kim said

Fatal Distraction

Over the past few weeks I've faced both a monumental relationship hurdle and an unrelated major health crisis. But now everything seems to be getting back to a state of semi-normality, which feels strange but also comforting.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was supposed to be on a beach in Mexico right now enjoying massages and margaritas with Gabrielle, but unfortunately that trip had to be postponed for the foreseeable future. So instead, what better way to celebrate my first night out post-recovery than seeing a show at the Great American Music Hall?

I'd listened to Blackfield's new album Blackfield II a few times over the past week but the show really made me a true fan of the melodic prog rock band, a collaboration between Israeli superstar Aviv Geffen and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson. (Steven is the cute bespectacled engineer-next-door while Aviv is strikingly beglittered and Bowie-esque.) To begin with, the live show was much harder and more driven than the album and then there's nothing quite like that feeling of being one with a swaying crowd of devoted rock fans listening to a band who's giving everything to their audience.

Speaking of live music, April will be a big month for shows--I already have tickets to Mew at the Fillmore (just a few months ago they played a tiny show at Popscene!) and Rufus Wainwright, whom I haven't seen live since he was on tour supporting his debut album. My boyfriend and I met at a Grant-Lee Phillips show at Cafe du Nord just a little over seven months ago (post about that night here), and GLP will be back, this time at the Great American, on April 24th.

La Scène SF: A To Do List

1) Attend a lecture on the Crusades at The Mechanics' Institute, which boasts "the oldest library on the West Coast and one of the oldest chess clubs in the United States."

2) Hear Gayle Brandeis, author of the new novel Self Storage, talk at Book Passage in Corte Madera on Friday night. (I don't know if I will be able to make it over to Corte Madera, but this book is at the top of my must-read pile!)

3) Buy tickets to see the lovely Jonas and his band Mew play at the Fillmore on Friday, April 6th. Tickets go on sale this Sunday.

4) Brave the Juicy Couture crowd and the Bristol Farms picketers at the Westfield Centre to stock up on my favorite notebooks from Tokyo by way of MaiDo Stationery (4th floor next to Bloomies).

5)  Take an early "lunch" on Thursday and learn how to do three turns and spins at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating Rinks morning Coffee Club session.

Mew, Coming Along

Here’s the thing though: comparing them to Rogue Wave and Jeremy Enigk actually doesn’t really do them much justice, because that’s just a surface comparison. There’s an undercurrent of something that I can’t quite put my finger on flowing through everything that gives Mew an urgency and an ethos that’s elusive and exciting. Let’s put it this way: I needed this band to come along right now, and the fact that I stumbled upon them right at this moment makes me ridiculously happy. (via The Morning News)

Once Upon a Time...

... a raven-haired princess (truth be told, she held many titles--one being the Venerable Lady Kimberley the Portable of Bistmorton Shropcake--and related arcane privileges) sipped sparkling bubbly from a shiny pink "chalice" and donned her favorite pair of dancing slippers in preparation for the evening before her. She and her handsome prince soon arrived at Sir Slim's where troubadour Jeremy Enigk courted the adoring crowd gathered there with his distinctively beautiful voice, performing ballads from Return of the Frog Queen, a favorite of her ladyship, and his new album World Waits. On the stroke of midnight, the couple hopped into an awaiting carriage and sped off into the night, living happily ever after, as far as we know.

Image: Photo by DarylDarko, Jeremy Enigk, Slim's 12/23
 

"Some moments last forever...

and some flare out with love love love."

The Mountain Goats play an Amoeba in-store at 6pm on Tuesday night. (via Sfist.)

Kiss Her for the Kid

If you're not too busy rocking out (or getting crowded out) at The Raconteurs' Amoeba show this Thursday night, my sister's friend's band from Seattle, Kiss Her for the Kid, is playing at Kimo's (9pm). We'll probably be at The Hemlock fore and aft.

Today, they are undeniably one of the best underground bands in Seattle. Kiss Her for the Kid writes unforgettable pop-rock-fizz tunes. Their songs are well crafted, melodic, and bursting with energy. They make you want to dance and reminisce at the same time. (Snagged from Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz where they are playing on Sunday the 11th.)

Sharing Different Heartbeats

Gorilla vs. Bear has links to video of  Jose Gonzalez performing  "Heartbeats" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart"  in NYC.

Mezzanine's Birdmonster CD release party tomorrow night features  several bands including local faves Seventeen Evergreen (whose rockin' band members include my super-sweet neighbor, the tousled-haired Nephi).

The Clash and Benjamin Biolay are just two of the artists in Lauren Cerand's cheeky collection,  "Seven Songs that Will Change the Way You Think About Publicity."

Satanic Verses

I knew almost nothing about the musician/artist Daniel Johnston before seeing the gentle and arresting documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. I was actually planning to see Brick, a film noir playing at the Embarcadero, but the unhappy thought of trudging back up the hill in the rain afterwards proved a fortunate deterrent. The Lumiere on the other hand is conveniently close and generally somewhat audience-starved which, if you're in the mood to see a movie sans the madding crowd, can be another plus.

Out of the three films playing (the other two were Steve Buscemi's Lonesome Jim and Transamerica), I chose The Devil because I've long been intrigued by mental illness and the artist. In no way did I expect to be so engaged and so moved. Director Jeff Feuerzeig's non-judgmental and surprisingly humorous portrait  examines the truly mythic life of a musical legend, whose genius is tirelessly promoted by his persistent manager and celebrated by fellow artists including Tom Waits and the late Kurt Cobain. I highly recommend it and if you don't trust me, its current rating on Rotten Tomatoes is a fresh 83%.

The Calm before the Whirlwind

Linda and I pretended it was Sunday today and met up at the Pork Store Cafe for brunch at 1:30 and then shopped for used cds at Amoeba. Whether it's Haight Street or Sunset in Hollywood, I always get off on being in Amoeba because the vibe is so totally blissed out. Everyone--employees, customers, shoplifters--is just so happy to be there. I picked up a random mix: Sahara Lounge, OK Computer, and MC Solaar's first album  Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo. Band of Horses was doing an in-store. (Check out their song "Funeral.") My plan for tonight, which I'm having some trouble pulling together, is to Blow Off Steam before the coming insanity--three days straight of readings and fêtes for The May Queen.

Update: Who knew? Apparently Band of Horses are "Sub Pop's latest Great Indie Rock Hope." Well, according to Pitchfork. Here are their tour dates. All I know is, I downloaded "Funeral" after hearing them play it live on Saturday and it's on heavy, heavy rotation.  I'm a sucker for indie power ballads. 

I Was On To Every Play

When I fall for a "bad boy," it's usually the serious guitar-toting, rebel without a cause, am I crazy or just pretending to be type--though I suppose the popular, athletic boys are just  as "bad" in their own way, especially in those teen movies  where the geeky guy gets the girl and the jock is the stereotypical meat head. May Queen contributor Michelle Richmond has the goods on Tanya Stone's new book A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl (about an  "in crowd" bad boy and his affect on three high school girls) and the literary soundtrack for the novel, which includes Fiona Apple who, of course,  inspired the title for this post.