BFD
Shoreline Amphitheater.
Sunday, June 6.
Ugh. It was HOT HOT HOT. I felt ANCIENT. It was $13 for a BUD LIGHT. WTF? Who pays $13 for a Bud Light???
The Temper Trap was good, and everyone knew that one song that always reminds me of Joseph Gordon Levitt, and it was a nice surprise how much I liked the rest of their music. Subsonic tent was like stepping into a gas oven, so we only managed to stay in there for a few minutes at a time. Saw Gaslight Anthem, and I was surprised by how many songs of theirs I knew. Then Against Me played on the opposite stage and we scooched up towards the front to see Spoon. I got to watch Britt Daniel watching Against Me (He later said they were one of the best rock n' roll bands in America today. Hyperbole much, Britt?). One of Spoon's roadies looked exactly like Russell from Almost Famous. Another was wearing a shirt that read "MERGE is Twenty." We were in the second row. Spoon played old songs, and new songs, and in between songs. They did "The Underdog" and "I Turn My Camera On" and "Got Nuffin." Britt himself was very charming and he remembered the name of this girl in the front row from when she got his autograph earlier in the day. "Jack!" he said, and she grinned for days. I saw Aaron Axelson, Miles the DJ, and DJ Omar lurking on the side of the stage, in the shade. I stopped worrying about reapplying my sunscreen and enjoyed the 40-some minutes of rock.
Then I wilted.
The options were to remain locked in the amphitheater for 4 hours before Matt and Kim came on, spending WAY too much money on half-thawed pretzels and liquified ice cream, or to head home. I voted for home. Britt concurred, so home we went, leaving the dream of seeing both trainwreck Courtney Love and falsified Sublime (with Rome) behind us.
I don't think I'll do BFD again unless they manage to book The Beatles.
Britt setting up for Spoon's set.
Cold War Kids.
Music In The Park, San Jose.
Thursday, June 3.
I almost missed this, because last minute Britt had to back out and then I was super tired when I got home from work on Thursday, and then I finally dragged myself into my car and hopped on 280, which was footloose and traffic free, and then like a nimrod I thought I'd be clever and transfer onto 101 and I hit the kind of stop and go traffic that keeps auto body shops in business. I ended up pulling off the highway and sitting at a Panera Bread (that place is depressing, let me tell you), trying to raise my blood sugar enough to figure out my next move. When I got going again, fueled by iced tea and a margherita panini, lo and behold (as my grandmother would say), the traffic had cleared. So off to see my beloved Cold War Kids I went!
For some reason I had this idea in my head (and I can't get it out....) that this would be some small little shindig, like the Music on the Greens thing I went to in Central Park in Davis a couple of years ago. Um, Jess? San Jose is not Davis.
I pulled up to the park and heard "Audience" coming from the stage. I immediately turned my music off and rolled all my windows down to let the loveliness pipe its way into my car. I also immediately parked, not paying attention to the kind of fees I was signing myself up for.
The park was huge, and people were meandering all over, and I had to sort of Sacajawea my way through all the drunks in order to get close to the stage. I ended up on the side of the stage (the musicians' right side), right in front. As I walked up they were playing "Dreams Old Men Dream." They went on to play a majority of songs from Robbers and Cowards, plus a few from Loyalty to Loyalty. They focused on the crowd pleasers, which makes sense for that sort of crowd. At the beginning of "Something Is Not Right With Me," Nathan goes, "C'mon San Jose, party with us," and everyone started jumping and clapping. They finished the set and some dude from the radio station pumped up the crowd to chant for an encore. I could see the guys chilling in the tent behind the stage, and I could tell they were going to come back. They did, for a rendition of "We Used to Vacation" and finally "Sermons," which is a song based on Franny and Zooey. Thus it almost makes me cry, especially when heard live.
The sound quality was pretty good and the guys were having fun like always, and they really don't disappoint when it comes to live performances. It was weird to see them alone, because every time I've gone to a show of theirs it's been with someone else who loved them as much as I do. But I'm glad I went, and I hope they come around to SF again soon, obviously. They're always worth the ticket price.
Cold War Kids boys. I really love them.
Lemon Sun. The Soft White Sixties.
The Red Devil Lounge.
Saturday, May 29.
It is a cruel world that makes me choose between an Audrye Sessions show and a Soft White Sixties show (Aren't you guys friends? Can't you schedule your shows so we don't have to choose?), but because the SWS show was in SF and the AS show was all the way in Berkeley, and since I had to work super early the next morning, and since Katrina was more interested in going to the SWS show, the decision was made and the Red Devil Lounge it was.
I was looking forward to the bill, which included Leopold and His Fiction. Their songs have been on Soundcheck recently and I was looking forward to seeing them live, but when we got there, the bill had changed, and they weren't on it. Bummer.
First let me say that the place scores zero points for bar quality. The bartenders completely ignored us for a good five minutes and we had to basically flag one down to get a beer. And it wasn't even busy, they were just too busy flirting with their friends or whatever. LAME.
This guy came up to us at the bar and took pity on us, saying that with how bad his luck was at attracting the bartenders' attention, we would probably get our drinks before him. Weird logic, but something about his presence did help us finally nab one of the bartenders' attention long enough to order a couple of Fat Tires. Ignored By Bartenders man asked us who we were there to see, and I told him the Soft White Sixties. He said Lemon Sun, who were up first, were really good, and from L.A. I decided not to hold that against them. The dude also informed us that, though the Soft White Sixties were headlining, they were actually playing second on a bill that had four bands. "Which is good for me," he said. "Because I'm an old man and have to get home before four a.m." Then he left us with our beers and went back to his wife.
I don't really know what the point of that last paragraph was, but that's what happened.
Lemon Sun started setting up and they were a pretty motley crew. The lead singer had long hair and vertically striped pants. The bassist was about 4'8" and looked like my dad's golf buddy. Same age range and everything.
The music was good. I have since found out that these guys are part of the same scene as Saint Motel, who I saw open for Band of Skulls at the Rickshaw a couple months ago, and Voxhaul Broadcast. I like all of these bands and hope they keep making names for themselves.
The best feeling was when the lead singer looked into the crowd and said, "what's up, San Francisco?" Why would such a thing stand out, you ask? It's just that I've been going to shows in the city for so long, at so many different venues and for so many different bands, and every time they acknowledged San Francisco I would cheer with everyone else because it was the closest thing to their being in my town. But it never felt like mine. Now San Francisco is mine, and it feels so good to be able to include myself as a citizen of this city.
When The Soft White Sixties started setting up we headed up to the front, to the left of that group of girls who always seem to be at their shows, singing along with every song (Side note: I think those girls are awesome and am in no way judging such behavior. I mean, I would be one to talk).
Katrina asked me what my trademark would be if I were a musician and I had no answer. She said she would hire a tiger to attack her face so she'd have a really sick scar to show off. I gave up trying to think of something after that. I mean, that's pretty much the best possible answer to that question, right?
So the set started and it was a party as usual. They have a new guitarist now who was all decked out in early 70's attire, such as a blue and purple tie-dyed shirt, bell bottoms, and sunglasses with one of those gold chains on them to keep them from getting lost. Klassy.
I love this band because their main influence is just so clearly that old soul music that always makes you feel good. They're fun to dance to and they put on a show. They covered "Instant Karma" again, which was fun, again, although I still don't think they know all the words to the song. When they finished the set the crowd demanded an encore, so they came back from the green room and the bassist goes, "Well if you're going to be like that about it..." They had the crowd cheer for Joey, the drummer, who had graduated from culinary school that week. The bassist goes, "and Octavio [the lead singer] just got back from New York City for the first time," and everyone cheered. And then the 70's man said, "well, Ryan [the bassist] just got ENGAGED," and the crowd REALLY cheered for that one. I think the last song they played was "Welcome to the Crowd," and everyone sang along, and it was great fun.
We left after their set because we had buses to catch and I had a job to show up for in the morning. On the way out I passed the bassist from Lemon Sun. 4'8" was a generous estimation.
Lemon Sun.
The Soft White Sixties experiencing instant karma.
Geographer. DJ Aaron Axelson. DJ Omar.
Popscene.
Thursday. May 20.
If it were possible, I would hire Aaron Axelson to follow me around my whole life, DJ-ing. Dancing at Popscene until two in the morning with two of my besties was something close to musical nirvana. Gorillaz, Blondie, Phoenix, Aretha, A-Ha, Passion Pit, Cut Copy. It was like a mashup of all the Radio Soundchecks I've listened to over the years, plus a bunch of '80's and a few Motown classics for good measure. Yes please!
Ueber Creeper photo of Aaron Axelson getting his DJ on at Popscene.
