MANATEE. THE SOFT WHITE SIXTIES. THE TROPHY FIRE. RYAN of AUDRYE SESSIONS (sort of with the full band).
Blake's on Telegraph, Berkeley.
4/16/10.
This was Manatee's CD release party and quite a nice line up of Bay Area talent, if I may say so myself. I was excited to see The Trophy Fire, as I've heard a few of their songs (their cover of "White Christmas" on the Foggy Holiday album is one of my favorite Christmas songs ever, insomuch as it makes Christmas music tolerable) and I wanted to hear more of them. It's always nice to hear Audrye Sessions, obviously, and I'd seen Manatee once before and thought they were pretty solid. Danielle and Britt and I were most stoked for The Soft White Sixties, though. They're just so much fun, and their music WILL make you dance.
Ryan from Audrye Sessions was first, and it had been billed as a solo acoustic show, but he actually played with all of the band except Mike, who he said was in London. Alicia didn't play for every song but mostly she was there. And they had a dude playing trumpet and keyboard (at the same time!) who I later found out is named Graham Patzner (he looked a lot like Anton so I'm assuming they're related). The mood was really light and it was a pretty short set, but they played some new stuff that I had heard at Bottom of the Hill and one song that was pretty unfamiliar, but lovely. Very In Rainbows-y. Solid set as always. I talked to Ryan for a minute after the show and he said he thinks he's in this phase of writing prettier songs. I told him I thought the band's sound was maturing, and he said he felt like that was true. I like the prettiness of these new songs, and he said he does too. So I hope the pretty songs keep coming.
Audrye Sessions
The Trophy Fire was up next. There were only three dudes in the band, and they all looked like they could be related. The music was good, not really something I would listen to for a whole album, but definitely good for a song or two at a time. We were enjoying ourselves in the crowd for sure.
The Trophy Fire
The Soft White Sixties started setting up and you could sense that the crowd was getting excited for them. We tried to get towards the front but it was pretty crowded. They played a lot of songs that they haven't yet released, and they were awesome. There's something so retro and soul-ish about their music, something that I don't hear a lot in most bands' influences. I love it. They finished their set and you could tell they wanted to play more, and the crowd didn't want them to go, so they sort of had a mini-conference and then they came back and did a cover of "Instant Karma." I got really excited because a) I love that song a lot and b) White Rabbits did a cover of the same song at the show we saw on my birthday, so it felt kind of like a personal gift. I sang along and everyone was into it and it was an awesome way for them to end their set.
The Soft White Sixties
While Manatee was setting up I found the Soft White Sixties' bassist and told him that they really needed to release an album, and he assured me that they were working on it. Deja vu, because we sort of had the same conversation in November, but oh well. Then he told me I could steal a poster of theirs from the wall and I did. Then I went on to pull one off of the bar and one off of the door to the ladies' room for Britt and Danielle. They were being all shy about it so I just ran up and ripped them down. Reminded me of taking the Live 105 sign at Not So Silent Night last year.
Manatee was up next and I'm bummed to say that I wasn't paying a lot of attention to their set. Britt made the comment that each of their songs is completely different from the one before it, which I guess I could agree with. I did enjoy the set, I just didn't really soak it in the way I normally would.
Manatee
When they finished we hung around for a little while as the DJ started going all dance music-y and the black lights got more intense. People ran down from the bar upstairs. It was a weird kind of party.
Blake's is kind of a strange venue, and all ages shows always have a different vibe than 21+ shows do, but I enjoyed it a lot. I also enjoyed the fact that Berkeley is SO much closer now. It's a little crazy.
JÓNSI.
Amoeba on Haight.
4/17/10.
I walked to this show from my flat (I WALKED TO THIS SHOW FROM MY FLAT). I just strolled right through Golden Gate Park and there it was, in all its Record Store Day glory: Amoeba Records.
I got there around 2 and the show started at 2:30. There were already a pretty good amount of people milling in front of the stage, so I found a spot in the fourth aisle down and tried to save Kirsten and Zack some space (they didn't end up getting there until just after the show ended, so that was unnecessary).
Everyone in the crowd was so friendly. I think it's a comment on the kind of people who are drawn to Jónsi's music, maybe, or maybe its a comment on the kind of people who would go to Record Store Day, or maybe it's a comment on the kind of people who live in San Francisco and frequent Amoeba. Maybe it's a combination of all of those factors. Anyway, people were really chatty and it was quite lovely. The group to my left said they had seen Jónsi the two previous nights, at both the Berkeley and the San Francisco performances. Whoa.
I definitely feel like it was a score to get to see him perform for free, especially when his shows were like $30 at least, but I HAVE heard that they're really amazing, like they have these really intricate sets that do a good bit to enhance the whole experience. If Sigur Rós comes to town someday, I'll probably shell out to see them. But it wasn't in the stars for this week.
The set felt really short, and the fact that I was standing in the CH-DE rock section of Amoeba, with an Amoeba employee standing right next to the stage trying to spot people who were breaking the rules by using the flash on their cameras or taking videos, sending intel into his walkee talkee like some hotshot cop, made it a little hard to immerse myself in the music. Add to that a severe lack of sleep, and the fact that I was REALLY hungry. I just wasn't in the best space to really appreciate the experience.
But even under those circumstances, the music was beautiful. He played with three other members, all of them on acoustic instruments. Jónsi himself was super cute and bubbly, jumping all around and talking in his little Icelandic accent. He thanked us a bunch and seemed really overwhelmed by the size and positive reaction of the crowd. When they finished their set and left the crowd demanded an encore, and when they came back on stage he goes, "Thank you. I was not... expecting... this... so we have not prepared anything, but we can play... one more song." It was so endearing.
Jónsi
I should have bought the record because it was only $13.95 and I could've gotten it signed, but the line was SO LONG. Also, I didn't realize it was so affordable; I just assumed the vinyl would be at least $20. Ah, well. I'll get it eventually.
"Boy Lilikoi" was probably my favorite song of the set, but they were all very simply beautiful and expansive and emotional. With Sigur Rós there are songs that I hear and think, 'I could die to this song' (I've been told that's really morbid and not at all a good recommendation for a song, but I think it's a compliment). Jónsi's solo stuff is a little more light and playful, but with that same sort of soft build that really grabs you in the pit of your stomach.
I feel super lucky to have gotten to see him for free, and I'll try to check him out the next time he comes into the city. He's probably playing right about now at Coachella. As is Thom Yorke. Oh god I can't think about this.
Ha ha, I'm listening to Soundcheck right now and Aaron Axelson just dedicated this [Gorillaz] song to his "fellow Coachella orphans" who were left behind. "It's like me and the janitor here in the studio," he said. I feel your pain, Aaron!
Seriously though, good stuff, San Francisco. Tomorrow is Manchester's own Band of Skulls. I wanna see them in the light of the morning!
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