My concert review of the Mad Professor show at Mighty in San Francisco is looooong overdue. Things have been crazy at my “day job” so the reviews were the first thing to get put on the back burner. So, enjoy these photos from the concert on March 15, 2008 and this short review:
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Concert review of Eek-A-Mouse and Pato Banton at the Independent In San Francisco: Sunday January 13th 2008.

What joy to see Eek-A-Mouse and Pato Banton both in one magical night! Pato Banton is a spritely man who seems possessed by the music at times and lights up an entire city when he smiles. Eek-A-Mouse is larger than life with a subtle flair and he fills the stage as he sings and waves to people in the crowd. Both are huge crowd-pleasers - each interacts with the audience and encourages an irie atmosphere. Both singers pulled people out of the crowd to join them on stage - Pato pulled someone from the crowd to perform “King Step” with him, while Eek-A-Mouse pulled lots of people on stage to dance to “Border Patrol.” But that’s where the similarities end. From their backing bands to their backgrounds, these two reggae artists are worlds apart. The overall experience satiated every hope and expectation from a reggae show. ([More →])

It’s been a long time dream of mine to see Pato Banton in concert. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love Pato’s collaborations with Mad Professor (Mad Professor Captures Pato Banton and Mad Professor Recaptures Pato Banton), but it’s a Big Big Love and Respect. So, when I discovered he would be playing in SF in September, I immediately bought tickets. That’s right, I supported the hard-working bands instead of using my press connections to gain free entry. Jammin to Pato Banton backed by Mystic Roots was worth more than the depreciated american dollars that I spent on tix! It’s been over 20 years since he released his first album with Mad Professor at the controls, yet it’s still one of my favorite albums. I had no idea what to expect from the show, I just wanted to see this reggae idol up close and personal. My giddy excitement tripled within 5 minutes of Pato Banton grabbing the mic! ([More →])

Brit’s floor killers, Vex’d, stopped in SF and rocked a ridiculously packed house at Underground SF on Haight Street. It was bliss to hear Vex’d remixing their own music on the fly! This is just a lite review of their appearance in a room filled with old-school music heads from both sides of the Bay. It was a superb warm-up for the weekend of Halloween festivities still to come. ([More →])

All right Cure fans! It’s been a minute since Curefest took place and now the videos and reviews are flowing like rain! I’ve run round cyberspace, gathering links and videos of the three day festival at Trelawny Stadium (Big Ups To Don and Kizzy for the help!). What we have here is only the beginning, there will be more videos uploaded and more reviews published in the next few weeks. I will continue seeking them out and linking to them here. As I publish more roundups like this one, I will link to them at the bottom of this page. They will also show up as fresh posts in the reggae and news sections. So, you might want to bookmark this page or subscribe to the reggae RSS feed to get the updates. Now on with the show! ([More →])

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…Paul Oakenfold and Underworld Played The Warfield in San Francisco on Saturday September 8, 2007…

I was told that Paul Oakenfold had performed all his “mainstream hits” and crowd-pleasers the night before, his second performance featured more experimental pieces and more of his own favorites.

When I walked into the Warfield Theater, there weren’t many people inside and a dj was already playing on stage. He was playing quietly, a nice mix of ravey techno and trance, but it was never announced who he was. Paul Oakenfold silently appeared behind the gear and was talking to a tech for awhile. When he stepped up to the decks at the center of the stage, he was immediately recognized and cheers erupted from the small crowd. I found out early on that this show on Saturday night was added on after the Friday show had already sold most of its tickets, so while Friday night was packed to the gills and somewhat crazy, tonight would be a much smaller crowd with more room to dance and more fresh air to breathe. Excellent! That’s exactly how I like it! I made fast friends with a european raver fella who had been at the previous night’s show and kept me informed about the difference between the two. It sounded like I had inadvertently chosen a night that had more of the elements that would make the show a huge success in my book - room to dance, ventilation, friendly crowd and good music. My new friend also told me that Paul Oakenfold had performed all his “mainstream hits” and crowd-pleasers the night before, his second performance featured more experimental pieces and more of his own favorites.
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I don’t have a full concert review to share just yet, but I wanted to give you a glimpse at what happened last night when Pato Banton came to town. He performed at the Independent, with the Mystic Roots as backup. He had just launched into his biggest hit song - “Gwarn” when he noticed a guy in the audience wearing a GWARN T-shirt. He pulled that guy up on stage and the two of them ended up doing the most ridiculous duet I have ever seen! Pato swears it wasn’t rigged and you could see the genuine surprise on his face when this guy, Frank, busts out. ([More →])

I love music events. I love attending them, I love hosting them, I love hearing other peep’s experiences of them. That’s a huge reason why I write about music for a living. I’ve attended concerts since I was 5 or 6, I’ve been a crew member for various production companies, warehouse events and soundsystems for 14 years, and I’ve experienced countless types of music environments. Therefore, I can say from experience that the Treasure Island Music Festival was unique. ([More →])

This is a concert review of Murcof and .pig at the 2007 San Francisco Music Festival.

Last weekend featured an accidental theme of deep relaxation. Maybe it was cosmic alignment, or reaching an omega point of stress and fatigue, but everyone around me was discussing how to relax and feel creative. On Wednesday I reached a state of zen relaxation while sitting in the Artaud Theater at the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival listening to Murcof play ambient atmospheric music over a wonderfully rich soundsystem. I have a sample for you, so that you can try to create a place of zen for yourself with the beautiful song “Cielo” off of Murcof’s new album Cosmos. But first, a review of the band who started off the evening and the entire Festival: .pig an electronic noise band from Mexico City. ([More →])

San Francisco adores the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. No other town loves this band more except maybe New York City. Witnessing a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert in SF is almost a religious experience. I can feel how much the music means to each person in the crowd: music that reached them in their darkest hour; lyrics that spoke to them directly; or simply a celebration of life and the sparkle that Karen O brings to the room. Whatever the reason, everyone in the room is affected by the music. Tuesday night, August 21, 2007 at the Fillmore in San Francisco was no exception. The floor bowed deeply under the rhythmic jumping of the devoted congregation, and a sea of arms reached out to catch the melodies mid-air. The YYYs have earned this response from the audience with their relentless delivery of stellar shows. Their music and their stage presence isn’t contained on the stage, it imbibes everyone in the room until it feels like we’re actually dancing on stage with the band. If there is one thing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs do well, it’s connecting with each and everyone of their fans in a personal way. ([More →])

Well, it sure took awhile for me to finish editing and uploading the fotos and videos from the last 5lowershop shindig, but alas, here they are!

Doormouse, End.User, Kontroversy 396, Arson, Bonk, HRock, 666 Gangstaz, the_Stapler_, Planetsize, Rtype, Fishstix, Heartworm CELEBRATE THE RECORD RELEASE OF TEEN SUICIDE 002

this was the flyer for the event:

I apologize that so much of the foto and video footage is so dark…it is after all an underground warehouse with minimal lighting except for cool trippy stuff that doesn’t translate well to film.

here are the fotos:

Sorry! Fotos will be back tomorrow.

AND here are the videos:

this one is my favorite: it’s 5am at this point, listen to the crowd still cheering & yelling!

Thanks to everyone who came out an supported this event! Thanks to all the performers - every single one ROCKED the house! This party was off the hook fun until at least 7am! thanks to Doormouse and End.User for traveling to SF to show us a good time! Thanks to local heroes Kontroversy 396, Arson, Bonk, Heartworm, and Fishstix! AND A HUGE BIG UPS AND CONGRATULATIONS TO RTYPE - for getting Teen Suicide 002 pressed to gorgeous vinyl, mastered by the one and only Tim Xavier! Also BIG UPS & THANKS to the Teen Suicide 002 superstars - HROCK, 666 GANGSTAZ, THE_STAPLER_, & PLANETSIZE r.i.p………

To everyone else- you missed out, your only redemption is to be at the next 5lowershop bru-ha.

Here is the info on the record release, Teen Suicide 002 :

previews of the tracks are available at http://www.myspace.com/teensuicide

Teen Suicide 02 - Welcome to Bayshore EP
Four tracks showcasing the best breakcore, hardcore and jungle artists
associated with San Francisco’s 5lowershop soundsystem.

666Gangstaz - Tricknology
A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a hop, skip, and a jump away from Detroit,
Todd Cook (aka 666Gangstaz aka DJ Crackhouse aka the Slime Lord) grew up
equally influenced by Jeff Mills as Soundmurderer and SK-1. His track
“Tricknology” combines the frenetic chaos and vst trickery of breakcore and
IDM with the bass and tempo of dubstep and techno. Don’t worry, a DJ
friendly intro/outro will make it a snap to mix in.

H-Rock - This One is for Ramo (Julian’s Reprise)
Victor Evans is fast becoming a rising star in hardcore techno. His track on
the first Teen Suicide melted clubs from Rotterdam to San Francisco. This
track is even better. A dedication to the movie Beat Street and graffiti
writers worldwide, this track caused teenaged girls to hug and kiss each
other with excitement in Portland. I swear, I was there. H-Rock produces
speedcore and noise as Vankmen. The “H-Rock vs Vankmen EP” is scheduled to
be released as Teen Suicide 04, as well as a debut release on Fathme
Records, good friends of ours. Look out!

The Stapler - Coldf33t
The Staper (aka DJ FVK aka SoFat! Soundsystem aka DJ Heathrow) was first
exposed to ragga jungle and hardcore through squat parties in London’s
notorious Hackney Wick. After moving back to New York City,
the Stapler started SoFat! Soundsystem, playing the finest in dub, ragga
jungle and breakcore. Now a resident of San Francisco, the Stapler has been
producing original and distinctive ragga jungle. You don’t need a duthmaster
to enjoy this, you’ll be hooked with the first bass note.

Planetsize - Binary Brotha
This record is dedicated to the memory Planetsize. A close friend to
everyone involved with Teen Suicide Records and 5lowershop soundsystem, he
passed away shortly before this record came out. “Binary Brotha” is
definitely the most insane track on the record. Breakcore without limits and
designed to rock a soundsystem, the track is also a reminder of what we
lost.

I did it! I finally headed over to youtube and created a channel for HearingTest! Now i will be able to post videos here immediately!

On that note, let’s get to the Sonic Boom show review!

The digs - Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco, April 8th, 2007.

An absolutely lovely night in SF, already starting to hint at the warmth of summer, with the soothing moisture in the air that is ever-present from the nearby beaches. My mates and i filled our bellies at the late-night diner just up the hill from Hemlock Tavern, because you can’t get fries and root beer floats at the bars here.

There were 2 bands that played before Sonic Boom :
Stevenson Ranch Davidians
LSD and the Search for God

Even when I was at the show I couldn’t figure out which was which, so we’ll skip that part. They were both fun to listen to live, and both were at the mercy of the person doing sound who seemed to have no idea how one was supposed to run sound. When one singer asked through the mic for the monitors to be turned up, they got no response, and no action. So, they had to wonder if it sounded right. In front of the stage, where the audience was, it sounded great. To the side of the stage and on stage, it sounded weird. Luckily, the crowd thought it sounded great. Note to sound tech people - take your earplugs out once in awhile to gauge how it sounds, especially when changing the volume on different things! This person did not, and consequently kept turning up the volume on a microphone that was picking up the cymbals. To the audience, it was way too loud and shrill, yet they kept turning it up….

OK! On to the good stuff! Mr. Sonic Boom played an absolutely wonderful set! He had crazy old digital electronic instruments, like a Yamaha synthesizer, a Dr. BOSS Sampler (which he never used the sequencer of, he triggered each sample by hand as he needed it!), an Electribe (i think it was the sampler version, I don’t think he used the sequencer on this one either!) and some strange little box marked Casio that made drum rhythms akin to old organ percussion beats! You know, samba, foxtrot, rock…. For some reason, i expect this type of gear to make crazy techno or noise or dub or similar. SB made gorgeous ethereal music that was delicate even as it expanded to fill the room. The one man show consisted of songs that he has played in the bands he has been part of previously, mostly Spectrum music. You can hear little bits of the songs in the videos.

As much as I love Hemlock Tavern, and will keep going there because they host many of my favorite musicians, they really need to work on their ventilation. Every show I have ever seen there, I ended up out in the alley trying to cool off and get fresh air. Even with the big door open in the back of the room, it is impossible to stay in the throng of people pressing as close to the stage as possible because it just gets too sweaty hot. And it’s only April now. In July, it is much worse. Some people theorize that this is part of the rock and roll experience, but that’s dumb. I have never enjoyed a show less just because it was comfortable. Just read my review of ISIS at Bimbo’s 365 Club for proof. But don’t get me wrong, Hemlock is still one of the best venues to see music - the stage is only a little bit elevated from the floor, so you can get in real close (which is how i can read itty bitty type on plastic boxes of obscure electronic devices), the sound is usually good, the drinks are proper, and the staff is so dang nice.

Here are the videos, with the slideshow from last week repeated at the end of this post :

Sonic Boom is also the purveyor of a fantastic website, so make sure you check it out : http://www.sonic-boom.info/

So, this is actually just another tease…. I was lucky enough to see the wonderful performance by Sonic Boom in SF this month. Sonic Boom is the genius behind the aural experimentations known as E.A.R. and he is also the voice and half the music of Spectrum AND he is one of the Spacemen3. Busy Boy. Well, he is touring the US and has shows in the UK as i earlier posted about. The show at the Hemlock Tavern was fantastic! i will do my best to write a proper report about it this week. i will definitely have a series of 1-2 minute videos with sound to post up here very soon. i haven’t posted movies yet, so i might have to figure out how to do that within wordpress. Maybe it’s time to start a youtubular account…. ([More →])

concert review of ISIS, Jesu, and Zozobra at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco, CA on April 6th, 2007
by Molli Fire

…

San Francisco

San Francisco is rocked by earthquakes regularly - tremors that rattle the china, or knock a picture off the wall are often shrugged off and forgotten 20 minutes later. This might explain why residents were indifferent to a bump in seismic activity last Friday when ISIS, Jesu, and Zozobra installed a wall of guitar amps that made the ground tremble. Neighbors can blame these 3 bands for the Seismic Sludge Metal rumbling from amps turned up to 5.5 (Richter). Their booking agent was wise to secure Bimbo’s 365 Club for the epic event - one of the few venues large enough, comfortable enough, and loud enough to showcase three heavyweight bands. With Jesu and ISIS, their music history alone would crush the floorboards of a lesser club. Add Zozobra to the stage, and the show would have moved to the basement. Bimbo’s delivered a solid, high quality show in style.

Zozobra

I am super impressed by Zozobra. They could easily be headlining their own tour, but they were an ideal choice for initiating this occasion. They displayed a horde of talent and powerful command of superbly written songs. the night started with frontman and founder Caleb Scofield, appearing solo. He greeted the room with a lovely melody that he plucked from the strings of a red guitar. When he sang, it was dark, yet gentle, almost a serenade. A few moments into this ballad, the rest of the band came out and he switched the guitar for a bass. The other two guitarists flanked Scofield on stage. Both are lean, with just enough hair to cover their faces. The entire time they played, they were grinning and rocking their heads wildly. They looked very similar, almost like twins, which provided me with a stereoscopic view of iconic guitar thrashing. The three men commanded the front of the stage, headbanging powerfully and enthusiastically, occasionally synchronized by a unified strum across 17 tense strings. I felt hypnotized by the timeless guitar stances “the twins” mirrored as they sustained a restless sonic assault. Zozobra created layer after layer of harmonic tremors that rippled through the wooden dance floor, which caused the crowd to sway like skyscrapers on heaving foundations. The guitarist on Scofield’s left deftly worked a nice range of pedal effects - psychedelic tremeloes hung in the air long after the string had been silenced, a repeat/reverse combo twisted melodies into meandering snakes that doubled back over their own tracks. The guitars seamlessly complimented the rolling explosions and fierce pummelings of the drums. The ricochet of drumming resembled an avalanche with perfect rhythm, almost belying the human element at its source. Zozobra rocked so hard as an opening band, that i thought maybe they had just stolen the show!

Zozobra tuned their guitars between songs, then shredded hard enough to wrench the strings into new keys again. In fact, all three bands refined the listening experience by adjusting the tuning of their guitars many times during each set. Most did this without delay, taking turns with tuning or playing something simple as interlude music. Unfortunately, this did not hold true for the wait in between bands. It seemed to take way longer than necessary for Jesu and ISIS to appear on stage. Don’t get me wrong, i do understand the dynamics of breaking down and setting up, especially for the soundguy who has to reset all the levels on the mixer for every microphone pointed at every drum, amp, and singer. It still took a long time beyond that. (And why does every venue since the dawn of time play the most unrelated, inappropriate intermission music over the house speakers?)

Jesu

Jesu was next, led by Justin Broadrick (formerly of Napalm Death and Godflesh). Broadrick had worked out a great set for this tour : he used his laptop to integrate an occasional piano melody, or extra guitar effects, or - for one song - rapid fire kick drum action (a la Mayhem). Not at the expense of the live drummer, however, who was wicked!! He accented the machine gun rhythm with impeccably timed staccato hits on the cymbals and snare. From what i have previously read, he is Danny Walker of Intronaut, filling in for Jesu’s regular drummer, Ted Parsons. Walker plays drums in exactly my favorite style - the cymbals are used to accent and release the energy raised, rather than a constant trigger of sustained sound. I am pretty sure that he had the spring on the snare drum loose so that it did not create the typical noise, but was more like the tight marching drum once used in battle. This, sometimes combined with a rapid fire beat on the low tom at the beginning of each measure, created a feeling of heading into a tribal war. On top of everything, the guy had mad skills and his timing was flawless during the entire set. This more than compensated for the brief technical difficulties experienced by other sections of the band. Dave Cochrane, the stoic bass player, has done many collaborations with Broadrick and is covering for Jesu’s Diarmuid Dalton during this tour. Unfortunately, he encountered a series of problems with the bass amp when it began cutting out of the soundsystem. He fell off a song or two, but the interaction actually seemed to loosen him up a bit. He played more confidently and seemed to have more fun once everything was working properly. All three musicians displayed class and a good rapport, as well as technical skill. Despite this, however, i couldn’t help feel like Jesu was really just Broadrick, and the others were simply jamming along with him. Which was pretty much the case, but i didn’t want to actually feel it.

[splashcast KDIS4782PZ]

Bimbo’s 365 Club

Bimbo’s 365 Club is huge inside - much bigger than Slim’s, Cafe Du Nord, or Bottom of the Hill - and on this night, it was packed with metal fans. Aahhh, but the nice thing about Bimbo’s is that it maintains a comfortable environment, even when a show, like this one, is sold out. According to the club’s website, “packed” is somewhere between 6-700 people! Many decades ago, someone planned its building and interior with the definition of “ample” as their blueprint. The stage had room enough for 3 bands’ drum kits, stacks of guitar amps/cabs, 3 synthesizers on stands, and still ample room to rock. The main room is vast, with tall ceilings and plenty of ventilation. It looked like everyone in the audience had a good view of the stage, and interaction with the bands felt close and intimate. The decor is luxe and elegant, in the style of a 1940’s dinner club, and the waitresses are a bit punk rock with their black fishnets and crowd maneuvering skills. Bimbo’s 365 Club is one of the most enjoyable places in SF to see a show, especially a loud metal show. The 6-700 people in attendance comprised a good mix of metal fans - i noticed veterans as well as new faces in the crowd. Some crews that i haven’t seen at a show in SF since the 3 Days of Darkness hosted Khanate, Thrones, and Graves At Sea, in 2004. Some of the younger faces in the crowd were likely due to Bimbo’s admittance of 18-21 year olds.

ISIS

Finally, after another long wait between bands, ISIS appeared. They immediately annihilated the intermission atmosphere, proving absolutely that it had been worth the 30 minute wait and the lifetime of anticipation spent by those who came to be initiated into live, loud sludge metal, exacted by masters of the craft. ISIS thrashed even harder than i have come to expect from sludge metal bands enjoying their 10th year of performing together. The 4 guitarists rejected the hypnotizing effect of synchronized movements that Zozobra had wielded, in favor of thrashing individually, each to a different aspect of the music. Sometimes bending completely over the guitar they gripped, then snapping backwards to stare at the ceiling, never relenting on the strings they were punishing. This added a striking visual dissonance that superbly matched the music’s innate discord. Sounds forged in minor keys and draped in distortion only to be fragmented by the battling pulses of the drums, the cymbals, and the synths that delayed and decayed at doomed intervals. This frenzy made it impossible to capture a clear photo of the whole band at once. You can see in my photos that some moved so quickly as to leave a trail of places they had been! B.C. Meyer (i believe) switched between atmospheric synthesizers and grinding guitar, headbanging and thrashing equally on both instruments. ISIS played a fair amount older material, from Celestial, Red Sea, and Mosquito Control, which made me VERY happy. I stopped listening to ISIS when they released Panopticon in 2004 because i prefer their earlier sound - uncompromisingly heavy atmospheric sludge metal. To my ears, Panopticon sounded too smoothed out, polished; in other words, too commercial, and devoid of the grit i felt was at the soul of earlier work. However, on stage in 2007, the occasional “weak” song merely provided enough contrast for the band to show off just how heavy their usual sound is. And heavy is something that ISIS owned at this show. They hit some songs so hard that it weighed down your own head, until you were facing your own soul, and then lifted it high with distorted upsweeps, until you gazed above the room, to where the melodies were scattering into the depths of space. At times, the pummeling beats could elevate your strong arm into the air, and cinch your hand into devil’s horns. An enthusiastic display of solidarity grew within the crowd, gaining strength with each attack on silence. I actually heard some fans singing along. Well, not really singing, more like growling. It was the first time i noticed anyone growling along to songs at a metal show. Whenever ISIS would delve into the quieter, more melodic parts, the crowd would cheer, or scream the band’s name, as if some just couldn’t handle the sudden release from crushing bar chords.

My Afterparty

The show inspired me greatly - this was the kind of show that justifies going out, and raises the excitement about what the future holds for music. The minute that i got home, i ripped the plastic off my new Celestial double vinyl to see what colours i got (the album has been repressed at least twice recently, each batch offering a different blend of marbled inks). Next, i lifted my shining black guitar from its furry grey coffin and played everything i had heard that night. That is my definition of a great show.

LINKS

ZOZOBRA
Zozobra music on murdochspace
interview with Caleb

JESU
Jesu website
Jesu in Wiki

ISIS
ISIS website
ISIS music on murdochspace

HYDRA HEAD RECORDS
Hydra Head news
website and store

VENUE
Bimbo’s 365 Club San Francisco, CA

…