Sunday, February 27, 2011
Noise Pop Live Review: Peanut Butter Wolf
Noise Pop Music Festival Bailey Pennick — Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 5:48 PM
Chris Manak — better known as Peanut Butter Wolf and the founder of Stones Throw Records — is a live DJ known for his eclectic mix of rap, soul, hip-hop, and funk, all wrapped in a lively and fun package. Sadly, all that — the light fun, and visual mash-ups for which he's known —was nowhere to be found during last night’s Noise Pop show at Public Works SF.
Noise Pop Review and Interview: Nick Zinner's 1001 Images
Noise Pop Music Festival Bailey Pennick — Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 11:25 AM
Anyone walking into the small gallery space of Public Works SF last night for the opening party of Nick Zinner’s 1,001 Images, would've felt as if they'd known Zinner for years. From ceiling to floor, the white walls of the exhibit room were covered with photographs (1,001, to be exact), documenting the Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist’s life. Zinner — with an incredibly low and soft-spoken voice, and wearing his signature all-black ensemble — was incredibly kind and enthusiastic to talk about his work with Ear Bud.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Noise Pop Live Review: Ted Leo Solo, for Better and for Worse
Local Show Reviews Nate Seltenrich — Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 11:10 AM
Ted Leo sans Pharmacists. It’s an interesting prospect. His songwriting, teetering ever intriguingly between anti-establishment punk and romantic, pensive indie-rock — all infused with a certain charming East Coast Irish spitfire — is sufficiently strident to survive on guitar and vocals alone. And, as Leo proved last night during a headlining solo Noise Pop performance at Bottom of the Hill, his personality is strong enough to be in no need of support on an otherwise vacant stage. Yet I couldn’t escape the feeling that something was missing. I suspect I'm not alone in this: Ted Leo without a rhythm section is like Justin Timberlake without glistening pectoral muscles: he may not need it to survive, but he’s not necessarily better off without it.
Weekender: The Next Three Days in the East Bay
Ellen Cushing — Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 8:45 AM
Plan the next 72 hours of your life, with help from our esteemed critics. Below, the five events you shouldn't miss this weekend:
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Finally, KPFA Reinstates Brian Edwards-Tiekert with Back Pay
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 1:33 PM
Sadly, that doesn't mean the "Morning Mix" show is going away. But it does at least mean a small victory for well-liked former Morning Show reporter Brian Edwards-Tiekert, who was laid off out of seniority order. KPFA's rather complex union contract embraces the principle of first-hired, last-fired — except when the person on the chopping block has some kind of indispensable skill. Yet, Tiekert's supporters argue that he was fired for being critical of the Pacifica board. Three months have passed since the famous "last Morning Show" broadcast in which Edwards-Tiekert, co-host Aimee Allison, and producer Aileen Alfandary battled with Pacifica director Arlene Engelhardt on the air, and in the interim the two laid-off morning show hosts both filed union grievances.
Live Review: Dan Deacon's Rickshaw Stop Show Was a Hot Mess
Local Show Reviews Ellen Cushing — Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 10:19 AM
in the best way possible, that is. Anyone who's seen the trash-DIY electronic artist perform knows that the music itself is almost secondary to the extracurricular activities: Deacon treats his live show less like a passive experience and more like a dance party, presiding over the crowd like something between an avuncular professor type and a benevolent dictator. From the moment Deacon started playing at around 11:15, it was clear that last night's show — the second of two Noise Pop gigs for him this week — was no exception.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
As Protests Continue, KUSF Buyer Hopes to Move Operations Away from Campus
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 4:45 PM
There's no sign of abatement for the KUSF protests, but the university refuses to renege the deal, saying it could face a multi-million dollar lawsuit for breach of contract. In light of the flap, prospective buyer Classical Radio Network — a non-profit spawned from the University of Southern California — is asking the FCC for permission to move the station's transmitter to a more remote location, according to a recent blog posted by the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club. Specifically, Classical Radio Network wants to move operations to a hill in Sausalito known as "Wolfback Ridge." The tower there is also home to pop stations Alice 97.3 and KISS FM, as well as KCBS radio.
Noise Pop Starts Tonight; Badge Deadline at 3 p.m. Today
Just-Announced Shows / Bay Area Bands / Noise Pop Music Festival Kathleen Richards — Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 2:24 PM
Noise Pop kicks off tonight with Dan Deacon at the Independent and Yo La Tengo at the Fox Theater (full schedule here). A bunch of shows have already sold out, but buying a badge will gain you access to them. Catch is, the deadline to buy a badge is today at 3 p.m. Afterward, download NP's handy iPhone app.
Sold-out shows so far:
Ben Gibbard
Best Coast & Wavves
Ted Leo
Max Bemis
How To Dress Well
Geographer
Dan Deacon @ Rickshaw (tickets to the Independent show tonight are still available)
Aesop Rock & Kimya Dawson
Tamaryn
Versus
High on Fire Stranded in New Zealand Due to Earthquake
Breaking News / Bay Area Bands Kathleen Richards — Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 2:07 PM
Oakland metal band High on Fire happened to be in Christchurch, New Zealand, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the region on Tuesday, killing dozens of people. According to the New Zealand music site Under the Radar, the band — which just embarked on a tour with The Melvins after playing a packed show at Slim's on Sunday, Feb. 13, was just about to board a plane to Wellington for another show when the quake struck. According to a press release put out by the promoter yesterday, both bands are unharmed, but according to the latest update, they're still stuck in Christchurch.
Queens of the Stone Age, who are scheduled to perform at the Fox Theater in Oakland on April 11, and Amanda Palmer also had to cancel their shows in Christchurch due to the quake.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Prince Adds Thursday Show
Just-Announced Shows Ellen Cushing — Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 7:06 PM
This just in: The purple one has, mercifully, added a show for Feb. 24 to his Oakland tour stop. Get on it, East Bay.
Update, 2/22 — Prince-mania sweeps the East Bay: Last night's show apparently nearly sold out the Oracle Arena — which, by the way, seats almost 20,000— and there are, as of this writing, a whopping 868 people selling tickets (at various price points!!) for tomorrow and Thursday's shows on Craigslist.
