You know, contrary to popular belief, I am not a raging alcoholic. I was flipping through some of the clips I've done in the past few months and I realize I talk a lot about being drunk. I told Charlie this morning, "In my article [today], I admitted to being so wasted and stuffing a candle in my bra," to which I quickly added, "Not lit, thankfully."
Normal people don't do this. And I swear, on all accounts, I am actually fairly normal. Do I want it to be my "thing" to go to shows and get drunk and write about them? Who knows. I know people will contend their own opinion about me, my habits, and my lifestyle, but for the sake of education, here are some facts about me:
- I work a full-time, non-music related job during the week that requires me to function fairly highly. Most of these drunk stories happen during the weekend because I still hold some shred of responsibility to the clients I serve. Plus, I am actually still in school and like to do well in classes, too. And while I hope someday I will find a niche in the music industry to work in, right now I am indeed a working stiff and know that my job is the one that pays the bills - not these reviews (unless you're offering to...).
- I love music, and I love bars, and often music venues have said bars in them. And while I do very much enjoy beer and seeing live music, I know my limit. However, sometimes you just want to have the "Fuck it, I am getting hammered" mentality, and I don't think that's bad unless it's out of control. Drinking is an expensive habit.
- I don't have an average of how many times of which I go out to shows; sometimes it's once a week, sometimes it's none, sometimes it's four nights in a row of being out. But I also know I don't have to drink at every concert I'm at, especially if I have to go to work the next day - I work 8 AM Monday through Friday. And, actually, I have turned down a show because I felt like staying in - it's in the small minority, but I've done it. Sometimes I just want to sit in my underwear and play Guitar Hero (shocking, I know).
- The bottom line is this: I love going out, and it's a balance I am more than willing to try and master. And, suffice to say, alcohol fuels a lot of these stories because that's just what it does. Maybe my drinking level is higher than most, but hey - it's an entertaining read. Sometimes, the sober stories can't hold a candle to these booze-filled adventures.
I hold the candle in my bra. CANDLEINMYBRA!
Anyway, I don't really consider this as a defense moreso my reasoning. I think I am marginally funny in what I write, and that at the end you like reading about my drunken escapades, yeah? That whole living-vicariously-through-someone shit can be exhilirating...
That being said, here's today's booze story. Enjoy!
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Live - Does It Offend You, Yeah? + The Heavy | SF
The daytime found me switching apartments: after
schlepping my gigantic book and record collections up two flights of
stairs and eating some delicious Taco Bell fiesta potatoes, I was ready
to dance my tail off after moving for the majority of the day. I didn't
even shower and headed straight to Slim's to see Does It Offend You,
Yeah? after moving the last of my boxes.
Unfortunately for me, the band was in their last three songs. The sheer lunacy I was witnessing being behind a mosh pit and watching Morgan Quaintance screech out "With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You)" made me wish I had gotten up just an hour extra to begin moving: the throaty vocals and dirty bass line caused a huge raucous, while Horrors-inspired "Attack Of The 60 Ft. Lesbian Octopus" found everyone around me spazzing out. But it was closer "We Are Rockstars" I found myself in trouble: Quaintance pointed to a sign above the backstage door that said "No stage diving" and declared loudly "Fuck that sign!" before launching into "Rockstar." And while I admit the lyrics are a little on the simple side ("Where's your real friends now?/You have let them down/You're a download pal"), that yelp of a "Yeah!" at the end triggered the biggest explosion of dance in my pants I have not seen in a long time. Live, the band is even more smutty and seductive in their electronic arrangement, serving up hot jams on a knob-twiddling platter full of deep bass lines, sexy synth, and incredible rhythm. I'm pretty sure those 20 minutes were probably the best ones of my month.
After catching my breath, I ran home to take a proper shower; after all, I was due to be in the company of some Playboy bunnies. The magazine was sponsoring an event called Rock The Rabbit at Mezzanine, a new fusion partnership of music and boobs, as far as I could tell. When we stepped inside, I was assaulted by the bunny logo at every turn; candles, projection cutouts, postcards, T-shirts. Enlargements of past, various Playboy editions graced the walls, but to be honest, I was surprised not more nudity was around. I spotted two women in the iconic get-up of the corset and bunny ears, and wondered how much they had been hassled by the very drunk crowd to get them to "take it off."
But the spotlight was on U.K. outfit The Heavy, who was playing the event and who I am convinced are the soulful brothers of The Black Keys, complete with bluesy guitars, bass arrangements and a singer equipped with a voice to make the ladies do anything with him. It's a nervy band who aren't afraid to embrace funk and rock, soul and a tinge of R&B, for a bold statement in how to engage in some merrymaking and debauchery in the classiest way possible. Tracks like "That Kind Of Man" and "Coleen" find trumpets punctuating the dance party, announcing its presence in indie royalty, while "Girl" has this killer bass hook reminiscent to The Doors "Hello, I Love You." I started out with tapping my toes and slinking a drink back in my right hand, and by the end of The Heavy's set, I was double-fisting whiskey and ginger ales, had put my dancing shoes on, and was hugging and kissing everyone I knew in my general vicinity.
What the fuck, The Heavy? How did you get a hold on me?
Needless to say, we danced the rest of the night away, but not before I decided it was a fantastic idea to stuff some Playboy swag away for later. In my dress. I awoke the next morning with a candle in my bra and a headache in my skull to the highest extend. Fritos and bean dip cured my hangover before I faced the responsibility of Sunday, and before the memory of last night faded into epicness.
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
The Heavy
By JENZ
May 07, 2008 in
NEWS
These guys are so rad, I only wish the best for them. The offical 'photo essay' pictures are in the article that ran this morning, but I am sort of in love with the outtakes more...
You can see more at my Flickr for both the publication and behind-the-scenes shots.
Maybe Oakland is for the Morning Benders now instead...oh shit...
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Interview - Two Days With The Morning Benders
Words and Photos by JENZ
"We've been walking to El Farrolito..."
Chicken quesadillas and more were the topics on hand when I visited Chu, guitarist Joe Ferrell, and drummer Julian Harmon at Mission studio Different Fur where the band recorded debut full-length Talking Through Tin Cans (bass guy Tim Or was off celebrating his birthday). It was a Wednesday full of sluggish warmth and some unusual late-day sunshine for San Francisco, and the guys were also feeling it too. Sitting in the studio with the band, I got the impression that maybe they were more nervous of me than I was of them. My questions were met with polite answers and smiles, a slight bashfulness accompanying a simply worded response.
J: So tell me a little about how you guys met.
Harmon: Berkeley.
Ferrell: Hanging out on the streets.
Our interview came at a cusp in the Benders already impressive resume, which I think excuses the reservations: fresh off tours opening for The Kooks, White Rabbits, and Yo La Tengo, picking up momentum in the radio circuit in San Francisco, and having just freshly returned from jaunts at this year's SXSW and Noise Pop festivals. Now, the Berkeley four-piece was gearing up to support Tin Cans, set to join the Kooks in May in a supporting slot on a national tour. Not bad for the East Bay outfit who started off by playing tiny house parties in Oakland.
Tin Cans is a very sunny album, much like the day of the interview. And while influences that string from the '60s pop and indie acoustics is evident, the maturity and growth the Benders possess on tracks like silent power "Heavy Heart" show the band has a staying energy. "Patient Patient" carries a melodic beat with Chu's lyric "I'm just another book on your shelf" adding to the love forlorn and longing sugar. "Chasing A Ghost" showcases a darker sooth of guitar and skin pounding that extends the pop element genius, and "Waiting For A War" is a standout as well, "I'm calling out your name, I've been here before" overlayed on keys and harmonious vocals for a happy-go-lucky, feel-good-vibe, all-the-way-around good time.
The following week the boys and I trek out to Dolores Park for the photo shoot; initially, I'm unsure how to broach that I want them to jump and sing and dance and monkey around on the playground we're at. But I realize that's exactly why I like the record, because it makes me want to do things like that. "The album makes me want to smile a lot and have fun," I said before we began shooting. "That's exactly why I brought you here." And it was so evident while they were jumping for metal hoops that this is something they have worked towards for a long time. And I think it's paying off.
FIVE AND A HALF QUESTIONS WITH THE MORNING BENDERS
J: What did you guys do before this?
Harmon: I worked at a skateshop.
Ferrell: Magazine.
Chu: I was a nanny.
J: Oh man. Like a manny? Male nanny?
Chu: Yes! For two kids. Then I worked in the studio here.
J: What did you listen to while you made the record?
Harmon: E-40.
Ferrell: (looks around) We drove around in the same car...
Chu: The Beatles, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones. Mostly bands from that era.
J: So if you had your chance, who would be your dream duet?
Harmon: Bowie would be cool...(sports a huge grin) Maybe Bruce Willis.
J: Wait - Bruce Willis?
Ferrell: Oh man, yes. Me, Scarlett Johansson.
Chu: Choco Taco, for sure. (laughs from group) Maybe Phil Spector, David Byrne. Actually, you know, I'd love to work with Keanu.
J: You mean, Keanu Reeves? (imitating slurring voice) From Dogstar? Seriously?
Chu: Yeah dude. That would be so awesome.
The Morning Benders
MySpace
May 06, 2008 in FEATURES
It's kind of tragic. Let's begin.
I was first introduced into the cluster fuck of Eric Frederic/Ricky Reed during this year's Noise Pop - Becca and I got sassed by the whole get-up: 90s shades, faux fur coat, fake gold chain, fedora, satin gloves, velvet cloth over chairs. And once he did a cover of Bel Biv Devoe's "Poison," let me tell you, it was all over. I was instantly in love. I wrote a bit about how this used to be my main jam growing up. I actually was listening to some of these mixtapes last night: Blackstreet, New Edition, Keith Sweat. I have such great memories of growing up on this music, since the popular radio stations in my hometown played a lot of New Jack swing (which I just found out was a term!) and R&B/hip-hop/rap-infused tracks.
After Noise Pop, I got borderline obsessive and began to try and catch as many shows as I could; Danielle and I got absolutely hammered and booty-shook the night away when he played Blow Up in March, drinking God knows how much during the set, getting our pictures snapped that ended up on MySpace, and ending the night in an epic cab episode. Then I trekked out to Oakland in April to catch him at the Stork Club with Jerry, where we danced at the front nearly on the stage with the man himself and then played drunk pool until I had to catch BART back into the city, wherein we got Taco Bell and I peed on a bank. wallpaper. gets me into trouble, for sure.
So I've been doing a little bit of comparative analysis in preparation for the wallpaper. show on Thursday (ahem, coughanalysisyeahrightmorelikeswooningcough), which is a record release party for their T-Rex EP. I've noticed as I've been YouTubing wallpaper. videos that there is a great distinction in Eric's showsmanship over the past year:
Video #1: look at his babyface. It seems like he's like a little kid performing, really having fun with the persona, and very relaxed. In video #2, which is only six months later, it's like he's actually now owning the character. Maybe it's the acquisition of the beard scruff, who knows, but man. That air of maturity, swank, confidence, "Yes I know I'm a badass motherfucker" attitude eminating from that seriously amazing blazer? Sex is just oozing out of him. The times I've seen him he's been the person in video #2, and let me tell you, it is pure hotness.
And believe you me also, I have no fucking idea if this thing he's created is "for real" or serious or an homage or a side project for laughs. Wendy and I were talking about why I love this guy so much; I think he not only encompasses what I miss/liked about my childhood, but it also putting a new spin on what I loved so much about that era in music. It also really doesn't hurt he's supremely attractive. Anyway, I am so stoked to see him on Thursday and hopefully get a better picture than this one from February.
Sexy times for sure! I mean, how can you not love this catchy gem, with a video featuring a cameo by your favorite funky dinosaur? "Now let's wait for this alcohol to settle into my veiny vein veins..."
I didn't include this in my review, but I gotta say - Sons & Daughters I think is the hottest band I have ever seen, no joke. All of them look like they stepped out of the pages of the Ford Modeling Agency ready to rock some linen ads, or something. It's really no fair how attractive they are. Plus, the bass player (first one on the left in the picture) was pregnant and still rocking the strings. Insane.
Original clippy here!
I'm getting back the proofs from a shoot I did last week - it's gonna be for a feature on this cool Oakland band who I think is gonna be following the Scissors For Lefty popularity train in feel-good, poptastic music. I'm really hoping four of the frames came out from the three rolls I shot. It's gonna be a big package tomorrow for the Trip, wish me luck that everything comes through!
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Live - Sons & Daughters @ Great American Music Hall | SF
Bethel is indeed an anomaly in her own right. At times her voice was
both harmonious and soulful, delivering a sweet croon over flawless
rhythms, served up by timekeeper drummer David Gow. Other times she was
channeling her inner banshee-meets-opera singer vocals, a perfect blend
of pitch and screaming, spirit and grit. And paired with the talents of
the rest of the band - Ailidh Lennon on slinky bass line duties and
Scott Patterson on ripped, dirty guitar and co-vocals - I was
completely taken aback as to why the show had not sold out.
"I'd just like to thank you for coming back out tonight," said Patterson halfway through their set at the Great American Music Hall. "We haven't been back to San Francisco in two years, we were afraid that people wouldn't come out at all."
Ah ha.
I think, though, with a little bit more exposure, more sold-out concerts will be in the band's future. As much as I want to contain the four-piece as my own little secret, I'd much rather spread the fast, furious, and oh-so-delicious love of these guys because I'm a giving person like that. I can't keep songs like "Darling" to myself, which showcased a pop element beat with a catchy guitar riff and Bethel's sweet singing backed up by a low croon interspliced from Patterson. And there is no way in hell I can keep tracks like "Rama Lama" and "Gift Complex" from anyone, the former finding Patterson more upfront and center with a baritone of a sex voice and Bethel sharply shrieking on perfect 1-2-3 over Lennon's Western-inspired bass. The latter ensnared Bethel in a tangle of fast rhymes and melodious hums to produce a beautiful and ridged combination. I was breathless at the end of the show just watching them play.
Indie, folk, rock, acoustic, country, soul, I don't care what label you give Sons and Daughters, so long as you give them a spin. Be prepared for greatness.
By JENZ
May 05, 2008 in
NEWS
I am so super glad I got to see them at Noise Pop last year, though it was also I think the worst interview I have ever conducted (I'm not even going to link it, it's that bad) - a full-length is due sometime this year, so I'm stoked!
The only bummer is that they're playing at Cafe du Nord the same day that BFD is...sadness.
Original clip here!
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Annuals/Sunfold
Wet Zoo (Canvasback Music)
Release Date: 04.01.08
The five song disc is exactly where the band sounds' should be like right now in between records: experimental in transitioning into a new phase, testing out some material, and different. Wet Zoo is exciting in the fact it shows what their full length's power will be.
Opener "Sore" encompasses all the things that made the North Carolina band so great: lead vocalists Kenny Florence and Adam Baker belting out dreamy and sharp belly tones, quiet buildup of strings into a burst of energy mid-song for a dynamic change in tempo. "Around Your Neck" carries a great folk tempo. "Just Stay In" is the most successful and strongest on the EP, incorporating an almost Bjork-like luminous arrangement of strings and soft blips, pacing along quietly and steadily for such a beautiful, romantic feel it's hard not to want to cuddle next to someone. The vocals are earnest and genuine, the slow strums on the acoustic guitar just right, and the cadence slow enough for infinite dreams to follow.
"Watering Pail," one of two songs belonging to Sunfold on the EP, opens with a great indie rock hook to lead into a fantastic drum line, and still incorporates the build-up factor Annuals have been able to perfect. The band has great things in store for them; see 'em now before widespread fame takes them away.
But I totally have a New Kids On The Block sleeping bag, similair to this picture below. Imagine the background bright pink and the guys in mega contrast black:
Yeah. I'm never selling this shit on eBay.
Thus, this news of a reunion of the originators of said boy band infamy makes me a pretty happy girl. I came in at the very tail end of the craze (I was still relatively young, around 4 or 5), but I have such fond memories of listening to NKTOB when I was elementary school and just dancing around, and summers when my brother and I used to hang out at my mom's old work breakroom. I made her listen to "Please Don't Go Girl" in the car on the way home all the time. I also still have the "Hangin' Tough" video on VHS cassette tape with all their greatest hits, and my mom and I used to perform the "Right Stuff" rountine at the house I grew up in:
In fun news, today is Willie Nelson's 76th birthday.
Best picture ever. Look at those headlines!! Today is happiness.
Oh, friends...how I love you for letting me participate in illegal activities...
Original clip here! Yay!
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Live - Cut Copy @ Mezzanine | SF
But before my acquaintance with being nice to Mother Earth and MJ, I
was first introduced to Aussie trio Cut Copy, fresh off a Coachella run
the night before. "Oh, fuck Coachella," said front man Dan Whitford
much to the delight of the Mezzanine crowd, who supported this
statement with whoops and hollers of appreciation. "This is where the
party's at, yeah?"
I don't know what the Tasman Sea and the Indian Ocean have in them, but Melbourne's Cut Copy is obviously reaping the benefits of coming from coastal Australia. Their set, largely based off new record In Ghost Colours, amped, pumped, and tangoed with the crowd for its entire duration. It's a very likable, dance pop record full of Whitman's soothing and bright vocals, and smart, well-placed synth for maximal dance time. The band talk a lot about dancing with girls and hearts and being someone's baby, and I'm all for that. Single "Lights & Music" is downright one of the catchiest songs of the year, starting out with this beautiful effervescent beat before launching into a bass whirl of time and a New Order-infused keys, and this is all live. The rhythm section seems to be the strongest in the band, as also evidenced on "Out There On The Ice" and "Hearts On Fire," the band continuing to break out the hits one after the other. They have the ability to nail this winning composition of a slight build-up from their already-catchy formula, providing a steady pulse for the crowd to dance to. We were standing in the back, and all the heads in front of me were bobbing in time; it was so incredible to see a band receive such warmth from the audience after not being in San Francisco for the past two years (they promptly apologized for this fact at the beginning of their set).
Needless to say, I wasn't surprised to see the crowd thin out after Cut Copy, so I took advantage of advancing my way up to the front with a different set of friends I happened to bump into in the smoking area. As Simian Mobile Disco took stage, I was surprised to discover that there's only two of them in the band; one took a stance behind what looked like a giant, square 4'x'4' computer tower, complete with multiple outputs and inputs and wires for days. The other guy I think took a place behind a laptop, but I was slightly too busy getting my drink and illegal activity on to confirm. I found myself in the middle of a dance pit, and I happily obliged to indulge in the romp. Simian Mobile Disco has a dirtier, heavier, more furious feel to their electronics, more something I'd find at an underground house party or night club: slinkier, immediate, and definitely grind-worthy. I was slightly bummed that there are no live vocals for their anthems, but it didn't stop be from spazzing to "Hustler" or "It's The Beat."
Outside I heard praises of both bands from audience members on their way out; I got my little slice of Coachella this night, sweat, booze, pot smoke, and dancing in all. Once home, I crawled my inebriated ass to bed, munching on leftover Chinese food and knowing I was going to pay in the morning for my shenanigans, but hey - it's all in the life of a music reviewer; I suppose.
By JENZ
Apr 28, 2008 in
NEWS
I just heard a Grandaddy song being used in a Dodge commercial.
I am both saddened and excited. I miss that band.
Really pretty, really weird. Original clip is here!
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Destroyer
Trouble In Dreams (Merge)
Release Date: 03.18.08
But the peculiarity of Trouble In Dreams
continued on even when I listened to the full-length sober, the unusual
feel of the record actually being its selling point and trademark. Dreams
is a very surreal, poignant, and artfully-crafted album, carrying a
weight of odd nostalgia and serenity to it, often times delivering a
warmth I've seen on few records.
Opening track "Blue Flower/Blue Frame" brings a sweet tinge as the official start of the record, soft acoustic guitar dancing around the light plucks of a piano with sharper strums infused at breaking points. The pace picks up on "Dark Leaves Form A Thread," the drum line taking the front-and-center spotlight in keeping cadence and flow.
Bejar's style, most often compared to Pavement, Guided by Voices, and David Bowie's early collection, also teeters on Bob Dylan's storytelling vices and if Devendra Banhart was cast in Velvet Goldmine. "Shooting Rockets (From The Desk Of Night's Ape)" presents a shoegazed whirl of angsty reverb, Bejar's voice encompassing that slow drawl of a scratchy throat that made his contemporaries famous. "Plaza Trinidad" finds a musical-feel, piano-bar track busting at the seams of cheeky words and grandiose arrangements. Sometimes I feel like I know where this album is going, and then all of a sudden Bejar sits my ass down and goes "No way, lady friend. Listen to this," and I am overcome with such a fuckery of anomalous noise, it makes me stop and wonder in sheer delight. Needless to say, this album is awesome to listen to both intoxicated and clear-minded. If you're in the mood for innate narratives and a distinct voice, Destroyer is where it's at.
MP3 Download - "Foam Hands"
Five words: swoon, swoon, and more swoon. Original article here.
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Live - Calvin Harris @ Popscene | SF
But, his debut San Francisco show last night at Popscene left me
wanting a little more. Admittedly, this concert was a huge reputation
to live up to: we were the first stop on a three
date North American tour for the rest of 2008, the other two being at
Coachella this weekend and in NYC next week. The poor Scot looks simply
dumbfounded when he walked on stage, as if not anticipating there to be
actual people at his gig. Harris quickly recovered and waved and
grinned to the crowd, taking his place behind the lead mic adorned in a
silver gray blazer and maroon tee.
It wasn't until "Colours" midway through his set that Harris began to helm the show and commandeer attention on himself. The synthesizer came hot on a dance platter, the bass in on a sexy sashay; his sound, arrangements and all, are one of the most crystal clear ones I can remember in my history at Popscene. I was utterly impressed by the quality and tightness Harris and co were producing in front of me; I Created Disco is a very carefully designed album of maximum layers, and replicating the sheer monster of it with specific blips and all wasn't the issue. I knew I was dancing my ass off and thankful for the giant indoor fan positioned above my head. Backed by a full band, I think the disconnect began to occur when Harris realized he didn't really have to do anything but sing. At times he simply seemed curious to see what else he could do, peering at the faces below him, or asking the crowd to do open - and closed - first pumps to his songs. "Acceptable In The 80s" was an impeccable display of precision in nailing the arrangement, but something was off. It wasn't that he was bored, or careless in his performance at all; if anything, he is one of the most likable characters I've seen. He just seemed to be a tad shy on stage and didn't demand the stage presence that he is obviously capable of.
Harris seemed to shake off this posture at "Colours." The Nintendo-throwback of "Neon Rocks" saw him open up and sway a little, and the wonderfully synth-delicious "Vegas" saw him in full bloom: spitting out his lines in perfect rhyme, and looking like he was actually enjoying his time on stage. He was finally able to catch up to the faultlessness of his music, which had already done all the talking for him up to this point. Thus, closer "The Girls" was a riot of people's hands and drinks entangled in one another and Harris substituting one of the descriptors in the lines for "I like San Francisco girls" merited the only response suited for the occasion: lots of screaming. We like you too, Calvin. We hope to see you again. Just promise us that you won't be too bashful next time, okay? We only bite when we give hickeys.
By JENZ
Apr 25, 2008 in
NEWS
