Results tagged “greatamerican”

Sfist interviews Yoni Wolf of Why?

If you're like us you spend every Friday afternoon glued to DJ Ted Leibowitz and the Bagel Radio Friday Live Show. If you aren't like us, you should be - it's the best rock radio show around. Ted has been a huge part of the indie rock world here in San Francisco for quite some time, he's a friend of SFist, and his wonderful Web radio show has been a huge boost to any number of local up-and-coming acts (we're thinking right now of Birdmonster and the Heavenly States, but the list could go on for quite some time). Ted is the DJ that we wish was on commercial radio - the guy who not only knows everything about music, but has a deep and abiding love for San Francisco music. Heck, he even got married at the Great American Music Hall.

Shit. It's Valentine's Day this Thursday and by the looks of it most of you have already planned your perfect date. Three shows are already completely sold-out: The Kills at Rickshaw Stop, Slightly Stoopid at The Independent and Common at Mezzanine. While there are still several shows you can chance Thursday night, it might be wise to stay home and wait till the weekend to take your crush out. We are.

The Coachella 2008 line-up was announced last night. The reason you didn't hear anything about it was because they announced it in Mexico City, something to do with creating international ties. “This is really a way for us to get closer to our fans throughout Latin America who have been supportive of Coachella for the past 10 years,” says Goldenvoice’s Paul Tollett. Super; we just care about the line-up.

Goes from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Deco Lounge; $5.

-- The Gold Rush (1925): The Tramp makes his stamp here (via playing with his food) as one of America's most beloved comedic characters of the silent era. Screens tonight at 8:45 p.m. at the Castro Theatre; $6-9.

Kids, it's time to get rocking. (Especially before the "Private Party" dry spell that is coming on. Yikes.) This week, the San Francisco music gods are offering a vast array of newbies and veterans - something that we will graciously partake of any day of the week. Now that the bets are in (okay, so no one really cast any bets - how boring is that?), you can go to Cafe du Nord, tonight,...

SFist interviews Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes.

Nice package.

November 2004 - September 2007

Let's make this short and sweet: Sara Bareilles is incredible. Not only do we love her rich yet effortless voice, but her clever music is indeed what pop music needs right now. We don't need another bubble-gum star who masks their voice through electronic mechanisms, or wears little or no clothes while shaking their ass on MTV (Not that we don't appreciate an ass shaking -- we just don't need another one.) See, Bareilles can actually sing (and she's pretty damn good at it too) and she plays the piano to boot. This singer/songwriter has found her niche in the music world and her fans love her (as was proof with her sell-out engagement at Great American Music Hall on Friday night.) Bareilles was so surprised by the amount of enthusiastic fans -- at one point the crowd sang an entire chorus of her recent hit, "Love Song," -- she said, "I can't believe this. This has never happened to me before. This is incredible." Incredible it was. Not because of us, but because of her.

Sara Bareilles (Bar - rell - is) -- summer's hottest, as they say, new singer/songwriter -- has gained a broad fan base throughout the U.S. via her extensive touring and #1 selling album, Little Voice, on iTunes, resulting in an impressive debut on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart at #45. Praised by critics for its depth and honesty, even Rolling Stone raved "Bareilles' writing voice is uniquely her own." Luckily, we were introduced to Bareilles while covering Aqualung (for our neighbor site, Phillyist) earlier this year at World Cafe Live. We were so impressed with her singing ability, stage presence, and songwriting, we just had to get in touch with her to learn her secrets and get to know her a bit better.

There are no less than three fantastic music festivals all taking place over the weekend of September 14-16. What gives? And how do we choose? Since we live in the bay area, perhaps our decision has been made for us: we're heading to the inaugural Treasure Island Music Festival presented by the fine folks at Noise Pop and Another Planet. The two day festival features 14 bands each day on two stages with mostly hip hop and electronica on Saturday (Theivery Corporation, DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist, M.I.A.) and a great lineup of indie rock on Sunday (Modest Mouse, Built To Spill, Clap Your Hands). And it all takes place on Treasure Island, that scrap of land you've seen a thousand times but likely have never set foot on. Getting there is sure to be an adventure! Check out the full lineup and get your tickets. We've got a pair of tickets for one lucky winner to go to one day of the Treasure Island Music Festival. (We're not sure which date yet but will update this post as soon as we hear back from our contact! But both days are really good so you can't go wrong. Contest ends 8/22; winner will be notified via email.)

-- "Kim Nalley Sings Nina Simone": Local legend/songstress pays tribute to Dr. Nina Simone's brilliance, goddamn. Nalley blesses us with two sets at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Jazz at Pearl's; $15, $20.

-- "Trans Am": Hipsters, gipsters, and then some keep coming back to this "rock 'n' roll disco faggotry" night. And it's easy to see why with drag alternatif acts from Dizzy and No-See-Um ("Charlie Horse" regulars), plus a live set from the Blacks. Starts at 10 p.m. at Eight (Christy Turlington's old venue, Up & Down Club!!), 1151 Folsom. $TBD.

Prolific, ornery, talented, unpredictable, easy on the eyes, genius, bastard - there are many ways to try and describe Ryan Adams, but at this point if you've heard of him, you've probably formed some sort of opinion. In his new single "Two" he sings: "I got a really good heart, I just can't catch a break." Whether or not you buy that, we're still loving his new CD. Easy Tiger is built on the careworn love songs with memorable melodies that he does best, with no gimmicks or interludes. Bring your broken heart to hear him perform live on Monday night at the Herbst Theatre or on Tuesday at the Berkeley Community Theatre. We're giving away a copy of Easy Tiger to get one lucky winner fired up for the shows. (Contest ends 7/24; winner will be notified via email.)

SFist reviews Band of Horses at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco

We don't say this lightly, because there are really a lot of great artists coming out of the Bay Area, but we do have a current favorite: Birds & Batteries. We've been telling you about this co-ed quartet for a little while now, and our expectations for their new record were really high. Thankfully it's good news: we love I'll Never Sleep Again. It's still the B&B we met on their last release, but this time the woeful steel guitar and Mike Sempert's deep drawl are buffered by better production, including warm bursts of synth so thick you could hold them in your hand. The record starts out by making the simple, straightforward Neil Young classic "Heart of Gold" into an existential epic, and we love the song "Starclusters" so much that it's secured a solid entry in our top 10 tracks of the year. One lucky winner will get a Birds & Batteries prize pack, including two tickets to the CD release party on Wednesday night at Cafe Du Nord, a limited edition copy of the CD with silk screened artwork, plus a poster from the show. Enter to win (contest ends 6/25; winner will be notified via email).

SFist gives away tickets and album for Voxtrot at Great American Music Hall on 5/30/07

Here's what on tonight around the city - assuming you survive the Zombie Mob Invasion...

It's another music giveaway bonanza this week! First up is a prize pack from Sea Wolf. They've been touring with Silversun Pickups (see a few SSPU members in the video for "You're A Wolf"), but they're a far more mellow outfit: Alex Church's vocals and melodies are gentle, strummy and soothing. Sea Wolf open for Devotchka on Friday night at the Grand Ballroom Bimbo's, and we have a pair of tickets for the winner plus a copy of their new EP Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low. Watch the video and download the mp3 for "You're A Wolf" and enter to win (Contest ends at 11am tomorrow! Winner will be notified via email.)

SFist ticket contest to hear Jello Biafra at Great American Music Hall

Here's todays wrap up of the news

SFist interviews Eric Allen, bass player for the Apples in Stereo

Did you get your tickets to see Menomena on Friday night at Cafe Du Nord? Hopefully you did, because the show is sold out. As we've said before, this record is already on our top 10 of '07, so if you haven't checked the band out yet - what are you waiting for? OK maybe you're broke or you've fallen and you can't get to Amoeba, so we're going to hook one of you up with their amazing album Friend and Foe plus a really nice poster courtesy of their label Barsuk. Since we're currently locked out of our fancy contesting tool, only you close readers will be rewarded with a chance to win: just email yours truly for your chance.

Ah yes, the weekend. Finally! It's been a hectic week-- earthquakes, landslides, the whole Kenneth Eng fiasco, those purple latex gloves-- where will it all end? We don't know but we could sure use a drink and a good old fashioned shindig-- too bad that most of the Noise Pop shows have sold out. We've put together a list of runner-ups for the weekend in the city. Sure, its not Ted Leo, Cake or The Donnas, but you can get just as drunk for half the price. Here's a rundown of the haps: