Wu Tang Clan @ Cali Vibes in Long Beach 2/6/2022

February 4th, 5th and 6th of this year marked the debut of the California Vibrations Festival more widely known as Cali Vibes. The three day reggae festival was held at the Marina Green Park in Long Beach California and featured headliners Rebelution, The Marley Brothers and Dirty Heads. Along with up and comers like Hawaiian songstress, Hirie, there were some big names who weren't headlining.  Pepper, Slightly Stoopid, Sublime with Rome, Shaggy and Atmosphere for instance. And then there was one act on the bill that was not like all of the others. Rap legends Wu-Tang Clan played on the main stage on Sunday. What's more surprising than them being on a a reggae festival line-up was not only were they not a headliner but Wu-Tang was on before the second to last band. 

Wu - Tang Clan @ Cali Vibes 2/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

It was my first time going to a music festival to go to a music festival rather than work it in a long time and I was there to see Wu Tang that night. It was my first time seeing them live. The sun was still up when their set started and first on stage was a DJ to hype up the crowd. He wanted us to make some noise before he'd have the clan come out. One by one the Wu Tang Clan hit the stage. First up was U-God followed by Masta Killa, Cappadonna, GZA, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck. The last two members to join the rest of the clan on stage, RZA and Method Man garnered the biggest reactions from the crowd. 

Wu - Tang Clan @ Cali Vibes 2/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Each member of Wu Tang hit the stage with such a pure energy that was hard not to feel. Passion exuded from them was they rapped. A positivity lingered in the air with all of the weed smoke. I couldn't get over how happy they all looked up there. Method Man was almost unrecognizable in his his ear to ear smile that kept flashing through out the set. RZA was having such a good time I lost count of the number of champagne bottles he sprayed into the crowd. Fans through up their wu hand sign when instructed and did so even when not instructed. Everyone was having a good time. 

Wu - Tang Clan @ Cali Vibes 2/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Wu - Tang Clan @ Cali Vibes 2/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Ever changing graphics lit up the back of the stage with things like the Wu-Tang logo, "Wu Tang Ain't Nothing to Fuck With", and of course "Wu Tang Is Forever". Snippets of old music videos and throw back footage were spliced in, too. They paid tribute to ODB, the DJ spun Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which the crowd sang along to, they covered The Beatles and Rick James and Bob Marley's "One Love".

They gave love to Long Beach and reggae music and to everyone who was there. Wu Tang was such a rejuvenating high that night at Cali Vibes. Seeing how stoked Wu was to be there and knowing how stoked I and everyone else was to be there to see them.
It was a great festival set. 

set-list 2/6/2022
1. Gravel Pit 
2. Slang Editorial 
3. Winter Warz
4. Uzi (Pink Ring) 
5. Da Mystery of Chessboxin' 
6. Killa Bees on the Swarm 
7. Solid As a Rock
8. Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing to Fuck With 
9. Shame on a Nigga 
10. C.R.E.A.M
11. Method Man
12. Tearz
13. Breaker, Breaker 
14. Protect Ya Neck 
15. Come Together (The Beatles cover)
16. Reunited
17. For Heavens Sake 
18. Severe Punishment 
19. One Blood Under W
20. 4th Chamber 
21. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover)
22. Mary Jane (Rick James cover)
23. Ice Cream 
24. Bring the Pain 
25. Can It Be All So Simple
26. Da Rockwilder
27. Shimmy Shimmy Ya
28. Brooklyn Zoo
29. Got Your Money 
30. Da Rockwilder
31. Duel to the Death 
32. Triumph 

Washed Out with Brijean @ The Regency Ballroom 1/22/2022

 About half way through the MMXXII tour, Washed Out stopped in SF for a show at The Regency Ballroom. The Georgian known as the "godfather of chillwave" AKA Ernest Weatherly Greene Jr., better known as Washed Out was finally on a proper tour for his 2020 album Purple Noon. More or less of half the shows were supported opening act by LANNDS and the other shows by opening act, Brijean. On January 22nd, Brijean opened the show. 

Washed Out @ The Regency Ballroom 1/22/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

Washed Out Purple Noon album cover 

The music from both bands prescribed a chill night yet as the room filled in, the amped energy of the crowd was uncharacteristically rowdy for the bands they were there to see. They weren't rowdily dancing but they were loud and not polite. It was as if they were there because they just wanted something to do on a Saturday night. The show was well sold but being that we were at a chillwave show, there was a startling amount of seemingly out of place bros there. 

Oh San Francisco, so diverse you never know what kind of crowd you're going to find yourself in.

Brijean @ The Regency Ballroom 1/22/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

Brijean @ The Regency Ballroom 1/22/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

Brijean hit the stage to a room full of people and conversation. The Bay Area based duo who had opened for DRAMA last October, did their best to weather storm with their moody bongo vibes, a great precursor for what was up next. 

Brijean @ The Regency Ballroom 1/22/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Colorful lights from Brijean gave way to bright lights and fog washing out the stage for the headliners. A dreaminess smoldered from where Greene leisurely stood behind a synthesizer, keyboard situation and as impressionistic indie hymns washed over the crowd there was a calming affect comingling in the chaotic air. Each twinkling note offering a mature sense of a euphoric passage. Hidden in the looming shadows and murky atmosphere, Greene kept to himself for the most part as Washed Out lit up the night like the light at the end of a tunnel. 

Washed Out @ The Regency Ballroom 1/22/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

Though Washed Out played at The Phoenix Hotel on the outskirts of the infamous Tenderloin district of San Francisco last year, this tour was the light at the end of the tunnel for Washed Out. 

Washed Out @ The Regency Ballroom 1/22/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The MMXXII tour is over but Washed Out is still chugging along. He'll be bringing the chill to One Big Holiday in Cancun on March 2nd then back to the States for Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival in Florida on March 3rd. 

Cupcakes from Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats for Valentine's Day

 Last year the big freeze in Texas had started to thaw around Valentine's Day so I ventured out for a Valentine's Day treat. I was working in Athens Texas and while the small, quiet town felt like the middle of no where, there was a cute cupcake shop there.  It was February 13th and workers at the Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats shop were busy getting things ready for the big day. I had gone in for one cupcake but they all looked so good. Some were decked out with intricate, edible decorations which I came to find out were special for Valentine's Day from the very friendly manager type lady. Before I knew it I walked out of Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats with three cupcakes.
Happy Valentine's Day to me!

cupcakes from Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats in Texas
photo by Nikki DeMartini

cupcakes from Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats in Texas
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The first one I tried was the one I was going to get before being easily swindled into getting three and that was the Maple Bacon cupcake. With a piece of bacon, waffle and a little vile of maple syrup stuck right into it, it sure was a sight to see. The vanilla cake and vanilla frosting were standard, there was so much going on on top that it sort of took away from the cupcake itself. It was tough to tell if both the cake and the frosting were vanilla or not. 

cupcake from Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats in Texas
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I don't remember in what order I had the next two cupcakes but I do remember they both had the same frosting. One was adorned with a mini chocolate chip cookie and the other with a mini chocolate chip cookie, a tiny slice of cheese cake and chocolate drizzle. The cake was the same standard vanilla cake and the frosting wasn't frosting at all...it was chocolate chip cookie dough! This is the first and so far the only time I've had a cupcake with cookie dough as frosting and it was delicious! 

cupcakes from Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats in Texas
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I thought that the delectable decorations would take the cake of the cupcakes at Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats but their chocolate chip cookie dough frosting did! 

Go big and go home with more to love with these everything's bigger in Texas treats. 

cupcakes from Treehouse Cupcakes & Frozen Treats in Texas
photo by Nikki DeMartini

More DRAMA music

 Shortly after the release of their debut album Dance without Me on Valentine's Day 2020, the R&B/indie fusion duo DRAMA hit the road in support of it. Less than a month later Na'el Shehade and Via Rosa found themselves in San Francisco for three shows. First up was a free show at Amoeba record store on Haight street on March 2nd, then at two sold-out, headlining shows at The Independent on March 3rd and 4th. 

DRAMA @ The Independent 3/4/2020
photo by Marc Fong 

A few days after their third show in SF the rest of their tour, along with every other tour everywhere,  was abruptly canceled as COVID lock-downs raged across the world almost as quickly as the as the virus itself. DRAMA was the last pre-covid show that was officially covered for Sweet Sound Bites. 

DRAMA @ The Independent 3/4/2020
photo by Marc Fong

 I wasn't too familiar with them then but they had a lot of buzz and even though I couldn't cover them in SF myself due to working the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in Florida, I did get approved to cover DRAMA at The Independent on March 4th, 2020 for my blog. Pictures from that show were stunning, giving me FOMO as soon as I saw them. Lighting fixtures separately framed Shehade and Rosa in warm violet hues in a perfectly minimalistic way while enchantingly embodying their sultry sound.  

With a short festival circuit in 2021, DRAMA wasted no time getting back in the game playing Lollapalooza, Life Is Beautiful and Outside Lands. Before the festival on Halloween weekend they headlined an Outside Lands night show On Wednesday October 27th, 2021. Having missed them while working Lollapalooza and potentially missing them while working Outside Lands, I was stoked to be able to see them at the picturesque art deco venue, Bimbo's 365 Club. Though there's no doubt they bring it to their festivals sets they strike me as a must see one off show duo. And I wasn't wrong about that. 

DRAMA @ Bimbo's 365 Club 10/27/2021
photo by Nikki DeMartini 

With the same lighting and stage set up that they had when they played at The Independent 19 months earlier, their exuberance for being back in SF matched that of the crowd. I can't recall a moment there wasn't a smile on Shehade's face through out the whole show. They sounded good, they looked good, it was a damn good show that made you feel good and left you feeling good. 

Last week DRAMA announced that they're gearing up to release a new EP on February 18th titled "Don't Wait Up" and they've already given us three songs off of it: "3AM", "Dark Rain" and "Don't Hold Back" and they've all been on a steady repeat since. 

The first music festival up for DRAMA this year happens to be the same festival I worked when I missed them at The Independent, Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival in Florida. I'm working that festival again this year so maybe it'll be my first time catching them at a fest, maybe it'll be yours.

 
DRAMA is touring too if you really want to immerse yourself in those intimate vibes of theirs at a more intimate show. 

DRAMA @ Bimbo's 365 Club 10/27/2021
photo by Nikki DeMartini 

New Sofi Tukker

 Sofi Tukker dropped "Original Sin" last Friday, the first single off their forth coming new album due out on April 29th. The song features the two best friends see-sawing on vocals which seductively explore the navigation of life and it's temptations the best we can. It's saucy with an easy, percussion heavy build up and a soft drop of it's pulsating beat. Following suit of  2020's "Purple Hat", 2021's,  "Mon Cheri" and so many songs from Sofi Tukker their latest is another dance floor worthy one. It's repetitive existential lyrics cloaked in it's atmospheric vibe could be easily featured in an episode of Euphoria. It's one of the best that 2022 has offered so far that I've heard. 

While the platonic couple have dropped a good number of singles over the years, this album will comes as a long awaited follow up to their 2018 debut, Tree House. It's title is Wet Tennis is an odd name on the surface but dive just a little bit deeper and Sophie Hawley-Weld explains that Wet Tennis is an acronym for: when everyone tries to evolve, nothing negative is safe. Learning that made me like the album even though only one song off of it has been released. People need more of the kind of energy that the message of Sofi Tukker naming their second album this. Especially in these on-going, trying, taxing times we're doing our best at living through. It comes as a relief to hear this essence of like being discussed in a positive light. "Original Sin" serves as a humble release as it welcomes you to shake it out.
Sofi Tukker's vibrancy for life daringly blares in the promotional photos for the album with Sophie and Tuk popping in bright orange, neon pink and purple Ombre tennis outfits. They always present themselves in eye catching threads and I am absolutely loving the over all unintrusive yet  in your face sunset feels their new album is already giving. 

Now's your chance to shake it out with Sofi Tukker  because the duo has been on tour as of January 28th. They're also on that festival circuit as early as February 26th at Belly Up Aspen and speaking from experience, they know how to get the party started at a fest. If history repeats itself, fun times are ahead with Sofi Tukker!