Last week we went to a super fun show at the Fox featuring Tune-Yards, Thao and The Get Down Stay Down, and Sudan Archives. (There was another opening act we missed and who I had a heck of a time finding online because the artist’s name is Siri…I’m 90% sure this is her, though.) Thought I would share some of the music with y’all, since it’s been floating around in my head ever since.
Sudan Archives is from Cincinnati and now based in LA. I can see why she’d be on the same bill as Tune-Yards; her performance was a mix of live vocals and violin over dope percussion loops. Here’s a taste:
Thao and The Get Down Stay Down is a San Francisco-based band who I’d heard but had never seen live (here’s a neat little introduction to frontwoman Thao Nguyen). After listening to a bit more of their stuff, I think I prefer some of the more recent/gritty songs, but chose this video from 2013 because it captures that fun point in time when both the old and new Bay Bridge existed:
Then there’s Tune-Yards a.k.a. tUnE-yArDs a.k.a. Merrill Garbus of Oakland, CA. The only other time I’d seen Tune-Yards was a free show in Stern Grove, a totally different—and equally awesome—experience. This show had fewer personnel: just Merrill, Nate Brenner, and a drummer (sorry I don’t know his name!!) and less live percussion, but way more visual pizzazz. I usually don’t care that much about stuff like staging and lighting design, but the light show kind of blew me away (a sample).
Tune-Yards have a new album out called I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life. It’s taking me a while to get into the album itself, but I really enjoyed the songs when they were played live at the Fox. Here’s the most recent music video; it’s got some pretty sweet dance moves:
While we’re here showcasing righteous female singers, I’ll include a few more for your listening pleasure:
“Honeycomb” – Kadhja Bonet. Heard this one from A Song A Day and instantly fell in love. There’s a very timeless sound to Bonet’s voice. V good stuff.
“Make Me Feel” – Janelle Monae. The new Janelle Monae joint is Prince-tastic. I’m really looking forward to her new album (coming out in April).
“Pills” – St. Vincent. St. Vincent ALSO has a new album out (well, fairly new). When I first heard this song I had it stuck in my head for days.
In other news, it’s been raining a lot and I’ve been in a much more bloggy mood lately, so hopefully I’ll have more to share on here soon.
Before I ramble about some of my favorite parts of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 17, I wanted to make sure I wrote down something that’s been on my mind:
Seeing as the worst mass shooting on American soil took place at an outdoor music festival just 5 days prior to HSB, I was more than a little paranoid about going to a large-scale, free concert in the park last weekend. I even packed a first aid kit in my bag and had a few fleeting concerns about how to use its contents without fainting, which is a bummer because no one should have to be fearful of going to a music show.
But thankfully, nothing awful happened, and in fact almost every artist I saw made some sort of comment about the feelings of peace/love/brotherhood/sisterhood floating around the festival throughout the weekend. Maybe it sounds a little silly, but there is something special about HSB that you don’t get at Outside Lands or any other festival. For one, it’s completely free and non-commercial—no corporate sponsorships, no “Heineken House,” no admission price. Attendees range from babies to baby boomers (and also lots of dogs), and everyone respects one another. There’s an immense amount of trust involved in letting 750,000 people walk into Golden Gate Park with unchecked coolers and backpacks, but if there’s any place you can pull it off, it’s here. So thanks, San Francisco, for once again proving that you’re a city of peace and love and (literal) harmony.
Now, with that out of the way, here are my highlights from the festival.
The War and Treaty
This Michigan-based couple were billed as a supporting act to Buddy Miller, but umm, they definitely stole the show. Their love for each other practically radiated off the stage during their set; it was wonderful. (Fun fact: Michael Trotter Jr. was a soldier in Iraq who wrote his first songs on a piano owned by Saddam Hussein.) They just released their first EP this summer, called Down to the River. Check ’em out playing the title track below (so much energy!!). I feel lucky to have seen them, and hope they come back to the Bay Area soon.
Dan Auerbach
I never really got into The Black Keys, but while listening to HSB playlists in the past month, it was Dan Auerbach’s stuff I kept coming back to. Also, I really like his music videos – they’re so fun (and a little bizarre). See: “Shine on Me” and “Stand By My Girl”, both of which have a bit of a George Harrison/All Things Must Pass-era vibe to me.
So seeing Auerbach on Saturday evening was definitely a highlight. We were right up front (my dad has a friend who makes a point to stake out front-row spots at the beginning of each day) and it was awesome. I had no idea who the guys in Auerbach’s band were—none of them looked younger than 65—but turns out they’re kind of a big deal: Gene Chrisman drummed on “Respect,” “Sweet Caroline,” and “Son of a Preacher Man,” Dave Roe was the longtime bassist for Johnny Cash, Bobby Wood and Russ Pahl have played with some of the biggest names in music. Cool!
Here’s the video for the opening song Auerbach played at HSB, a nostalgic mini-movie complete with a John Prine cameo:
The Secret Sisters
I got to the festival early on Sunday to catch The Secret Sisters, and they did not disappoint. If you like First Aid Kit (another sisterly duo, whose performance on Friday I sadly missed), I would definitely recommend checking them out! They performed a whole bunch of lovely original songs (like this one) but the video I chose below is an a cappella version of a 1920s song, because I just loved their rendition so much.
Lampedusa
Thank goodness I tagged along with my parents to this one, because I’ll probably never get to see Patty Griffin, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, and Lucinda Williams (and Bob Weir!) on the same stage together ever again. Lampedusa is a group of musicians currently touring to raise awareness of the worldwide refugee crisis. My heart melted as soon as they started singing (appropriately) “Refugee” and continued to melt all the way through “Love Hurts,” “I Know You Rider,” and “Pilgrim”. Not to mention the Blue Angels were flying over our heads throughout their set, which made for some sweet pictures. Can’t find any high quality videos from the show, but here’s one of “I Know You Rider” which is fun because you can see me and my parents over on the left side near the front (Dad’s in a green shirt and big hat, mom’s in a white shirt, and I’m in red).
Also, can I just say how amazing Emmylou Harris is? She was the first act I ever saw at HSB, and one of my favorite singers. She continues to play the festival every year, and her voice is just pure magic.
Other noteworthies
Although Alex and I were about a football field’s length away from the stage during Randy Newman’s set, it was still great fun. Obligatory “You’ve Got A Friend” video (“That guy looks like Tom Hanks…”).
Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile were good from what I heard, but by that point it was so packed at the Swan Stage that I couldn’t really get a solid look/hear. Ah well, maybe next time.
Same as above for John Prine; I really would’ve enjoyed being up close for his set, but the crowd was too much so unfortunately I just heard a few songs.
In previous years, I found HSB to be a bit overwhelming, but this year was so enjoyable that I’m really looking forward to the next one. Also, kudos to my parents for hanging out at the festival all weekend; if they can do it, I guess I can too. :p
All of these artist discoveries have been thanks to my latest A Song A Day curator (Janet Choi, YOU DA BEST). I’ve enjoyed listening to this music so much that I had to share some of it here.
Kaia Kater. Beautiful lyrics and Americana sound (even though she’s Canadian)! Love love love.
Jacob Collier. Holy smokes, this kid! Apparently he writes/arranges, records, produces, and performs everything himself. The song that got me hooked was his cover of “In My Room” but honestly, everything he does is pretty phenomenal.
The Lemon Twigs. I listened to their album Do Hollywood and concluded that they’re trying to be the Beatles, Queen, and The Who all at once, and it is great. Also, they’re only 17 and 19 years old!
MAGIK*MAGIK. Beautiful new music straight from San Francisco (well in this case, the Fox Theater in Oakland).
Writing this as Outside Lands goes on literally right down the street (yes, now that we live practically at the entrance to the festival, we opted not to get tickets this year). Listening to the music from the couch while wearing sweatpants is pretty cool, I must say…although I could do without the horde of drunk people outside the apartment at 11pm. I must be getting old.
OSL or not, it’s been an excellent week for live music. On Wednesday, The Spencer Owen Timeshare opened for New Zealand-based Andrew Keoghan at the Hemlock, and it was so much fun (also, I learned how to make Instagram stories, so y’all better watch out). Andrew Keoghan and his band were really great, and of course the Timeshare were on point too. Rumor has it this is the last show in a while, which makes me sad (but excited for potential recordings to come!).
Then Thursday night we saw Cornelius at The Fox, which was incredible. I didn’t know much about Cornelius (real name Keigo Oyamada) going into the show, but was almost immediately won over by his eargasmic sonic landscapes (take, for instance, The Micro Disneycal World Tour).
I am a sucker for intricately choreographed shows (see: OK Go, Stop Making Sense, drum corps), so I was especially blown away by auditory/visual synchronization of this show. I have no idea how they do it, but the band manages to sync these crazy tight songs perfectly with the videos projected behind them throughout the entire show. This is a good example:
I did some reading up today and learned that Cornelius came out of the Japanese Shibuya-kei scene, described by Wiki as “a kitsch revival of 1960s culture” and by LA Weekly as having a distinct “’60s-meets-’90s vibe.” So basically, it’s the perfect combination for the 60s enthusiast in me, the 90s enthusiast in Alex, and the Japan enthusiast in both of us.
I can’t wait to listen to more. Also, I really really want to go back to Tokyo.
Some things I’ve been digging lately, in no particular order:
Harry Nilsson’s Son of Schmilsson. I knew a lot about Nilsson way before ever listening to him, mainly because all of my favorite musicians loved hanging out with him in the 70s (seriously, look at this picture). A few weeks ago when I was at home in Vista, I pulled out Son of Schmilsson from my dad’s collection and immediately understood why all these guys loved him. Aside from being laugh-out-loud funny, the songs on this album are incredibly well-crafted and just straight up good. Fatefully, I happened to find a copy of the album at the latest Alameda Antiques Faire, and it’s been sitting on the record player ever since.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Ok, I finally watched this movie (seriously, what took me so long?) and now I am obsessed with it. It’s one of the most brilliant films I’ve ever seen…outrageous and hilarious and quite terrifying all at the same time. Can you imagine what watching this in early 1964 was like?
George C. Scott is amazing (we also recently saw him in The Hustler, the 1961 Paul Newman film, and I’m quickly becoming a fan), but no one can top the genius of Peter Sellers in this film.
For me, Sellers falls into the same bucket as Nilsson: someone I first became aware of because of his associations with the Beatles (let’s face it, everything I become interested in somehow stems from the Beatles). But I hadn’t really seen/heard much of his work until recently. After this, I can’t help but feel like I have lots of treasure to uncover.
Trivia: Sellers was one of the only people that Kubrick let improvise in one of his movies; as a result, most of his scenes are ad-libbed. Notably, this one, where you can see Peter Bull trying to hold back laughter around 3:10.
New music! Another shoutout to A Song A Day (and also Alex) for keeping me in touch with all the excellent music of today. Lately I’ve been enjoying:
“Augustine” – Blood Orange. Dev Hynes participated in Contemporary Color so he gets a thumbs up in my book.
This is totally irrelevant but, remember how on Livejournal/Deadjournal/Greatestjournal you could share your current mood and music?
An actual screenshot from my Livejournal, 2003
Talk about an awkward time capsule. Anyway, today I’m feeling nostalgic (in case you couldn’t tell) and listening to “Optimist” by DB & St. V. Happy Friday!
Here are some fun music-related doodads for the weekend:
A Song A Day. Ok, I certainly don’t consider myself “too busy” to discover new music, but I was excited to give this a try because I like the idea of listening to at least one new song/artist a day. Especially because the recommendations come from a real human being, complete with a neat little informative blurb. So far, the curators at A Song A Day have introduced me to Cayucas, The Preatures, and Devo covering the Stones (very worth going to YouTube to watch):
Forgotify.Guaranteed best way to find the weirdest stuff that’s ever been recorded (Spotify app required). Forgotify only plays you songs that have 0 listens on Spotify, like this strangely mesmerizing gem. Most of these cuts are so deep they’re not even on YouTube, although here’s a lucky find that is (proof that there’s some cool stuff on Forgotify, too). I’d never heard of Kit Hain before; I think she deserves way more listens!
Side note: Until recently, I wasn’t aware that “music discovery” had become such a big thing in the tech world (here’s a running list of apps). It’s my personal opinion that it never hurts to have new ways to find music, although when you think about it, it’s kind of overwhelming. Back in the day, my resources for finding new music were limited to magazines, VH1, and Top 40 Radio. I definitely didn’t have access to as much, but when I found something I liked, you better bet I burned it onto a mix CD and played it over and over again until the CD wore out. These days, there’s so much available that it doesn’t seem like there’s time to listen to any one song that much!
That said, there’s no reason why there can’t be a balance between old school music discovery and all this new stuff. I still like buying the occasional magazine and getting to know a band through interviews and big glossy pictures. Or going to a show and hearing an artist whose album I can’t wait to buy. I guess what I’m saying is there are still plenty of ways for the modern listener to fall in love with music, rather than just trying to hear it all. And the nice thing is, most of the time these days you don’t even have to worry about wearing out a CD. :)
My boyfriend and I have very different musical tastes, although there is definitely overlap in some very important places (e.g. Paul Simon and the Beatles). I actually remember when we became friends on Facebook, and my first thought after seeing his favorite music section was, “Uh oh. We’re not going to have anything to talk about.” Note to September 2009 self: you were super wrong about that. One of the best things about having different tastes from your partner is being able to introduce each other to new stuff.
Long story short, that’s how I ended up at a D’Angelo concert halfway across the world, listening to the now-familiar soul/funk/R&B-infused songs from Voodoo and Black Messiah. Before that, it was years of hearing Voodoo in the car and on the record player, being shown YouTube videos of rare performances, and hearing rumors about a long-awaited album. But seeing it all in person is what finally made me really appreciate D’Angelo as a musician and a performer (sorry it took so long, Alex!).
[YouTube took down the original video I had posted here. But below is one of comparable quality, from the same week.] Throughout the night, D’Angelo was channeling some serious James Brown, and the his band (the Vanguard!) was on point:
Moral of the story: Share the music you love with the people you love. Share it with strangers, too. SHARE MUSIC EVERYWHERE, so that someone discovers something new every day.
Last week we went to two shows: the TEJ Trio at SFJAZZ and the Kishi Bashi String Quartet at the Palace of Fine Arts (in a huge concert hall that I had no idea existed). The jazz show was cool but I have to admit that I liked the 5-minute encore of them playing “Caravan” better than the hour-long improvisation preceding it. Does that make me lame? I’m no stranger to experimental shows (if you recall, I used to live in LA with a bunch of beat scene guys), but this time the laptops and projections just didn’t do it for me.
I *did* very much enjoy Kishi Bashi, who shared the stage with a string quartet and his mountainman banjo player, Mike Savino. They did some really cool covers (including Talking Heads!) and a lot of songs from the new (“second”) album, Lighght. I love KB’s semi-awkward banter and his fondness for San Francisco. Both times I saw him perform, he explained that the reason for his awkwardness was because he was nervous and that SF was his favorite place to play. Awwww.
In other news, I recently discovered a very interesting genre called electro swing. Am I really behind the times on this? I had no idea it was a thing until I happened upon a really cool 8tracks mix. I take back what I said a few posts back about swing having “died out.” Apparently it’s still very much alive (with the help of some phat beats). Here’s another mix for good measure:
And lastly, I don’t believe I’ve mentioned it here yet, but a couple weeks ago we made an impulsive decision to go to a D’Angelo concert…in Amsterdam. At the end of this month. After the initial shock of “whoa, we just bought those tickets,” I very quickly became PUMPED. And now after watching D’Angelo and the Vanguard on SNL I’m even more excited. Part of the reason we’re going is because his live performances are so sparse (those in the US tend to get…cancelled), and this may very well be our only chance to see him in person. The other reason we’re going is because it’s AMSTERDAM! Home of beautiful canals, suuuperchill people (if you catch my drift), and KattenKabinet! So even if D’Angelo flakes out on the show or announces a west coast tour right after this, it’s going to be great.
I’ll leave you with this, a Monkees gif I made, lest you think I’ve forgotten what this blog is really about:
I just read Joseph Fink’s review and I’m so so pumped for the new Mountain Goats album (and the accompanying Fillmore show in June!).
I don’t love wrestling. But I love that this entire album is about it. I love that about so many of the Mountain Goats’ albums: something was ingrained in JD’s mind—something mattered so much—that it warranted 12(+) songs.
Here’s one of them:
watching @ChavoClassic put the hurt on bad guys at the Olympic in the late 70s/early 80s gave me so much hope & that's why I wrote that song
There are certain things, places, and people that I feel exactly this way about. Here’s the closest, most relevant example I can think of. If I were an able songwriter, I would probably have enough feelings about the 1998-1999 San Diego Padres to fill an entire album. I could romanticize the breathtaking field-level view at my first baseball game, or the time Bondy and I giddily met Bruce Bochy in person at Qualcomm Stadium (you’re looking at an O.G. Bochy fan right here), or being 10 years old and organizing Topps cards in a plastic binder. Phil Nevin’s lucky number 23. Hell’s Bells. Winning the NL Pennant. That heartbreaking 4-0 sweep. It’s odd that these things would stir up so many feels (especially because I am the least sports-enthusiastic person I know), but they are rooted so deep in my memory that just looking at a ’98 roster gives me the warm fuzzies.
The great thing about so many Mountain Goats songs is how they perfectly capture those little scenes from childhood, or whenever. All those little buried details, making everything feel so familiar even if you didn’t experience it first hand. To quote the above linked review, “I think that the entire career of the Mountain Goats has been about giving names to nameless bodies, and remembering unremembered rooms. I can’t think of a more worthy cause.”
Just some miscellany for you on this fine Friday eve…
1.
OK Go’s new album Hungry Ghosts officially comes out next week, but you can hear the whole thing now at Hype Machine! Thanks to pre-orders and two OK Go concerts this summer, a lot of these songs already feel like old favorites (“The One Moment,” “I Won’t Let You Down”), but hearing them as part of a full album somehow brings back the magic of experiencing them for the first time. After a few listens, my favorite new songs are “If I Had a Mountain” (SO Prince) and “Bright As Your Eyes.” Can’t wait to have my own copy, and for the new music video(s) to come out!
2.
Last weekend I saw TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS in San Jose, and it was epic. A real American rock & roll show, as Tom put it. Poor Alex was suffering from the Bruce Springsteen Effect (throwback to 2009 when Lauren and I couldn’t stay awake during the Boss’s 2+ hour set at the end of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert). Nevertheless, I like to think he enjoyed at least the hits, and/or wasn’t too embarrassed with me trying to perfect my Petty impression during “Yer So Bad.” Unlike a lot of other classic rockers who have understandably gone hoarse (Roger Daltrey, I still love you), Tom Petty still sounds exactly like Tom Petty. And his hair is still so unbelievably groomed (is it fake now? I’m too scared to ask Google).
That hair…so smooth and silky…
Anyway, the show was awesome and I quite enjoyed Tom’s stage quips: “Whaddaya say, San Jose?!” (such a dad phrase) and “Thank you SO MUCH” x1000. I also thought it was cool that they played “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and a rowdy version of “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” which I had no idea was originally recorded by Paul Revere & The Raiders. We had pretty good seats on the floor level and near the middle, but I would love to someday see a show like this from the first few rows. Maybe next time TP & the Heartbreakers play Outside Lands….
3.
And of course, Happy Lenntwistle Day! I searched through Tumblr to find two pictures of these guys being their awesome selves:
Is J.L. on a skateboard? And I know he’s flipping the British equivalent of the bird, but he’s doing it so HAPPILY! I’ve never seen that pic before and I love it. Meanwhile, J.E. makes a fashion statement out of leather pants, a scarf, and a wacky bass guitar. How can you not love them?
Flip the Record 