It’s been just a little over eight months since I took my first trip ever to New Orleans for Jazz Fest 2011, and I’m definitely planning on making a return trek this year to see this year’s festival as well. The lineup is too good (always), and the possibility of some late-night shows that you can’t see anywhere else is just too good to pass up. Unfortunately my trip last year was jam-packed and it didn’t leave enough time to see absolutely everything I wanted to see while I was in the city. One of those spots was Tipitina’s (blasphemous, I know) and one of the spots was Preservation Hall (a tough ticket during the fest no matter who is playing). Those are two must-see’s this time around.
Lotus played to a sold-out Independent on Saturday night and arguably played the best two sets I’ve ever seen them deliver. The energy in the room was solid. Check out my photos from the show:
It wasn’t until I finally convinced my +1 to come with me to see Brandt Brauer Frick on Friday night that I got excited to see these guys. Sure, I’ve seen a few videos and spent a half-day with their music browsing the internet and other live videos, and I think their lasting image was the video “Bop,” a certain quirkiness, and a pretty obvious Kraftwerk feeling to their aesthetic that I often long to see in the new music coming out these days. But I wasn’t excited for some reason, but my friend got me into it, we rallied and I felt glad I made it out to see these “ensemble” cats bring us a little over an hour of kraut-techno to a nearly sold-out Rickshaw Stop. READ MORE
Last night I got to catch a return-to-the-hometown show for DJ Shadow and he brought his Shadowsphere tour to the always unimpressive Regency Ballroom here in San Francisco after touring all over the world spreading the gospel of his new album, The Less You Know The Better. While the production level is pretty solid, it didn’t officially blow me away after seeing it up close and personal. And something about the flow and feel of the evening felt off, which hopefully I can explain without really being negative or dissing on the extreme talent that DJ Shadow has. But last night just didn’t floor me… READ MORE
I just caught wind that The New Mastersounds are in town in San Francisco tomorrow to play Brick & Mortar, the old Coda jazz club that recently shut down and reopened with new managers and bookers with new talent in mind. The band is finishing up the release of their album, Breaks from the Border, and the album release show is going down in style by making sure that ticket purchased gets a free download of the Live in N.O.L.A EP, a signed show poster and early delivery of the Breaks from the Border album before it hits the general public. That’s one way to make sure tickets sell out fast, which is absolutely what I’m expecting here considering everyone I know at High Sierra was missing these guys at the fest and will make their Tuesday night plans an easy choice. Come out tomorrow to check this out; it’s a guaranteed funk-fest.
Here’s a video of them down in Santa Cruz from a few weeks back…
Muse Phish (2 sets) Arcade Fire
The Black Keys
Deadmau5
MGMT
Girl Talk
The Decemberists
John Fogerty
Erykah Badu
The Original Meters
Beirut
The Roots
Arctic Monkeys
Big Audio Dynamite
STS9
Warren Haynes Band
Big Boi Major Lazer
Little Dragon
Julieta Venegas
Sia
OK Go
The Greyboy Allstars
Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band
Old 97’s
Mavis Staples
!!!
Latyrx feat. Lyrics Born & Lateef
Best Coast
Collie Buddz
Phantogram
Charles Bradley
Foster The People Lotus
STRFKR
Junip
Pajama Party
The Infamous Stringdusters
The Vaccines
Toro y Moi
Vetiver
The Limousines
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
The Stone Foxes
The Joy Formidable
Wye Oak
Ana Tijoux
Orgone
Lord Huron
Tamaryn
Grouplove
The Fresh & Onlys
Ximena Sariñana
Ty Segall
Sunbirds
Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers
Diego’s Umbrella
Ghost Robot
Here’s some pretty sweet news for all the Kimock & Zero fans…check it out:
For the first time in nearly 20 years, ZERO returns to the Great American Music Hall for a two-night special event: March 4th and 5th. Almost two decades ago, the quintessential Bay Area band recorded ‘Chance in a Million’ at the historic venue….The band reunites to commemorate the music and to benefit band mate, Judge Murphy, who is battling liver cancer, awaiting transplant.
Tickets on sale Sunday, January 23rd through www.gamh.com.
ZERO
A Chance in a Million
Fri & Sat March 4 & 5
Doors: 8:00 PM | Show: 9:00 PM | Ages: all ages
ZERO- featuring Steve Kimock, Greg Anton, Judge Murphy, Chip Roland, Liam Hanrahan, and special guests
Tickets on sale 1/23: www.gamh.com
And just for fun, I dug up a few quick reminders of why this is a good thing… READ MORE
This weekend brought the Daptone records funk collective known as The Budos Band to The Independent for two sold-out nights in the heart of San Francisco. The first time I caught this band was at last year’s Outside Lands Music Festival, and ever since they’ve been a staple in the rotation on my home stereo whether it’s me or one of my roommates blasting some tunes before we head out for the night.
Saturday night’s show was solid front to back. If you like deep afro-funk and some sinister dark grooves by a bunch of hipster-looking white dudes, this is the band for you. I highly recommend catching these guys when they roll through your own town…
The schedule for this year’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was just posted in anticipation of this weekend’s three-day free music festival in Golden Gate Park.
