New Shows Added

May:

28: Voxtrot @ Bottom of the Hill

June:

2: Club Loaded Anniversary Party @ Rickshaw Stop

July:

20: Camera Obscura @ Great American Music Hall

August:

12: Death Cab for Cutie, Spoon and Mates of State @ Berkeley Greek Theatre
13: Black Heart Procession @ Great American Music Hall

October:

9: The Pogues @ The Fillmore
10: The Pogues @ The Fillmore

I Love You But I've Chosen the Darkness (The Independent, 22 May 2006)

After a much needed break from the show craziness, the new wave of shows started again with this little gem of a band from Austin, Texas. Probably the longest name in band history, I Love You But I've Chosen the Darkness ("ILYBICD") played the Independent amidst a rather sparse crowd last Monday night.

We arrived to catch the Roger Sisters. The second opending band of the evening. There was barely anyone there at the beginning, but then more people showed up (thank God!). They weren't that bad, entertaining at times, but it wasn't like "wow." The male bass player definitely set the mood for the band, but I couldn't help but notice the sweat showers he produced when he would head bang.

ILYBICD came on. At this point, I was sleepy and tired. And the fact that their music is really shoegazey at times didn't help my sleepiness. They were a solid band. My friend best described them as being knowledgeable musicians, maybe even music teachers, but lack the charisma and the "umph" factor that would separate them from the rest of the bands out there.

I haven't listened to their latest release for a long time, so I forgot most of the songs. But the songs they played were borderline New Wave until the lead singer would sing. And I think they would have been better off if the guy didn't sing, and just let the New Wave aspects play out. Like "According to Plan." That's a great song, but the lead singer really deducts from its potential greatness.

I fell asleep for some part of the set. Don't know how long that was, but it was long enough to require someone to wake me up.

I love you, ILYBICD, but I should have chosen sleep instead.


Beer Rating:

New Shows Added

June:

02: Danielson @ Bottom of the Hill
15: ¡Forward Russia! and Monsters are Waiting @ Popscene
19: The Grates @ Popscene
25: Keane @ GAMH

July:

07: Morningwood @ The Independent
15: Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth @ Bill Graham Civic
20: Thievery Corporation @ S.F. Design Center
23: Racontuers @ The Warfield

August:

11: Final Fantasy @ Bottom of the Hill

New Shows Added (Updated: 16 May)

May:

17: Dead Science, Rykarda Parasol, The Holy Kiss & Death of a Party @ Elbo Room
19: TigerBeat6 Records Showcase feat. Kid 606 and Eats Tapes @ Elbo Room

June:

08: Cocorosie, Nomi, Speel @ GAMH
10: Live 105 BFD Festival @ Shoreline Ampitheatre
11: Camille (Nouvelle Vague) @ Bimbo's
15: Cex, Love of Everything @ Bottom of the Hill
18: Futureheads, The French Kicks @ The Fillmore
19: The Twilight Singers @ GAMH

July:

01: Jolie Holland, Sean Hayes @ Bimbo's
08: Tilly & The Wall @ Cafe du Nord
23: Raconteurs @ The Warfield
27: The Buzzcocks @ Mezzanine

August:

03: Bloc Party, Broken Social Scene, Mew @ Greek Theatre
04: Bloc Party, Broken Social Scene, Two Gallants, Mew @ Greek Theatre
07: Editors @ The Fillmore
21: A Silver Mt. Zion @ GAMH

September:

07: Nouvelle Vague @ The Fillmore
30: The Gossip @ Bottom of the Hill

October:

01: The Gossip @ Bottom of the Hill
05: Billy Bragg @ GAMH

November:

28: Do Make Say Think @ GAMH

Destroyer (Cafe du Nord, 8 May 2006)

Last time I saw Dan Bejar, his band, Destroyer, opened up for The New Pornographers at Bimbo's. I saw only a bit of his set, but I really liked what I saw. Bejar is a scrappy guy, full of scruffy features and really rough around the edges. He was also really drunk when I saw him.

Destroyer's new album, Destroyer's Rubies, is probably their best release yet. Bejar's Dylan-esque vocals and his band's pop oriented instrumentation is a perfect match.

At their sold out show at Cafe du Nord, Bejar once again looked as if he drank a bit too much. However, as I soon discovered, he was nearly sober the entire time. The whole crowd was really into their set and they played most of the new album's songs.

One of my favourite tracks, "European Oils" didn't veer too much away from the album version. Bejar was right on with the lyrics, and his band was right in step with him. Another song, "Rubies" didn't seem like it was nearly 10 minutes long, but instead went by so fast that I thought there was more to it.

Like his New Pornographer counterparts, Bejar stuck with the program and interacted little with the audience. But we didn't mind. We just wanted to hear the good stuff. They came back for two encores, because of the crowd's insistence.

I left the place fully satisfied (and tired). Destroyer entertained and they played the songs well. Expect them to play a much larger venue a second time around.

Beer Rating:

Cat Power (Palace of Fine Arts, 4 May 2006)

Chan Marshall is one crazy girl.

Back in 1995 or thereabouts, I was in college at UC San Diego when I went to this show at Che Cafe. The bill featured Ida, Cat Power and Guv'ner. I didn't know who any of these bands were, but apparently they were somewhat of a big deal back then. I saw Ida, and they were alright. I saw Guv'ner finish up the set and they were horrible.

But in between all that was this girl with an acoustic guitar who was the worst act I have ever seen in my life (back then). It was Cat Power. She didn't know how to play guitar. She constantly retuned, retooled and tried to figure out chords. She sang, but only bits and pieces before she went back with fooling around with her guitar. All 11 people in the audience were just awed by her. I was bored and disgusted.

That was then, and boy what a difference 11 years can make. Now, Cat Power is this HUGE deal. Chan Marshall is some sort of living indie rock icon.

I decided to go see her again after listening to her beautiful album The Greatest. It truly is a magnificent album, that is simple, sweet and her voice is just so soothing and sexy. Her contribution to the Serge Gainsbourg album with Karen Elson, "I Love You (Me Neither)" is also amazing. With that, I bought my ticket.

I went in to the Palace of Fine Arts' small auditorium and was just amazed of her stage set up, full of instruments, back up singers and strings. She was backed by the Memphis Blues Band. As the band played, Chan came out all playful and drunk like, with HUGE white sneakers. She was so cute, I have to admit.

She started off with "The Greatest" and the accompanying back up singers and intricate instrumentation added so much more to the song. She pretty much played the entire The Greatest album with the band. Including, "Living Proof," "Lived in Bars," "Could We," and "Empty Shell".

Chan disappeared for a bit but then came back with her acoustic guitar. "This is how you're used to me," she said. Yeah, I thought it was going to spell disaster, because I thought without her band, she has no structure. Compared to her performance in 1995, she played much better and sang beautifully. At times, she veered off into her own world, but slowly regained her composure. I think these songs were from the older albums, none of which I have. She did do a cover song, but I forgot what it was.

Her band came back and they jammed for a bit. Chan then went off the stage and onto the front row of the audience with a friend. From there, they danced to the band while several of the folks in the front joined her. She did a couple more songs after that, and did no encore (I think).

Overall, a fantastic show that exponentially exceeded my expectations.

Beer Rating:

Art Brut (Great American Music Hall, 2 May 2006)

After coming back from a hectic weekend at Coachella, I nonetheless decided that I need to see Art Brut. I can't get enough of these guys. I want to see Eddie Argos strut his stuff. I want to watch as Jasper Future makes these obscene faces and cookie cutter rock moves. I want to experience it all.




Art Brut was just fucking great at the GAMH, despite my exhaustion. They made me forget about my tired, aching state and instead transported me to pure rock bliss. The show wasn't sold out, so there was plenty of room to maneuver. There were some hard core Art Brut fanatics where I was in the front and center.

They played all the songs from their debut album Bang Bang Rock & Roll along with a couple of new songs, even one they just finished writing the day before, and some b-sides like "These Animal Menswe@r:" Of course, my personal favourite was "Modern Art" as shown below:




Like any Art Brut show, it was high energy and loads of fun. These guys are going to be huge, here in the U.S., but I hope that overexposure doesn't do them in. This is their 3rd San Francisco gig in less than two months, and they'll be coming back to California as support for Belle & Sebastian and the Shins in July's Hollywood Bowl show. Regardless, I don't mind seeing these guys over and over again.

The schtick that Eddie pulls are still the same. Hopefully they'll improvise some.

Beer Rating:

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (Empire Polo Grounds, Indio, CA, 30 April 2006)

My friends and I woke up around 10am on Sunday after an exhausting first day at Coachella. I woke up to the bright sunlight and the high heat, which was around 90 degrees already. We took our time getting ready, and even opted to finish watching a movie called The Perfect Score with the ever so lovely Scarlett Johansson. We just couldn't leave until we find out how they stole the S.A.T. from ETS. They didn't, but instead worked together. Boo!

I then went to the concierge desk to pick up my special gift package. I got this great deal at the Westin where for $199 you get a whole weekend plus $125 to spend on anything in the hotel. The lady told me that they'll up it to $250 plus a 50% off coupon if I attend their damn timeshare thing. I told her after my spa appointment tomorrow. Needless to say, lunch was on the Westin that day.

The concierge also told me that the best way to beat the Coachella traffic is to go on Jackson St. off the 10. So we did and we saved a boat load of time getting there! The walk from the lot to the fairgrounds was long, but I'd rather be outside the car rather than waiting in it.

What I forgot to mention was that on Saturday, we saw this guy wear this outfit:





















Which I thought was cool and all because it made me less afraid to wear this:

Yeah, thanks to J.C. who egged me on to wear this complete American Apparel ensemble. My friends asked if I brought my pants with me, which I did to settle their fears. Let me tell you, make fun of the outfit, but I was always comfortable with it on.

I didn't take that many pics since my camera was running out of juice. I wanted to save it all for Madonna.

We started off with The Magic Numbers on the Main Stage. They actually played really well, despite the cheeziness of their songs. And they had quite a following. The band really thanked the crowd for their support. They also played a number of new songs which I don't have the titles of.

We then went to see Phoenix in the Gobi Tent and Metric iin the Mojave tent since they were right next to each other. Phoenix was a bit odd, since their new songs sound too much like The Strokes meets The Stills. We stayed for two songs and were not that impressed.

We then walked over across the way to see Metric. Emily was looking great as always, and was hyper. The band was pretty into it as well. They started off with "Empty" which is the typical song they start off with in this tour. I think they followed it up with "Glass Ceiling." I wanted to catch more of them, but we were on the outside of the tent and wanted to see what's happening on the Main Stage.

We passed by Phoenix again and caught them doing their rockin' version of "If I Ever Feel Better." We stayed for that song, watching from afar, but then proceeded to the Main Stage.

We waited a bit for Matisyahu before he came on. I don't really care for this guy, but I wanted to see what all the hype is about. And to see a Hassidic Jew rap in a reggae style is pretty entertaining. I was bored from the get go. Probably the most interesting thing he did was do those record scratching noises with his mouth.

I was so bored that I went back to the Neighborhoodies booth to get my shirt. This is what I got:


It's from Blur's "Advert" if you don't know.

After Matisyahu was Sleater-Kinney on the Main Stage. These rrrrriot grrrrls were so great! I really didn't like them until The Woods came out. And I am wondering why I didn't like them before. They were fantastic and I enjoyed them a lot. I only knew the new songs they played like "The Fox" and "Rollercoaster" but now I have to get their other albums.

Now the moment has arrived. We left after Sleater-Kinney and went to the Sahara Tent to get our spot for Madonna. But first, we had to endure Paul Oakenfold and his DJ set.

When we arrived at the Sahara Tent, it was already very full. We were able to find a spot that was similar to our spot at Daft Punk the night before. At first we were in front of these Bears. Then we were out of the hairy woods.

Paul Oakenfold played a pretty good DJ set. He really knew how to hype up the crowd, settle them down and then hype them up again. He played Underworld's "Born Slippy" which was mixed with something else. It was good.

After Oakenfold left at around 8pm, the mad rush came in for Madonna. The crowd was getting anxious and every time another background tune played, boos would come out. People were hot, sweaty, anxious and ready to dance.

She finally came out at around 8:45pm. Which seemed like an eternity after just standing there in front of all these people.


Then, the curtains opened, revealing what you see above. Then the familiar ticks of "Hung Up" came on and I was going crazy! The disco ball in the background actually opened up, revealing Madonna and her slew of dancers. The crowd was flashing numerous photographs and everyone was going wild!

Unfortunately, Madonna only played six songs. She also played "I Love New York" which is below:



She also played "Ray of Light" and ended with "Everybody." Madonna was just oozing sex on stage. Despite her age, she looked better than most 20 year olds. She teased the crowd by ending up in a one piece leotard at the end of her set. She even asked the crowd if her ass was still alright, in which we all resoundingly said "YES."

People were disappointed though that she only played six songs. But, I thought it was fine given the situation.

We then walked over with a slew of people towards the Main Stage to check out Massive Attack. We were so tired from Madonna that we just laid down and rested. I also got a veggie gyro to curb my appetite. Massive Attack was more like background, chill music before we went on the next act.

After a 30 minute rest, we walked over to the Outdoor Stage to see The Go! Team. They were energetic and fun as always, but that damn Ninja's voice is just too annoying sometimes. The crowd seemed very into it, and so was I from afar.

Our final stop was the Mojave tent to see a bit of Dungen. They were actually pretty good, despite me not understanding what they were saying. There was a sparse crowd, which was a welcome surprise given the Madonna fiasco.

After Dungen was one of my new favourite bands, Art Brut. They came on really late, and only had time to play a few songs...theoretically.


Lead singer Eddie was in top form as always. He kept on telling the crowd that if they go beyond their midnight curfew, they will be fined $2,000 per song. Well, they went way over their curfew, playing at least 4 songs. Highlights included "Formed a Band," "Emily Kane," "These Animal Menswear" and "Modern Art." For "Modern Art", Eddie went down to the crowd and sang, like he always does. For "Rusted Guns of Milan," he said that the song was about a certain band member and he looked at Jasper Future for that one. After their last song, "Good Weekend," they played a long final instrumental. Their tour manager was constantly signaling them to stop, yelling at them even, but they refused to do so. It was classic!

After another long wait to leave the place, we walked the long trail back to our car. We left the place pretty quickly and got home at a semi-decent hour.

Another great Coachella adventure! I will definitely be there in 2007.

Overall Beer Rating for Day 2:

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (Empire Polo Grounds, Indio, CA, 29 April 2006)

I almost didn't make it to Coachella this year.

As I stumbled home from Ladytron at around 2am, I set up my phone alarm to 4am so I can make my 7am flight to Ontario. Well, my phone alarm did go off, but I hit the snooze button one too many times...on my desk alarm clock! So, I finally woke up and it was 6am. I didn't have that much time to spare.

I skipped the shower, thinking that I'm going to stink anyways at Coachella. I picked up my friend and sped to the airport. Even with security thoroughly inspecting my friend's bag, we were the last persons in the airplane. I slept the rest of the way to Ontario and skipping on the OJ that Southwest was giving out.

Still feeling like shit, we arrived at Ontario. We drove on the I-10 and went to the outlet malls near Palm Desert, reasoning that we had a lot of time to kill before the first band we really wanted to see. Then checked in at the hotel, only to find out our room wasn't ready. At this point, the temperature was around 90 degrees. We then drove to the festival.

We were faced with heavy traffic and we didn't get into the parking lot until nearly an hour waiting. (N.B.: Next time, take the Jackson St. exit off the freeway, should lead you to the "other" parking lot. Easier entrance and exit, but the walk is far from the fairgrounds).

We entered the fairgrounds, and saw the bicycle of death thing:

















We then proceeded to plan our concert itinerary:

















The first act we saw was Animal Collective at the Outdoor Theatre. They bored us with their yips and yaps. I really wanted to see these guys, but it was just too boring for us. I'm sure they're much better in a smaller stage and not amidst this, albeit tolerable, heat.

We then went to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Mojave Tent:

















Clap your hands and say "yeah, that's a pretty shitty picture." We weren't that far away, but my camera's flash capabilities isn't that strong.

We waited for a while since they were having problems with their equipment. I noticed some of the members of Clap Your Hands motioning to their tech guys to fix a problem with some instrument or gadget. They came on finally and we caught "In This Home on Ice," "Graceful Retreat," "Is This Love" and something else. I wanted to stay for the entire set, but I also wanted to see acts I haven't seen before.

We walked over to the Main Stage to catch a bit of Common. I'm not that into rap, but good artists like Common should be well worth watching.

I got bored. However, Common's DJ was great doing all sorts of weird hooks and scratching.

After Common was hot shit himself Kanye West. Now, I was excited to see Kanye for the first time, and I'm sure he's going to be very entertaining. He didn't disappoint. And he sported a Miles Davis shirt which is always good in my book:

















He opened up with "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" and the crowd started bumping from there on out. A full string section accompanied Kanye, along with his band and a DJ. His DJ also played a montage of songs he loved, including A-Ha's "Take on Me." In which Mr. West proceeded to do the A-Ha dance featured on the video. He played "Gold Digger" pretty early. Much to our disappointment, no special appearance by Jamie Foxx was to be found.

At this point, we took a dinner break. Let me tell you, those organic veggie wraps from the Sweet Tea place was awesome.

We sat down with our dinner while we watched Sigur Ros from afar. It seemed like a bigger string section accompanied Sigur Ros this time around, but they sounded amazing as always.

I wandered around a bit and went to the Amp Camp tent where I got some free goodies and had a pleasant conversation with Bruce, Amp Camp's founder. I also went to Neighborhoodies and thought of a clever shirt to have. I didn't want to make a decision until I had time to sleep on it. Thinking that purchases should be limited.

We also went to visit some gnomes in this big globe. I took my picture with one of them:





















Franz Ferdinand was on next:

















This time, we inched our way closer to the Main Stage, but it was no use. The closest we got was the sound booth but that was still far. Franz came out after a much anticipated wait. The second song they played was "Do You Want To" which is my favorite song from the new album. I wanted to dance, but it was so hard to do so.

Alex looked tired and he did a lot of improvising with the lyrics. Indeed, Franz has been on tour since last year. Their set didn't deviate that much from last year's set at the Austin City Limits Festival last year. Yeah, that was a long time ago. They also played other hits such as "Outsiders", complete with the extra drumming, "Take Me Out," another crowd pleaser and "This Fire." They played the slow stuff too, like "Walk Away" and "Eleanor Put Your Boots On."

I wanted to go see Ladytron again, but that was impossible to do.

We then tried to get closer to the stage for Depeche Mode. I really don't care for Depeche Mode, but I thought this would be a great chance to see these guys play. They are one of those bands that started it all. Like the Pixies, Cure and Morrissey at past Coachella festivals, everyone just went for it and tried to go to the front. We got pretty close, but it was too claustrophobic and opted to retreat to the back.

We saw and we watched. They bored me. Their new songs sound way too similar to their old stuff, which is a good thing I guess, but it didn't have the gusto of the old stuff.

After a handful of songs, we then went to the Sahara Tent to get a good spot for Daft Punk. We caught a little bit of the Audio Bullys and they seemed fun. Daft Punk though was definitely the best show of this year's Coachella.

Pyramids and space ships folks:

















I've never seen Daft Punk before, and I thought they will be one of those electronica bands that would just play their songs straight up. But they mixed everything so well, and timed everything so precisely. They knew when to get you hyped up, settle you down and then hype you up again. If you were on "e" that night, you would have been a happy camper.

Just when you think that every possible permutation of the light show was done, more came. At one point, I got pretty drowsy and the lighting effects turned from heavy flashes to something Tron-like and 3-D. I thought the damn stage was heading for me! I think this would be how the kids with the drugs would perceive the stage as well.

Absolutely magnificent! That's the best I can describe Daft Punk's set. A fitting way to end the first night.

However, that positive note came to an abrupt end when it took forever for us to leave the grounds. For some reason, only one small exit was open to handle nearly 60,000 people. Some resorted to jumping the fence. Eventually, after 20 minutes of waiting, the security guards opened another gate. Why they didn't do this before baffles me.

We then waited another hour or more to get out of the parking lot and go home. The festival ended around 1am. We didn't get to our hotel until close to 2:30am. We didn't sleep until 4am, after getting our luggage back and showering.

Overall Beer Rating for Day 1: