Belle Game opens for Broken Social Scene @ The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017

On July 7th, Broken Social Scene released Hug Of Thunder, their first album in seven years, shortly after which they announced the Hug Of Thunder Tour with Belle Game. 

Belle Game at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

Before playing the last show of the tour in the States at The Wiltern in LA then bringing it full circle with two final shows in their home-base town of Toronto Canada, the tail end of their North American Tour brought the Canadian bands to The Fox Theater in Oakland.

Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene is the executive producer of, Fear Nothing, the sophomore album from Belle Game which was released just last month. After working with a member of one of music's most beloved bands to now touring with them, the four piece opening act had an understandable humbleness about them.

Belle Game at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

Washed out by intense crimson and indigo lights, The Belle Game was staged in front of cloaked back-lined equipment of the 15 piece headliners as a  steady stream of show-goers arrived.

Belle Game at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

Andrea Lo's vocals were more like hymns, giving them their signature ethereal sound as lyrics entwined with softly blown-out instrumental elements. Keyboardist Katrina Jones rendered some woos when she engaged fans at one point: asking how we were doing and sharing how the band b-lined it for In & Out as soon as they crossed state lines and that it was their very first time, ever in Oakland.






Otherwise, there wasn't too much action during their mellow set, the lighting didn't let up or change and there was very little movement on stage. It was fitting though, anything more would contradict their crush-pop aesthetic.

Belle Game at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

With their impressive ensemble of musicians and array of instruments, Broken Social Scene was quite the opposite. The energy in the then full-house, instantaneously shifted from the peaceful welcome to a full-on Americana Hootenanny mere seconds into their first song of the night.

Broken Social Scene at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017
photo by Marc Fong

Broken Social Scene at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017
photo by Marc Fong

Belle Game opening for Broken Social Scene is a great example of how opposites attract even when it comes to a concert bill. Their sound and stage presence differ enough from one another that they compliment each other.

Broken Social Scene at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017
photo by Marc Fong

The last shows of the Hug Of Thunder Tour are in Canada November 1st, 3rd and 4th! 

Raspberry Chocolate Vegan Cupcake from New Leaf Market

I have a pretty big sweet tooth and that's probably the toughest part about trying to follow a plant based diet. I have had some pretty darn good vegan ice-cream but baked goods are tough. 

 I discovered that the New Leaf Market in Half Moon Bay has some vegan offerings in their Bakery, including vegan cupcakes! 

Vegan Cupcakes @ New Leaf Market
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The selection of vegan cupcake flavors they had was impressive. There were five in all: German Chocolate, Raspberry Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Mocha and Carrot Cake. I haven't had German Chocolate Cake in a long time so that one was really calling my name but I wanted to see what vegan frosting was like so I went with Raspberry Chocolate. 

Raspberry Chocolate Vegan Cupcake from New Leaf Market
photo by Nikki DeMartini

It's paper wrapper went all the way up to the frosting un-like traditional cupcake wrappers that usually just cover the cake portion of a cupcake. Some chocolate icing covering the top of the cupcake under the raspberry frosting that I hadn't noticed came off as I peeled the wrapper away. I licked some of  the thick chocolate icing off the edge of the wrapper and it was rich, dark chocolate delicious-ness!
The raspberry frosting wasn't as flavorful as the chocolate icing. I thought Raspberry frosting, vegan or not, would be bursting with tangy flavor but this one was not. It's sponge like texture reminded me of whipped yogurt and I couldn't tell if it was fresh or not. 

The deep, dark colored chocolate cake also wasn't flavorful. I've experienced lack of flavor with chocolate cupcakes before though so I don't attribute this to it being a vegan (cup)cake. It was a bit dry which may be because no eggs, milk or butter were used in the batter recipe?
Over all it didn't taste bad, it just lacked in the flavor department.
It's good to know that there are baked vegan goods at New Leaf Market! The vegan cupcakes cost about $2.00 dollars more than their regular cupcakes but that's a small price to pay if you're trying to live that plant based diet life style. 

Next time I'll try a different flavor, vanilla is usually a safe bet!

Best Coast @ Cornerstone Berkeley 9/25/2017

Bethany Costentino and Bobb Bruno of Best Coast returned to the Bay Area with a sold-out show at Cornerstone Berkeley a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't too long ago when they opened for Wavves at The Independent in SF in the Spring of 2016 but it's been a bit since we've seen Best Coast headline a show in these parts. 

Best Coast @ Cornerstone Berkeley
Photo by Marc Fong

Best Coast @ Cornerstone Berkeley
Photo by Marc Fong

It was a Monday night and the music venue that's tucked away behind the new brewery on Shattuck was bustling with fans packed in to see the old indie favorite. With doors at 7:30, a readiness strewn thick in the air after the openers, The Birth Defects as the room waited for the headliners who took to the stage closer to 10pm. 

Cheers rose as the dim venue darkened, making way for Best Coast who kicked things off with a Crazy for You classic, "Goodbye". Next, they played the title track from that same album (their first of three thus far) and didn't stop after that with title track from their second album The Only Place. Minus the grit and dirty fastness, their songs are short like good ol' punk songs and while Bobb and the band cranked one out after another without pause, Bethany laid down morose vocals. 

Best Coast @ Cornerstone Berkeley
Photo by Marc Fong

Amusing the crowd a few songs in, she teased new music but not before playing more oldies. Fuzzy lo-fi made warm with  undertones of surfer rock play into the theme of yearning heard across their catalog. Her melodic singing style could be construed as monotonic but it's inundated with emotion. It reminds me of The DumDum Girls, heavy and seemingly cold like something you'd hear on the 80's cult classic, Heathers. 

 Bethany's stage presence came off as guarded and a part from Bobb's soft head-banging and swirling of his long hair, overall they aren't a real lively bunch. But I think that's what makes Best Coast, Best Coast. Eight years strong and they're still indie kids at heart. Seen and heard. 

Best Coast @ Cornerstone Berkeley
Photo by Marc Fong

9/25/2017 set-list

1. Goodbye

2. Crazy For You

3. The Only Place

4. Heaven Sent 

5. So Un-Aware

6. Fear of My Identity

7. Fine Without You

8. California Nites

9. No One Like You 

10. Let's Go Home

11. When I'm With You

12. Do You Love Me?

13. I Want To 

14. In My Eyes

15. Jealousy 

16. Feeling OK

17. Our Deal 

18. Boyfriend

19. When Will I Change 

Atlas Genius @ The Fillmore 9/24/2017

Atlas Genius @ The Fillmore 9/24/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

Atlas Genius sure do love playing in San Francisco and the Bay Area. The Jeffery Brothers, Keith on lead vocals/lead guitar and Michael on drums and the rest of the band played at The UC Theater in Berkeley with Andrew McMullen in the Wilderness on May 6th and then headlined The Fillmore the following night on May 7th. 

A little over 4 months later, Atlas Genius was back on stage at The Fillmore for their headlining show on Sunday, September 24th! The last time I saw Atlas Genius was the Summer of 2015 at The Independent but the first time I saw them was at The Fillmore in 2013. It was great be back at my favorite SF venue seeing them again! 

Atlas Genius @ The Fillmore 9/24/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

It was a slow Sunday night and after the two opening bands, flor and Half the Animal, the floor wasn't quiet full under the picturesque chandeliers that outline it from above. But as soon as Atlas Genius hit the stage their peppy energy filled the historic venue. 

The Aussie boys make it a point to connect with fans at their shows, at least they have when I've seen them. 

Atlas Genius @ The Fillmore 9/24/2017
photo by Marc Fong 

"It's only the third show of this tour" Keith panted after a few songs into the set, which up until had been non-stop alt-rock, "and we love them (both of the openers) already".  A couple of songs after that he shouted that he loved someone's shirt in the crowd. Simple things like that really show a person's character and sure, a lot of musicians say similar things at shows but it feels genuine with Atlas Genius. That makes a big difference to show-goers. 

They effortlessly weaved mellow tracks, keen on inner reflection off 2015's Inanimate Objects with more amplified electro-rock songs from their 2013 debut, When It Was Now.  Keith's explosive energy not only kept fans engaged but was the driving force of the show. Plentiful guitars were crisp, bass  clear, drums boisterous but the frontman's showmanship give the show a lively spark. He's like that every time I've seen them play and I'm sure it's true for all of their shows. 

Atlas Genius @ The Fillmore 9/24/2017 
photo by Marc Fong 


"If So", "When It Was Now", "Molecules", "63 Days" and "Trojans" laced their hour long set and it full on charged until the very end.
There are only a few more weeks to get out and feel good with these guys before they call this run a wrap on October 26th in LA. Some of the remaining shows of the 63 Days of Love Tour are with Magic Giant and if you like Atlas Genius, you won't want to miss their opening set. 

Atlas Genius @ The Fillmore 9/24/2017
photo by Marc Fong