Treasure Island Music Festival

I'm wayyy too lazy to put up a detailed report of this show.. but, the beauty of the blogging allows me to introduce you to a very a thorough recap of the Treasure Island Music Festival.

60 days of Rock Awesomeness

Sept 18th through November 17th is going to keep us all busy. If you can believe it, the list I'm about to organize doesn't even cover everything. But this should keep you busy. 54 shows in 60 days. I dare you.

9/18 - The Sounds
9/18 - Peter Bjorn and John
9/20 - Air
9/20 - Sean Hayes
9/21 - The Dilettantes...watch video
9/23 - Morrissey
9/24 - Maps
9/25 - !!! (chk chk chk)
9/26 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
9/27 - Midlake
9/28 - Klaxons
9/29 - Ladytron
10/2 - Jolie Holland
10/5 - Datarock
10/5 - The Aliens
10/5 - Honeycut
10/8 - Beirut
10/9 - Shout Out Louds
10/10 - Aesop Rock + Black Moth Super Rainbow
10/11 - Bat For Lashes
10/12 - Fujiya & Miyagi
10/12 - Rogue Wave
10/13 - Film School
10/15 - The Black Lips
10/16 - Electric Six
10/17 - The Velvet Teen
10/19 - The Go! Team
10/19 - Silversun Pickups
10/20 - Big Star
10/23 - The Pogues
10/24 - Blonde Redhead
10/25 - Man Man
10/25 - Tokyo Police Club
10/26 - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
10/27 - Bridge School Benefit
10/28 - Scissors for Lefty + Kid Beyond
10/29 - The Pipettes
10/29 - Broken Social Scene
10/30 - Hot Hot Heat
10/31 - 1990s
11/1 - Architecture in Helsinki
11/2 - Ghostface Killah
11/3 - Do Make Say Think + Apostle of Hustle
11/4 - Tiger Army
11/4 - Tinariwen
11/5 - The Long Blondes
11/6 - Art Brut + The Hold Steady
11/7 - M.I.A.
11/9 - Feist
11/12 - Portugal. The Man
11/13 - Of Montreal
11/14 - Stars
11/15 - Parallel 23
11/17 - Cold War Kids

Boldface indicates my top recommendations. Use the links on the radar to the right to navigate to tickets or more information.







San Francisco Live Music
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The Sounds @ The Fillmore

The Sounds have been touring for 3 years straight. They just flew across the country to play two shows en route to Australia where they will continue to tour. If there was a way to harness the energy they create from the body heat of their fans, the world's energy problems would no longer be an issue. Yes. The show was amazing, once again.

Tim was there... life was good. I got to see an old friend, Liam Mayclem of Eye on the Bay fame. Ironically, the first opener was called Liam and Me (Philadelphia), and they rocked a near sold-out crowd despite the fact that they weren't announced on the bill... After that, we got a great show from Under The Influence of Giants and then of course... the sweat generators, The Sounds who made us all shake our asses. I slowly wedged myself near the front of the crowd with hopes of trying to capture a camera-phone shot of lead singer Maja Ivarsson, whose hot, sweaty body I was holding up during a brief crowd-surfing moment. Unfortunately, no posters were handed out. Doesn't matter. If you were there, you won't need any poster to remember the awesome time that was had by all.

San Francisco Live Music
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Concerts For Everyone

If you are even remotely into seeing live music, there's a concert for you on October 5th. In fact, five bands spanning three decades will be playing at 5 different venues, and I probably wouldn't judge you if you went to see any one of them. Maybe.

Early 80's enthusiasts can go see the original members of the Go-Go's at the Independent. If you prefer hearing something from the late 80's and early 90's, well, you can go see the Black Crowes at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. How about the original members of The Beta Band who formed in the late 90's? Their new project is called The Aliens, and you can see them at Slim's. Still not your fancy? Well, possibly The Shins who rose to fame in the early 2000's might tickle your pickle. As for the me, I'm going to the Rickshaw Stop to see a band called Datarock whose freshman release was just two years ago. Here's a video of one of their songs, Computer Camp Love.


---------
UPDATED 9/22 - HONEYCUT is also playing on 10/5. They will be performing at Bottom of the Hill. Might have to double up Honeycut and Datarock...

San Francisco Live Music
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Just Announced: Broken Social Scene Plays Kevin Drew's 'Spirit If' LIVE at the Fillmore

That headline just rolls right off the tongue, eh? Yeah, so, the way I understand it is that members of Broken Social Scene are doing solo projects but the band members of Broken Social Scene and other Arts&Crafts label artists will be touring to perform the songs of the solo artists.... uh... whatever. Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew's 'Spirit If' is playing at Fillmore on Monday, October 29. Love em to death, but I'll be at the Pipettes show.

San Francisco Live Music
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Just Announced: The Pipettes @ Bimbo's 365

San Francisco was introduced to the Pipettes earlier this year when Aaron Axelson of Live105 fame brought them to play Popscene @ the Rickshaw Stop. While I didn't see them perform their full set that evening, I did get a chance to hear them live earlier in the day at Amoeba. Axelson described the Pipettes as "Le Tigre meets the Shangri-Las". Their sound is refreshing, familiar, and inspires pure joy. When I left Amoeba that evening, I noticed that every face in the room had a glowing smile from ear to ear. The music is not complicated, but it does what it sets out to do: Entertain. Check out the video from Popscene and the embedded video below.

The Pipettes will be performing at Bimbo's on Monday October 29th. Tickets are $15 in advance / $17 at the door. Doors at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m. This an 18+ show.



San Francisco Live Music
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Just Announced: Blonde Redhead @ Warfield

When I saw Blonde Redhead perform in April, the chills I felt from the angelic vocals and haunting rhythms remained with me through May. Blonde Redhead returns to San Francisco in October, this time playing the Warfield. They played three shows over two nights during their stay in SF last April. First, they played to over 1000 people @ Amoeba, and then proceeded to play to two sold out nights at Bimbo's.

My point is that I wouldn't procrastinate on buying your tickets.
Blonde Redhead will perform Wednesday, October 24, 2007 @ The Warfield
Doors: 7:00 pm | Show: 8:00 pm

Blonde Redhead Tickets go on sale Sunday 9/9 at 10am.

San Francisco Live Music
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Two Seconds @ Bottom of the Hill

Teenage phenoms, Two Seconds, hit the stage again Friday night at the Bottom of the Hill. If you are unfamiliar with their sound, imagine if the White Stripes and Sleater-Kinney made babies... they would be named Two Seconds. The duo consists of Sierra Frost on vocals and guitar and Lily Faden on drums and vocals. Frost brings a tremendous song-writing ability and an extraordinary voice. Faden's performance on drums is unmatched by any local act I've seen. She brings a true rock and roll flair to the drums with flailing hair, arms, and bare feet. Trying to qualify their talents by categorizing them with other teen acts would be an exercise in futility as this duo can rock harder than most bands, on any level.

To date they've release two albums and recently cut a new single which can be heard on their myspace page. One listen to their sound, and I guarantee that you'll want to see these two prodigies perform.

Both the girls have been performing with Elephone, led by Ryan Lambert. Additionally, Lambert and Frost have started yet another project called Kill Moi. However, as the kids approach the end of their High School days, the future of Two Seconds remains uncertain. So get to this show tomorrow night, as the magic that they make together might soon take a back seat to responsibility, education and other ambitions.


San Francisco Live Music
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Pickle!

It's hard to determine what the 'best' shows I've been to in the last two years. But if I had to give a quick list, here's what I would say:

Blonde Redhead @ Bimbo's
Ratatat @ Bimbo's
Gogol Bordello @ Fillmore
Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Fillmore
The Sounds @ Fillmore
Arcade Fire @ Warfield
Go! Team @ Great American Music Hall
Silversun Pickups @ Rickshaw Stop

Clearly, I would see any of these bands upon their return to San Francisco. So now I'm in a pickle since the Go! Team and Silversun Pickups are playing on the same evening at two different venues on October 19. I already have tickets to the Go! Team, so it really comes down to whether or not I can double up the shows on a friday night, or sacrifice SSPU for the Go! Team. What would you do?

San Francisco Live Music
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Silversun Pickups Announce Fillmore Show

Silversun Pickups will return to San Francisco on 10/19/2007 to headline the Fillmore. Special guests include Midnight Movies + The Happy Hollows.

Live 105 pre-sale info, for more info go to www.live105.com:
Start: Thu, 09/06/07 10:00AM PDT
End: Fri, 09/07/07 5:00PM PDT

Public on sale info: Sun, 09/09/07 10:00AM PDT

Tickets available on Ticketmaster.com

San Francisco Live Music
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Gogol Bordello: The Fillmore Illuminated

It was a day filled with bizarre events: dogs barking at their owners, cats being friendly, Apple offering to replace my cracked iPhone for free, ex-employees offering me drinks, old friends calling without reason, the Yankees winning their second consecutive game against the Red Sox*, 77 degrees, 50% humidity. Clearly, the day claimed its stake among the extraordinary events to come. As I queued up for my will-call tickets at the Fillmore, the usual hipster/rocker/punk/preppy crowd was diluted by an even more diverse crowd from a variety of origins and ranging in a variety of ages. Being of Eastern European origins, I could relate to the loyalty associated with seeing a band with members from my native land, but I simply could not understand why there was a 75 year old lady waiting in line in front of me. If she was a family member, she'd not be waiting in line. So... was she going to rock out to the gypsy punk sounds of Gogol Bordello? If so, more power to her. Seriously, she would have needed more power. I lost track of her as I entered the Fillmore and I figured she must have gone straight through the crowd and joined the mayhem in the pit. Perhaps she was going to crowd surf. I don't know. What I do know is that people were selling tickets at over 4x face value outside to fans waiting to get a taste while Grandma Gogol is crowd-surfing and kneeing 25 year olds in the head.

Once inside, my usual joy of entering the Fillmore was deflated because Tim was not there to greet me with the usual, 'Good Evening, and Welcome to the Fillmore'. Instead, Keith, the sub, gave me a surly retort when I joked with him regarding Tim's absence, 'Tim learned everything from me', he said. Classy. Surely, Tim has much more to learn from Keith.

When I posted the show announcement on Tenacious Hand Stamp, I believe I mentioned something about bringing a change of clothes. I didn't necessarily take action to that effect, but I made sure to wear my lightest 'wicking' dri-weave T-shirt. And then I put on a jacket. Duh. Didn't matter. Jacket was off and by 3 measures into the first song I was sweating like a whore in church. You didn't even have to know the songs to get going. Some people in my group were fairly unaware of Gogol Bordello's music; others were completely unaware. That didn't stop anyone from jumping up and down, pumping their fists and dancing like nobody was watching.

Gogol Bordello brought a fresh element of excitement, rigor and sheer musical passion to everyone at the Fillmore. At one point during their set I couldn't even hear the frontman, Eugene Hutz, because the sing-along crowd was drowning him out. It didn't matter where you were in the audience, because it felt like at any given moment, he was going to leap into the crowd just to be a part of it. Gogol Bordello made us feel like they were at The Fillmore for us; not the other way around.

Half hour into the set, I'm soaked in sweat. Many people were. After all, there were a lot of Eastern Europeans there. I had to go outside to cool off. The San Francisco night came with a cool breeze (a relief from the oppressive high 70's we experience earlier in the day). My body temperature clashing with the cool night air generated a cloud that rose from my head which I tried to disguise by smoking a cigarette. The people outside were still dancing to the tunes that could be heard from the open door of the back stage entrance. I didn't want to miss anything, so I went back inside, bought a T-shirt, changed and returned to the main room. They finish their set, play their encore, lights go up, and people stayed and danced.

As I'm leaving, I ask for a poster; All out. I mean, really? Probably one of the top 5 most memorable shows I will ever see, and I don't have the poster because I stayed through the end? Damn. I walk to the corner where a young man is holding onto two posters. I ask to buy one and offer him $10. He clearly sees my yearning for the poster and my disdain for those who took more than 1 poster at the expense of the others still inside. He graciously denies my $10 and offers me the poster in return for an adult beverage if our paths should ever cross. Thank you, gentle friend with two posters. You are a good man and made my beautiful evening spectacular.

Gogol Bordello, San Francisco Live Music, SFlivemusic,

*It's not quite bizarre that the Yankees beat the Red Sox two games in a row... especially in September. I just had to mention it for the record.

Stevie Wonder Setlist - Sleep Train Pavilion -8/26/07

Thanks to Tom Anderson for this setlist:

Love's In Need of Love Today,
Too High,
Visions,
Livin' for the City,
Master Blaster (Jammin'),
(I Heard it Through the Grapevine>Billie Jean)*,
Higher Ground,
Golden Lady>
Ribbon in the Sky,
Can't Imagine Love Without You,
You and I,
Overjoyed,
Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing,
Signed, Sealed, Delivered,
(Signed, Sealed, Delivered)**,
Most Beautiful Girl in the World,
Boogie On Reggae Woman,
My Cherie Amour,
All I Do (Is Think About You),
Sir Duke,
I Wish,
Isn't She Lovely,
You Are the Sunshine of My Life,
Superstition >
Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker),
Do I Do>
Band Intros>
Stevie on Drums Solo,
Part-Time Lover>
I Just Called to Say I Love You,
So What The Fuss?,
Another Star

*Stevie on Clavinet w/ Voice Effects
**Performed as a Country Song

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San Francisco Live Music
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Just Announced: The Hold Steady + Art Brut

The NME Rock n Roll Riot Tour announced dates for the Hold Steady Tour. Art Brut will open. I know there are a lot of Hold Steady fans out there. But even if you are not, Art Brut should not be missed. The performance will take place on 11/6 at the Warfield. Pre-sale ticket information using this link. Use the password to purchase up to 4 tickets during the presale.


San Francisco Live Music
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Welcome to the Fillmore

His name is Tim.

Nerd Core 101

I attended Cafe Du Nord for the MC Lars show and I got the opportunity to chat with Daddy and Mommy of MC Lars. Adorable. Don't worry about your street cred, Lars. Your mom's the bombs. I discovered that MC Lars has degrees from Stanford and Oxford. Who knew? Apparently everyone but me. I mean, the damn album is called the Graduate. One of the songs featured on this album is called Rapgirl, an homage to one of the 3 openers, K.Flay, who also hails from the hallowed halls of Stanford. So.. in the spirit of smarty-pants-kick-ass-musicians, go to the myspace pages of the respective artists, download their albums, listen to the songs and write me a review using these words.

gadabout \GAD-uh-bout\, noun:
Someone who roams about in search of amusement or social activity.

inscrutable \in-SKROO-tuh-buhl\, adjective:
Difficult to fathom or understand; difficult to be explained or accounted for satisfactorily; obscure; incomprehensible;

indurate \IN-dur-it; -dyur-\, adjective:
Physically or morally hardened; unfeeling; stubborn.

venerate \VEN-uh-rayt\, transitive verb:
To treat someone or something with deep respect, reverence or deference; to revere.

jejune \juh-JOON\, adjective:
1. Lacking in nutritive value.
2. Displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity; childish.

penchant \PEN-chunt\, noun:
Inclination; decided taste; a strong liking.

perspicacity \pur-spuh-KAS-uh-tee\, noun:
Clearness of understanding or insight; penetration, discernment.

turpitude \TUR-puh-tood; -tyood\, noun:
1. Inherent baseness or vileness of principle, words, or actions; depravity.

garrulous \GAIR-uh-lus; GAIR-yuh-\, adjective:
1. Talking much, especially about commonplace or trivial things; talkative.

afflatus \uh-FLAY-tuhs\, noun:
A divine imparting of knowledge; inspiration.

kismet \KIZ-met; -mit\, noun:
Destiny; fate.

ameliorate \uh-MEEL-yuh-rayt\, transitive verb:
1. To make better; to improve.

platitude \PLAT-uh-tood; -tyood\, noun:
1. Staleness of ideas or language; triteness.
2. A thought or remark that is banal, trite, or stale.


San Francisco Live Music
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Tinariwen Announced in SF Jazz Festival Schedule

The 25th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival recently announced its 2007 lineup which includes the very talented band from North Africa, Tinariwen. First discovered in 2001 during The Festival in the Desert, they have been championed by greats like Carlos Santana and introduced to mainstream culture. On their new Album, "Aman Iman", they sing of freedom in exile. Although you probably won't understand the lyrics sung in French and Tamashek, the way they fuse the classic musical style of the Sahara with modern day blues speaks a universal language.

Tinariwen plays the 25th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival on Sunday November 4, 2007 @ the Palace of Fine Arts.


San Francisco Live Music
SFlivemusic

Just Announced: The Sounds @ The Fillmore

When I saw the Sounds perform at the Fillmore last December, it was the last of show of their North American tour. While you could see they were very excited to return to Europe, they made sure to finish strong and gave San Francisco an amazing show. At one point, lead singer, Maja Ivarsson, sexed up her performance by bringing up a girl from the audience, grabbing her by the hair, licking her face and neck on the stage... and the rest is a blur. The set list consisted primarily of high energy dance-rock tunes and was nicely broken up by the solo piano version of "Night After Night" which I can still hear in my head to this day as clear as the day she haunted me with it.

Eagerly anticipating their return, I was quite disappointed when they posted their 2007 tour dates which did not include a single American city. That all changed yesterday. The Sounds will make a quick stop in California (on their way over to Australia) to play a show in LA on September 17th and a show in San Francisco at The Fillmore on September 18th. Tickets for The Fillmore show are $22.50 and go on sale Sunday 8/19 @ 10am through Live Nation.

Back to Home Page: One More Time, From the Top!


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Have You Been Killed?

Two of San Francisco's very talented emerging local artists, Ryan Lambert (Elephone) and Sierra Frost (Two Seconds, Elephone) have started a side project called Kill Moi. Check out their new myspace page.

While they haven't performed as Kill Moi yet in San Francisco, you can catch Elephone at the Indie Festival on August 25th along with Sugarcult, Scissors For Lefty, Audrye Sessions, Push To Talk, immigrant, minipop, Poor Bailey, Overview, Panda, Bel Air Academy, National Product, ESKIMO JOE, Cold Hot Crash, and The Frail. You can catch Two Seconds perform at Bottom of the Hill on September 7th.

Lovemakers + Hey Willpower = Ass-Shaking Match Made in Pop Heaven

I've waited a long time to see The Lovemakers and Hey Willpower share a stage. Both bands put on a steamy, sweaty and sexy show to close out the San Francisco International Festival of Short Films. It was curious to see such an entertaining lineup at a venue with theatre seating. Nothing drives me more crazy than seeing people sitting down when they should be shaking their asses. Hey Willpower had the challenge of performing to an audience who were seated for hours while watching the last session of short films. It wasn't hard for Will to spark that crowd.. but he did have to actually say, 'get up!' which made me feel sorry for those sitting. This is not the junior prom, people. Hey Willpower got the crowded revved up in no time, and got everyone amped for The Lovemakers. A job well done.

Now, I've heard of fans who fall in love with their favorite artists. You know.. the ones who are center stage in the front row and making goo-goo eyes at their favorite band-member. But what about when the artist on stage can make goo-goo eyes to the entire audience? Lovemakers co-lead, Lisa (vocals and bass) amazes me with her ability to eye-fuck an entire crowd with a single look. So Sexy... rrrrrawr. Unfortunately, Superfan #1 was standing front-row center, screaming like a Raiders Fan at a Rush concert and I couldn't get a better picture of the whole band in action. Lock it up, son. We all know you love them. We love them too.

Lovemakers + Hey Willpower @ Victoria Theatre

The San Francisco International Festival of Short Films (AKA SF Shorts) comes to a close tomorrow night, August 11. They will wrap things up at San Francisco's oldest operating theater, The Victoria Theatre, in the Mission district. Performing at the closing party will be The Lovemakers and Hey Willpower. To my knowledge these two local bands have never before shared a stage in San Francisco. I can't tell you how happy to be able to score tickets (still available via Ticketweb.com)

Tomorrow night will be an ass-shaking extravaganza. Please come prepared to learn some new dance moves like the one shown above (right) called the bow and arrow. Attendees to the 21+ event will receive 2 complimentary beers. Tickets are $15. Doors @ 8:30.

San Francisco Live Music
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