Luscious Lemon Cupcake from Nourish

Nourish is a 100% plant-based cafe with two locations in San Francisco: one on Hyde street and one on 6th avenue. They have bowls and smoothies, sweet toasts, savory toasts, blue matcha almond milk lattes, one of, if not the most yummy chocolate chip cookie I've tasted and so much more. And, yes! It's all vegan! I visited the Nourish Cafe closest to me to get a chocolate chip cookie and on my way out I saw them. Cupcakes. About half a dozen cupcakes in crafty little containers comprised of upside down plastic cups with lids holding them in place. As I bought a chocolate chip cookie, I asked the guy ringing me up if they always had cupcakes (I had never seen cupcakes there before). "No we don't" he said "they're left over from a catering event we did." He had me at no. Also, how great is it that rather than throw away and waste perfectly good food as so many places and events do, Nourish recycled their cupcakes? Probably more of a monetary move than a green one, but still. 

Luscious Lemon Cupcake from Nourish
photo by Nikki DeMartini

At $4.00 a pop, the little cupcakes were pretty pricey but so are all things that are vegan (that chocolate chip cookie is $5.00, a price I am happy to pay for yumminess). The last cupcake I reviewed was a lemon cupcake but this one was a vegan lemon cupcake and it had edible star glitter AND  Nourish Cafe doesn't always have cupcakes! 

 I bought one of the Luscious Lemon cupcakes then I went home and ate that cupcake. One thing I've noticed about vegan pastries is their lack of flavor, not at Nourish though. The cupcake's frosting was noticeably more lemony then the cake was and it was creamy too! The cake was, dare I say it ...moist, another great feat for a vegan treat. I'm not sure how spelt flour, almond flour, maple syrup, almond milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, cashews, olive oil, apple cider and sea salt mix together to make such a tasty little cupcake but at Nourish Cafe they do! 

Luscious Lemon Cupcake from Nourish
photo by Nikki DeMartini

To be honest, I saved the best for last. The chocolate chip cookie here is legit and they're available every day. I highly recommend it. Maybe you'll get lucky and get a freshly baked one still warm from the oven. Yum!
After visiting their website, now I know that Nourish Café has cakes and cupcakes available for pre-order. They make Red Velvet,  Dark Chocolate and Luscious Lemon cupcakes. Just place your order 48 hours in advance and prepare to be wowed. 

The Faint @ The Chapel 5/13/2019

photo by Nikki DeMartini

Todd Fink, Clark Baechle, Graham Ulicny and Michael "Dapose" Dappen of the cyber-punk outfit, The Faint rocked The Chapel in San Francisco's Mission District two nights in a row last week. 

The March 15th release of Egowerk is their first album in 5 years but they're no strangers to their SF fanbase: last October they played downtown's Mezzanine, two years before that they played at The Regency Ballroom with Gang of Four and around the time of their 2014 release, Doom Abuse, they played at The Independent with Reptar. 

The Faint @ The Chapel 5/13/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

Both of shows at The Chapel started with Closeness, a side project of The Faint's front-man and his wife. They donned matching black wide-brim hats on Monday night which was throw-up in your mouth a little bit cute. Choir Boy followed with a set reminiscent of Morrissey before The Faint took the stage around 10:00 and the spacious room had considerably filled in by that time.

Closeness @ The Chapel 5/13/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

Choir Boy @ The Chapel 5/13/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

It was a good mix of hipsters straight out of the Mission and middle aged goth kids all of which had their hands up, waving along to the serendipitous hums as soon as they started coursing from the stage. Strobe lights paused with pockets of darkness before bursting with blinding flashes, aiding in the eerie ambiguity that The Faint has been known for over the years. 

An indie sound with a industrial edge, a menacing new wave feel. 

Though they're on the Egowerk tour, they only played a handful of songs off of Egowerk and the title track was not one of them. 

The Faint @ The Chapel 5/13/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

More tracks from their fourth album, 2001's Danse Macabre made up the set-list than any of their other albums. Focused and impassioned, Fink stuck to his guns, letting fans marinate in their elation as the stage went black between songs. The early 2000's dance floor fave, "Desperate Guys" and their song with the most spins on Spotify "I Disappear", both off of Wet From Birth, got the biggest reactions. For a venue that holds a lot of indie-folk/folk-rock and psychedelic-rock shows it was a nice change to see a band like The Faint at The Chapel: from the lighting to the dance club vibes it was definitely a first (for me at least). And the acoustics sounded just as good with the heavy synths as they do when a folk-rock band plays there.

The Faint @ The Chapel 5/13/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

Fans of The Faint are pretty hard-core, so I'm sure many of them who were there on Monday night were also there for the Tuesday night show. If it was anything like Monday night's show, they were in for a fun one that'd have their ears ringing. 

The Egowerk tour runs through August 16th. 

The Faint @ The Chapel 5/13/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

set list 5/13/2019 

1. Quench The Flame 

2. Geeks Were Right  

3. Desperate Guys 

4. Total Job 

5. Southern Bells in London Sing 

6. Mental Radio 

7. I Disappear 

8. Chameleon Nights 

9. Evil Voices 

10. Let The Poison Spill From Your Neck 

11. Sky Lab 

12. Take Me To The Hospital 

13. The Conductor  

14. Young & Realistic

15. Worked Up So Sexual 

16. Paranoia Wet 

en core 

17. Child Asleep 

18. Agenda Suicide 

19. Glass Danse 

Faux-Chella 2019

One month ago, the Empire Polo Fields in Indio California were transformed into a playground for Instagram influencers. Coachella 2019 saw Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana Grande as headliners with a surprise, Sunday service from Kanye and friends on Easter morning. The  three day long, consecutive weekend fest has been the jump-off point for the music festival season every year, for the last 20 years (feel old?). It's also a preview of festival fashion trends, so get your bright neon, mesh and tassels ready. And, yes, Coachella turned 20 this year, a fact carefully not celebrated by the promoter but a pretty big deal nonetheless. 

A lot of Coachella acts head to the Bay Area for their own one-off shows before, after or between weekends. This is the time of year show-goers around SF like to call Faux-chella: it's just what you want from Coachella, nothing you don't. From April 9th to April 25th,  there were at least 30 different Faux-chella shows in SF, Oakland and San Jose. From arena shows like Weezer at The Oracle Arena on April 10th and Zedd at The San Jose Event Center on April 17th.  Maggie Rogers sold-out The Fox Theater in Oakland on April 19th and King Princess played The Fillmore on April 22nd. There were smaller, more intimate shows too, like White Denim at The Independent on April 25th.  

Interrupters @ The Regency Ballroom 4/12/2019
photo by Marc Fong

It was a fun, SKA-punk filled night with The Interrupters at The Regency Ballroom on Friday, April 12th. They brought their upbeat energy the Outdoor Stage in the Coachella sunshine the next day.

Parcels made the most out of their travels from down under to the states by playing a sold-out show at The Regency Ball Room on April 16th after playing the Gobi Stage on April 14th at Coachella weekend one. 

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

CHVRCHES and Unknown Mortal Orchestra played on different stages in the desert but on Friday, April 19th they shared the stage at The Greek Theater in Berkeley. 

Chvrches @ The Greek Theater in Berkeley 4/19/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

Unknown Mortal Orchestra @ The Greek Theater in Berkeley 4/19/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

After C2 was over, Lizzo and The 1975 both played two shows in San Francisco.
1975 returned to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Monday April 22nd and Tuesday April 23rd for the first time since playing there in 2017. Their SF sets were considerably longer than their sets on the main stage at Coachella, which consisted of 12 songs.

The 1975 @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 4/23/2019
photo by Marc Fong

The 1975 @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 4/23/2019
photo by Marc Fong

After 16 songs on night one and 15 songs on night two, the English pop-rock band treated fans to a solid 5 song en core, ending both nights with the sparkly track "The Sound".











Last year, before I left to work in Indio for three weeks, I saw  Lizzo open for HAIM at The Greek Theater in Berkeley. It is one of the best opening sets I have ever seen, Lizzo quite nearly stole the show from the three Haim sisters that night.
Things have come full circle since then: as I headed to Indio for work this year, Lizzo was one of the Coachella acts I was most excited about seeing.

Her set was on Sunday evening in the Mojave tent and I made sure to squeeze her into my schedule on the second weekend, the same weekend her third album, Cuz I Love You dropped.






The massive crowd that gathered couldn't be contained by the Mojave tent as dancing fans spilled out all around it. Lizzo, with her troop of back up dancers, radiated on stage and her radiant energy permeated through the stale desert air like a crisp ocean breeze.
We didn't get a surprise appearance from Missy Elliot during their collaborative new song "Tempo" but Lizzo was still the best part about Coachella 2019. Sorry, not sorry Ariana.

Lizzo @ The Warfeild 4/22/2109
photo by Marc Fong 

The Cuz I Love You tour rolled through San Francisco right after Coachella and her show on April 22nd at The Warfield sold-out so quick that a second show was added on April 24th. Work keeps me from seeing a lot of great shows and not being able to see Lizzo in a more intimate setting really broke my little show-going heart. From what I've heard, she blew people's minds and I wouldn't expect anything less from Lizzo.

Lizzo @ The Warfield 4/22/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

Lizzo @ The Warfield 4/22/2019
photo by Marc Fong 

Before she even got to the city for those shows last month, she announced two shows at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on October 27th and 28th, the first of which is already sold-out!
Lizzo won Coachella and Faux-Chella this year and she's going to keep on shining bright.
For a great time, go see Lizzo live, she'll make you feel good inside and out.

Lizzo @ The Warfield 4/22/2019 
photo by Marc Fong 

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019

Watching Parcels perform is like watching happy children play. You cannot help but smile and rock out with the Berlin/Australian born band. 

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

On April 16th, between Coachella weekends, Parcels played to a packed Regency Ballroom in SF. The venue hosted a considerably larger crowd  than the last time they played SF: many fans couldn't snag a ticket when they played at The Independent in SF a few months ago. More SF Parcels fans were able to attend their show this time, but just barely. 

Their performance was a tornado of electro-funk, disco-pop, alt-rock and some unidentifiable charm that somehow resonates with fans and non-fans alike. 

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

The band's inspiration is hard to identify. Disco-style dance singles like "IknowhowIfeel" my lead the listener to believe that the band is entrenched in the 70's, but songs like "Withorwithoutyou" and "Yourfault"could neatly fall into an 80's pop-rock slot. They flip the script again with modern alt-rock beats such as those on "Overnight". It's likely Parcels' most well-known track due to their collaboration with France's Daft Punk. The song was great to hear live, not only because it's catchy but because it showcases the band's versatility and talent. 

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

Parcels perform with such genuine happiness that it's hard to find any faults with their live show. They were energetic, humble, fun and there to have a great time with everyone who was there. They interacted not only with screaming fans, but also with each other, showing a great synergy between them. 

While the band is undoubtedly a talented unit, each member is worth their salt. To showcase their skills, each band member was afforded a brief solo to woo the crowd. And woo they did as each featured player took front and center with skillful, playful solos which fans audibly loved. 

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

Parcels played such a great set that we should expect that the next time they come back to SF, they'll need an even larger venue to present their unique sound at. 

Parcels @ The Regency Ballroom 4/16/2019
photo by Marc Fong

review by Marc Fong

edited by Nikki DeMartini