Went and saw These Arms Are Snakes and Thrice the other night. unfortunately was late and missed Planes Mistaken For Stars who I really wanted to see and was kinda the basis for buying tix. These Arms Are Snakes were great. I hadn't seen them for a long time and seeing them again got me excited to buy their new album. Thrice were decent. I hadn't seen them in a long time and it was nice to see them play stuff off of Identity Crisis. Took me back to sophmore year of high school. I'm keeping this short, gotta pay attention in class.

Going to see Berkeley tonite to see Sufjan after I catch the Blood Brothers at Amoeba. I should have something to say about those in the next couple of days.

Weekly Shows 10-9-06

Ok, here are the shows for the week, since I skipped out on doing them last week.

Monday:
The Knitters & Jesse Sykes @ The Independent
Thrice, These Arms Are Snakes, & Plans Mistaken For Stars @ Slim's
Sol'ilLaquists of Sound @ Bottom Of The Hill
The Killers @ The Warfield
The Pogues @ The Fillmore

Tuesday:
Zion I & The Grouch @ Amoeba
Black Dahlia Murder & Hatebreed @ The Pound
Califone, Oakley Hall, & Battles @ Bottom Of The Hill
The Pogues & Murder By Death @ The Fillmore
Sufjan Stevens & My Brightest Diamond @ Zellerbach Hall (Berkeley)
Jedi Mind Tricks @ The Independent

Wednesday:
The Blood Brothers @ Amoeba
Sufjan Stevense & MY Brightest Diamond @Zellerbach Hall (Berkeley)
The Pogues & Murder By Death @ The Fillmore
Gym Class Heroes & Cobra Starship @ Slim's
400 Blows @ Bottom Of The Hill
Jon Scofield @ The Independent

Thursday:
Ben From Lucero @ Amoeba
Lucero, Rocky Votolato, & William Elliot Whitmore @ Slim's
Thunderbirds Are Now! & You Say Party We Say Die @ Bottom Of The Hill
The National @ Great American Music Hall
Lily Allen @ Popscene
Dresden Dolls @ Bimbo's 365 Club
The Pogues @ The Fillmore

Friday:
Chuck Ragan & Samiam @ Bottom Of The Hill
The Long Winters & What Made Milwaukee Famous @ Cafe Du Nord
The Dresden Dolls @ Bimbo's 365 Club
Hellogoodbye @ Great American Music Hall
Kasabian & Mew @ The Independent
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah & Architecture In Helsinki @ The Warfield
Ghost Mice & Jeff Ott @ 99 Farallones St. (Vegan Pot Luck) Check Out Ghost Mice'sMyspace PageFor more info. Also playing Early @ Coffee For The People

Saturday:
Method Man & Inspectah Deck @ Mezzanine
Electric Six @ The Independent
Subtle @ Bottom Of The Hill
Phenomenauts @ Balazo Gallery
The Elected & Margot And The Nucelar So And Sos @ Cafe Du Nord

Sunday:
Joseph Arther @ Cafe Du Nord
The Casualties @ The Pound

And I Was A Boy From School...

Ok, so I've been ridiculously busy lately. Friday afternoon I went and saw Elvis Costello at the Hardly Stricly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park. It was an awesome set. He played a ton of songs on acoustic guitar for about 40 mins, then was joined by a backing band and guests including Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and others for about an hour and 20 mins. So he played a free 2 hour set. Needless to say, he was amazing and a great artist. That night I went and watched Rigoletto, the opera by Verdi in UN plaza with my brother. It has been quite a while since I've watched an opera, and it made me realize how much I do miss going to them.

Sat. I ended up heading over to the Mezzanine to catch the Cold War Kids and Album Leaf show. So the Mezzanine, where should I start. I walked in and was quite impressed with it at first. Cool, semi-swanky NY club decor and a medium-sized venue. The sound at this place is amazing. However, it isn't run like a venue, but rather as an aforementioned club. $5 for a Miller Lite, just kind of weird how it was run. The bar closest to the stage shut down before the Album Leaf even took the stage. Overall it's a decent venue, but I would definitely recommend getting your drink on before you head there if you plan on drinking at all. For me it was too rich for my blood, I don't even want to know how much people were paying for any type of mixed drink. Also, there were 4 bands, first one didn't go on till 9:40 or 9:45. Thus meaning that the Album Leaf didn't get done playing till 1:45 am.
But, that first band was San Diego's Delta Spirit. Even though SD usually produces quite horrible bands, I have definitely been taken by Delat Spirit. They recently put out an EP on Monarchy Music, which I would have purchased, had every band not packed up all their merch and split by the time the show was over. Their loss I guess. But they put on a good show and I have actually caught them play up here twice now, more than I actually saw them in SD.
Next was Foreign Born. I wasn't completely sold on them based on their live performance, although it did pick up towards the end of their set. I most definitely want to see how they sound on record, because live they just seemed to be missing an element.
Cold War Kids were obviously the band that people had come out to see. I missed their last show at Cafe Du Nord less than a month ago, but I'm not all that bummed I did, only because they came back so soon. Their set was good, however, it kinda bummed me out on the fact that the only person who seemed like he wanted to be there playing was the bassist. They played a solid set though, with a lot of their new songs being played. Their album hits tomorrow, so I will probably have to pick it up.
The Album Leaf was the clincher on going to this show for me. Being from SD, Album Leaf has held a place in my heart for a long time now, probably going on like 7 years. I have seen them play a ton of times, and I have not ever been let down. This was the second time I had seen the new material performed live, the first being at the Whistlestop in SD, and it sounded just as amazing as it did the first time. This band always puts me in a good mood and I can always have fun at their shows, this is when I'm not dead tired and they aren't making it easy for me to shut my eyes and take a snooze from being so relaxed. I felt bad because they went on so late, that there ended up only being about 30 people left when they finished at 1:45, but Jimmy was greatful and kept thanking us for sticking around. I'm looking forward to seeing them play the The Independent in about 6 weeks.

Pat Spurgeon Benefit @ Independent 9-30-06

Wow, that's pretty much all I can say about this show. You can't help feel lucky when you get to attend a benefit like this. So many great artists on the bill, and a sense of really helping someone or something in need. This particular show was to benefit Pat Spurgeon, whom if you don't know, has been plagued with kidney problems since birth. You Can Further Your Reading Pleasures Here

So anyways, as I stated before, this show was chuck full of great acts, and they were all playing in a club that could've been sold out by them years ago. I showed up a little late, but was just in time to catch the Moore Brothers. Don't know much about them, although those two doods can harmonize. They were decent. Played four songs and were done. Next was John Vanderslice. For those of you who don't have his newest record Pixel Revolt, it needs to be picked up asap, or at least I recommend it. It is a great album, and it was fun to finally get a chance to catch him live. It seems everytime he comes into town I can't make it to the show for one odd reason or another. He was good, playing a shorter, but very enthralling set. I was hoping he'd play Exodus Damage, but maybe next time.

Then it was time for Nada Surf. They had played a set over in Berkeley earlier in the evening and then headed over to the Independent to play this show. I have seen Nada Surf a couple times before and they are fantastic. This set contained solo stuff from Matt Cawley, as well as acoustic full band songs. They played a lot off of This Weight is A Gift, with one or two older songs thrown in for good measure. They were fun as they always are.

Then was the moment I had been waiting for. I'm not gonna lie, when this show was announced as a rogue wave show with friends, I was very torn between it and the Jason Collett show at Cafe Du Nord. I was bummed because they had been on tour together, until they hit SF. However, once Ben Gibbard was announced as playing this show I knew where I was going to be on Sat. night. I got to see Ben play the Hurricane Katrina benefit at Great American Music Hall about two years ago, and from that knew that seeing him play acoustic stuff solo is a treat in itself.
The setlist is as follows:
Brand New Colony
Title And Registration
405
Soul Meets Body (which was played on the piano)
Passenger Seat (on piano)
Cuddly Toy (Monkee's cover) w/Nada Surf
Blacking Out The Friction (w/ Daniel Handler on Accordion)
Military Madness (Crosby Stills & Nash cover) w/Daniel Handler
Such Great Heights

I love the fact that Ben always plays different covers at his solo shows. Both covers were fantastic, although I preferred Military Madness. In between Title and Registration and 405 he went into a humerous little rant about how he can't escape the Black Eyed Peas these days. It is damn true though, they are everywhere. Everyone thought they were gonna get a break from them, then Fergie goes out and has released her own album. But anyways, I love seeing Ben in intimate venues, especially because he interacts with the audience so well and on a level he just can't seem to do in the venues Death Cab is playing now adays.

Finally the evening came down to what it was all about. Rogue Wave. And they came out ablazing. They played a great set after being introduced by Pat's mother. It was noted that a venue in Indiana, where Pat is from and played many times, was also doing a benefit show that night for Pat. It was nice to see things like that going on. I had their setlist, but being the idiot I am, I accidently deleted it off my phone. However, they did play California with the help of Ryan Miller, of Guster, and even brought everyone on stage for a few covers. They covered Elvis Costello as well as the Beatles and the Who if my memory serves me right. I probably should have written this on Sunday, after the show, but this last week was incredibly busy and I had to get things done when I had free time on the weekend. But it was definitely a great show. If you get a chance buy one of these, because proceeds are going to Pat. Or you can check out Rogue Wave's site and give a donation through it.

Mastodon, Converge & the Bronx @ Slims 9-26-06

So Gav and I went out to Slim's last week and checked out this show. I was definitely glad that I didn't skip over it. I've seen both Converge and the Bronx numerous times before, but it was my first time seeing Mastodon. We got there right after the start of the Bronx's set. They were good, even though it seemed like the crowd was only so-so sold on them. They played a decent mix of new and old stuff.

Next was Converge. This was definitely my main reason of going to this show, even though I do like the other bands. It had been forever since I last saw converge. I think it was the last time they played the Che cafe in SD that I had seen them, so this was definitely a different Converge show than I was used to. Even though I'm still not convinced that hardcore music transfers over to larger venues, if anyone is able to pull it off it is Converge. They played a great set and even some new ones. I was bummed they left out Jane Doe, which they did play the last couple of times I had seen them. But overall a good solid performance, even though I've never been let down by them.

Mastodon was next. I am not unfamiliar with Mastodon, but I don't own any of their CDs, only listened to them every once in a while. They are definitely a solid metal band live. Very tight and can be technical at the times it calls for it. I have to say my favorite thing about them was the guitarist's haircut though...haha. They played some stuff off the Moby Dick inspired CD, whom's title is slipping my mind at the moment, and a lot of stuff of their newest album, Blood Mountain.

We both left the show satisfied and as I said before, I was definitely glad that I didn't skip over this show, especially cause they sold out slims for two nights.