Yes, Beck is playing the Independent this Sunday, August 31. But no, you probably won't get in if your pals didn't buy you a ticket yesterday when the show was announced in an email blast. The tickets sold out in no time. -- Jennifer Maerz
In case you missed the Cool Kids performing in Golden Gate Park last weekend, you can still get the scoop on their new material. The Chicago hip-hop duo recently released a new track for free download (once you check off a bunch of stuff from Mountain Dew, which is hosting the song...the one bummer about the track) called "Delivery Man." Like much of the group's other material, the song is stripped down/no fuss old school beats and straightforward storytelling. -- Jennifer Maerz
California artist Alex Pardee is pretty busy these days. He just released a new skateboard deck graphic and is set to put out a book collecting some of his recent works, all for Upper Playground. You can get both signed at Upper Playground's SF store Sept. 7, when Pardee makes an in-store appearance from 2-4 p.m. And like all good in-stores, it's free to get in. --Oscar Pascual
When he's not reading about trees, you can pretty much guarantee that Devin the Dude is smoking them. You can enjoy his charming blend of weed and sex rhymes when he visits Slim's Oct. 29. Tickets go on sale Sun., Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. --Oscar Pascual
(Yacht Rock creator J.D. Ryznar with the Yacht Rock merch --that's fake John Oates there on the shirt)
Yacht Rock
Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008
Rickshaw Stop
Photos and words by Jennifer Maerz
San Francisco rarely turns down the chance to host a dress-up party involving booze and music. So it should have come as little surprise that the Rickshaw's Yacht Rock fest last night was filled to the gills with smooth music connoisseurs gathering to watch the Los Angeles-based internet sensation on the large screen.
Yes, we bombarded you with Outside Lands photography not too long ago. But professional photographer Tim Wagner has graciously allowed ASD to share select pieces from his festival reel, so here's more of the colorful people in attendance. --Janine Kahn
For all you New Yorker subscribers, pull the Aug. 25 issue out of the bathroom pile if you're at all interested in reading a first person view of San Francisco's experimental -- and early electronic music -- scene in the '70s. Composer John Adams has penned a piece called "Sonic Youth" that gets into his reasons for moving out West (Beat writers), meeting Allen Ginsberg, and tinkering around with unusual objects that he could turn into noisemakers. The piece is as much about Adams' musical coming of age as it is about the restrictive rules avant composers in the Bay Area imposed on themselves at the time: an interesting slice of history you rarely hear about from this region. -- Jennifer Maerz
Seattle's Blood Brothers were arsty, abrasive, and off the hook: modern punk that never settled into melody long before its two frontmen would explode into manic screaming fits and the guitars would puncture wounds in your ears. Now three of those Brothers have reformed into Past Lives, an act that's only slightly mellower (i.e. fewer insect swarm screams, more atmospheric electronic breakdowns) but still brings the intensity you'd expect from these dudes. Past Lives performs at the Hemlock on Thursday, Sept. 4 with Clipd Beaks, and you can test drive their anxious sound with this single, Strange Symmetry, part of Past Live's new EP on Suicide Squeeze. -- Jennifer Maerz
No need to worry about stealing a swing vote from Barack Obama if you buy Murs' upcoming album, Murs for President. Matter of fact, if you heard the latest Murs and 9th Wonder album available for free download, the L.A. emcee says he hopes that the world falls in love with the presidential hopeful. Enjoy a night of politics and west coast rhymes at the Independent Oct. 7. Tickets are available now. --Oscar Pascual
M83's epic electronic tunes have made lots of stuff that much more poetic and erudite -- Pontiac cars, movie trailers, and even skateboards and explosions in Spike Jonze's latest skate film, Fully Flared (check out the majestic intro above). Make your evening meaningful when M83 play the Fillmore Nov. 28. Tickets go on sale Sun., Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. --Oscar Pascual
If you love Bay Area graffiti, Juxtapoz just gave word that local artist DIET One will be showing some work this weekend in the Haight. Visit Stussy SF this Fri., Aug. 29 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. to see what bomb pieces await. In the meantime, you can watch footage of DIET doing what he does best. --Oscar Pascual
If the Mountain Goats followed the trend of bands playing their best albums in their entirety, which one of their umpteen offerings would they go with? To save the trouble of choosing, they'll probably play a good variety from their prolific song catalog at their recently announced tour dates in SF. Check out John Darnielle and gang at the Independent Oct. 23, followed by a night at the Fillmore Oct. 24. Ticket info soon to come. --Oscar Pascual
It's 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and there's a line outside the doors of swank Vietnamese restaurant Ana Mandara. Tonight's show, the fall collection of Marciano, GUESS Clothing's runway-inspired high end fashion brand, was put together by upscale event producer Donovan. Oh, and who is here? Well, let's just say if Gossip Girl's Blair lived in San Francisco, these people would be her clique. Whoever says San Francisco isn't fashionable hasn't been hanging out with the right crowd.
On the runway, there was a little splash of grape and raspberry, with a whole lot of black. Dresses hiked above the knees still give a little mystery to the imagination, but the fits were not particularly alluring. The collection was composed of nothing terribly striking; mostly your everyday wear with a hint of lingerie over the top of patterned designs for a night on the prowl. Meow.
Click the photo for a full fashion slideshow.--Otto Chan
Scott Belcastro "Link VS. Gannon"
This week's article is filled with artists named Scott, and the first one showcased his work at the recent "I am 8 Bit" show. A Paper Tiger will be the exclusive spot to get prints from this show, and as of now they have two ready to go. The first one is my favorite from said show, probably because I am a huge Legend of Zelda geek. I love how the Belcastro played up the importance of Gannon. You invest so many hours playing the game; the last challenge had to be a monster right? This print is 12" x 12" signed and numbered ,in an edition of only 50. Get It Here
Summertime music festivals used to be a safe time to wear ridiculous clothing, but not anymore. Back in the day, you didn't have to worry about seeing someone from Coachella or Bumbershoot ever again, and your embarrassing visage lasted only through the weekend. Now with the advent of live blogging, we have the technology to capture your goofy style and blast it throughout the information superhighway in a timely manner. Check out our slideshow where we've brought back the most outside fashions from Outside Lands, and prepare to cringe repeatedly. --Oscar Pascual
