Girl Talk/Dan Deacon @ The Fillmore, 9/29/07

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

Girl Talk’s Night Ripper has been my go to album for when I want to hear something upbeat but can’t decide on something specific. It’s like having your ipod on shuffle for the best parts of your favorite songs.

ASK ABOUT ME

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I’d read good things about Dan Deacon, the opener, on Brooklyn Vegan, so I made sure to make it in time to catch his set.

So, it immediately becomes apparent that if I had any doubts that raver culture was making a comeback, they were now officially squelched. Perhaps the Love Parade had a small influence, but The Fillmore had been infiltrated with 18-21 year olds who were wearing ’80s neon and were obviously substituting their inability to purchase alcohol with something else.

My initial barrier to purchasing these tickets was that I thought it was an odd venue choice. This is a show that should be at Mezzanine. Both sets would go on to confirm my thoughts.

Dan Deacon, unbeknownst to us, plays in the middle of the crowd. Mind you, The Fillmore hold 1250 people. The only thing we could see was the trademark flashing green skull, and a blinking tripping Stimpy-esque cat. And we could kind of hear him. The sound was such an issue that he seemed to cut his set short. It looked like the 50 or so people around him were having a blast, but for the vast majority, the fun was lost on the crowd. It’s just not very inclusive. Mind you, this would be awesome at Slim’s or The independent, or Rickshaw.

youtube clip not from the SF show:

Girl Talk set up on the stage. One second into his set, the stage was swarmed. It was like the raver version of a mosh pit. I have no idea of the man is able to perform under those conditions. The table started inching forward and he was literally holding it on the stage. People were hovering over him from all directions, posing for pictures and jamming out. His laptop is covered in some kind of shiny cover, presumably to keep the dripping sweat from the crowd from short circuiting his performance. He played snippets from the album, but it was mostly new stuff. The set succeeded in making me anxious for his next album, but it wasn’t the most fun thing to experience live. While I felt compelled to stare at the stage, where I usually am witnessing someone work magic on a guitar in front of me, there really wasn’t much to watch. Except for the crazy exhibitionist crowd that crawled on stage, doing everything from simulating sex to showing off their attire (obscenely large gold chains, a duck hooded towel, and again, neon…). Perhaps The Hard Rock Chick should stay away from DJ shows…

another youtube clip, not from the SF show:

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

335Comments (1)2007-09-30+19%3A16%3A03hardrockchick

rockin’ you soon

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

On sale Friday @ 10a:

Serj Tankian @ Slims, 10/28. Man I wish I could go to this!!!

On sale Sunday @ 10a:

Kid Rock @ The Fillmore, 10/28

Danzig @ The Warfield, 11/2

Genre(s): Rockin' You Soon

334Comments (0)rockin%27+you+soon2007-09-27+07%3A22%3A48hardrockchick

rock out SF

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

Thurs/Sept. 27: Maldroid @ Stork Club (Oakland)
Fri/Sept. 28: Down @ The Warfield
Sat/Sept. 29: Girl Talk @ The Fillmore **HRC SHOW**
Sun/Sept. 30: Heaven and Hell, Alice Cooper, and Queensryche @ Concord **HRC SHOW**
Mon/Oct. 1: Perry Farrell’s Satellite Party @ GAMH **HRC SHOW**
Tues/Oct. 2: nada
Wed/Oct. 3: nada

Genre(s): Rock Out SF

333Comments (0)rock+out+SF2007-09-27+07%3A09%3A28hardrockchick

Not your grandma’s cruise

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

Goth Cruise. I found this on the VNV Nation MySpace page.

Well, the ship’s not black, but I doubt you’ll see an Hawaiian shirts in this crowd. Its sails from New York to Bermuda. It has a heavy music focus- with the last two cruises featuring band ‘hosts’ that record a special Goth Cruise CD compilation just for the participants.

Goth Cruise has been going on since 1989, and seems to have a documentary about it in progress.

Genre(s): Rockin' Things To Do

331Comments (3)Not+your+grandma%27s+cruise2007-09-26+07%3A00%3A24hardrockchick

Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

San Jose Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon. If it weren’t for asthma, I’d be there. There are bands on 14 stages along the way, and Ozomatli plays the show at the end of the route. Have fun, healthy rockers!

Genre(s): Rockin' Things To Do

332Comments (0)Rock+%27n+Roll+Half+Marathon2007-09-26+06%3A46%3A56hardrockchick

Air Guitar Nation

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

“Make Air, Not War”.

I had been trying to make it to the San Francisco regional Air Guitar Championship for the past two years, but had failed. I will fail no longer. This even must be planned around.

Air Guitar Nation is the type of documentary that, at times, seems like it might be a mockumentary. It takes itself really seriously.

The documentary follows the first US Air Guitar Championship, pitting two rivals against eachother- C-Diddy and Bjorn Turoque. It continues with the World Air Guitar Championship in Finland. And in between, there’s a whole lotta air guitar.

So, we’ve all done it, right? Air guitar is fun. Well, these guys take it to a whole new level. It’s a ’serious’ sport, with olympic style scoring, some star judges (Tom Morello!), and some intricate, well thought out performances.

So, do you have what it takes? Check this site for your region’s competition. Or if you think you’re really good, check out the World Championship site.

On a related note- I hope the Guitar Hero Championship that I’m going to in a couple of weeks is this entertaining.

Genre(s): Rockumentaries

330Comments (2)Air+Guitar+Nation2007-09-26+06%3A42%3A24hardrockchick

Warp 11 @ 12 Galaxies, 9/22/07

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

You know what? Chicks dig Star Trek. They especially dig Star Trek rock bands.

I am now ashamed to admit that I have never seen an episode of Star Trek. Luckily, I could muster enough pop culture references to catch the ‘Captain Kirk’, ‘Klingon’, and ‘Beam me up Scotty’ references.

Warp 11 is a Star Trek rock band. They might even be the Star Trek rock band. All I know is they have a serious sound and a serious following. Apparently Star Trek is serious business.

I’ve been to rock shows where the band has a number one album and the crowd didn’t know the words as well as they did for Warp 11. Especially the ladies- they were truly worked up into a frenzy. It was quite impressive. I couldn’t help shake the feeling that I needed to immediately go home and Netflix Star Trek and figure out what I had been missing my whole life.

The whole concept of a rock/punk band built around an already iconic cultural reference is an interesting idea. After some googling, I’ve discovered the following:

-AeroSith: Star Wars costumed band that plays Star Wars themed parodies of rock songs
-Stovokar: a Klingon rock band, classified as death metal
- Harry and the Potters: you guessed it.

And there’s apparently lots more where that came from.

Anyways, seeing Warp 11 is a lot of fun- especially if you are a Star Trek fan. A busty rocker chick, edgy lyrics (Jerk My Kirk?), and plenty of Vulcan salutes are purely a recipe for success.

warp 11

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

329Comments (2)Warp+11+%40+12+Galaxies%2C+9%2F22%2F072007-09-24+05%3A39%3A38hardrockchick

rock and shop: miss fortune designs

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

Miss Fortune makes de/re/constructed shoes and bags. It’s all handmade so no two are alike. Really cute stuff. You can find them at Urban Outfitters.

Genre(s): Things to Spend Money On

328Comments (0)rock+and+shop%3A+miss+fortune+designs2007-09-23+21%3A51%3A35hardrockchick

myspace find: the common men

by hardrockchick [about 2 years, 5 months ago.]

The Common Men’s ’sounds like’: Interpol, Joy Division, David Bowie, The Cinematics, Franz Ferdinand, New Order, Editors, Moving Units, Bauhaus, The Cure, Elefant. Nice combo.

Genre(s): You should check out:

327Comments (0)myspace+find%3A+the+common+men2007-09-23+19%3A42%3A54hardrockchick