French Horn Rebellion LIVE @ The Rickshaw Stop TOMORROW Night!

French Horn Rebellion's new single Dancing Out features legendary R&B pioneer and GRAMMY winner Jody Watley and Canada's Young Empires! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See them perform the single along with more off the Dancing Out EP  LIVE tomorrow night at The Rickshaw stop in San Francisco!

 

 

Fitz and The Tantrums @ The Warfield 7/28/2013

Photo by: Marc Fong

 

 

People were still filing into the Fitz and The Tantrums show at The Warfield Sunday night  as leading man Michael Fitzpatrick and leading lady Noelle Scaggs followed the rest of the band on to stage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under the glow of the same neon heart that graces the group’s new album, More Than Just a Dream, the show started with the brand new track “Keepin’ Our Eyes Out”. They carried an essence of unplanned-glam with a touch of platinum in their outfits. But Scaggs’ look triumphed, and how could it not with the cover-art heart embroidered on the back of her leather jacket!

 

 

For all the subtlety by way of the music itself there was a sense of excitement not so subtlely lingering under the surface ...

 

Photo by: Marc Fong

Photo by: Marc Fong

The female firecracker vocalist burst out “San Francisco! How you feelin’ tonight?! You came to party right?!” in the middle of “Don’t Gotta Work It Out”, jolting a roaring response from fans. After that, all bets were off as Fitz himself tried spreading the band’s amped energy by vigorously starting an audience clap-along at the tail end of the song. And all this happened within the the second song! Their drive to fully engage the crowd and emerge everyone into their electrically emotional set was highly admirable.



We were witnessing the tantrum that is Fitz and The Tantrums as  the fierce exchanges between the two vocalists and their own unique dominance of the performance continued.

 



Photo by: Marc Fong

 

 

 

Photo by: Marc Fong

Fitz and the Tantrums built momentum with exuberant banter, fervid fist pumping with fans in the front row, some mean tambourine, and a sexually charged chemistry only exes can conjure up, and it all flowed naturally — though it did seem as if they were trying to prove themselves.

 James King broke out the saxophone for "Winds of Change" as Fitzpatrick's deep Depeche Mode/Easure-esque voice blended effortlessly with Scaggs' velvety  Falsetto creating an underlying  jazzy vibe. Covering the Eurythmics dark hit “Sweet Dreams” later on in the set made sense, seeing as Fitzpatrick’s voice definitely has a “Sweet Dreams” quality, if you will. Situated seamlessly into the overall sound and vibe of the night, Fitzpatrick and Scaggs shared the spotlight during the neo-indie version, yet they played it safe by not straying too far from the crowd-pleasing original.



Photo by: Marc Fong



Photo by: Marc Fong

A good hour or so into the show, Fitzpatrick said, “You may have heard this next one, and that’s because San Francisco has been a huge supporter from the very beginning!” Sure enough, as the crowd roared in appreciation of his expressed appreciation, the cheers grew louder with the first notes of their summer smash single, “Out of My League”.

 

 

 

 

For me and maybe every other 20-30 something SF native 80's/Indie Club-goer, the coolest part of this
exchange was when Fitzpatrick whispered Popscene into the microphone right  before he began singing.

Fitz and The Tantrums played at Popscene (SF's premiere Indie-Night Club) in 2010 when they were still finding their place in the music scene and the respect paid to the city and it's fans who helped them get to the status the band is at today was super cool in my book.



Photo by: Marc Fong

Fitz and The Tantrums curated a setlist that balanced old and new all night — they sandwiched the funky eclectic new song, “The Walker” into two older tracks “Moneygrabber” and “News 4 You” to end the night. They raised their own bar pretty high with intense energy and a signature retro performance full of gusto from the get-go at The Warfield.

 

 

Set List

1: Keepin' Our Eyes Out

2: Don't Gotta Work It Out

3: Winds of Change

4: Break The Walls

5: Breaking The Chains of Love

6: Spark

7: Sweet Dreams

8: House on Fire

9: Fools Gold

10: Out of My League

11: 6am

12: Dear Mr. President

13: Tighter

14: L.O.V

15: Moneygrabber

16: The Walker

17: News 4 U 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fitz and The Tantrums headline at The Warfield July 28th!

If you listen to the radio chances are you've heard the latest single from Fitz and The Tantrums, "Out of My League" but did you know that this weekend is your chance to see Fitz and The Tantrums live  in San Francisco?!

 

 

 

That's right!

The hyper-neo soul/indie pop 6 piece band is headlining The Warfield this Sunday night in support of their sensational second album More Than Just A Dream. Tripling the fun that night are opening acts Hunter Hunted and  The Colourist!

 

 Don't have tickets?

Don't  have a tantrum! Tickets are still available to catch their show at the best venue in the heart of downtown San Francisco!

You don't want to miss this show, get your

ticket(s) today and maybe I'll see you on Sunday!

The 3rd Annual Phono Del Sol Music Festival

It was  picture perfect Saturday to catch some rays, see local bands and grub on fare from food trucks at the 3rd Annual Phono Del Sol Music and Food Festival. The festivities started at 12:00 noon and by the time Bay Area natives, Cool Ghouls hit The Potereo Stage at 12:50pm a small yet good sized crowd had gathered to catch their act. Though most people who went to watch Cool Ghouls enjoyed the set from a far atop one of the grassy knolls in Phono Del Sol Park  a handful of fans got right up front where the sound quality was way better. 

Their usual four piece ensemble had an additional three piece  horn section Saturday afternoon and after all the guys got situated bassist Pat Thomas, lead guitarist Ryan Wong and Pat McDonald each said hi to the crowd before opening with the track most likely to be found on a summertime playlist, "Natural Life".

Cool Ghouls

 

The guys of Cool Ghouls are young and they look it which is sort of surprising since their sound in is undeniably retro with a modern surf-rock twist. Within the first three songs of their set Pat Thomas, Pat McDonald and Ryan Wong each took over lead vocals while their sweet harmonies during every song highlighted their Phono Del Sol performance.

Cool Ghouls

Cool Ghouls filled the afternoon air with seven cool tracks off their self titled debut LP, including "Grace" and "Queen Sophie",  in their own youthful retro fashion. Their performance paired perfect with the unusual seasonally warm SF weather while their laidback inviting vibe created that sought after feel Fest goers appreciate at the beginning of any given Fest. Well played Cool Ghouls!

 

As if that isn't cool enough, I got a chance to shoot a few my quick questions to  with Cool Ghouls' bassist Pat Thomas before the show:

 

 

Q: I understand that the name Cool Ghouls is derived from George Clinton's funky banter, can you elaborate on why you chose the name Cool Ghouls and what the name means to you collectively as a band?

Well Pat McDonald came up with the idea. I dunno. We thought it had a nice ring to it. It rhymes. It's ghastly. I like ghosts. I wrote a song called Ghost Song. 

 

Q: Do you consider yourselves ghouls?

-Do you consider yourselves cool?

Yes and yes. 

 

Q: Are you fans of George Clinton? (His music? Fashion sense? What he stands for?)

I don't have a lot of George Clinton knowledge really. I like the whole far out vibe that Parliament had/has. Maggot Brain is a killer album. On every road trip we take, "Can You Get to That" gets bumped at least once.

 

Q: Congratulations on releasing your debut (self-titled) LP this past April. Some reviews that I've come across consider your sound as rather retro circa a 60's psychedelic sound. I personally picked up on a throw back to old school surf-rock with a modern-ish twist.  How would you say you perceive the sound of Cool Ghouls and why?

Well it's pretty much impossible to imagine what other people's ears are gonna hear when your music hits them. We just play the kind of music we've always played. When I'm writing or playing a Cool Ghouls song, I'm not thinking within a framework like "garage" or "60's" I'm just trying to channel the sounds and vibes in my brain. Certainly 60's type shit finds its way into what I do because all that shit is somewhere in there, in my brain. Especially with bass, Motown subconsciously finds its way into my fingers. 

 

Q: I dig the cover art-work of the LP: it looks part hand drawn/painted with a some photography up in there...who's the artist who did the work?

Thanks! I did the cover art myself! Yeah it's a canvas that I painted with watercolors. Then I taped all the other images on top. They're all found pieces, except the rooster, which I painted. Oh! And the picture of us up in the clouds was taken by my friend Matt at one of our shows. 

 

Q: Did all 3 of you grow up in San Francisco (If so what area of SF and how did you meet each other?)

Well there are 4 of us. None of us grew up in SF. Both Pats and Ryan grew up in Benicia which is in the East Bay, about 40 minutes outside the city. Alex is from Sacramento. We met Alex through SF State. The other Pat, Ryan, and Alex all went to SF State. 

 Q: Were your parents hippies?

Definitely not! My parents were born about 15 years too late to be a part of the proper baby-boomer hippy generation. They went to college in the 80s and were into Reagan. Suburban family folk. I don't think any of our parents were what you'd call hippies. Pat McDonald's dad probably comes the closest. He fought in Vietnam. But I don't think he was a long-hair or anything. He had and has a passion for rock n roll though.

 

Q: Do you consider yourself hippies?

 I don't think so. Although I could imagine someone might look at us and call us hippies. I like the Grateful Dead. But naw, I wouldn't call myself a hippy. I don't really use the word hippy at all actually.

Q: What is your favorite album of 2013 so far?

Cool Ghouls

Finding the Meaning in Deference by The Mallard!

Q: How stoked (on a scale from 1 -10) are you guys to be on a bill with the likes  YATCH, Thee Oh Sees, K-Flay and a bunch of other independent local acts at the 3rd Annual Phono Del Sol Music Festival this Saturday?

- Is this the first music festival Cool Ghouls has played?

10! Just to play a festival of this caliber... is was definitely a first for us. Tooootaaaally stoooked. We will have a lot of family and friends there to see.

Q: If you could play with one band/artist who would it be? 

Can I choose 4? Wyatt Blair, Meat Market, Corners, and Froth! And if I could play with them at Brick and Mortar, it would be a dream come true!

After enjoying cold beers and DJ Aaron Axelsen's sets during stage change-overs in the beer garden I made my way over to the Mission Stage to catch Standford Grad act, K-Flay. 

DJ Aaron Axelsen

K-FLAY

 
 

Her late afternoon hip-hop performance blended surprising well with the otherwise indie-rock filled festival bill because her original raps carry danceable beats. Between spitting lyrics on fun-amped tracks like, "No Duh", "So Fast So Maybe" and "Sunburn" K-Flay was very gracious, thanking fans for making it out to the festival and saying how it felt good to be (performing) back in the Bay.

K-FLAY

The Phono Del Sol Festival is small in comparison to others with only two stages and it's beer garden/food truck lot kept separate from the rest of the festivities so it was a piece of cake catching all of the acts.   
Next up: the Bay Area post-punks  Thee Oh Sees closing The Potrero stage.








As I made it over the grassy knoll all I could think was, "WHOA" as my gaze fell upon the packed park! 









Thee Oh Sees

Neighboring the Phono Del Sol Skate park only seemed appropriate as front-man, John Dwyer encouraged mosh-pits, crowd surfing and stage dives into and within the rowdy crowd. Having recently released their 7th album Floating Coffin Thee Oh Sees closing act consisted heavily of those tracks.




YACHT

Once everyone was thoroughly riled up it was time to get down with YACHT across the way.  How could one top that headlining act from Thee Oh Sees I thought to myself as I made my way to the Mission Stage but once the fun-loving and inducing YATCH kicked things off with "Paradise Engineering" it hit me: this danceable act was like the "after-party" show at Phono Del Sol!




YACHT



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Easily the hippest band at the hipster filled Phono Del Sol Music Fest this year, YACHT  casually strode on to The stage when Claire L Evans' sudden wide legged deep squat at the top of the first track riled fans into a dance frenzy.

YACHT

YACHT

Clearly the goal was to energetically engage everyone in attendance and it's safe to say YACHT met their match on Saturday. Fans danced as the band danced and visa versa creating an unequivocal summertime vibe.  As the party continued with the likes of, "I Walked Alone" and "Afterlife" Claire's theatrics cranked up energy levels and kept them up and as evening approached YATCH gave us our second wind and made it feel as if the day had just begun. Needless to say I had fun watching YACHT have fun performing. Their set was a great end to the small fest that packed in a whole lota fun through out the day!

Rogue Wave @ The Independent 7/12/2013

San Francisco warmly welcomed Rogue Wave back to the Bay at the sold out "homecoming" shows at The Independent Friday and Saturday night!

Photo by: Marc Fong

Photo by: Marc Fong

Not only had it been three years since the native Bay Area band came out with new music but 2010 was also the last time Rogue Wave toured so this tour in support of their 6th album  Nightingale Floors (released in April) was worth the wait.

Right after the playing the first song of the night, Siren's Song (new track off of Nightingale Floors) Zach Rogue exclaimed to his adoring fans : "Oh my god! We are so happy to be here! It's been so long!"  

Photo by: Marc Fong

Rogue Wave wore their happiness for playing to a crowd filled with family, friends and loyal fans on their faces and their thankful hearts on their sleeves through out the catalogue song studded set!

 To see the full photo album from the Friday night show click here!

Set List

1: Siren's Song

2: S(a)tan

3: Eyes

4: Nourishment Nation

5: Publish

6: Figured It Out

7: Sleepwalker

8: Love's Lost Guarantee

9: College

10: Chicago x12

11: Cheaper Than Therapy

12: Harmonium

More Smallpools coming soon!

Smallpools is making a splash with their debut single, "Dreaming" which has been popping up on summertime playlists since it's release six short weeks ago.
 With it's catchy upbeat synth-pop beats, witty relatable lyrics and stellar production "Dreaming" is easily the single of the season!

A new-gaze (new-wave + shoe-gaze) remix of the single from  Charli XCX vs Twin Idol and a trance-amped remix from The Chainsmokers are in circulation too!

 

 

It's no surprise that Smallpools is on a sort of debut streak: the brand new band kicks off their debut tour with their very first live show on July 13th in New York then on the 16th the guys release their  4-song self-titled debut EP!

 

 

Smallpools will be  wrapping up their North American Summer tour with TWO SF shows: August 8th at the infamous indie club Popscene  and the second to last show of their tour is August 12th at Slims!

 

The band said that they will reveal another brand new track from the EP before they hit the road, which is sweet cause that's next week!

 

 

 

 Smallpools live dates:

* / w San Cisco

7/13 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl (Popshop)

7/15 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *

7/16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *

7/18 - Washington DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel *

7/19 - Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall *

7/20 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall *

7/22 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *

7/23 - Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall *

7/24 - Toronto, Ontario @ The Garrison *

7/26 - Columbus, OH @ The Basement *

7/27 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar *

7/28 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In *

7/29 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway *

7/31 - Minneapolis, MN @Triple Rock Social Club *

8/03 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater

8/08 - San Francisco, CA @ Popscene

8/12 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s *

8/13 - Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex *

 

Smallpools – Smallpools EP tracklist :
01. Dreaming
02. Mason Jar
03. Over & Over
04. No Story Time

The Limousines play HUSH @ The Blank Club 6/28/2013

It was hot this weekend and it got even hotter Friday night in downtown San Jose at The Limousines’ album release party for their new LP HUSH  at The Blank Club and my friends at Showbams sent me to cover the show!

 

 

Local buzz band, Anya & The Get Down presented amped reggae funkiness for a healthy 45 minute opening act. Lead singer Anya Kvitka commanded the venue, showcasing her soulful singing style and abrasive stage presence. Under a gold-plated, stud drenched baseball cap she dropped F-bombs between songs, challenged hecklers and threatened to have people kicked out of the club, while maintaining an upbeat vibe. Regardless of her attitude, the crowd got down with Anya and The Get Down and whom did a great job warming the stage up for The Limousines!

It was just about midnight when the The Limousines hit the stage kicking things off with “Love is A Dog From Hell”, which is the first track off of their second studio album, HUSH. By the second song of their set, “Stranger”, it was apparent the club was filled with Limousines fanatics because everyone knew all of the words to every new song!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dressed in black from head to toe, singer/songwriter Eric Victorino worked up a sweat while owning the minuscule stage and I’m guessing that he wished that the artificial fog that started pouring out around him was real (I know I did!). He looked literally hot and exhausted, but it didn’t affect his performance. Engaging minimally with fans in an attempt to save his energy, Eric did end up acknowledging the general hotness a couple different times last, stating: “We had a CD release show in San Francisco, HUSH came out on June 6th, but a lot of our San Jose fans couldn’t make it! What the Fuck?! I think this is the hottest fucking room…so…thanks for sticking with us!” and “I swear to god, if I didn’t love this band and I was in this crowd I’d be the FUCK out of here.”

 

 

Half way through the set fans started chanting requests for older material like “Wishing Well” and “Very Busy People”, but the band continued on playing tracks off the new album. They seemed to be slowing down little by little on stage as the crowd conversely got rowdy, shovey and even more sweaty. After playing the heart aching ballad, “The Last Dance”, Eric explained that The Limousines were playing HUSH all the way through.

Staying true to his word, title track “Hush” was the last song of the night and Eric invited fans to stick around after the show and drink with them as they were not going to be doing an encore. The Bay Area indie-tronica boys beat the heat, delivering a good hometown show at a club that apparently doesn’t have air conditioning. Friday night’s show was the last Bay Area gig The Limousines have lined up in a while so hopefully you were fortunate enough to get youre sweat on at the Blank Club!