Monday night's intimate benefit show for Adobe Books left everyone who attended much better for the wear. A combined sense of revelry and urgency permeated San Francisco's Public Works and congealed into a series of inspired performances. Cozy acoustic contributions from both Van and Adam Stephens interposed the kinetic atmospherics supplied by The Tambo Rays and The Dodos. Each act was punctuated by an alluring panorama of wall projection eye candy, and between sets DJ Andy Cabic spun the greatest tracks you've never heard from a collection too easy to envy.
Adobe enthusiast Tiffany Sainz grew inspired to organize the event at seeing the names of past performers scrawled on the shop's walls. Many San Francisco artists harbor formative memories attached to Adobe, including stalwart indie duo The Dodos. Guitarist/Vocalist Meric Long once lived across the street from the iconic bookseller, where he fondly recalls gigging early in his career. Drummer Logan Kroeber once heard the worst bassline of all time at Adobe, a memory he narrated with high regard and which speaks to the shop's reputation as a source for the genuine. The Dodos returned from a European tour just days before the event, and despite the jet lag put on a staggering performance filled with new material. They've finished recording a new LP, which I'm told we can expect this August.
The Save Adobe Books Indiegogo campaign concludes Friday, March 15th. If you were unable to attend the benefit show, it's not too late to contribute! -Andy Lambert
Oakland based songwriter/producer Wallpaper. became a viable music industry success after singning with L.A. Reid and Epic Records last year. Wallpaper. (which consists of members, Arjun Singh, Tom Peyton, Derek Taylor, and vocalist Novena Carmel - the daughter of music legend Sly Stone) also known as Ricky Reed, has been riding high from accumulating promotional support from MTV and Boardwalk Records, landing his music on television shows like Jersey Shore and The Real World, which led him to receive hundreds of thousands of music downloads before his major label signing.
Reed's most recent effort, Good 4 It was released yesterday on Itunes, and is the theme song for VH1's newest tv show, Wicked Single.
You can catch Wallpaper. live for three nights at SXSW and on the line up of this summer's Ven's Warped Tour:
03/14 Roxy Showcase Empire Automotive, 604 E. 7th St.
03/15 Spotify House 1100 E. Cesar Chavez St.
03/16 Doritos Bold Stage 5th St & Red River
Wallpaper. on Vans Warped Tour 2013:
03/28 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia
06/15 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheater
06/19 San Diego, CA Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
06/20 Pomona, CA Pomona Fairplex
06/21 Pomona, CA Pomona Fairplex
06/22 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
06/23 Ventura, CA Seaside Park
06/26 Las Cruces, NM N.M.S.U. Practice Field
06/27 Phoenix, AZ Quail Run Park
06/28 Las Vegas, NV Silverton Casino Parking Lot
06/29 Salt Lake City, UT Utah State Fairpark
06/30 Denver, CO Sports Authority Field at Mile High
07/03 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center
07/05 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
07/06 Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
07/07 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Concert Center
07/09 Virginia Beach, VA Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
07/10 Washington DC Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/11 Boston, MA Comcast Center
07/12 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
07/13 New York, NY Nassau Memorial Coliseum
07/14 Hartford, CT The Comcast Theatre
07/16 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion
07/17 Pittsburgh, PA First Niagara Pavilion
07/18 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
07/19 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
07/20 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
07/21 Minneapolis, MN Canterbury Park
07/23 Kansas City, KS Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
07/24 St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
07/25 Atlanta, GA Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
07/26 Tampa, FL Vinoy Park
07/27 West Palm, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
07/28 Orlando, FL Central Florida Fairgrounds
07/29 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
07/30 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
07/31 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheatre
08/02 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
08/03 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
08/04 Houston, TX Reliant Center Parking Lot
MTV Hive has endorsed the new single from Oakland’s Tremor Low, “Give Blood”. The track exhibits the familiar brand of neo-goth dance punk rock that fans will recognize from the group’s previous release, Kingmaker. The Kingmaker EP, recorded with Jamie Hill (Nada Surf, Cut Copy, Rogue Wave), landed them on Live 105‘s “5 Bay Area Bands You Need to Know” list in 2012.
“Give Blood” centers around frontman Don Bellenger’s tale of foreboding woods and their resident monsters, accented with a light touch of gore and is executed with a stylistic nod to Robert Smith. The MTV Hive premier precedes Tremor Low's South By Southwest 2013 debut, offering the band a valuable piece of national exposure. Check them out on any of four consecutive nights at the Free Now! Showcase in Austin, Texas. -Andy Lambert
March 13 - Free Now! Showcase @ The Brew Exchange - 5 PM
March 14 - Free Now! Showcase @ The Brew Exchange - 7 PM
March 15 - Free Now! Showcase @ The Brew Exchange - 7:30 PM
March 16 - Free Now! Showcase @ The Brew Exchange - 11 PM
Ambitious and profound, the documentary Reincarnated takes viewers on a journey to Jamaica as we follow Snoop Lion's transformation from gangsterific rapper to peace-loving Rastafarian. The film reveals a candid Snoop who matured amidst a turbulent past, and professes to having been drawn to Jamaican culture for years, but felt unable to explore that path due to his past time constraints and his then-limited spiritual understanding of the Rastafarian culture.
In the heart of Rastafarian culture, Trench Town, Snoop explores its history, and was personally set on learning from reggae icon and Bob Marley bandmate, Bunny Wailer to create his own re-defining album that underlines his newfound identity. While Snoop states himself, that his life has consisted of many stages, the emotion and sincerity of the film makes it hard to think of his journey as another fullt completed ‘stage’ for him—particularly in the light of him having lost so many close friends. He was open and honest about his continued growth as an artist and as a man. He contemplated the meaning of his losses throughout his years in the rap industry.
“We don’t love them while they’re here and I wanna be loved, and the only way to get love is to give love,” Snoop confesses. Hard to disagree with such a philosophy. -Natacha Pavlov
*Reincarnated will premiere in San Francisco at the Opera Plaza Cinema on March 15, 2013.
San Francisco's iconic lit paradise Adobe Books is facing a massive rent hike which is threatening its survival. We don't want to let that happen! As part of a series of events, several Bay Area bands are taking to the stage to help raise funds and awareness for a substantial revamp to the store. Word has it, that the new Adobe will feature a pop-up shop with Haight-Ashbury vinyl luminary, Groove Merchant Records.
The Music for Adobe Fundraiser takes place on Monday, May 11th at Public Works in San Francisco. Adobe's musical beneficiaries include The Dodos, Adam Stevens of Two Gallants, The Tambo Rays and Vetiver's Andy Cabic (DJ set). Attend the show and hear some of SF's finest, while helping expand and sustain one of the city's cultural mainstays. It's any easy win-win.
You can also check out the Save Adobe Books Indiegogo campaign for more information about Adobe's future and how to contribute. -Andy Lambert
Two years after the release of their debut EP, San Franciscan band Slowness returns with their first full-length LP, the alluring and addictingFor Those Who Wish To See The Glass Half Full. Singer Geoffrey Scott, bassist Julie Lynn, and drummer Scott Putnam deliver eight hypnotic drone pop-shoegaze tracks set to a dreamy atmosphere and succinct lyrics that trigger pleasant familiarity. The album, although brief, doesn’t lessen the impression that you’ve floated away into aural ecstasy. The optimistic “Day For Night” starts off with an upbeat, infectious beat that leads to an intense outro, before mellowing-out in “The Glass.” Anti-political undertones are heard in the catchy anthem “Energy” and the entrancing, melancholic “Calm & Dispel.” The sluggish “Repeater” channels a lethargic vibe that paves the way for a gradual, two-minute long airy outro, contrasting the upbeat intensity of “Wired.” The journey ends with the visionary invitation to “Race To Mars” and the beautifully moody “Walls of Blue.”
With a polished sound that breeds intimacy and nods to many great 80’s bands, Slowness proves that their realm is one to get lost into… rapidly. -Natacha Pavlov
You can can also attand Slowness' Vinyl Release Cocktail Party tomorrow at Bar 821. Find details and RSVP here.
Santa Rosa, CA based duo Teenage Sweater have released a fresh LP entitled Concentration, available now on Tricycle Records. Concentration is a captivating collection of new-new-wave dungeon pop that combines the aural breadth of New Order, with the brooding intensity of Zola Jesus to create an album that’s as fitting on the dance floor as it is in the privacy of your bedroom while blaring through headphones.
Singer Mario Ruiz’s gently pleading chants express wary excitement--a skeptical enthusiasm for what lies ahead. In the track “Giant Summer”, where that highly anticipated season is treated as the greatest opportunity... for wasting time. Connor Alfaro’s steady, cavernous drumming shines on “Fangs”, complimenting the haunting bass line and creating an ambiance that’s entrancing in its repetition.
Ruiz and Alfaro seem most on point in “Cold Spots” and “Young Glitter”, the album’s most urgent, energetic tracks. Concentration is flush with iconic 80s synth timbres, but made to sound contemporary, more as a homage than a replication. Three instrumental interludes (all titled in parenthesis), are interspersed throughout the record, highlighting Teenage Sweater’s synth-school credentials and emphasizing the overall transient undercurrent or the album. In short, Concentration is indie dance music for hungry hearts, and a fitting title as they’ve clearly put some thought into its crafting. Stream the album in its entirety here, and don’t miss them at New Parish in Oakland on March 27th. -Andy Lambert
Burger/K Records 60's pop darlings, The Shivas play live in Oakland, CA tonight. This nostalgic indie pop band has been known to play amazing live shows and is currently embarking on a 2013 Spring tour to promote the upcoming release of their new album WHITEOUT due out on April 30th. Make sure you make it out to Eli’s Mile High Club tonight to check out this talented rock group.
Eli's Mile High Club
3629 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland, Ca
You can get details on the show and the line up here.
3/07/13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock Tavern w/ The Pharmacy
3/08/13 – Oakland, CA @ Eli’s Mile High Club for the worldwide burger party in every city with Cumstain, Sir Lord Von Raven and MOM
3/09/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell
3/10/13 – Tuscon, AZ @ La Cocina w/ Acorn Bcorn
3/11/13 – El Paso, TX @ Black Market w/ Apache, Bad Vibes, Glitz
3/13/13 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Burger City @ Hotel Vegas
3/13/13 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Portland Showcase @ The Grackle
3/14/13 – Austin, TX @ SXSW @ Levitation by The Reverberation Appreciation Society
3/15/13 – Austin, TX @ SXSW @ Gnar Tapes House Party Showcase
3/15/13 – Austin, TX @ SXSW @ House of Commons
3/16/13 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Pop Press International 5
3/19/13 – Austin, TX @ Russelville, AR @ The Cavern w/ Tiger High, Detective
3/20/13 – Memphis, TN @ Buccaneers w/ Tiger High, White Mystery
3/21/13 – Springfield, MO @ Outland/High Life w/ Tiger High, Detective
3/23/13 – Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick
3/25/13 – Omaha, NE @ The Middle House
3/26/13 – Dever, CO @ Unit E
3/27/13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge
San Francisco based, bi coastal indie rock duo, Wildlife Control has released a brand new single today. The new track is called Ages Places and it has been released in support of the band's live musical appearences at SXSW. This new track is expressed to be written based on "modified haikus". Wildlife Control will premier the live version of Places Ages on stage at SXSW. You can also find this entrancing track on AmazonMP3, Spotify, Itunes and Rdio starting today.
A free downloadable version of Ages and Places is available on Soundcloud!
SXSW Show Dates:
March 13th - SoundCloud & Tumblr Creator Clubhouse March 15th - Official Showcase presented by CD Baby March 15th - 2:40pm: BPM / SDR 4th Annual SX Party March 16th - 3pm: House of Creatives Filming presented by No Shame
Popular SF based blues rock band, The Stone Foxes are set to headline The Deli Magazine's UN/OFF party in Austin, Texes this year. The event is completely FREE, and will be held on March 15, 2013 at Rusty's. Don't miss The Stone Foxes tear the house down along with the amazing line up that will precede them!
THE DELI'S UN/OFF PARTY TWO STAGES
LOTS OF AWESOME BANDS 8pm-2am, Rusty's 405 E 7th St Austin.
The Stone Foxes (SF)
Pearl and The Beard (NYC)
The Couch (Austin)
Friend Roulette (NYC)
André Obin (Boston)
Borrisokane (Austin)
Cultfever (NYC)
Old Blood Club (NYC)
Fan Tan (NYC)
