As Fast as I Can...

Got no time to do a real post, but I wanted to let you know that DJ Shadow is playing 2 free shows tonight at Amoeba in Berkeley at 4:00 p.m. and Amoeba San Francisco at 8:00 p.m. Get there early, since they’ll be packed. Serena Maneesh plays shoegaze psych at Bottom of the Hill. Sharon Jones bears her funky soul at Bimbo’s. USAisaMonster does psych noise at the Hemlock. All for now. Oh, except that Guns n Roses play the Warfield. Take it however you will.

Gratis (x2) in the East Bay Tonight

If you missed Ratatat’s sold out show last night at Great American, you’re in luck, because they’re playing a free show in Berkeley tonight. More info here. Requires very little investment on your part and should be good, so why not? The only thing keeping me from being 100% sure I’m going to be there is the coming onslaught of exhaustion, having been up since 2:15 a.m.

If you’re not quite ready to go home after Ratatat finishes, hang out in Berkeley for a bit and then check out this event, which sounds very interesting:

Tuesday September 19th
9PM
Mills College - 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland
Greek Theater
(it's outside, behind the Concert Hall in the Music building)
FREE admission -- but Fred and Soma are on tour
and "gas money" or "snack money" is
happily accepted

FRED THOMAS and SOMA WINGELAAR
Boundless/Countless:

Thomas is a musician, producer and recording artist best known for his work with experimental pop group Saturday Looks Good To Me. Thomas has been touring the world with his music since age 19 in one form or another. Under the auspices of his label Ypsilanti Records, Thomas has spent the last five years releasing his own material in addition to such artists as Genders, Dead Machines, and His Name Is Alive. In April his solo record Sink Like A Symphony debuted, and recent concerts have gone the way of reverb-heavy vocal loops and wordy folk songs, quite the departure from SLGTM's carefree pop and soul.

University of Michigan graduate Soma Wingelaar is an installation artist and printmaker who recently completed a residency at Gallery Project in Ann Arbor. Her work ranges from large-scale drawings and engravings on industrial material to interactive soft sculpture and installation.

"The Boundless/Countless installation is designed to conform to any space. Wineglaan has created a structure that "breathes," fueled by a fan that inflates and deflates the translucent, rip-stop parachute material from which it is made. The audience is invited inside the structure, where musician and record producer Thomas improvises sound while his co-star manipulates ambient lights along with the respiratory intensity of the fan."

Playlist 09.12.06

tuesday, september 12. 2006
3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.

< california noise box set series part 6 of 10 >
solid eye – live at wfmu, september 13, 1998
< visit www.californianoise.com for more info >

dub gabriel – garden of light in the shade of grey
nai htaw paing ensemble – gwet-rom-sai-che
uske orchestra – sous un mot aux couleurs…
thai elephant orchestra – temple music

philip jeck – pax
machinefabriek – wolkenkrabber

jesu – dead eyes
the goslings – statuette
geoff mullen – untitled (track 5 from ‘the air in pieces’)

espers – mansfield and cyclops
alasehir – bone fire

the necks – abillera

dj krush feat. dj shadow – duality (2006k mix)
massive attack & mad professor – backward sucking (heat miser)
dj shadow – midnight in a perfect world
massive attack – black milk

psalm one – the living
ratatat – loud pipes

the fall – u.s. 80’s-90’s

Past, Present & Future Shows (For This Week)

Another week behind us, another weekend ahead. At least this week was fairly slow in the show department, making my life easier, both in terms of posting and not having to go out. I did, however, make it out last night for the Tortoise and Curtains show. The Curtains were disappointing, given my enjoyment of their ‘Vehicles of Travel’ album. What came across on the album as quirky experimental pop, came across as sloppy experimental pop when played live. Tortoise played a solid set (or at least the hour of it that I stayed for), touching on different parts of their ten-year catalog. Seeing them in small venue like the Great American was great, but the set seemed to lack that special “something” that they had when I saw them a few years ago. Not quite sure what it was, could have even been just me being tired at a show by myself, who knows.

That’s the past, on to the future. I apologize in advance for typos and lack of links, but am quite busy.

Friday, September 15, 2006

For those of you who like totally just wanna have fun and just wanna drop some serious cash, head on over to the Palace of Fine Arts and see Ms. Lauper herself. Couldn’t resist mentioning that.

Mezzanine’s got Radio Soulwax, featuring Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele (a.k.a. 2manyDJs) rocking the turntables with a full band as Nite Versions Live and doing a 3 hour DJ set as 2manyDJs. Expect a little bit of everything in the mix, just like they did on their excellent release, ‘As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Pt. 2.’ At $20 in advance and $25 at the door, it’s pricy, but for a proper Firday night out in the club, this is my top pick.

If shock rock of the punk variety is your thing, head over to Annie’s Social Club and check out the Womentors, an all-female Mentors tribute band. Apparently the last time they played, each of the women in the band (including KUSF”s Carolyn) had a slave on a leash. And with song titles like “Sandwich of Love” and “Wine You, Dine You, 69 You,” what’s not to like?


Saturday, September 16, 2006

If Beach Boys-informed pop punk with teenage lyrics about girls, farts and your parents making you do shit you’d rather not is your thing, The Queers play 924 Gilman in the East Bay. Just be prepared to stick your middle finger up a lot, as it’s the thing to do whenever “fuck” is sung. And “fuck” is sung a lot. P.S. The Queers’ ‘Love Songs for the Retarded’ will always have a special place in my heart, so I feel pretty strongly about these guys.

Good old Prefuse 73 (a.k.a Scott Heren) plays Club Mighty. Hopefully his experimental hip hop will sound better than it did when I saw him a few years ago at Coachella. I’m a huge fan of his albums, with their deconstructionist cut-up hip hop, so maybe it’s worth a chance?

If more traditional hip-hop is your thing, with conscious lyrics and great MCs, the Fillmore has Zion-I with the Team, Gift of Gab, and Turf Talk. Unlike so many “Blackalicious” shows, you may actually get to see Gift of Gab. Wow!!!

Haven’t heard anything material from Lulacruz, but the description from Luis Maurette, the male half of the duo, at a party a couple of weeks ago sounded quite interesting. The Red Poppy Art House (where the show is) says that Lulacruz “weaves female vocals, South American instrumentation, found sound objects, and field recordings with electronic manipulation.”

Chicago DJ duo Flosstradamus plays Milk. I know very little about them, except that they bust out the hip hop and r&b remixes and their live set is supposed to be killer (or that’s what my friends in Austin say). They’ve got a myspace page, but I’m not doing any linking today, so I can get all this stuff out there.

Last thing I want to mention for Saturday night is a Kontrol night at Rx Gallery, featuring Scottish DJ Alex Smoke who does the minimal house thing that Kontrol concentrates on. Rx is a great space for a low key club night (it’s not really a club even, just a small art gallery), and minimal house is the perfect music for a low key club night. Low key club night anyone?


Sunday, September 17, 2006

Finally getting close to the end here, folks. The Queers are in the city tonight at Café Du Nord.

If prog-rock NES covers are your thing, The Advantage is playing Bottom of the Hill. I just downloaded a bunch of actual NES music the other day, and it fucking kills. No wonder these guys do what they do. And they’re great live.

Breakestra plays the Independent, busting out funk of the variety we have come to consider “breaks,” i.e. the kickass part of a record that makes you move your goddamn ass. So get ready to move your ass, because Breakestra loves the breaks. And so will your ass.


Monday, September 18, 2006

OK, this show is sold out, but I mention it because you should try and go anyway. Just try and score one at the door. Ratatat at Great American. Soaring guitar lines over funky electro beats. Their new album ‘Classics’ is killer, as is their self-titled debut, which also features tons of classics. Having seen them a couple of times, I promise you will not be able to not dance. At least I couldn’t help myself. Maybe you will be able to resist. Some people at the show did. In fact, come to think of it, I was one of a handful of people breaking it down like goobers when I saw them open for Mouse on Mars.

Playlist 09.12.06

tuesday, september 12. 2006
3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.

< california noise box set series part 5 of 10 >
spastic colon – post expulsion euphoria
< visit www.californianoise.com for more info >

dub gabriel – rumi go through me
bastard noise – untitled (track 3 from ‘throne is melting’)
wolf eyes – dead hills 2
mr. lif – take, hold, fire!
vitalic – la rock 01

bardo pond – isle
hush arbors – oar of bone
grouper – second wind/zombie skin

flaherty/corsano/yeh – we have to check your equipment for bombs

landing – wrapped up in flight
brightblack morning light – star blanket river child
delia gonzalez & gavin russom – relevee

terry day – alto/cello/drums
ghq – cold dark matter
boredoms – 7 (from ‘super roots 6’)

jesu – silver
harvey milk – my broken heart will never mend
ghost – comin’ home

sebadoh – the freed pig
the mountain goats - alibi

Busy, But Not Too Busy For A Post Re: Friday

Who doesn’t wish there were more hours in the day? If we had an extra hour, I could use it for my writing. Then again, I’d probably just sleep for an extra hour. Actually, in reality, I’d probably just stay out an hour later, giving me an extra hour to consume another drink, lowering the quality of sleep I get and making it even less likely that I actually write anything. I guess we should just leave the day at 24 hours. Here’s my super rushed synopsis of what’s happening this Friday, wish I could tell you more about them all and provide you with links and audio samples, but I am a busy man today:

At the Independent, it’ll be organ and drums improvisation of the jazz with a little rock variety, courtesy of Benevento/Russo Duo. Jacob Fredd Jazz Odyssey will start your Friday night off right when they open up with keys/bass/drums groovin’ rockin’ jazz. Just think of this show as tiding you over until Medeski, Martin & Wood play here on the 26th.

Is Megadeth still around? Apparently, because they’re playing the Oakland Arena with Lamb of God and Opeth and a shit ton of other metal acts. If you’re interested in going to this show, you probably already know about it. I just feel the need to plug it because I love Lamb of God and their new album kills. Maybe it’s the fact that my first couple of years of high school were spent listening to Pantera, Machine Head, Biohazard, Sepultura, et al., but Lamb of God just sound so tight.

For the East Bay folks, check out Oxbow and Genghis Tron at the Stork Club. I’ve heard different things about who else is on the line up. Maybe it’s Totimoshi, and maybe it’s The Thrones (more on that later). Who cares? Your ears will already be bleeding when Oxbow drops its super heavy, super weird set. I finally saw them at SXSW and they were rocking so hard (Is it metal? Some weird form of harcore? Just really heavy experimental rock?) that I had to be dragged away by friends so that I wasn’t left in some strange part of Austin. Oh and Genghis Tron, who I have not had the pleasure of seeing will no doubt cause not only your ears to bleed, but also perhaps your brain to just melt inside of your skull, what with their grindcore-electronica. You’ll be nice and relaxed during one of their electronic melodic breakdowns until they come right back with an insane blast of grindcore fueled by a drum machine that surely will cause you to hear jackhammers for weeks. That is, if your brain doesn’t just melt.

Where will I be when there are all these other shows? At Bottom of the Hill, where KUSF is co-presenting the Japanese New Music Festival featuring Acid Mothers Temple and Ruins. These legendary psych/noise/rock/experimental/wtf bands (in the loosest sense, given the configurations of these collectives, centering around one member in each group) will be performing in seven different configurations throughout the evening. Want to learn more? Here’s what I snagged off of Bottom of the Hill’s website about each of the acts:

ZUBI ZUVA X (Yoshida/Tsuyama/Kawabata)
Eccentric poly-rhythmic a cappella ensemble. It covers from Gregorian chant to ethnic music, to do-wop to hardcore screaming, heavily using irregular rhythms and polyrhythm. All sorts of ideas and aberrant musicality overturn the image of a cappella. their totally meaningless lyrics and desperate performances throw the audiences into the abyss of the laughter and admiration. it makes the concept of "singing ability"nonsense.

AKATEN (Tsuyama/Yoshida)
Formed in 1995 with the motto of "irresponsibleness" and "perfunctoriness." They easily free themselves from the spell of the traditional seriousness of the art. Using daily commodities like scissors, toothbrush, zipper, camera, and plastic bottle as percussions, and shouting their brand names over and over as the "songs," the show is performed under the concept of low cost and maximum sound effect. AKATEN is the experimental convenience store punk band that provides the sound images of cheap and simple daily lives.

RUINS ALONE (Yoshida)
RUINS is pioneer of Drum & Bass duo. Tunes are complicated and mysterious, and songs are sung in the language of their own invention. It's high-tension, wild, heavy, speedy, acute, and powerful tremendous ensemble never sounds like they are only two players. since last bassist left Yoshida still seeking a bassist and currently he has been playing as RUINS ALONE. playing RUINS songs with sampling bass. this time Yoshida will play songs from Koenji Hyakkei and Korekyojinn too.

ZOFFY (Tsuyama/Kawabata)
Formed in 1998. Zoffy's music hints both at the members' deep musical knowledge via their improvised performances of troubadour music and European trad, and also at their deep love for rock via their destructivist covers of classic rock songs, thatno longersounds like anything but ZOFFY. The group believesthat humor is essential in music, and their unprecedented performances stray far from the beaten track. Is this the Ultima Thule that rock music has long been aiming for?

SHRINP WARK (Kawabata/Yoshida)
A new improvising duo consisting of Yoshida from Ruins and Kawabata from AMT. group inspired by This Heat and band name taken from their song "Shrink Wrap". Cosmic chemical reaction sound that embraces a multidimensional chaos based upon the principles of minimalism, an anarchistic warping of the time axis, and ultra-accelerated revolving of time particles.

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE SWR (Kawabata/Tsuyama/Yoshida)
Acid Mothers Temple have rapidly become acclaimed as the greatest, most extreme trip psychedelic group in the world. Releases have appeared on labels around the world at an amazing pace, and the magnificence of their live performances is already being whispered of as legendary. SWR is the AMT Family's most powerful battle-formation yet. featuring Tsuyama and Kawabata from the original AMT and Yoshida from Ruins. their crushingly acute freakout sound will pulverize the world's legions of wannabe psych groups.

SEIKAZOKU (Kawabata/Tsuyama/Yoshida)
Formed in 1996. The expansive musicality of the group, which nonchalantly references classic prog and rock, ethnic music, jazz and contemporary composition, is backed up the three members' impressive backgrounds and the depth of their musical knowledge. Improvised music for holy trinity heresy that runs the full gamut of ethnic and electric instruments, primitive stupidity, the suspicious stench of medieval alchemy, the raw power of early rock music, all leavened with a pinch of cosmic incoherency.

Incestuous bunch, no? That’s it for Friday. Hopefully I will have a chance to get the rest of the weekend out there tomorrow, but I should point out that Saturday brings the annual Power to the Peaceful Festival to Golden Gate Park featuring Michael Franti and Blackalicious and bunch of others. Should be good and it’s for a great cause. Who doesn’t want some fucking peace?

What's Not To Like?

It's a website/email newsletter that points out free and cheap drinks arounf the city. Just don't let too many people know about it, or else we'll have trouble scoring.

http://sf.myopenbar.com/bars.php

Get Hard, Get Soft, Get Drunk, Get Whatever

Wednesday, September 6, 2006
CocoRosie and Busdriver
Great American Music Hall
$15

I love me some CocoRosie. On record at least. Sisters Bianca and Sierra make fucked up… um… music. I suppose the easiest way to describe it would be as folk-tronica. But the folk is of the weird variety and the “tronica” is fairly experimental as well. There’s an undeniable Billie Holiday influence on the vocals and plenty of pop mixed in with the weirdness. I have no idea what to expect from the duo in a live setting, but I imagine it will either be awfully amazing or amazingly awful. At least Busdriver is opening, and he has never disappointed me. Part of the Project Blowed crew out of L.A., Busdriver spits like you won’t believe. And Great American’s nigh impeccable sound should allow you to actually be able hear what he’s saying, which has been a problem at some shows.


Thursday, September 7, 2006
Vashti Bunyan & Brightblack Morning Light
Great American Music Hall
$20

Not really sure what to expect from Ms. Bunyan, either. After releasing the gorgeous, classic ‘Just Another Diamond Day’ LP in 1969, the British folkie quit music and moved on. Then, 30 some odd years later, she discovered on the internet that she had a huge fan base, and got back to work, re-releasing the aforementioned LP, recording with Animal Collective and putting out a new album, ‘Lookaftering.’ Once again, don’t know what her set will be like. And once again, the opener is strong. Matador-signed locals Brightblack Morning Light make quiet spaced-out rock that sounds best in the middle of the night when your doing whatever it is you do to space out. But it also sounded great in the middle of a hot day down in Saratoga when I saw them at Bleeding Edge a little while back, and it will, I’m sure, sound great through that wonderful system at Great American when they play before Ms. Bunyan.


Thursday, September 7, 2006
Oxbow, Flying Luttenbachers, Genghis Tron and The Mall
The Knockout
$?

If the quiet show is not quite your thing, then I’ve got the perfect alternative for Thursday night. Oxbow’s experimental heaviness, the Flying Luttenbachers free-jazz metal experimentation (now featuring Mick Barr of Orthrelm and Octis on guitar for extra shred), Genghis Tron’s grindcore-with-drum-machine electronic madness and The Mall’s jazz metal (don’t really know anything about the mall, so I hope my description is accurate). Be warned: This show will be H-E-A-V-Y.


Thursday, September 7, 2006
KUSF DJ Night
Lucky 13
Free

If not going to shows period is more your thing, then come hang out a bar with me and all your favorite KUSF DJs while we get drunk and listen to a few DJs spin some records. Great beers on tap!!! Cheap beers in cans!!! More DJs than you can shake a stick at!!!

Loads of Lenode 09.05.06

tuesday, september 5, 2006
3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.

< california noise box set series part 5 of 10 >
damien romero – monde brutal
< visit www.californianoise.com for more info >

dan deacon – track 1 from ‘acorn master’ (forgot to write down track name, doh!)
amps for christ – scotland the brave
spectre folk – jammers
spring heel jack – obscured

googol bordello v. tamir muskat – when i was a little spy
cay talan – ciftetelli (from ‘beyond istanbul: under ground grooves of turkey’)
dr. octagon – aliens
lady sovereign - random (a. brucker & sinden remix)

oneida – history’s great navigators
pink mountaintops – lord, let us shine
the jesus & mary chain – happy when it rains
coughs – malibu (from ‘zum audio volume 3’)
curse of the birthmark – 1700 witches

todd – the horse soldier
leviathan – courtship of the discarded
striborg – wrapped in a cocoon out of harms way
antaeus – gates to the outside

mayhem – in the lies whereupon you lay
fat worm of error – petulant bureaucrats pummeled
sixes – track 2 from ‘organ cuts ii’
volcano the bear – see me now

john lee hooker – don’t be messin’ with my bread
theo abgell – cannonball
excepter – the “rock” stepper
dj krush feat. anticon – song for john walker (sticky mix)

alçeu valença & geraldo azevedo – mister misterio
keleya – mossa doumbia (from ‘world psychedelic classics 3: love is a real thing’)
grupo naidy – mi gallo corococ (my rooster crows)
nomo – we do we go

ratatat – loud pipes

Loads of Lenode 08.29.06

tuesday, august 29. 2006
3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.

< california noise box set series part 4 of 10 >
moth drakula – in heaven everything else is fine
< visit www.californianoise.com for more info >

kidd jordan, hamid drake and william parker – forever
lugubrum – holy fools embodied
anaal nathrakh – procreation of the wretched

charalambides – strange matter
rhys chatham – guitar trio
stereolab – la demeure
edip akbayram - kolum nerden aldin zinciri (my arm, where do you got the bracelet from)

lubomyr melnyk – wave-lox
joe colley – side a from “8 phased loops”

the goslings – in may
the artificial intelligence agency – track 10 from “drum > machinegun”
noism – tracks 11 & 12 from “drum > machinegun”
kevin & chad – side b from untitled 7”

darc mind – give me time
pedestrian – o silent bed
quantic – blow your horn
bullfrog – snakeskin

six organs of admittance – black wall
comets on fire – jay bird
jane – berserker
wizardzz – whispers from wallface
parts & labor – stay afraid

paul flaherty-chris corsano – what do you mean this is a dry county?