Indie Obsessive: March 2015

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

“Cruel Intentions” by Chloe Black – A Song Review

It’s tempting to assume that all up-and-coming artists have a scaled down sound, because each “frill” and each “wrinkle” increases the cost of generating a song. But there are exceptions, and one is named Chloe Black. She forcefully entered the blogosphere with the release of “27 Club,” the song about the oddity of so many well-known musicians passing away at the age of twenty seven (for a list of members of the 27 Club, CLICK HERE). Today, with the release of “Cruel Intentions,” Black showed that she will remain a force.

“Cruel Intentions” almost seamlessly varies between two fundamentally different approaches in describing the end of a relationship. The transitions are almost seamless because the power of Chloe Black's voice pulls the two approaches together. During one approach, the vocals are somber and reflective, with minimal support. This is the case at the start of the song, “I won’t try to defend all of my crazy; I don’t know if you’d understand.” But the lead vocals in other segments of “Cruel Intentions” are supported by thunderous percussion and driving backing vocals.

“Cruel Intentions” by Chloe Black

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

Website: http://www.chloeblack.com/

The Preatures Are Headed to The Independent

This year, it will be a Tuesday visit

This is the second post that answers Darlene’s question, “Do you have any recommendations on upcoming concerts in the San Francisco area?" Hey, a Giants’ supporter from Australia will visit The Independent on Tuesday April 7, and it’s not a sellout. OK, Isabella Manfredi of The Preatures isn’t really a fan of the SF Giants, but she did wear the hat during the last visit to The Independent. It was the day the Giants won the World Series. After she was informed that the vintage Milwaukee Brewers’ cap she borrowed was a “wardrobe malfunction," she made the adjustment.

One of our favorite performances of 2014 was that of The Preatures. We recommend the April 7 show, and all others involving The Preatures.

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

Website: http://www.thepreatures.com/

This is the setlist for the last SF visit (click to enlarge)

Tour Dates of The Preatures

SATURDAY, 4 APRIL 2015 – TRACTOR TAVERN, SEATTLE, WA, USA

SUNDAY, 5 APRIL 2015 – DOUG FIR LOUNGE, PORTLAND, OR, USA

TUESDAY, 7 APRIL 2015 – THE INDEPENDENT, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA

https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/784159

WEDNESDAY, 8 APRIL 2015 – CLUB BAHIA, LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

THURSDAY, 9 APRIL 2015 – CASBAH, SAN DIEGO,CA, USA

SATURDAY, 25 APRIL 2015 – GROOVIN THE MOO, OAKBANK, SA, AUSTRALIA

SUNDAY, 26 APRIL 2015 – GROOVIN THE MOO, BUNBURY, WA, AUSTRALIA

SATURDAY, 2 MAY 2015 – GROOVIN THE MOO, BENDIGO, VIC, AUSTRALIA

SUNDAY, 3 MAY 2015 – GROOVIN THE MOO, CANBERRA, ACT, AUSTRALIA

SATURDAY, 9 MAY 2015 – GROOVIN THE MOO, MAITLAND, NSW, AUSTRALIA

SUNDAY, 10 MAY 2015 – GROOVIN THE MOO, TOWNSVILLE, QLD, AUSTRALIA

SATURDAY, 23 MAY 2015 – BASS IN THE GRASS , DARWIN, NT, AUSTRALIA

WEDNESDAY, 27 MAY 2015 – VIVIDLIVE , SYDNEY, NSW, AUSTRALIA

Monday, March 30, 2015

“What To Do with My Hands” by End of the Echo – A Song Review

This is a quick post for two reasons. First, time is short because of an upcoming vacation. Second, we can’t find much information about End of the Echo. The Soundcloud page identifies Riverside, California as the location of the band. Elsewhere, we found the statement “End of the Echo is a solo project by a songwriter named Adalbert." Finally, in a call for musicians on Bandmix.com, the “About” information provides:

Genre: Shoegaze/Dream Pop/Nu gaze/Electronic Rock
Screen name: endoftheecho
Level of commitment: Very Committed
Years playing music: 15

To that, we can only add that the song “What To Do with My Hands” shows promise.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Vaadat Charigim – Headed to SF’s Bottom of the Hill

Someone asked if we have any recommendations on upcoming performances in San Francisco. In some blog posts this week, we will try to answer that question. Since she is knowledgeable and varied in her music tastes (Darlene went to two 3-day festivals in a span of just over a week last year), she might be among the few people we know who wouldn't walk away if our response had been, “Well, would you like to see a Tel Aviv trio that is heavily into Shoegaze and sings all lyrics in Hebrew?” For most people, the interest in a live performance by Vaadat Charigm occurs only after hearing a few songs.

Vaadat Charigim will visit Bottom of the Hill on Friday May 15. Loosely translated, the band name is “Exceptions Committee.” The members are Yuval Haring (vocals, guitar),

Yuval Guttmann (drums) and Dan Bloch (bass).

The stop in San Francisco is part of the “Sinking as a Stone” album release tour of Vaadat Charigim. It’s the second album of the band. Embedded below is a song from the recent album (“Ein Li Makom”) and our favorite song from the first (“Odisea”).

“Ein Li Makom”) by Vaadat Charigim

“Odisea” by Vaadat Charigim

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

The tour dates within the U.S.

May 9 - Austin, TX – Levitation

May 11 - Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar

May 12 - San Diego, CA – Casbah

May 13 - Los Angeles, CA – Echo

May 14 - Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room

May 15 - San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill

May 16 - Portland, OR – Bunk Bar

May 20 - Seattle, WA – Barboza

May 22 - Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right

Forebear – A Band Review

In “North Korea & the Five Stages of Grief,” the strings draw and maintain the attention of the listener. In “Cusp” it’s the guitar hook, which is seemingly circular in its repeating pattern. The “dark” voice in the background of the final thirty seconds of “Cusp” is an interesting touch.

The songs are those of Forebear, a band based in Los Angeles. The members of Forebear are Scott Goldbaum (lead vocals, guitar), Molly Rogers (viola, keys, vocals), Mike Musselman (drums), and Nick Chamian (bass).

“Cusp” by ForeBear

“North Korea & the Five Stages of Grief” by Forebear

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

Website: http://www.forebear.la/

Lyrics of “CUSP”

I laughed so hard

was it a joke

I nearly choked to death

I’m not trying

to insult

your dog-eared intellect

Jedi-mind my P’s and Q’s tricks

dismiss my case

file away the fine print

pour me anything

we are same sides of a different coin

permanently engraved with the year we were born

and the languages we speak

I skip chapters

and episodes

I only want to see

what comes after

the curtains close

the characters you’ll be

Thought I was

one to try

anything a second time

music wars

sing or speak

to an addict’s heart

incessant beat

thought I was

safe at night

you were on the cusp

of being right

this kitchen sink I use to wash

my hands and think before I talk

I stopped trying

to take control

and filled my heart with peace

I laughed until

the joke got old

then cried with late relief

Jedi-mind my P’s and Q’s tricks

dismiss my case

file away the fine print

pour me anything

we are same sides of a different coin

permanently engraved with the year we were born

and the languages we speak

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Hippo Campus at The Independent – A Concert Review

It’s a scenario that brings a smile to the face of every concert-goer with the experience – you attend a performance to see a headliner that lives up to expectations, but it’s an opening band that makes the evening memorable. A few years ago, we went to The Independent in San Francisco to see a band from Australia (the Jezabels) and it was an unknown band from Las Vegas (Imagine Dragons) that created the buzz. We’re not ready to predict that there will be a popularity trajectory comparable to that experienced by Imagine Dragons, but last night “we went to a Mowgli’s concert and a Hippo Campus broke out” (apologies to fans of comedian Rodney Dangerfield).

Hippo Campus wasn’t an unknown. The night before, the band was the musical guest on Conan O’Brien’s late night talk show. A video of the appearance is embedded in this post. Still, while we were aware of the band and all but one song in their setlist, there were surprises.

Unabashedly, Hippo Campus will tell you that they provide dance-ready Pop ("kinda Pop" according to the Facebook page). One surprise was that when the vocals stepped aside, the guitars more than filled the gap. For a number of the songs of Hippo Campus, the impression is that an emphasis was placed on synchronizing guitar notes with the syllables in the lyrics. The track “Sophie So” is a good example, particularly early in the song. When the vocals take a rest, the guitars are unleashed from any restrictions and they take advantage.

A less significant, but endearing, surprise was that a band with the confidence they exhibited during the appearance on Conan showed vulnerability when they asked (with hope) whether the attendees had heard of their song. Responses from the attendees left no doubt that the song was known.