Madlib DJ Set Friday January 29th at Mighty

I usually don't do this, but...this is definitely worth the pause for the cause. Acclaimed producer/modern day chopmaster Madlib (Lootpack, MF Doom, Mos Def, Blue Note remixes, etc) will be in SF in a few weeks spinning records at Mighty over in Potrero. I'm not sure what records he will play, though I do know that Madlib is rumored to enjoy good Burgundy and fine vintages of claret, pre-1990. Whether there is any truth to that remains to be seen, but you best believe that I will roll up with a good bottle of Rioja so that my man can drink well, just in case his crew drinks him out of club and home. Madlib, if you are reading, I cannot afford d'Angerville Volnay Caillerets right now but I do think you'll enjoy some Rioja Reserva.

Madlib w/DJ Shortkut (Beat Junkies) & Carey Kopp @ Mighty
Friday January 29th 10pm
119 Utah St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 762-0151

And the 90's Indie Revival Continues: Polvo jams at Slim's on Friday 10/9

Polvo was one of those bands I really enjoyed listening to some years ago while I was exploring indie rock for the first time in my mid-late teens. But I never had an opportunity to see them live. A product of the thriving early-mid 90's Chapel Hill, NC scene, Polvo always had a unique sound: sprawling, psychedelic and laid-back, but with more than a hint of indie slacker aesthetic, experimental guitar interplay and pop sensibility thrown in for good measure.

At long last I righted the wrong of not having seen this very solid quartet. After a nearly ten year absence, Polvo first reunited to perform in 2008 at All Tomorrow's Parties, and like so many other bands have leveraged the reunion to begin recording and touring together anew. Given the competence of their performance, both of new material and re-worked older songs, I definitely would encourage both those who are familiar with the band and the uninitiated to check them out when they head your way next.

Friday night at Slim's, for a focused hour and a half or so, Polvo primarily combined older songs from their Merge Records output with material from their Touch and Go years, with which I'm honestly not as familiar, in their inimitable style. Yes, it is a bit "Sonic Youth-y" as I overheard one concert goer explain to his friend, but there is also a real 70's classic rock element at work here as well, not to mention an Eastern influence which flavors the guitar based compositions and improvisation. While I enjoyed both guitarists' contributions, leader Ash Bowie's songs and riffage really stood out. As did drummer Brian Quast's efforts, especially on some particularly complex and jazz inspired fill-ins. Sparse vocals, usually buried fairly low in the mix, along with some seriously extended jamming, highlight the fact that Polvo is at their most comfortable when they are rocking out, exploring the balance of consonance, dissonance, distortion, bent notes and vibrato at their own leisurely, mid-tempo pace.

Concert Review: Animal Collective at The Fox in Oakland, 5/26/09

To catch an Animal Collective show these days is to see a band in transition. While the band slowly garnered a devoted following playing weird, challenging, noisy music, it was the duo of Feels and Sung Tongs in 2005 which really expanded the band's sonic palate, their critical appraisal and most dramatically, their fan base. With Strawberry Jam and this year's Merriweather Post Pavillion record, Animal Collective has fine tuned their pop sensibilities,without completely abandoning their knack for experimentation.

In that vein, the band's current tour is unlike any other of their previous ones. The set lists include a heavy dose of songs from their current album, with a few appearances from past records as well. This stands in stark contrast to the Animal Collective tradition of trying out almost exclusively new material on the road, offering a preview of how the next record will sound. On their current tour, the band is following the more conventional touring protocol of featuring songs from the current album for sale. Also, AC has sharpened up the live presentation: songs are tighter, vocals sung more tunefully and with greater conviction.

Perhaps appropriately coinciding with their greater success, broader reach and larger scale of the tour, the band played (and sold out, on a Tuesday night) the recently renovated, ornately styled Fox Theater. The band's performance of a few songs from MWP, especially the seriously catchy, sequencer and 80's synth driven 'Summer Clothes' (the Letterman clip from Tuesday night's youtube post was this tune), drew an enthusiastic crowd response. Not quite as enthusiastic as when they played the infectious lead single, 'My Girls,' and the Baltimore club music tribute, 'Brother Sport' as the last encore. Hearing the beautiful 'Fireworks' as well as a cool re-working of 'Leaf House' from Sung Tongs were also highlights much appreciated by the crowd. If I were to nitpick a bit, the only aspects of the show I was not too crazy about were the occasionally repetitive, drone like feel to a few of the songs, as well as a muddy aspect to the sound in the venue. It's a huge, cavernous theater not geared towards acoustics, especially performances which involve multiple loops as part of a dense soundscape. That having been said, the group seemed to balanced their more pop, melodic side with the avante weirdness which has endeared them to so many. Animal Collective has come a long way over the past decade or so. And as always with this group, I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Tonight I will be in Oakland, at a performance of this band:

Excited. Pscyched (east coast). Stoked (west coast).

REAL HIP-HOP RADIO: Commercial Free 98.7 Kiss FM

Big shout out to anyone who grew up listening to 98.7 Kiss FM with the likes of DJ Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, and Latin Rascals. I'm not one of those people, so I'm just catching up on some required listening.

Set it off I suggest, ya'll.

And the band played new material from chemical chords: Stereolab live at The Fillmore

I have a real soft spot for Stereolab a band who, at the height of their powers, could hypnotize with their steady, mid-tempo drone (or later, their funky 60's pop inspired tunes) and catchy, tasteful French and English harmonies sung by lead singer/ co-band leader Laetita Sadier alongside keyboardist/vocalist Mary Hansen. Tragically, Hansen was killed by a truck while riding her bike six years ago, and the band has since undergone various personnel changes over the years. It would be interesting to see how the band's performance would rate since the first time I saw them ten years ago.

Armed with the usual combination of guitar, bass, drums, vibes, fender rhodes, moogs, vox organ and hohner clavinet, Stereolab hit the ground running with 'Percolator,' a tune from 1996's Emperor Tomato Ketchup LP. Really fast, rushed actually, and not a great way to begin the show. Afterwards, following a bit of confusion in between songs, Laetitia jokingly commented, 'after 18 years, we're still pros.' Smoothed over for the time-being, but pauses in between songs would be an on-going issue which negatively impacted the show. Some more new material followed, which at its best sounded like re-hashed material from the Neu! inspired Transient Random Noise Bursts era 'lab, and at its not so best sounded very repetitive in a way that, even for Stereolab, just didn't work. Mid-way through the set, the band launched into 'Ping-pong,' a familiar single which appeared to show the crowd (and band) at their most energetic and emotive. There were a few other highlights, but they tended to involve older material, such as 'French Disko' and 'Cybile's Reverie.' One notable exception would be their last encore, which captured the steady kraut rock feel of their earlier work, threw in some more loud soft dynamics, and seemed to work surprisingly well as an extended, experimental, improvisational piece. Maybe Stereolab does have some new sounds to explore after all.

A taste of MOB from '83

Here is the second on what will be three Mission of Burma posts (the third will be the concert review of their September 27th show at The Independent in San Francisco). The video below is from the companion DVD to the re-issued Vs. album. For those of you not familiar with their history, Boston's Mission of Burma recorded two records, the Signals, Calls and Marches EP (1981) and Vs. (1982), and then called it quits primarily due to guitarist and vocalist Roger Miller's tinnitus. They have clearly influenced dozens of bands, from contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Husker Du, to Fugazi, REM and Pearl Jam, who released their own record titled Vs as a tribute to Mission of Burma. Mission of Burma re-united in 2002 and have gone on to produce two solid, well received albums of new material. The clip below is the post-punk band showing their mid-tempo, melodic side.

Best $25 spent so far this year? Tickets to Mission of Burma

Last night I went to see Mission of Burma perform their seminal classic Vs. at The Independent, one of the better run, more intimate venues for live music in San Francisco. I hope to publish a full show review this week. Allow me to say though, that the show was phenomenal. Those guys really rocked it. Bass, drums, guitar, a few effects pedals, that's it. Oh yes, and the tape delay loop guy hidden offstage around the soundboard. Good shows entertain, great shows transport and lodge themselves in the memory. This show was great.

Bio Ritmo - La verdadera salsa

This Richmond, VA group is the real deal, playing salsa in the the golden age, late 70's style. The song structures, talent of the band, and spot on instrumentation all combine to make these guys great interpreters of This performance was a live one from a television show in PR. If you're in the mid-Atlantic or New York area and are looking for a fix of authentic salsa, you definitely ought to see these guys perform. Tight group, great live show. Here's a link (their site was apparently hacked, so this is actually their page on their booking agent's site)

Man vs Machine, or is it the Man Machine

Well, they are at it again. I needed to delete three identical hacker posts this morning. I am waiting to see if someone on the blogger help team can un-hack this site for me. If anyone reading has any experience, personal or anecdotal, about hacked blogs I'd love to hear from you.

In other news, I picked up a bottle of 2006 Bobinet Saumur Champigny 'Amateus' from Terroir yesterday, which I think I'll open up now to let it breath all afternoon in preparation for a 4th of July New York strip. Ok, done. While I was there, Dagan poured me a taste of some sparkling melon de bourgogne that was delicious - ripe citrus and a touch of brett savor - it reminded me of a cremant de jura from Berthet Bondet; alternatively it also reminded me of Cantillon geuze, if it were to have a touch of residual sugar.

In yet other news, musically oriented, I saw a really entertaining show put on by the boys and girls of Still Flyin' last night at the Cafe du Nord. Fresh off a six show tour of Calgary (that's right, 6 Canadian shows, all in Calgary) the band was tight and in good form. Ska and reggae influenced party music for indie kids.

I'm listening to what is by far my favorite Billy Joel record, Streetlife Serenader. This is the Billy Joel that I love: Los Angelenos, The Great Suburban Showdown, Root Beer Rag, and for a classic radio single, The Entertainer. Terrific sound featuring inspired playing by all the sessions players (and there are lots of 'em). Not surprisingly, Streetlife Serenader has aged much better than the 1980s Billy Joel output.

eek a mouse

Iggy Pop and The Stooges, Live in Cincinnati, 1970

Thanks to my brother for bringing this video to my attention. It was between this and a daytime talk show appearance of Iggy with David Bowie on keys. The choice was a clear one, and I hope you enjoy it.