Polica @ Cornerstone Brewery in Berkeley 4/21/2017

Needless to say, the music scene around San Francisco is especially great this time of year.  We get all of the Coachella run-off, one-off shows the weeks prior, in between and after the consecutive weekend music festival! Last week The Bay Area hosted DJ Shadow at The Regency Ballroom, three nights of The XX at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, two nights of Radio Head at The Greek Theater in Berkeley, Gucci Mane at The Warfield, three nights of Whitney at The Independent, BANKS with Raury at The Warfield and New Order at The Greek Theater in Berkeley!

After opening for the new-wave legends at the beautiful outdoor arena perched on the UC Berkeley campus, Polica headlined a special late show a few blocks away at the new Cornerstone Brewery!

One of the last times, if not the last time the Minnesotans were here they literally played in the Bay at  The Treasure Island Music Festival in 2014. It had been three years before we heard anything new after Shulamith and with the release of their 3rd album, United Crushers last March, the return of Polica couldn't come sooner!

Polica @ Cornerstone Brewery 4/21/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

The East Bay's newest music venue  is also the most exciting new craft beer garden! Offering 42  handcrafted beers, a rustic comfort food menu and a cozy 500 capacity music venue complete with a spiffy new JBL sound and lighting system and a VIP mezzanine. Cornerstone Brewery is already one of a kind and has  set itself up for huge success!

Polica @ Cornerstone Brewery 4/21/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

 From the entrance on Shattuck, I made my way through the brewery around 11:30 and it was bustling with thirsty Millienials who seemed oblivious that a band was playing. The music venue has it's own entrance, where the box office/will-call window is but with no marquee (yet) it's easy to miss. The staff was very accommodating though; they welcomed me in and showed me where to pick up my tickets.






The stage is housed in huge a room with a bar that runs along the back wall and it's actually pretty secluded from the brewery. Except for the adjoining bathrooms, it's practically a separate establishment. With no house lights, it stayed dark as night club and with no dimming needed, Polica quietly appeared just before midnight.

Polica @ Cornerstone Brewery in Berkeley 4/21/2017
photo by Marc Fong

They opened with "Wandering Star" off their first album to some polite cheers. As a whole the band was rather subdued as if they had used all of their energy at The Greek. In a buttoned up jean jacket, front woman Channy was more reserved than I remembered: stationed close to her synthesizers or behind her mic for the most part. She kept motioning for the sound engineer to adjust her monitors but their hauntingly romantic, synth-indie pop sounded smooth to me. They opened with "Wandering Star" off their first album to some polite cheers. As a whole the band was rather subdued as if they had used all of their energy at The Greek. In a buttoned up jean jacket, front woman Channy was more reserved than I remembered: stationed close to her synthesizers or behind her mic for the most part. She kept motioning for the sound engineer to adjust her monitors but their hauntingly romantic, synth-indie pop sounded smooth to me. 

Polica @ Cornerstone Brewery 4/21/2017
photo by Marc Fong

The atmosphere was displaced, guided by conversations carrying on at the bar and fans who were watching Polica did just that in a transfixed state. Bouts of heckling from the crowd only fed the feeling of discontentment coming from the stage.
 Channy's slow-tempo singing is stylistic and focused, adding that much more to their ominous vibe. The general misanthropy buried within lyrics of many of their songs throughout their catalog is carried by her powerful vocals. Pessimism aside, Polica's sound is lightened by bouncy, pixelated harmonies of faint guitar and dominant synth hooks. Dark and introspective, the restless disposition of their special late show was a cool way to start a Saturday well before the break of day.

Polica @ Cornerstone Brewery 4/21/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

The flow of tracks from all three albums was a steady one making for a solid set for what was the second show at the new venue! Follow Cornerstone Brewery on Facebook to keep track of what bands they have lined up!

SET-LIST 4/21/2017

1. Wandering Star
2. Lime Habit
3. Wedding
4. Trippin
5. Lately
6. Fly
7. Lose You
8. Fake Like
9. Warrior Lord
10. Lay Your Cards Out
11. So Leave
12. Very Cruel
13. Leading To Death