Music Blogger Archives — Page 16 of 39 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

In on the Outside: Howlin Rain, the Walkmen, Toot and the Maytals added to Outside Lands fest lineup

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June 23, 2008

Howl on, Howlin Rain – at Outside Lands.

This in from the publicists of Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, the first annual ticketed large-scale multi-stage event in Golden Gate Park. (A portion of every ticket sold will directly benefit Golden Gate Park):

“Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is proud to announce new additions to the already-stellar line-up for the first inaugural event. Howlin Rain, The Dynamites, and Carney are rounding out Friday, Aug. 22. The Walkmen, Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck, and Everest have been added to Saturday, Aug. 23. Toots and the Maytals, Rogue Wave, Mike Gordon, and Vienna Teng have been added to Sunday, Aug. 24.

“The multifaceted, three-day festival will take place in San Francisco’s historic Golden Gate Park on Aug. 22-24, 2008. Radiohead, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Jack Johnson will headline the event. Tickets for the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival are available for purchase at www.SFOutsidelands.com.

“The updated schedule for each day is as follows:”

Friday, Aug. 22 (first band is on at 5 p.m.)
Radiohead
Beck
Manu Chao
The Black Keys
Cold War Kids
Steel Pulse
Black Mountain
The Felice Brothers
Howlin Rain
The Dynamites
Carney

Saturday, August 23 (first band is on at 1 p.m.)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Primus
Steve Winwood
Lupe Fiasco
Café Tacvba
Regina Spektor
Galactic’s Crescent City Soul Krewe featuring Dirty Dozen Horns
M. Ward
Devendra Banhart
Matt Nathanson
Two Gallants
Dredg
Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck
The Walkmen
Sidestepper
Kaki King
The Coup
Donavon Frankenreiter
Nellie McKay
Goapele
Sean Hayes
Rupa and the April Fishes
Everest

Sunday, Aug. 24 (first band is on at 1 p.m.)
Jack Johnson
Wilco
Widespread Panic
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Broken Social Scene
Andrew Bird
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
Drive-By Truckers
Toots and the Maytals
Stars
Rogue Wave
ALO
Jackie Greene
Mike Gordan
The Cool Kids
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Little Brother
Bon Iver
The Mother Hips
Nicole Atkins and the Sea
K’naan
Back Door Slam
Culver City Dub Collective

‘Tokyo Gore Police,’ ‘Machine Girl’ splash down at Hole in the Head’s finale

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June 20, 2008

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One-armed bandit: Machine Girl‘s Asami lost an arm in her battle against a shady ninja family, but that doesn’t mean you should stand in the way of her quest for vengeance (witness the poor slob in the rear).

Ho boy, are you ready for the nightmares? That’s practically guaranteed this weekend as the Another Hole in the Head fest closes out with its final mow-down. Fans of arterial spray, extreme Japanese filmmaking, random acts of unkind dismemberment, and fatal flying guillotines will be able to get their geek on one last, but hella amazing time with this last-minute double feature of Japanese shock-and-argh at Brava, showcasing the late add Tokyo Gore Police and crowd fave Machine Girl. The quickie downlow:

MACHINE GIRL

Possibly the most exuberantly bloody and cartoonish offering in the fest, which bites off/pays homage to Grindhouse AND Kill Bill. This archetypal Japanese revenge story – passionate and cruel by turns – hinges on the trials and tribulations of Ami Hyuga (Asami), a high-school basketball nut, fresh-faced daughter of an accused killer, and loyal big sister. Her younger brother becomes snared by spiralling gambling (!?) debts and ends up in hock to the local budding young hoods, including the son of a yakuza/ninja kingpin (whose devil ‘do bears a remarkable resemblance to that of Prodigy’s lead vocalist) – it doesn’t end prettily. Something snaps in Ami, and she goes after the kids responsible for her bro’s death, only to come up against a formidable array of monstrous parents driven to protect their equally rotten offspring. Losing her arm – slowly – in a nasty torture scene just sends her over the edge. Don’t even ask yourself how she can possibly operate a attachable machine gun with a stump – Rose MacGowan figured out how in Planet Terror, so can she.

You won’t soon forget the memorably ’60s-ish comicbook-like action sequence opener, evocative of both Seijun Suzuki and Sin City, or the finale, less a balletic bloodbath than a completely over-the-top showdown between the “Super Mourner Gang” of grieving parents (just because your son chose to become a ninja doesn’t mean you don’t hurt), giant holes blasted in bodies, a driller bra donned by the meanest mama ever, and a scalping scene that combines disco strobing and an almost Looney Tunes-esque dark comedy.

TOKYO GORE POLICE

Also produced by the venerable exploitation house Nikkatsu (well, they made all kinds of films, though their “roman porno” and “pink” softcore films brought them infamy) with a few of the same actors popping up, Tokyo Gore Police is the eagerly awaited, latest turn by the cruelly beauteous Audition S&M star Eihi Shiina. Here, she’s a girl cop – part of a sinister Philip K. Dick-ish privatized police squad commissioned with ridding the world of monstrous psychopaths who grow weapons out of whatever body part they lose. Sound familiar? Yes, these are the same good – or bad, depending on how you feel about this level of gore – people at Nikkatsu who gave you Machine Girl.

Directed by first-time auteur Yoshihiro Nishimura (who crafted special effects makeup for Machine GIrl, the also memorable Hole in the Head features Exte and Meatball Machine), Tokyo Gore Police is chock-full of disturbing scenes: point-blank exploding heads (recurring like a child’s bad dreams), exposed brains, intimations of limbless sexual servitude, and natch the Snail Girl, above. But the movie’s blend of Ultraman live-action monster brouhahas and a Burner-y, nouveau goth-steampunk aesthetic that, personally, pulls me out of the narrative. I felt a little less invested in Tokyo Gore Police than the more, ahem, classically B-minded Machine Girl. But, hey, this isn’t a competition – unless you want to see how far I can throw a severed hand – so stick around for both flicks. Shock fiends won’t be disappointed.

Creepy crawlies: Snail Girl

MACHINE GIRL AND TOKYO GORE POLICE
June 22, 6 and 8 p.m., call for price
Brava Theater
2781 24th St., SF
For tickets or more information, call (415) 820-3907
www.sfindie.com

All’s Phair in ‘Guyville’?

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June 20, 2008

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By Laura Mojonnier

The last time Liz Phair figured so prominently in the critical discourse was back in 2003 following the release of her self-titled collaboration with the Matrix. While Phair retained her trademark sexual frankness on the disc and even produced a hit, “Why Can’t I,” the album rendered her fans utterly apoplectic.

What happened? Phair had been slowly moving in the “adult contemporary” direction for years – but the Matrix? The duo that produced Avril Lavigne and Christina Aguilera? If any one had lingering doubts as to whether or not the ’90s were over, this album was the fourth horseman.

With the reissue of her classic debut, 1993’s Exile in Guyville (Matador/ATO), slated for June 24, Phair is back in the spotlight. This time around, the questions she’s provoking about how music has changed since she arrived on the scene are tempered by a healthy dose of nostalgia. Newly signed to Dave Matthew’s ATO Records, Phair seems more comfortable than ever, even telling Billboard that she’s feeling “creative” for the first time in 15 years and is working on a new album scheduled for the fall.

Get Reatarded

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June 20, 2008

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By Michael Harkin

Memphis’ Jay Reatard is only in his twenties, but he’s already a garage-punk legend: in the last two years following stints in bands like the Lost Sounds and the Angry Angles, he’s released a future classic LP in 2006’s Blood Visions, as well as a metric tonne of terrific single cuts.

As a well-documented onstage punch-out in Canada recently showed, the nose-breaking intensity of his melodic chops have been bowling over tastemakers everywhere, especially the folks at the Matador label. Following some especially wonderful wax last year (the “I Know A Place” 7-inch, the “Night of Broken Glass” 12-inch), Mr. Reatard and Matador arranged this year to release a new 7-inch single every month for six months in gradually decreasing quantities, which would eventually be compiled onto a full-length disc.

“See/Saw,” the A-side from single no. 1, is still the biggest scorcher of the series thus far: his double-tracked nasal yelp and ticker tape enunciation turn lines like “And that is all that I know!” into something shout-alongable and triumphant. “Screaming Hand” is delightful, too. It’s got a Sparks-y, theatrical chorus (“You want a hero? No no no no no…”) and a simple, infectious keyboard lick that make for an all-too-fast rave up, kinda like his notoriously short, fiery live gigs.

Free glam lashings at Shu Uemura, all summer long

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June 19, 2008

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Color me impressed: the source (water) color palette from Shu Uemura‘s limited-edition summer collection, Hana-bi.

I had too much sake to steer last night – the Muni was just the ticket after the fab lil’ get-together at Shu Uemura‘s Fillmore Street boutique. Shopping Spy dug the Osaka sashimi and sushi and admired the diamond-lined lash jobs going down at the store’s Tokyo Lash Bar.

But even if you didn’t make the soiree last night, you can taste the pleasure of the (faux) lash as well. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first Shu Uemura boutique in Tokyo, the store is offering complimentary eyelashes and lash application every Thursday beginning today, June 19, and continuing through July 31. Make an appointment for a spot between 5 and 7 p.m. Will your life – or your gorgeous peepers – ever be the same?

Shu Uemura
1971 Fillmore at Pine, SF
For reservations, call (415) 395-0953

Five from These New Puritans

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June 19, 2008

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What would Elvis think? These New Puritans’ Jack Barnett doesn’t appear to be extremely preoccupied with Tha King. Instead here’s five for Thursday, the albums he’s been listening to of late:

• Van der Graaf Generator, Pawn Hearts (Charisma, 1971)
• Peter Hammill, Nadir’s Big Chance (Charisma, 1975)
• Crystal Castles, Crystal Castles (Last Gang)
• Various artists, Dancehall’s Best Ever mix CD
• Bjork, Medulla (Elektra/WEA)

Marcus Shelby serves up both heaviness and soulful grooving

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June 19, 2008

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By Sam Devine

Marcus Shelby kept things light on Friday the 13th at Jazz at Pearl’s, even though his band performed politically charged music including pieces from his new album, Harriet Tubman (Noir).

While the two new compositions were saved for the end of the evening, the entire night was emotionally charged, laced with spiritual and political ideas.

The first song, “The Leopard,” was inspired by Quaker artist Edward Hicks’ painting The Peaceable Kingdom, wherein the lion lays down with the lamb.

Jonathan Richman makes out on his multiple-night stand in the Mission

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June 18, 2008

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Baby, you’re a Richman: Jonathan Richman back in the ’70s.

By Laura Mojonnier

One gets the sense that Jonathan Richman spends a lot of time alone in his room – staring at that telephone that never rings, practicing his Angus Young-style leg kicks, and listening to French lessons on tape. When he does get out of the house, his favorite activity is touring with longtime drummer Tommy Larkins, with whom he’ll play the last shows of a four-night stint at the Make Out Room tonight through Thursday.

From his days as a teenage Velvet Underground fan-turned-Modern Lover to his middle-aged flirtations with Spanish guitar and Romance languages, Richman has been a hero to suburban loners for more than 30 years. He documents his chronically broken heart and his love of painters like Vermeer and Van Gogh with geeky charisma and rare candor, revealing a self-effacing wit that somehow remains totally unironic. This is the guy who once sang, “I go to bakeries all day long / There’s a lack of sweetness in my life,” after all.

Richman was in top form last night at the Make-Out Room. The venue’s intimate atmosphere paired with a stripped-down setup – just Richman on acoustic guitar and Larkins on drums, peppered by the occasional cowbell solo – played to the songwriter’s strengths as a performer. His always-amusing lyrics (did he really just encourage us to “behold the lilies of the field” three times?) and legendary stage banter were supremely audible, even when they weren’t in English.

Sonic Reducer Overage: RTX, RZA, Liz Phair, and more

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June 17, 2008

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Imaad Wasif waxes “Oceanic.”

Oh, Ess-eff, as if you ever stop unfurling the good times. Here’s a few more worthy shows that didn’t make it into print.

RTX and Imaad Wasif
Rasp-rock pied piper Jennifer Herrema lopes into town with RaTX (Drag City), alongside Imaad Wasif and his new combo, Two Part Beast, who’ll doubtless charm with his excellent, self-released Strange Hexes. With Bridez. Fri/20, 9:30 p.m., $10. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923

Sir Lord Von Raven
Times Flys meets Gris Gris for off-the-cuff rock in this new combo. With Apache and Toko-Ri Get High. Fri/20, 9:30 p.m., call for price. Knockout, 3223 Mission, SF. (415) 550-6994.

RZA
Backed by a live band, Bobby Digital give us a taste of Digi Snacks (Koch). With Stone Mecca, Zeph and Azeem, and Ben Flowz. Sat/21, 8 p.m., $30. 1015, 1015 Folsom, SF. www.1015.com

Hitting up West Indian Girl

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June 17, 2008

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By Josh Rotter

Los Angeles space-rock outfit West Indian Girl captures – with their sunny sound and meditative lyrics — the duality of their alternately glitzy and gritty city, sandwiched between serene beaches and skid row. It’s an easy, breezy beautiful oasis for some – a boulevard of broken dreams for others. But West Indian Girl’s story begins in early-’90s Detroit, with the meeting of bassist Francis Ten and vocalist-guitarist Robert James. Moving westward, the two eventually signed with Astralwerks, adding vocalist and percussionist Mariqueen Maandig, drummer Mark Lewis, and later, keyboardists Nathan Van Hala and Amy White.

After the 2004 release of their self-titled debut and remix EP, West Indian Girl moved to Milan Records for their sophomore disc, 4th & Wall (2007), named for the unsavory downtown intersection that is home to their current recording studio. But it’s the entire LA landscape that intrigues this band on their latest album, evinced by both the memorable sand and surf-set pop track “Blue Wave,” and the more dire, downtown rocker “To Die in LA.” If beach living symbolizes success in the music capital, downtown’s homelessness – only a 30-minute drive away – hints at the greater potential for failure.

With a headlining gig as part of the LA Invasion tour at the Rickshaw Stop on Thursday, June 19, West Indian Girl co-founder Francis Ten took an hour and 10 to talk about the band’s upcoming performance, their latest album, and the immense difficulties of making it in today’s music climate.

Manimal Fest makes us feel like animals

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June 17, 2008

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Kicking up some dust at Pioneer Town. All photos by Jen Snyder.

By Jen Snyder

I feel like I’m airing a secret by writing this, but have you ever been to Pioneer Town? If you haven’t, I’d like to suggest that you think of a reason to go there. If possible, make it a reason full of rock ‘n’ roll, music critics covered in dust and beer, and plenty of the locals. On June 7 and 8 in Pioneer Town, two hours east of Los Angeles and deep in the burning June desert, Manimal Vinyl held their first major event, Manimal Festival. The LA label showcased a string of bands including the resurfacing Ariel Pink and his Haunted Graffiti as well as some up-and-coming bands and projects.

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Picture a basin dotted with Joshua Trees and red rock. Pioneer Town seems to just appear out of nowhere behind the rust-colored formations, looking more like an amusement park than a bar. There’s a pod of teepees, an entire fake town – complete with bowling alley – full of weathered mannequins, miniature ponies, and tons of bikers. The bar and the outside patio both have separate barbecues. There I saw someone with a Bloody Leroy, a Bloody Mary with a barbecued rib in it.

I don’t know why people aren’t flocking to Pioneer Town constantly. It was a kitsch dream, as you can imagine, stuffed with velvet paintings and chili-pepper lights and boasting the nicest legless bouncer you ever met. To top it all off, the music was incredible. Highlights include Mariee Sioux, We Are the World, and Aeriel Pink.

Trouble in Hayes Carll’s mind

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June 16, 2008

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By Todd Lavoie

Looks like the third time’s a charm for Texan singer-songwriter Hayes Carll – the rough ‘n’ tumble country-folk outlaw has just released album number three, Trouble in Mind (Lost Highway), and it’s a huge leap forward for the guy. Not only does his move to a major label give an extra boost of exposure beyond the Texan scene and onto the national level – his first couple of discs were either self-released or issued on a small regional label – but along the way he’s landed himself a sweet supporting slot, opening for the similarly boot-stomping Old 97’s. You’ll see what I mean this Tuesday, June 17, when Carll works his storytelling woo-ha on the Fillmore crowd.

You can’t miss that Texan drawl: Carll’s is as thick as a brick, perhaps even given a little extra layer on top just to be sure no one’s confused about his point of origin. Inevitably, Steve Earle comes to mind – particularly his first couple of decades’ worth of recordings, rather than the genre-hopping excursions of recent years – thanks to a similarly evocative dusty whine, equally capable of a sneer and a leer as it is of hitting heartstrings with a broken admission of weakness.

Then there’s the choice of subject matter. Much of Carll’s material shares the barroom bluster of Earle’s ’80s and ’90s output. Drugs and drink, hard-luck men and women, tight-lipped drifters itching for a brawl – sound familiar? Perhaps so, but Carll also tends to inject most of his character sketches and roadhouse recollections with plenty of wit and a no-nonsense poet’s grasp of language. As much as I’d imagine he might argue that his songs are nothin’ fancy, there is considerable complexity at work here. Sure, Trouble in Mind doesn’t put on any airs, but the disc is a wordsmith’s delight, loaded with lingering images and sly turns of phrase.

Nick Cave, Rancid, Eagles of Death Metal, Ledisi, Dandy Warholds to launch reopened Warfield

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June 13, 2008

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Fly, Eagles of Death Metal, fly.

Save your tears for the gym-ed up Alcazar and other grand old venues and theaters that have been made over as enormous drug stores. The Warfield reopens soon, under the aegis of Goldenvoice, the production company that puts on Coachella, and a slew of shows are set to go on sale via Ticketmaster on June 22.

Sept. 15 – George Lopez. Third show on sale Sunday, June 22 (third show added).

Sept. 18 – Musiq Soulchild and Ledisi. On Sale Sunday, June 22.

Sept. 20 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. On Sale Sunday, June 22.

Sept. 23 – the Hives/Eagles of Death Metal. On sale soon.

Sept. 24 – Bootsy Collins “Tribute to the Godfather of Soul.” On sale soon.

Sept. 25 – Bullet for My Valentine. On sale Sunday, June 22.

Sept. 26-27- Rancid.

Oct. 4 – Dandy Warhols. On sale Sunday, June 22.

Oct. 11 – Julieta Venegas. On sale Sunday, June 22.

Oct. 25 – the Kooks. On sale soon.

Oct. 30 – Cassandra Wilson. On Sale Sunday, June 22.

Nov. 7 – Jim Gaffigan. Late Show added; on sale Sunday, June 22.

Dec. 6 – Frank Caliendo. On sale soon.

Dec. 21- Brian Setzer Orchestra. On sale soon.

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Nick Cave, eyeball rolling back in the day.

Moving in on Reggae on the Move

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June 13, 2008

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Marlon Asher, right, a.k.a., Ganja Farmer, and Rajah Muffin coolin’ out backstage.

By Chris DeMento

The better part of you missed one of the best reggae shows of the year last Thursday, June 5, when a slew of Jamaican artists came through the DNA Lounge (which is a nice little tent – I’d never been inside before, and it has pretty good sound): the tour titled Reggae on the Move.

Headliner Marlon Asher threw down with his international hit, “Ganja Farmer,” which was awesome, of course. But even without Asher it was a well-rounded lineup including Ras Kidus, Undah P, Ras Ndu, Mistah Majah P, Rajah Muffin, and Brimstone. And what an irie evening it was.

I’m not sure I’m licensed to use that word, “irie,” but there you have it. The band held it down and the MCs each turned in a tight mini-set, about three songs apiece. I love posse shows like this, and when they’re as green as this one was, who among us verdant San Franciscans would complain?

Fashion bug: Minnie Wilde puts wind in our sidewalk sales

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June 13, 2008

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Shopping Spy casts a gimlet eye upon yet another delectable little bargain extravaganza this weekend: local girly fave Minnie Wilde will be throwing a “Sunsational Sidewalk Sale,” Saturday, June 14, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, June 15, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Word has it that spring styles will be 25%-30% off, seasonal samples will go for $30 and up, and previous season’s backstock will be marked down to $20-$75. You just have to get on down to Minnie Wilde, 3266 21St. at Valencia, SF. (415) 642-wild.

On Jay-Z, Lil Wayne swagger jacking allegations

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June 12, 2008

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By Ian Ferguson

Hip-Hop has long depended on sampling and remixing beats for its instrumental tracks; why should its vocal tracks be any different? Commercial rappers bring home the bling, and for what? For spending torturous hours, pen in hand, slaving over rhyme to earn the accolades “best rapper alive” (Lil Wayne) or “Hova” (Jay-Z, as in Jay-Hova, Jehovah, God)? Judging from the numerous Swagger Jacker remixes posted on YouTube, probably not.

In urban slang, a swagger jacker is a person who steals someone else’s syle, flow, lyrics, or ideas and passes them off as their own. The two most notorious alleged swagger jackers (or at least those most dissed as biters, synonymous with swagger jacker, in cyberspace) consistently fill arena seats and stand at the highest heights of the hip-hop hierarchy: Lil Wayne and Jay-Z.

When Lil Wayne raps, “Some say the X, makes the sex spec-tacular, make me lick you from yo neck to yo back, then ya, shiverin’, tongue deliverin’, chills up that spine, that ass is mine,” he reanimates Notorious B.I.G.’s voice from the dead, biting off of the song “Fuck You Tonight.” Or when Jay-Z raps, “Gather round hustlers that’s if your still livin’ and get on down to that ol’ jig rhythm,” he’s rapping what Slick Rick rapped back in 1987.

Sonic Reducer Overage: Judy Mowatt, Wolf Eyes, Styrofoam, and more

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June 10, 2008

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Singer through the wringer – and at Rickshaw Stop this week.

Bo Diddley’s passing has bummed me out – leaving me in a drifting, low-level depression-style funk. But know what, B-Diddley wouldn’t have wanted you to sit around and sulk. You got options – some very intriguing ones, in fact.

HELOISE AND THE SAVOIR FAIRE
Kylie added them to her top MySpace chums. The NY electro-rock sensations smash it up with Solid Gold references, trash, rats, and, oh yeah, microphones. Tues/10, call for time and price. Trannyshack at the Stud, 399 Ninth St., SF. (415) 252-7883.

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JUDY MOWATT
The crucial member of Bob Marley’s I-Three is born again but word has it that she retains that Jamaican fire, backed by the Yellow Wall Dub Squad. Wed/11, 9 p.m., $25. Slim’s, 333 11th St., SF. (415) 522-0333.

SINGER
The pedigreed Chicago combo comes bearing a new LP on Drag City, Unhistories, and all sorts of challenging musical notions: what else would you expect from US Maple’s Todd Rittmann and 90 Day Men’s Robert Lowe? With Sic Alps and the Fresh and Onlys. Thurs/12, 8 p.m., $10. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. (415) 861-2011.

Compassion and class: Billy Bragg

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June 10, 2008

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By Laura Mojonnier

Twenty-five years into his career, Billy Bragg has solidified his position as England’s most sensitive soul, crooning about every fresh wound with a characteristic urgency that allows even his sparest compositions to engulf entire rooms. He sings his stark but tender, often overtly class-conscious folk songs with a punk rock urgency, as if Joe Strummer and Jeff Mangum fused for just long enough to cover Phil Ochs.

In the early ’80s, Bragg rarely bothered to incorporate instrumentation beyond his crudely played electric guitar, heightening the already-bleak lyrics of songs like “To Have and To Have Not” (“The factories are closing and the army’s full / I don’t know what I am going to do”) and “It Says Here” (“Those braying voices on the right of the house / Are echoed down the street of shame / Where politics mix with bingo and tits / In a strictly money and numbers game”).

As the decade progressed, Bragg began to add instruments, outside musicians, and even the occasional vocal overdub to his distinctively stripped-down style, a trend that would continue throughout his career. By 1990, he was writing full-on orchestral arrangements and collaborating with members of REM and the Smiths. While Bragg maintained his political edge, his increasingly complex compositions began to overshadow the sonorous coarseness that made his earlier work so deeply moving.

Dethklok fired up? Cancelled show rescheduled tonight

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June 9, 2008

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By Kat Renz

It’s official: San Francisco is too brutal for the world’s most brutal band – or at least, Adult Swim’s most brutal band. Or maybe it’s the other way around. In any case, I was fully prepared to go forth and die, as promised, to the eagerly awaited, sold-out Dethklok show at the Fillmore. Instead, I went forth and left.

Opening band Soilent Green, who performed as the crowed continued arriving, was awesome: supertight – and frontman Ben Falgoust, who windmill headbanged along, had great energy. It boded well for the night. Then, in the midst of the third or fourth song, a Fillmore employee took the mic, calmly announcing there was a “slight big emergency” and we all had to exit the building – just as we were settling in, getting our cells resonating at the speed of some grinding Louisiana metal. Thankfully I had yet to buy beer.

So, 10 minutes after getting patted down and hand-stamped, we filed out of the building – a herd of bratty sheep. Young boys gave their full cups of beer the college chug and the curious, confused, and complaining fans were, to say the least, vocal at the offense of the inconvenience. Stepping a steel-toed foot into the chilly outside (damn, why did I coat-check my hoodie?!), I knew the sirens, with their reverse Doppler effect, were destined for us. Fire at the Fillmore. How metal is that?

An Eilen Jewell of a singer-songwriter

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June 9, 2008

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By Todd Lavoie

A honky-tonk angel and devil, all wrapped up in one? It appears so with Boston singer-songwriter Eilen (pronounced “EE-len”) Jewell. The slow-drawling ambassador of old-timey sounds and rustic reveries offers equal measures of small-town charm and sassy backtalk on last year’s sublime Letters from Sinners and Strangers (Signature Sounds).

If you’ve ever been seduced by the potent country cocktail of twangy sweetness and “my man’s done me wrong” vinegar – think Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn for classic examples of such barstool tell-alls – then Jewell will surely get you good ‘n’ drunk. See for yourself – she’ll be hootin’ it up Wednesday, June 11, at the Rickshaw Stop.

Blessed with a pristine, uncluttered production – ably handled by Jewell and her band – Letters from Sinners and Strangers approaches the sounds of pre-suburban America with reverence and genuine affection. There’s no attempt here to modernize these country/folk/blues idioms, nor is there any sort of ironic distance being created between the singer and the subject. Rather, this is quite authentic, no mucking-about stuff. Other than the contemporary fullness of production, the album feels like an artifact from yesteryear, much in the same way that the work of Jolie Holland and Gillian Welch has also defied easy decade-classification.

From Cave In to Clouds: heaviness delivered

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June 9, 2008

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Clouds
We Are Above You
(HydraHead)

By Ben Richardson

In 2003, Boston metalcore band Cave In were raising eyebrows and horns in the rock world, touring in support of their major-label debut Antenna (RCA) with the Foo Fighters and gracing the stage at the resurrected Lollapalooza.

This success didn’t last, however, and the aftermath of the Foo-tour was marred by label tensions that led to the band leaving RCA. Even after they released a well-received album called Perfect Pitch Black on indie-metal beehive HydraHead in 2005, Cave In saw their momentum collapse, and the bevy of rock critics willing to bestow descriptors like “emo-metal Radiohead” suddenly turned their attention elsewhere. In 2006, the band went on an indefinite hiatus.

While fans of Cave In’s introspective, textured brand of heavy music are right to mourn the band’s demise, it had a hell of a silver lining in the form of a band called Clouds. Formed by Cave In guitarist Adam McGrath, Clouds released the preposterously titled Legendary Demo on HydraHead in 2007, concatenating stoner rock, hardcore, blues, and classic rock into a widely allusive sound that the group itself refers to as “party grunge.”

Fashion bug: Prada, Built by Wendy sale it up

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June 7, 2008

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Cool and collected in Built by Wendy.

Shopping Spy eyes two lil’ sales that should be on all fashion-trawling bargain hunters’ radar.

One: fashionista staple Prada‘s painterly, juicy-cute spring/summer line is now on sale – don’t the models look like Karen Kilimnik waifs lost in a Oskar Kokoschka dreamscape? Love those crazzzeee-awesome tulip-heeled, jewel-hued shoes. I haven’t checked the sale out, but for those who wanna beat Shopping Spy to it, the SF store is at 140 Geary, SF. (415) 391-8844.

Is that actress Robin Tunney modeling the fall ’07 Built by Wendy line?

Two: Longtime coolster NYC label Built by Wendy is ushering in its new SF store with a neat lil’ sample sale. It started Friday – and lordy, the lines to the two dressing rooms were long. Not as bad as the windy queues for the Xbox or iPhone, but Shopping Spy thinks the new store can use more o’ those and full-length mirrors. Oh well, it’s a work in progress, much like your toils over those fab Built by Wendy sewing patterns.

The boutique is set to officially open on June 15, and in the meantime you can pick up bargains on their recent collections: mini-trenches, safety-pinned sweaters, striped shorts, cute jumpers, blouson-ish silk party frocks, and flower-strewn sexy-secretary blouses. No guitar straps in sight. Designer Wendy Mullins’ coats and jackets come in at around $140 on sale, the silk dresses are about $70, the tops are around $45-$60, T-shirts are $20, and bare, tied-strap cotton play-tops clock in at $10. Hey, there’s men’s stuff, too. The sample sale continues Saturday, June 7, noon-7 p.m., and Sunday, June 8, noon-6 p.m., at the new Built by Wendy San Francisco, 3520 20th St. between Valencia and Mission, SF. (415) 824-1582.

R.I.P. Anthony “Big Ant” Marin of Black Fiction, Amoeba Music

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June 6, 2008

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Anthony “Big Ant” Marin in action. Photo courtesy of Amoeba Music.

By Billy Jam

This past week the Bay Area lost one of its most dedicated music fans and musicians. Anthony Marin, a.k.a., “Big Ant,” who most knew as a hip-hop DJ on the local scene for many years or from working at Amoeba Music on Haight Street, died sometime last weekend of heart failure (a full medical report has not yet been released to determine exact cause or time of death). He was 37 years old.

Born in SoCal Marin had lived in the Bay Area for most of his adult life toiling at various record stores since the ’90s including at Tower Records in the South Bay, Cue’s Records in Daly City, and Amoeba on Haight, where he had worked for many years and was much loved by his co-workers. In fact one of them, Jason Chavez, a.k.a., 4AM, whom he counted as his best friend and with whom he was a member of the band Black Fiction, was instrumental in discovering his body last Sunday, June 1.

Reportedly the last anyone had seen Marin was when he was at a concert last Thursday, May 29. The next day he was off work, but when he didn’t show up for work on Saturday and then on Sunday without calling in sick, his buddies at Amoeba got anxious. Chavez and others went to his apartment where Marin lived alone and had the cops and landlord gain access to the unit where they found his body. Another co-worker Luis Soria said that Marin told him he had been to the doctor on Tuesday, May 27, after complaining of some weight-related ailments (including swelling feet).

Shining light on Jim Noir

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June 5, 2008

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JIM NOIR
Jim Noir
(My Dad Recordings/Barsuk)

By Todd Lavoie

As the sun begins shining a bit brighter and the sandals slip back out of closet-hibernation, it’s time once again to think about how to best soundtrack the upcoming summer days of sandy beaches and backyard barbecues. Sure, the Beach Boys are always a good start, but maybe you’re hankering for something newer?

Here’s where Manchester, England’s laptop electro-pop sing-song specialist Jim Noir comes in; his new self-titled sophomore effort could very well be the musical equivalent of a candy-striped beach ball bouncing and bobbing from one end of the swimming pool to the other. Frankly, it’s tough to imagine this disc being recorded in a home studio in the North of England – the whole thing feels like it was written and laid to tape amid sand castles and surfers.

Noir – or, Alan Roberts to his Mum and Dad – is a whiz at sunshine-pop, to be sure, but rather than merely settling for warm harmonies and Brian Wilson-recalling arrangements, he also insists on dressing them all up in swathes of childlike surrealism. Comprising mainly circular song patterns in which lush multi-tracked harmonies glide between swirls and spirals of synth and smiley-faced psychedelic guitar, Jim Noir pays tribute to both Pet Sounds and the tripped-out sounds of British ’60s pop.