09-05-2007: Okkervil River Storms The Independent

There are so many reasons why I could be skeptical of Okkervil River. Their unassuming attitude, their innocent bewilderment at being put on Conan O'Brien, the heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics, the more earnest than earnest delivery of straight up rock and roll: it all seems so innocent and too good too be true. And yet, it all works. The band simply gets on stage and delivers a fantastic set of rock and roll melodies. Ranging from quiet ballads, to kick ass rockers, to epic tales of woe, the band grabs the audience in a new way with each tune they deliver.

The band hit the stage around 9:45 and delivered a set that started out on the more mellow side: Will Sheff was clad in a suit (that he gradually lose over the course of the night) and crooned ballads under the blue lights.

However, as the show continued, the most recent album's influence came out to show its colors, culminating in what the singer described as "Okkervil River's new anthem": Unless It's Kicks. The song rocked the crowd and left me wondering what the band would do to top it, and finish the show.

The answer is that they dug into the back catalog for some jams of epic proportion. The first was a version of So Come Back I Am Waiting (Black Sheep Boy II) that wore its heart on its sleeve. This type of thing doesn't typically draw me in, but this time it did. The song simply begged to be listened to, and the crowd acted in kind. The band closed with the (much requested) song Westfall, and it was a great way to close out the night: the fans wanted it, the band killed it, and everyone went away sweaty and happy.

So there you go: my first Okkervil River live experience. My impression of the band on record was an aping of 70's Bowie, but Okkervil River delivers something more their own than that. At first I thought of local band Beulah, but as the show continued it grew even more dynamic, to a point where it was recalling most vividly the notorious talent of The Band. While that's saying a lot, it's ultimately not really descriptive enough. In all reality, Okkervil River delivers something that is very distinctively Okkervil River. Go see for yourself.

Okkervil River plays a short set tonight @ 6 at Amoeba Music.

Many more photos on the h.a.d. flickr feed.

Kevin Drew: Pre-Sale for Fillmore Show, New Album

By now many of you (I'm sure) have heard the subtly titled "TBTF" from Kevin Drew's forthcoming album, and also noticed that the Broken Social Scene front-man has planned a fall tour to support the record. Yesterday I mentioned that the Fillmore show will go on-sale this Sunday. However, today I discovered that there's a pre-sale going on at the Arts and Crafts website. You can access the pre-sale by clicking here.

I've managed to dredge up about half of the album's tracks on the internets, and I can say that it definitely holds Drew's distinctive BSS flair. With all of the other BSS artists out there making solo bids (Feist, Metric, Apostle Of Hustle,Jason Collett) it's nice to see the band's leader doing the same. Granted, it's under the "BSS Presents" moniker, but it's still his own thing. For me, the record really works: it's a solid bunch of song writing. With no new BSS output on the horizon, it'll tide me over for quite a while. Can't wait for the Fillmore!

Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If... is out on Arts and Crafts on September 18th.

mp3: Kevin Drew - Tbtf

John Vanderslice: New Album, Independent in October

San Francisco resident local musician, producer, studio owner, and all around nice-guy John Vanderslice has just released a new album, and is mounting a fall tour around the new disc. As he is wont to do, Vanderslice will be wrapping up the tour on October 20th at the Independent. The new album is pretty by-the-books John Vanderslice: articulate lyrics, meticulously sculpted sound, and highly deliberate melodies. That is to say, if you like old JV, you'll like this. If not.....well, hrm - we didn't really want to talk to you anyway. Vanderslice puts on notoriously good shows for his hometown, so this looks like a good bet to us. See you there.

mp3: John Vanderslice - White Dove
Stream: John Vanderslice - Emerald City (full album)

Warfield Rawk: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Kings Of Leon

Yesterday I mistakenly said that tonight's show could easily be a double bill. I now stand emphatically corrected. While BRMC put on a fantastic opening set that was a sweet blend of their varying styles, they simply could not hold a candle to the enthusiasm, proficiency, and sheer energy that Kings Of Leon brought to the stage.

BRMC's set was a nice blend of tracks from across all their albums, and instrumentation varied on each. There was piano, harmonica, bass on and off, and even trombone for one track! The band demonstrated an apt mastery of the stage, and milked an enthusiastic crowd over the course of their set. The songs were enjoyable, and the audience responded accordingly. I guess the thing that made BRMC such an "opener" was that the crowd never really gave in to the show. The reaction was reserved, and drastically different from what was about to come.

In TapeOp magazine last year, producer Ethan Johns called Kings Of Leon "the real thing". Every time I have seen them, this has been fervently true. They have such precision and accuracy with their playing, and yet they manage to bring their album tracks to a whole other level in a live setting, regardless of size. Perhaps this precision is what initially earned them the nickname "The Southern Strokes", however by now they've firmly escaped that moniker.

Front-man Caleb Followill mentioned that both he and bassist Jared Followill were feeling a bit under the weather, but the only giveaway was the singer's voice wearing thin on the last number. Aside from that, the set was a steady diet of selections from the group's second and third albums. There were a few gems from the first disc, but surprisingly the latter two dominated considerably.

What I found even more surprising was the fan reaction to this: it seems that Kings' fans are hardly enthusiastic about the first disc, but find the other two to be the crown jewels. This has to be a welcome reaction for the band: while it has been plainly evident that they've grown creatively in the past few years, fan acceptance only doubles the recognition. More than just demonstrating their performance prowess and creativity, the Kings' stop at the Warfield continued to solidify my impression that they simply never give a bad show. Here's to the next one.

This just in: Stephen Malkmus + Jicks @ GAMH in December

So, to make your ticket buying experience this Sunday just that more complicated, there will also be an on-sale for a recently announced Stephen Malkmus show at the GAMH. The show is on December 19th, and looks to be a full band sort of jaunt. With all the awesome material SM's been working up lately, this will be one you don't want to miss. The show at Bimbo's last winter was amazing, with tons of new material, and I'm sure this one will be no less-so. Looks like it's an early rise Sunday!

mp3: Stephen Malkmus + Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
(More unreleased mp3's available over at Aquarium Drunkard)

Tonight In The City

Lots of choices for a Tuesday kids, so choose wisely.

• Brian Jonestown Massacre does a second night at The Independent. Last night was awesome.
• Kings of Leon and BRMC are at The Warfield, with Manchester Orchestra opening. Rawk.
  
• Ben Kweller (was great last year at The Fillmore) is playing Bottom of The Hill.
• Bowerbirds are at Cafe Du Nord. (I admit complete ignorance)
• And, if you're feeling cheap, Galactic is playing a free show at Amoeba at 7 PM.
  

Remember - you can't have fun if you don't leave the house!

Big On-Sale Date For The Fillmore This Sunday

Ready your pocketbooks and prepare to head over to the Fillmore box office (or sit in front of your computer, if that's your thing) this Sunday morning, September 9th. The Fillmore will be having a massive on-sale for a number of this fall's hot shows:

Morrissey
The Pogues
Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew
The Jesus And Mary Chain
The Decemberists

And quite a few others...

2007-09-03: Brian Jonestown Massacre @ The Independent

Tonight, Anton Newcombe made me a believer.

At 9 PM, things didn't look good: neither band had arrived at the venue, and it was making out to be one of the BJM's notorious disasters frequently outlined in the film Dig!. Take it forward another hour until 10: still no instruments on stage, still no bands, still looking bad. Half an hour more: Finally, an explanation: the band hadn't realized that the bay bridge was closed for labor day weekend, so they ended up having to go to Richmond bridge, and ended up being about two hours late. Understandable, and shitty. Everyone took it in stride: the crowd was happy that by now, the bands had arrived and the opener had set up. An anxious, hot, and tired crowd waited desperately for something to happen. And something did.

Dimmer front-man Shayne P Carter

New Zealand natives Dimmer started out the night by doing the seemingly impossible. They got a bunch of tired fans to actually like the opener. They used their sonic might to slay the crowd, and reel them in for more. A restless mass that had been waiting for BJM to arrive was thoroughly enthralled by the 4-piece's powerful, droney, shoegaze rock. The band was such a solid compliment to the headliners that it almost could have been a double bill. I unknowingly asked the lead singer of Dimmer as he set up his rig (I thought he was a roadie) - "Will the opener still be playing?" "I hope so" he replied ironically. I'm glad he was right, and by the look of the line at the merch table, the crowd felt the same way.

Now it was time for the crowd to tolerate another half hour of downtime for the inevitable set change between acts: all was well and good following Dimmer's fantastic set. Slowly the PA switched over to a heartbeat driven noise track which was gradually complimented by the playing of the band. 11:45: Enter Brian Jonestown Massacre. Surprise: Joel Gion. San Francisco resident, former band member, sometimes guest, proceeded to remain on stage for the entire show.

What was that show, exactly? It was a non-stop blast of rock and roll, two hours of mayhem and noise, with a little bit of chaos thrown in for good measure. I mentioned that last summer in Sacramento, the impression from Dig! was very similar to the impression I got in person. Tonight was dramatically different. The band was in fantastic form, and seemed to be getting along. The only snags were a momentary heckler from the audience, and a wonky mic cable. Other than that, it was a completely solid jam. The band played new material ("Preambulatory", see video below) and ended the set with a killer "Love Is a Drug" jam, followed by "Telegram".

What all of this came together to make me realize is that Anton Newcombe truly is a unique talent. Previously I had always wanted to believe this, but had never seen it for myself. Tonight I did. The current incarnation of BJM is a hardy, talented team of musicians, who have a lot to offer when they get their ducks in a row. If this show was any indication of what's coming up from Brian Jonestown Massacre, then we all have a lot to look forward to.

Brian Jonestown Massacre plays the Independent again tomorrow, the show is sold out. Get a ticket, if you can.
Many, many, more pictures available at the h.a.d. flickr feed.

Video of the newest tune, Preambulatory, forthcoming.

Tuesday Night: Kings Of Leon and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ The Warfield

This Tuesday night sees a great double bill at the Warfield: Kings of Leon and local boys Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I think this particular match is incredibly well suited: Both bands arrived on the scene in 2000/2001 and were given decent reviews for their seminal releases. However, in both cases it was generally thought that both bands were relatively derivative, or if not derivative, at least that they wore their influences plainly on their respective sleeves. Fast forward a few years: both bands have seen considerable creative growth and demonstrated that their strong first offerings were not an anomaly, but rather a beginning. The Kings have seen the release of a far more experimental second album, followed by their latest effort Because of the Times which brings a edgier sound to their rock n' roll base. BRMC released a second disc which largely complimented their first, but followed up with 2005's HOWL which drastically reassessed their sound, and removed shoegaze influences in favor of vintage blues Americana. This year, with Baby 81, BRMC returned to their straight-ahead rock roots.

The conclusion of all these similarities is that tomorrow night at the Warfield will be a show by two bands that have the ability to rock, but who have also managed to successfully harness their creativity to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Should be great!

mp3: Kings Of Leon - Fans
mp3: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Berlin

Anton Newcombe leaks new Brian Jonestown Massacre album My Bloody Underground To The Interwebs

Continually anti-corporate rock icon Anton Newcombe continued his crusade on August 31st by releasing the latest Brian Jonestown Massacre album, My Bloody Underground, for free download. The album has yet to be played live, and is being described by fans as "utterly spectacular" and having a "primitive power and intensity". Others seem to think that the album is primarily demos and/or raw material. Anyway, if you're up to tolerate some popups to get the blood flowing for Monday's show, have a listen yourself!

Leak: Brian Jonestown Massacre - My Bloody Underground