I Never Felt Gray, Even On A Rainy Day

DAVE SMALLEN. KEVIN SECONDS. KEPI GHOULIE. GREG ATTONITO.
The Crepe Place. 02/21/10.

Like I said before, someone at The Crepe Place is kicking some major music booking ass. How excited was I that Dave Smallen was dropping by our little town by the sea? Pretty excited, because I have travelled up to San Francisco and the East Bay a time or two to see him, and it was SO nice to just have to go a few freeway exits to see him perform.
I really wanted to help fill the place up, and a bunch of friends did come, because they are awesome and also because they knew the Bouncing Souls, so the incentive was doubled. Kirsten even drove down from Union City, which was most certainly a barge. I'm glad she did because no one can quote Arrested Development with me quite like my old roomie.
Dave was first and as soon as he got up to do his set I grabbed Danielle and Brittany and we went up front. It was pretty early and not very packed and we were definitely the only ones in the audience who were familiar with his songs. I decided almost right away that I was just gonna rock out with it, because you can only worry about people judging you for so long. He was singing the upbeat songs, too, so I was not just gonna stand there with my arms across my chest, nodding my head with the beat. He played this song, which is lovely. Kristain came up and joined us and we were all really enjoying it. I sort of sang along with "With the Sky All Blue" and as he was singing Dave noticed me singing along and kind of laughed. Hey, your songs are good and they make me happy, so I'm gonna sing along. Then as his last song he did "I Think It's Getting Better," which is one of my favorite driving songs of 2009, and before he sang it he was like, "There's a little part where I'm gonna need your guys' help. It goes 'sha la la la...'" and he looked over at us and was like, "I think maybe you guys know it already," and Kristain goes, "Yup. Seen you once or twice before, no big deal" in her funny Kristain way. We sang along and it seemed like by the second round of sha la la's some of the people at the bar and in the audience were singing along too. That song just makes me smile!

As the next guys went on I hung back with my friends and talked to Dave for a minute. It was cool to chat because I really have so much respect for him and that whole group of Oakland musicians who basically introduced me to how great live shows can be (so long ago...). I also told him that "America" was really meaningful to me and how grateful I was for it. He said he wrote it in 2006, and I think my response was "that sounds right." What I meant was that 2006 was the year that I started to get really angry about the way this country was headed, and it was also the year that I really started paying attention to what it meant to be American - the good things and the bad. Some of that probably has to do with the fact that I went abroad in 2006 and spent the last four months of the year learning about what Europeans thought of Americans. But anyway, I was incredibly grateful to get to talk to him a little bit about his music and just to let him know that it really means something to people. I mentioned that I thought it was great that he's done as much as he has so far and he said that with the record industry on its way to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean everything is pretty unstable for musicians right now. "But I'll always do it," he said, and I could totally relate because it's how I feel about writing: it's not what I do, it's who I am, and if there were no more publishing companies on the entire planet I would still be writing. That's how I relate to it, anyway.

The third band came on and they were pretty entertaining. Kristain wanted to dance so we went up and enjoyed the music. They went a little bit country towards the end, but we appreciated the Smurfs references (they had a song called "Hair of Gold, Skin of Blue").

The last band had the frontman from the Smurfs band playing the drums. There were two vocalists (a girl and a guy) and the girl had a really nice voice. My favorite things that happened while they were singing were: Lindsley singing along to their songs, and when they did a really nifty cover of "Livin' On A Prayer," a song that I love with little to no apology.

We finished up the night at Saturn Café, which is always a good decision when it's almost midnight on a Sunday. Most excellent night, I'd say.







Dave Smallen







Kepi Ghoulie

I Been Drinking To My Own Health Again

Jason Boesel (with Dawes as backing band). Cory Chisel and His Wandering Sons. Dawes.
The Crepe Place. 2/5/10.

The Crepe Place is kicking some major music-booking ass right now. Par exemplum: Jason Boesel, aka the drummer of Rilo Kiley and member of Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band, shows up with these two other excellent bands and they rock the night away.
I mean, I knew of all of these people before seeing them. They were all really fun live. Clearly Dawes was the main draw for most people, but I like the folksy-country twang of Cory Chisel, who is more interesting in person than on his album, and I like Jason Boesel's songs. None of these bands were really earth shattering, but they're all talented and they were having fun and that always rubs off on the crowd.
For Dawes' last song David Rawlings showed up and jumped on stage. I guess he'd played a show at the Catalyst earlier and headed over to the Crepe Place afterwards because he's friends with Jason Boesel and the dudes from Dawes. Actually I was standing right next to him in the crowd for awhile and didn't even realize it. Crazy.
At the end of the night I decided to ask Jason if I could take a picture with him. He was super sweet about it and we talked for a few minutes about his solo stuff and Outside Lands. And then he asked me if I had change for a twenty and I only had eighteen dollars, so he's like, "that's good enough," and I said, "are you sure? I feel like I'm robbing you," and he goes, "no, because you're really helping me out right now and I'm really grateful." So clearly we're now best friends. I have to admit that my aim, at first, was to use him to get to Conor and Jenny (I even tried to look over his shoulder to see if he was texting Conor at one point - I'm such a goddam stalker), but after chatting with him I sort of love him now. So yes, it'd be awesome if he told Jenny she should take me vintage shopping with her, and told Conor that he and I were soulmates. But I'm also just fine with the fact that he gave me two dollars and took a lovely picture with me. That's enough. I won't be greedy in these harsh economic times.





Clearly we are in love.







Cory Chisel and His Wandering Sons


Young The Giant (The Jakes). I the Mighty.
The Catalyst Atrium.

I the Mighty is not my kind of music. There. I said it.
This show was the day after Salinger died so I ordered a rum and coke in Holden's honor and tried to pick out the phonies. Everyone was a phony.
The artists formerly known as The Jakes (now known as Young the Giant) played and it was good. I mean, their music is very likable, and what's-his-face the lead singer has a nice voice, so they are enjoyable. I don't think I'll ever be obsessed with their music, but when they roll into town you gotta take advantage, ya know?
It was a pretty mellow show except that there was this crazy old homeless man who was clearly stoned out of his mind and he started stripping and everyone could see his tanned and tattooed old man body and that wasn't the greatest. At first it was kind of funny, but then...
All in all, this was a fun but pretty uneventful show.







Young the Giant







Young the Giant with Crazy Stoner Dude

Audience of One

COLD WAR KIDS. ALEC OUNSWORTH (of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah).
THE FILLMORE. JANUARY 23, 2010.

Have you ever seen Cold War Kids live? Have you seen them from the second row? Have you seen them at The Fillmore?
Do it.
So I had seen Cold War Kids twice before, and at the first show I only knew probably three of their songs. Then last year I won tickets from Soundcheck for a show in April at the Fillmore. By then I knew probably half of their canon of songs. But the quality of their live shows was INSANE. I just remember being totally annihilated by the symphonic noise of their shows. Like they invite chaos in and then somehow get a leash on it and make it do what they want. And the songs know exactly when to twist themselves into something new, and they hit you right in the gut. Brittany says it's like their songs already exist and they are just pulling them out of this place that we all know but have forgotten. I think that's a pretty accurate assessment.

I had been looking forward to this show since I first heard about it back in October. Thank my paranoia that I bought my tickets in November, because man did this show sell out.

And then when Britt and I got there we pushed our way to the front (right when doors opened, way before the music was going) and planted ourselves in the center of the second row.
The second row, you see, is the place to be. No neck aches from craning to see the band's faces, like you get in the front row. A perfect view.

So we got there and finally, after puzzling over which songs they would play (I had woken up with "Mexican Dogs" stuck in my head that morning and hoped I'd get to hear the real thing), the opening band came on. It was one of those side bands created by a bunch of members from other bands, and the main guy was Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. There was also a distinguished, mustachioed fellow who looked just like a younger Inspector Japp (of Agatha Christie's Poirot mysteries). The band had a solid enough sound but I didn't like Alec's voice at all - it was that whiny, I'm-intellectual style of singing that just always gives me a headache. I was so anxious for the main event that I didn't really enjoy their performance. Also they kept having technical difficulties and various sound people were trying to fix it onstage, which was just awkward and distracting.
But I will say that I have never been so impressed by a bassist before. That guy could strum.

Finally they left and the anticipation was building. The girl in front of me was all excited because it was her birthday, and these younger guys who were front row, center were plotting how to give Nathan Willet this weird Valentine they had made. One of them grabbed the set list for Alec Ounsworth from the stage. Um, I wasn't jealous.

There were these four t.v. screens set up on the stage behind the band, and during the openers they were just blank and turned off. I started to get really curious about them and then...

It started with Nathan singing, in his thoroughly indescribable voice, "How's it gonna feel when summer ends?" and went uphill from there. The crowd, especially those of us in the first two rows, went nuts. I mean, singing along, dancing, just plain getting lost in it all. The band is so fascinating to watch because it's like they try to create this chaos, but it is theirs. They own everything that goes on on that stage, but barely.
The t.v.s played all these images that sort of matched the songs. For "Coffee Spoon" there was a black and white video of a girl who looked sort of retro. For "Hospital Beds" there was footage from what looked kind of like Vietnam. I don't remember what was playing during "Sermons" because I was too busy singing along.
There is just this magnetic energy running through them that is hard to describe and impossible to appreciate if you haven't seen it. SEE IT.

The boys got their Valentine to Nathan, who was pretty stumped about the whole thing. The girl managed to tell him it was her birthday, so he dedicated a song to her. After playing "Santa Ana Winds," he was like, "That song was about a town south of here, but now I'm gonna play one that's about YOUR town." I flipped through my mental catalog and immediately landed on "Golden Gate Jumpers," whispered the title to Brittany, and the birthday girl heard me and we all shared a moment of appreciation for this band together. Everyone cheered when he said that, but he was like, "Well, maybe you shouldn't cheer for it," and we were like, "Yeah, I guess it IS about attempted suicide..."

They played so much of their catalog and they played for a long time, but it went by so quickly. They didn't play "Mexican Dogs" or "Every Man I Fall For," but I'd seen them perform both before so it wasn't too sad. I swear, when they did "Hospital Beds" and "St. John," it was a religious experience. When it was all over and we were filtering out of the Fillmore, I said to Brittany, "That was like...church." And she shrugged and was like, "Not really. If church was like this, I would actually GO."

Amen.

We Cooked the Tilapia, Mama, Just Like You Showed Us!

Like WHOA.
Having pledged to save my money and limit the amount of shows I attend to perhaps one a month until it seems like I should start going to more, I didn't expect to have very much to add to this little blog for January.
Wrong.

SCISSORS FOR LEFTY, I THE MIGHTY

So first, there was Scissors for Lefty. Bryan very casually announced (via facebook) that, after a very long drought, show-wise, they would be playing at Bottom of the Hill the first week in January. My immediate thought was, "Oh man tell everyone to request Friday night off because we are GOING." But then I discussed the show with said everyone and we came to the (practical, boring) decision to skip this one and be responsible with our lives. I was totally at peace with this (practical, boring) decision when I went and checked my email. I'm on the Scissors for Lefty mailing list, you see, and they had sent out an email saying that the first five people to reply back would get on the guest list for the show. So of course I emailed them, saying "por favor" and all that jazz.
That night Brittany, Danielle and I went to trivia night, and then Saturn Cafe, and while at Saturn I checked my email, which said something along the lines of "sorry Jessica, you didn't make the cut.... BUT we really love you and want you to come so if you do tell the people at the merch table that Bryan has set a new t-shirt aside for you." Okay, they might not have said that they really love me. But it was implied. Anyway, I read the email out loud and Danielle was like, "we HAVE to go," and Brittany was like, "we can go after my shift," and I was like, "you will have to close fast," and it was decided that we would go.
So we left once Britt finished her shift, which was pretty quick for a Friday night, but I think we got on the road around 9 or so. And we got to Bottom of the Hill right at 10:30, which is when Scissors had said they would be going on. But as we got to the door I could hear a very distinctive voice coming through the walls, and was disheartened to see that they were already playing. So we ran up to the front and had to stand on the side of the stage, sort of in front of the bathroom and right along the walkway that everyone was using to get to the bar and back. It sort of felt like the B line Metro in Rome. Which is not a good thing.
BUT it was Scissors for Lefty and things were exciting and we started moving right away. It was an all ages show and it just seemed like there were a lot of high school kids who were either too self conscious or too sober (or both) to let themselves dance like you should for this band. I expressed my concern about the stillness of the crowd and the guy next to me was like, "they should have a thing where the floor opens up and all the people who aren't dancing fall into a pit and can't come out until the end" which was sort of a weird concept but also probably a good idea considering everything.
Anyway we sort of scooted into the front towards the last couple of songs. Bryan was a lot less engaging than usual, which probably had to do with the lameness of the crowd. But he only stepped out onto the speaker once, and he waited until the last song (which was a perfect "Mama Your Boys Will Find A Home") to come out into the crowd. I had tried to plot with the girls to stand on the left side of the floor, because it always seems like that's where he tends to wander, but it was too late for us to make our way over there. It was where Bryan headed, but we weren't there, so we missed out on most of the magic. It felt like such a short set (probably our fault for getting there late, but still) and they just didn't seem as energetic as usual, so it was sort of a let down. Plus, they were actually opening for the next band, who were called I the Mighty, because it was supposed to be I the Mighty's CD release party. BUT, when the I the Mighty dudes got up there, they explained during one of their many technical-difficulties-induced music lapses that they actually didn't have the CD ready and didn't really think they should've followed Scissors. These guys were really young and just didn't seem to have it quite together. The equipment kept failing and they didn't know how to engage the crowd in a way that would keep the whole thing moving. I think it takes awhile for bands to learn how to preserve the crowd's momentum in moments of crisis, but it's really such an important skill (see entry: COLD WAR KIDS).
I the Mighty wasn't really my kind of music, and the crowd by this point was almost completely high school kids. We embraced it though. Sometimes you just gotta rock out with it. Maybe someday they'll grow into their sound, but for now it's all a little bit awkward and predictable.
Then I went to the merch table to get my free shirt and it was SUCH a hassle. C'mon guys, get it together. The girls at the table thought I was lying, or something, and they made me wait until James the drummer came over, even though I had the email to prove that I was supposed to get a shirt. It was kind of annoying. But James was super nice about it. He is SO tall! I'm sure he gets tired of hearing about it, but seriously. He's like 7'2" or something. Part Dutch, obviously.
Anyway, the show was a little lackluster and I think our original impulse to stay home might have been a wise one. I'm hoping they were just getting their sea legs back and that their next shows will have the old spark. And I hope they come back to The Crepe Place!




Scissors for Lefty




I the Mighty and friends

WEST INDIAN GIRL, MOON CADILLAC

Honestly I don't have very much to say about this one. It was a spur of the moment, trivia-night-is-annoying-tonight-what-else-can-we-do kind of decision to go, and it was fun and I'm glad we went. Moon Cadillac had good energy and did a good job of playing the kind of music they play. Sort of a rock-blues something. I don't know. I'm really bad at classifying music genres and we only saw about three or four of their songs so it didn't really stick. But there was potential for sure.
West Indian Girl had three and a half vocalists, and two and a half of those were women, so I was waiting to hear with some trepidation. I know it's awful to be so anti-female-vocalist, but I'm always so picky about them. I think women just have a smaller range of ways to make their voices sound good, whereas men can do all sorts of funky things with their voices to make it work. It's not fair but it's how I feel.
There was some reason for me to be worried, because ehm, these girls were not the prettiest of voiced. Most of the time the sound of their voices worked for the music, even when it really didn't sound pretty, but there were definitely a few instances of screechiness.
The music itself was pretty fun, though. Very 1970's San Francisco. I read later that apparently West Indian Girl is a famous type of LSD, which is really fitting for them. It was all a little psychedelic.
I'm glad I saw them but I'm also glad that it was a cheap, $10 show at The Crepe Place. It was a fun way to spend an evening but nothing really exciting, so that was perfect.

I gotta update on Cold War Kids, but that show is something that I think should get its own post. So that's it for now!

2009 - The Music Was Fine

Thanks to this transition into a new decade, I've been thinking a lot about the shows I attended in 2009. I've read a lot of Best of the Decade and Best of 2009 lists online and in magazines, and all of them seem pretty well compiled. Apparently you are not a person if you don't love Kid A. That was the thing I've noticed most consistently in every list. BUT ANYWAY, I'm not writing a Best Albums of the Year/Decade. I think it's been covered and yes, I would have a few more to add, but most of them would be local music and the best way, I feel, to address this is by making a BEST SHOWS I ATTENDED IN 2009. So that's what I'm doing.
Let me start by saying that when we get to the top ten or so shows, it really becomes impossible for me to say which beat which for the best. So I'm ordering this from life altering to least exciting, and I want to be clear that even the least exciting shows were still wonderful in their ways. I just never regret live music. HOWEVER, sometimes shit got weird.
And then the other thing is that when it gets to the top ten, I'm not going to order them. I really can't choose the best among certain shows. My love is as deep for Jenny as it is for Jack.
The other thing is that this is a long list. I wrote out all the shows I attended in 2009 and it came out to about 30, which is basically to say that I spent the equivalent of a month out of the year going to live music. It's a tough life, but what can you do? Also, there are a lot of different shows for the same band, and I might condense a few of them, but for the most part I'm gonna address each show separately.
Okay, ready? Here goes.

TOP TEN SHOWS OF 2009
- in no particular order (allegedly) -

1. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (surprise cameo by Jenny Lewis) – Outside Lands
-This one because it was so electrifying to see Conor, from the second row, and to spot Jenny Lewis backstage before she came on, and to anticipate her arrival on stage because I had seen her sitting in the back. And it was the most gorgeous day and the sun was going down behind the trees and I kept glancing at the clock that was posted on the side of the stage, trying to stop the minute hand from moving so that he could just play forever. Didn't work. But oh, this show.






2. Cold War Kids – The Fillmore
- You have not seen a band perform until you've seen Cold War Kids live. I can't explain it, but their songs just hit you right behind the heart. They're really powerful and synchronized and the music just pulls you in. Seriously. Buy your ticket for their next show NOW.

3. The Dead Weather – Outside Lands
- Um. Jack White. Alison Mosshart. And then Dean Fertita (total babe) and Little (creepy) Jack Lawrence. I think this was a little less than a month after they released Horehound, but Britt and I knew every song (except the new ones) and we were in the second row and Jack White Jack White Jack White. When he and Alison got really close to sing together at the mic for "Will There Be Enough Water" the wind started blowing, and it was this really gray day, and their raven hair was whipping around their faces, and it looked like they were about to make out, and it was all voodoo magic.





4. Jenny Lewis (with Jonathon Rice), The Sadies – The Rio Theater
- Oh Jenny. This woman has the most amazing voice and lyrics. I am also not so secretly envious of her hair. But anyway, oh this show. I had already seen her in October of 2008, so I knew the value of my ticket before I got to the show. I knew that she would sing for two hours, drinking Red Stripe and her voice never once showing signs of any strain. She sang the fun songs ("See Fernando") and the sweet ballads ("Sing A Song For Them" - although halfway through she forgot the lyrics and we had to shout them at her - "Shitballs," she said. "You guys don't know how weird this feels."). She did an acoustic version of "Silver Lining" without her band, and everyone in the crowd sang along, making it sound so achey and haunting. The band played "Handle With Care" (I love that cover!) and for the encore they all gathered around one mic, arms around each others' shoulders, and sang "Acid Tongue." And it was perfect.




5. Blind Pilot – Great American Music Hall/The Rio Theater
- I already wrote a review here for these shows, so I won't repeat myself. I'll just say that this band was better live than on the album, and the album is beautiful enough that that statement really has some meaning. They just released an EP with five of their songs performed live, and if you value good things, you should go download it.



6. Scissors for Lefty – The Crepe Place / The Uptown
- So I couldn't pick which of these two shows was better. The Crepe Place was a wonderfully small show, we were right in front of the Garza and Krimmel boys' faces, and we couldn't stop dancing and EVERYONE from work showed up for the show. By the second half of their set, Bittersweet employees outnumbered all the casual Crepe Place attendees. And of course it was the first time I had seen them live, so when Bryan came out into the crowd and stroked my hair and sang right into my eyes, it was a magical experience (it still is, mostly, but it's also expected, which kills the amazement just a little).
But then at The Uptown Bryan took his pants off. So it's really a toss up.




7. Monsters of Folk – The Fox Theater
- Conor Oberst. Jim James. Mike Mogis. M. Ward. Playing their songs for two and a half hours. In a beautiful venue that even had little floor vents to keep the audience cool. Did I mention it was Conor, Jim, Mike, AND Matt? Is that not enough to convince you?



8. Audrye Sessions, Hottub, The Soft White Sixties, Manatee – The Uptown
- I only saw Audrye Sessions a few times this year, mostly because they just didn't play as many shows as they have in years past. I'm kind of cheating by counting this one as 2009, because they actually came on right after the year changed to 2010. But I'm going to count it. The best thing about this show was that they played for so long, and The Soft White Sixties were openers, and I was DD so I didn't have a drop of alcohol but I still danced and loved every instant of it. Hottub was weird. But everything else was pretty much perfect.







9. Dave Smallen, The Soft White Sixties – The Rickshaw Stop
- SUCH a good night. I wasn't driving, but I was drinking, and when The Soft White Sixties came on I didn't know them at all but I was drunk and dancing and even through the alcohol I could tell that I was enjoying them because they were talented, not just because of the buzz. And then Dave played, and I think it was his first show since he'd started releasing the song a month deals. I remember singing along to "Waiting for the Pills," and him smiling at the end of the song, saying "That was the first time I've ever heard people singing along to that song. It feels really great," with his Dave smile. It felt great from the audience, too.


10.
Band of Skulls, White Rabbits – Bimbo’s
- This show was too short but Band of Skulls killed it live. White Rabbits did a tight, long set. We were right up front. I had new boots on. Things were good.


THE REST OF THE SHOWS I ATTENDED IN 2009
- which were also pretty awesome -

* Dizzy Balloon, The Jakes – The Crepe Place
* Audrye Sessions – Bottom of the Hill
* Scissors for Lefty – Bottom of the Hill
* Scissors for Lefty, The Lovemakers – The Catalyst Atrium
* The Expendables – The Catalyst
* Dizzy Balloon, The Cataracs – The Catalyst Atrium
* Donovon Frankenreiter – The Catalyst
* Dizzy Balloon, The Jakes – The Parish Publick House
* BFD – Audrye Sessions (~), The Limousines, Glasvegas, Mute Math, Metric, DJ Steve Aoki, Dizzy Balloon, Dead Confederate, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Shorline Amphitheater
* The Morning Benders, John Vanderslice – The Rickshaw Stop
* Dave Smallen, Dizzy Balloon – The Nickel Arcade
* MIA, The Black Eyed Peas, Modest Mouse – Outside Lands
* Zion I – Outside Lands
* Portugal. The Man, The Morning Benders, Atmosphere – Outside Lands
* Band of Horses – Outside Lands
* The Cave Singers – The Crepe Place
* The Matches, Judgement Day, Dizzy Balloon, Dave Smallen – The Fillmore
* Dizzy Balloon – The Catalyst Atrium
* White Rabbits – Slim’s
* Dave Smallen, The Soft White Sixties, Lite Brite – Bottom of the Hill

... and that covers it. I probably forgot a couple, actually. But still.

GOOD YEAR for live music. And you know what? I think it's getting better.

Everytime I Leave (I Leave for Good), New Year's Day, I Know What I Am.... Picking Up The Slack

Okay so I've really been slacking. I'm gonna go over all the shows I've been to from November to the end of the year, because I guess I just got distracted and haven't gotten to any of them yet. So without further ado...

WHITE RABBITS.

This show was on my birthday. A bunch of my friends and I went up to the city, stayed in a hotel that bordered the Tenderloin and Union Square, drank lots of vodka cranberries, and sometimes added a little champagne to them for good measure. It was TASTY, and by the time we left for the show Lindsley was trying on my shoes. If you knew Lindsley you'd know that this was a sign that it was going to be a good night.
Anyway we walked to the show, which was at Slim's and therefore not very close to the hotel. BUT it was in a familiar area, thanks to a couple of trips to the Rickshaw Stop earlier in the year. And I love walking in the city, and there were six of us, and it wasn't really dark yet, so all was well.
White Rabbits was already playing when we got there and they were killing it. We sort of pushed our way to the front (Brittany and I have a habit of letting people know that we will be in the front, and her cousin was already there right in front of the guitarist, so it was easy to act like we deserved to be there. Anyway it was my birthday and I'm pretty sure it's okay to force your way to the front when it's your birthday). So we were all right up there, dancing all over the place and taking lots of awesome close-up pictures of the guitarist and the (lefty!) bassist. I'm sorry if you're the guy whose feet I kept stepping on. It was worth it.
I really only knew their song "Percussion Gun," but the whole set was awesome. I mean, people kept buying me drinks because of the whole birthday thing (it's really nice to not be a Jehovah's Witness sometimes), so of course the show was fun. But the songs were very skillfully performed and they had SO many people on stage it was pretty amazing that they were as coordinated as they were. And then they left and came back for an encore, and after playing one of their songs, they did a cover of "Instant Karma" that just made me oh so happy. Everyone was singing and jumping and John Lennon is never a mistake in my opinion.
The show ended really quickly but they played a nice long set, really. Then the bouncer came around and told us they were closing (so early!) and we had to hike it back to the hotel (this time with some help from MUNI). I left feeling pretty impressed by those silly rabbits. It's not like they're necessarily my favorite type of music, but they were perfect for the evening and great when you're in the right kind of mood.
And tops when you're looking for a band that'll kick off your birthday evening with enough energy.




White Rabbits

DAVE SMALLEN. THE SOFT WHITE SIXTIES.

I was looking forward to this show for a long time. It was the day after Thanksgiving and a very welcome treat/celebration (it also happened to fall on the evening of my last day of work at a certain coffee shop, and I was ready to bring in that change with a little help from Mr. Smallen). The show was at Bottom of the Hill, which is always a good sign. I was there with Danielle, Britt, and Kristain, who had all come with me to another Dave show in like June or July (they are so trusting of me - I tell them it'll be fun and they're in, and I can't even express how much I love them for that).
We got there super early and ended up killing some time at Peet's before heading in. The first band, Lite Brite, started and it wasn't so great. I mean, they were really young, for one thing. I think the lead singer was trying to be Jack White a little bit, with his crazy curly hair and so pale it looked like he had face powder on. Usually I notice at Bottom of the Hill I end up loving the final two or three bands and never really appreciate the openers the same way. It wasn't so much that they weren't good, it was just that they were a different genre and didn't really seem to fit.
So then The Soft White Sixties came on and things got interesting. They had played at the Dave show over the summer, and I didn't really remember their songs specifically, more just that I had really enjoyed the tempos and influences of their songs. I remembered sensing a strong sixties influence - a definite plus for me. But during the summer show I had been - er - a little tipsy, and I really hadn't been paying attention to them. This time it was different. I was one drink in and the second they started playing I just felt super enthusiastic about their music. We were all really digging it, standing right up front next to a pod of girls who turned out to be related to someone in the band and knew every song. Kristain loved the drummer, who was full on grinning through the whole set. I was pretty partial to the lead singer, who would grab the mic and a tambourine and wander around the stage, dancing and singing and basically grooving. These guys were awesome. I mean awesome. I really can't wait for them to release an album of some kind.
Finally Dave started setting up. We were still in the front and got to watch all the little interactions on stage, which I kind of live to observe. Mike from Audrye Sessions was Dave's guitarist for the evening, and a couple of guys from Brilliant Red Lights were the bassist and drummer. All these guys from these Bay Area bands are friends, right, and you can usually spot at least three or four members from random East Bay bands in the crowd at these shows. The Dizzy Balloon boys are always at Dave's and Scissors for Lefty's shows. I've seen Alicia from Audrye Sessions and Scott formerly of Poor Bailey at Dave's a few times. Anyway, you become a fan of one of these bands and pretty soon you're going to know a dozen of them. And they're all super talented.
So finally Dave started playing his songs, starting with "Every Time I Leave (I Leave for Good)" - I think, but it's really been awhile. He played with the full band for about five songs, then he did some acoustic numbers by himself, then the band came back. One thing I love about Dave is that he's such a love - he smiles during a lot of his songs, and it's the kind of smile that reaches his eyes, and you can just see how good natured he is. Danielle and Kristain complain that some of his songs are pretty dark, and I get what they're saying. Sometimes it's a little bit of a downer - a few of his lyrics are just so dark. But I also am grateful to him for going there, even if sometimes he goes a little too far for my taste. A lot of his stuff attains some poetry. A lot of his songs have been released when I really needed to hear them. I think a lot of people probably need his brand of drama, even if it can sometimes tend to the self-indulgent. Still, my favorites of his songs are definitely the lighter ones, like "All My Life" and "I Think It's Getting Better."
Towards the end of the set, he stopped and just said that with the current economy it seemed like a lot of people were sort of losing hope and kind of giving up on their dreams, and that he thought they shouldn't do that. Which was pretty good timing personally, since I had just finished working at a place for which I really had no love in order to pursue a more enriching life. So thanks for the encouragement, Dave!
Anyway the set was really fun and then afterward I went and bought The Soft White Sixties' seven inch (which came with a digital download of five of their songs, mega score)and chatted with a couple of them. The bassist assured me that they'll be getting an album out, so that's definitely good news. Then I bought Dave's official CD, even though I've been buying his one-song-a-month songs and only had one left to buy to complete the collection. The actual CD is worth having, though. It has all of his block prints - one for each song - printed on the insert. And I like having a real CD, and I like supporting musicians who really work for what they love and are original and talented. Alicia from Audrye Sessions was selling the merch, so I mentioned that I was looking forward to their New Year's show. She seemed relieved to hear that someone was planning on coming to it, and was very sweet. "You better come say hi," she said, and I promised I would.
There was a huge line of (mostly girls) waiting to talk to Dave or get him to sign their CD's when I passed him on my way to the restroom (also saw Petros of Dizzy Balloon), which really isn't surprising. I would've been one of them but I figured I'd probably see him at another show soon enough.
So then we all piled back into Britt's car and didn't get home until like 2:30 in the morning, knowing that the lack of sleep was definitely worth a night of such great music and company.



The Soft White Sixties



Dave Smallen

THE LOVEMAKERS. BAND OF SKULLS. WHITE RABBITS.
(LIVE 105's SOUNDCHECK HOLIDAY BALL)

The main draw of this show was Band of Skulls, whose album I had bought after getting easily addicted to "I Know What I Am" and acquiring a substantial gift certificate to Streetlight Records for my birthday. And then discovering that the rest of the album was at least as good as that one addictive song.
It was the same group - Britt, Danielle, and Kristain - and the venue was a new one for us - Bimbo's in North Beach. We got there a little on the late side, completely missing the openers The Downer Party, which was fine with me because I wasn't too in love with them from what I'd heard on Soundcheck. We walked in during The Lovemakers' last song, Lisa in lingerie and dousing herself with a water bottle. It was pretty comical because we'd been talking on the ride over about how showy The Lovemakers were, and how none of us were really a big fan of Lisa and her overexposed underwear. It just feels like such an obvious ploy. So we sort of laughed about that and then Britt and I led the way to the front for Band of Skulls.
Ugh, they were so good! The girl seemed slightly nervous, maybe, but they sounded so much like the album. There are only three of them, and they've only been a group for a little over a year I think, but they really know what they're doing. It was sort of disappointing to see the guitarist/vocalist, Russell, in person though, because from his voice Britt and I were convinced that he had to be hot. Um. Not so much. But still yes because of the music. The only bad thing about their set was that it was really short and they didn't play either of my two favorite songs, "Cold Fame" and "Fires." They sort of stuck to the really upbeat songs and did an awesome job with them. It was just a bit unsatisfying and I've definitely resolved to see them when they come to town for a tour that's focused on them specifically. The holiday shows are just a different experience.
White Rabbits came on and it was like a deja vu of my birthday except it was more memorable without all the vodka cranberries. So many members in the band! It's kind of nuts. But they can handle it.
That was the last show I went to before Christmas and it was lovely. Bimbo's, by the way, is really beautiful and you sort of feel like you should be hanging out with Frank Sinatra and drinking martinis when you're there. I mean, there's an attendant in the restroom. Classy.



The Marquee



Band of Skulls



White Rabbits

MANATEE. THE SOFT WHITE SIXTIES. HOTTUB. AUDRYE SESSIONS.
NEW YEAR'S EVE SHOW.

Oh, Oakland. You are not always sketch, but it always feels like you will be. At least on New Year's there were cops everywhere. I've never felt so good about seeing police cars on every other block.
This show was at The Uptown, and it was 21 and over, so little Britt and Kristain couldn't come, which was sad. I went with Danielle and probably would've gone alone if I'd had no other options. That's how excited I was about this one. I would've taken on an extremely drunken Oakland by myself for it.
Since it was New Year's everybody put their best suit or dress on... no, not really. You pretty much couldn't tell from looking at people that it was an occasion. I mean maybe there were a few more dresses than usual, but no stilettos. I had new boots that I bought with some Christmas money and was very excited about that. Is there any clothing item more wonderful than a pair of new boots?
So Manatee was the first band and we went in and sat at one of the tables for them. It was pretty empty at that point and freezing - the smoking patio is behind the dance floor and the door is always open, so yeah. Teeth were chattering.
Manatee was fine, definitely kind of a newer band. Kind of the perfect openers, because they were just good enough to get the evening going and not so exciting that you'd cry if you missed them. I expected The Soft White Sixties to come on third, but the lead singer for Manatee said they were up next, so once Manatee left Danielle and I headed to the stage and got pumped.
The Soft White Sixties were awesome again. Their family fan club was there again, singing all the songs with them, and this time I was completely sober and still enjoyed every song. So I can officially say, from personal experience, that The Soft White Sixties kick ass whether you're sober, tipsy, or flat out drunk. Which is true of a lot of good bands, but not all of them. I noticed that one of their songs has a really similar opening riff to Rilo Kiley's "Silver Lining" and another of their songs sounds so much like a Kinks song I can't quite identify, but the familiarities are definitely not imitations. It's more like influence, and I just appreciate that they choose some awesome people as their influences.
Okay, so that brings me to Hottub. Um. There are no words.
Danielle and I went to the bar after TSWS, which is in the other room. You can see what's going on in the main room on a big projector screen they have set up in the bar. I watched the initial set up for Hottub, which looked like two DJ's. I had read a description of them somewhere that I thought had said "electronica," so that's what I was prepared for. They took forever setting up and then... these three chicks come on stage... in leotards... and crazy hair... holding microphones... and start, um... rapping? Oh god, it was the weirdest thing ever. One girl had crazy medusa hair and was wearing one of those full body leotards from American Apparel, but it was made of lace and had spaghetti straps and you could tell right away that if a strap fell it was all gonna be over. And with the way they were bouncing around the stage, I was sure a strap would fall. And oh boy it did. Twice. And they were shouting "M-A-N B-I-T-C-H, man bitch man bitch," and one of them was like, "is there a man out there who can handle 180 pounds of woman? I wanna sit on someone's FACE!" and then they brought a bunch of the audience on stage and they were almost all girls and all dancing and Danielle and I were cracking up but scared for our lives. Danielle kept being like, "Really, Audrye Sessions??? Why??? How does this fit with the other bands?" But then of course we were in Oakland. So the people were digging the hip hop.
Hottub was on stage for so long. It was kind of painful. But finally they left, and a bunch of people filtered out, and once we were sure they weren't coming back for an encore and they weren't gonna start scooping people onto the stage again, we made our way to the front for Audrye Sessions.
Oh Audrye Sessions. How I love you.
They started setting up just before midnight, and they were all on stage for the countdown. Mike was with his girlfriend (who looked a lot like Alicia) and the Judgement Day brothers, Anton and Lewis, were there, and Ryan started looking forlorn, searching for someone to kiss and finally landing on James (seriously! I thought it was hilarious. They're such a little family). And we all sang along with "Auld Lange Syne" and you could tell Lewis didn't know the set list because he was taking pictures of it with his camera phone. When everyone was finally set up, and tuned, and on stage, there were the four official members: Alicia (Bass), James (Drums), Mike (Guitar), and Ryan (Guitar, Lead Vocals, Occasional Keyboard), plus Anton (Violin), Lewis (Cello), Scott (Washboard, Acoustic Guitar, random things), and the lead singer from Manatee for a couple songs (he looked a lot like he and Mike could be brothers) playing the bongos or something.
It was awesome to be in the front row, and awesome to see my favorite live band as the first thing of the new year, and awesome that they were sort of disorganized and chatty and goofing off. They played at least four new songs, probably more. I'm a little obsessed with the song "Hands Full" so please release that one as soon as possible, Audrye Sessions, okay? And of course they played "New Year's Day," which may not be the most upbeat song but it's so pretty and I remember when I first heard it when they played it live on Soundcheck, and I remember listening to it on New Year's Day in '08 and '09, always along with "The New Year" by Death Cab. Anyway they played a really long set and when the crowd demanded an encore Ryan came back on stage and said "I don't think they're going to let us, but I guess we could try..." and we cheered enough that they decided to try. Screw the noise ordinances. And he played "a little tiny baby song" that Alicia and Lewis had only rehearsed once before: "Our new year's resolution is to practice this song more," Mike said. It was this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSBF0WEdURM and it sounded really good with all of them playing it. So the set finished at around 1:30 and then everyone dispersed.
We passed Dave Smallen on the way to the Ladies Room, ran into Alicia at the door to said room, where I told her they played a great set and she told me she had to pee (well, not quite, but basically). Then we decided to leave because we wouldn't get home until like 3:00 in the morning and some people (not me) had to work at 6:30 that same morning. Not fun. Believe me, I've done it. We passed Ryan talking to James on the way out so I told him it was a great show and wished him a happy new year, and then it was a quick walk back to my car and a loooong drive home.
And worth it, oh so worth it.
It's always, always worth it with them.



The Soft White Sixties




Hottub


Audrye Sessions


Happy New Year everyone! If it's as great as its start was, things are looking up...

Two Towns From Me

BLIND PILOT.

Oh man can I tell you. This show was like three weeks ago and I'm still in awe of it. So a couple Wednesdays ago I drove up to the city with Kirsten and we saw Blind Pilot at the Great American Music Hall. I was pretty familiar with their album, but it hadn't gotten a lot of rotations until the week before, when we had that record rain storm and I realized that they were the perfect music for such weather.

I don't remember the opening band very well, they were called Mimicking Birds and I wasn't very impressed by the clarinet or the female vocalist. Yes, I'm really harsh on lady singers. I'm sorry, I am. But just wait...

So then Blind Pilot came on and it was pure awesomeness. Israel, the lead singer and guitarist, had such a clean, pure voice. The band was super tight, even with six people on stage: the upright bassist (I think his name was Luke), the trumpet/weird acordian thingy guy, the drummer (Ryan, who founded the band along with Israel), the guy on the glockenspiel (or vibraphone?), Israel, and the girl, who played banjo, ukulele, and sang backup. Now this chick could SING. Her voice was the perfect complement to Israel's, and the whole band just melded so perfectly, and cleanly, and the result was this awesome crispness that you don't always get at live shows.

The songs themselves glimmer so prettily, too. They always seem to transition in the right way at exactly the right moment, and there's this poetry behind them that hits you really quickly, right behind the eyes. It's kind of the same aching beauty as Iron and Wine, but more upbeat.

The crowd was totally digging it, too. There was a section on the right side of the floor that the banjo girl referred to as "the Portland yellow pages," which I guess meant they were a bunch of friends from Portland, since that's where the band is from ("well, we don't own a house there but our mail goes there and a lot of our friends live there," said Luke the Bassist).

There was also a guy behind us who kept whooping at the band. We talked to him before the show, actually, because we were trying to figure out how to get closer to the front, and he was encouraging us to go forward, like "I've seen these guys twice before and they're AWESOME, you're going to love them." He was right, and also definitely a leader in getting the encore going.

The band played all the songs from their album, and they tuned a lot in between. You could tell they felt kind of awkward about it because there was a lot of silence and giggles from them as they tuned. But it was cute and you could definitely hear the reason for the tuning when they started playing again. Before he started "3 Rounds and a Sound," Israel went up to the mic and was like, "I wrote this song when I had just broken up with a girl and was really torn up and broken hearted about it. And now people play it - pretty frequently - at their weddings." Everyone laughed and as he said it I knew what song he was talking about. Hearing them play that song live earned the price of the ticket right there. It's so beautiful and sad and - to use a Salinger word - heartrending.

Then as their encore they played a song called "We Are The Tide" which featured the girl banging on steel drums and this awesome build up. Oh! Also, earlier in the night they did a cover of Gillian Welch's "Look At Miss Ohio" that was absolutely marvelous. Check it.

The night was amazing and it was worth driving a little more than two towns from me and working the next morning on only three hours of sleep to hear them.

But then, of course, I realized they were playing in Santa Cruz the next night, so I dragged Brittany along with me to the Rio Theater and we caught the last half of their set the next night. It was just as beautiful but the crowd was radically smaller and less energetic. It was cool though because they actually came out afterwards to the merch table and I got to talk to the girl and the bassist for a second. Such sweet folks!

See this band if you get the chance. And look up their album. And that should sell you on the whole thing.