Little Boots & MNDR @ The Independent 9/24/2013

The Little Boots show was kick started by an effervescent performance from an exuberant MNDR  at The Independent in San Francisco giving the Tuesday night show a Friday night feel well before the headlining act began.



Photo by: Marc Fong

Photo by: Marc Fong



Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

Accentuating her tall blonde frame in thigh high leather boots and a oversized T-shirt turned micro-dress MNDR giddily burst on to the stage  "What's up San Francisco? My name is MNDR...I SAID...MY NAME IS MNDR!!" 

The quaint yet growing crowd's dancing reaction to her demand for attention was a precursor for a solid show knowing full well at that point that everyone there was ready for a party.

The first song of the night,  the single "#1 in Heaven" riled more of a dancing reaction as MNDR continued to connect with fans while she performed from every corner of the stage. Sounding more raw live than heard on 2012's Feed Me Diamonds due to amped tempos and the addition of an electro breakdown MNDR built up the Patty Hearst inspired chorus exclaiming, "San Francisco!! I wrote this song about you!!!"

Photo by: Marc Fong

Her interaction with the crowd carried on into "Go with It" which she introduced as  a new one off of her forth-coming new album. The new tune fancied well with fans as they continued to dance along with MNDR despite a slight turn down in tempo.  

Dominating the stage with an endearing attitude and playful stage presence MNDR carried the weight of the entire set on her shoulders single handedly. Besides the mic in her hand, minimal visuals (assumingly provided by her long running colleague, Jamie Carreiro) and some synthesizer visits the minimalistic nature of her set added to MNDR's "larger than life" performance.

 

Photo by: Marc Fong

Getting up close and personal with fans in the front row MNDR performed  "Burning  Hearts" and "Feed Me Diamonds"  in full along with a couple more brand new tracks.

Aside from the insight that she will soon be calling the Bay Area home again (she lived n West Oakland for many years) after giving NYC a go for the last four years the highlight of MNDR's set Tuesday night was the closing song medley.

 

Photo by: Marc Fong

Photo by: Marc Fong

Photo by: Marc Fong

Teased with the un-ignorable club track and easily her most popular song to date "Faster Horses"  the already pretty rowdy crowd went wild as the song gave way into her EP hit "C.L.U.B" and then, unfazed by a minor technical hiccup MNDR wrapped things up with a taste from this summer's collaboration with RAC, "Let Go" featuring Bloc Party's Kele Okereke.


 

Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

Ending things on an even sweeter note not to mention carrying on her never ending crowd engaging trend: MNDR cheerfully demanded three cheers for Little Boots, thanked everyone for coming out and thanked the venue as well as SF for having her before leaving the stage from what was one of the best opening acts I've been lucky enough to catch!

As the now packed club came down from the opening act high the vibe shifted  from a vibrant "club scene" to a seemingly more mature disco for the night's headlining lady.

 

Photo by: Marc Fong

Cloaked in all black Victoria Christina Hesketh, AKA Little Boots hit the stage accompanied by her  three piece back up band and they wasted no time diving into the trip-pop track "Motorway".


 

Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

Perhaps in an effort to get to the level of her energetic opener Little Boots acknowledged  the fact that it was Tuesday night and asked her fans in what she said is her favorite city to pretend that it wasn't indeed Tuesday but "bloody Friday" igniting a clap-a-long at the top of Nocturnes catchy dance number, "Confusion".



 

Photo by: Marc Fong

As the night went on energy ebbed and flowed during Little Boots' rather reserved set which carried an air of restlessness on stage. None the less the crowd seemed to simply adore everything put forth by the pint sized blonde: from 2013's Nocturnes  to 2009's Hands.  

Little Boots is definitely climbing the ranks to becoming a San Francisco disco queen, if you know what I mean!

Little Boots' set list September 24th, 2013

1: Motorway

2: Confusion

3: New in Town

4: Beat Beat

5: Headphones

6: Meddle

7: Broken Record

8: Stuck on Repeat

9: Every Night I Say A Prayer

10: Earthquake

11: Satellite

Encore:

Shake

 

Photo by: Marc Fong

Even though the two sets fell on different sides of the dance music spectrum, one being more playful while  the later carried a serious disco feel MNDR and Little Boots undoubtedly deliver an  enjoyable show and both of these ladies know how to work a crowd.

Songs of Summer

Yesterday was the Atumnal Equinox so you know what that means!?!
Today is officially Autumn and there is so much new music coming soon!

Before we fall into the next season of shows (Treasure Island Music Festival, LIVE105's Spookfest and the VooDoo Festival to name a few) and new releases (Arcade Fire, M.I.A, Lady Gaga) here's a look back at some of my favorite singles from this summer.

 

 

Miracle Mile - Cold War Kids (Dear Miss Lonelyhearts, April 2013)

Harlem (A Bad Girl in Harlem, 2013) - New Politics
If ya weren't still doin' the harlem shake over the summer chances are you were listening to, singing along to and gettin' down with the very catchy and kinda flirty  slammin' summer single, Harlem from New Politics.

Young, Wild & Free - Wiz Kalifia featuring Bruno Mars & Snoop Dogg
"So what we get drunk. So what we smoke weed. We're just having fun..." and what summer festivities would be complete without those key elements? Not many. This star-ensemble single is the quintessential summer jam with a throw back sound to old school hip-hop. LOVE!

Smallpools @ Popscene August 8th, 2013. Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

Dreaming - (Smallpools EP available now) Smallpools

Crazy In Love (Kid Koala version)- Emeli Sande & The Bryan Ferry Orchestra

Beyoncé's original hit got a swingin' make over for 2013's Great Gatsby soundtrack and it's upbeat feel good disposition landed itself on my 2013 summer soundtrack!

CSS @ Great American Music Hall. Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

Hangover (Planta, June 2013)   - CSS
If you experienced any hangovers this Summer I hope that this was one of them! The fun loving Brazilian girls of CSS deliver subtle island flavor while reminiscing on good times had in this new song.








Elephant (Lonersim, October 2012) - Tame Impala


Pumpin' Blood (Pumpin' Blood EP available now) - NONONO
The first time I heard this song I totally thought it was The Naked and Famous! The debut single from NONONO has a great anthem-esque chorus annnnnnnnd there's whistling! I don't know about you but I foresee NONONO on next summer's festival circuit.



Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey (Cedric Gervais remix)
This summer Cedric Gervais remixed Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness from last year's Paradise. Adding an otherwise happy element to the single this (now) dance track has Summertime in it's name so it kind of had to go on my summertime playlist, right? Right!

The Apple (Samson & Delilah Out October 8th)  - VV Brown
Sometimes we just need to chillout and this is hands down the most mellow track up in the mix. If you think the always sunny VV Brown has turned a new leaf with this single wait til you hear the rest of her new album when drops in October!

Treasure (Unorthodox Jukebox, December 2012) - Bruno Mars
I admit it, Bruno Mars' Treasure was my guilty pleasure over the summer. It's not my usual cup of tea but it's a good fun, dance love pop song that isn't mushy. And it kinda reminds me of MJ. It's a gem!

 

Let Go - RAC, Kele, MNDR
HEART THIS ONE HARD.


Kangaroo Court (In a Tidal Wave of Mystery, June 2013)  - Capital Cities
Their hit single "Safe & Sound" continues to dominate the air-waves but the latest single from Capital Cities is good too and definitely still very 80's in all the right ways!

Bring the Noize - (Matangi, out November 5th)  M.I.A
The first single from M.I.A's ever to be released Matangi has been brought and it's HOT!
Raunchy, rowdy and loud you will want to turn this one up!

As long, warm summer days give way to long, cool Autumn nights it's nice to know you can always warm things up and slip back to that summertime vibe by simply listening, isn't it?

What did you  love listening to this summer?

Enjoy my list: Summertimez 2013 on Spotify!








 

Hold On - Róisín O

Here's an exclusive sneak peak of the touching video for the moving and beautifully orchestrated Hold On from Irish singer/songwriter/musician  Róisín O.

 

 

The Sunday Times describes her as having “a quality of tone and voice that is near pitch-perfect, at times evoking the likes of Joni Mitchell, Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush”. 

Following her 14 date headlining US tour Róisín O is heading to Ireland for her first headlining show at home next month!

 

Her debut album "The Secret Life of Blue" is available now.

 

Enjoy!

Little Boots & MNDR head to The Independent in SF!

Next week, two indie-pop starlets are coming to San Francisco ... together!

 

 

Little Boots and MNDR will drop their own nineties-esque pop teamed with disco swagger and a "New Yorker nice-girl"  attitude when they grace the stage at The Independent next Tuesday night!

 

Months after it's pre-summer release earlier this year her sophomore album Nocturnes continues to launch Little Boots up on the pop spectrum. Remixes of the romantically retro, seemingly erie dance driven single Satellite from Escort, Lindstrom and John Dahlback  popped up just last week along with the debut of the song's music video courtesy of VICE’s Noisey.

 

 

MNDR has been hard at work, touring since the release of her debut LP, Feed Me Diamonds in 2012, collaborating with Bloc Party's Kelle Okereke on the latest RAC track Let Go
https://soundcloud.com/rac/let-go-ft-kele-mndr
hyping an exciting re-release of her debut album on colored vinyl while surely working on her own new material.

Talk about a tour de force!!
MNDR will get the party started with club-hopping worthy hits before giving the stage to her dance partner in crime (this time around) show headliner, Little Boots.






If you've heard them you already know that these blondes know how to have fun now it's time to get down with these girls!

Tickets to the show are only 20 bucks and they're still available.
 Don't be a square! Be there!

 

 

 

Cody ChestnuTT @ The Independent 9/7/2013

Photo by: Marc Fong

 

 

 

After 8 short months Cody ChestnuTT returned to The Independent in San Francisco with yet another enthusiastic set.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by: Marc Fong

 

 

High fiving fans as soon as he hit the stage Cody ChestnuTT kicked off his show Saturday night with That's Still Mama.  It's motown feel and a bit of an extended jam session rendition this Landing on a Hundred track set the mood for rest the show. Seamlessly seguing from the first jam into the second, ChestnuTT told fans "It's good to be back San Francisco" and the crowd's warm welcome and friendly reply let him know it was good to have him back.





Garnering more cheers leading into Till I Met Thee, the retro army helmet clad soulful R& B crooner continued: "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Cody ChestnuTT (applause) and I would like to introduce you to my new album (applause) and this (motioning to the band on stage with him) is the original band who did the album" (applause).

ChestnuTT's fans were just as up-beat and positive as his charismatic performance both of which illuminated the small club with smiles and filled it with groovy moves.

 

Still touring in support of his 2012  LP, Landing on a Hundred the seemingly underlining politically charged set consisted mostly of those new tracks and was up beat, positive, engaging and smooooth the whole way through.

 

 

Photo by: Marc Fong

 

Set List

 

1: That's Still Mama

2: Till I Met Thee

3: Everybody's Brother

4: Under The Spell of the Handout

5: What Kind of Cool (Will We Think of Next)

6: Love is More Than a Wedding Day

7: Be Better to the Young

8: Where is all the money Going?

9: Don't Wanna Go the Other Way

 

Encore:

1: I've Been Life

2: Gunpowder

3: Thank You

 

 

 

 

 

 

Augustines with Frightened Rabbit @ The Warfield September 30th, 2013

AUGUSTINES



 

After three years and a name revamp the indie-folk band Augustines (previously We Are Augustines) are back! The Brooklyn based boys are gearing up for the release their self-titled follow-up album to 2011’s Rise Ye Sunken Ships, hitting the road as the supporting act on the Frightened Rabbit tour this fall.

 

 

 

 

 

On September 24th the emotionally charged tour gets going in Alberta Canada before making it's way to The Warfield on September 30th and they wrap things up in October in DC.

https://soundcloud.com/

 

 

 

 

Check out the first single, Cruel City off
A U G U S T I N E S before the January 21st, 2014 release!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOUR DATES

 

September 24 - Edmonton, AB @ Union Hall
September 25 - Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Ballroom
September 26 - Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
September 27 - Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
September 28 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
September 30 - San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
October 1 - Hollywood, CA @ Avalon
October 3 - Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
October 4 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
October 6 - Tulsa, OK @ Guthrie Green
October 7 - Dallas, TX @ Prophet Bar
October 9 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
October 10 - Jacksonville, FL @ Free Bird Café
October 11 - Ft. Lauderdale @ Culture Room
October 12 - Orlando, FL @ Beacham Theater
October 14 - Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater
October 15 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
October 17 - Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
October 18 - London, ON @ London Music Hall
October 19 - Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
October 21 - Boston, MA @ Paradise
October 24 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
October 26 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony
October 27 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
October 29 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

Mazzetti's Chocolate with Fudge Cupcake

Having not been in Mazzettis Bakery in my hometown of Pacifica in years it was time to stop by and give their cupcakes a try. Heaps of cookies, French and Danish pastries, and éclairs fill most of the retro display cases but tucked near the cash register are two cases which are home to Mazzettis colossal cupcakes. This was no impulse buy for me as my intention was to buy a cupcake but which one? They all looked so good. All of them with mile high frosting and custom flavors like Raspberry Chocolate, Oreo, Chocolate Cream Cheese, Marble, Funzetti and one that looked like an ice-cream sundae complete with a cherry on top I followed my choco-hollic heart and opted for the Chocolate with Fudge.

 

Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

 

Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

Using only fresh ingredients which means no preservatives every sugary confection at Mazzettis is baked fresh each day and this freshness is the first thing I noticed. The moist buttery chocolate cake is decadent yet not heavy or rich, melting in my mouth with every bite. Expecting the frosting to be dense and heavy it was a pleasant realization that it's actually chocolate frosting infused with fudge. It's not too light or whipped, not too sugary and not overwhelmingly rich and fudgey. It's just right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mazzettis Bakery does a fine job balancing the fudge to frosting ratio on their Chocolate with Fudge frosting and the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips are a little perfect topper. 

 For an easy $2.00 this cupcake delightfully satisfies chocolate cravings.