THE DELI

The Deli SF has received a transmission from the San Francisco band Railcars. Transmission can be seen below:

railcars has a show @ thee parkside, which is a super rare ALL AGES show @ thee parkside (that hardly ever happens there.) and its on nov 19th. its @ the end of our 8 week US tour.

this will be railcars, ONLY show in san francisco for all of 2009 AND 2010.

::end of transmission::

You heard it here folks, an all ages show and the last one the band will be doing in SF until 2011.Samuelroy, Pregnant and Felt Drawings also play. 6 bucks. Consider your calenders informed.

-Nicole

Permalink

This Saturday, November 21st at El Rio The Deli SF is proud to sponsor SFxSD!

SFxSD was created to put a spotlight on the indie bands from San Francisco and San Diego that are constantly touring to each others cities. The 2nd annual SFxSD features some of the top bands from both cities playing together all day long at a festival with an outdoor and indoor stage, free BBQ, drink specials, live silkscreening (Studio Nico) with BYOS (bring your own shirt) grab bag give-aways and tons of good music. The lineup features Music For Animals (SF) Transfer (SD) Lilofee (SF)Butterfly Bones (SF) Long Live Logos (SD) Lucky Jesus (SF) and DJ X Boyfriend – Presented by SF Pubcrawl and sponsored by the Deli SF, Littlebook, SF Intercom, Studio Nico, San Franpsycho and Kung Fu Tacos.

See you there!

-Nicole

If schizophrenia had a sound it might well be said that 60-Watt Kid’s We Came From the Bright Sidecomes close to capturing it. Perhaps that is too loaded of a term, but listening to the album as it wanders through a soundscape with no clear referents to time and space, ebbing and flowing in erratic changes, the cavernous sound definitely culls a certain sense of madness. This can be a dangerous attribute for music but 60-Watt Kid implores this dissonance very effectively throughout this album.

Music such as this conjures up distinct similarities to the sonic experimentations of bands such as Animal Collective (a band I personally take issue with). Experimentation in this vein can be a precarious place for musicians to stand. On the one hand there is the experimentation that is far to readily granted a band (such as Animal Collective) that ventures into the territory of weird for the sake of being weird; the function being a means to garner credential in a community that desires to define itself as an opposition to a mainstream sound, forsaking musical communication for a chance to be an avant-garde that in reality generates nothing newer than a desire to be an unqualifiable outsider. In the other there is a genuine use of complexity that doesn’t revel in it’s own quirkiness but actually pushes the boundaries of sound while still being able to reach a listener using something of the conventional. The tension between these two really begs the question of how as musicians can we strive towards the avant-garde without the pretension of forsaking association with the audience for the ideologically pure weird?

We Came From the Bright Side sits in a comfortable balance in this spectrum. It embodies it’s own complexity but still holds on to a sense of melody and convention. Divorcing itself certainly from one convention, 60-Watt Kid’s music is mostly not centered around the lyrics. The narrative of the music is conveyed primarily through the feeling and tenor, with the lyrics taking more of a secondary role as yet another instrument and sound. With that in mind it seems more appropriate to discuss and understand We Came From the Bright Side through it’s movements. Opening with “2012,” the album launches itself into its ethereal tonality and lays out what is perhaps one of the likely recurrent themes of the album: the warmth of connection amidst the cold repetitive of the sound of technology… well maybe.

The album continues from here ascending in a scattered meteoric rise into it’s eerie outsider sound with the title track “We Came From the Bright Side.” The driving guitar line and explosive bursts of electronic accents lurch the listener upward and onward on this chaotic voyage.

Following the somewhat glorious sounding ascension, the album takes a disturbing turn into tension with the aptly title track “Pressure.” Whatever levity the beginning of the journey may have had becomes tainted with a tangible amount of awkwardness and the weight of the album’s own madness becomes disconcerting. There is some tenderness in this discomfort but a certain menace lingers about the middle of the album, breaking for it’s inevitable crash with the equally appropriately named “2012 Breakdown.” The frenzied journey comes crashing down like a space ship rapidly descending from orbit, and we are left stranded somewhere tranquil, far from the lunacy that brought us here.

All in all I’d say We Came From the Bright Side is a remarkable success. It’s thoroughly engaging and a real pleasure to listen to from beginning to end. It is engaging enough to engender something of a cosmic and conflicted adventure burdened by the insanity of technology. Take some time to yourself to sit down with this album and listen to the celestial madness of the space it drags you to.

-Ada Lann

Permalink

Sometimes our open blog page feels like a mailbag or a therapy session:

Noise-musician makes a pop record

Shaw used to play in a band called Railcars, who the Deli seems to love. Shaw has also been interviewed by the Deli, which was kind of awkward because he was a little drunk at the time. Now, Shaw makes music in the comfort of a bedroom (the same one where Cathedral With No Eyes was recorded). Shaw’s new 5-song EP is titled "Pretending We’re Not Animals," and talks are already underway to release a 7" in January with a locally recognized label. Thanks a lot, Deli!

You can post about your Bay Area band band by visiting this site.

-Nicole

Permalink

Check it out! Tonight at Kimo’s The Deli SF Artist of the Month, Superfinos VTO play with The Deli Portland’s Artist of the Month Bodhi! Two solid acts from two west coast cities in one night. San Francisco’s Aspect and Con Brio open. 9pm sharp!

-Nicole

Permalink

This entry was an exciting find in our open blog. You can post about your Bay Area band band by visiting this site.

 
Con Brio’s songs feature powerful, soulful vocals backed by a no-nonsense, deep-pocket rhythm section. "Xandra Corpora’s vocals are stunning….The band, tight as a bungee cord, is a funky, acoustic, jazz/blues casserole. That’s right-casserole. What’s more, they kill it live." -Bricks and Mortar Media

Con Brio plays El Valenciano on November 18th. 1153 Valencia St @ 22nd St, San Francisco, California 94110

-Nicole

Manuel’s Parking Lot pays tribute where tribute is due. Jake Sinetos and Alex Musto invoke Joni Mitchell’s most well known hit with both the title of the CD and the intro. They close with Eugene (Please Don’t Take My Van), which has opening lines that will take anybody back the childhood where they were forced to listen to Dolly Parton by the Country & Western loving parents. I still have nightmares of those days.

Though the album is far from anything resembling actual country, it does call on both folk and do-wop. The opening track, You Stole My Grandma (Let you Granny go Round), mixes folk rhythms on the guitar with do-wop style background vocals. My knee jerk reaction was, “This will never work.” I am happy to say that after multiple listenings, it does work. Quite well in fact.

The opening piece sets the tone for most of the album. Stripped down music, primarily just guitar tambourine, accented with the occasional sound clip or electric guitar riff. The CD maintains the sound, only slowing down for Dinosaur (twee pop a lop), which serves as the nostalgic ballad, making me long for days of recess twice a day. It also makes me wish I knew the rules to “…the game we called dinosaur.”

The most rousing track, and probably my favorite, is Fuck Art Lets dance (A Symphony in 3 Movements). The boys actual pull of three movements, encouraging their listeners to get out on the dance floor. The further flaunt their knowledge of artists before them with the Orwellian named Knowing is Unkowing. All though Big Brother would be proud of their prowess in Double Speak, it’s more a call to look beyond the thin surface and find the beauty underneath. To look critically and appreciatively view at the world around us, with a special emphasis on the music we listen too.

Manuel’s Parking Lot is a must have for someone who is looking for fun music with something to say. It’s the kind of music that forces you to nod in time and hum along, even at the office. Sinetos and Musto may borrow a bit from other artists, but make no mistake, they have used it to create something truly unique in a musicscape where everybody is trying to be different just like everyone else.

Manuel’s Parking Lot is available for download at CDBaby now, and soon on iTunes. Your discriminating music tastes will be wanting with out it.

-Jonathon L. Miller

Permalink

Doug E. Blumer, bassist and vocalist for October Artist of the Month winners Misisipi Rider answers The Deli SF’s Five Questions this week. The indie folk/americanana foursome play the Rite Spot CafeSunday, November 15th.

What food item best describes your music?
Home cookin’, like fried chicken, mashed potatoes and greens.

What instrument have you wanted to include but have yet to find a way to fit into your sound?
Banjo. We’re not really bluegrass so it would have to be more ‘rock’ banjo.

Embarrassing childhood memory?
Pulling the chair out from under the kid in front of me in Sunday school ’cause I thought it was funny. It wasn’t.

What musical artist would you like to grab a beer with?
Matthew Sweet. One of my fave pop stars.

And finally, time travel or space travel?
Space travel. I’m a UFO buff and might find a few answers out there

If your band has answers to The Deli SF’s Five Questions send them on to sfeditor@thedelimagazine.com

-Nicole

Permalink

Tempo No Tempo celebrate the release of their new album Waking Heat by headlining the Rickshaw Stop this Thursday November 5th. Maus Haus and Oakland’s Man/Miracle round out the line up for the evening giving us all the chance to get a head start on sweating out the week on the dancefloor. 18+ $10

-Nicole

Permalink