thao (solo)

venue: swedish american hall (upstairs from café du nord)
artist: thao (solo), the myanbirds and two other openings (sold out!) @noise pop
when: 23 february 2015 (tuesday)
doors open at 7:30p

last month, i saw thao nguyen perform live for the 6th time. we started off with dinner at l'ardoise and it was just as i remembered the last time i was there. while the first two openers were not very good. the third opening band, the myanbirds which was really just laura bernhenn, was pretty surprisingly fantastic. she did the whole looping thing with her vocals and all the different sounds she played on her keyboards. i was very impressed. i wouldn't mind seeing her on her own.

it is still amazing to watch thao. she's also got a witty and awesome personality. and even though there were three openers and it wasn't over until after midnight on a work day, it was worth not getting enough sleep over.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

who is a blabbermouth?

venue: swedish american hall (upstairs from café du nord)
artist: trashcan sinatras
who: ro
when: 23 october 2010 (saturday)
show starts at 8:00p

i thought that if we left at 5p to make a 6:30p dinner reservation, we would be okay. boy, was i wrong. heading to the castro area on a saturday night, parking is always an issue. we didn't make our dinner until closer to 7p. after circling blocks and blocks, i gave up and decided on the $10 parking lot. we ate at l'ardoise and E V E R Y T H I N G was delicious. even the coffee was superb. i would highly recommend this place. except for the part where our waiter asked if everyone here was at least 21 while looking straight at me. will it ever end? i hope so... i'll soon be 40.

we arrived at the swedish american hall sometime after 8p which was early enough to get prime balcony seats. despite the giants game going on, they carried on and played. during their set, frank gave us updates on the game. he said that once the game was over, they would play a proper show. this show was acoustic with requests taken online. ro asked me if i'd ever been to an acoustic trashcans show. i thought about it and couldn't remember. then i did... they played an acoustic show when they played at popscene back in 2004 when they made their comeback.

since the show, i have been listening to a mix i put together. here is my list and the albums they come from:

1. the best man's fall - cake
2. you made me feel - cake
3. earlies (because i ♥ john douglas) - i've seen everything
4. the safecracker (who is a blabbermouth?) - a happy pocket
5. only tongue can tell - zebra of the family (originally from cake)
6. freetime - brel (newest acoustic cd! but originally from weightlifting)
7. how can i apply...? - brel (a happy pocket)
8. i'll get them in - brel (a happy pocket)
9. i hung my harp upon the willows - brel (in the music)
10. i'm immortal - brel (i've seen everything)
11. got carried away - brel (weightlifting)
12. oranges and apples - brel (in the music)
13. i've seen everything - brel (i've seen everything)
14. weightlifting (acoustic) - weightlifting
15. send for henny - live @ slim's may 2005 (i've seen everything)
16. obscurity knocks - live @ slim's may 2005 (cake)
17. bloodrush - live @ slim's may 2005 (i've seen everything)
18. easy read - live @ slim's may 2005 (i've seen everything)
19. the therapist - live @ slim's may 2005 (a happy pocket)

unfortunately, the trashcans no longer end their shows with the therapist, but despite that, i had to end my cd with it.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ time is up

in the music x3

venue: ARTiculate @ evergreen valley college
artist: thao nguyen + the get down stay down
who: ro & his library friends
when: 25 september 2009 (friday)

ro told me about thao nguyen before. but only recently, i listened to her last cd, we brave been stings and all and still can't stop listening. the songs are upbeat, fun, and sassy. i am always movin' and shakin' when i am listening to her. in my car. walking around. sitting on the shuttle. in my office. it didn't matter, i couldn't help myself. she is just so cool. so i was extremely excited to see her play live, in san jose. its funny, i have a dear college friend with the same name too.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ i think i am girl-crushing on her.

venue: great american music hall
artist: the pains of being pure at heart, the depreciation guild, and cymbals eat guitar
who: john
when: 18 september 2009 (friday)
doors open at 8:00p

i hadn't planned on going to this show but my good friend mien (in chicago) called me up for a favor, could i show her friend john, around on his first trip to sf? so i said sure, of course!

i wasn't sure what he wanted to do so i gave him options on what i wanted to do. :) he said he was up for anything. we got tickets first, then headed over to tommy's joynt for some grub. it's world famous but the mac & cheese wasn't quite up to par. nothing compares to lisa's mac & cheese. we headed back over around 11p thinking we avoided the openings. but caught the depreciation guild who weren't half bad. and the pains of being pure at heart were quite good.

not only were the bands pretty good but so was the company. john was so nice and fun that he & i stayed out pretty late that night. we ended up at sparky's for pancakes and americanos. m-m-m, good. actually, i spent much of the weekend with him.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

venue: café du nord
artist: trashcan sinatras & brookville
who: cousin nina
when: 31 july 2009 (friday)
doors open at 8:00p

even though this was my 7th trashcans show, this is the first time i am rating them! strange, isn't it? though, due to a very traumatic misadventure (ie little man mccreepy), i can't bear to give them 5 ♥s. the last time i saw them was back in 2005. it's hard to believe it was over 4 years ago. and i'd seen them 6 times within a period of 2 years.

luckily, my dear cousin nina was there to save me and salvage what was left of the night.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ merci, nina!

beach house

venue: swedish american hall (downstairs from café du nord)
artist: beach house
who: ro & lou
when: 28 september 2008 (sunday)
show starts at 7:30p

we arrived in the city early for dinner. remnants of the folsom street fair (earlier in the day) were still pretty obvious. i've never gone and have only heard about it. if you've never heard about it, think kink and leather. or just google it.

we ended up at this sushi restaurant on castro, called osaka. it was pretty good. i got the sunomono which was a cucumber and seaweed salad with tako that was particularly delightful. we also ordered a bunch of special rolls that were unique and flavorful. i hadn't had sushi in a while so it hit the spot.

this was a first time to the venue for a show for all of us. i'd been to the swedish american hall for a wedding back in october of 2004. wow, that was nearly 4 years ago. that was the only time i'd ever been upstairs. i am no stranger to the downstairs venue at café du nord. we are the type of friends that see each other once or twice a year. but also the type i'd love to see more often if given the chance. it was there that i met one of my most favorite bands ever, the trashcan sinatras. we had dinner there and were guaranteed prime seating. our waitress was so cool that i couldn't help but tip her generously. she even came by to thank me for it. and when we stayed past closing, she didn't kick us out like the rest of the crowd. that's when we went to the back room and met the band.

back to upstairs. it was set up like a middle school auditorium. there was this tiny make shift stage that wasn't really a stage. it was packed. there were no seats left when we got there. we ended up in the balcony upstairs standing to the side. note to self for the next show there: go early to get seats. despite the cold temperatures outside, it was quite warm inside.

the beach house are a duo from baltimore. in rhapsody, they are filed under the dream pop category along with the smashing pumpkins and feist. which doesn't seem right. their music is indeed very dreamy and ambient. but as a live band, you get their passion and splendor. victoria legrand who is the singer, was lovely, sweet and funny. i found myself enjoying them much more than i expected. thanks ro!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

we drift away with torquil

venue: café du nord
artist: memphis & the postmarks
who: alex
when: 2 may 2007 (wednesday)
show starts at 9p, dinner reservations at 8:45p

if you are a fan of the canadian band stars, you should know that torquil campbell is in this other band called memphis. i saw them this past week at café du nord in castro.

we had dinner reservations just for the seats. and at this age (because we are so old), it's something we can appreciate. that is, not stand all night. plus, i see much better with seats. otherwise, i don't see at all. the only catch to reservations is the $15 minimum per person. since we planned on spending at least $15 on drinks anyway, it was an easy minimum. the only thing that sucks about this place is parking. i thought i had secret parking at the mortuary but to my disappointment, it was closed. ugh. we eventually found some restaurant parking just down the street.

the postmarks opened for memphis, and i was pleasantly surprised. their lead singer, tim yehezkely has this lovely sweet and soothing singing voice. it doesn't really match her. on their website, her look makes me think of the 60's mod style with her long straight hair and dark outfits. i was expecting that at the show. but, she showed up in jeans and a t-shirt. not attractive at all. very plain and homely looking. in other words, kinda ugly. however, their set was very good. i guess that's all that matters. the music, right? i don't know, i think it helps to have the rock star image down. especially if you are one. yes?

i was again happily surprised when memphis came on. i've always enjoyed the stars shows. torquil campbell is quite the firecracker. he reminds me of me! heehee. not only is he funny and clever, he's also very personable. he talks to the audience like he's your friend. you want to be friends with him. his live performances have improved as well, not that he was bad before. he wasn't. he's just gotten better. he's got a very distinguished voice. it can be soft and rock at the same time. what can i say, he's awesome.

after the show, i went and bought the new memphis cd. we got hooked up with free posters too! what a great end to the night! free posters, woo hoo!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

emily haines of metric

venue: café du nord (sold out)
artist: emily haines & the soft skeleton
who: betty, cousin lam & nina (again!)
when: 22 september 2006 (friday)
show starts at 9p, dinner reservations at 8:45p

yeah yeah, i'm back-dating but who cares...

i went to this show with my cousins lam & nina (future cousin) and betty. the great thing about café du nord is being able to get dinner reservations (with a $15 minimum) to get great seats. betty and i did this for trashcans back in 2004. the food is actually really good too. i had the steak entree we always end up spending more than $15/person but it's nice that we don't have to. and this time, it was lam's treat. thanks cousin! xoxo!

we got there a little late, they said to be there at least 30 minutes before your reservation but we didn't get there until close to 9p. which was fine because they hadn't even set up the tables yet. we had the same waitress as last time. i remember her because she was cool. we parked at the mortuary again, $10. it's just a block away. not bad considering parking in the castro is horrendous most of the time.

after getting settled with our dinner (we ordered at the bar), emily haines started the show soon after. the show was sold out and they added a late show at midnight so they got right to the point. she chatted us up more this time than she did at the metric show. her music is a lot more mellow than metric. it was like having her in my living room and just hanging out. she's got a great voice. it's really sultry and sexy. there was a picture show coordinating with the music. it was a nice artsy touch.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥