August 2009 Archive

08/02 - Japandroids (Hemlock Tavern)
08/02 - Sonic Youth (Fox)
08/15 - N.A.S.A. (Independent)
08/18 - Scrabbel (Hemlock) ** THS Show
08/19 - Crocodiles (Rickshaw Stop) ** THS Show
08/26 - The Dodos (Rickshaw Stop)
08/28 - Outside Lands // Los Campesinos!, Silversun Pickups, Thievery Corporation, West Indian Girl, Pearl Jam ** THS Show
08/29 - Dirtbombs (Rickshaw Stop)
08/29 - Outside Lands // Portugal. The Man, The Dirtbombs, Bat For Lashes, Deerhunter
08/30 - Outside Lands // Matt & Kim, Lenka, Cage The Elephant, Heartless Bastards, The Dead Weather, Band of Horses, Modest Mouse, Ween, MIA, Beastie Boys.

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Music Graph - May through July 2009

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Tenacious D to replace Beastie Boys at Outside Lands

As previously reported on this blog, the Beastie Boys cancelled several tour dates due to Adam Yauch's cancer diagnosis. Unfortunately, this included Another Planet's Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park. Another Planet Entertainment announced today, "The “Greatest Band In the World,” Tenacious D featuring Jack Black and Kyle Gass is joining the world’s greatest line-up of artists for the 2nd annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival. Slotted as the closing act on Sunday evening, this will mark the legendary band’s first appearance in the Bay Area in three years and their United States Festival debut. Tenacious D’s unforgettable performances, groundbreaking videos and sheer charisma, energy and inspired songwriting will make this one of Outside Lands’ most memorable performances."


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SF Concert Schedule heating up!

08/18 - Scrabbel (Hemlock)
08/19 - Crocodiles (Rickshaw Stop)
08/26 - The Dodos (Rickshaw Stop)
08/28 - Outside Lands // Los Campesinos!, Silversun Pickups, Thievery Corporation, West Indian Girl, Pearl Jam
08/29 - Dirtbombs (Rickshaw Stop)
08/29 - Outside Lands // Portugal. The Man, The Dirtbombs, Bat For Lashes, Deerhunter
08/30 - Outside Lands // Matt & Kim, Lenka, Cage The Elephant, Heartless Bastards, The Dead Weather, Band of Horses, Modest Mouse, Ween, MIA, Beastie Boys.
09/09 - Vivian Girls (Rickshaw Stop)
09/09 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Fox)
09/10 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Fox)
09/11 - The Lovemakers (Independent)
09/17 - Phoenix (Warfield)
09/18 - Citizen Cope (Fillmore)
09/18 - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (Great American Music Hall)
09/19 - Citizen Cope (Fillmore)
09/23 - Portugal. The Man (Independent)
09/23 - Rodrigo y Gabriela (Fox)
10/01 - Datarock (Slims)
10/02 - Asobi Seksu (Slims)
10/03 - Miike Snow (Bottom of the Hill)
10/04 - Jolie Holland (Independent)
10/06 - School of Seven Bells (Slims)
10/14 - DeVotchKa (Regency Ballroom)
10/17 - Treasure Island Music Festival
10/18 - Treasure Island Music Festival
11/09 - Pixies (Fox)
11/09 - Raveonettes (Bimbos)

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July 2009 Archive

*** indicate shows THS went to.

07/03 - Lovemakers + Amazing Baby (Rickshaw Stop) ***
07/07 - Dirty Projectors (Independent)
07/07 - Miniature Tigers (Cafe du Nord) ***
07/09 - Rural Alberta Advantage (Bottom of the Hill) ***
07/10 - Mighty Mighty Bosstones (Fillmore)
07/11 - Death Cab for Cutie, Ra Ra Riot, Andrew Bird (Greek Theatre)
07/14 - Blonde Redhead (Independent) ***
07/15 - Blonde Redhead (Independent)
07/15 - The Builders and The Butchers (Bottom of the Hill) ***
07/17 - Tussle (Bottom of the Hill)
07/21 - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Rickshaw Stop) ***
07/24 - Of Montreal (Fox)
07/26 - The Mighty Underdogs (Stern Grove)

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New Builders and Butchers Video - Golden and Green

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Beastie Boy's Yauch Diagnosed With Cancer - Cancels Tour Dates

From SFist

Well, this is some depressing news on this oddly gloomy summer day. The Beastie Boys are canceling their upcoming tour, as well as postponing their new album release, because doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in Adam Yauch's left parotid (salivary) gland. Yauch explains his treatment and the band's future in the video above.

In a statement, Yauch also explained, "I just need to take a little time to get this in check, and then we'll release the record and play some shows. It's a pain in the neck (sorry had to say it) because i was really looking forward to playing these shows, but the doctors have made it clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be put aside to deal with later."

If you recall, the Beastie Boys were supposed to headline one of the days at the Outside Lands Festival in August.

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Lineup

Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Lineup:

Saturday October 17, 2009:
MGMT
MSTRKRFT
Girl Talk
Brazilian Girls
The Streets
Passion Pit
LTJ Bukem Feat. MC Conrad
DJ Krush
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Murs
Crown City Rockers
The Limousines

Sunday October 18, 2009:
The Flaming Lips
The Decemberists
Beirut
Grizzly Bear
Yo La Tengo
The Walkmen
Bob Mould
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down
Vetiver
Spiral Stairs
Sleepy Sun
Tommy Guerrero
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros



See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.


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Top 10 Albums of 2009... so far.

#1
Phoenix
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Listen to their track '1901'


#2
Metric
Fantasies
Listen to their track 'Gold Guns Girls'


#3
Miike Snow
Miike Snow
Listen to their track 'Animal'


#4
Heartless Bastards
Mountain
Listen to their track 'Be So Happy'


#5
The Builders and The Butchers
Salvation is a Deep Dark Well
Listen to the track 'Devil Town'


#6
Passion Pit
Manners
Listen to the track 'The Reeling'


#7
Bat For Lashes
Two Suns
Listen to their track 'Sleep Alone'


#8
Camera Obscura
My Maudlin Career
Listen to the track 'French Navy'


#9
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Listen to the track 'Young Adult Friction'


#10
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
It's Blitz
Listen to the track 'Zero'


These albums are definitely worthy of being on many lists too.. so you should check them out as well.

Art Brut
Grizzly Bear
Dirty Projectors
Silversun Pickups
Dark Was The Night
Animal Collective

June 2009 Archive

06/04 - CLUES (former Arcade Fire + Unicorns) @ Rickshaw
06/05 - Peaches (Regency Ballroom)
06/05 - Submarines (Independent)
06/06 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Crystal Castles, Airborne Toxic Event, DJ AM, Mike Relm (Live 105 BFD, Shoreline)
06/07 - Rogue Wave (Independent)
06/08 - Camera Obscura (Fillmore)
06/09 + 10 - Neko Case (Warfield)
06/10 - Rodrigo y Gabriela (Mountain Winery)
06/12 - Datarock (Independent)
06/13 - 1990s (BOTH)
06/13 - Au Revoir Simone (Bimbo's)
06/13 - Bat For Lashes (Great American Music Hall)
06/13 - Jay Reatard (Independent)
06/15 - Art Brut (Independent)
06/17 - Andrew Bird (Mighty)
06/18 - Cut Off Your Hands (BOTH)
06/20 - White Rabbits (Independent)
06/26 - David Byrne & DeVotchka (Greek)
06/27 - Phoenix + Amazing Baby (Grand Ballroom)

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The Builders and The Butchers - New Album, Tour Dates!

Earlier this week, The Builders And The Butchers release their second full length album called, "Salvation is Deep Dark Well". As many readers of this blog know, this is one of my favorite bands. Hailing from Alaska via Portland, these guys play a southern-grime-rock that returns to classic rock and roll roots. Everyone feels they need to draw comparisons to what/who they sound like which is a testament to its familiarity and one of the reasons I believe this band to be accessible to all listeners. Those in the indie community draw comparisons to the Decemberists.. though I disagree. Personally, I have described this bands sound to Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, The White Stripes, and the Cold War Kids. Lead singer, Ryan Sollee is quoted in an interview with the Seattlest, "The era of songs that drive and influence the majority of the Builders' material is early Depression-era blues, folk, and gospel, and weirder stuff like Tom Waits."

I've introduced many people to this band by taking them to their live performances and I've never had anybody leave saying, "Yeah, that was OK." Instead they blather superlatives for weeks on end. And I love it because It's true... you feel really really great while listening to The Builders And The Butchers... which is ironic because their songs are about death, poverty, betrayal, death, heartache, and more death. It's story telling at its best.

The Builders and The Butchers are currently on Tour and will be playing at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on July 15, 2009. Tickets are $10. Buy your tickets now.




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Art Brut @ The Independent

"Ready Art Brut!" This was the battle cry heard before every song played before a near-sold-out crowd at the Independent. Since first being introduced to Art Brut in 2006, my passion for this band has steadily increased with every play of nearly every track this band has produced. The show exceeded my already high expectations from a musical standpoint. The band's stage presence was among the best I've ever seen... and the banter between songs was funny as hell.

Here's a clip of the band covering the Ramone's "KKK took my baby away"


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Hotel Utah Documentary

The Hotel Utah Saloon has a very storied history. The bar dates back to 1908 and though it has seen the city go through many changes, the bar itself has not changed much at all over the years except for the building of a small stage in 1977. That stage has been host to many rising stars thanks to their open mic night. The folks over at Bricks and Mortar Media are creating a documentary about music, from the perspective of the Hotel Utah open mic. In the process, they are sharing the dailies from the open mics at the Utah. The dailies are filled with live music and interviews. It's worth checking out. They're having a sneak preview at the Utah on June 27th.

In the meantime, go check out the dailies. Here's one interview with Eric McFadden and Pandora founder, Tim Westergren.

Hotel Utah Dailies 3.11.09 from Bricks and Mortar Media on Vimeo.

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Vampire Weekend + Ra Ra Riot = Discovery

Bacon Ice Cream... Two things that are great individually, but when you put them together they taste wholly different, yet still delicious. Discovery is the name of the new collaboration between Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot. Turns out that the two bands are pretty close and they have a bunch of ideas that don't fit into either band's repertoire. So, they created a new band. I'm 50/50 on side projects and collaborations, but I think Discovery has legs. I just don't want to see another disappointment like Clues (Unicorns + ex-Arcade Fire members). And on that note... why is it that these seemingly genius musicians who come up with great names like Vampire Weekend, Unicorns, Arcade Fire, Ra Ra Riot, etc... suck at picking band names for their collaborative efforts? I mean.. Discovery? really?

Well anyway, for your enjoyment... Here is a free mp3 download of "Orange Shirt" by Discovery.

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Metric @ BFD

Check out Jessica Jardine's interview with Emily Haines at the Decider.com

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Submarines @ The Independent

photo courtesy of headshaker.

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Clues disappoint @ The Rickshaw Stop

There are many blogs and music sites that take it upon themselves to write detailed reviews on albums and concerts, so you may notice that when I add my two cents, its usually to gush about a band who either achieved or exceeded my high expectations. I generally avoid writing a banal review of a band who doesn't dazzle and I rarely waste my time on negative reports. But for some reason, I am compelled to document on my humble blog that Clues are crap.

When I first heard of the band and its members' roots in the Unicorns and Arcade Fire, I clearly had high expectations. I listened to the album the same week I heard new releases from Phoenix, Metric, and Passion Pit (all albums that brought me great joy). My first go-through with the album was lackluster, but since it had been muddled with several other stellar new releases, I thought I would give it another shot when the hype of the aforementioned albums wore off. After a few weeks, a friend of mine encouraged me to listen to it with headphones to accentuate the intricacies of the album, of which there are many. However, I couldn't help but wonder if the album was poorly produced or if the band just missed the mark with what it was shooting for. I would wait to see them live to make my final judgement. And last night it all became clear to me.

Clues headlined the Rickshaw Stop with support from San Francisco local bands Geographer + Birds and Batteries. Though the show was not sold out, the floor filled quickly once the first opener Birds and Batteries began to play. Their unique style of rock-synth-pop was enough to get the crowd moving. Geographer then took the stage with an amazing display of talent and vibrant sound and filled the main floor with shifting bodies and bobbing heads.

The crowd was really energized as they waited for Clues to take the stage. However, a surprise duo called Jerusalem In My Heart (an extension of Clues) played a slow noisy interlude that killed the mood. The remaining band members shuffled on stage as the noisemakers exited and the anxious crowd waited in anticipation. What ensued was truly disappointing. Clues were neither entertaining, nor were they tight as a group. While there were moments of greatness and inspiration, they were few and far between. The majority of the performance was tedious and haughty, as if the members in the band were really only interested in playing for each other. Their self-involvement was probably the only thing keeping them from noticing that over half of the audience cleared out of the venue by the time they played their fourth song.

My judgement on the production of the album was clearly off target. This mess of talent was produced the best it could have been, and it is shame that they have to use the names of the Unicorns and Arcade Fire to sell themselves.


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Phoenix - Lisztomania 80's Video Mash-up

Here's a gem I found from fellow blogger, Persona Sauna who says:

I can't believe I never saw this until today. Oddly enough, whenever I've listened to "Lisztomania" I can't help but find myself pulling out some of the same moves. The homemade YouTube video features classic dance scenes from 80's brat-pack movies mashed together such as The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Footloose, and Mannequin. Phoenix has even admitted they prefer this version to their own official video, calling it "our best video".

The new Phoenix album is getting heavy rotation on my iPod these days and will surely make my top 10 list for 2009. If you live in San Francisco, you can catch them on June 27 at the Regency. Amazing Baby will be opening for them and it is a show that should not be missed... unless you are out of town that weekend, like I am. Boo. At least i have the video to enjoy.






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Live Nation Announces Wednesday Specials

LOS ANGELES, June 1 (Reuters) - Concert promoter Live Nation said on Monday it will waive service fees for general admission at hundreds of concerts on sale for a 24-hour stretch this week.

Live Nation's no service fee offer will happen as a one-day-only event on Wednesday. The company said it plans other offers every Wednesday through the summer as a recession year break for customers, such as waving the fees on certain bands or offering regional discounts.

OK.. I suppose this is a step in the right direction... but I'm more concerned about small capacity venues that generally charge $20 or less for tickets with an additional $12 in fees.

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Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Rumors

UPDATED 7/13 - Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Lineup



Consequence of Sound reports that the following bands are confirmed:

Beirut
The Decemberists
The Flaming Lips
Girl Talk
HEALTH
Miike Snow
MSTRKRFT
Monotonix
Murs
No Age

Others report rumors of Joanna Newsom, Grizzly Bear, St. Vincent, Bon Iver, Calexico, School of Seven Bells, Ghostland Observatory, Chromeo, MGMT, and Ben Harper as rumored participants in this year’s lineup.

UPDATED 6/17 - FULL ARTIST LINEUP SHOULD BE ANNOUNCED WEEK OF JULY 13.

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.


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