Wax Idols - Noisepop and Knockout shows

 

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I'm going out on a limb here.

I just pledged thirty simoleans for the Wax Idols album on Kickstarter, and am hoping that somebody goes for the gold and pledges the $200 to snag the free show.  It's totally worth it!  I'd do it except that I'm out in the cultural wasteland known as the Peninsula and don't think it would be very cool to drag anybody out here against their will.

The money was well worth it considering the strength of their material...I had the good fortune (no pun intended) of catching Hether's other group, Blasted Canyons, whom I caught opening for Thee Oh Sees at the Eagle Tavern last November) and being blown away by her stage presence and the juggernaut of "Ice Cream Man".  It's not enough to have looks, you need the chops, and the force of will to preserve in the face of indifference and sometimes even outright hostility so mad props for making music that matters.

So we showed up early to catch their Noise Pop set, which I was looking forward to, since we couldn't get in to the sold-out Weekend show at the Hemlock Tavern (which Wax Idols opened), and were disappointed by the fact that everybody seems like to arrive late to these Noise Pop shows.  Well, their loss...the SF Weekly reviewer didn't even mention them, so I guess he was one of the ones who who missed out, I won't bother to link his write-up, as it's complete garbage. 

We caught them again a couple of weeks later at the Knockout in the Mission and were rewarded with a great set.  Was really cool to stand next to Tamaryn, though I was way too shy to actually say something to her (or Heather for that matter) that wouldn't have sounded stupid, besides "thanks".

Hether Fortune (and group) shine on...

Wax Idols

2011-02-25

Noise Pop

Cafe Du Nord

San Francisco CA

Recorded with dual Sonic Studios mics

and blended with an old version of Adobe

Audition.  Linked files feature video

shot with my Flip Ultra HD which was off

to one side, though I held it later on

as somebody almost knocked it over.

Setlist

Bad Pajamas

Gold Sneakers

Uneasy

Hotel Room

Sand In My Joins [Wire]

Hitman

All Too Human

Dead Like You

Human Condition

Dilno

Wax Idols

2011-03-12

The Knockout

San Francisco CA

Recorded with Sony PCM-M10 with built-in

mics and Sonic Studios mics plugged into

an Edirol R-09HR and blended together with

an old version of Adobe Audition.

My attempt at video is best described as

an abject failure.

Setlist

All Too Human

Gold Sneakers

Uneasy

Hotel Room

Sand In My Joints [Wire]

Hitman

Bad Pajamas

Dead Like You

Human Condition

Dilno  

NOTE:  If you download these, please be generous and donate to the group and help them make their album, because I want to hear it! 

We've listened to our live recordings quite a bit (my compatriot almost never does this after he tapes a show)...and now you can listen to this too...normally, I wouldn't put out pre-release material in this way (and expect that I will have to remove it very soon) but this is too good to keep under wraps, seriously!

We also recorded opening act Jealousy...the only song we could ID was the last one "Palm Tree".  Really liked the reel-to-reel that took them like forever to set up, though I'm not sure if it was merely a prop or actually was used for the background noises.   
Grand stuff.

Tamaryn / The Black Ryder - Noise Pop - Cafe Du Nord - 25 Feb 2011

Playing catchup putting up all the great, great shows I've been to this year.  

Here's another one, this was a highly anticipated Noise Pop show at the Cafe Du Nord featuring Mexican Summer recording artiste Tamaryn headlining, with labelmates The Black Ryder making an appearance all the way from Australia.  Also playing were the Soft Moon (already covered here) and Wax Idols (subject of an upcoming post).

Without any further ado, here's our recording, which is a blend of two different recordings done with Sonic Studios mics.

Tamaryn

2011-02-25

Noise Pop

Cafe Du Nord

San Francisco CA

setlist

Choirs Of Winter

Love Fade

Cascades ~ Mild Confusion

The Waves

Dawning

Coral Flower

Haze Interior

Sandstone

Light Shadows

Sadly, Tamaryn was having difficulties with her in-ear monitors, which had failed during her set, so she was having trouble hearing herself sing, but overall a strong performance of their songs from their Waves album.  If you have a chance, give it a listen, it's excellent!  Here's the listing on the Mexican Summer site.

Here's a link to a YouTube clip of her and her band during soundcheck. 

Next up, The Black Ryder...

Aimee's heart-melting smile...

For me, these guys were the big surprise, since I hadn't heard of them before the show.  From what I hear, they're protoges of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and for me represent the best thing I've seen from down under since Eddy Current Suppression Ring.  In fact, someone next to me said they had flown in all the way from Las Vegas just to check them out.  Singer Aimee looked like Toni Halliday of Curve, but had a softer dreamier approach, wrapped in black leather.

Their drummer was fantastic as well, guitarist Scott shot out peals of tone and drone (just as advertised) and like Tamaryn, they have an album out on Mexican Summer.


Be sure to check out my video of 'Let It Go', which ranks as one of my best filmings, 'twas done with my iPhone 4.

The Black Ryder

2011-02-25

Noise Pop

Cafe Du Nord

San Francisco CA

setlist

To Never Know You

Grass

Outside

Gone Without Feeling

What's Forasaken

Sweet Come Down

Let It Go

 

As mentioned previously, Wax Idols, the very first band on, will be the subject of  their own post...

The Soft Moon - February 2011 shows

 The Soft Moon , Noise Pop 2011.  RIP Luis.

February 2011 was a fairly busy month for me (so busy I forgot that 2010 had passed, apologies for the incorrect labelling!), so I didn't have much in the way of downtime to catch my fellow readers/viewers/listeners up to some of my recent exploits.  So there will be a series of nightly posts which should allow me to catch up.

By far, one of the best discoveries of the past few years have to be The Soft Moon.  Led by Luis Vasquez, and also featuring Justin Anastassi (who also plays in Veil Veil Vanish) on bass and Damon Way on keyboards, they have astonished listeners and electrified audiences since they appeared out of the blue to claim the legacy for darkwave music in San Francisco set forth by bands like Chrome and Tuxedomoon (obscuros would also throw in Swell, but even I haven't heard any of their work).  But I ultimately think they have their own unique sound and approach, you'll just have to listen and form your own opinions.

You can go to a hundred other places if you want to get your fill in for superlative reviews; all I can tell you is that the moment I heard their self-titled album, I knew they were going to be something special.  And it doesn't hurt to be on one of the hottest labels presently operating, Captured Tracks.  If the hairs on the back of your neck don't stand up for "Into The Depths" and "We Are We", check your pulse, it has stopped.  And as amazing as their recorded output is, they're even better live, if you can believe it.

Anyway, I have several recordings to feature here, so without further ado, here they are.

SETLIST FOR ALL SHOWS

Into The Depths
 Dead Love
 Circles
 Breathe The Fire
We Are We
Out Of Time
Parallels
 Tiny Spiders 

2011-02-06  The Echo  Los Angeles CA

taper: bcingyou, Sony ECM-990F > M-Audio Microtrack II (audio)

Kodak Zi8 (video) (720p, synced to above audio source)

Complete video recording

(on YouTube)

Alternate versions of Into The Depths, Dead Love, and Circles  (soldiersdisease)

Alternate version of Circles (0ariana0maria0)

Yet another alternate version of Circles (fatalblades)

Alternate version of We Are We (0ariana0maria0)

Alternate version of Tiny Spiders (soldiersdisease)

Pitchfork.com pro-shot footage of Tiny Spiders, in black and white

2011-02-10  Milk Bar  San Francisco CA

taper: TH1, Sony PCM-M10 built in mics 

Flip UltraHD (video) (720p, above audio source synced to digicam audio)

What Duvet Says blog review

Complete video recording 

(on YouTube)

 Alternate version of Into The Depths (blaire789, 22s)
 Alternate version of Dead Love (fuhserous, iPhone '8mm' app)
 Alternate version of Circles (phantonleader, HD)
 Alternate version of Breathe The Fire (bobduvet)

2011-02-25  Noise Pop  Cafe Du Nord  San Francisco CA

tapers: TZ0 + TH1 blend, Sonic Studios DSM mics (audio)

Flip UltraHD (720p video), synced to audio source

Complete video recording
(on YouTube)

Alternate version of We Are We (mhc660, HD)
 Alternate version of Out Of Time (mhc660, HD)
 Alternate version of Parallels (mhc660, HD)

All known footage of The Soft Moon is linked here.