Phantom Kicks started the night off right, getting more people to dance before 10pm than I’m used to seeing. The three-piece (two guitars, a drummer, plus laptop) delivered uptempo catchy electro pop with a heavy emphasis on the guitar. In a way they reminded me of watching Minus the Bear, where all the other parts of the songs seem to somehow serve the guitar so you find yourself staring at it most of the time. Their songs acted as an appropriate accompaniment to the almost end of summer night.
San Francisco’s Spiro Agnew took the stage next donning two laptops, guitar, and an extra keyboard for good measure. The electro drums laid down the beat for the three members to perform over, culminating in some noisy cross section between Depeche Mode, Joy Division, and New Order. They were celebrating the release of a new CD, Oh What Model Citizens We Be on Tough Sluts Records.
And with that The Dont’s (the only band to not have a laptop) took to the stage and played some energetic indie rock. Lead by a charismatic, lab coat wearing lead singer the band (also in costume) were straight up good. The Dont’s were maybe the odd band out that night, having little electronic influence to speak of, but they had no problem getting the crowd on their side and tore through a good 40 minutes of music that left those of us in front sweating.
The final band to take the stage was San Francisco’s own My First Earthquake, a four piece band that resides somewhere in the land of more 90s sounding indie rock with a happy take on dance punk. It was clear that this was the band some people had come to see, audience members could be seen/heard singing along to the songs. Frontwoman Rebecca Bortman brought enough energy for the whole band and commanded the audience’s attention save for moments such as the guitarist smacking the strings of his guitar with a drum stick. It only took a song or two, but pretty soon My First Earthquake had the Rickshaw Stop dancing (or at least enthusiastically stomping its feet) to their tales of band breakups, walking around San Francisco, and the likes.
Fun was had by all, the Rickshaw was rocked and rolled and electroed, and another great night of Bay Area music was enjoyed by some of its finest residents.
-Glenn Jackson; photos by Adam Myatt.