Sunday, July 19th, 2009
Lake Tahoe is in the Bay Area right? Sure it is…I don’t know I’ve only lived here for a year. It’s relivent enough to mention though. Wanderlust Festival is this weekend (July 24-26th) up in Lake Tahoe. The line-up includes Andrew Bird, Broken Social Scene, Spoon, Rogue Wave, Mates of State, Girl Talk, Kaki King, Gillian Welch, Jenny Lewis, Michael Franti & Spearhead (eww), Amanda Palmer, Spearhead, Jai Uttal, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Mutaytor, The Honey Brothers, and The London Souls. The pictures of people doing Yoga are kind of freaking me out, but it looks fun nonetheless. Anywho, here’s this week’s schedule…
Today has veteran shoegaze act Trespassers William and Robert Gomez with The Theatre Fire at the Hemlock Tavern, sfSoundSeries presents avant-garde masters Milton Babbitt, Alvin Lucier, Olga Neuwirth, Matt Ingalls, and Hans Thomalla at the ODC Theater, and the mighty Judgement Day, TRICLOPS! and The Definite Articles rock out at the Bottom of the Hill.
Monday features Blue Öyster Cult at Slim’s and hip hop acts Awol One, Factor, and Ceschi at the Element Lounge.
Tuesday will be pretty packed with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Girls, and The Champagne Socialists performing the Rickshaw Stop, electro-act Casiotone for the Painfully Alone will be at the Bottom of the Hill, and the ever-so amazing hip hop group Doomtree featuring Sims, Cecil Otter, Paper Tiger, Dessa, Mike Mictlan & Lazerbeak, Mike Mictlan and Lazerbeak will be playing the Elbo Room.
Wednesday has synth-pop sweetie La Roux with io echo at Café du Nord, the Fake Problems show at the Bottom of the Hill is canceled, and experimental pop group Micachu & The Shapes keep it real at the Rickshaw Stop.
Thursday, The Weakerthans play The Great American Music Hall, hip-hop legends De La Soul hit up The Fillmore, and singer-songwriter iaWillm Fitzsimmons soothes The Independent.
Friday has of Montreal and Jon Brion at the Fox Theater in Oakland and reggae acts The Lions, Bedouin Soundclash and Rootbeer featuring Pigeon John hits up Slim’s.
Saturday has the reunited No Doubt, Paramore, and The Sounds at the Shoreline Amphitheatre and local indie pop act maus haus plays with Rainbow Arabia at the Bottom of the Hill.
I’ll be at ComicCon a majority of this week, but those are your recommendations for this week. Have fun!
Olga Neuwirth – 
Lost Highway
Trespassers William – Sparrow
Ceschi – Frank Purpose
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan
SIMS – Muziektes
Paper Tiger – 1995
De La Soul – Big Mouf (Clean)
The Lions – Salam Hadji
Tags: Alvin Lucier, Amanda Palmer, andrew bird, Awol One, Bedouin Soundclash, broken social scene, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Cecil Otter, Ceschi, De La Soul, Dessa, Factor, Gillian Welch, girl talk, Girls, Jai Uttal, Jenny Lewis, Judgement Day, Kaki King, mates of state, Matt Ingalls, Michael Franti & Spearhead (eww), Mike Mictlan, Mike Mictlan & Lazerbeak, Milton Babbitt, No Doubt, Olga Neuwirth, Paper Tiger, Paramore, Rogue Wave, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, SIMS, Spearhead, spoon, The Honey Brothers, The Lions, The London Souls, The Mutaytor, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Triclops!, Wanderlust Festival
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
I must admit, I very surprised with the Brooklyn based rock band Akudama. After one listen, you can notice some deceptively catchy tunes, adding glimpses of ambient guitar, out of body background vocals, an understated pulse and a wisp of strings while still sounding muscular and confident. Despite drawing obvious influence from Doves and Broken Social Scene, the band maintains an identity and creates music that is alternately melancholy and uplifting, sparkling darkly with charged atmospherics.
The band recently released a free EP entitled Firefly, which is available to download here. Akudama will also be supported by an extensive National summer tour and plan to deliver a full-length record to the world in the fall. Be on the look out…
Calvin Pia, guitarist/producer of Akudama was nice enough to answer this week’s Kuestionnaire.
1. Of all the bands/artists in your CD/record collection, which one is your most cherished?
Freaking hard question. Offhand, I’ve probably gotten the most mileage out of Wilco. They fit almost every mood… and Tweedy’s lyrics are hauntingly beautiful and relatable. But you probably already knew that..
2. What have you been listening to lately?
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion, Neko Case – Middle Cyclone, Akron/Family – Set ‘em Wild, Set ‘em Free
3. What’s your favorite local band?
The London Souls (NYC)
4. What was the last show you attended?
The London Souls @ Bowery Poetry Club, NYC
5. What was the greatest show you’ve ever been to?
Andrew Bird @ Hiro Ballroom, NYC.. OR Dillinger Escape Plan @ Toad’s Place
6. What show are you looking forward to?
Akron/Family @ Union Pool, Brooklyn
7. What musician would you like to hang out/work with for a day?
Avey Tare (Animal Collective)
8. What four albums you would bring to a deserted island?
Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise
Animal Collective – Merriweather
Boards of Canada – Music Has The Right To People Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
9. Would you call yourself a music geek?
Yes maam
10. Any favorite music-related videos/DVDs you own?
Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense
11. What’s the last book you read?
Jitterbug Perfume [Tom Robbins]
12. Do you prefer live performances or recording in the studio?
While recording is a slower, more painstaking process, I get more enjoyment out of it. I love hearing a song grow from it’s infancy to a final product. I’m sure that if/when I have roadies to help with the load-in process, I’ll have to rethink this one.
13. Any embarrassing moments on stage you’d like to share?
I was in a hardcore band in high school called Side Project. At one particular show at a local coffeehouse, my brother (bass player at the time) started flailing his bass at the last breakdown of the first song. His bass smacked him just above his right eye, resulting in a near-concussion and a rush to the hospital. The band after us had to play for 2 hours. It was not really as embarrassing as it was awesome.
14. Any favorite tour locations?
We love playing Bloomington, IN. The kids there all have a healthy obsession with live music, to the point where kids flock by the hundred to basement shows to see their favorite local and out-of-town acts. The best place to play is the Statehouse. It’s just a house, but it hold some of the best shows you’ll see.
15. Lastly, what have you done today?
I’ve been on a blog-exploration, stumbling upon new music and realizing how large the world is. It’s nice to know that there are people out there who love music as much as I do.
Akudama – Fireflies
The London Souls – What You Need
Tags: Akudama, kuestionnaire, The London Souls
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