Collected Show Reviews: 2012 Apr-Dec
I was rounding out my San Diego period in 2012 but the shift into Los Angeles didn't take hold until well into 2013. It's clear by 2012 I was feeling jaded about going to shows.
Coachella is like a hipster runoff column (4/16/12)
I didn't go to coachella in 2012, but I'm in the area because I have a place here. I would just like to observe that the obvious looking coachella attendees are the biggest bunch of frat bros and broettes I've seen anywhere except possibly the strip in Vegas on a Friday night at around 11 pm. Who still goes to coachella, you might ask? People who have never gone before. I'm not judging these people, simply making an accurate, descriptive observation. Coachella 2012 is just about as cool as the MTV music video awards, which is to say super or not at all depending on the perspective of a particular audience member.
Desert daze is rad: fresh and onlys and young prisms tonight! (4/17/12)
I had a great time yesterday at the desert daze festival at dillon's roadhouse in desert hot springs ca. I caught sets by five different bands in just over 2 hours. Desert daze is every day until april 22nd. If you are in town for coachella or a local you owe it to yourself to check it out. Tonight is young primes and fresh and onlys! It's a fun, cool vibe.
Show Review: Dum Dum Girls, Young Prisms, SISU (5/17/12)
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| Malia James, New bassist for the Dum Dum Girls Photo is From SCENE IN THE DARK |
SHOW REVIEW
Dum Dum Girls
Young Prisms
SISU
@ The Belly-Up Tavern
Yesterday, as I drove up and down the freeway from San Diego to Santa Ana to San Diego to Solana Beach to San Diego, I had plenty of time to reflect on Pitchfork's 6.1 hammering of Best Coast's The Only Place. One thing that came to mine was my own post from October 3rd of last year, discussing the drawing to the close of the so-called "Lo-Fi" revival from 2008-2011. Certainly, this review of the new Best Coast LP is the nail in that particular coffin, FOR WHAT ITS WORTH. (1)
It is the nature of Artistic trends and revivals that they have a fixed time period where new Artists emerge and are then introduced to the general Audience via a series of pre-existing institutions. These institutions: Record companies, Venues, Media Outlets extend beyond the limit of any specific Artistic trend.
It is only natural that ruptures and traumas will occur when a specific Artists moves from a fringe or specialty Audience into the general Audience. Issues can include "not appealing to a larger Audience," "Alienating early fans of your Art," "Conflicts with existing institutions that are responsible for mediating your relationship with the general Audience."
The choices a specific Artist makes influences the relationship between the Artist and their Audience. For example, if you are Best Coast, and Bethany makes a deal to design clothes for Urban Outfitters, you could predict that it will assist Best Coast in gaining access to a larger Audience AND that it will alienate early fans. Neither consequence is "good" or "bad" but they are both predictable.
When I saw the choice of venue and night for this show I raised my eyebrows, I'll admit. Wednesday night, Belly Up Tavern... I suppose the idea from the perspective of the Artist is to get out of your Venue comfort zone in an effort to reach new fans. From that perspective, it's hard not to see a Dum Dum Girls show at the Belly-Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA. as a small triumph of indie rock. It wasn't a packed-out Belly Up show, but the looping slide show provided by the venue demonstrated the type of Artists who pack out the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA., Dum Dum Girls are not Karl Denison's Tiny Universe-level big, not yet.
Being well familiar with all three bands, my attention was more focused on the Audience. I saw a collection of "girl's night out," "couples on dates," and "local music fans." Other then Jeff Graves, McHank and a tweet I saw from Edwin Negado (Edwin Himself) the downtown crowd was absent. C'est la vie.
Belly Up Tavern has to be one of the most well-run venues in the Country (2) It's great that they are independent and Live-Nation free. Between sets I considered that an equivalent sized venue is either House of Blues San Diego or SOMA. Belly Up Tavern's staff is highly professional and they treat their patrons with respect. It's surely not the "coolest" place to see a show, but it is one of the best.
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| Sandra Vu of SISU and Dum Dum Girls |
The first band to perform was SISU, featuring Sandra "Sandy Beaches" Vu on vox and lead guitar. This iteration of SISU was five pieces strong with an added keyboardist. The individual songs ranged from "needs practice" to really good and affecting. I had heard good things about their performance at the Austin Impose Imposition this year, so I made sure to watch. SISU's Demon Tapes, Volume 2 is available FOR FREE on their band camp, and it's worth a listen.
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| Young Prisms live, photo from Ellen's TUMBLR |
Second band was San Francisco's Young Prisms, who are doing their best to make a case for themselves on a national level. Young Prisms possess a refreshing authenticity and lack of affectation that goes well with their trad-indie use of My Bloody Valentine derived song-writing technique. I, for one, am a huge fan of both My Bloody Valentine AND bands that have My Bloody Valentine as a primary influence. I will probably be "into" that sound forever. Young Prisms are so committed to touring and recording that is hard not to see a pay-off somewhere down the line.
Dum Dum Girls headlined. This was the first time I had seen the post-Bambi version, with Malia James replacing her in the line up:
Dum Dum Girls Bassist Malia James
You can follow a tag of "MALIA JAMES" on tumblr of course.
Other then that Dee Dee dyed her hair blond. They looked to be in good spirits and having fun. I know they have a new EP coming out in fall on Sub Pop. It was cool to see Dum Dum Girls connecting with an older, less "cool" audience. The fact is that a rising Artist is going to generate friction between potential Audience members, and playing a venue like the Belly Up is a good strategy to prevent inter-Audience friction. The problem with the "cool" audience for music is that it is severely limited in terms of number and per member resources. Illustrated by the fact that many people who likely consider themselves Dum Dum Girls fans didn't make the trip.
The only way I care to look at a show of this size is in terms of the Artist connecting with a new or different Audience. I think until you are pulling 500 or more, it's better to play different areas and maybe not do as well, vs. selling out a 2-300 person size venue for the 2nd time. Certainly the Belly Up's combination of geographic diversity and quality reputation make for a compelling opportunity.
Presumably, when major festivals and similar opportunities are considering various Artists they review that information. I'm sure everyone who can't pull more then 500 people is the same but you can def. show that you can pull a measurable Audience in different markets or at different venues in the same market.
I see a vast difference- across genres of music for the Artists in the under 500 category vs. the 500-1000 territory. There are many more markets where you can play a couple different cool "under 500" capacity venues, and you options get severely limited between 500-1000 people. Just in San Diego you go from being able to play the Casbah, Soda Bar, or a billion other places to basically being able to pick between House of Blues and SOMA. That difference is repeated a thousand times over.
Something I've noticed about my local San Diego market is the overwhelming influence of the season that extends from roughly two weeks before SXSW through the end of Coachella.
So, to take next year- SXSW music is between March 12 and 17. So starting on March 1st and then running through two weeks after Coachella- which is the end of April. Also, Record Store Day is the middle- which severely impacts the production and distribution of vinyl records. Basically, between the beginning of March to the end of April you can't get anything made or booked without allowing for the influence of SXSW-Coachella.
Starting in May it is the "Summer Festival Season" which is a nightmarish hellscape but lucrative for bands and great for general Audience. Dum Dum Girls will be making that transition on this tour as they head for Sasquatch, with Lollapalooza also scheduled. But not Bonaroo.
Really, if you wanted to do a weekly in San Diego, you'd schedule it in the weeks of March and April on a dead night, and then bands would just roll through on their way to wherever.
NOTES
(1) HERE IS THE LANGUAGE FROM THAT OCTOBER 3rd POST:
As 2011 draws to a close, the so-called Lo Fi revival is closing with it. Between 2008 and 2011 a number of Artists and Audience members embraced the Macintosh recording program Garage Band, and succeeded in gaining entrance to the music industry. Like other musical revival movements, lo-fi trafficked in nostalgia and limited budgets. Artists who emerged from under the lo-fi banner in the period of 2008 to 2011 faced challenges similar to those faced by Artists who emerged in other revival movements.
The Lo Fi Movement drew from American, British and European influences, but the sponsoring institutions were largely located inside the United States, with New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Southern California all seeing the growth of separate lo fi "scenes." All of these separate scenes contributed Artists and institutions.
Lo Fi is characterized by a heightened interest by the Artists in the institutions of the music industry- Lo Fi Artists have also been Label Owners and Writers/Thinkers. Like other musical revivals, Lo Fi benefited from generational change over among publications covering the music industry and technological changes in how the Audience listened to music.
(2) By "Country" I mean "United States" not a mis-spelling of the word county.
Show Review: Skrillex, Wolfgang Gartner, Madeon, A-Trak (5/29/12)
SHOW REVIEW
I LOVE THIS CITY FESTIVAL
@ The Cricket Wireless (TM) Ampitheatre in Chula Vista, CA.
May 27th, 2012
Skrillex
Wolfgang Gartner
Madeon
A-Trak
& Others
Watching Skrillex perform last night reminded my of a passage about violinist and proto-celebrity Nicolo (or "Nicollo") Paganini in Henry Raynor's A Social History of Music,
"Paganini reached Vienna in 1828, the year after Beethoven's death. He was a physical wreck; in addition to acute and sometimes crippling digestive troubles and a nervously over intense temperament, he suffered from tuberculosis. He did not even look like other men; he was emaciated to the point at which that it seemed as thought he wore clothes to keep his skeleton from falling apart; black eyes glittered from a yellow-skinned , cadaverous face on each side of which hung long, lank black hair. His platform manner added to his strangeness; he bowed stiffly, like a marionette whose strings had suddenly been released, and he walked in a peculiarly stiff, wide-legged way. Of course, he played the violin as it had never been payed before; his G string had an effective range of three octave, and he produced harmonics the like of which were unheard of. His varieties of bowing and his left-hand pizzicato were equally new." (1)
Here is a picture of Skrillex, who headlined Clear Channel Live Nation's novel I Love This City Festival at the Cricket Wireless Ampitheatre last night.
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| Skrillex or Sunny Moore |
Here are the similarities between Raynor's desscription of Nicolo Nicollo Paganini circa 1825 and Skrillex,
(A) PAGANINI: He was a physical wreck; in addition to acute and sometimes crippling digestive troubles and a nervously over intense temperament, he suffered from tuberculosis.
SKRILLEX: Moore left the band in February 2007 to pursue his own unique music career after considerable damage to his vocal cords that required surgery.
(B) PAGANINI: Black eyes glittered from a yellow-skinned, cadaverous face on each side of which hung long, lank black hair.
SKRILLEX: Has long, lank black hair and an unnaturally pale face.
(C) PAGANINI: He played the violin as it had never been payed before; his G string had an effective range of three octaves, and he produced harmonics the like of which were unheard of. His varieties of bowing and his left-hand pizzicato were equally new.
SKRILLEX: Much of the novelty and effectiveness of Skrillex's music can be attributed to his ability to introduce sounds that are both higher and lower then the normal range that an Audience can hear at other Popular Music events. Skrillex (and other Artist) ability to harness the Sub bass and sped-up samples vocals for melodic effect Skrillex's use of his body and "instruments" during performance are equally "new" (for the Audience at a Skrillex concert.)
Raynor's conclusion about Nicolo Nicollo Paganini is equally applicable to understanding Skrillex both as an Artist and a larger cultural Phenomenon,
"To understand Paganini's influence on the course of music, it is not only necessary to not the expansion of technique which, notwithstanding the doubts of old-fashioned musicians, provided the entire string orchestra, as well as the violin, with a vast expansion of their vocabulary, it is also essential to consider the personality which gave rise to the highly coloured (sic) legends and made him a figure of wonder and terror; the sense of the dangerous, the uncanny and superhuman which he imposed on his audiences was not only a valid part of the romantic atmosphere of the period; it was also a potent influence on new audiences and on a vast number of his successors." (2)
Much of the critical discussion of Skrillex takes place in the pressure chamber of pop-music criticism, where the underlying "Artistry" of the Artist is continually examined and re-examined. I would argue that any discussion has to grant Skrillex's status as a legitimate Artist, if only because of the size of his Audience and his similarity with other notable Artists of the past.
The Cricket Wireless Ampitheatre has a capacity of 19,492 people. (3) The venue was not full, but a half full 20 thousand person arena is 10 thousand people. The Audience of Skrillex, or a Skrillex-like Artists is always a matter of concern to the Critic. When a legitimate popular Artist emerges it is customary for the Critic to criticize the Audience for its lack of taste. I think what is more important is simply to note that the Audience for a specific Artist does exist, and to be able to quantify that size. Last night, the Audience in San Diego, was around ten thousand. That is a significantly sized Audience, and it demonstrates that Skrillex has dedicated fans in the high hundreds of thousands or perhaps low millions.
The I Love This City SD festival was a production of Clear Channel and Live Nation, who used to be one company but are now two companies. The Cricket Wireless Ampitheatre may be as soul-less and corporate a venue as exists on the entire planet, but it is a venue with a capacity of 19,492, so more people get to see a concert then would otherwise be possible.
The last time I went to the Cricket Wireless Ampitheatre was for the 91x Fest maybe circa 2007? It has not changed at all. Literally the worst place in the world to see a concert, but what can you do. It has a twenty thousand person capacity.
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| DJ A Trak |
I arrived in time to catch the majority of A-Trak's set at the I Love This City Fest SD. I saw A Trak in Seattle in about 2002, and I can say that he is still doing the same bits, including his famous "Robot Rock" scratching routine. Here he is doing his Daft Punk Robot Rock routine at Lollapalooza in 2009, and I saw it five years earlier. Since he was first and it was a totally pleasant San Diego Sunday Afternoon, I was content to sit and watch him do his (same) thing.
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| Madeon |
Next up was 17 year old French PHENOM Madeon. My guest for the show was my wive's 19 year old French cousin- big Skrillex fan, and she said she saw him play in Nancy France in front of about 200 people the year before. WELCOME TO THE BIG TIME KID! You can check out a good part of his set over on his SOUNDCLOUD profile, and it's worth a listen even for casual EDM fans. He has a fresh sound and his appearance on the bill was mark on the good side for Clear Channel/Live Nation- one of the few marks on that side of the ledger. He killed. Seventeen year old kid.
Immediately prior to Skrillex's headlining set was Wolfgang Gartner. His wikipedia entry makes him sound like a carpet bagging douche bag, but the set I heard last night was heavier then I would expect from the Wikipedia entry, and according to my wifes cousin, included a new cut from Skrillex HIMSELF. BOOM.
Headlining, and taking the stage precisely at 9:30 PM- way to go Live Nation on that one ha ha, was the man himself Skrillex. When I say that 100% of the crowd had bought its ticket to see headlining Artist Skrillex, I mean 100%. Keep in mind this is in theory a "Festival." Yeah, sort of, the Festival of Skrillex maybe. To make outrageous claims like Skrillex is somehow derivative of Justice or Daft Punk is like saying that Elvis is just doing a Chuck Berry routine. I mean you can say it, but it is outrageous and ignores much of what actually constitutes an Artistic identity.
All I can say is that Skrillex's audience, few of whom looked like seasoned EDM veterans, were 10 thousand strong and went bonkers during the show. I thought the Bro dancing next to me was going to elbow me in the face. Now, this wasn't a crowd of fifty or a hundred thousand like you might get at a European Summer Festival for a house or trance music DJ, but it was remarkable in it's own right, simply due to the economic and cultural diversity of the Audience.
It's funny, because as a Fan I've lived through Drum and Bass, Big Beat, the rise of the epic house and trance DJ's like Tiesto that could plausibly headline the Coachella festival. I've boogied down in the Sahara tent in six of the past seven years, and seen the members of Justice DJ a sweaty French club in the outer arriondissements in front of a hundred people. I went to the Metalheadz drum and bass club and Minstry of Sound in London in 2007, I've stumbled out into the cold of a Washington DC rave club at 6 in the morning, I've been to a show by a Detroit Techno pioneer held in the lobby of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, but I ain't never, and I mean never, seen an Audience react like this Audience reacted to Skrillex last night. If last night proves anything it's that Skrillex is a legitimate popular music phenomenon.
NOTES
(1) Raynor, Henry A Social Historyr of Music Since 1815, pg. 55
(2) Id at 58.
(2) WIKIPEDIA ENTRY ON CRICKET WIRELESS AMPITHEATRE
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| Nicolo Nicollo Paganini Show Review: Desert Daze 2012 (5/30/12) SHOW REVIEW Desert Daze April 11th- 21st North Palm Springs, CA. If I had to sum up Desert Daze, an 11 day, 200 band spectacle that ran parallel to the Coachella Arts & Music Festival this year, I would refer the reader to the scene in Blues Brothers when they pull up to a Road House to play a fake gig and the woman says, “We have both kinds of music here, Country and Western.” Except the woman is replaced by an LA area promoter guy and he’s saying, “We have both kinds of music here, Psych and Rock.” I learned a few tricks in a decade of attendance at the annual Coachella Arts & Music Festival, main one being the "MAGIC HOUR" concept, which is to say that the time between dusk and sunset is a "MAGIC HOUR": The hot sun receding behind the mountains but still spreading life-giving warmth, the light possessing a particularly magical quality- it's is a god damn magical time, and what I've learned is that almost any band playing during the MAGIC HOUR is going to sound amazing, and the crowd will be into that band, because it is the MAGIC HOUR. I planned my first visit to take full advantage of the MAGIC HOUR, going so far as to check the sunset/dusk times online prior to departure. Spanning 11 days- April 12th to April 22th, Desert Daze was a DIY epic. So epic that by choosing Day 5 as my first visit I had already missed the following Artists: Weight, Corners, Waxy, Mr. Elevator, Slipping Int Darkness, Old Testament, The Soft Pack, Dengue Fever, Deap Vally, Juju, Highlands, Blackfeet Braves, Chad & The Meatbodies, Haunted Tiger, Business Cats, Forever baby, Blue Junle Death Hymn Number 9, The Audacity, Wyatt Blair, Summer Twins, The Lovely Bad Things, Pangea, Bleached, Zodiac Death Valley, Owenstone, Stab City, Sandy Pussy, Drug Cabin, Kind Hearts & The Coronets, Sister Ruby Band, Lilac, String Fellow Hwaks, RT & The 44's, Gangi, Vanaprasta, Dante vs. Zombies, Moving Units, Tomorrow's Tulips, Pilots, Pool Honeys, Hindu Pirates, Wet Illustrated, The Shrine, Rumspringa, Sean Wheeler & Zander Schloss, Mayfly Dance, The Abigrails, Feeding People, Driftwood Singer, Allah-las. PHEW! That is only 4 days worth of bands for an 11 day festival, over 200 bands over the 11 days, and let me tell you it was quite an impressive logistical accomplishment. In fact, the aplomb with which the Moon Block Party entity managed 200 different bands and what must have been in excess of 2500 people over close to two weeks signals their arrival as an impressive DIY phenomenon in their own right, taking their place against other Southern California DIY entities of the last decade. You could compare the Moon Block Party Crew to Fuck Yeah Entity. The venue, Dillon's Road House, was easy enough to find. Start in central Palm Springs and take Indian Canyon Road North for 20 minutes, over the 10 freeway, past the brand-new Western Wear outlet on the other side of the freeway, take a right and drive three blocks- boom. The venue/festival had ample parking behind the bar, in a dirt lot with broken glass scattered about, to be perfectly accurate, but it was off-street which was welcome, because Desert Hot Springs has a Mad Max/post-Apocalyptic feeling even during the day. The promotional information had promised both and in-door and out-door stage with art and food trucks to accompany the bands and all was as described. The food trucks on duty on the 16th were REFRESH TRUCK and TORNADO POTATO and then there was an ORGANIC POPCORN. Dillon's Road House is not some kind of hipster take on the desert Road House bar environment- it's an actually Desert Road House located in an area with lots of local color, so the crowd was a mixture of young and old, hipster and non-hipster. Buying my first beer of the evening (Budweiser in a bottle) I listened to a local gush over the presence of so many young people and how awesome it was to see everyone. Bear in mind it was about 5:30 PM and the local was clearly hammered in a way I recognized from going to dive bars in the Tenderloin district in San Francisco in the mid 1990s. The first band I watched was YELLOW RED SPARKS(ORANGE COUNTY, CA.): Yellow Red Sparks is three piece: guy on drums/backing vocals, guy singing playing acoustic guitar/singing and girl playing her cello sometimes as a stand up bass, sometimes as a cello and once playing a ukelele/backing vocals. I was impressed by the general level of put-togetherness from a band playing the 6 PM outside slot at a first-year festival in the middle of the California desert. The singer has a voice that puts him in the general category of Jeff Magnum or the guy from the Decemberists- readers from my blog will know that this isn't to my personal taste, but it was clear that they drew and held the attention of those present. The cellist/bassist really worked the instrument and drew interest from the Security Staff- I was standing by myself near a Security Guard and he leaned over and said "Her guitar, it is too big." The only criticism I would offer is that they should abandon the Audience involvement stuff and just blaze through the set- the songs are strong enough that they don't need to do the Audience solicitation material. Yellow Red Sparks is playing the Tin Can Alehouse in San Diego, CA. on May 12th. Right before YELLOW RED SPARKS ended their set I went inside to watch the next band: BLACK FLAMINGO (LOS ANGELES, CA.): Black Flamingos is an LA area six piece featuring Miss Ammo (ex-Teenage Talking Cars) on vocals and guitar, two more women, one playing key boards and one playing bass. Then there is a lead guitarist and not one but two drummers. Later in the evening I learned that Neil from Origami Records is their manager. As I watched them I thought to myself, "This sounds like a cross between Warpaint and Dum Dum Girls." I suppose you could have less commercially viable influences, but I was struck, again, by the level of professionalism and the actual quality of the music. It also seemed like Black Flamingos brought an appreciative Audience with them to the desert- Always a plus. Considering that Manimal Vinyl just put out that Chains of Love record, they seem like an appropriate label home for Black Flamingos and then after that- I would say fire one of two drummers- just to thin the travelling band out a bit. I frankly question why the drumming I heard couldn't be replaced by a machine- the appeal of Black Flamingo lies in the combination of the matched female vocals and the guitar work of the lead guitarist. Black Flamingo is playing the Echo in Los Angeles, CA. on Thursday, April 26th, 2012. They may or may not have a 7” out on Origami Vinyl Record Shop and Label. Next I went back outside and watched GOTHIC TROPIC(LOS ANGELES, CA): Gothic Tropic is an LA area three piece: female singer/guitarist, male drummer, male bassist. The way I interpret the name is that "TROPIC" is a reference to tropicalia being a musical influence. Another influence in the sound was 90s era Dischord Records stuff- jazzy time signatures, etc. Considering Abe Vigoda actually DID play Coachella this year, and the fact that they have a female singer/guitarists fronting the band, it seems like this is a band that could make some headway- there being so much room at the margins. This is clearly a band that is in the sonic and cultural lineage of the Smell scene, and they seem like the kind of band that PPM would put out. Then I had a Korean Cheese Steak from REFRESH TRUCK which was delicious. Then I went back inside and watched. DARK THIRTY(Los Angeles, CA.) : Dark Thirty is a three piece- all boys, very much in the mold of a Dead Meadow. Although I personally like Dead Meadow and am looking forward to seeing them at this festival, I don't know if that is a real viable path to a national career as a touring musician. LA area rock projects- whatever their take on "rock" have so much prejudice to overcome at the national level, vs. LA area Art type bands. If you are in something that can fairly be described as a "Rock Band From Los Angeles" you are going to have to win over so many haters, it's either the big leagues or bust. I personally though, liked this band and plan on looking for physical products. It would be interesting if the new record label run by Permanent Records put these guys out. Dark Thirty has a Bandcamp profile and an April 28th, 2012 show at the Soda Bar in San Diego, CA. Then I went back outside and watched. LIVING THINGS: Living Things, hoo-booy. Five pieces- singer/guitarist, bassist and drummer and two "back-up" singers. I literally knew nothing about Living Things before watching them perform, but according to their very, very, very well written Wikipedia entry, Living Things (band) are an American punk-rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Living Things is a band of three brothers: Isiah, Yves and Bosh. The lead singer, Isiah, did the sound track for the Runaways movie. Also they signed to Dreamworks in 2004? Did I not mention that? In 2009 they released an LP on Jive Records. In Spin Magazines Top 50 Albums of 2005 article, where Living Things were awarded #31 for their Ahead of the Lions on Jive/Zomba, the writer said, "As pissed-off polemics go, the hot-potato debut from these St. Louis misfits lays the gripes on thick while styill managing to rock you like a Category 5. Calling out God (and his son) while bitching about bombs, health maintenance organizations, and the police. Lillian Berlin and his three bros (two biological, one just a bud) attack their never-less-than-Nevermind-catchy songs with roiling, sophisticated righteousness, not to mention chops, tempering their resentment with a palpable lust for life.” This brings to mind Rise Against in my mind, but what I saw last night was straight up Rock-A-Billy/50s rock. Living Things can not, in their present state, be described as anything other than a Rockabilly Style Rock Band. They seem to be aiming for combining elements of Jack White's thing with Misfits era posturing. It's a principle of mine not to Judge a band for changing artistically, and given my ignorance of their back catalog I can't even honestly say whether they have changed their sound or not. I do find it extraordinary that I'd never heard of them before they played this show. It seems like I should have. After that I missed RACES, THE BLACK APPLES, NO & THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE because I wanted to see Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh do some solo jams at the Ace Hotel, but I must have been minutes late, since I watched him talk to appreciative Audience members for an hour and then leave- obviously AFTER the concert. Day 2, April 17th was what we Coachella Valley local's call "a hot one," 95 degrees at 430 PM as I drove up Indian Canyon Road to Dillon's Road House. This time I detoured from the main route to take in the nearby community of North Palm Springs, CA. a six block community of trailers and double wide trailers that is legitimate in that it has its own Post Office and Zip Code. Dillon's Road House is technically in the city of Desert Hot Springs, but only just- the main area of Desert Hot Springs being miles away. According to stories in the local paper, the owners of Dillon's Road House have been trying to do a live music festival for some time but were stymied by the city until this year. I can't possibly imagine why a trashy little town like Desert Hot Springs would bother trying to PREVENT live music in their community when they can't even PREVENT drive-by shootings and drug-related murders, both of which are semi-frequent occurrences according to the local paper, but what do I know? I arrived at 445 PM in time to see the first inside band called LISTEN: This was a three piece that played indistinct garagey-psych-rock- two guys and a lady on drums. This was the most "local" sounding band I had heard thus far at the festival, and I wondered if they might not be from the Palm Springs area, rather than from Los Angeles. Other then the female drummer, there was not much to distinguish Listen from other bands that work the same area of the rock spectrum. I couldn’t obtain any information about their releases or upcoming shows. Then I went outside and watched MOTHERS OF GUT: Mothers of Gut was a four-piece band- all guys- standard rock band four piece set up, with the exception that the singer/guitarist had a keyboard in front of him. Jazzy time signatures and distorted voxs put Mothers of Gut further on the experimental side of the psych-rock spectrum, but experimental in a way that is familiar to anyone who has ever listened to Captain Beefheart or the many bands since influenced by Captain Beefheart. While I watched them play I saw they actually had a box of Records, which I later figured out was likely the 2010 LP put out by Family Time Records of Riverside, CA. Mothers of Gut even has an Altered Zones post which accurately describes their music as a “psych-kraut” affair. Mothers of Gut had better than average stage presence, in particular the bassist, who looked like he was wearing a Kurt Cobain costume, was writhing around on stage to the point where the security guard came up and asked my if he was "OK" or perhaps in need of some medical attention. They have a show coming up at Pehrspace in Los Angeles, CA on April 28th, 2012. After that it was back inside for KILL KILL KILL: This band was a four piece- all guys- with a drummer/guitar/bass/keyboard line up, playing sludgey psych rock. They showed an ability to move from soft to loud, but the loud setting was very loud indeed. There was less blues and more psych influence in Kill Kill Kill then their predecessors on the inside stage displayed, and instrumentally I felt like Kill Kill Kill was a step or two up on the ladder of professionalism from Listen. I couldn’t find any upcoming shows or physical releases on line. Outside next was: RACHEL FANNAN: Rachel Fannan is certainly my discovery out of the first two days of the festival. By this time Fresh & Only's had arrived and I was talking to F&O singer Tim Cohen (who I've known for 15 years.) He knew Rachel from her time in the Bay Area (now in LA.) After watching the performance, I later learned that she was formerly in ATP released San Francisco via Santa Cruz CA Sleepy Sun She performed at Desert Daze as a solo, playing electric guitar with no drum machine. Her performance combined killer country influenced vocals (think the new Best Coast album) with a wry wit and stage presence that reminded me of Colleen Green. I shared the Colleen Green comparison with Tim and he agreed that were some similarities- but only stylistically, not musically. Absence of a drum machine being one of them. Rachel Fannan is playing the Soda Bar in San Diego, CA. on May 25th, 2012. After Rachel Fannan I took a break to walk around the grounds- Dillon's Road House basically backs up onto the empty desert, with enormous power lines running in a double set diagonally off to the north and south. Someone had built a tire pyramid and I watched the sun set behind the power lines and the tire pyramid. It was glorious. Upon my return I watched HABITS: play inside. Habits was a dance rock three piece who had a fairly enthusiastic audience for their brand of standard issues dance rock. While Habits was a welcome change of pace from the pysch/sludge/rock of the two earlier bands, I couldn't find anything to distinguish Habits performance in my mind, likely due to the fact that I am not a huge dance rock fan. The drummer did shift between a drum pad and real drums- which I thought was interesting. Their performance very much brought to mind the DIM MAK led Silver Lake "scene" and certainly the singer seemed attractive and energetic enough to make a go of it- but they need some catchier songs, for realz. The vocals were very indistinct. Back outside FARMER DAVE SCHER: performed solo with guitar. I understand that he is a West Side LA DIY fixture- Tim Cohen of F&O's indicated that he had recently played his night in Venice (and that Colleen Green was in the house for said performance.) I also talked to a woman who was selling leather cuffs and purses who said that Farmer Dave is a DIY stalwart on the west side of LA, so it seems to me he deserves respect for that. His set was far, far beyond what you might expect- he showed both stage presence and was a guitar virtuoso- some of his solos left me breathless, mouth a-gape. I will def. be doing additional research on his Venice Beach DIY night. From his online biography, it looks like he has done production and session work for a variety of respectable Artists, so the talent makes sense. Inside, YOUNG PRISMS: took to the outdoor stage the crowd had filled in. It was a beautiful night. They played a number of songs from their new LP on Kanine Records- which i need to purchase, and showed how they have earned the reputation as one of the hardest working indie bands on the West Coast. Young Prisms is a good example of how long it can take a rock band to "come together" but I, for one, feel like they are headed in the right direction, provided they can stay together in the mean time. Young Prisms have a new record out on Kanine Records and are touring California with Dum Dum Girls. Young Prisms were followed outside by FRESH & ONLY'S: A band at the top of their game, album of Mexican Summer coming out in September. Fresh & Only's is another SF area band with a terrific work ethic and they are seasoned pros on the road. The crowd seemed inspired by their set and wanted them to keep at it after their time window had elapsed. I doubt anyone who reads IMPOSE or my blog is unfamiliar with the sound of Fresh & Only's, so I will spare you the details. After Fresh & Only's played I left, missing Crystal Antlers, Raw Geronimo and Blank Tapes in a futile attempt to catch Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein do a comedy show at the Ace Hotel. I didn't even get in the door. I bet it was cool, though. I took the next two days to recuperate and reflect on the festival experience and what it reminded me most of were the Little Radio New Year’s Eve parties in 2006 and 2007, and some of the renewal I might have experienced at Coachella itself through perhaps 2008. There is of course, no comparison when you consider the respective sizes of the two festivals, but when it comes to considering the spirit, Desert Daze is put on by a volunteer collective from the Pomona area, and Coachella is wholly owned by entertainment conglomerate AEG. So, take you pick, I guess. At the very, very least, Coachella is an enormous pain in the ass and will cost you about 750 all in, and Desert Daze was 5 bucks a day. Looking at it that way the comparison is unfair to Coachella. I returned refreshed and relaxed for Day 10 of the Desert Daze Festival. I’d spent the intervening days pool side conducting experiments on the length of the cooling effect that you get from taking a dip in the pool during periods of extreme heat. Friday, April 20st, 2012 I arrived early and caught the first outside band, ELECTRIC BUFFALO(???): Blues rock influenced four piece, all guys. Guitarist wore a fringed leather vest and a hat with a feather in it, to give you an idea. Then inside for, THE GOLDEN GHOSTS(Los Angeles, CA.): All male three piece- kind of a 90s rock throwback, like an updated version of Candlebox. Their “Reverbnation” profile references Black Keys, White Stripes, Kings of Leon and the Strokes, but I’d stick with Candlebox. They weren’t untalented, and rolled up in a sweet Dodge Sprinter van that looked pretty big league. Back again outside, WAR DRUM(Palm Springs, CA.): All male four piece from Palm Springs which makes them pretty legit as far as desert psych goes, though not as legit as being from Desert Hot Springs or Yucca Valley. This was very much on psych side of the psych/rock continuum, with proggy keyboard/organ and big jammy breakdowns in the middle of each song. Returning inside, MILO GONZALEZ: Milo Gonzalez is the guitar/sitar player of festival-mates Insects vs Robots. He played solo guitar, but with lots of flourishes- he is obviously a very talented guitarist. Sample banter with crowd, “This song is half complete and it’s about an enchanted forest.” Outside, JUJU: Juju was another band that was a bit of a revelation. Juju is a two piece, and the main guy is was one of the festival promoters. He played both guitar and bass and would loop them both, swap instruments and sing. Juju obviously has an ear for hooks, the songs were so catchy that I was put in mind of Ratatat, while the looping and instrument switching reminded me of Alex from Dirty Beaches. If this guy is both a promoter and plays in this band, he’s likely to make significant headway. Couldn’t find any information on-line- kind of bummed. I would go see this band locally if they came to town. Inside, CHUCK DUKOWSKI SEXTET: Chuck Dukowski was the bassist and some-times songwriter for seminal punk outfit Black Flag and this is his “family band” project, in that it literally contains the members of his immediate family: his wife sings, his sons drum and play keyboards. I think they added Milo Gonzalez-at least according to their website they did- he really shredded in this set, and when I say shredded I mean “played like he was in an 80s speed metal band.” My final band that evening was: ELECTRIC FLOWER: Two piece band fronted by former Folk Implosionista Imaad Wasif. I’m not sure if this band is a for-real thing, or if it’s something Wasif does when he’s not doing something else, but they rather reminded me of Japandroids in that they successfully combined wistful, affecting vocals with the dynamic mechanics of guitar/drum two piece. The last day for me was Saturday April 21st. Dead Meadow was headlining and I was excited for an epic conclusion to my Desert Daze experience. I had already judged it a rousing success, a judgment confirmed by the fact that the promoters simply ran out of wrist bands by day 9 due to overwhelming demand for said wrist bands. Was there room for improvement? Of course there was- there always is. Was Desert Daze a financial success? Unclear. I noticed that by the last day of the festival the “suggested donation” of five dollars had become “five dollar admission.” If I was running that Festival it would have been like that on day one. Ten dollars even. Before Dead Meadow I watched, SLEEPY OWL: play inside. Sleepy Owl is a six piece “pure psych” outfit in the manner of Animal Collective, Deerhunter, ETC. The lead singer (male) performed in a dress a la Devendra. Sleepy Owl had two female back-up singers arrayed to one side of the stage. Not really my cup of tea, but I thought they were effective at integrating their influences and pairing it with capable song writing- uneven song writing- but capable. Outside: JOY(San Diego, CA.): Joy was a real discovery- a true entrant for the San Diego area in the hipster metal sweepstakes that seems to be engulfing the blogosphere. They were also the only band that achieved a level of “killing it”- no small feat considering I watched 30 bands over four days. I’m puzzled, though, by their bandcamp profile, where the songs sound completely different. They should stick with the fast stuff I heard at Desert Daze- it was winning.Joy has a 7” available via Thirsty Moon Records in San Diego, CA. Their LP is being released by Cave Punk Records, also of San Diego, CA. Back inside, but still in daylight, SILVER CHORDS(Los Angeles, CA.): This band is made up of LA psych scene veterans. In their own words, The Silver Chords performance/studio roster features members who hold or have held tenure in such bands as Warlocks, Psychic TV, The Black Angels, The Black Keys, Cat Power, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Entrance Band, The Meek, Gong, Sky Parade, Black Ryder, Yahowha 13, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Silver Chords shared a female singer with Spindrift. They certainly suffered from their proximity to Joy in the line-up, certainly they would have been better at night. STRANGERS FAMILY BAND(???): This was a conventional rock four piece with a keyboardist, all men, they played jammy psych rock that reminded me most specifically of the Doors. Also their keyboardist sort of resembled Jim Morrison, which I suppose is a plus. POOR SONS(San Francisco, CA.): This was an all male four piece that veered more towards garage rock then psych rock. They showed a lot of energy and some promising song writing and vocals underneath the garage rock fuzziness. I left their set early to watch Spindrift, and it was the only “move” that I made during Desert Daze that I later regretted. I think it’s kind of in the same general category as FIDLAR in being post-Wavves garage rock with pop punk influences. You have to tread lightly with the pop-punk influence, but it’s something that can carry a local band to national prominence. They are a band on this list to keep an eye on. SPINDRIFT (Los Angeles, CA.): Spindrift is touring with Dead Meadow as support. They currently play what they call “spaghetti psych” i.e. psych rock influenced by the soundtracks to Sergio Leone Westerns. Their set actually bore some relationship to the road house venue as they tossed out instrumental western hit after instrumental western hit with originals in between. Spindrift has been around in some form since the early 1990s, their bio on their website, I gained an appreciation for their endurance. The packed house certainly loved them. Spindrift is on tour with Dead Meadow. BAREFOOT SHRUB: This was one guy doing IDM’ey type stuff. Final act of the festival was DEAD MEADOW: If you’ve never seen Dead Meadow play a roadhouse in the Desert in April, you darn well should before you die. Just once. That’s 28 bands reviewed for you. Most of them can be seen as “local” bands in Southern California, so I encourage you to support some of them. Congratulations to the Moon Block Party group of Pomona, CA. Desert Days was a DIY logistical accomplishment that ranks among those for the ages. 200 bands, 12 days, 100 degree temperatures. Quite an accomplishment indeed. Visit the Integratron (6/5/12)  Integratron Photo exteriorShow Review Sound Bath @ The Integratron in Landers, CA. I'm more then a little ashamed to confess that I first heard about and saw the Integratron via a repeat of the Josh Homme starring episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. I'm not saying I heard about it because I watch Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, rather I looked up the episode because I heard it took place in the vicinity of Palm Springs, CA. Obviously, as anyone who has seen the Anthony Bourdain episode in question can attest, the Integratron is incredibly awesome on a number of levels. What are those levels? 1) The Integratron was built by this weird scientist guy who combined outre Electric-Magnetic research a la Nicolai Tesla, "Earth Energy" and UFO's to become a one man Prophet of what we would today call "the New Age movement." The Integratron was built in the 1950s and this George Van Tassel guy would host UFO conventions and do quasi-scientific research. 2) The Integratron was purchased by the present owners and they developed this "Sound Bath" experience which is very New Agey and bears some relationship to the research of Van Tassel but lacks the hard electricity based engineering edge of George Van Tassel's work. 3) An associated attraction, but not visible from the Integratron itself is the "worldest largest free-standing boulder" which itself has a history dating back to the 1930s. According to the present operators, this boulder is now located on BLM land and "poorly maintained." Apparently you could go under this boulder and do meditation back in the day but now you will likely be murdered by a hobo or something, also the Boulder located down a dirt road. 4) Within driving distance from the Integratron is Pioneertown, a turn of the century movie lot with an authentic desert road house, Pappy and Harriet's. At Pappy and Harriet's you can have a meal and watch a local band do a cover of I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow, from the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. They also have a gold record from the band "Cracker" on the wall that is honor of sales of tapes and CDs! My only tip for booking a Sound Bath at the Integratron is to call ahead. We called the week before and got included in a "Pop Up" Sound Bath but my distinct sense is that they want to avoid a "public" attraction status, and are actively seeking to limit idiots and morons from showing up. Or, in the words of our Sound Bath player/shaman, "NO SNORING." You are laying on the floor for 30 minutes plus staring at the ceiling during this thing so if you can't do that make sure you can. Anyone who does Yoga or is familiar with the principles of meditation should do ok. Show Review: Tim Heidecker, JP Inc., Optiganally Yours (7/13/12) Show Review Tim Heidecker JP Inc. Optiganally Yours Antartic, HUH? viewing @ The Casbah Part of the 3 nights at the CON presented by Impose and Art Fag Recordings Last night was the first night of the three night "THREE NIGHTS AT THE CON" taking place at the Casbah, and brought to you by the Impose bros and Art Fag Recordings. Tonight, THREE NIGHTS AT THE CON continues with an excellent bill featuring headliners Vivian Girls, hot-selling Grass Widow supporting their new record, Dunes, supporting their new record, "Vivian Girls side project" The Babies and local up-and-comers Teenage Burrito. Hotly tipped locals Teenage Burrito? SATURDAY Night features John Maus, hot young band Tropic of Cancer from Los Angeles and local support Divers. Divers have an upcoming release on sponsoring entity DREAM, a record label run by Art Fag Recordings head honcho Mario Orduno, who is also DJing along with Wes Eisold of the now re-united American Nightmare and Cold Cave. Last night though, the first night of Three Nights at The Con was given over to comedy. The headliner was Tim Heidecker, of televisions Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job, and also of last years comedy smash hit Bridesmaids, where he had a non-speaking part. From my perspective, Tim Heidecker is the brains of the Tim & Eric outfit. I like Eric Wareheim, but I believe Heidecker to be the idea man, as they say. Tim Heidecker's most notable recent achievement in a career that should secure him first ballot Hall of Fame of Alternative Comedy is his direct involvement in the triumphant release of Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. I say "triumphant release" because it is a triumph that this movie was made and released to the public, much in the same way the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie is also a triumph merely because it exists. Tim Heidecker is a clear heir and peer to Comedians like Andy Kaufman and Neil Hamburger who use stand-up comedy to confront and engage the Audience. At the same time, it is also fair to say that Tim Heideckers success has literally nothing to do with his stand-up comedy routine, which was on the menu last night. This was the second time I'd seen a live performance by Tim Heidecker. The first time was the appearance in the guise of a live version of Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job during the 2009 Comic Con. I thought that show was pretty bad, and I was dismayed that one of the "directions" of the Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job since that time was the emergence of the minor players as touring musical/comedy Artists. I mean it was great to see and I loved every minute, but it wasn't an amazing comedy/art experience. I def. didn't review it on this blog back in 2009, which probably meant I didn't have anything to say. I'm interested enough in Tim & Eric to read negative criticism of them and their work, and one common criticism is that they hate or disrespect their Audience. I think critics who say that are wrong, and it's more accurate to say that Tim Heidecker, in all his works, confronts his Audience and engages his Audience, but does not dislike or disrespect them. A confrontational quality is something that Artists may have or not have, but it is certainly deployed in many Artistic fields. Part of the confrontation is the manipulation of taboo or outre materials in what can accurately be perceived as a broad attempt to "get a laugh." It is clear to me from the Audience that assembled last night that some percentage of Tim & Eric's fan base, and the Audience last night, that there are Audience members who like the taboo or outre materials, for themselves, and are not "challenged" by the material because they just think it's fucking hilarious in the same way they think Family Guy is hilarious or the way Something About Mary was hilarious. The difference between Tim Heidecker and Seth McFarland is that Seth McFarland has totally harnessed his Artistic vision to serving the market, while Tim Heidecker is interested in investigating that market. I think it's clear that a significant portion of the Audience for comedy does not want to be challenged or confronted by their comedy. They want the yucks. I think the best way to get a sense of where the Audience for comedy in the United States is "coming from" is to watch The Bellhop by Jerry Lewis or another Jerry Lewis film. So then it was interesting to watch Tim Heidecker's "bad on pupose" stand-up comedy a la Neil Hamburger (who, though not performing at the show, had a poster made for the event and was selling a comic book at the event.) and try to decide 1) How many people knew about Tim Heidecker's stand up act before buying tickets. 2) How many people bought tickets because they like the gross-out humor of the Tim & Eric show and were honestly disappointed by the "bad on purpose" stand-up act of Tim Heidecker. I think it is that tension that makes his performances so interesting. I would suggest that Heidecker himself is interested by that combination of Audience members, and that he's developed his Act to function both as a suprise to ill-informed Audience members and as a virtuoso performance of Alternative Comedy by a restless master comic. One think I'll say about the Art of stand up comedy is that the infrastructure of the cable tv show/sitcom/movie environment of the successful comic lets the Audience know who's boss (the comic.) There is a huge amount of money that sits behind the comics who get to the point where they have a tv special/show/album and tour to support it, in the same way that major label Artists in the music business are supported by a huge amount of money. There aren't a lot of comics out there who would keep it as low profile as Tim Heidecker keeps his stand up routine. Show Review: Three Nights At The Con Vivian Girls, Grass Widow, The Babies, Dunes & Teenage Burritos (7/16/12) Show Review: Three Nights At The Con Vivian Girls, Grass Widow, The Babies, Dunes & Teenage Burritos @ The Casbah, San Diego, CA. Presented by The Casbah & Impose, curated by Art Fag Recordings (CASBAH WEB SITE) I've literally never seen so much of Tim Mays as I did over the Three Nights At The Con event. He was there every night from beginning to end. It was a sight to behold. Co-Presenter Impose was represented by a large blanket with "IMPOSE" stiched into it stretched across the back of the stage, a hand held videographer with a powerful, powerful light source on the camera and one of the many, many, many people who snapped photographs on something other then a smart phone. Three Nights At The Con was a triumph for all involved, and Friday was the best night. It was especially triumphant for Vivian Girls.
TEENAGE BURRITOS: I missed this band, through no fault of my own, but I def. want to catch the show next time they play. They have a witty tumblr. (TEENAGE BURRITOS TUMBLR) and a facebook page.
DUNES: The audience "filled in" during the Dunes sense which must be an interesting experience for the performers- starting a set with a half empty audience and ending it to a full house. I've never been so aware of this phenomenon happening at a show as I was at this show, for whatever reason. It was like a slow moving wave of people entering the main room at the Casbah, specifically the area in front of the stage. Unlike Thursday night there were not a lot of drunk bros talking loudly at the Bar. Dunes is stuck at under 100k listens on Last FM- which is lower then it should be, I think because they are college students and don't want to do the touring necessary to make a larger foot print. Regional band by choice, I suppose you could call it. Watching them though it occurred to me that this is precisely the kind of music that is in vogue with indie rock types, flowing sound, odd time signatures, jazz influences, atmospheric, charismatic lead performer. One thing DUNES does not have (by design, I imagine) is hits. I thought they obtained a positive response from the Audience.
THE BABIES: were a pleasant surprise, though seeing that they are above 400k plays on Last Fm means that I shouldn't have been surprised at all. According to this 2010 post from Fader, The Babies includes Cassie Ramone from The Vivian Girls and the bassist from Woods. As should be perfectly clear from the profiles of both generative bands, The Babies are an indie rock Fleetwood Mac of sorts- in terms of conception. Obviously, the issue is that both "main members" have other commitments and, I suppose the fact that Pitchfork doesn't really like the project, which is important if you consider the role that Pitchfork "Darling" status has played in the Ascension of Woods to Canonical status. I approached the performance from a position of total ignorance, and I liked what I saw. I'm not a fan or either Vivian Girls OR Woods, simply aware of them and their position in the galaxy of indie rock, but The Babies gave a really strong performance, the crowd responded well to it. To the extent that there is some kind of existing question over the merit of Cassie Ramone's vocals, this was a crowd that was firmly in the 'pro' camp. The song structures were particularly strong and the Audience responded to the strength of the songs. The fact that Pitchfork doesn't like them is a problem, but not that big a problem- not with close to half a million last fm plays. That denotes widespread recognition of the project.
GRASS WIDOW: Last time I saw Grass Widow (2009, Art Fag Fest) I didn't like what I saw, but this time I did. They had tough, catchy songs that really reminded me of Tiger Trap, which is an often mentioned band by people who never saw the band perform live. Their new record is selling well on Midheaven. They are a good example of band that is self-releasing in a successful fashion and their example ought to emulated by other bands. I very much doubt that they are getting rich, but they are continuing to exist and improving.
THE VIVIAN GIRLS: I think the narrative of The Vivian Girls is best encapsulated by this Show Review from June 2010 where Best Coast OPENED for The Vivian Girls. If you look at the respective size of the two acts two years later, The Vivian Girls are stuck in place and Best Coast in zooming towards a "Major Label" audience size. Which is not to say that The Vivian Girls are stuck in a bad place, with over 3 million last fm plays, they are a viable, international touring rock band. I mean, during this show, I was literally looking at the 94/9 Ampitheater Jam where Best Coast is main support to Fiona Apple. So, all the baggage aside, they put on a really strong show, and they drew 200+ to watch, which is a good showing for a band that was essentially heading towards broken up status. Here are my suggestions for The Vivian Girls: switch record labels- they aren't going to be front burner at Polyvinyl until Japandroids cool down (which won't happen for a year plus.) I think, aside from all the NYC scene drama bullshit, the only other "problem" with a band that has 3 million plus last fm plays is the song writing. During one particularly strong song I heard echoes of the recent Frankie Rose Interstellar album, and I mentioned it to someone who told me that this particular song was written by Frankie Rose. It certainly gave me an opportunity to see a lot of Cassie Ramone. Cassie Ramone needs the career equivalent of when Lou Reed went to London and recorded with David Bowie and Mick Ronson. Cassie Ramone is Lou Reed, and I will accept nominations for David Bowie and Mick Ronson,. Show Review: La Sera, Magic Trick & Foxxygen (7/20/12) Show Review La Sera Magic Trick & Foxygen @ Soda Bar, San Diego, CA. 07 20 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo 07 21 San Francisco, CA - Phono del Sol Music and Food Festival 07 26 Portland, OR - Doug Fir 07 27 Seattle, WA - Barboza 07 28 Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore This was the first night of what I would call a "west coast jaunt" with La Sera and Magic Trick, with Foxygen thrown in instead of a local opener. La Sera is fronted by bassist Katy Goodman of The Vivian Girls, Magic Trick's main man is Tim Cohen of San Francisco's, The Fresh & Only's. Magic Trick is arguably the side-project to Tim Cohen's side project (his solo records) but I'm going to say something controversial here and make the case that Magic Trick is actually a more compelling act then Fresh & Only's. I know, I know, we're talking about comparing a band that has 750k last fm plays to a side project with less then 20k last fm plays, but I'm willing to state the opinion and suffer the consequences. The Soda Bar was "half-full" last night, certainly not a success or failure but with an eight dollar ticket price, the attendance seemed low. The first band, Foxygen, whom the Secretly Canadian distributed label Jagjaguwar seems VERY EXCITED ABOUT. They played to an indifferent Audience, most of whom chose to watch from the bar. It was quite obvious that there were only two people there who had "heard of" Foxygen before, but they were literally singing along in front. Foxygen is billed as a "bi-coastal songwriting duo" but they performed with three other players last night, including a young woman who did tambourine and keyboard squiggles. Watching them, and being not a scholar of either band in question I was trying to decide whether comparing them to the Kinks or the Byrds was more appropriate, but the Jagjaguwar website chooses the Kinks so I'll go with "Kinks influenced song-writing." Of course, being able to write compelling songs is more then half of it, and the songs were strong. The delivery needs work, but presumably that's one of the reasons for doing this tour, since they all looked young. I would probably adopt a more stripped down touring act at this point, and add members as needed. If you are a song writing duo, don't be afraid to tour as a duo, that's my advice. With only eight thousand last fm plays, they have a lot of room to grow and experiment with what works best without worrrying about not meeting Audience expectations. Katy Goodman put out a 7" on Art Fag Recordings under the project title All Saints Day. All Saints Day was a collaboration between Katy Goodman and Gregg Foreman, of Delta 72, Cat Power, et.al. Obviously, Katy went with La Sera, and Hardly Art. Magic Trick also has a new album out on Hardly Art Records. That is interesting because Tim Cohen's other band has their next record coming out on Mexican Summer, in September. That is a pretty neat trick to pull if you are Tim Cohen. Magic Trick played second, this is Tim Cohen singing and playing guitar with two women who sing back up and play guitar and bass, and the band is rounded out by an experienced drummer. They have a new record out that was just released on Hardly Art. It's called Ruler of the Night. Got a 6.7 on Pitchfork. Record labels crave ballads, and Magic Trick carries the possibility of a much larger Audience then the psych fuzz rock of Fresh & Only's. Most of the songs last night were ballads or ballad-like. Good for Tim. I think his future lies in writing and publishing more then in the rock club circuit, where the work ethic and dedication to the craft are drowned out by blog buzz and impatience with established musical idioms. Magic Trick is an important step in that direction. Magic Trick is touring with fellow San Franciscans Sonny & The Sunsets: 08 10 Lakewood, OH - Mahalls 20 Lanes 08 11 Toronto, ON - Silver Dollar 08 12 Montreal, QC - Il Motore 08 13 Easthampton, MA - Flywheel 08 14 Somerville, MA - Johnny D's 08 15 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwells 08 16 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge 08 17 Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA 08 18 Brooklyn, NY - Glasslands Tim Cohen is one undeniable hit song away from being hailed as an American treasure. La Sera headlined with Katy Goodman doing her thing backed by a conventional rock trio, all male. The Audience seemed excited to see her perform. I was surprised not to see more of the people who were at the Vivian Girls show last weekend, but that may be a Casbah/Soda Bar issue. With over 800k last fm plays, La Sera/Katy Goodman doesn't need to apologize for anything she does, we're talking about an Artist who has close to two million plays on Last Fm if you add La Sera to a third of the Vivian Girls- which is the same size as Dum Dum Girls, for example. I would think based on the size of her last fm Audience that she would have drawn more people to the Soda Bar on a Thursday night, but I don't know what the final count was at the door. Show Review: Golden Hill Street Fair (7/24/12) Show Review The Golden Hill Street Fair Sponsored by the Golden Hill Community Development Corporation & Curated by SEZIO Music by: The Donkeys Cuckoo Chaos The Tree Ring Little Deadman Jeans Wilder Family Wagon Food by: Alchemy Stone Brewery Stand & Deliver (MIHO Food Truck licensee) Giorginos Beer by: Stone Brewery Located @ 25th Street between B & C St. I am not speaking metaphorically nor exaggerating when I say that the Golden Hill Street Fair was a dream come true for me- like seeing a vision/dream realized. The especially amazing thing about the Golden Hill Street Fair is that I literally had nothing to do with it, so it wasn't a stressful or annoying experience. All the credit belongs to the Golden Hill Community Development Corporation, SEZIO and the bands and volunteers who made The Golden Hill Street Fair such a special event. Congratulations to everyone- that was a job well done. The Golden Hill Street Fair was a major break-out event for the Golden Hill neighborhood, and joins the weekly Farmers Market- which is very decent (and much, much, much less annoying then more established area Farmers Markets) in elevating the Golden Hill neighborhood into the top tier of San Diego neighborhoods. (full disclosure, I own property in Golden Hill.) If you are reading this, and had anything to do with the organization of this event, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This event, together with the success of the "Three Nights At The Con" event at the Casbah during Comic Con, has managed to restore my faith in local music, the cultural equivalent of a religious awakening obtained after a lengthy and troublesome pilgrimage to Jerusalem as well as being similar to an epiphany I had in April of 20099- spurred my involvement with local record label Zoo Music. (1) If I sound over-enthusiastic it's only because I (and my wife) (2) spent thousands of our own dollars and hundreds of hours trying to achieve what the Golden Hill Street Fair achieved this past weekend. I failed when I tried, and this year's Golden Hill Street Fair was a rousing success, so it's really, really great to see. It makes me think that I wasn't fundamentally wrong in trying to do what I tried to do between 2005 and 2007 in throwing our own versions of what the Golden Hill Street Fair was this past weekend, just that our timing was terribly, terribly bad. Since I know how much work goes into putting on one of these events, I feel compelled to thank the people who planned and organized the event- specifically the Golden Hill Community Development Corporation and SEZIO. Way to go! Both organizations gained my respect just by their affiliation/planning of this event. Reviewing a Street Fair/Festival is a little more complex then reviewing a Concert, because the Audience experience is centered solely (or even primarily) around Music, even if it is a "draw." The music is less of a main event in a festival environment, particularly at community level proceeding, so there is no reason to think that the Audience will treat the musical performers with the same attention level is they had paid to go to a club to listen to that Artist. If you are at a Street Fair, you can't blame the Audience for "not paying attention" because they aren't there to "pay attention." The Golden Hill Street Fair rated high in all categories: musical presentation, food options, beer options and general ambiance. Personally, I wouldn't have booked the same line up but it was certainly a line up that the Audience had no trouble appreciating. Both The Donkeys and Cuckoo Chaos play accessible indie rock that complements the festival vibe. The food was first rate- I enjoyed a "Varsity Dog" from the MIHO Food truck, which is worth checking out if you can find them. It was an all beef hot dog with lamb chili, pickled jalapenos, spicy mayo and maybe some cheese mixed in? Delicious. The beer garden was well priced- 3 beers for 10 bucks, BEAT THAT YOU LIVE NATION FUCKS. The crowd was very mellow, with a refreshing mix of ages, ethnicities and income groups. A particularly nice touch was placing tables in the middle of 25th street and then adding little flower arrangements to each table- very little flower arrangements but it had a great over-all impact disproportionate to the expense involved. Whoever came up with that specific idea- the benches in the middle of the street with flower vases on top- deserves to be singled out for praise. Unfortunately I couldn't spend the entire day there because of family engagements, but I did manage to see Family Wagon and Jeans Wilder. Family Wagon was as traditional a rock/metal/alt band as I've heard in ages. There last fm profile says they've been around since 2008 but this was the first I'd seen of them. Jeans Wilder played with a traditional rock three piece behind him. That is def. a better look for him then the solo look he was rocking last time he was out, but I'd imagine there is an increase in expense that goes along with the band. I thought the set time was early for his relative Audience size- unless he had to go to work or something later in the day... Cuckoo Chaos only has 20k last fm plays vs. Jeans Wilder's 190 thousand plays- that makes Jeans Wilder about five times as big as Cuckoo Chaos. The Donkeys and Jeans Wilder basically have the same number of listeners. Not that this crowd is a "Jeans Wilder" kind of crowd- they would def. have been more into the Vampire Weekend-esque styling of Cuckoo Chaos. Jeans Wilder needs to buckle down and write some 50s style ballads so that the norms will give a shit about his music, then he can do all the expressive electronic noodling that he wants. During his set, I saw hints of that, but my sense is that Jeans is essentially afraid to really go for it, and I understand why he wouldn't on the recently released Totally- but next record- he needs to go for it and give his Audience a reason to recommend his music to their friends i.e. "Hey Jeans Wilder has this song you would really like." NOTES (1) I'm talking about the two Golden Hill Block Parties thrown in 2005 and 2006 as well as Sessions Fest, 2006-2007- which was planned by my wife, not me. (2) If you look back at the time-line of this blog, there is literally a four month gap between January and April of 2009. December of 2008, this blog only had four posts ALL MONTH- all about crime. Prior to the April 2009 Show Review of Wavves at the Echo, you have to go back to a Show Review of the Crocodiles playing the Casbah- published in August of 2008- to find an earlier show review. That's basicallya year that I was "out of the game." Show Review: Crystal Stilts, The Mantles & Heavy Hawaii (7/30/12) Show Review Crystal Stilts The Mantles & Heavy Hawaii @ The Casbah, San Diego, CA. The most notable aspect of this concert was this group or six or seven fans that showed up for The Mantles. Attired in (nearly) matching button up Oxford shirts with neat haircuts and some proper looking eye glasses. All male, from I could tell. They spent the entire Mantles set dancing enthusiastically with one another right in front of the stage. As I was leaving, some of them were performing "chin-ups" on the pedestrian crossing sign that is on the corner immediately outside The Casbah. Like other bands I've watched in the past month (notably, The Babies and Foxygen) The Mantles come from a songwriting location outside the "mainstream" of the Pitchfork/blog taste circle, but squarely within the larger Audience tastes of "60s and 70s influenced rock music." I think the two most important Artistic influences for this group of bands is The Kinks and The Byrds, in the sense that those were both big Audience rock bands that also drew from some of the stylistic innovations of rock bands in the 60s without embodying those genres. So, I can see what they are shooting for. I think it bears observation that the natural location for all three of those bands is in Los Angeles, and that none of them are from/live in Los Angeles. Here is "how it happened" for The Byrds main man Roger McGuinn: In 1957, he enrolled as a student at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music, where he learned the five-string banjo and continued to improve his guitar skills. After graduation, McGuinn performed solo at various coffeehouses on the folk music circuit where he was hired as a sideman by folk music groups in the same vein as the Limeliters, the Chad Mitchell Trio, and Judy Collins. He also played guitar and sang backup harmonies forBobby Darin. Soon after, he relocated to the West Coast, eventually Los Angeles, where he eventually met the future members of The Byrds. It's rare to observe the kind of Audience reaction that the Mantles set received from their fans. Compared to that rare occurrence, the Crystal Stilts headlining set was a predictable affair. Crystal Stilts are going to be the Crystal Stilts and that does not include any undignified capering or mawkish antics. You know "people" have told them to be more expressive and their just as clearly are not going to do that. The songs are strong enough to hear multiple times live in concert. I think when a band establishes an Audience size over multiple releases, it's fair to say that number is high or that number is low, relative to similar bands. For Crystal Stilts, with 2.4 million last fm plays, you are talking about bands like Thee Oh Sees (also 2.4 million), Beach Fossils (3.7) Vivian Girls (3), Crocodiles (1.2), Blank Dogs (1.0), Ty Segall (2.3), Dirty Beaches (800k), Fresh and Only's (750k)- you are talking about a group of indie rock bands with overlapping Audiences. You can see there that the range runs from over 500 thousand plays to a pace towards 5 million, but no one above five million plays yet. Let's say you then compared the "similar acts" of Crystal Stilts to that of an Artist like Wavves (8 million). Now you've got Best Coast (12 million), Jay Retard (3.7), No Age (6), Surfer Blood (4.8), Girls (10 million) as well as overlapping Artists like Beach Fossils and Ty Segall. It's easy to see that many of the bands that are "similar" to each Artist over lap or share characteristics, but that Wavves similar Artists have more Audience plays then the similar Artists for Crystal Stilts. I think the audience that showed up on Saturday night was commensurate with the over-all size of their Audience, something short of a sell-out but more then 150 paid. Opening act Heavy Hawaii was particularly strong. They are ready to be unleashed upon the world like the "Kraken" in the 1980s version of The Clash of the Titans: Ok in the Clash of the Titans clip, Heavy Hawaii is the Kraken, and the Greek city is the Audienc Maria Minerva, Father Finger & Jeans Wilder @ Soda Bar (10/10/12) SHOW REVIEW Maria Minerva Father Finger & Jeans Wilder @ Soda Bar San Diego, CA.
The role of the sublime in the experience of going out and watching live music is not limited to excursions to San Diego's Gaslamp quarter or like destinations. There is something that happens in a typical interaction between Audience members at a local rock club and the performing musicians that often achieves a sublime quality. This is a different aspect of being sublime than what an Audience member experiences watching a band play at 207 at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, but the two experiences are linked by the sublime quality which they share. To explain myself, I offer this lengthy quote from Edmund Burke's A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful: WHATEVER is fitted in any fort to excite the ideas, of pain and danger , that is to fay , whatever is in any fort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling. I fay the strongest emotion, because I am satisfied the ideas of pain are much more powerful than those which enter on the part of pleasure. Without all doubt, the torments which we may be made to suffer, are much greater in their effect on the body and mind, than any pleasures which the most learned voluptuary could suggest, or than the liveliest imagination, and the most sound and exquisitely sensible body, could enjoy. Nay, I am in great doubt whether any man could be found who would earn a life of the most perfect satisfaction, at the price of ending it in the torments, which justice inflicted in a few hours on the late unfortunate regicide in France. But as pain is stronger in its operation than pleasure, so death is in general a much more affecting idea than pain; because there are very few pains, however exquisite, which are not preferred to death; nay, what generally makes pain itself, if I may say so, more painful, is, that it is considered as an emissary of this king of terrors. When danger or pain press too nearly , they are incapable of giving any delight, and are simply terrible; but at certain distances, and with certain modifications, they may be, and they are delightful, as we every day experience. (GOOGLE BOOKS) That is from his chapter called, On The Sublime. The source of the pain and the terror in the example of a rock concert at 207 at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego is the alienation the audience member feels from his surrounding environment: the burly security guards, 25 USD drinks and distracting interior design. On the other hand, the source of pain and terror at a Saturday night Soda Bar concert is the prospect of a failed interaction between Artist and Audience, or the absence of an Audience for the Artist.
The first band I saw on Saturday night was Jeans Wilder, performing as a two piece. Jeans Wilder has surpassed 200,000 plays on Last FM, with a consistent weekly Audience of more then 300 people. You would not get the idea that Jeans Wilder is in the very tip-top elite in terms of Audience size for a local music act from his audience size at this show, but personally I'm inclined to see an Artist with multiple records out and 200,000 last fm plays as a low level National level Artist, as supposed to a local Artist. As for not being able to draw in San Diego, it's hardly an impediment, but I think it simply speaks to the fact that Jeans Wilder is not in the business of soliciting fans from an energetic live act. More power to him. Father Finger is actually a woman named Kylie from Providence Rhode Island who performs as a one-piece, with various samplers and keyboards with singing over the top. That also describes Maria Minerva, although the two Artists share contrasting personal styles.
Maria Minerva was definitely not a hit with the Audience, people were not into the loud vocal levels, my sense is that they would prefer to hear the beats. I'll say she was essentially as good or better then other related acts I've seen live in similar situations: Grimes, Nite Jewel, Yohuna ETC. The way Maria Minerva sounded was not that far off from the vibe that Grimes gave off in front of a dozen people in a Krishna basement in Toronto in June of 2011. I've seen Nite Jewel bomb even worse at the same venue within the last 12 months, so there is certainly a question for the depth of the local Audience for the girl and a drum machine formula, and I think Artists who perform in this space can't simply assume that people will be into it. At the same time, Grimes' show at Porter's Pub tonight is sold-out, and by all accounts she has had an incredible, break-out year. When you talk about Grimes, you are talking about an Artist that is closing in at the 10 million last fm plays level- which puts them behind a Beach House (32 million) but above a similar sounding artist like Purity Ring (3 million.) Show Reviews: Crocodiles, The Soft Pack, Cold Cave & Heavy Hawaii (10/22/12) Show Reviews FRIDAY The Soft Pack Crocodiles Heavy Hawaii @ The Glass House in Pomona, CA. SATURDAY "Saturdays Off The 405" Cold Cave DJ Mario Orduno (Dream Recordings) @ The Getty Museum Los Angeles, CA. The Soft Pack Crocodiles Heavy Hawaii @ The Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA. I very much had baseball on my mind this weekend. Watching the Oakland A's earlier this month had me thinking about "Moneyball" as a concept- the idea that you can find under-valued baseball players to make a small market team a contender against more wealthy clubs. Naturally, I started considering the way "Moneyball" concepts might over-lap with the music business.
Last night though, I watched Ryan Vogelsong win an important game for the San Francisco Giants in the Major League Baseball playoffs, and his story- 10 minor league teams and 2 Japanese teams before achieving his current success in Major League baseball- seemed to drive home another, non-Moneyball related lesson about dedication to achieving success in a specific field. Although Moneyball is about more then statistics (it's about economics AND statistics), statistics play an important starting point for any Moneyball style analysis. For a rock band, those statistics are show attendance for a specific market + Soundscan registered album sales in the same market. If you add those two numbers together you get a number. Even if you don't know the exact statistics for a specific Artist you can look at the size of the venue they play and the total number of albums sold for a specific release and get a solid idea about whether a specific Artist is a Major league, Minor league or Amateur. If a band can't even generate a score in 20 of the top 50 markets in the United States, they are in the category of Amateur- because Sound Scan is a relied upon indicator of album sales- albums sold outside this framework count for nothing. To apply "Moneyball" principles to these statistics would be to look for Artists who score low on the market ticket sales + sound scan album sales metric. Obviously, bands that sell a million Album through non-Sound Scan channels are at the top of the list. For Artists themselves, understanding commonly relied upon music industry measures of value is a significant step towards professionalism. Bands can pursue the goals of touring and album releasing without outside support- and if a specific act can't do that, then they aren't serious about becoming professional musicians. One key feature that pops up when you look at bands as baseball players is the value of endurance. (See Ryan Vogelsong's pre-San Francisco Giants resume.) It's important to be able to maintain the statistical "heartbeat" of measureable album sales and event attendance figures within the last 24 months. Crocodiles, The Soft Pack and Cold Cave all fit within the same "league" of American indie rock bands. Stylistically they occupy a spectrum from "syth rock" to "fuzz rock" but all three are bands that are fully within the Major/Minor league group of rock bands.
The Friday night concert for The Soft Pack, Crocodiles & Heavy Hawaii was at the Glasshouse in Pomona, CA. Pomona, CA is Golden Voice/AEG territory- I was told that Paul Tollett is the actual owner of the Fox Theatre down the street from Glass House- I assume it has a capacity of 500-1000. Pomona, CA. is geographically located at the western edge of San Bernardino County and is hardly the most glamorous of locations. The major east-west train line literally runs through the center of the town, Bakersfield, CA. style. You can actually sit in the park across from and trainspot. If you close your eyes it's easy to imagine the scene circa 1920 with hobos staring out of box cars in the dusky twilight, as a train rumbles by. The Glass House has an 800 capacity, and I saw it full for the pre-Coachella Jesus & Mary Chain a few years back. Tonight was a more intimate affair, and during the show I was wondering why the Inland Empire doesn't have an Echo/Casbah size 21+ option- it seems like there are plenty of vacant buildings available to either renovate or build a more intimate 200-300 capacity venue that could take over flow from the other major Southern California markets. You could put something over in Ontario that would be right in the center of a 4 million size market and would have, literally, zero competition- all you need is the booking contacts of the Echo in LA or the Casbah in San Diego.
Saturday I took in Saturdays Off The 405, a seasonal concert series that takes place at the Getty Museum in the hills above West Los Angeles. Cold Cave was the band, and Wes Eisold invited Mario Orduno to DJ. When I heard about it, I thought it sounded like the most prestigious DJ gig you could get outside of working a White House dinner, but I suppose pairing indie musicians with museums is almost old hat these days Regardless, it was pretty incredible to watch Mario DJ for the Audience- which was eager to see Cold Cave. I believe more then 1500 people showed up. Cold Cave fans predominated- my speculation that the crowd might contain many people who were just there for the Museum and vibe proved largely unfounded.
Saturday night was Friday night's bill repeated at the Echoplex. This was my first trip to the Echoplex, which is located underneath the Echo, but with an entrance that is on a street that runs underneath and perpendicular to Sunset Ave. The entrance is to the left in the parking lot with the mural on the fall wall. I would rather see a band at the half full Echoplex then a bonkers Echo show- I can't even imagine what a sold out Echoplex show must involve. All the bands seemed happy to be home, they all seemed reasonably fresh considering the amount of time spent on the road. Heavy Hawaii in particular seemed to have grown in confidence and had a more convincing delivery then before they left San Diego. I think the over-riding concern confronting both Crocodiles & The Soft Pack is persistence. Are they willing to stick it out for 10 years or more for the chance that they reach some kind of critical mass equivalent to that of the "Major League" rock bands of today, or can they find a different or smaller niche within the music industry or do they give up. Certainly both band require growth in Audience size to sustain something resemble a sustainable, middle class life-style. Both bands face the relentless pressure that time places on mid-level indie musicians- opportunities foregone and the sheer grind of playing to small crowds in minor markets. Unfortunately, there is no better way to increase Audience size for a rock band. The existing Audience for rock music is older and less plugged in the disciples of edm and hip hop. In that way, a contemporary indie rock band is more like a country artist then a hip hop artist. Like country artists, rock bands are looking for an Audience that exists "off-line" and an "on-line" Audience that is skeptical of the value of the art form itself. The only way to combat the lack of critical interest in rock music is to accumulate live show statistics and to continue to produce a new full length, sound-scannable album every 1-2 years. The music industry itself doesn't care about the initial stages of internet acceptance for a new Artist, but if they see respectable sound scan figure from an indie released Artist, you can guarantee more interest from larger labels (with Soundscan access.) If an individual Artist is doing that it's just a question of when success will occur and if they are ready to wait it out and continue to produce music and tour. Like Ryan Vogelsong playing for 12 years in the Minor Leagues. He was willing to persist where many would have quit. Show Review: King Dude @ The Soda Bar in San Diego (11/15/12)
Show Review King Dude at the Soda Bar in San Diego, CA. King Dude got a very solid turn out at the Soda Bar last night. 100+? Query as to whether the price point (7 USD) had a positive impact on turn out last night. I frequently have conversations with friends about the wisdom of shows that are priced 12-15 USD. If you are charging 12, you can pull 60 paid and clear 720 at the door, whereas you could draw 100 at 7 USD a ticket and actually make less. However, the difference between a show that has 60 paid vs. 100 paid- can be the difference between everyone: band, audience, venue feeling like the night was a flop vs. the night being a success. Personally, I would say that for your average mid week indie rock show you are looking at potentially 50 more people for a show that is 7 USD vs. 12 USD. When you are talking about a threshold for success that starts at 100 paid, that is potentially a huge difference.
The other thing I was thinking about last night at the show was booze. I think it was last week when I was perusing Pitchfork and saw a scotch ad that incongruously featured Best Coast (Bushmills?) and that had me thinking about how, in the same way that all of television is just window dressing for advertising, all of the indie music scene is essentially window dressing for the sale and consumption of alcohol. Last night I was actually excited about the prospect of a bourbon but the bartender served my order of "Makers, neat" in a shot glass, like an idiot. Who drinks neat bourbon out a shot glass? More importantly, what bartender serves that specific drink in a shot glass. I've never seen it done. I have been to multiple bourbon distillers in Kentucky however, and I know that if the bartender tried to serve someone in Kentucky a neat bourbon in a shot glass he get the dick slapped out of his mouth. Small quibble at any rate- didn't impact my enjoyment of the night.
Live, King Dude performed as a three piece. From the press photo I was expecting a Rick Rubin type appearance but instead it was more of a Johnny Cash thing- everyone dressed in matching black button down shirts, combed back hair and- and- an american flag that had been spray painted black hanging behind the band during the set. The performance reminded me of lying somewhere between the Thermals and Crystal Stilts. TJ Cowgill- King Dude's songwriter/singer/main man obviously knows how to write song, has obviously thought out the King Dude set and has a delivery that ranged from compelling to awkward- which is all to the good as far as I'm concerned. According to all press King Dude is actually a side project for Cowgill who also (fronts?) Teen Cthulhu and Book of Black Earth, but King Dude has already garnered more plays then the other two, earlier projects. I think Cowgill is onto something here and he should probably stick with it for another album or two- I think everyone associated with King Dude should be stoked about the turn out they pulled on a Wednesday night in San Diego at the Soda Bar. Here are some upcoming tour dates for King Dude- recommend checking out that First Unitarian Church gig in Philly if you are a local- Dirty Beaches played there last year and I heard it was a great venue. 12/07/12 Brooklyn, NY Europa 12/08/12 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church 12/12/12 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle 12/14/12 Oakland, CA Uptown Nightclub 12/15/12 Oakland, CA Uptown Nightclub Show Review: How To Dress Well, Beacon @ Soda Bar San Diego (12/3/12) Show Review How To Dress Well Beacon @ Soda Bar in San Diego, CA. The thing about this show is that before it was booked I was actually asked by someone about how I thought the show would do and I checked the last.fm page- saw 3.5 million plays and basically opined that the show would do well- sell-out even. How To Dress Well (which is Tom Krell and whomever he taps to tour with) scored back to back Best New Music nods for his first two records. If you can show me another Artist who has done that- please- leave a comment, because I can't think of one. But actually if you compare the two Best New Music picks with his number of Last.fm plays, the number of plays is actually pretty low- compared to other Artists who have gotten BNM for a first record. Two Artists in the immediate vicinity of How To Dress Well- Grimes (9.7 million plays) and Purity Ring (4.1 million plays) have garnered a larger Audience with fewer records. Comparing the Pitchfork success with the last fm profile size would seem to support the conclusion that the Audience for popular music does not like How To Dress Well as much as the music reviewers at Pitchfork. The Audience size for last nights show was good for a 12/15 price point on a Sunday night, but nothing close to a sell out- as I thought well might be the case when I was originally asked how I thought this show might do. The Audience composition last night was def. "FANS OF HOW TO DRESS WELL." with a smattering of local regulars. Opening act Beacon impressed the booth invading college students who were near by me during the set. They are a two piece- with one guy handling the beats and the other guy singing 90s r&b style. The live element was non existent, whether by design or from lack of experience I don't know. I thought Beacon has the ingredients to be a viable act but it will come through a full length record rather then a strong live show presence. In between sets I heard that the Grimes show at Porters PUB was sold out, that the XX show at the Hollywood cemetery was a real good time and that the Purity Ring concert at UCSD last year was also a really good time. I was thinking about the recent Skrillex concert I had gone to and the difference between an Artist like Skrillex who draws 20k people to an outdoor shed in Chula Vista, vs. a more serious, but still electronically based, Artist like How To Dress Well who struggles to draw 100 people to a Sunday night show in a top 20 US Market after two Best New Music awards. Obviously, the difference can most easily be expressed in terms of popularity. And I suppose it equally easy to say that How To Dress Well is closer to "serious" Art and Skrillex is meaningless pop trash. BUT- if you actually listen to both acts, they share many more similarities then differences because they are both rooted in the shared universe of electronic dance music. When you are dealing with an Artist who is also a graduate student in philosophy, whether it be John Maus or Tom Krell, it's worth asking whether the music achieves some kind of impact that extends beyond meaningless fun. Personally, I feel that intelligent/meaningul IDM occupies the same spot as "conscious" hip-hop: the critics may love it but you will have no gold records on the wall. I'm sure Tom Krell has thought it over and decided that the world of Skrillex is something he'd best avoid- but there is no reason he couldn't compete in that arena if he wanted to- instead of playing to 90+ 20 year olds on a Sunday night in San Diego. Go for Ibiza, is what I'm saying. Forget the US indie rock club touring circuit, it don't pay. |
photo by Rachelle
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