Event has been postponed. We The People Festival: TO BE RESCHEDULED
October 30th, 2009
Event has been postponed. The Black Apples : Download
October 28th, 2009
Warning. Listening to The Black Apples is good for your health. Doctor's and old people tell you eating apples daily is good for your health. Listening to The Black Apples trumps that. They will drop kick you in the mouth and leave your ears pulsating and feeling liberated. With a sweet loud 60's psycho sense to keys, powerful guitars and rock n' roll vibe that oozes long nights, benders, chicks and a we don't care attitude, this band will annihilate your speakers and get deep into you! After listening to the them, you will simply have two choices- to either walk away or listen to them even more loudly. We choose to listen to these kids when we are just wanting to kick start our day. The Black Apples, LA's raw, masters of garage psychedelic rock are a band whose sounds are relentless. Their music leaves you overcome by a power similar to what people experience during a Pentecostal rebirth; you know where they start shaking, feeling so jacked up, running around because they don't know what to do with all their new found energy. The band will have you so amped up you'll never want to come down as if possessed yourself!
Play Where the Wild Things Go Where the Wild Things Go Download Where the Wild Things Go Play 20 Years at Sea 20 Years at Sea Download 20 Years at SeaThe Band is Campbell Scarborough, Andrew Scarborough, Jason Debo and they have an October 29th show at The Silverlake Lounge.
Those Darlins
October 26th, 2009
Take three chicks from Tennessee. Mix in their foul mouth, booze happy antics with a punk rock we don't give a f*%$ attitude. Stir it all together for a set of down to earth good ol' fashioned, stomp your feet country punk twang. Make it loud, super loud, set it to sweet drumming and you realize the Hotel Cafe just was not ready for any of this! And yes were talking about the incomparable bad asses that are Those Darlins.
Those Darlins finally have been kicking up a storm and winning over fans on the west coast through their deliriously charged power sets. But I am certain, The Hotel Cafe had no idea what was in store for them this night. Those Darlins erupted on the stage, a perfect mix of three girls having a blast on stage. With a sexiness mixed in with a Ill beat you down with my swift guitar and ukulele playing and oh-so devilish smiles, the girls created a tonnage of amplified fun that reverberated through the venue and had us all jacked up.
LA crowds don't know what to do with bands like Those Darlins. But nonetheless, we just have to go along for the ride as they incite their fans to participate and have a great time. Full of energy, these girls could wake the dead and get them to sing along! At times, the band will tease, other times they might just come out into the audience and provoke a fight. But it is all in good fun and always set to really stirring music. With a fierceness and talent to match, the band owns the stage, so commandingly, that any crowd knows we are just along for the ride. We should go reckless and wild(very unLA) and just be sucked into the cyclone that is Those Darlins. And although this crowd did not, it was left with a memory of having seen one of the fiercest bands to stop by our city in a long, long time.
Those Darlins are on a major tour right now and will also be back shortly to play the Troubadour. If there was ever one band to drop everything for and take your friends to see, for a pick me up, shout, raise hell, life is too short, leave your problems at the door good time while sipping tons of whiskey, this is the band to go see. The band is so powerful, they cast a spell over you. You won't know whether you want to start a mosh pit, jump on stage and sing along with them, be a groupie or simply want to party with them but the power of Those Darlins is that anything is possible on any given night's performance and they will inspire you to let loose.
Download: Barzin
October 20th, 2009
Music like poetry inspires. It can help you reminisce about a moment past, something lost. It can be gripped, formed to fit in your days of need. For music like good poetry, is all about the touching connection and what we gain from it at that particular moment in our life when we just need to cling unto something. With a few words, we can be different people, deeply connected.In the written or sung words of artists, we see ourselves, crystal clear in the reflection that we are all alike-- we all hurt, all grieve, all love, all move on. It has been a while, where an entire album was listened to, carefully holding unto to each song. But we did with Barzin. Barzin's new album "Notes to an Absent Lover" captures one's imagination and makes you drop any pretense of what one thinks they should be listening to on any given day. The serenity in the lyrics is almost certainly written against a tumultuous background of heart break and despair that leaves us all remembering those past pains we have all experienced. Barzin captures a sentiment, one in which, you smile, as you reflect on your own perceived failures, only to realize the uplifting rebirth he sings about so magically.
Play Nobody Told Me Nobody Told Me Download Nobody Told MeBarzin makes us transcend the past and live gloriously for the future in its unknown splendor. The music resembles an artist making progress in his own recovery yet uplifts us along the way. It does not matter if we are going through what is ailing him, he brings us in so closely with his music, his struggle is our struggle. And that is why his music is so powerful because it is about connection and empathy. We can all relate to this process. He creates touching music through the beauty and sadness that ultimately makes way for surrender and hope in his songs. Barzin's words untangled before us in a neatly woven story telling is about helping us all feel better and empowered! The album dropped out on October 13th and is surely one for the collection, rich enough for the present and the future, no matter what ails us or propels us forward.
Elliott Brood
October 15th, 2009
Bob Dylan, you missed out. In what ended up being part of the night’s ongoing joke between a jovial Elliott Brood and their fans at the Hotel Café, we were told they had asked Bob Dylan to attend their show. They even went as far as putting him on the guest list. Bob Dylan never showed up, fortunately for us, Elliott Brood did and left the Hotel Café stage and the few of us there, with a sense that Bob and everyone that did not attend this show truly missed out on a great, great show.
The thing about a night like this is that you are just left appreciating all that is around you. When you get a personal show from the dynamic Elliott Brood, you just have to get up, stomp your feet, bang on a drum, get silly, smile, hold unto to the person next to you and just let the music move through you.
So often you forge ahead on your journey in life. Yet the healing power, in all its uplifting brilliance, of live music plays a role helping rebuild yourself. Music will do so much more then sooth you or make you forget what ails you. Music will guide you to a warm place, where knowledge, smiles, and happiness, all things that elude us so often, are back, and at the forefront that makes you give thanks for all that you have. And along this journey, there are certain bands that you will never forget, your plight directly amped to their sounds, as if their music is carrying you through whatever you are dealing with. Elliott Brood is one of those bands.
In a show that included a pulsating source of beautiful folk rock, Elliott Brood delivered over and over again. The band’s energy was contagious and they were so pumped up to be in LA. So many times during their set I found myself silently thanking the flight crew that got them safely to LA for this show (considering they almost did not make it). We were so happy they arrived and let us in their world, even for just a few minutes.
The night’s set concluded with a roaring finale that included everyone in the audience being given their own wooden spoon and aluminum plate to help the band along. Old and young, cool and the unhip, across the Hotel Café, was a unity among us that left us connected to the band so deeply, so passionately. Looking around, I noticed tremendous smiles on everyone’s face. And it is always so much fun to beat the crap out of something with a band urging you to do it. I did not want the night to end. Even though Dylan missed out, the rich tradition of brilliant song writing and folk melodies would have impressed him enough to know these youngin’s truly have the power of a band on the verge of greatness. Lucky for us, we were there to see it all. The band is on tour right now and probably coming to your town, so give yourself a real treat and go see them!
Finn Riggins : Download
October 13th, 2009
Deliriously off instrumentation with catchy poppy vocals that could amp up an army on the brink of battle. Fun. Yet when you listen to their music it boils up in you and creates a sudden rush of adrenaline and leaves you wanting to stick a middle finger at those around you as you salute your new freedom. If you need your music to help you with that, then it has to be cast to the superior power that is Finn Riggins. Its happy, liberating, and a wonderful experimentation that will motivate you to jump up and just be empowered and feeling lovely. And who knew all this creativity would come from Idaho of all places? We were so pleased to listen to Finn Riggins that we got up in our offices and danced like little kids, feeling as if we were told we did not have to go to school that day! So if you need a break from your ho-hum existence at any point and want to listen to some cleverly crafted and sweetly engineered music that is still so full of life, vigor and original, then this is it.
Play Wake (Keep This Town Alive) Play Wake (Keep This Town Alive) Download Wake (Keep This Town Alive)So, go ahead, shoot, inject, drink, consume but when you need a little something to get you going, just the right dose to jump start your morning, day, or night, listen to this band and be ready to float away on a powerfully sound covered journey that will have you so jacked up, you will wonder what hit you! This trio is on a major tour right now and we would simply say this: if you miss this band, you will be kicking yourself for a long time. They are too good not to come out and support!
The Hi-Nobles @ Annie’s Social Club
October 8th, 2009
By Chris Middleton
There's certain weekends in a city like San Francisco that an up-and-coming band just shouldn't schedule a debut record-release party. Like say, this past weekend which was jam-packed with the free-admission Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park, Oktoberfest By the Bay, LovEvolution (formerly LoveFest) and the Castro Street Fair. There was even a 49er game to contend with. Despite the crowded itinerary, Bay Area retro garage band The Hi-Nobles decided to throw a party for their first record “Shake” at Annie's Social Club on Friday. So, did anybody come?
It didn't appear so when keyboardist/singer/comedian/over-all multi-talented entertainer Kitten on the Keys made her way to the stage around 10 o'clock. Moments after the eccentric, witty, leopard-print wearing MC took to the mic, plenty of people moved away from the bar and to the stage area. Almost instantly a crowd of about 25 to 30 people appeared; certainly no LoveFest, but a clear illustration of people's willingness to check out a tiny morsel away from the herd.
With a subtle, yet uncompromisingly dirty sense of humor, Kitten on the Keys kept things very San Francisco as the opening act. One highlight was her take on “The Bus Song” also known as “The Wheels on the Bus” (you know the lyrics: The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round). The song, in which she switched over to accordion for, included a number of anecdotes about creepy and disgusting passengers that always seem to sit next to her on MUNI; sexual deviants and that sort of thing. The lyrics – like her entire routine – were hilarious and easy to relate to if you've lived in the city.
The Hi-Nobles took a long while to take the stage after Kitten's performance, but when they started they didn't slow down during their entire set. “Shake” is a very suitable title for their album, one chuck full of fast-paced party tunes pulling from late 60s and early 70s blues-rock and garage soul. Backed by Jeff Hashfield's energetic organ playing and some guitar rifts that sound surprisingly surfer, others that feel classically R&B, the band is old-school from every angle. They brought the perpetual sound and energy on Friday, a great success to anyone fond of good-old throw-back racket.
Simply put, the band does what they do very well. They're tight, controlled and play their brand of music as hard as they can. They have a blast performing, as evidenced by Hashfield's almost never-ending smile and lead-singer Scott Holderby's amp-leaps and theatrics. The drums are constantly beating and guitarist Greg Ingraham can play some mean licks too. What they could use, however, is variety. Slower songs and moodier melodies would go a long way in breaking up the happy-go-lucky, toe-tapping ones. Even so, The Hi-Nobles pulled a crowd Friday night, and that's never an easy task in San Francisco.
Dynagroove 10 Year Anniversary Party
October 7th, 2009
Ridiculous show. And everyone needs some really good house music! Enough said, Get tickets here: Great Lake Swimmers : Download
October 6th, 2009
There is power in simplicity. There is also tremendous music when a band just does what it does simply, yet so beautifully. Toronto indie-folk rockers, Great Lake Swimmers have been getting some pub lately. And rightfully so. With a serene vocal landscape and rich melodies that set's the mood for its captive audience, the band is constantly winning over fans to its rich sounds.
The band will suck you in within seconds with their leaders voice, but really the band as a whole contributes to dazzle you with a story telling and power that makes you wonder why you have not heard of them before. Like the brilliance that is their lyrics, Great Lake Swimmers is both gentle and beautiful, forceful and dynamic and a band that deserves to be listened to when one needs to listen to something that will touch you on a deeper level.
Play Pulling on a Line Pulling On A Line Download Pulling On A LineThey are on a major tour right now across the US to support their latest album, " Lost Channels." The band is Erik Arnesen, Julie Fader, Tony Dekker, Bret Higgins, Greg Millson. We would recommend not missing out on the opportunity to see them live!
TV Ghost : Download
October 5th, 2009
Bizarre punk music set to a noisy landscape of clashing sounds that makes the hairs on the back of your neck is a new favorite genre of ours. Not too many bands fit this bill. But if anyone is writing the script on how to blind-side your eardrums into submission with a dazzling array of sounds and pulsating tunage that will leave you feeling like you just walked out of some after-hours club at three a.m, it is definitely TV Ghost.
These pissed off Indiana-rockers are setting the bar high with a thumping assortment of flavorful and layered instrumentation that will have you reliving some late all night mosh sessions from a time past. Simply put, we really like these boys and had to mention them.
Play The Network The Network Download The NetworkIf Jackson Pollack had made music the way he painted, in what people thought was only chaotic and not truly art, TV Ghost would be the band he fronted. Like a Pollack, at first you could think TV Ghost was all over the place. But give it a few seconds and you will see what a delirious amount of sense their music makes! And not bad for a bunch of young dudes that take you along their unique musical journey. TV Ghost are a lo-fi cyclone, growing in stature and shape as it comes for you. Their music grabs momentum and levels you with a frenzied series of upper cuts. TV Ghost's music is free and set to its own madness and that is why we love it. TV Ghost is currently on tour!
