Matt and Kim at The Warfield 4/3/2018

Matt and Kim at The Warfield 4/3/2018
photo by Marc Fong

After a long road to recovery following a ACL injury Kim endured during a show in Mexico last year, Matt and Kim are back on the road touring in support of their upcoming album, Almost Everyday. Their Spring tour which stretches beyond Summer, includes sold-out shows on the East Coast as well as a show at The Warfield in SF, here on the West Coast. 

Matt and Kim at The Warfield 4/3/2018 
photo by Marc Fong 

Over 14 years and 6 albums, the energetic duo/couple from Brooklyn New York still draw the same frat-boy, college kid crowd. It's no surprise that Matt and Kim's exuberant presence keeps fans, old(er) and young(er) coming back electro-pop track after electro-pop track.







TWINKIDS and CRUSIR opened the show as fans streamed into the concert venue in the heart of downtown San Francisco.
Matt and Kim stormed the stage just before 9:30pm and the place exploded at the sound of their first song, the marching band fueled anthem "It's All Right". 

Matt and Kim at The Warfield 4/3/2018 
photo by Marc Fong

Matt and Kim at The Warfield 4/3/2018 
photo by Marc Fong 

The most lovable thing about Matt and Kim is them, Matt and Kim. Both of them hit the stage with off the chart energy, infectious smiles and a genuine vibe that they are having a blast and they want everyone there to join in on the fun. It's that way everytime I see them and I like to believe that's how it is at every Matt and Kim show.







They definitely put in the work to hype up the crowd but it's not forced: Matt takes the lead on the boisterous banter while Kim is in charge of the antics.
Gone are the days of her walking walking on hands across the crowd but that didn't stop Kim from continually standing on her drums, getting in fan's faces or throwing out handfuls of balloons out into the crowd which were then blown up and tossed around.

Matt and Kim at The Warfield 4/3/2018 
photo by Marc Fong 

Matt and Kim at The Warfield 4/3/2018 
photo by Marc Fong 

Their high-velocity set included classic crowd pleasures: "Block After Block", "Cameras" and "Daylight" as well as fun renditions of Rhianna's "Umbrella", Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", Van Halen's "Jump" 50 Cent's "In the Club" Princess Nokia's "Tomboy" and "Barbra Streisand" by Duck Sauce.









Matt and Kim's 6th studio album, Almost Everyday drops in a couple weeks on May 4th and they'll be on tour in support of it for a few more months! 

Matt and Kim at The Warfield 4/3/2018 
photo by Marc Fong 

Matt and Kim set-list 4/3/2018 

1. It's Alright 

2. Make A Mess 

3. Hey Now

4. Forever 

5. Block After Block 

6. Cameras

7. Like It Use To Be

 8. Umbrella 

9. Now 

10. Jump 

11. You Can Blame Me 

12. I See Ya 

14. Lessons Learned 

15. Get It 

16. Tonight 

17. Daylight Outro

18. Daylight 

encore

1. Please No More

2. Let's Go 

YACHT is back in SF 4/7/2018 @ The Midway!

Primo indie band YATCH are playing at The Midway in SF tomorrow night, exactly two months after they headlined at The Independent! 

YACHT @ The Independent 2/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

YACHT @ The Independent 2/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

Their last release, five song EP Strawberry Moon, ebbs and flows from high-tempo to lower tempo, back to more up-beat tempo and dancey, to more melodic and ends with a totally different sound. It's as if the band artistically tied the phases of the moon into their new music. 

YACHT @ The Independent 2/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

YATCH rocked The Independent last month are here are the pictures that prove it! 

YACHT @ The Independent 2/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

Tomorrow night, they're part of the opening of the She Bends: Women in Neon Art exhibit at The Midway Gallery. It features 32 women benders from around the world making it the largest, most inclusive all women art exhibit ever put together. 

YACHT @ The Independent 2/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

YACHT @ The Independent 2/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

It's fitting that YACHT is the band performing live at this opening being that front woman Claire L Evans of released her book, Broad Band: The Untold Story of Women Who Made the Internet last month. Girl power!

YACHT @ The Independent 2/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong

By the looks of their last show in SF, She Bends: Women in Neon Art opening with YACHT live will be a fun night! 

Tickets to the art show are still available. 

Beth Ditto @ The Regency Ballroom 3/25/2018

Former Gossip lead singer, Beth Ditto headlined The Regency Ballroom, one of the shows of her West Coast stretch on her North America/Canadian Fake Sugar Tour. The now strawberry blonde soloist adorned the staged in a gold sequined dress just past 9:15 on Sunday night to a small crowd beaming to see her.

She graciously smiled and waved as fans welcomed her to the stage, choking on spit as she thanked everyone for staying through the openers " I always get so nervous playing after them" she said. She went on to say that she and the lead singer of Ssion share the same birthday, "lucky him" she said as the band cued up "Oh My God".  The 37 year old's voice is as grandiose as her personality, powerful and strong like that of an opera singer. Effortlessly hitting notes and carrying them as she sauntered across the stage, flashes of light bouncing off of her as she went. She permeated a certain sense of Southern comfort from the twang in her voice, to the passion behind her delivery to her flirty conversing between songs.

Beth Ditto @ The Regency Ballroom 3/25/2018
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Before the second song of the night, "In and Out" Beth gave a shout out to a guy in the audience wearing a shirt that said "Beth not Meth" then told fans that if she were a drag queen her name would be Bethanphedamean. The fourth song of the night, "I Wrote the Book," drew boisterous cheers and at the end of it, the leading lady introduced her band. Everything she said that night left people laughing, smiling, cheering, applauding or all four. Self described as a "fat feminist lesbian from Arkansas", I see her as being is a proud, outspoken individual.


She's funny and witty. She's a fashionista. She's brave, leaving Gossip after 15 years to do her own thing. And there she was doing it. The Arkansas born, Portland transplant fits in so well with the diverse culture that is San Francisco that I was surprised the show didn't sell better. A fact that Ditto herself did not shy away from but rather, she embraced it.

Beth Ditto @ The Regency Ballroom 3/25/2018
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Beth Ditto @ The Regency Ballroom 3/25/2018
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Regardless if the music is fueled by the eighties era like, "Open Heart Surgery" or possess an indie-pop drive as heard on "We Could Run", her vocals explode with soul. She positively belts every lyric to every song she sings but belting doesn't do it justice. Beth's singing style has an edgy elegance. She is our modern day Etta James. Her voice accompanies the whole range of eclectic synth-pop her solo work encompasses. She has an electric energy that oozes from the stage and buzzes around the room, filling it with a  sensation to dance.







It was really humbling of her to include a handful of Gossip songs in the set. After all, that's how we got to know her and Gossip was a part of her life and career for so long how could she not? Not all artists would though and that speaks volumes about Miss Beth Ditto.
She is a force to be reckoned with and she knows it and she wants everyone to know it, too. All you have to do is watch and listen and you will learn.

Beth Ditto @ The Regency Ballroom 3/25/2018
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Beth Ditto set-list 3/25/2018 

1. Oh My God 

2. In And Out 

3. Fake Sugar 

4. I Wrote The Book 

5. Yr Mangled Heart 

6. Oo La La

7. Love Long Distance 

8. Open Heart Surgery 

9. We Could Run

10. Listen Up! 

11. Coal to Diamonds 

12. Standing in the Way of Control 

encore

1. Clouds 

2. Heavy Cross 

3. Fire 

4. Dream a Little Dream of Me 

Wolf Alice @ The Cornerstone Berkeley 3/16/2018

British four-piece alt rockers from North London, Wolf Alice kicked off their 2018 US Tour at Cornerstone Berkeley on March 16th. 

Wolf Alice @ Cornerstone Berkeley 3/16/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

Wolf Alice @ Cornerstone Berkeley 3/16/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

Soon after tickets went on-sale a second, late night show, was added by popular demand. It was a Friday night and the brewery was busy with hungry, thirsty patrons some of whom were waiting to be let in to the concert venue. With a tight turn around after the sold-out early show, it didn't take long for doors to re-open for the 10pm show.  

Wolf Alice @ Cornerstone Berkeley 3/16/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

The venue was pretty full despite the second show not being sold-out and the thirty-something and up crowd were mellow. Wolf Alice hit the stage around 10:15 with the first track off of Visions of a Life, "Heavanward". Cheers and applause lingered as Ellie Rowsell greeted fans, acknowledging that they had just played their first show of their US tour and this was their second show there that night.  The picturesque cool girl was almost giddy about this as they went on to play "Yuk Foo" and "You're a Germ".  

Wolf Alice @ Cornerstone Berkeley 3/16/2018
photo by Marc Fong

Wolf Alice @ Cornerstone Berkeley 3/16/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

Catching a band at the first show of their tour is always great because the road hasn't taken it's toll yet. Everyone looks and plays fresh. Nothing is phoned in. Their nineties induced indie-grunge sounded great with Ellie embodying the epitome of a rock goddess. With short blonde locks barely brushing her shoulders, black pants and soft gold blouse she was a striking resemblance of the late, great Kurt Cobain, only (more) polished. Her androgynous vocals steadily carried the show as they played tracks from their albums and EPs. 

Wolf Alice @ Cornerstone Berkeley 3/16/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

They're not an energetic band performance wise but their energy was high as they kept excitedly pointing out that it was their second show on the first night of the tour. The Wolf Alice US Tour ends in Saint Petersberg Florida with Queens of The Stone Age and tickets to their shows go quick, so act fast! 

Wolf Alice @ Cornerstone Berkeley 3/16/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

Wolf Alice set-list 3/16/2018 

1. Heavanward 

2. Yuk Foo 

3. You're a Germ 

4. Your Loves Whore

5. Saint Purple & Green 

6. Don't Delete The Kisses 

7. Planet Hunter 

8. Bros

9. Lisbon 

10. Silk 

11. Beautifully Unconventional 

12. Formidable Cool 

13. Sadboy 

14. Space & Time 

15. Moaning Lisa Smile 

16. Visions of a Life 

17. Fluffy 

en-core 

1. Blush 

2. Giant Peach 

Hudson Taylor release new EP, Feel It Again on March 23rd

The new EP from Brothers Harry and Alfie Hudson-Taylor of the Irish Americana-pop brother duo Hudson Taylor (not to be confused with the British Protestant Christian missionary) officially drops this Friday. 

Hudson Taylor Feel It Again EP cover 

Feel It Again is a fresh five track EP of fresh, folky pop songs. Produced by Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers & Vance Joy) Feel It Again definitely has some Lumineers undertones with their jamboree style array of instrumentation, while the more up tempo tracks remind me of the fun loving Mowgli's. The Brother's ability to harmonize is pristine and shines through out the EP. Ears will perk as different instruments are featured in every song, like the piano and harmonica on "Travellin" and horns on title track "Feel It Again". You can enjoy the first single, "Run With Me", in it's original version and acoustic version on Spotify today and in two days you can enjoy Feel It Again in full! 

Hudson Taylor was just played at Slim's opening for Gabrielle Aplin on March 11th. The Irish Brothers are headlining a tour through out Ireland and the UK in support of their newest release now but they'll be back on tour in the states late spring/summer 2018! 

Guiness & Baileys Irish Cream cupcake

Guinness & Baileys Irish Cream cupcake
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The Facebook campus is pretty nuts as you might imagine. Like other big name techie workplaces that you've heard about, every amenity any worker might need is there for them, for free. 

They really never have to leave or stop working. That's the idea. 

It's great having a friend who works there who invites you to lunch because: 

1. you get to have lunch with your friend and eating food with friends is one of the best things to do. 2. you get to be onsite at Facebook. 

3. lunch is free and nobody is above a free lunch. 

My friend and I both have busy schedules but luckily this week our schedules allowed for a lunch visit. It was delicious. 

After lunch we decided to get dessert and I decided to get a cupcake. There were two to choose from: Vanilla Coconut or Guinness and Baileys. Both had festive green frosting for St Patrick's Day and I went the more festive route choosing the Guinness and Bailey's cupcake. 

Facebook kept it work appropriate by not calling it an Irish car bomb cupcake (a drink that includes both Guinness and Bailey's) which actually made it more appealing. 

Guinness & Baileys Irish Cream cupcakes
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Guinness & Baileys Irish Cream cupcake 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

It was a little smaller than most cupcakes you'd buy in the store, like a cupcake you'd bake at home. The smooth, round dollop of Bailey's frosting was covered in emerald green sugar crystals and the Guinness cake was a deep brown. Underneath the all of the pretty green sprinkles the plain looking tan frosting was sweet and decadent. It didn't taste much like Baileys but it was smooth and creamy like it. The cake was definitely a chocolate Guinness cake and though I couldn't taste the Guinness, I could taste the chocolate. Surprisingly, that isn't always the case with chocolate cupcakes. Maybe the stout brought the chocolate flavor out? There wasn't a kick to this Guinness and Baileys cupcake at Facebook but it was really really good. 

As I ate it I couldn't help think of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky". So, if you've ever wanted a cupcake and music pairing I found a perfect match: a Guinness and Baileys cupcake while listening to "Get Lucky" just in time for St. Patricks Day.
Happy St. Patricks Day! Be safe out there! 

ZZ Ward @ The Regency Ballroom 3/7/2018

ZZ Ward @ The Regency Ballroom 3/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

With 5 or so stops left to go, ZZ Ward played at The Regency Ballroom last week on the tail end of The Storm Tour. The 31 year old singer/songwriter released her second album, The Storm last Summer and it would appear that she's been touring in support of it ever since. 

ZZ Ward @ The Regency Ballroom 3/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

Just last June, before The Storm hit, she played an intimate show at The Independent in SF. That venue is less kid friendly than The Regency Ballroom, so it made sense why there were so many families at the show last Wednesday night. 

In an all black get-up made up of a shiny leather skirt, a long sleeved lace top and that signature wide brim hat of hers, ZZ hit the stage with a flirty air about her. Within the first three songs, "Let It Burn", "Ghost", and "Put The Gun Down"she got on guitar and harmonica with the same up-beat energy behind  both. 

ZZ Ward @ The Regency Ballroom 3/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

ZZ Ward @ The Regency Ballroom 3/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

The rustic quality of her velvety vocals made the bluesy tunes she sang sultry, even in the moments when her voice sounded slightly strained. Her music is catchy, it is pop music but as she played songs from her two albums there's no denying that ZZ Ward is a unique blend of new age blues. 

She was very charismatic with the crowd and her lighthearted energy was uplifting as fans mouthed the words to her songs as she sang them. Her biggest hits, "Let It Burn", "Put The Gun Down", "Til The Casket Drops", and "Ride" drew the biggest reactions before calling it a night with a two song en core, her latest single "Domino" followed by "365 Days". 

ZZ Ward @ The Regency Ballroom 3/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

The Storm Tour is over but ZZ Ward will be back on the road soon for the 2018 festival season! You can catch her act at: The Peach Festival, The Wichita River Festival, The Ride Festival, Floyd Fest and The Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza. 

ZZ Ward @ The Regency Ballroom 3/7/2018
photo by Marc Fong 

ZZ Ward set-list 3/7/2018 

1. Let It Burn 

2. Ghost 

3. Put the Gun Down 

4. Til the Casket Drops 

5. Hold On 

6. Ride 

7. Save My Life 

8. The Storm 

9. Home 

10. OVERdue/Cinnamon Stix 

11. Last Love Song 

12. Waiting For Charlie 

13. Grinnin' In Your Face 

14. Bag Of Bones 

15. Cannonball 

16. Lil' Darlin 

17. Marry Well 

18. She Ain't Me 

19. Blue Eyes Blind 

en core

1. Domino 

2. 365 Days