SFist: Sara Bareilles Concert Review

haplito

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:46:47 -0800

Again, again, again: Accepting the sad realities of the world is no way to build a better one.

Spencer Williams

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 07:46:55 -0800

Oh - one other thing. #6 - My "I like this..." post has shown up in "This Week in the -Ists" Check it out here: http://phillyist.com/2007/05/13/across_the_ista_15.php

Spencer Williams

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 07:44:08 -0800

#10 - Thanks for the useful criticism....very helpful. #6 & #9 - Not sure as why you have such a hard time with reading something on Sfist that happened in SF. Just transferring from Phillyist to Sfist - I've realized that there is much more "audience" participation on this site (which is weird because my experience with the East was that they are way more vocal). So yes #10 - you are stuck with me If you read the other -ists sites, you will realize that several, if not most of the -ists publish reviews of shows weekly and even CD reviews. (Check out laist for there most recent CD review: http://laist.com/2007/09/04/cd_review_small.php) #9 - Didn't take it personally. And I guess after everyone of my posts you can tell us how much you hate them. That sounds awesome. Glad that #1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 enjoyed the post.

guest

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:46:34 -0800

@haplito: Raining Jane is indeed a great band. They tour heavily, so chances are they will be back in the Bay Area in the not-too-distant future. Two of the band members have roots here (Mona the percussionist is from San Jose and Chaska the guitarist grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains) and their local shows have tons of friends and family in attendance (it's quite cute, actually). I enjoyed their set at GAMH, particularly because they played newer, unreleased material. I don't recall hearing anything from their last release, "Diamond Lane".

eightslosh

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:42:32 -0800

This is really about the creep of sites like SFist towards traditional editorial media and vice-versa. In the good ol' days, traditional media would say, "Our staff has determined that Sara Bareilles is newsworthy and we have produced an official opinion of her performance. There will be no further public discussion of this topic." Meanwhile, blogs would say, "Hey dudes, what do you think is newsworthy? Got an opinion? Let's talk about it or something. Ok, cool." Now, SFGate and SFist work in exactly the same way: editorial staff provides a story, readers can comment. Granted, commenting is a more central part of the experience on SFist and editorial content is more central to SFGate. But they'll inevitably converge and meet somewhere in the middle. It's a natural progression from both sides. SFGate needs to change with the times and drive page views as print newspapers die a slow death. Meanwhile, SFist's has a growing audience and is becoming an influential news outlet. So they need to produce more and more content to continue growth, while coming to terms with their newfound status as legit, professional journalists. (At least that's my conjecture.) So the downside is that we're stuck with Spencer Williams' opinion. The upside is that we get to publicly tell him that his opinion is totally gay.

haplito

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:53:31 -0800

No, I don't think it's particularly harsh. My comment wasn't directed at Spencer but for his being the example of what annoys me closest to hand. Sorry if you took it personally, Spencer. It was a well-written expression of your opinion. And I do think it's relevant: I'm making a case for a particular view of content management. This kind of "me first" web 2.0 bullshit is annoying and would be better suited for a facebook post; and, more importantly, it has nothing to do with San Francisco. You know, San Francisco: The City we're all here to read about. But I hear that Raining Jane was fantastic. And that will certainly figure into my later ruminations on the subject.

guest

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:27:27 -0800

I was there! She was fantastic, and I'd never even heard of her. I was there to see Jon McLaughlin, the opener, who I thought was also really good. Sara kinda stole the show though.

Leanne

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 23:43:38 -0800

Harsh, don't you think? Obviously, there are some people who do appreciate the "I like this/that" posts. See above. Besides, how is your "I don't like 'I like this'" comment any more "relevant?"

haplito

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:03:32 -0800

These types of ex post "I like this/that" posts annoy the hell out of me. They're completely irrelevant to what I check SFist for. Personally, and no offense to Spencer Williams, I don't give a shit what Spencer Williams thinks about a band I've never heard of. Or what he thinks about what pop music thinks right now. If he has something to say about the City, or one of its multitudinous and enrapturing peculiarities, or - hell - a concert that's COMING UP, go for it. Otherwise, send him on over to stereogum, or pitchfork, or tinymixtapes, or any number of perfectly well-suited music blogs. Before posting the next one, ask yourself: Is there any chance of seeing "Spencer Williams likes _______" in "This Week in the Ists"?

RinconHillSF

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:30:05 -0800

I was too late to buy tickets to the full blown concert, but I did see her at the Virgin Megastore performance on Saturday. She was definitely hitting the notes ... and what great lyrics. She's the first person I've started stalking, I mean "following," on Twitter.

Spencer Williams

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:45:22 -0800

I forgot to mention how fantastic Raining Jane was as well. They were awesome. Definitely interested in checking out their album.

guest

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:43:16 -0800

Sara and I actually went to high school together in Eureka -- she sung the national anthem at a Dodger's baseball game in LA when she was about 12 and it got better from there. The hour-long limitation was the only downside of having her co-headline with Jon McLaughlin -- who I thought was also in top form. She's pretty fantastic!

guest

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:50:34 -0800

Yeah, Sara was great and the audience really did respond to her. It is really refreshing to see a talented young musician who hasn't let fame go to her head like some of the rather talentless tabloid pop tarts. She's a NorCal gal (Humboldt County) who attended UCLA; opening act Raining Jane are UCLA pals (she mentions them in the liner notes of "Little Voice"). The bassist dude was new, but Josh Day (drummer) and Javier Dunn (guitar) have been around for a while. She's something special.

guest

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:25:36 -0800

Never heard of her, but I'm on board after checking out some of her Youtube footage. Talented singer, smart songwriter, easy on the eyes, and humble too? Good find, SFist!