion and has supported Wolf, a member of no media organization, with skill and passion. From CNPA to the Society of Professional Journalists to the California First Amendment Coalition to the International Free Press Institute in Vienna to other international free press groups to labor unions to the grassroots movement of Andy Blue and Julian Davis in San Francisco and beyond, this is quite a massive and growing coalition of the willing for Josh Wolf. Keep it rolling till Josh is out of jail and the U.S. is out of Iraq. B3
Free Muni: You read it here first
Tim Redmond
I’m glad to see the Mayor Newsom is looking into free bus service. It’s a great idea, even if, as Leftinsfnotes, it’s probably just a political ploy in an election year. And even if the Chron is already already trying to shoot it down.
When I first saw the headlines, I had one of those flashback moments; I realized that we’d already done this story, a long time ago. In fact, it was December, 1993 when the Guardian ran a cover story on the case for Free Muni. I dug it up from our archives; you can read it here.
Back then, the local economy was kind of a wreck, and beyond the environmental arguments, we wanted to make the case that eliminating bus fares would give the mostly working-class folks who ride the buses more moneny in their pockets, which would be a nice economic boost. The way to pay for it, of course, would be to tax downtown (making this a transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor, one of my favorite things in the world).
I don’t think Newsom is even looking at the economic arguments, but he should.
He also isn’t calling for a downtown transit tax increase to pay for this, either — but that’s the way to do it. Put the whole thing on the ballot — free Muni, paid for by, say, a $150 million annual assessment on downtown buildings. That might even win. Would Newsom support it?
Death of Fun Redux
by Amanda Witherell
It’s almost fair and festival season in San Francisco, but we’ll see if some actually get a chance to be staged in the neighborhoods where they were born.
The North Beach Festival had a setback yesterday at the Operations Committee of the Recreation and Park Commission. According to festival organizer, Marsha Garland, commissioners Megan Levitan and Tom Harrison expressed concern about alcohol being consumed in city parks and the committee decided to kick the issue up to the full commission. Last year the same issues came up and Garland had made some changes to her proposal — no sale of booze in the park and more fencing of the masses — in order to mitigate concerns that the park and surrounding neighborhood are adversely affected rather during the two days of the festival. Garland and many merchants and citizens consider the festival a boon, bringing additional commerce and attention to their area of the city. An anti-group thinks the hood doesn’t need it.
Meanwhile, the future of the Haight Street Fair is being discussed tonight at the Park Branch Library, from 7 to 9 pm. Some key city and neighborhood planners will be there and it’s sponsored by the HAIGHT ASHBURY NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL (For more information, call Karen Fishkin, 921-2032).
Jean Baudrillard is not dead.
Ah, the ecstacy of pomo French theorizing: it feels like sandpaper, tastes like mint, and never leaves the cold bathroom. Sometimes it’s a bloody butterfly. Other times it’s a tongue on vinyl. And always the future conditional pluperfect leotard. Ce ca?
And yet, the gulf may exist.
Fuck Baudrillard. Fuck Foucault. I’m going home to lie under the covers with a flashlight and review my hand-stitched limited edition of XEROX now. I hated the Matrix. Or did I only think I hated it?
No. I did hate it.
Donna data
And while I’m on this posting old Noise Pop photos kick… here are some pictures from The Donnas playing Noise Pop at Bottom of the Hill last Friday night.
Want to know if the show was any good? I think the following photo of Guardian writer G.W. Schulz says it all.
(Molly Freedenberg)
Cake to audience: Eat me (then buy my record)
I had honestly forgotten how much I like Cake. Years of too much radio play hardened me to those catchy tunes like Never There and The Distance, making me forget all about the beats so steeped in funk you can’t help but move your hips, the spot-on transitions that would make any music major proud, the deep melodic sarcasm of John McCrea’s voice, and the plain old virtuosity of these people as musicians. What I hadn’t forgotten was McCrea’s attitude: bitter, jaded, and a bit antagonistic to his audience. 
In fact, when I last saw Cake in Portland almost a decade ago, McCrea went so far as to insult the crowd for only showing up to hear the radio single I Will Survive, asking if anyone even knew their other songs. (Would it have killed him to thank them for padding his paycheck, however they found him?…) My embarrassment at being associated with one of the mindless minions (though I was a true Cake fan at the time, and didn’t even like I Will Survive that much), and my anger at McCrea for making me feel embarrassed about it, might have been part of the reason I’ve hardly listened to the Sacramento songsters since then.
Until the last night of Noise Pop, when it all came rushing back. The band took the stage at Bimbo’s in front of a packed crowd of mostly 30-somethings, all die-hard fans who sang along with nearly every song. And as that twangy guitar intros started and McCrea banged the vibraslap and they launched into some of my old favorites – You Part the Waters and Is This Love? – I remembered: This is is a great fucking band.
And then as McCrea yelled at people in the front row for taking pictures, and responded to audience requests by saying, “Thanks for the input, but we don’t want to feel like a jukebox. So what do we want to play?”, and as he launched into a tirade against the music industry, I also remembered that McCrea is still an asshole (or in need of a really big hug). A hilarious, sarcastic, droll, witty, talented asshole, but an asshole all the same.
Of course, that’s part of what gives Cake character. And if being an asshole isn’t enough to make me not date you (you know who you are…), then it sure isn’t enough to make me stop buying your records.
Since the band is on an anti-corporate (and anti-publicity) kick, the chances of them playing anywhere near here anytime soon is pretty slim. But you can get their self-released CD “B-Sides and Rarities,” with its scratch and sniff cover art, here. As for me? I’m getting another copy of Motorcade of Generosity. I suddenly have a craving to hear about birds falling from window ledges like small loaves of bread…(Molly Freedenberg)
NOISE: Uplift those Gowns
The Gowns sound awfully good to me – composed of former members of Mae Shi and Amps for Christ, the now-Berkeley art-rockin’ combo is playing tonight at 21 Grand, opening for BARR, Marnie Stern, and Old Time Relijun. Atmospheric, willing to test those everchanging limits defining a pop song, punky in ways that Good Charlotte wouldn’t understand…oh hell, I’ll just let the Gowns’ Ezra Buchla tell it the way he sees it for himself, Erika Anderson, and Corey Fogel:
I am writing from Highland Park, Los Angeles, a city in which I am a (permanent?) visitor. Erika and I lived here two years ago, when we began playing together as Gowns or the Gowns. It was an attempt to synthesize several of our musical interests: the formal minimalism and elasticity of folk music, the abrasion of Crass-era anarchist punk, the directness and lyricism of grunge rock, and the alienating, arguably anti-human time-bending techniques of modern digital signal processing.
Why we need a no-attacks pledge
By Tim Redmond
The shit is already flying in the Migden-Leno race. Check out this nice piece of sleaze attacking Mark Leno as “the Kiddie Porn King.”
No kidding.
That’s why Leno and Migden both have to tell their supporters to knock it off.
NOISE: Madge hatter — and sunglasses, bags, and shoe maker
Spring is almost here and so is Madonna’s new collection by H&M!
The one and only Queen of the Dance Floor has designed a full range of clothes and accessories, including shoes, bags and sunglasses for H&M. The M By Madonna full collection will be available in H&M stores March 22. Make sure to visit H&Ms website for more info and check Madonna.com on a regular basis for exclusive M by Madonna related content in the next few days!
Madonnas official page on Myspace has just been updated with a brand new layout and content. Want to be part of Madonnas friends group on Myspace? Just click here and start sharing your love for Madonna with thousands of fans!
www.madonna.com
www.iconmadonna.com
Sucking up to PG&E’s flack
By Tim Redmond
Isn’t this special? All of these liberal politicians in San Francisco happily sucking up to the chief hired gun for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
For the record, Don Solem has made gobs of money over the years defeating public-power initiatives in San Francisco. That’s not something I really want to celebrate.
More Noise Popping
By Deborah Giattina
I wouldn’t have traded seeing my fellow Bay Area Ladyfest 2002 organizer play her first Noise Pop show last Wednesday for anything–not even a Ponys/Gris Gris ticket. I’m referring to Macromantics (aka Romy Hoffman), who recently was signed to Kill Rock Stars. (Check out her first KRS release, Moments in Movement.)
Onstage, the chaos-loving Australian MC and erstwhile San Francisco denizen’s a capella onslaughts rocked the crowd as much as her body-moving escapades into metaphysical rapping.
Afterwards, my down under friend waved away a look-see at my snaps of her performance, stating, “I don’t believe in documentation.” This one’s gonna keep moving forward into uncharted territory rather than look back, but that doesn’t mean she minds if the rest of us cherish the memories.
The road looked like a ski slope…
By Kimberly Chun
Thought me and my pal were going to recreate the Donner Party’s flesh-chomping shenanigans this past weekend: we were caught in the snow storm over Highway 80 on Feb. 25, heading from Reno and the Who’s Feb. 23 US tour kickoff concert back to frisky ole Frisco. Scary, snow-slick road conditions and worse, frightening near-standstill traffic. We left Reno at 1 p.m. and at around 6 or 7 p.m. finally, carefully pulled into a slippery, icy, snowed-in Truckee – about five or six hours after we spotted a “Truckee: 12 miles” sign.
A winter wonderland for skiiers and fresh-air fiends – a nightmare for motorists.
The freeway resembled a ski run.
Californians really are equipped for “weather” conditions!
Check the dude in the T-shirt in the middle of a blizzard.
New Times/Village Voice Media: the problem with a “SunBelt-baked chain” in San Francisco and the East Bay
By Bruce B. Brugmann
I have often referred to the New Times/Village Voice Media chain as Desert Libertarianism-on-the-rocks, with large stalks of neocon politics. Adam Reilly, writing in the current Boston Phoenix alternative, has a better line:
“It’s no surprise that the ex-New Times brass who now lead VVM, including CEO Jim Larkin and, as executive editor, the famously irascible MIke Lacey–want the Voice and its fellow papers to conform to their standardized, apolitical, SunBelt-baked vision of what alternative journalism should be. What is striking, though, is how quickly and decisively defenders of the old left-leaning, decentralized VVM ethos has been routed. The battle just began–and its already over.”
Reilly has done some good reporting and good analyzing and come up with the best piece so far on the dreadful impact that the l7-paper chain is having on journalism and the cities where it has papers.
But let me add a key point: the NT/VVM formula, successful as it might be without competition in the deserts and the foothills, simply doesn’t work in cities where they have real competition with community based newspapers, such as in San Francisco with the Guardian and in the East Bay with the Guardian, Berkeley Daily Planet, the Berkeley Monthly, and the Daily Cal. And in Seattle with the Stranger. And in Cleveland with the Free Times.
For example, the SF Weekly/VVM and East Bay Express/VVM papers lose millions each year. In Cleveland, the NT/VVM paper has lost millions over the past few years. And, given the strength and competition of the Guardian and others, there is little prospect the NT/VVM can turn their papers around. And so the tantalizing question is: what are they going to do?
STOP THE PRESSES: The Village Voice/New Times has fired its editor after six months, according to a Saturday March 3 report in the New York Times. This would be the fourth editor in little more than a year since the New Times took over the Voice in the fall of 2005.
The firing only underscores my point: the formula that worked in Phoenix doesn’t work and won’t work in sophisticated/liberal/competition rich cities like New York. B3
See also Gawker’s coverage of this.
Smells like art
I knew I was in the right place. I could smell it before I even got in the building. The brazenly pungent aroma emanated out the glass doors, down the yellow walls of the entrance corridor, and out into the San Francisco Art Institute’s scenic courtyard.
It was a smell both foreign and familiar. The fragrant notes of beef stew, rich with clove, onion and rosemary, coupled with the sour musty smell of cognac, wine, and time.
Inside, behind a large black curtain, a dark gooey brew bubbled from within a deep silver pot atop a gas stove, while various vegetables and spices rested on a butcher’s block next to it.
However, the cook, Jean-Baptiste Ganne, is not a chef. And he won’t be feeding his creation to any group of hungry foodies. Instead the French photographer and artist hopes to speak to something different. For this exhibit, titled “The Cookist, a very informal seminar on the question of work,” Ganne prepares a traditional French dish called la daube, cooked over a three-day period solely to produce a smell. There is nothing to eat, and little to see, making the exhibit particularly unique, as the fragrance can be experienced only by those present at the moment.
Does it have to be a bloodbath?
By Tim Redmond
Already, I’m hearing whistpers from both sides of the Leno-Migden contest, and already, they’re getting nasty. Mark Leno told me this week that he will run an upbeat campaign, and that any negative attacks on Midgen “won’t come from me.” I suspect I will hear the same from Migden. But it’s common in campaigns for elected officials to try to take the high road and let others — their allies and suppoerters — do the dirty work.
So queer/labor activist Robert Haaland is asking not only the candidates, but their supporters in the queer and progressive communities, to pledge to keep this fight out of the gutter. Here’s a piece he sent me; I think everyone ought to read it, take it seriously, and sign on.
Our community was divided. Our LGBT clubs were separated. The streets of the Castro were full of opposing forces and consternation. During the 2001-2002 campaign for the 13th Assembly District seat, we were split and it was a difficult time.
Following that election campaign, we made a decision to begin the process of healing those divisions. The leaders of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, and the leaders of the campaigns, met together to salve these wounds and form a new alliance. This was not easy. It took years and much work within each to heal, listen, understand, and move forward together.
In the years since that election, our community has been in a renaissance. Our two LGBT Democratic Clubs have worked together like never before. We have seen tremendous and amazing accomplishments through those efforts. Our coordinated efforts as a community in opposition to the statewide Special Election in 2005 are an astounding example of what we can do when we work together.
Additionally, as efforts have moved forward in the LGBT community on issues such as marriage equality on the stairs of our City Hall, opposing racial discrimination in the Castro, speaking out against anti-LGBT commentary from the news media about our LGBT families, supporting statewide efforts for the advancement of our LGBT rights, and stopping attacks from the right-wing on our community, we have been able to work side-by-side in a way that was unthinkable during the 2001-2002 campaign.
This newfound coordination and organization between our Clubs and within our community has been crucial in working for the betterment and strength of our community as a whole. And we will not allow this community to be torn asunder again. Our friendships are too strong now. Our knowledge of the power of our coordinated efforts and their success is too deep. And our realization that we can move beyond minor disagreements and continue forward as friends and colleagues and community brothers and sisters is definite.
As our community begins the process of working on the upcoming state Senate campaign for June of 2008, we will not allow this to break our bonds. We demand that the candidates in the race do the following:
–Pledge that there will be no negative campaigning, against each other or supporters on any side
–Pledge that they individually will work to strengthen our community’s ties with one another
–Pledge that they will not work to form wedges and divisions among us as a community
–Pledge that they will regularly form bonds with all sides in the campaign
–Pledge respect, honor, decency, and above all, civility, towards all parties
We also urge our community’s leaders to pledge that they do the same. Regardless of anyone’s personal affiliations during this campaign, we will continue to form our alliances and friendships and move this community forward together. We are not going back. We have too much to gain by moving forward together.
NOISE: Smoother sailing for Roky?
Just in time to catch the afterglow of Roky Erickson’s awesome performance at Great American Music Hall last night: good news. According to Erickson’s publicists, the garage-punk legend has had his legal rights fully restored as of Feb. 23.
Roky’s camp writes: “In June 2001, Roky Erickson’s youngest brother, former Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra principal tubaist Sumner Erickson, was appointed Roky’s legal guardian. Sumner established the Roger Kynard Erickson Trust to address Roky’s living expenses and other financial needs. From June 2001 till July 2002, Roky lived with his brother in Pittsburgh, where he finally began to receive the support and care he needs.
“Roky is now back in Austin. Not only has his health continued to improve dramatically, but as of Feb. 23, 2007, the guardianship has been dissolved. Roky is back, a free agent and the rock ‘n’ roll muse that he was born to be.”
His now-regular psychedelic ice cream social benefit will happen on Thursday, March 15, during SXSW at Threadgills WHQ, S. Austin, Texas, from 2-8 p.m.
This year’s event celebrates “Electro-Shock Survivors”; Erickson’s peeps write: “The Ice Cream Social is co-sponsored this year by the Coalition for the Abolition of Electroshock in Texas (CAEST). Many artists have been hurt over the years by the labels and biological treatments of the mental health system. Roky Erickson, Townes Van Zandt, and Jim Franklin are Austin music legends who suffered from psychiatric electroshock, also known as electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT.
“Roky and Townes’ son, J.T. Van Zandt, are among the musicians who are now publicly declaring their desire to protect future artists from being hurt by electroshock, calling for genuine asylum and compassionate care of artists and other citizens who might be having a hard time in life. Says Roky of being subjected to ECT treatments: ‘I wish I hadn’t had it and it didn’t help me.’”
Tickets for $20 are available at www.frontgatetickets.com and at Threadgills WHQ at 301 West Riverside Drive at (512) 472-9304.
NOISE: Noise pop-a-go-go-going! Roky, Macro, Pop, pop, pop…
Wow, can’t stop the Noise Pop show-going. Though when one finds the time to report on it or discuss the hairdo’s seen or the amount of cheap beer quaffed – who knows?
First off, Roky Erickson totally freakin‘ kicked ass last night, March 1. Solid band, great sound, punchy drumming, great gods of distortion smiling down. You know, the works. Though the set was relatively short at about 40 or so minutes and Erickson and the Explosives sprinkled the proceedings with several blues jams, all the faves were in order – 13th Floor Elevators’ “You’re Gonna Miss Me” and his own “Two Headed Dog,” “Don’t Shake Me Lucifer,” and “I Walked with a Zombie.” All mind-alteringly loud with plenty of intriguing facial expressions (puzzled, thinking, munching, etc.) on Erickson’s face. Black motorcycle jacketed rocker crowd was out in force, along with passionate oldsters – haven’t seen that mix since Radio Birdman’s first SF stand.
And Wooden Shjips sounded absolutely awesome at 8:30 p.m. opening for Erickson (incidentally Howlin’ Rain rocked the keys and Oranger sounded more raucous than ever). Hard to believe it’s your second show, I told guitarist Ripley Johnson. It’s actually his third – the second was in Cotati, he replied. Same diff, no?
Meanwhile Macromantics, otherwise known as Romy Hoffman, killed at Bottom of the Hill Wednesday, Feb. 28. She mimed sticking a knife in her chest, strafed the air with her arms, and flipped her long hair all over the place – and ruled the mic with tongue-twisters that would have driven me mad. (And lord knows I’ve tried, tackling “Crazy in Love”‘s raps at karaoke.) Later Pop Levi brought the blues-rock overdrive – loud and proud, get used to it.
Later I waddled over to Great American Music Hall to check Sebadoh. Yep, they’re still there. My pals were divided as to whether they prefered Eric Sebadoh tunes or Lou Sebadoh numbers. Regardless, ya got it all.
Girls Rule
Oooh, how I love me some rockin’ women. And last night seemed to be chock full of ’em. (The men weren’t half bad either…)
First was Noise Pop Happy Hour at the Parkside (are we seeing a theme here?) featuring the mesmerizing Loquat. Listening to the adorable Kylee Swenson (pictured top right) layer gorgeous, haunting vocals over the band’s catchy guitar-pop-meets-danceable-electronica (thanks to bandmates Earl Otsuka, Anthony Gordon, Christopher Lautz, and the newest band member, a laptop) was the perfect way to start off an evening of rock.
Next up was Slim’s, for a stellar line-up featuring French Kicks (moderately far away photo here)and Scissors for Lefty(very far away photo here), both of whom were fantastic. But opening band The Oohlas really stole the show. The music was true, heart-pounding rock’n’roll — and so was frontwoman Olivia Stone (in the other two photos), whose smile was as engaging as her on-stage antics.
Watch video here.
(And by the way, this isn’t some “I Am Wemoon Therefore I Heart Womyn In Rock” thing. Merely having a vagina is not enough to make me like your band. These chicks have vaginas — presumably…I didn’t actually see ’em — and they fucking rock. Uh, the chicks. Not the vaginas….Never mind.) (Molly Freedenberg)
NOISE: Yum, indie branding means…
Guardian staffer Joe Pennant was out and about for Noise Pop and ran smack into some free mochi ice cream at Bottom of the Hill – courtesy of the Ice Cream Man.
Who are these kind, mysterious strangers giving away sweets at all manner of shows? Marketing, promotions, branding, and advertising, naturally! The site says: “Ice Cream Man is a grassroots organization that combines the minds, hearts, skills, and resources of a growing team of adventurous individuals who refuse to adhere to the old business paradigm. We were those crazy and confused kids raised in the ’80s and ’90s with conflicting messages (“Just Say No” vs. “Just Do It”). We believe that right now is the best time in history. With the Internet we are not bound by the constraints of the modern media machine. We can break through all of the hypocrisy and create REAL connections with like-minded people…. The more money we can bring in the more ice cream we’ll be able to give away. To date the Ice Cream Crew has given away over 35,000 treats.”
Folks last saw ’em at Arthurfest. I saw him at Great American Music Hall during the Sebadoh show – and got a lovely organic Creamsicle-like bar for my trouble. Apparently they’re looking for a few good Ice Cream Men and Women too. Just, y’know, an FYI, duders.