Noise Pop 2009: Scissors For Lefty Played Benders - Pictures, Review

Last night at Bender's we managed to catch Scissors For Lefty playing to a packed room during the first Noise Pop show of the night. The band delivered an awesome set of their trademark partified, danceable pop, and the crowd was right there with them. By the end of the set the band (and the crowd) was dancing, sweaty, and happy.

The show was pure, classic SFL: lead singer Bryan Garza delivered an epic performance, sometimes on guitar sometimes not, with in between trips to every corner of the stage. His vocal performance continues to be a highlight of the show, dripping with charisma and begging to be watched. Meanwhile, the rest of the band delivered a solid instrumental performance combined with their always-strong backing vocals.

The band pulled upon material from their whole catalog, but the focus was certainly more focused on Underhanded Romance and last year's Consumption Junction EP. Talking with Garza before the show, we were psyched to learn that the band is actively working on new material, and has 20-plus tracks in the bag for a forthcoming record. While this may be the last SFL live show for a while, we were psyched to see them going strong - we'll be keeping an eye out for that new record.

Many more pictures in the HAD Archive

Scissors For Lefty: Album On The Way, 111 Minna This Sunday

Photo from the HAD Archive

Last we heard from Scissors From Lefty, they had just released their EP Consumption Junction (which rocks, by the way), and were on the way to a bunch of promotional dates in November. Well, fast forward to early December, and the band is apparently ramping up to a full album release. On the band's myspace blog, they've thrown down a coming-soon gauntlet: "We've got about another 12 songs waiting on the back burner so strap yourselves in and get ready to shake and move!!"

What's more, the band will apparently be at 111 Minna this Sunday for a late (11:45 in the PM) show. Given that we've never seen these guys put out a bad show, and the fact that there'll presumably be a ton of new material to take in, well, it should make for a fun night. Checkit.

330 Ritch: Branching Out Beyond Popscene, Scissors For Lefty In November

Picture from the HAD Archive

330 Ritch is a familiar venue to anyone who has braved the hordes of 18 year olds to catch an up and coming band at Popscene. Well it now appears that the venue has begun hosting gigs full time, and rebranded itself as the "Official Venue Of Spin". Hrm. Interesting.

Well, regardless of venue renovations and branding, the more compelling part to us here is that the venue will be hosting Scissors For Lefty on Saturday, November 1st. The band's releasing their new EP this Saturday in New York, so we're guessing this will be something of a homecoming party for the same release. We haven't heard the EP, but we were liking the new tunes when we saw SFL at the Rickshaw in September. Checkit.

Scissors For Lefty Played Rickshaw Stop

Last weekend we dropped in at The Rickshaw Stop where Scissors For Lefty were playing a show sponsored by Bagel Radio. The band was their usual selves, which is to say: good natured, highly danceable, and generally psyched to be playing to a crowd that was equally as psyched to be there.

We spoke with lead singer Bryan Garza briefly before the show, and word is that the band has been heavily immersed in studio sessions as of late. The new material was definitely prominent at the show, and made up about half of the band's set. To our ears, the songs were sticking with the direction of Underhanded Romance: upbeat, lyrically whimsical, and melodies that get permanently ingrained upon first listen. It worked in smoothly with the rest of the set, which was a solid mix of the band's back catalog.

We know we've said it before, but we'll say it again just in case there was any question: to see this band live is to love them. They clearly dig playing, appreciate their fan base, and have a blast any time they take the stage. It's easy to take for granted when they're a hometown band, but we can't say it enough: if you dig danceable rock music, and you're looking for a good time, get out and see this band.

Scissors For Lefty are now returning to the studio to continue work on their upcoming album (and possibly an EP, or so we hear). We were already totally psyched to hear the new material committed to tape, and the show doubled our interest. Release date is unconfirmed, but we'll keep you posted!

Many more pictures at the HAD Archive

Scissors For Lefty @ The Rickshaw Stop Tonight

If you can manage to drag yourself away from the Slow Food festivities, we heartily recommend checking out Scissors For Lefty at The Rickshaw Stop. The band not only puts on a fantastic live set, but also has been in the studio working on new material. Be there.

Scissors For Lefty To Play Rickshaw Stop

We were psyched to see that H.A.D. favorites Scissors For Lefty will be playing The Rickshaw Stop on August 30th. The last time we saw the band was over at GAMH last fall. For a band with this much energy and charisma to play a room like the Rickshaw is a fantastic treat. Don't miss it. Tickets are on sale now.

Halloween-o-matic: Scissors For Lefty At GAMH

The beauty of going to see local bands in their hometown is that it often leads to unexpected and unusual gigs that really leave you walking away feeling like you saw something special. Tonight was one of those nights.

The band started the night in fully costumed regalia, and managed to create a completely irreverent environment for the duration of the night. Apparently they had flown back especially for this show in honor of their manager's birthday, and were set to make the most of it. A few songs in to the set, said manager was brought on stage to break a pinata, and accordingly balloons and candy were thrown into the audience.

The band managed to get their single Ghetto Ways out in the beginning of the set, and from there on out it was clear that they were there to have a good time. They a range of songs off both of their albums, but focused primarily on the more recent Underhanded Romance. While the newer stuff was tighter and better known by the audience, it was good to hear the tunes off of Bruno as well. In particular it was great to hear a reworked "Hey Man U Well Is".

In truth, it was a crowd of hometown fans, and there was nothing but love in the room. Clearly this fact was not lost on the band, who managed to give a kick ass performance, while at the same time interacting with fans, hamming it up, and visibly enjoying themselves for the duration of the set. In comparison to the set I saw this spring at Noise Pop, the band seemed tighter, more confident, and revitalized.

After seeing this show, I remain convinced that Scissors For Lefty is a sleeping giant waiting to be unleashed on the American public. They manage to deliver substantive, worthwhile rock, while at the same time maintaining a sense of the fun and excitement is that is lost on so many bands. It's great to see them smiling, enjoying the music, and interacting with fans. Who knows when exactly they will "make it big", but in the meantime San Francisco's glad to have them.

Scissors For Lefty is back at GAMH December 4th with Juliette Lewis, as well as bringing in the New Year at the Bottom Of The Hill.

More photos at the H.A.D. Flickr Feed.

Forget Thursday Night: Scissors For Lefty Headlining At GAMH In October

You may remember that I had earmarked Scissors For Lefty's opening for The Bravery this Thursday as a possible show to attend this week. Problem for me: Not that big a Bravery fan, and the opening slot means less of a set from Scissors For Lefty. Well, problem solved: On October 28th SFL will be headlining the Great American! Tickets go on sale this Sunday....sweet!

Scissors For Lefty @ The Warfield 9/13

In the past six months, I've become a card-carrying Scissors For Lefty fan. The local band has been getting hyped for the last couple of years since their inaugural release Bruno, and their live show has always been mentioned as part of the appeal. I finally managed to catch them at Slim's via Noise Pop this past March opening for the French Kicks, and I was glad I did. The band has a great up front guitar-rock sound that is immediately familiar, yet also has a unique swagger and danceability. Lead singer Bryan Garza oozes charisma, and did a great job pulling in the crowd to the band's set - at one point even stepping down into the crowd. More to the band's credit was the fact that many of the songs were from an album not yet released in the US at the time, and they still had the crowd loving every minute of it.

Since March, the band has had a lot going on: their second disc Underhanded Romance finally saw its release in the US, the band has been playing shows non-stop, and they were even picked for the main stage at Live 105's BFD. I missed the CD release at the Independent, so lucky for me that they're opening for The Bravery at the Warfield on September 13th. I'm very curious to see what all this success has done for them - I'm hoping only good things.

mp3: Scissors For Lefty - Ghetto Ways
mp3: Scissors For Lefty - Lay Down Your Weapons