SHOW OF THE MONTH
The Entrance Band / Mariee Sioux / Little Wings /
Lee Bob Watson
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA
January 10, 2008
A large crowd gathered at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall for this dramatically eclectic showcase presented by KALX, Grass Roots Record Co., Folk Yeah and Arthur Magazine. Grass Roots’ Lee Bob Watson, backed by a five-piece band, opened the show with his jingle jangle blend of country, pop and folk. His songs took the form of a romping party with loud drums, keys and tambourines stirring up the dust, and tapped into the sorrow of a downtrodden heart with twangy guitars. Both the hippies and the hipsters united in their mutual appreciation for Watson’s country boy/gypsy charm, and the crowd’s synchronized clapping reflected his ability to engage an audience.
Former K Records artist Little Wings, a.k.a Kyle Field, took the stage next with his three bandmates and transported the audience to a more intimate place, his soft-spoken vocals and mellow demeanor possessing a hypnotic quality. On his song “Free Bird,” Field sang, “I’m just a free bird, a tree bird, a free bird or a tree bird.” While there is a simplicity to his nature-themed music and lyrics, Field’s voice is an instrument in and of itself and fills out his songs by making the emotion and meaning beneath the surface almost tangible. With eyes closed and face to the rest of the band, Field let his music do all the talking.
The folk fest vibe was back in full effect when co-headliner Mariee Sioux, Watson’s Grass Roots rostermate, took her place onstage seated upon a stool with a big acoustic guitar in hand. Like Little Wings, Sioux’s music is also driven by the sounds and themes of nature. Starting her set with “Two Tongues,” she sang, “For it’s a taste of courage to kiss the snake-tongued people,” stirring up vivid imagery which permeated the rest of her set. Appearing as though she was experiencing some stage fright, Sioux talked a lot in between songs but was so soft-spoken that it was difficult to make out the words. Yet her endearing disposition and harmonious vocals were all that was necessary to enchant the crowd.
L.A.’s The Entrance Band closed the show with an abrupt change of pace, turning up the energy and volume with their heavy guitars, howling vocals and commanding stage presence. Frontman Guy Blakeslee frequently swung his guitar around his neck and lifted it to the sky — or in this case, the ornate Great American Music Hall ceiling. While the three-piece attempted to maintain the peace and love vibe of the night, with Blakeslee proclaiming, “We’re here to hope that you can let go. Let your hair hang down,” this harmony was briefly brought to a halt when Blakeslee grew frustrated with the sound and began to harass the sound guy for more volume and reverb (with the audience’s backing). After performing “Grim Reaper Blues,” it was evident that The Entrance Band could hold its own amongst the greatest rock bands, past and present.
-Review and photo by Jackie Miehls
Castanets / Sholi
Café du Nord
San Francisco, CA
January 21, 2008
 After a punctual set by Merced, Calif. indie-folk outfit El Olio Wolof, Sholi took the stage for their 7-inch release party. Titled Hejrat, the record’s name was taken from a song originally recorded by Iranian pop diva Googoosh, which the band covered on the record and towards the end of its set. Sholi also covered Joanna Newsom’s “Sprout and the Bean;” the most exciting elements of both covers being the male vocal harmonies of guitarist Payam Bavafa and bassist Eric Ruud. Throughout their set, Sholi floated sweet melodies over a chaotic and often dissonant maelstrom of guitars and cacophonous, jazz-inspired drumming. And, as if drummer Jonathon Bafus’ scintillating barrage wasn’t enough, keyboardist Greg Hagel joined the fray several times on his own miniature drum kit. With such a keen eye towards rhythm, is it any surprise that Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier dropped in to check Sholi out or converse with Bafus post-set? But as their covers and intense melodies proved, Sholi isn’t just about drumming. At a time when many percussion-heavy bands are coming out of the Bay Area, it is good to see one that shares that focus with strong, emotive melodies.
Where Sholi’s sound at times seemed to outgrow the small space at Café du Nord, Castanets’ Raymond Raposa took the opposite approach, his music sparsely and poignantly creeping its way into every nook and cranny of the establishment. In a relatively short set (on the eve of his birthday, no less), the wandering troubadour was accompanied by a lone bassist. The lack of percussion was more than filled by the melancholy power of his dusty, creaky voice. Playing many songs from his latest release In the Vines, this incarnation of Castanets borrowed heavily from Neil Young’s guitar work on the Dead Man soundtrack, but provided the voice to fill all the haunted spaces left by the spectral guitar. That voice, more than anything, provided the core of Castanets’ presence — as Raposa burrowed into the crowd during “Sway,” he recounted forlornly about long-lost childhood heroes, romances and as it built to a crackling, echoing scream to close out his set.
Although approached and backed in dissimilar fashions, it was the melody, harmondy and even dissonance of Sholi and Raposa’s vocals that tied this bill together.
-Review by Andres Jauregui; photo by RC Rivera
Javier / E Reece and Core Elements / Gina Loring
Temple Bar
Santa Monica, CA
January 19, 2008
MLK weekend in Los Angeles saw an impressive showcase of hip-hop, neo-soul and R&B, courtesy of Santa Monica’s Temple Bar. The innovative programming was in celebration of the debut album release of local favorite Gina Loring, chanteuse and well-known spoken word artist. Acoustic R&B troubadour Javier opened the show with a display of his outstanding vocal abilities on a series of ballads and mid-tempo pop songs. An alumnus of his native Connecticut’s renowned Hartt School of Music, Javier was on tour promoting his current album, Left of Center. With influences from Stevie Wonder to Babyface and self-accompanied on guitar, Javier’s performance was soulful and romantic and proved an audience favorite.
Second act E Reece and Core Elements delivered fresh “organic hip-hop.” With eight performers including a guest, they filled the stage with sound. Featuring a second rapper/vocalist (Dro) in harmony with Reece, a turntablist (Inka One) and keyboardist (Ron Avant) in addition to a standard rock guitar-bass-drums lineup (Joel Van Dijk, Brian Boland and Bennie Rodgers, respectively), the band was blistering. Born in the Midwest and raised in Maryland, Reece came to Los Angeles after spending two years in Brooklyn. Core Elements feature a rotating lineup and play music that takes rap back to its positive beginnings. Funky grooves and great rhymes made for an excellent time on songs such as “A New Breed,” “Well, Well, Well” featuring female vocalist Karma, “Everything,” and closer “Peace Outro.”
The evening’s featured performer, Gina Loring was backed by another large ensemble, including beatboxer Joshua Silverstein, musical director Brandon Coleman (keyboards), Keith Eaddy (bass), Curt Piar (guitar), Jason Moore (drums) and Allakoi Peete (percussion). Loring’s vocal technique encompasses everything from Lena Horne stylings and jazz scatting to alt-soul crooning and rapping. She seems perfectly in her element on stage and with a resumé encompassing everything from Def Poetry to a degree from historic Spelman College, Loring has a lot to be proud of.
The evening was in honor of her new release, The Git Back (Lovely), and Loring played a long set with an assortment of numbers from the album. The opener was “Feelin’ Good,” its lyrics an announcement of her confidence and self-worth. “41 Shots” is a potent political anthem, evoking the controversial 1999 shooting of African immigrant Amadou Diallo by the NYPD. “What Happened to My Love?!” expresses Loring’s dismay at the commercialization of hip-hop, while the cheeky “Over You” explores ambivalence over a personal relationship. Loring ended her set with the easygoing reggae number “No Pressure,” exiting a bit early and letting her band playfully wrap up.
-Review by Susan Brooks; photo by Melissa Kobe
Norfolk & Western / Point Juncture, WA / Bark, Hide and Horn
Doug Fir Lounge
Portland, OR
January 26, 2008
Over the years, Norfolk & Western’s sound has slowly morphed from a restrained yet heady approach to a gung-ho, and fizzle-haired classic rock attack. Although it’s debatable which style works better for the band, the more aggressive version sounded revelatory this evening. Much of that credit goes to Adam Selzer and his guitar playing, which, through his tenure as bandleader, has grown much richer and more complex, utilizing pedals and feedback to brilliant effect. Trading off on guitar, bass and piano, Dave Depper and Chris Robley were perfect foils for Selzer’s guitar histrionics, supporting each song with fluid melodic lines and fervent energy. The only downside of their set was the footage of avant-garde animation from the Czech Republic as it tended to distract from the people making the music onstage (which might have been the goal all along).
Although they do exhibit a similar sound, Bark, Hide and Horn came off like Norfolk’s goofy, playful cousins. The sonic assault was there, but tempered with whimsical keyboard sounds and the nerdy fun of guitarist/vocalist Andy Furgeson’s songwriting. As Furgeson explained, the majority of the band’s current material is based on National Geographic articles, which meant songs about hermaphrodite snails and the first monkey in space. In this way, Furgeson was much like fellow Portland storytelling songwriter Colin Meloy, able to stitch these ideas and their subsequent imagery seamlessly into catchy, sing-along pop. This was very obvious as the Doug Fir crowd, when not furiously dancing, spent much of the set lip-synching and shouting along with the band’s efforts.
Point Juncture, Wash., sandwiched as they were between the aforementioned bands, sounded quaint in comparison. Their ornate pop songs relied heavily on the dulcet ring of the xylophone and a persistent drone worthy of Stereolab. Yet the songs never seemed to go anywhere, harping on one chord progression or melodic line and refusing to budge from it on almost every song. This meant the assets of the band, namely the buzzing guitar work and Amanda Spring’s lovely singing, suffered at the hands of its flat, expansive sound.
-Review by Bob Ham
Master/Slave / Feral Children / Hazelden / Vows
Hotel Utah Saloon
San Francisco, CA
January 23, 2008
Maybe it was just the venue’s cozy charm, but stepping into Hotel Utah this Wednesday night felt like walking into a private show. Members of San Francisco indie acts Nurses and The OhSees hung out and cheered on local opener Master/Slave. The duo’s Matt Jones (guitar/vocals) and Ephriam Nagler (drums) are here to prove that playing along to preprogrammed keyboards does in fact take talent. The result is a classic early-’80s synth-driven sound combined with live drums and electric guitar riffs, and it is in fact effective (though at one point Jones joked about needing to take a minute to “dial into my fax machine,” referring to his outdated equipment). Master/Slave gave one hell of a performance for an opening act and put everything into its half-hour set - even if this was due in part to some encouragement and heckling from the sidelines.
On their way down the coast, Seattle’s Feral Children took the stage next. The biggest component to Feral Children’s sound is percussion. With two drummers, Bill Cole behind a full set and Jeff Keenan behind a set of toms, their music is fleshed out with guitar, bass and keys and could be held in slight comparison to Animal Collective (they even worked with the same producer/engineer, Scott Colburn). Yet feedback noise, falsetto “who whoos” balanced by startling screams, and mid-song detunings all contribute to the band’s distinctively unique sound. Its songs are like miniature epic stories and make for a dark and unsettling but brilliant brand of indie rock.
Releasing their Deadstock Rock EP in February, L.A.’s Hazelden gave the city of San Francisco a special pre-release treat. The band’s music can most certainly be classified as alternative rock in the fullest sense, reminiscent of the ‘90s strain with pretty straightforward but catchy tunes. Lead singer Mary Jane Snow’s deep, lush vocals surprisingly protrude from her svelte, petite figure and bring earnest emotion to each song, driven by her unwieldy, poetic lyrics. Second to Snow’s vocals, bassist Joshua Wayne and guitarist Travis Garrecht deliver heavy guitar riffs pushing each song’s captivating melody forward over the steady, fervent drumming of Pete Vasquez. Hazelden channels a rock that is so uncomplicated it’s almost indulgent, making it hard not to evaluate the whole package as reminiscent of Courtney Love’s Hole.
After an already full evening, local act Vows took the stage just past midnight, its five members all donning black cowboy hats. Comprised of Luke Sweeney (guitar/vocals), Jitsun Sandoval (bass/vocals), Scott Noda (drums/vocals), Brett Eastman (percussion) and Nick Campbell (guitar), Vows took it in a vintage pop/rock direction, at times slipping into Southern-style sliding melodies, and calling to mind The Rolling Stones, circa 1970. Overall it was an uplifting end to the evening that gave some friendly balance to the eclectic mix of sounds.
-Review and photo by Nicole Sheikh
Matthew Moon / Greg Laswell / Jake Newton / Schuyler Fisk
Hotel Café
Los Angeles, CA
January 14, 2008
The Hotel Café has been the launching point for many successful singer/songwriters over the last several years. A few of the venue’s latest prides and joys joined some fresh faces onstage to work out new material with the Monday night crowd.
Opener Matthew Moon used down-home charm and upbeat pop to try and woo the audience, producing a backyard family sing-a-long sort of effect. However, this was exacerbated on “Barbeque You” as Moon detailed alternative ways of using the sauce declaring, “I want to barbeque you baby one more time.” Often reminiscent of Jason Mraz, and paralleling the melody of Blues Traveler’s “Run-Around” on his closing love song “Taking a Chance,” Moon demonstrated that he is clearly still in the midst of finding his own voice. Hopefully he will also discover some new song topics.
Fighting off a cold, the always-soulful Greg Laswell tried different variations of songs like “What a Day” and introduced new songs from his forthcoming EP, How the Day Sounds. A true veteran of the Hotel Café, and preparing for its sponsored tour in March, Laswell played with a sure sense of comfort and had a more laidback feel. Not worrying about his inability to get through “Embrace Me” after joking about who it was written for, Laswell simply took to the piano for the intimate “Do What I Can.” A strong backing band led by lead guitarist Brandon Walters took Laswell’s melody and added just the right amount of harmony or riff, giving his sound some beneficial layers.
Jake Newton, with help from sister Lee Newton, dazzled the audience with sibling banter and chilling harmonies. Often overpowered by his band, Newton shined on solo piano songs like “I’m a Mess.” He also worked out “Cinderella” with help from the audience. Playing two versions of the song — alternately named “Pinky Cock” and “Monster Cock” — Newton let the crowd decide if the sentimental pop version or the alternative rock mix suited the song better. By the time Newton covered Pat Benetar’s “Love is a Battlefield” on banjo, the audience was more than happy to accept him in any and all forms.
Another Hotel Café favorite, Schuyler Fisk played to a packed house with a full band and big smile saying, “It’s nice to be back.” Performing a few of her older songs, some written for movies like Waking Life, Fisk also tried out newer tunes with a faster quality that allowed her to shed her meek folk attitude.
Songs like the bluesy anthem tentatively titled “Miss You (Like a Bad Disease)” helped Fisk let loose and really show off the range of her powerful voice.
Filled with up-and-comers worth watching, Hotel Café continues to uphold its reputation as the place to catch talented acts before they leap to stardom.
-Review by Megan Clinard; photo by Jessica Watkins-McClain |
