Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Alpine Joins Joywave and Others – A Concert Opportunity

     On September 18, the lineup of bands at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco has a multinational flavor. The bands are from Australia (Alpine), Canada (Teen Daze) and the U.S. (Joywave and Heavenly Beat). Earlier this year, we saw Joywave put on a surprisingly well rounded performance at The Fillmore. There are good reasons to look forward to seeing them at the more intimate Rickshaw Stop (this time as the headliner), but it’s Alpine that has the gravitational pull to cause us to be in the audience on September 18. For ticket information, CLICK HERE

     Alpine grabbed attention with the release of “Hands” in 2011, but it was “Gasoline” that woke the blogosphere. The attractiveness of the female vocals (Phoebe Baker and Lou James) surfaces with almost the first note of “Gasoline” and the guitar hook and percussion cooperate well with the vocals.
     This year, Alpine released their second album, “Yuck.” The tracks on “Yuck” continue to take advantage of the strengths of the band, such as the “sweetness” of the female voices that tends to mask the vocal strengths of the two singers. However, there’s an increased sophistication in this second album, particularly when the voices are layered, such as in the final thirty seconds of “Foolish.” Another example is the single-note guitar plucks that are strategically placed in “Damn Baby.” The song would do fine without those notes, but it is often these small touches that allow a song to remain fresh after multiple listens.
     Alpine is based in Melbourne. The members are Christian O’Brien (guitar), Ryan Lamb (bass), Tim Royall (keys), Phil Tucker (drums), Phoebe Baker (vocals) and Lou James (vocals).
     “Foolish" by Alpine

      “Gasoline” (from the earlier album)



Alpine performed a Tiny Desk Concert in 2013:


     Alpine will be touring the U.S. with Joywave -- “Somebody New”


The dates of the Alpine U.S. tour: 
Sep 14 /// Barboza /// Seattle, WA
Sep 15 /// Star Theater /// Portland, OR
Sep 18 /// San Francisco /// Rickshaw Stop
Sep 22 /// Troubadour /// Los Angeles, CA
Sep 23 /// Casbah /// San Diego, CA
Sep 25 /// Kilby Court /// Salt Lake City, UT
September 27 /// Kansas City, MO /// The Riot Room
September 29 /// Minneapolis, MN /// Triple Rock
September 30 /// Chicago, IL /// Lincoln Hall
October 2 /// St. Louis, MO /// Firebird
October 3 /// Indianapolis, IN /// The HiFi
October 6 /// Detroit, MI /// The Shelter
October 7 /// Toronto, CA /// The Garrison
October 8 /// Pittsburgh, PA /// Mr. Smalls
October 9 /// Buffalo, NY /// The Waiting Room
October 10 /// Rochester, NY /// Anthology
October 14 /// Washington, DC /// U Street Music Hall
October 15 /// Philadelphia, PA /// Boot & Saddle
October 17 /// Boston, MA /// Brighton Music Hall
October 20 /// New York, NY /// Bowery Ballroom

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