September 05, 2008

Caught up in Damien Jurado

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DAMIEN JURADO
Caught in the Trees
(Secretly Canadian)


By Todd Lavoie

If Damien Jurado ever decided to take a break from music and funnel his creative juices elsewhere - not that I'm encouraging him to - I reckon fiction-writing would be his new calling. The Seattle singer-songwriter has long been a recipient of Raymond Carver comparisons, having built a decade-plus career upon crafting taut, literate tales of quiet alienation and shattering despair that share the same spirit with that of the piercing-stared short-story master.

Having largely foregone the confessional fess-ups of, say, Elliott Smith, Cat Power, or Mark Kozelek, Jurado's indie folk-rock (and occasionally just full-on, unhyphenated rock) tends to stick with character studies and immersions into the emotional lives of others rather than directing the pen towards the ins and outs of his own heart. Or, so I have gleaned from reading interviews with the man, anyway - ultimately, whatever ratio of storytelling-vs.-autobiography offered up in an artist's body of work is known to him and him only. In any case, these portraits-in-miniature have not only made for gripping listening over the years - credit duly given to Jurado's wounded, earhole-snuggling hushes - but they've given a solid argument for daydreaming about the possibilities of a literary career for the singer.

Jurado's latest, Caught in the Trees, probably won't shoo away any such reveries, either - the disc continues what is now a longstanding tradition of engrossing first-person-narrated fiction set to equally absorbing melodies. According to the press kit, it also took longer to make than any other in his catalog - one that is now nearly double-digits-deep with releases. Whether this was due to outside circumstances or the nature of the songs contained within, I am not sure, but the album does offer plenty of that trademark Jurado intensity.

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September 04, 2008

Moaning for Mon Cousin Belge

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Dressy: A past Mon Cousin Belge performance

Mon Cousin Belge (with Girls, Bridez, and the Passionistas)
Aug. 28, Cafe du Nord


By Lauren Giniger

Man, that rare warm summer night we had last week really messed up my program. It took me forever to get out of the house, and it was all clothing-related indecision, and consequently I missed three groups of the fun four-band lineup at the world-famous-in-San Francisco performer Mon Cousin Belge's record-release party.

Now it's true, the hipsters left en masse (really, is there anything they don't do en masse?) after Girls' set, but that just left a very enthusiastic core of fans for Mon Cousin Belge's turn. MCB, much like Obama, benefits from the "enthusiasm factor," and MCB fans really, really, really love MCB. Emile is a compelling frontman, his theatrics propped on top of a set of powerful pipes, and the band's music possesses a delicious, glammed-out sensibility.

MCB started their set with slow-burn cover of Roger Miller's "The Crossing," and reached a sort of rock fever pitch with "Ugly American" and "Tweaker Bitch." Emile's long-lost brother in botched plastic surgery sat in with some guest vocals, and both delivered drama of the hair-metal variety. So many of MCB songs are so great. They're funny, edgy, and recognizable - who among us doesn't know a tweaker bitch? While the guitar jangles and the keyboards hark to '70s anthems, the drums carve out a stripped-down post-punk beat to counterpoint all that top-heavy glam.

Hipsters, next time stick around even if your friends don't. San Francisco fags and those who love them elevate MCB to cult-band status. I don't make history, but I dig it.

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September 03, 2008

Sonic Reducer Overage: Ratatat, Brian Wilson, Lebowski Fest, Leyna Noel, and mo'


Commando chic: Ratatat blows 'em up real good with "Mirando."

More music than one gal can handle - o, frisky Frisco, you never disappoint! Behold the great stuff that didn't make print - but really should have...

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Finer Things for Leyna Noel. Photo by Alissa Anderson.

LEYNA NOEL AND THE FINER THINGS
Could this be “tea metal” from the Mirah collaborator and Erase Errata drummer. With Clipd Beaks and Past Lives. Thurs/4, 9 p.m., $6. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.

LEBOWSKI FEST SAN FRANCISCO
The dude abides by Extra Action Marching Band, the Dead Hensons, and Meshugga Beach Party. Fri/5, 8 p.m. doors, $20 advance. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. (415) 820-9669.

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September 02, 2008

Slow burn: Facts about Funerals broods like AMC re-envisioned as a roadhouse band

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Facts and fog: Pete Colclasure. Courtesy of Facts about Funerals' MySpace site.

FACTS ABOUT FUNERALS
Love Songs & Funeral Homes
(Evangeline)

By Todd Lavoie

Just on the off-chance the band name didn't point you in the direction of the emotional terrain Seattle sextet Facts About Funerals are aiming to mine, the title of their recently released disc should help you out: Love Songs & Funeral Homes. See where we're going?

The title, in fact, was borrowed from the Daniel Johnston documentary The Devil & Daniel Johnston - asked what his songs were about, those words were the singer's reply. Evocative and eyebrow-raising, to be sure, but do they apply to Facts About Funerals as well?

Yes and no - death does cast a considerable shadow over the proceedings, but it doesn't completely consume the album, either. And as for the love songs - well, singer-songwriter Rob Sharp tends to speak more to the uneasy feelings associated with love (obsession, loss, regret, heartache) than the wide-eyed bliss of romance.

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August 28, 2008

Clubs: DJ Spen, but will he spin this?

By Marke B.

The amazing and gifted House god DJ Spen of the Code Red and Defected labels is coming to Temple this Sunday night (8/31).

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Now and Spen

Spen's been in House so long, it wouldn't have walls without him -- dating back to his work with the seminal Basement Boys in 1989, up through his major diva remixes (I for one couldn't escape his Mandarin-plucky version of Mary J.'s "Beautiful" in the mid-'90s -- hi, DJ Rolo!) and into his current smooth matureness, spreading some deep sunshine all over the global floors. He'll be accompanied on Sunday for a very long set -- we do have Monday off, yes? -- by the ever-fab DJ David Harness of Thread Recordings. Househed reunion!

My real question, though, is will Spen play this, one of the undisputed underground jams of 1999? I'll bring a change of millennium shoes, just in case ...

DJ Spen w/ David Harness
6pm-late, $10
(Super Soul Sundayz Labor Day Celebration)
Temple
55 Natoma
www.templesf.com

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Clubs: Sweet majik tunes for summer's end

By Marke B.

But first, a bonus! -- the ecstatical, fantastical, local maniac DJ Richie Panic at Dance, LA last week -- good lord, did half of hipster-perf SF go down there for this? Hilarious moment @ 2:47 = dancefloor opera, go Richie!

CLUB DANCE (RICHIE PANIC)

And now the meat. In this week's Fall Arts Preview, I thumb out a gaggle of rad parties happening in the near future, and sound off about a few of the lovely club jams I'd like to see hit the floor for fall. Here's some extra-poppy ones I bounce to right now that have interesting video accompaniment: for the ipod of your mind. Nothing too edgy or new -- we'll all fall softly and boppily into autumn's orange arms

Plug: Look out for our next stylish Scene nightlife and glamour supplement to drop on Sept. 17 for more club goodies.

I said you'd be "so over" this next track by last Wednesday -- but I was K.I.D.D.I.N.G. I love Cazwell, the gay rap dream from NYC, and in this one LA megafag Jonny Makeup, gives us the hooks and cell phone heebie-jeebies. It's 1989 in clubland and all's well again.

Cazwell w/ Johnny Makeup, "I Seen Beyonce at Burger King" (click here for hi-q)

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Everybody should know about Sharon Robinson

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SHARON ROBINSON
Everybody Knows
(Sharon Robinson Music)

By Todd Lavoie

Sharon Robinson is one smooth deceiver. On first listen, the singer-songwriter's silken soul meditations might easily billow on overhead in drifts of nerve-soothing R&B - but pull your ears a little closer, and you'll see that there's much, much more at work here than merely setting up some hot-whisper mood music for kicking back with a bottle of wine and your sweet thing on the sofa. Her new release, Everybody Knows, certainly succeeds in creating such ambiance, yes, but further inspection shows enormous depth and complexity across these 10 elegantly arranged songs.

This isn't to downplay the burning sensuality that casts an amorous glow throughout the disc - only the most puritanical of listeners could miss, or deny, the extended come-hither of Robinson's songwriting and self-production. Still, what ultimately resonates the most profoundly is the sense of haunting, of introspection, which burrows itself firmly among the satiny synth textures and jazz-informed midnight grooves.

Such a realization shouldn't come as much of a surprise to those already familiar with Robinson; the songwriter has been a longtime collaborator with Leonard Cohen, having co-written songs with him as well as producing his deliciously moody 2001 album, Ten New Songs (Columbia). (That's her on the cover with him, by the way - an entirely appropriate sharing of the credit, too, given that her involvement included co-writing, arranging, electronic programming, and harmonizing throughout the recording.)

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August 27, 2008

Inside Outside Lands fest: on music-loving and littering hordes and sustainable music gatherings

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Heads gather round: Radiohead. All photos by Spencer Hansen.

By Kat Renz

I was in the throes of a particularly conflicted love/hate relationship last weekend. The first Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in Golden Gate Park - so much to appreciate (the music, scenery, intention), so much to loathe (the overlapping performances, long lines, the great green marketing strategy).

"We deserve a festival," folk-rocker Matt Nathanson told journalists during a press conference on Saturday, Aug. 23, the second day of Outside Lands. And though he was being ironic, he echoed the sense of entitlement sweeping through Speedway Meadows on down to the Polo Fields, like the restless ghost of a spoiled brat. Between concert-goers tearing down fences and elbowing relentlessly (and pointlessly) through the audience, or getting so pissed they could barely make out Thom Yorke on the giant TV screens and littering like motherfuckers, the scene got pretty obnoxious.

But, duh, what else did I expect with 150,000 people?

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Hat club for men: Sean Hayes.

Let me diverge, briefly, from the rantings of my inner curmudgeon: Oakland's bluesy outfit Howlin' Rain struck an inaugural chord on the tiny Panhandle Stage, jamming through a half-hour set fueled by the soul rasp of front-howler Ethan Miller and Joel Robinow’s organ harmonies.

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In the swim: Rupa and the Fishes.

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Hell bent for Metal Masters

Can't lie: I've had Sunday, August 31 circled on my metal-show calendar for months. Judas Priest, Motorhead, Heaven and Hell (aka Black Sabbath as fronted by Dio), and Testament rocking the same bill? It's worth the drive down the peninsula to the Shoreline Amphitheater, where even sweaty mullets and overpriced fried grub won't be enough to dampen the awesomeness of Metal Masters. It's hard for me to type with both my hands curled into devil horns, but since Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing was kind enough to speak with me over the phone -- from Belgium, no less -- about Metal Masters, Priest's new concept album, and the evergreen appeal of metal, I'll do my best to transcribe our conversation here.

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August 26, 2008

Outside Lands day three: Jack, Wilco, Toots, fence jumpers

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Wild and wooly Wilco. All photos by El Fotografo Clandestino.

El Fotografo Clandestino took aim at the third and last day, Sunday, Aug. 24, of the Outside Lands music fest in Golden Gate Park, SF. Here are a few of the artists, things, and people - look for more thoughts and images in this space.

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Howl: Gift of Gab of Mighty Underdogs.

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Whistle bait: Andrew Bird.

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Echolalia: Lee Perry returns to the Bay Area


By Erik Morse

"It was only four tracks on the machine, but I was picking up 20 from the extra terrestrial squad...”

Reggae producer and dub pioneer Rainford Hugh Perry, a.k.a., Lee Perry, a.k.a. Scratch, a.k.a. the Upsetter, has a professional career that now stretches over half a century with thousands of studio tracks, production and songwriting credits. From Studio One to Amalgamated Records to his own Black Ark studio and label, Perry is second only to Bob Marley for his contribution to the worldwide popularity Jamaican music.

His list of compatriots reads like a Rosetta stone of Rastafarian music – Max Romeo, the Congos, King Tubby, and Augustus Pablo. His genre-bending work in ska, rocksteady, reggae, and dub has earned him the distinctive sobriquet of mad genius. But three generations of experimental artists - born under the sign of “I Am the Upsetter” and “Long Shot” - have since taken up the echo plate, leaving Perry a largely mythic and removed patrician of all-things woozy. At 72, Perry maintains a life of sobriety, with a Grammy to his credit and a permanent residence in Zurich. The Upsetter of late is far from the raving producer who once burned down his own backyard studio in a fit of rage.

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The sheer beauty of Shearwater, coming soon to Great American Music Hall

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SHEARWATER
Rook
(Matador)


By Todd Lavoie


Shipwrecks, burning bodies, scattered deaths and sweeping acts of violence - welcome to the cold troubled world of Shearwater's fifth release, Rook, a world in which everyone and everything seems to be classified as either predator or prey. Here, hunters lurk behind tempo changes, bigger birds feast upon the carcasses of smaller birds to the flutter of circular guitar patterns, and the mighty ocean swells in cruel crescendos, threatening to engulf us all.

Scared? Intrigued? Titillated? Well, all of the above would be perfectly appropriate - the disc works plenty of heartbeat-skipping hoodoo from its gripping whirls of hushed ambient textures, elegant orchestral-pop melodrama, and jugular-bulging rock 'n' roll bombast. At the center of it all is singer-songwriter Jonathan Meiburg, a mild-mannered ornithologist - or, I assume he is mild-mannered, anyway, considering his expertise in the quiet, meditative field of bird-watching - who does not write lyrics as much as composes metaphor-heavy abstract poems and sets them to intricate song structures with little interest in rote verse/chorus/verse design.

Then, of course, there is his voice: a gorgeous, enormously versatile instrument that often manages to pack years worth of conflicting emotions within a single phrase, it is without doubt the swooping, howling-falsetto focal point of Shearwater's woodwind-and-string-laden experimental theatrics. Meiburg's expressive abilities are such that it's tough to imagine the idea of a casual Rook listener: his delivery, sensitive to every nuance demanded by the lyrics, tends to pull me ear-first against the other end of the microphone, eagerly awaiting the next word from his lips. Elements of Scott Walker come into focus, traces of Jeff Buckley. Here and there I hear Antony Hegarty, Thom Yorke. And lastly - but certainly not least - I pick up a lovely Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) vibe. Those who followed Talk Talk's metamorphosis from decent electro-pop outfit to one of the chief architects of post-rock will surely squeal in delight upon discovering Shearwater's daring forays into similarly oblique territories.

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August 25, 2008

Memphis in SF: John Murry keeps it downhome with Evangeline Records

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By Sonny Smith

When I met musician John Murry, Memphis transplant, I naturally asked him about hometown. He told me: “When I first got out here I had to be told I couldn’t keep a pistol in my glove box.”

Murry has been here for four years - creating a music label, Evangeline Records; playing in a few bands; ruffling some feathers; and raising his daughter. “The thing is, people from Memphis are basically from Mississippi, or maybe Arkansas," he said. "Memphis is the capitol of Mississippi. There is a fair share of disputes settled by knives and guns.... The scene there is kind of beautifully dysfunctional - everybody chasing after everybody’s wives and stuff.”

He’s put a lot of records out in a short time with Evangeline. “My family was intertwined with William Faulkner’s. The Murrys and the Faulkners intermarried three or four times," he said. "My grandfather owned some property signed over by Bill, and when he died the grandkids got a little bit of money." His friend, artist Bob Frank, also brought some money to the project.

“It’s a ridiculously fair label," Murry continued. "I just built it the way I thought labels were supposed to be. I just don’t make anything. I don’t think artists should ever be in debt to a label. Artists are already in debt - spiritual debt. Without artistic freedom you don’t have art - there can’t be a compromise. I don’t tell the artists anything about how it should be or what would sell.”

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Outside Lands day two: Petty, Lupe, Rupa, Coup, Tacuba, and more

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He won't back down: Tom Petty. All photos by El Fotografo Clandestino.

El Fotografo Clandestino took in the second day, Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Outside Lands music fest in Golden Gate Park, SF. Here are a few of the sights - expect more in this space.

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Lupe Fiasco in your face.

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The Coup keep it real.

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Cake beneath the bowers.

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August 24, 2008

Outside Lands day one: Radiohead, Lyrics Born, and Manu Chao captured

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Manu Chao go mano y mano. All photos by El Fotografo Clandestino.

El Fotografo Clandestino caught the first day, Friday, Aug. 22, of Outside Lands music fest. Here are a few images from the night - and look out for more.

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Check your head.

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Steel Pulse breaks open the beat as the first band Friday night at the Lands End main stage.

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August 22, 2008

Buzzing again: Paul Weller returns with a winning '22 Dreams'

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PAUL WELLER
22 Dreams
(Island/Yep Roc)

By Todd Lavoie

The buzz-buzz-buzz in eardrums and across the pages of blogs and music rags hither and yon is all about Paul as of late - no shock there, if you've had the good fortune to hear the Modfather's expansive (and reputation-expanding) 21-track epic, 22 Dreams.

Plenty of garlanded praise and eyebrow-raising declarations have been lavished upon Weller since the album's initial release in Britain at the beginning of June, thus piquing the curiosity of American folks like me who have always enjoyed the vocalist's solo work but had felt a little less spark for his recent output (and were shy of paying a hefty import-only CD price tag - crossing fingers for an eventual stateside release).

There was something almost rigidly straightforward about much of 2005's As Is Now (Yep Roc), for example - solid as it was, it offered relatively few shocks. Similar critiques had been offered now and again throughout his solo career, truth be told - surely the downside of his having set such a high standard for himself with the unimpeachable catalogs of the Jam and the Style Council prior to going at it alone. As Is Now made for a good listen, but it felt like it was missing something. Adventure? Drama? The element of surprise, perhaps?

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August 21, 2008

Rock the Bells: Did the fest pull off its blend of old school and new?

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Tales from... : Tre of the Pharcyde. All photos by Mosi Reeves

By Mosi Reeves

Rock the Bells was tiring but fun. The Aug. 16 event showcased 14 acts on the main stage, as well as an additional eight on a side stage, and the only way to catch them all was to run around Shoreline Amphitheatre like a chicken with its head cut off.

The day began super-early at 10:40 a.m. with Jay Electronica. I didn’t arrive to the stadium until 11:30 a.m., just in time to catch Washington, DC, rapper Wale finish his set with “W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.,” his hit viral remix of Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” That meant I spent an exhausting 11 hours at Shoreline. Other audience members were less committed: the venue didn’t reach capacity until around 4 p.m. Still, it was a little early in the morning for hip-hop.

“Hip-hop doesn’t really start until noon,” said Murs before launching into popular underground cuts like “Silly Girl,” “L.A.,” and “Lookin’ Fly,” a new track from his upcoming album Murs for President. The great thing about Rock the Bells is that it draws audiences that actually know who Murs is. He enthusiastically ended his set by saying how grateful he was to be on the main stage this year - last year, he headlined the "Paid Dues" side stage (named after a festival he launched in 2006) for the West Coast leg of the tour. “I get to have cereal with De La Soul. I dare y’all to enjoy yourselves more than me.”

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Live forever: Immortal Technique.

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August 20, 2008

Kim Gordon gets down in Saratoga

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"C'mon and turn it up," for sure. I really dug Kim Gordon's last project, Free Kitten's Inherit (Ecstatic Peace) - the resurrected Gordon, Julie Cafritz (Pussy Galore), and Yoshimi (Boredoms) collabo came out earlier this year. But what sort of feline mischief has the Sonic Youth player been up to of late? Apparently the indie-underground icon has been toiling as an artist-in-residence at the garden-green Montalvo Arts Center in otherwise-burby Saratoga - so says the press release that came over the transom recently. Sounds like Montalvo is picking up where it left off with the 2006's noise- and art-filled Bleeding Edge Festival, which brought together Matmos and Zeena Parkins (also working with Gordon this time around), Yo La Tengo, Sunroof!, and Tim Hecker:

"On Sept. 26, Montalvo Arts Center will present the world premiere of 'Kim Gordon Meets Phantom Orchard,' a musical collaboration featuring internationally renowned artists at the forefront of the alternative music scene. Kim Gordon, bassist, guitarist and founding member of Sonic Youth, joins the Phantom Orchard duo of laptop artist Ikue Mori and harp innovator Zeena Parkins, plus special guests Trevor Dunn on bass and drummer Yoshimi. The artists are in development with their new project, entitled 'The Song Project,' as part of their Montalvo Arts Center's Lucas Artists Programs residency.

"Kim Gordon has enjoyed a long and storied career as a musician and a visual artist. In 1981 Gordon, with future husband Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, helped found seminal alt-rock band Sonic Youth. Though they started out as a decidedly underground act, Sonic Youth emerged from the New York City music scene to become one of the most iconic and influential American rock bands, earning praise for their unique, unorthodox rock guitar style, strong studio albums (which have been included in Rolling Stone's 'Greatest Albums of All-Time' list), and career stamina that has spanned over the course of nearly three decades. An established visual artist and curator, Gordon has exhibited her work across the U.S., Japan and Europe (sometimes incorporating live music in her exhibitions), written for respected art publications and has had several books published highlighting her original art.

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Flower children: Ikue Mori and Zeena Parkins.

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August 19, 2008

Clubs: More Transfer kerfuffle -- Big Top bows out

While I'm still waiting for a response from owner Greg Bronstein about the supposed "new direction" that his bar the Transfer -- our City's most beloved alternaqueer and ultrahipster dive-hole -- is supposedly taking (as I reported earlier), another regular party besides Frisco Disco and Lustre has decided that the next date will be its last there. Everyone's transferring out! I just got word from promoter Joshua J. that his raucous monthly homo-disco-circus spectacular, Big Top, which is celebrating its one year anniversary at the Transfer on Sunday August 31, will end after that date.

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Joshua is part of a VERY successful Wednesday weekly, Juanita More's Booty Call, at another of Bronstein's joints, Bar On Castro, and assures me -- despite the odd timing -- that he's folding his Big Top tent so that he can concentrate on his new Friday party with the illustrious Frankie Sharp, called M4M, at Underground SF. And indeed, if the Transfer truly is looking to go all upscale, Underground SF should snatch all its shit and bring it for the alternaqueers and rangy str8s. I don't like the looks of the flyer below much -- seems a little LCD -- but hey, I'll check it out. Especially if there's a cologne-blast of mojito-squealers big-upping C+C Music Factory unironically at the Transfer.

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This is a golden opportunity, really, for any bar still willing to be open-minded enough to really let something creative happen in this city. Deco, Club Eight, Matador, Buckshot Tavern, Amnesia, or Rickshaw Stop are well-positioned to lap up the new party homeless. You may not make loads of $$, but I'll write about you more! Legendary.

I really can't fault Bronstein for wanting to make money off his business -- he's allowed the Transfer to be the most exciting and edgy club in the City for the past three years. I know he's planning to expand and renovate his slick Jet venue up the street, so maybe he's freaking about the duckets it'll take. His usual thing is rather chi-chi, not even always in a tacky way. But it's just sad. Plus I'm guessing that he was none too polite about the changes (although I really want to hear his side of it before I jump to unjournalistic conclusions): the Frisco Disco kids are absolutely fuming. Read their explosive farewell kiss-kiss MySpace post after the jump -- to the tune of "Death of a Disco Dancer" by the Smiths:

Continue reading "Clubs: More Transfer kerfuffle -- Big Top bows out" »

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Clubs: Frisco Disco ends, Transfer over?

Alas, the rumors -- most of them anyway -- are seeming to be substantiated. Word kept hitting my hotline last week that owner and fairy impressario Greg Bronstein was effecting a management and direction change at the fantastic gay/hipster/hipster-gay ground zero, The Transfer. Many of the Transfer's beloved party institutions appear to be fleeing. (Update: even more are fleeing.)

That includes, incredibly unfortunately, the wonderful six-year-old Frisco Disco, which has grown world famous as an international hotspot for scenemakers who don't mind a little party puke on their stilettos. Alas! This Saturday is the final Frisco Disco at the Transfer.

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This party's been homeless before -- it journeyed to the Transfer after a successful -- perhaps too successful -- run at Arrow Bar, now Matador, on Sixth Street. It may be back, too, after a short hiatus -- but definitely not at the Transfer. The Frisco-ites claim that Bronstein said they were too rowdy for him, although they still adore the Transfer staff etc. I'm trying to get a hold of Bronstein now for comment. Also announcing Transfer departure: Lustre, the goth new-wave night. San Francisco may be on the verge of losing one of its most interesting alternative party venues ... more to come!

FINAL FRISCO DISCO
w/ DJs Jeffrey Paradise and Richie Panic
Sat/23, 10pm
The Transfer
198 Church at Market

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