The Heavenly States: Glamorous as Religulous

Remember how we told you that The Heavenly States had done a killer rework of Fergie's "Glamorous" for the SF Weekly Music Awards? Well, here it is, in all its glory: "Glamorous (as Religulous)". Eat your heart out, Bill Maher!

SF Weekly Music Awards 2008: The Heavenly States, Lyrics Born

Last night at Ruby Skye we had the pleasure of attending the 2008 SF Weekly Music Awards. Amidst the free food, wandering crowd, and sporadic MCing of the various awards, The Heavenly States and Lyrics Born both managed to deliver solid sets of tunes and add some local musical flavor to the event.

The Heavenly States played a set that drew primarily on their latest record, Delayer. The last time we saw these guys live we hadn't really heard the record. This time around, it was great to hear the tunes with a bit of context and familiarity.

The set was absent of any of the record's slower material, and instead kept rock on the brain. "Lost In The Light" delivered on its single-material catchiness, and "Morning Exercise" was loaded with heart-on-the-sleeve passion.

Perhaps the most surprising moment of the band's set was a completely earnest cover of Fergie's "Glamorous". To our ears, the band's version completely blew the original out of the water, and in doing so managed to rob it of any irony, intended or otherwise. Our only gripe: lead singer Ted Nesseth mentioned the cover was "available" - where Ted, where????

We don't go to a ton of hip hop shows, but from what we saw last night Lyrics Born is doing them right. He really drew the crowd in, and had everyone dancing. What's more, he was backed by an awesome live band, with a minimal amount of sample-driven content. Our recommendation: don't miss him next time he's out and about.

That's all for your SF Weekly Music Awards until next year, you can check out the winners at All Shook Down...

Many more photos available at the HAD Archive

Reminder: SF Weekly Music Awards Are Tonight (The Heavenly States, Lyrics Born)

Hey kids - just a helpful reminder: The SF Weekly music awards show is tonight at Ruby Skye. The awards will feature, among others, local hip-hop maestro Lyrics Born and Oakland band The Heavenly States. We were turned onto the States when they opened for Spoon, and now we can't get enough of their new record - highly recommended.

Tickets are ten bucks, and on-sale now.

The Heavenly States: Upcoming Gigs, SF Weekly Music Awards

Photo from the HAD Archive

Ever since their 3 night stand with Spoon at The Fillmore, we really just can't get enough of The Heavenly States. Their live show is killer, and their new record Delayer is fantastic. It's got a seething rock urgency to it that we haven't had the opportunity to experience in quite some time. So it's a good thing for us that they happen to be locals with some killer gigs lined up. Not only that, but they've also been nominated for best Bay Area Indie Rock/Pop in the SF Weekly Music Awards. As such, they're playing the awards ceremony on October 16th at Ruby Skye. What's more, they have another gig at The Uptown in Oakland on November 1st with The Lovemakers. Seriously folks, this band delivers - yous gots to checks it out.

Vote in the SF Weekly Music Awards here.