Monday, July 21, 2014

The Independent in San Francisco – Upcoming Concert Opportunities

     While factors sometimes cause adjustments in the order of Indie Obsessive's list of favorite concert venues, The Independent in San Francisco is always among the top three venues. Often The Independent tops the list. The venue is intimate (capacity is about 500), the floor plan is right (the long side of the rectangular layout is parallel to the stage), the sound system is more than adequate, the employees are professional, and an amazing array of artists is booked despite the small capacity.
     With that background, this post is about upcoming concert opportunities at The Independent, where the events should be sold out already. But tickets remain available.

     The Rural Alberta Advantage will visit The Independent on Monday October 27th (for tickets, CLICK HERE). The visit will follow their release of the album “Mended with Gold." As the band name more than suggests, they are from Canada. However, the Facebook and Soundcloud sites of The Rural Alberta Advantage identity the curren hometown as Toronto, which is in Ontario rather than Alberta.  The members are Paul Banwatt (percussion), Amy Cole (multi-instrumentalist) and Nils Edenloff (singer/songwriter).
     “Terrified” by The Rural Alberta Advantage

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruralalberta

     Strand of Oaks is the performance name of Tim Showalter of Goshen, Indiana. Strand of Oaks will perform at The Independent on Saturday, August 30 (for tickets, CLICK HERE). If you were to limit yourself to the cover picture and the first minute of the song “Shut In,’ the assumption would be that the song is well suited for performance on a stage by an acoustic guitar played by a solo singer/songwriter. But at the 1:03 mark of “Shut In,” the assumption is shattered as an electric guitar pushes its way into clear “view.” The same little riff is overpowered by another electric guitar at 2:08. Nicely done, Tim.
     “Shut In” by Strand of Oaks  


     Fink was introduced to Indie Obsessive in May. Despite receiving repeated play that is characteristic of an obsessive personality, we haven’t grown tired of the song “Looking Too Closely;” and we look forward to seeing the song performed live at The Independent on Friday October 10 (for tickets, CLICK HERE).
     The members of Fink are Fin Greenall (vocals and guitar), Guy Whittaker (bass) and Tim Thornton (drums). The piano in “Looking Too Closely” is provided by Ruben Hein.
     “Looking Too Closely" by Fink


     A friend with an impressive amount of music knowledge (David F.) has a friend with an even greater base of music knowledge. The two combined to introduce us to “As Always” by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. We were aware of the band, having first seen them at the Outside Lands Music Festival in 2011. We enjoy the song “Same Mistake.” But “As Always” is a departure from our characterization of the band. Rather than a reliance on the distinctive vocals of Alec Ounsworth, “As Always” showcases instrumental skills. The variation should be a positive for attendees of their live performances, since changes of pace keep setlists interesting.
     BUT BE AWARE: The information at the calendar of The Independent states that the visit is by “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Alec Ounsworth (solo).” This could mean that he is indeed on stage alone or that he is with other musicians but not other members of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. We plan to wait for the start of the tour and then read reviews of the early appearances. For ticket information, CLICK HERE.
     “As Always” by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

     “Same Mistake” by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

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