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: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

thao at nightlife

venue: california academy of sciences (cas)
artist: thao nguyen + the get down stay down & the french cassettes
when: 17 october 2013 (thursday)

it has only been about 6 months since i last saw thao in concert but it has been much longer since i've been to nightlife (maybe a year or so?). and perhaps even longer since i've been to a show on a date.

coincidentally, we are both members at cas. he had never been to nightlife so i thought it would be a fun thing to do together. having thao there was the cherry on top. we started the night with the planetarium show and it was quite romantic being in the dark for 30 minutes. in fact, the 30 minutes went by much faster than i preferred.

thao played outdoors and it was cold that night. since i've been to nightlife for a show (jens lekman), they have added very cool technological changes. not only did that include a screen behind the band to see them better but there was also a slideshow playing on the screen throughout and during the intermission between thao and the band before, called the french cassettes. they weren't bad either. anyway, thao was upbeat, energetic, and a little crazy as usual. and despite the cold, it was a great show and an even better date night. i thoroughly enjoyed myself.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

noise pop 2013

venue: great american music hall
artist: thao nguyen + the get down stay down @ noise pop
when: 2 march 2013 (saturday)
doors open at 7p

thao has a new album out called we the common. at first, i wasn't sure how much i liked it. but after seeing her live and paying attention to what it was about, it was really meaningful. it's about taking care of one another. it's been a long time since i found meaning in full length albums.

unfortunately, all three of her opening bands (sallie ford & the sound outside, before the brave, and kacey johansing) were horrendous. fortunately, the company was fabulous which made up for the openings.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

my baby's first concert!

venue: great american music hall
artist: thao & mirah, bobby & led to sea
who: chunky & ashley
when: 23 june 2011 (thursday)
doors open at 7p

i finally got the opportunity to take my niece to her first concert. we've been talking about it for a while and honestly, i think i was more excited than she was. we went to tommy's joynt (my usual place w/ ro) for dinner. i got the combo corned beef and pastrami sandwich on a roll au jus. i told my niece that we could share the sandwich and then have dessert at the concert. initially, she wasn't too sure about the "jus de viande" served on the side but tried a little. before i knew it, she was dipping her fingers in it to eat without any meat to go with. needless to say, she liked it.

i tried to get her to take a short nap in the car before the show, however, she didn't. we got there early, before the doors opened. i wanted to make sure we got the best seats, not just for her to be able to see. the first opening was led to sea, a solo violinist from seattle. she was fantastic. i was pretty impressed and happy that i was able to expose this type of talent to my niece. she used the loop machine and was able to create various types of sounds with her violin. she also had an amazing voice. the next band, bobby was not as impressive. there were two lead vocalists, one male and one female. the guy also played guitar. he was over to the right. the woman was center stage but frankly, was more like a side-show back up singer. she was a pretty terrible dancer and had vocals to match. even my niece didn't like them.
i've seen thao perform live with the get down stay down twice. i was really excited about seeing mirah live. and seeing them together is like 3 shows in one. unfortunately though, they didn't get on stage until 10:30p and that's when my niece began to fade. she lasted about 20 mins and i decided to take her home. that gave me about 5 songs which i was pretty happy about. i hope my niece was too.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½

know better learn faster

venue: the independent
artist: thao nguyen + the get down stay down, the portland cello project w/ david schultz
who: john
when: 21 november 2009 (saturday)

last month, i went to my last show of 2009. and similar to the number of shoes i purchased, it came out to a low total of 9. in 2008, i went to a total of 17 concerts so 9 is quite sad for me. i actually saw thao back in september with ro. and had planned to see her while i was in chicago over halloween. unfortunately, it didn't work out. what's funny is that i was going to see thao in chicago with john (who lives in chicago) and ended up seeing them with him here.

before the show, we went to dinner with my friends, grace and bob. we ate at espetus churrascaria in the city. if you've never been there, it's a fancy brazilian steakhouse smorgasbord. all the m-m-m meat that you can eat. and i ate and ate and ate. i took a break and ate some more. i ate more than john did. in fact, i ate my money's worth and his! i think he was a little scared of me afterward. hahah.

after dinner, we walked grace and bob back to their place (also where we parked) and headed over to the independent. we got there early so we could get good seats. in my ripe old age, i find that i don't mind sitting through opening acts if i can secure a seat. normally, i don't care for a good view as i can't really see anything unless i'm on the second floor. the independent does not have a second floor that is open to the public. however, the areas next to the walls are spaces that are a few steps above ground level. and i was pleasantly surprised by the opening bands. david schultz started off the night. he was charmingly folky. next up was the portland cello project. i really didn't know what to expect when i realized it would be mostly if not purely an instrumental set (with the occasional vocalist stepping in). they did a bunch of instrumental covers but the most impressive of them, was the super mario brothers video game theme. it was very entertaining.

by the time thao came on, the venue was packed. it looked like a full house. she was so excited about being back in the city (it was the end of their tour). when i saw thao and the get down stay down play back in september, it was prior to the release of know better learn faster. they played one song (body) from the new album. back to the current show... seeing thao live is a treat. she is so uniquely energetic and genuine. i don't think i've seen many (or any) musicians move the way she does while playing her guitar. it's interesting because she doesn't have the prettiest voice out there, nor are her lyrics particularly thought-provoking. what she does well is how she combines her vocals and the music (with the help of an awesome producer). the end result: amusing, upbeat and catchy tunes that i don't want to stop listening to.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ yep, still girl-crushing on her.

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!