Concert Season!

April is upon us already, which can mean only one thing: concerts galore!

In a pattern in keeping with previous years, the spring thaw means a flurry of touring activity. With the abundance of riches the San Francisco Bay Area provides, it is not unheard of to forego one show in favor of seeing another, to have two artists I admire playing at different venues on the same night. This month's calendar is chock-full already:

• Lindsey Stirling at the Warfield. A fun, entertaining show! It's been great seeing Lindsey rise to fame thanks to that 21st-century invention, YouTube. April 3.
• Sparks at The Chapel. The day I discovered this show, I lost my shit. It's the first of two nights, and the second had already sold out. Even though it's a stripped-down format—not for nothing is the tour called Two Hands, One Mouth—Sparks is one of the bands I feared I'd never get to see live, despite having been a fan for nearly twenty years. So when I managed to regain my shit after reading the SonicLiving email, I promptly snagged a pair of tickets. April 9.
• Jessie Ware at The Independent. She's about to blitz North America with a re-release of her debut album, and I am very excited to hear what she's like in person. April 11.
• Purity Ring at The Independent. A recent discovery, they're not my usual cup of tea, but I'm warming up to them. April 16.
• Metric at the Fox Theatre. I need not say much about Metric; their most recent album is a delightful listen. I fell in love with them thanks to Black Sheep, which features to great effect in one of my favorite films of all time, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. April 18.

Phew! All that, and still nearly two weeks left to fill. It's not just a blip, though; the next month has shows from Little Boots, Marina and the Diamonds, and the xx...

As a bonus, give a listen to Sparks' 1995 album Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, the album that made me fall in love with them. (Little did I know they'd already been around for over twenty years!) Can you guess who Russell is imagining a relationship with in "I Thought I Told You to Wait In the Car"?

Concert Reviews: Stripmall Architecture, The Ting Tings, Midi Matilda

In the past week, I've been to three shows. Now that I've had time to digest them and recover, it's time for some quick summaries.

Stripmall Architecture

Where: Rickshaw Stop
When: 22 March 2012
Nutshell: A talented local band with big ambitions delivers.

Celebrating the release of their new single "We Are Not Cool" on 7" clear vinyl, Stripmall Architecture performed their unique flavor of art-pop as the opening act for 2:54. This was my second time seeing them live, and if anything, they were even better the second time around.

Their music and style strike me as what might result from a collaboration between Björk, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and David Bowie, with a little bit of Zöe Keating thrown in for good measure. (What pop band wouldn't benefit from the presence of a cello? None that I know of.)

Their performances feature playful light structures (witness the light tree on Rebecca's microphone stand), screen projections, and of course beautiful music. Rebecca's voice is strong, and together with Ryan's production and Erica's haunting cello—and very cool costumes and makeup—their performances are not to be missed. This one was no exception.

Stripmall Architecture's website

The Ting Tings

Where: The Fillmore
When: 25 March 2012
Nutshell: A rousing, albeit brief, performance cements their status as stars.

The Ting Tings weren't really on my radar until their performance on Saturday Night Live in 2009. Since then, their White Stripes-and-then-some flavor of pop-rock has lodged itself firmly in my brain. Their sophomore album, Sounds From Nowheresville, demonstrates a variety of musical styles and moods, without straying too far from their We Started Nothing roots.

Their performance at the Fillmore proved their mettle and their talent, as both Katie and Jules bounded around the stage, jumping from instrument to instrument, and clearing having a blast. You had no way of knowing—until she mentioned it before performing their final song—that Katie was still recovering from an appendectomy just a few days prior.

Unfortunately, the fact that she was still recovering meant the show had to be short, so they wrapped things up with verve after just 65 minutes. That means some great songs had to be left out, notably "Soul Killing" from the new album. Happily, they did play "Hands" which is one of my favorite songs from the new album, though for some reason it's only on the deluxe edition.

Despite its brevity, the show was a lot of fun. They should probably credit the sound engineer as a third band member, because the show sounded flawless: both members' vocals were clear, and the bass was full and deep. Here's hoping they come back through with a longer set!

The Ting Tings' website

Midi Matilda

Where: Café du Nord
When: 27 March 2012
Nutshell: Local band hits the ground running with a great debut show.

After remarkable opening sets by BEAM and Peck the Town Crier, Midi Matilda overcame some initial audio problems and put on a fun, energetic performance of their debut EP.

They opened with the summery "Ottowa", and the outstanding "Day Dreams" represented the highlight of the night. Skyler Kilborn's vocals were flawless and clear, and both he and Logan Grimé (on drums and production) had infectious energy, even busting out some synchronized choreography to mark the occasion.

Judging by their confidence and ease of performance, you'd never know this was their first-ever live show. They're definitely going places, these guys. Check 'em out next time they're on the marquee!

Midi Matilda on Bandcamp

Upcoming Shows

Spring has historically been a busy concert time for me, and this year is shaping up to be no different. Lots of shows on the horizon over the next couple months! What's on the agenda?

• 25 March – The Ting Tings – The Fillmore
• 4 April – Sam Sparro – The Independent
• 5 April – K.Flay – The Rickshaw Stop
• 12 April – Miike Snow with Penguin Prison – The Fox Theatre
• 17 April – Foxy Shazam – The Rickshaw Stop

And I still haven't decided whether to catch Glass Candy this Friday night. Since I also bought a SHN subscription—worth it in order to gain entry to The Book of Mormon this fall!—the budget may not allow it. Other possibilities: Flight Facilities at the end of March, and another Oh Land show on 9 April.

Followup: Game of Thrones

Following up on yesterday's post about Game of Thrones, I present a performance by Paul and Storm of their new song about George R. R. Martin, in which they plead for him to finish the Song of Fire and Ice series while he's still alive.

The performance happened at w00tstock Founders' Night, presented as part of SF Sketchfest, and includes a bonus performance of their George Lucas-skewering song "Thanksgiving". (Contains adult language and nerdy humor.)

In the meantime...

I'm busy putting together my best-of-2011 post—you didn't seriously think I wasn't going to write one, did you?—but in the meantime, I have some bullet-point thoughts to offer on some new (to me, at least) artists.

People to pay attention to:

• Katy Tiz - This woman is putting forth some tightly-crafted, catchy tunes, with excellent vocals and lyrics, to boot.
• Moxiie - More catchy pop music, and she's offering her EP for download in return for a tweet. Proof that in the 21st century, publicity is worth a lot more than $4.

And in the category of "I really want to like but don't really" stands Lana Del Rey. Her video for "Born to Die" is good, as is the song, but it's just not getting me excited the way the artists mentioned above are.

Shows I'll be seeing in the near future:

• Tonight: Return to Mono, Stripmall Architecture, and TIGERcat. At the Rickshaw Stop. Tickets at the door are $10.
• January 19: Katy B and The Good Natured, at the Rickshaw Stop. Tickets are $13. I adore Katy B's debut album, and The Good Natured are growing on me.
• January 28: The Nerdist Podcast Live. I love Chris Hardwick and his cohorts (Jonah Ray and Matt Mira), so I'm looking forward to this with great anticipation. Tickets are $30 + fee = $41.50.
• January 29: w00tstock Founders' Night, at the Marines' Memorial Theatre. Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton, and Paul & Storm serve up a night of comedy and musical nerdery. And since it's right in the middle of SF Sketchfest, there's a good chance of guest appearances. Tickets are $35 + $5 fee.
• March 25: The Ting Tings, at the Fillmore. Really looking forward to hearing Sounds From Nowheresville! Tickets are $25 + LiveNation fees, so probably close to $40, and they go on sale this Sunday.