Look Who's Coming to Town!

 March into March with a handful of shows from bands you may or may not have heard of at venues all around San Francisco!

Free Energy 
Thursday, February 28th

Dominating any room with their energized songs and sincere crowd connection both on and off the stage, Free Energy is one of the most exciting bands alive according to  Rolling Stone Magazine, SPIN, and Alternative Press Magazine! 

San Francisco's Premire Indie Music Festival, Noisepop welcomes Free Energy tomorrow night at Brick & Mortar! Get your tickets today!

“a road-trip-appropriate blast of T. Rex glam complete with hand claps. fuzzed-out riffs and loads of 'na-na-nas'”
 —Rolling Stone Magazine

 

Darwin Deez
Thursday, March 7th 

Rumor has it that Darwin Deez delivers the most fascinating and thrilling record that you’ll  hear this year: Songs For Imaginative People (out now). 

See Darwin Deez live at  Bottom of the Hill next week! 

 “Best mustachioed pop since Hall & Oates”  —Nylon Magazine 

Bajofondo
Tuesday March, 19th

Latin Grammy-winning band Bajofondo is touring North America in support of their forthcoming album Presente to be released March 5th. Get up close and personal with Bajofondo on March 19th at  Bimbo's 365 Club!




Mika
Monday, March 25th

Mika  just announced a North American tour and every show is at an intimate venue! He will be performing a special stripped down set accompanied by a pianist and guitarist at The Great American Music Hall Monday March 25th!

 

Back to Basics the Cako Way

Every time I hear "New York Moves to the Sound of L.A" by Funeral Party I think of the Back to Basics cupcake from Cako (you know, the song that starts out: "hey let's get right back to the basics" Yeah, that one!)



Self proclaimed as "A classic cupcake made better with a Cako twist" Back to Basics is vanilla cake with vanilla frosting but this isn't yo Mama's plain old vanilla cupcake.

Using only the finest vanilla in the cake and frosting the cupcake's cake  is light and moist yet not spongy or dense, making it easily unwrapable and readily enjoyable. With just the right amount of sweet-butter this sutble vanilla cake borders on being yellow cake and under a shield of rainbow sprinkles the vanilla frosting has an "out of a jar" consistency and is more sugary than it is vanilla-y. The vanilla flavor is deffinitely outwieghed by sugary-sweetness but it's not lost, however; you may forget you are eating a vanilla cupcake.

 

Whether you get it to go in box or served on a napkin to eat it on the go, Back to Basics hits you with a sugar rush from the first bite and leaves you on total sugar high.
Looking for a smaller buzz? No problem! Get the Back to Basics mini- sized!

Reading Havok

 Davey Havok; colorful, straight edge, vegan,  lead vocalist of alternative/goth/rock band AFI and electronic band Blaqk Audio and come April 2nd, author. 

You heard me. 

Havok will make his mark in the world of print with his debut novel, POP KIDS.

Inspired by "pop stars, fashion models, celebrities, Internet porn, social networking, reality TV, sex, drugs, and ...vegan banana bread" his goal is to shed light on the inner-world of teenagers who have grown up in and surrounded by  a pop-induced pseudo-reality.

Interestingly enough, POP KIDS has a prologue trailer

 POP KIDS   is slated to drop April 2nd.  Pre-orders are available now!

Phoenix Entertainment

Phoenix have indeed been working on a new album and yesterday Indie's favorite frenchies released "Entertainment" their first new song since 2009!

Confirming the name of the new work on their official website complete with album art work; "Bankrupt!" will consist of 10 fresh tracks and is set to be released in the states on April 23rd.

Pre-order Bankrupt! here

Track list:

1. Entertainment
2. The Real Thing
3. S.O.S. in Bel Air
4. Trying To Be Cool
5. Bankrupt!
6. Drakkar Noir
7. Chloroform
8. Don't
9. Bourgeois
10. Oblique City

fun. was fun at The Fox Theater 2/7/2013

After a summer filled with festival stints including sets at LIVE105's BFD  and Outside Lands,  it was quite a treat to see fun. headline at The Fox Theater Thursday night!

Behind a sheer veil and only a few minutes behind schedule, fun. made their way to the stage  at 9:25pm much to the delight of the full house. Once the curtain was raised the show launched full throttle into the Some Nights bonus track "Out on the Town".




Photo by: Marc Fong

White denim wearing, easy on the eyes front man Nate a Ruess demanded attention from every corner of the  picturesque metropolis designed stage from the get go. "All right Oakland!!" he exclaimed  and as he proceeded  to sing  "One Foot"  the audience sang along with him which  I think it made his smile even bigger!

Between jumping off the drum kit and sharing a mic, guitarist Jack Antonoff, laid down a pretty sweet  solo during the third song of the night,  "All the Pretty Girls" before being drown out  by fan's applauding reaction.

Pointing his golden microphone up to the highest seats in the house, Nate Ruess acknowledged fans in the balcony numerous times making sure everyone in the venue was included let alone crooned to.  
To make the show more personal, about than half way through the set Nate shared "little known fact" with Oakland,  "I listened to a lot of East Bay Hard Core growing up...East Bay all the way!" Though he didn't disclose what type of hard core (rap/metal/punk-rock?) it was a wise, crowd engaging move.




Photo by: Marc Fong

Photo by: Marc Fong

I  wasn't  surprised that the set list was strategically scheduled  to insure an intact full house until the very end but I bet people would have stayed if they played hits earlier.
The audience  not only knew that was the end must be  approaching when the single, "Carry On" was played ...we knew that the song everyone was waiting to hear that night had to be getting closer...

Bursting back on stage with what was undoubtedly the most anticipated song of the night,  "Some Nights" ignited an optimistic buzz which had everyone belting out the lyrics as if we were dancing around in our room, singing the Grammy nominated tune like it was nobody's business.

There were a few fleeting moments when I wondered if Ruess' enthusiasm was genuine. After all  when the name of your (climaxing) band is fun. living up to that name sake, on stage, for the better part of a year on your first headlining tour is no easy feat.  If any part of the performance was phoned in it didn't phase me or my enjoyment.
With that being said, if you're a fan of fun. they've already won you over and if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing them live yet, be prepared for a fun. time no matter what.


February 7th, 2013 set-list
Out on the Town
One Foot
All the Pretty Girls
Why Am I the One
At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)
All Alone
It Gets Better
Barlights
All Alright
Carry On
The Gambler
What the Fuck?
We Are Young
Some Nights
Stars 

Misfits! "DEA.D.ALIVE"! Album Premiere!

 Punk rock is obviously not dead as the  Misfits triumphantly return with their first proper live album since the 1980’s.....WHAT?! YES!

 

 

Rooted in the horror and sci-fi themes Misfits fans have been feining for, "DEA.D. ALIVE!"  features 14 tracks, including a cover of “Science Fiction/Double Feature” from the Rocky Horror Picture Show along with select tracks from the band’s encore set at their hometown show in New Jersey! 

 

The album is available on CD, a limited edition 12” vinyl and in celebration of the long over due release "DEA.D. ALIVE!" is now available to stream!  

Geographer headline The Fillmore - 1/31/2013

 

Geographer, Midi Matilda and On & On sold out The Fillmore filling the last night of January 2013 with electronic indie dream pop goodness. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In between just about every song of their energetic set, SF natives Skyler Kilborn & Logan Grimé of Midi Matlida acknowledged their excitement for playing the historic venue and fans seemed to share the same enthusiasm.  The  20 minute set was chalk full of  Love & The Movies and Red Light District tracks with brief interludes before/after each one. Drummer Logan Grime busted out some fancy foot work, shimmying across stage during numerous songs putting a smile on the face of his band mate as well as faces within the crowd.

 

 

Amped and brimming with anticipation the home town crowd patiently waited through the  change-over which lasted longer than the  opening act.  Though it was humbly engaging seeing the headliners  set up their own equipment the place was antsy for the show to go on. Cheers and warm applause greeted Geographer as they reappeared on stage, kicking off their set with the crafty, layered sounds of "Life of Crime".

 

 

 Before continuing on front man Mike Deni (who has lived in SF since 2005) mentioned his New Jersey roots, telling fans "I never thought I'd see myself here. I may not have ended up where I thought I was looking, but instead I ended up with this here, tonight."  Enticing sing alongs at some points and subtle dancing/head bobbing at others the energy was a consistent ebb and flow through out the show.

 

Seamlessly complementing Nathan Blatz's already amazing electric cello antics  The Magik*Magik Orchestra joined Geographer within the first half hour of the set. Adding a soothing ambiance to the show's laid back vibe, the string quartet played five songs, including a beautifully orchestrated rendition  of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting."

 Breaking the trance, Geographer quickly brought the tempo of the up to speed by getting fans clapping and dancing to the beat of many songs including "Original Sin" and "Lover's Game".  At one point Deni even requested a show of cell phones (and lighters!) creating a sea of lights on the floor of The Fillmore!

 

Geographer wrapped up the night with seemingly more gusto then when the show started and as the kaleidoscope of synths and acoustics queued "Kites", Deni asked:

"Are you ready San Francisco?! Ok...put your hands up, I'm coming in!" before splendidly staging diving into the crowd!

 

 

 

The elements of Thursday night's show fell into place: indigo, amber and rouge hues at The Fillmore  enhanced Geographer's transfixing, alternative synth textured catalog and the sound was spot on.

 

 With their signature sound and a live performance that's not over the top though not uninteresting it's no surprise that Geographer is on the up and up to becoming one of the most exciting newcomers in Indie music.

 If you missed this show, be sure to keep  on eye on where Geographer's rhythmic dreams will take them (and us) next because you won't want to miss it!