teen dream

venue: bimbo's (sold out!)
artist: beach house
who: ro
when: 14 april 2010 (wednesday)

two houses in one night...

we planned to have dinner at the house in north beach. i always seem to end up with the deep fried salmon rolls and the hangar steak with wasabi noodles. ro got one of the specials which wasn't nearly as good as the hangar steak. he should have gotten the sea bass. lisa always gets the sea bass. we were surrounded by people who ordered the sea bass and he lost his appetite for sea bass. it's too bad. the sea bass is damn good.

after dinner, we headed over to bimbo's for the other house that night. beach house! the last time i saw them was upstairs at the swedish american hall. they were fantastic despite it feeling like an elementary school auditorium. the sound at bimbo's is much better. victoria legrand has awesome vocals. beautiful, really. just like thao nguyen, victoria's voice is nothing like candy pop. it's dream pop that's haunting and leaves you wanting more.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ so very dreamy...

sweet darlin' (three out of three)

on monday, ro & i went to our third show in 5 days. that's one every other day. all up in the city. thursday, saturday and monday. i left work early to get ready for the show. we left at 6:20p, with hopes that we would get there in one hour. we didn't get there until 8ish. our plans to get to bimbo's early to have dinner went out the window. and hearing that the opening band kinda sucked, we decided to have dinner before the show elsewhere.

we ended up across the street at kennedy's irish pub & curry. i was so so hungry and as a result, we ordered too much. a lot more than we imagined (see pic below). we started with curry fries (who doesn't love fries?), lamb infused nan bread, and la piece de resistance... the chicken masala dosa. lisa tells me that dosas are not very common and that's how you can tell the place is south indian. she's right, i'd never seen dosa on the menu before. as you can see in the picture below, dosas are crepes. gigantor crepes. for reference purposes, the beer next to the dish is a pint of guinness.
venue: bimbo's (sold out!)
artist: she & him & lavender diamond
who: ro
when: 3 november 2008 (monday)
doors open at 7p

when i first heard about she & him, i thought zooey deschanel was another actress-turned-over-produced-singer with little or no talent (ie scarHo). i was happily proved wrong.

it started with their song, sweet darlin' with which my niece & nephew love (and request) to sing in the car, repeatedly. after that, i listened to more. and when i found out they were playing, i listened to all i could. ms. deschanel teams up with m. ward to form she & him making songs that are fantastically familiar and wonderful. according to their website, they strive to "make music the old fashioned way: by hand - and with as few machines as humanly possible."

i wasn't sure what to expect since more often than not, bands sound better recorded (and produced) than live. but seeing a band live is more than just listening to their music, it's also being a witness to the passion and energy of the musicians who love and make this music. it was apparent in this show.

despite zooey's celebrity status, her stage presence was a bit demure. her vocals, however, was magnificent. i was blown away by her range. and i've decided, i hate her. not only is she talented as an actress and beautiful, she can really carry a tune. or, maybe i just have another girl crush?

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ i have one word for m. ward: brilliance.

double shows, double the listening pleasure

venue: bimbo's
artist: elbow
who: rich, pati & lou
when: 8 may 2008 (thursday)
doors open at 7p

the last time i saw elbow was in 2002 (i think?). they were opening for the doves. my friends wanted to go for the doves, i wanted to see elbow. i ended up liking the doves more and rich ended up liking elbow. funny.

we had sushi in north beach for dinner before the show. when we got there, elbow had started playing. i didn't realize how popular elbow is. i don't think the show was sold out but bimbo's was packed like it was. we got lucky and found a table in the back. i've yet to sit back there. i always like sitting up close on the side or something. guy garvey is the singer of elbow. and he is brilliant. his voice live is quite beautiful. it sends chills down my back just thinking about it. listening to elbow on cd is no comparison to seeing and hearing them live. reminds me of how i felt about the shins when i saw them last year.

even though we missed (i imagine they played it) asleep in the back, the show exceeded my expectations. i hadn't been sure i wanted to go but then rich mentioned he'd go with me so i got tix. and so happy that i did! as always, we reminisced old times. it's hard to believe i've known these guys since 1993-4ish.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

it was great and perfect timing because the mary onettes were playing at popscene the same night. elbow ended at around 11ish and we headed over to 330 ritch for some dancing and more live music.

venue: popscene
artist: the mary onettes
who: same group as above
when: 8 may 2008
doors open at 10p

we got there in time for a little bit of dancing before the band came on. many of the bands that i see at popscene (they have live bands every other week if not every week) aren't that good. most of them, as a matter of fact, suck. big time. very few are good. and the mary onettes were one of these rarities. they were surprisingly fantastic. everyone enjoyed them. i was estatic that i caught both shows in the same night. i was afraid i'd have to miss the last part of elbow's show to miss the first part of the mary onettes. but i caught the entirety of both shows. definitely a successful night of music.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

i ♥ jens lekman pt.1

venue: bimbo's (sold out!)
artist: jens lekman & the honeydrips
who: ro
when: 22 mar 2008 (saturday)

before the jens lekman show, we went up early to get some dinner. lou (thanks lou!) recommended rogue to us. he said to get the kobe burger and a hazelnut beer. he's been into hazelnut flavors lately. i personally love hazelnut anything so i'm not complaining. ro & i order the exact same thing. a kobe burger with their white cheddar and a hazelnut beer. the burger was soooo good. and for some reason, ro got twice as much french fries as i did. the hazelnet beer was also quite delicious. we could only eat half of it but wow, it definitely hit the spot. we were happily satisfied and ready for jens.

we got there around 9:15ish. which just so happened to be the end of the honeydrips set. i think we were there for 1 and a half songs. we concluded that he played for like 20 minutes. weird.

the show was sold out. his show back in november was pretty packed and surprisingly not sold out. this show was everything i remembered except better because i knew most of the songs. he also sang a new one about google maps. and the nina story, i don't think i'll ever get sick of it. here is a line from the chorus: nina i can be your boyfriend, so you can stay with your girlfriend. and if you want to hear the story, you'll have to see him live. it's totally worth it. he's also very interactive with the crowd. for example, he asked people to whistle because he was missing a sax player on one song. and there was the pocket full of money song where the crowd sings part of the chorus. it was so much fun.

i think he sounds better live than his recordings which is already flawless. he sings every word perfectly that it makes you listen to his lyrics more carefully. he's totally brilliant. it's so hard to describe how good and wonderful he is. just thinking about him and his music makes me all warm & fuzzy inside...

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

reflections on november at bimbo's

last month, i went to 3 shows. all at bimbo's. while i see bands at popscene almost everytime i go, popscene is mostly for dancing. there's only ever a handful of bands that play there (per year) that i actually want to see. but seeing 3 bands all at bimbo's, that's rare. and might i add, unplanned. it was supposed to be 2 but voxtrot postponed their september show to tour with the arctic monkeys. ew, whatever.

the jens lekman show was pretty impressive. it's hard to believe he's only in his mid 20's. he's an amazing singer/songwriter/performer. he's one of those rare natural artists. but, i still can't get over the level of passion in which torque (et al.) exert during their shows. they are super cool, funny & awesome. i've seen them about 5x with the first one about 6 years ago. and there is a huge difference between the first shows and this last one. i've seen the hard work. the sweat & blood. and tears shed to produce such art. it's almost magical. as for voxtrot, i'm still trying to get over the disappointment. ugh.

while i rated both the jens lekman & stars shows 5 ♥s (that's a whole lotta love), the stars show was definitely the best of the 3 last month if not out of the entire year. i would most certainly see mr. lekman again. no doubt, the next stars show is a must but i'm almost sure that i will not be attending the next voxtrot show. boo.

your biggest fan? not quite.

venue: bimbo's
artist: voxtrot & new division
who: alex & betty
when: 30 nov 2007 (friday)
doors open at 8p

the night started off at burger meister in north beach on the way to bimbo's. unfortunately, we found ourselves sitting by the most obnoxious douche bags from the marina. i don't even think they were drunk. not that its an excuse for being obnoxious but it happens. not them. they were totally annoying. we hated them. so did the rest of the patrons there. we ended up staying longer than we should have.

we head over to bimbo's close to 8p. i love bimbo's. it's really a great venue. small enough where the musicians themselves are walking about. that's where i met david gedge from cinerama/wedding present. the sound is awesome. the ambiance is much better than the other venues. you can't beat the girl in the fish bowl either. it's so quaint. and the ladies restrooms are monitored by the coolest lady ever. the only problem is that it's cash only. but there are plenty of atms around so no biggie.

we got there early and scored a nice table off on the side right next to the bar. perfect location if you ask me. it was also a good spot for people watching, more like, stalker spotting. we saw a girl in a hideous dress stalking ramesh and then the rest of the band members. i'm happy to report that, thanks to my awestrickeness when it comes to rock stars that i can only blurt out one thing (along the lines of... i love your music). and then i'm gone.

the opening band was called new division. i overheard someone say that they were supposed to be like joy division. um, wrong division. they were nothing like joy division or any of their one songs. they were all over the place. one song was like toad the wet sprocket, another song was very 80's. the first song was ok but they went downhill after that. they kinda sucked. it's a harsh world out there and i'm not one for pacifying.

voxtrot started off great, as usual. their energy on stage was comparable to the energy in their songs. very jumpy and upbeat. especially their bass player, 70's guy who looks like a cross between topher grace and alex's german bf. more like topher grace though. then, towards the end (thankfully) their ratings fell rapidly. these slutty hags went up on stage and started dancing on stage. not only were they drunk & ugly, they were horrid dancers. ugh, in cheap grotesque sequins dresses. to keep this post brief, voxtrot allowed the sluts to stay on stage and did not seem to realize that we paid to see them, not stupid ugly old dancing sluts on stage. so we left.

rating: ♥ very very disappointing...

in our bedroom after the war

venue: bimbo's
artist: stars & lloyd cole
who: alex, andrew, betty, ro, lou, jen & jonathan
when: 14 nov 2007 (wednesday)
doors open at 7p

while i was just at bimbo's no more than 5 days before the stars show, i hadn't seen torquil campbell perform since the memphis show which was earlier this year in may. not too long ago. having two doses of the torq is quite nice actually. another wouldn't be too bad.

torq campbell started off as a child star and still works as an actor. i saw him on sex & the city. he was also on a couple of law & order episodes, which i love love to watch. it makes me like him even more. hardly possible. anyway, more about torq later.

we get there and there are flowers all over the stage. not on the floor but on their instruments sticking out where ever flowers could stick out. lloyd cole opened the stars show. he used to sing with the commotions (i think). he went solo in the early 90's and i actually have his album (don't get weird on me, babe). there's this one song that i loved. it was why i bought the cd. it was called she's a girl and i'm a man. very catchy. alas, he didn't play it. however, he did play are you ready to be heartbroken? in which camera obscura (ro reminded me of this) has a song called lloyd, i'm ready to be heartbroken based off lloyd cole's song. cool, huh? i was really impressed with lloyd cole. even after all these years, he still really rocks. and doesn't look too bad either.

now, this is my fourth time seeing stars. and they just get better and better every time i see them. the thing you don't hear on the album is torq's passion. he sings with overwhelming passion that you can almost see it ooze out of him on the stage. he's jumping around and so completely into the music. he's also very funny and uber cool. both alex and i decided that we love him. words cannot describe the extent of his coolness. also, amy millan has one of the loveliest voices. i adore her voice. and at first, she didn't stand out quite as much as torq but you can tell she got more comfortable. the played most of the songs off the new album and the last one. i think the oldest song they played was on peak hill(right?). my first fav song by them is the very thing, but i don't think they've ever played it live. :(

they did two encores. the last one, torq convinced (very easily) most of the audience standing to sit down. it was like story time in elementary school all over again. and really awesome. that was a first. as for the flowers from the beginning, during their set towards the end, they threw them out to the audience. no one does that either.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ the best stars show yet.

quite the swedish ladies' man

venue: bimbo's
artist: jens lekman
who: ro
when: 9 nov 2007 (friday)
doors open at 8p

the last time i was at bimbo's, it was back in february for the camera obscura show. this month, i will have seen 3 shows at bimbo's. funny. last night, i went to bimbo's to see jens lekman with my very good friend romano. i'd been listening to his songs since i got a hold of night falls over kortedala (thanks ro!) before it was even released in the us. and i'd been looking forward to his show since i heard he was playing.

we got there during the opening band's set. they were called something statue and were from half moon bay. they weren't too bad. but they weren't who we were there for. we were there for jens lekman, swedish hotties on stage (his bandmates), and to be surrounded by swedish hot things. that's right, surrounded. it was packed.

listening to jens lekman in the car or at home is nothing like listening and/or seeing him live. he's really cute and surprisingly small for being swedish. his voice is flawless live. there's also a lot of horns and violins in his music. it's very orchestral yet with witty lyrics that are also silly at the same time. his harmonic arrangements are amazing and grandeur. you really want to listen to the words, all his songs tell a story. most of them ridiculous and funny. he started of talking about the last time he was in the area and his fond memories of rollerblading in sausalito. hilarious, really. and during many of his songs, he tells you the background on the story. more than you get from the song. it reminded me a little bit of sondre lerche when we saw him at slim's back in 2004. he gabbed a lot between his songs and you wished he'd just shut up and play. not jens, his stories were so personal and such a treat to hear.

he ended his set with two encores. the last song was his very own rendition of paul simon's call me al. which is funny because camera obscura also ends one of their last songs with it. and apparently, jens seems quite the ladies' man. shoot, i'd do him.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ it was magic.

if looks could kill

venue: bimbo's
artist: camera obscura
who: cousins lam & nina (plus jen, anthony, lou & ro)
when: 16 february 2007 (friday)
doors open at 8p

i hadn't been to bimbo's since... i can't remember! i just remember the night i met david gedge from cinerama at bimbo's. he was really cool. loooove his voice. wow, that was about 3-4 years ago. it'd been too long.

however, it was not that long ago the last time i saw camera obscura. it was the gamh show back in july of last year. it was nice to see them again. the sound at bimbo's is awesome.

the night started off straight after work. i'd picked up my car from the train station downtown, got gas and headed up to mt. view to meet my cousins. we had planned to get dinner in north beach since bimbo's is right on columbus. on the way to the city in the car, i get this call from lou asking what i was doing. i say, uh, heading up to the city? despite emailing him earlier that day about the show, he asked if it was in fact that night. that's affirmative unless they had a second show the following night. apparently, both ro & jenn thought it was saturday! i'd been there before (confusion on show nights) and even missed a show once. so he called them to get everyone's arse in gear for the show.

we had dinner at this burrito place. they claim the best burritos in the city so i had to have a burrito, right? it was good, not sure if you can really go wrong with a burrito though. yet they had very interesting combinations. i had a "british" burrito which included steak, potatoes, and mushrooms. and the blended pina colada was quite delightful. after dinner, i looked to see if i had the tickets with me but couldn't find them!! i was in complete and utter disbelief. what the hell was wrong with me? i had them in the car. where could they have gone?? my cousins were so nice and calm about it. we retraced our steps back to the car and there they were right outside my side of the car. so lam was now the assigned ticket holder.

there was this huge line for will call which we were able to skip since we had our tix in hand. it's interesting, either it's because i haven't been to bimbo's in ages or it's because they recently changed their sign. it's a little more modern now and it no longer says "since 1931" outside of it like it does on their web site. that takes a bit of its charm away. unfortunately. however, after sitting foot inside, it really takes you to the 30's or 40's. at least that's what i imagined it to be. it's very lounge-y. i expected to see fedoras all around me. but alas, i didn't see any. it was too dark and i hadn't really paid much attention.

the opening band listed as "portastic" called themselves "portistastic" would've been confusing if i cared. but i didn't. i just thought, what? portisheadastic? random. they were very folky and bohemian. not particularly appealing if you ask me. i want to see rock stars out there. kinda. it's not to say that camera obscura are the epitomy of rock stars. at least tracyanne campbell has a look of her own that she's going for. which many of the female audience members were trying to unsuccessfully copy. i don't know, maybe i'm in a fowl mood today. hating on everyone. oh well.

if you haven't heard camera obscura, the lead vocalist, tracyanne has this sweet voice that makes me think of du-wop music. the kind that makes you sway without knowing it. the slow songs are lovely but a bit hard to stay awake for. the faster songs are upbeat and makes you wish you too had a floral dress on so you could swing the pleats of it with the music. whenever i hear if looks could kill, i can't help but tap my feet with some sass.

we left after the last song before their encore. it was such a long day. and as my cousin said, we are getting old. ugh. after getting home, i got a call from lou. he said they hung out at the bar after the show and tracyanne showed up. he got a picture with her! i'm totally jealous but seeing as i was half asleep, i couldn't imagine having stayed and driving myself home from mt. view.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥