Category: music music music!

This photo wasn’t taken at the Hemlock last night but was the closest approximation of the 5 member line-up that I could find elsewhere. Too bad the drummer is cut out of the shot but anyways…they looked something like this, which seemed pretty damn young to be producing such a raw crunching bruising noise just bursting at the seams with garage rock aplomb and seasoned ability screaming from a past they are all too young to know about let alone play with such maniacal skill. They are from Athens, Greece and I’m hard-pressed to tell you of another band from there ever.   Their very formidable debut LP and a handful of great singles plus a reputation for tireless touring and wildly frantic live performances firmly vaulted Acid Baby Jesus into the growing ranks of the international garage-rock underground, joining notables like Spain’s Mujeres, Italy’s Sultan Bathery, Berlin’s King Kahn and the Shrines, France’s Magnetix, Australias’ Total Control,  San Francisco’s very own Thee Oh Sees, and many more bands who create  an old rock and roll sound with a vitality that seems fresh and new yet  primal.  Bands like these are saving Rock and Roll with prolific recordings distributed indie-style and stringent international touring.  They are alive  and well and  existing in the Underground, bypassing the need for mainstream exposure or  major label support.  People buzz about these bands anyway.

Acid Baby Jesus very casually took the small stage and quickly set up and the lights were down.  I was really surprised by how very young they all seemed considering they play like seasoned veterans.  They started in on their first song, the composition bringing each instrument in one at a time building to a powerful multilayered crescendo with tribal drumming low-end frenetic bass and a wall of guitar fuzz with slithering hints of middle-eastern psychedelic meanderings and definite traditional Greek elements that I had not really noticed in their recorded work so much.  The keyboard player figured prominently in the overall construction of a very big enveloping sound and three members shared vocal duties which were often more complex arrangements than i expected.  This was masterful stuff, showing up right away, supporting my theory that nothing makes a band get really really good better than non-stop touring.

The guitarist introduced their second song saying “This next song is called “Vegetable.” It’s what happens when you tour too long,  you become a vegetable”.  The band launched into a much louder crunchier assault, and I thought to myself, “Apparently not!” because this song was a monster.    The two guitarists and bass player alternately shredded on their instruments furiously, assuming one of my favorite guitar postures, the one where they bend over their instrument as it slinks down almost to the floor.  I could tell that eventually one or two of these guys would end up playing while lying down on the stage, another fave of mine.  Guitars mangled each other, bantered,  joined in intricate powerful patterns or impenetrable walls of distortion and fuzz and even some traditional melodic lead/rhythm guitar stuff.  Every path chosen was mesmerizing.  These guys played the fuck out of everything, and the drummer and keyboards definitely had some stand-out moments too, never being less than solid and consistent save for spikes of  well, fucking brilliance, basically.

Another thing I noticed as they moved through songs that varied in mood from miasmic acid-tinged mind benders to more  vocally dominant garage-style burners and again wonderful traditional greek-sounding flourishes (which reminded me that surf style guitar has definite similarities to traditional Greek music when compared) was that unless I’m mistaken, none of the songs in their set were ones i recognized.  I found this to be totally gutsy and refreshing, to play what seemed like all new material for a crowd that very well may have song-specific expectations.  To pull this off you gotta be pretty fucking good, and they were indeed that.  It’s also fair to assume that most musicians are more passionate about playing the songs they wrote recently as opposed to their older material.  Acid Baby Jesus knocked it out of the park with new stuff  and I’ve seen only one other band do this before, skip all familiar hits and play only new and unfamiliar songs and still satisfy their assembled fans and that was Wire on the Read and Burn Tour.  It was so great to finally catch this band and to be so satisfied by the unexpected.  I’ll wait for a new record anxiously.  It also bears mention that The Hemlock is a great intimate place to see bands and the sound quality was really fantastic, their sound man has it down.  If i weren’t working I’d go see Useless Eaters there on the 28th.

By name alone its kinda weird that i haven’t caught on to this band until now, on the verge of their upcoming fifth full LP and in existence since 2006. From New Brunswick, New Jersey’s teeming DIY rock scene, this band has put out their first three records and booked all their own shows independently until their fourth record Castle Talk. Their Fifth LP Ugly is due out in April of this year and they have toured with The Dead Weather, Throwing Muses and Dinosaur Jr. Their LPs are now available on Don Giovanni Records and you can find them sharing bills with hot bands like Jeff The Brotherhood, Titus andronicus and Diarrhea Planet. The first thing that grabbed me about this band was the raw unhinged vocals of singer/guitarist Marissa Paternoster, 25, who says she listens to Sleater-Kinney and The Pixies. You can really hear the much missed intensity of those vocalizations since Sleater-Kinney disbanded in 2006. Marissa channels this for a whole new generation of fans. But thats not all. This girl can play the dickens out of the guitar, complex gutsy and unique arrangements show her as a natural, if not supernatural talent. She brings to mind a young jack white but where he solidly reigns in a traditional blues-based sense, she embarks on uncharted territory, experimental. even mysterious. You dont know where that guitar line is going but you’re ready to ride. Great instincts prevail through all of these records and i cant wait for the new one. I also cant wait for their upcoming show at bottom of the hill april 24. be there–i know i will.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP5GWYXp4d0&w=560&h=315]

Thee Oh Sees–Carrion Crawler/The Dream:  With this, Thee Oh Sees second LP of 2011, we find the local heroes and figureheads of the whole garage-y international underground rock scene delivering their most powerful LP yet.  This disc is like a promise fulfilled by San Francisco’s best band.  Like their incredible live sets, this record hits hard immediately and sustains an intensified drive that burns a groove in your consciousness and could leave you with your chest heaving, sweaty and a big grin on your face.  I love this band and i love the expansive production qualities and the expanded line-up (a second drummer , Lars from The Intelligence, was added, and dual drums are always exciting).  Carrion Crawler/ The Dream marks a huge step forward for a band that’s in constant motion already.  If you dont like this record you must be dead.  great cover art too. 

Ty Segal–Goodbye Bread:  Yet another local artist who releases so many records it’s hard to keep up, but with Goodbye Bread he really hit home.  I think its his best release to date.  Bookended by his other big release this year Singles 2007-2010 which debuted on CMJ chart at number one, it’s been a banner year for this prolific singer/songwriter who is finally getting the attention he so rightfully deserves.

Hollie Cook–Hollie Cook:  There are few records that quite simply made me so happy to hear and play besides this debut disc by a young artist whose father just happens to be Steve Cook of The Sex Pistols.   Holly was an honorary member of the reformed version of The Slits who toured briefly before Ari Up’s untimely demise of cancer.  Holly quit school to become a Slit and that is so cool!  With this disc she employs a very roots-y traditional ska/reggae/dub sound peppered by some true all-stars of the genre(Prince Fatty, Horseman) in production as well as players in the band.  Her cover of “Walking in The Sand” is lovely (listen below)

http://youtu.be/BfzGW7E4Uo4

Great video too.  This record is an under-noticed gem that deserves your attention.

Grace Jones– Hurricane Dub:  Originally released in 2008, Hurricane saw its domestic release in 2011 as a double disc, including a dub version of the original disc that takes you right back to the dub glory of the famous Compass Point Sessions.  The second  disc is immaculate  bass-heavy effects-laden stoner dub brilliance and a perfect reminder that her entire musical body of work needs no justification.  She’s an original and a genius, hands down.

Moon Duo–Mazes:  Another amazing local act, two former members of Wooden Shjips, who actually moved to colorado recently so i guess they aren’t local anymore, have released a ton of records as Moon Duo.  They create long delicious psychedelic jams with basically organ and guitar and their songs never fail to get a rise out of the crowd when I DJ.  They have numerous releases out and none of them have disappointed.  Listen below

http://youtu.be/KHQQVdi06P0

Le Butcherettes–Sin Sin Sin:  On the basis of mainly the incredible star-power of  band figurehead Terri Gender-Bender and her  live performance opening for The Stooges in December, this record is in like flynn for my best of list.  Angst, anger, feminist theory, Tolstoi, wearing cute dresses with bloody aprons on stage, being an edgy, even frightening performer, trading off guitar and keyboards, incredible vocals, astonishing beauty and fearlessness.  This act has it all in spades.  She is one of those  “I’ve seen the future of Rock and Roll…”  Dave Marsh moments for me this year.

Disappears–Guider:  This band has a powerful grinding chemistry, a grand sum of all its parts that reflects a huge sonic creation full of depth nuance and monument.  They just fucking rock.  Even the 15 minute long final song never muddles or gets boring.  It’s like a feast that never ends, a huge rock and roll dynamic that now features Sonic Youths drummer.

Pow Wows–Nightmare Soda:   I heard this Canadian band’s LP rather late in the year but its been figuring in to my list of favorites with out question as their incredible songs grab me by the balls in a way that true rock and roll should.  They’ve got a real unhinged and natural lust for the dirty fun we crave, us followers of the devils music.

Wax Idols–No Future:  Another local group in a year with locals figuring prominently in my list.  Thats gotta be a good thing.  This disc really took my by surprise with its adeptness and the ability to hit on a number of different styles dead on.  It has pop sensibility, punk rock angst, garage rock aplomb, post punk archness, no-wave minimalism, all-female line-up, and a Wire cover!  Then I learned they were from Oakland!

Ty Segal–singles 2007-2010:  This great collection is perfect testament that something big has been going on here for a few years now.  

The Kills–Blood Pressures:  This one is not as good as their last one but there’s a few undeniably great moments on this disc like the cuts “DNA” and “Nail in My Coffin”.

“… it’s just something that makes you feel alive. It’s just like, it’s something that’s human… Rock ‘n’ roll is like an attitude, it’s not a musical form of a strict sort. It’s a way of doing things, of approaching things. Like anything can be rock ‘n’ roll… You just know it when you see it. I mean, writing can be rock ‘n’ roll or a movie can be rock ‘n’ roll. It doesn’t necessarily have to have anything to do with music. It’s just a way of living your life, a way of going about things.” -Lester Bangs

“

“Well, a lot of changes have gone down since Hip first hit the heartland. There’s a new culture shaping up, and while it’s certainly an improvement on the repressive society now nervously aging, there is a strong element of sickness in our new, amorphous institutions. The cure bears viruses of its own. The Stooges also carry a strong element of sickness in their music, a crazed quaking uncertainty and errant foolishness that effectively mirrors the absurdity and desperation of the times, but I believe that they also carry a strong element of cure, of post-derangement sanity. And I also believe that their music is as important as the product of any rock group working today, although you better never call it art or you may wind up with a deluxe pie in the face. What it is, instead, is what rock and roll at heart is and always has been, beneath the stylistic distortions the last few years have wrought. The Stooges are not for the ages—nothing created now is—but they are most implicitly for today and tomorrow and the traditions of two decades of beautifully bopping, manic, simplistic jive.”

LESTER BANGS

After the disappointment of the scheduled september shows being postponed until December due to an injured foot, I was really ready for this show and thrilled to see that the original opening act Le Butcherettes remained on the bill as planned.  I actually went down to the theater early and waited in line to assure a good vantage point for both bands.  I was glad I did.  I was very excited to see the Stooges of course, but Le Butcherettes had really piqued my interest a great deal with their LP Sin Sin Sin being heavily rotated in my DJ sets and the incredible buzz about this band all over the internet regarding Teri Gender Benders incredible live performances.

They promptly took the stage and delivered a set with an intensity well beyond my high expectations,  well beyond.  She is a manic, over-the-top, punk rock siren whose performance was powerful and riveting beyond words.  I haven’t seen a performer all year who was as possessed and focused and clearly “on one” as this remarkable 23 year old girl, switching from guitar to keyboards throughout the set while handling vocals with such unhinged ferocity and moving and flailing about like a girl demonically possessed, fearing nothing like physical injury or any damn thing in the world for that matter.  Her voice was strong enough to be heard without the microphone from time to time and her manner if anything was confrontational and aggressive as she bounded about the stage in a super-girly dress and a bloody apron.  Iggy couldn’t have picked a better act to open for him, there was a perfect sense of appropriateness to this pairing that transcended the 40 year age difference between these two performers.  They distinctly share a certain rock and roll quality that has served Iggy Pop for so many years and will undoubtedly serve her for many more to come.  It’s star-power, pure and simple.  They throw every bit of their soul and being into what they do without question.  They are Rock and Roll personified.  It was so refreshing to see a performance of this caliber, resting on none of the usual cliches or trappings or attitudes you find in so many of  today’s indie or alternative rock acts.  Kinda makes Vampire Weekend and MGMT and so many other shit bands out there seem really utterly pointless and stupid.  It really does.  We have a pure rock star here and she’s stunningly beautiful and ferocious.  The super-primed-to-see-Iggy crowd, seemed completely stunned and taken by Le Butcherettes.  That’s a tough spot to pull off so triumphantly.  Their set was a promise fulfilled.

The Stooges took the stage and after such a great set i feared it might be a let down, for about ten seconds maybe as they opened with “Raw Power” and everything erupted into an indescribably joyous mayhem.  Iggy was phenomenal, in great voice and that boundless energy, flailing around like a precocious child, whipping the microphone cord around, stage-diving, the works.  Part of what really made it amazing was something i didn’t notice till after the show.  It was fucking loud as fuck.  My ears were so incredibly damaged afterwards but I didn’t realize it was any louder than your average show while i was there and I’m convinced that the volume and sound quality really effectively swept me right up into it.  It was arguably one of the best shows I’ve ever been too and definitely the best of the year.  They did the whole Raw Power LP including my favorites, “I Need Somebody”  which was longer dirtier and blues-ier than I’ve ever heard it, a total gut-cruncher that rocked me to my core, and “Penetration” which was pure loud sweaty sex.  I needed a cigarette after that one.

I saw The Stooges when they reformed and toured four years ago on Iggy’s 60th birthday and it was great, but this show was even better than that one, much better, which is hard to believe but the overall scope of this show just nailed the essence of The Stooges.  I find myself appreciating Raw Power now just as much as Funhouse which is quite possibly the greatest rock record ever made.  When they played the song “Funhouse” I about lost it.  It was so long and powerful and Iggy’s vocal delivery was uncannily precise, sounding just like the record and i was getting goosebumps over every single line he sang.  When they encored with “I Wanna be Your Dog” the floor erupted in a pandemonium like I’ve never seen at the Warfield.  It was the most magnificent pit I’ve ever laid eyes on.  This was one undeniably happy crowd, full of lots of people i knew, all of them breathless and overwhelmed, drenched in sweat, bruised and battered and likely happier than I’ve ever seen them.  Rightfully so,  this show was everything I fucking live for–rock and roll at its dark and dirty rebellious and  transformative  best.  Iggy Pop is Rock and Roll.

Yes it is indeed.  I dunno about you but this has felt like one hell of a cruel summer for a lot of different reasons.  Did Mercury go into retrograde like about three times lately?  Has just about everyone you know lost their jobs, mostly after 10 or 20 years of loyal service and suddenly the carpet is pulled out from under their lives so to speak, sometimes with a vague warning, others with no warning at all.  My condolences go out to all my co-workers from The Eagle who this spring ended up with out an income, a home away from home, and a comfortable community meeting place where they could invite anyone to and anyone would enjoy it.  Bar tending is a tough job to lose, its like breaking up a family or banishing one from their loved ones when they no longer appear behind that bar ready to pour and chat with you.  I havent even mentioned the loss felt by the many people who chose the bar as a hub for all things rock and roll–Live shows, unforgettable energy, relentless fun and huge amounts of talent allowed to grow, gain huge followings and literally blow minds week after week.  Thats what i miss the most about The Eagle–the brilliant music venue it had become.  But I dont want to pick that scab any more…everyone is trying to move on with their lives.  Its over, its sad, its missed.  The 13 years that i worked there were the best that bar has ever been and the former owners and all the staff who made that long stretch possible should be commended for this achievement.  It all got muddled towards the end and confusion and conjecture and mudslinging really drew attention away from the aforementioned achievement.  I suppose all of this Eagle closure stuff came to mind again this week when I learned that the world famous End Up had changed ownership and the new owners had decided to fire some of this city’s most beloved and respected Bartenders after as much as 20 years loyal service and huge customer followings.  Sad but true L.B. Jones,  Kerstin, and Cara Crash are no longer employed there and i’m certain i’m not the only one who is outraged to the point of boycotting that formerly brilliant,  historically rich, culturally significant bar.  Without those valued employees it is merely a Hell hole and I wont set foot in there again.  This nails the lid of the coffin tight–and I hope the owners have fun keeping it alive now.  Theres no rest for the wicked, especially if their conscience isn’t clear, and firing great bartenders who have given years of their lives to serve with a smile and make your customers happy, well thats gotta make for a shit-storm of a mess in ones conscience.  Shame on the new owners of The End-up, thats on you.    It is a shame–that place hosted some of the finest moments of a nightclubbing generation–things so many will never forget.  Fortunate that one’s memories cant be taken away, because that is indeed the only thing left of the place we all loved and lived through so much with.  Gay Bar/Nightclub institutions are dropping  like flies all around us.  I pity those who come here and set out looking for a world class night life because it doesnt exist and hasn’t for awhile.  Look around you SF–if you truly enjoy any of the remaining bars and clubs in various neighborhoods from SOMA, The Mission, Castro, Polk, The Tenderloin, etc and want to continue enjoying them you must patronize them like a loyal customer.  They need you–always have and continue to do so.  On second thought, i dont care if the bars in the castro survive–like many others i know, I hate those crowds and avoid them at all costs.  Those people are young, rude disrespectful, loud and stupid and they really turn my stomach.  I hear they dont tip well either.  That’s the face of GLBT future–and its already over,  or just vomiting in front of the Deisel store dressed like lady gaga.  What is wrong with people?  Sometimes thing s just seem so abysmal and doomed to mediocrity.  It’s as if all of the genius moves, the concerted movements, the shared and common goals beliefs, pleasures, grace and identity of the said Gay community over the past three decades has disappeared or  is fading from view.   I’m not satisfied to just make a special page for it on Facebook so we can all reminisce about the good times and fun and trade pictures and stories about it with each other and estimate the body count and say in disbelief, “We’re still here!”  Granted, things change, people change but we are not done here by far.  We needn’t remain in the past like all of the fun has.   Okay, i’ll stop being so totally grim, and i dont want to act as if certain forces in the nightlife scene aren’t trying to make a difference because there are some people who do go the extra length to create great events with imagination and fun and a vital sense of camaraderie and elements to pull a diverse crowd together for something us gays are supposed to be experts at, having a good time.  Hard French is a club that has really blossomed into a very multifaceted roaming series of extravaganzas where the happy people go, and I need to catch up on all the fun.  I also must say that all events created by DJ Bus Station John–the long running  Tubesteak Connection and his two year old monthly party Le Perle Degli Squallor are providing a nice dose of our gay past by way of music and theme to a younger and retro-delighted fan base and its all very heartwarming and specific.  I’m also a big fan of Something, the weekly drag showcase every friday at the Stud with a trio of great talents Glamamore, Downey Friend and Vivianne Forevermore presenting two shows a night and lots of dancing till 4 am with a host of guest DJs of all kinds and generally they never seem to go wrong, whenever I go there the music is insanely good or maybe just insane which is even better sometimes.  I love it when a song makes me laugh out loud and this happens there.  The young-ish crowd eats it up and the trio of rulers are always thinking–creative, wicked, glamorous and smart.   So you see–i dont have every single bit of hope completely squelched out of existence by the rather dour state of  San Francisco’s night life.  It has been a cruel summer but I’m not a completely bitter shut-in just daring this town to try to show me a good time.  Honest.

Over the course of writing about all this came the news that Iggy Pop sustained a foot injury and now the Stooges show is postponed till a later date.  Naturally I’m totally bummed because i was really anticipating one of those life-affirming shows one grows to expect from The Stooges.  Iggy is 62 now and still a wildly unhinged performer whose spirit is an inspiration and I was really needing a dose of that.  I was also really looking forward to the opening act as well.  They are a group with an incredible buzz going on about them right now called Le Butherettes.  I hope and pray that the rescheduled dates will still include them on the bill because by that time this band just might become the fastest hottest fiery meteor hurling towards the consciousness of all mankind.  Yes, its true, we got us a dangerous fucking live one in Le Butcherettes.  They are led by an amazing young woman named Terri Gender-bender, with a hell of a lot to say and she says it in a lot of ways that really get me totally excited, like with extremely over-the-top Iggy-like aggression, boldly un-feminine behavior like urinating onstage, stage-diving, wearing a blood-splattered apron over a pretty sundress, playing several different instruments and hurting herself onstage, scaring the lighthearted and challenging issues of sexual politics and societal expectations.  She’s incredibly pretty, sexy and young.   When Iggy wrote “Gimmee Danger”  I think this is exactly what he was talking about.  Their LP Sin Sin Sin is a killer ride through all kinds of  the aformentioned territories and it fucking rules.  Take a look at this video of her star-turn performance at the Lolapalooza and you’ll get an idea of whats going on here.

and heres another fun video as well

and another–i could watch her all day

So, lets just hope that they get rescheduled with The Stooges when Iggy is back on his feet.  The combination of these two will be giving plenty of danger if all goes well.

At least I will still be seeing The Kills on Friday and I cant fucking wait.  There are few bands today that put on as such a great rock show, proving yet again that two people can indeed do that, especially these two.

Icant fucking wait.  this show is gonna save souls.