Friday, May 31, 2013

Youngblood Hawke @ Popscene 5/23/2013

Four short days after playing at LIVE105's sold-out BFD Youngblood Hawke ROCKED their headlining set at Popscene (A.K.A The Rickshaw Stop) on May 23rd!


A good chunk of time passed after openers Pacific Air warmed up the gathering crowd and as we waited I took note that Youngblood Hawke had a backdrop on stage for their set. I appreciate this becauase lesser known bands usually don't make the effort to help people remember the name of their band. Well played Youngblood Hawke.
15 minutes behind schedule the emerging LA based Bohemian-Indie band exploded on to the stage minutes before the clock struck midnight and they didn't waste anytime getting their party started!

Photo by: Marc Fong

Photo by: Marc Fong
The exuberant carefree energy from lead singer Sam Martin was inescapable as he got the crowd dancing right off the bat and just like that the second song of their set, "Dannyboy "started before I noticed that the first song had ended.
Border lining on being the title track off their debut album, Wake Up '"Dannyboy's" chant-like chorus lines "Wake up, Danny boy, there's a world outside A world outside your window Wake up" had just about everyone chiming in via voice and/or clap-along.

Photo by: Marc Fong

Pausing to take in the moment of pure enjoyment, I realized I might be the only person there who didn't know the words but I had been seduced into dancing from the get go so I don't think anyone (else) noticed.








Sam Martin's brief breather to introduce the third song of the set "In Our Blood" didn't last long as Simon Katz took over the opening vocals Martin never stopped moving around and was back on his mic without slowing down. Simply watching Youngblood Hawke's front man will wear you out, the guy seriously never stops moving! Watching him in action on stage certainly amplifies the band's live performance and gets fans dancing.


Photo by: Marc Fong
Photo by: Marc Fong
"Dreams" was a nice interlude of a slower tempo welcomed I'm sure by the sweat drenched Sam Martin. The sharing of drum sticks and drumming during this song added yet another element to their show that made you want to watch and see what they'd do next.

What was next you ask? Well a lovely transition to Alice Katz on lead vocals of course! Youngblood Hawke managed to cover it all, even acknowledging  the fact that it smelled like Amsterdam inside  San Francisco's premier Indie club!

Photo by: Marc Fong


Popscene's home, The Rickshaw Stop is one of the a smaller venues in SF with an equally smaller stage but Youngblood Hawke's crazy stage presence puts "bigger bands" on bigger stages to shame.This being said it is surprising that the show last Thursday night wasn't sold out however it was a definite plus to have the extra wiggle room on the dance floor!
Photo by: Marc Fong


On tour in support of their debut album Wake Up, (available now!) Youngblood Hawke's set was of course all about those tracks but beneath the surface there is something more to this quintessential Indie band. According to Katz he and Martin left Iglu & Hartly because “We didn’t like the direction the band was going in, and we wanted to do something closer to our hearts." If you can't hear the heartfeltness on the album you'll surely believe it when you see Youngblood Hawke live!













Sunday, May 26, 2013

The Cairo Gang: Tiny Rebels


Two electric 12-string guitars, a bass guitar, drums and a number of (often) double tracked voices make up the new, soon to be released collection of songs by The Cairo Gang on Tiny Rebels.
 
"The Cairo Gang cuts across musical movements of several years' span to create music sounding distinctly out of time.” -- Pitchfork
 
Title track Tiny Rebel's' is laced with a uniquely fresh mellow vibe perfect for unwinding after your
3-day weekend.
Listen to it here and listen to it LOUD!
 
 
On July 23rd get carried with all of the exciting new found sounds when  Tiny Rebels is released in it's entirety!
 
Tiny Rebels Track Listing: 
                                                                                                                       
Side A

1. Tiny Rebels
2. Take Your Time
3. Shake Off

 
Side B

 4. Shivers
5. Father Of The Man
6. Find You With A Song


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Fit Fest!


It's every music lover/gig goers' favorite time of year, MUSIC FESTIVAL SEASON!

Heavy hitters SXSW and Coachella sprang in Spring and Napa's newbie, The Bottlerock Festival already came and went but the Festival Season is really just starting to warm up!











Below is just a sliver-slice of some up-coming 2013 Music Festivals:
May 19th: LIVE105's BFD
May 24th - May 27th: Sasquatch Music Festival
June 13th - June 16th: Bonnaroo Music Festival
August 2nd - August 4th: Lollapalooza
August 9th- August 11th: Ouside Lands Music, Art & Wine Festival
August 23rd - September 8th: Red Rocks Music Festival
October 4th - October 6th & October 11th - October 13th: Austin City Limits Music Festival
October 15th - October 19th: CMJ Music Marathon
October 19th & October 20th: Treasure Island Music Festival
November 1st - November 3rd: VooDoo Music + Arts Experience 

 That's a SLIVER-SLICE! With the beach body season (Summer!) nipping at our heals why not tone up while enjoying the live tunes, am I right?!
Besides walking from stage to stage to stage there are other ways you to keep your body rockin' here's how!


1) Stay Hydrated! (ie:DRINK WATER)
This is a general rule of thumb and may be more so at a Festival because you're on your feet out in the elements all day and night. Often when you "feel" hungry you could actually be thirsty. Even worse, you could be dehydrated (i.e. feeling weak, dizzy and cranky)! Yep, that's your body "tricking" your brain to give you fuel but it might not be the fuel you need. Silly body! Also, don't forget that alcohol can (and will) dehydrate you! So, if you enjoy one too many beers but drink plenty of water  you won't be (or feel) as hungover as your buddy who drank no water! You'll wake up ready for the next show!

(Rock-Med tents usually give ya free water! So before you're full on in the music festival madness take a look at the map and make a mental note of where that Rock-Med tent is located and filler up as needed!)


2) Standing Calf Raises:
These are great practice for shorter folks to see over taller audience members!
 
Stand with your feet about hip width apart with toes facing forward. Keep your knees straight and stiff but not locked. Rise up onto the balls of your feet and squeeze, moving only at the ankles then return to neutral. Do not turn your toes in or out as this puts an unnatural stress on the knees!
 Repeat (10-15 reps = 1 set) .

 



3) Standing Crunch:
Get ready to make some fest-friends during the stage change over or heck, even while the band is playing. People tend to get antsy at Festival shows (it can't just be me right?) so why the heck not twist and shout? You can turn the crowd surrounding you into "standing crunch dance/cheer party" and create a little more room in your "personal space bubble" (you're welcome). GoOoO TEAM!

 
Stand with your feet about hip width apart with toes facing forward.Stabilize your body and prepare to balance on one leg: place your right hand on your hip and raise your left arm straight up. Extend your right leg to the side and touch the floor with the ball of your foot. Bring your left elbow down and your right knee up, touching them together as you twist to the right. Repeat (10 reps per side).



3) Standing Back Bend: 
People in the crowd won't even know you're exercising in between sets when ya do this move. The Standing Back Bend looks like a stretch  because it is a stretch but it's also an exercise! It's a calishtenic exercise to be exact which strengthens abs and lower back! 

Stand with your feet about hip width apart with toes facing forward. Look forward instead of up to keep your balance. Place your hands on your hips and slowly lean back while lifting chest up creating a slight bend in your lower back. Hold for a few seconds before returning to neutral.  
Repeat (10-15 reps = 1 set)
 


4) Side Bend: Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart with toes facing forward and  palms facing your torso. Place your right hand on your waist and left arm hanging down the left side of your body. Your feet should be placed at shoulder width. This will be your starting position. Keeping your back straight and your head up, bend only at the waist to the left as far as possible breathing  in as you bend to the side. Then hold for a second and come back up to the starting position as you exhale (as you bend to the side the    rest of the body stationary). Repeat (10 reps per side)

5) Eat every four hours: 
Outside Lands 2012. Photo by: Marc Fong
Carrot sticks? Check! Raisins? Check! Peanuts, grapes, apple, banana, granola bars?! CHECK! Another general rule of thumb: eat every four hours, even if you're not hungry in order to keep your blood sugar levels steady. As blood sugar levels drop so does will power causing you to over eat. On top of that, when you hit the stravation mode (or worse..catabolization! Eek!) your body craves those more fatty temptaitons because you deprived it of nutrients for so long!
Eating every 4 hours improves fat loss, controlling your appetite and metabolism.
Pack some snacks along with the rest of your festival gear and graze the day away without gaining. It's like magic! Plus, bringing your own snacks will keep your wallet nice and fat and who doesn't like a fat wallet?





Of course there are a bunch of other easy, equipment free exercises to do outside like push-ups, jumping jacks, planks. Heck if the opportunity rises maybe you can do a pull up or five....go for it! Don't forget that dancing and even standing burns calories, too! 


Outside Lands 2012. Photo by: Marc Fong

Before busting moves and grooves at the fest I'll leave you with one last tip to put in your pocket: don't be fooled by light/lite beer fool! 
Light beer has less calories, yes it does. Did you know that it also has a lower alcohol content? It sure does. That means you might drink more light beers just to get your "healthy" buzz on than if you stuck with a good ol' "regular" brew. In the end you could be consuming more calories and possibly more alcohol even though you were trying to be good. 

Now you're ready to rock! 

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Little Boots' Nocturnes out TODAY!

In 2009 she landed on the scene and struck gold  with  her debut album, Hands so you could say that four odd years later all bets are on Little Boots filling her own shoes and then some on her second album Nocturnes out today.

 Produced by Tim Goldsworthy (DFA Records co-founder), other key contributions include Simian Mobile Disco's James Ford and Hercules and Love Affair's Andy Butler it's no wonder this release has been highly anticipated. 



New-wave-disco is predominate throughout the ten tracks  peaking on, "Beat Beat" yet dips a bit on tracks like"Motorway" and "All for You" and the album's the shifting tempos lend a hand to a welcomed indie-rock sound from the pop songstress.  

  The unignorable catchy first single,"Broken Record"   is about not being able to shake something someone said. Likewise, with it's catchy house hooks, abundant chorus, it's intervals of pulsating bass and repetitious layers of hypnotizing robotic lyrics it does sound like a skipping or broken record. Clever.



 The crafty execution makes "Shake"  my favorite song off Nocturnes: an early build up (love), followed by softer vocals, deep(er) meaning lyrics and a twist in the beat further in translates into a song I envision lighting dance floors up!

An interesting use of  dolphin sounds moused over and in the song "Strangers"  is sort of like an element of surprise as the songs subject tugs on heart strings.
So though it is a rather sad song by way of words "Strangers" is a dance song. You  really don't come across that musical fusion too much. You either get a dance song or you get a sad song.
"Strangers" is a sad song you can actually dance too and that's a good thing!


Victoria Hesketh's (A.K.A Little Boots) style is her own, both  fashionably and musically; however, I have to say that I did pick up a little Madonna circa Ray of Light vibe from on the track "Satellites" .
Something about the sound of her voice on this particular track sounds different than it does on others. "Satellites" galactic dance-y samples also made me think of Madonna's synth heavy experimental Ray of Light album.
 
As you listen what you're hearing is Little Boots' sound evolving and maturing through out Nocturnes.
At it's core this is a pop album but with all of it's disco influences silver lined with a seemingly fresh somber-ness, Little Boots continues to bend the pop genre!
 
If albums had motos this Nocturnes' would be: If you're down, dance! That's a pretty good moto and you'll learn that this is a pretty good album when you listen to it.



Think she'll find herself in platnum status with this album? We will see!