Intrusion of Balkan Fusion!

Zach Condon of Beirut

When we talk about world music it seems there has always been quite an unequal divide between the ‘West and the rest,’ that is, until Beirut came along.

Well, actually, we have Sting and Paul Simon to credit for mastering the selling power of world fusion music but Beirut is high on the list of innovators who figured out how to serve up traditional folk music only to be gobbled by the masses as new. However, I must give Zach Condon some credit. He created the perfect recipe for the ultimate indie-fusion package: add two cups of dreamy trombone, just a tablespoon of musicianship, three cups of accordion and you’ve got a hit.

Removing my tongue from my cheek, I must say, Beirut was unstoppable at Treasure Island Music Festival on October 18th, 2009. The band delivered, hands down, the best performance of sunday’s all-star lineup. Condon announced that it was Beirut’s last show of a long tour and they pleased fans with a number of  hit singles from past albums. Some may have been surprised by the absence in his set of songs from his latest dual EP, March of the Zapotec and Real People: Holland, but fans didn’t let on. Opening the show with “Nantes“, the Bay echoed with a chorus of fans belting lyrics that could be heard from the top of Coit Tower. As much as I would like to dislike 23 year-old cocky Condon, his eight-piece band is truly great at what they do. It was a lovely performance, one that left me ear to ear with “A Sunday Smile.”

Check out Beirut’s performance of “Elephant Gun” recorded live at Treasure Island Music Festival October 18, 2009

Photo courtesy of Tumblr.com

The Decemberists = Bored Face at Treasure Island

The Decemberists Photo by: Autumn DeWilde

Anyone who purchased a $65 ticket to see sunday’s lineup at the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco, CA was awarded the privilege to witness The Decemberists give the worst performance in main stage festival history.

I mean that shiz was wiggity wack, not just the regular type!

Decemberist fans from the early 2000s might remember heartwarming Meloy for his acoustic folk gems like Leslie Anne Levine and Engine Driver. But now, The Decemberists have gone electric and not in a Bob Dylan kind of way.

Here is the story: The Decemberists released their newest album The Hazards of Love, designed to be a rock opera, on March 24, 2009. The plot is a love story, a woman – dressed as a fairy – named Margaret (Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond) falls in love with a shape-shifting boreal forest dweller named William (lead singer Colin Meloy). But as we all know, no story is complete without a jealous forest queen (Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond) to add a little controversy to the wackjob ensemble of characters that create this album.

Does this sound lame? That’s because it is. And oh yeah, they played the WHOLE thing.

If the ‘fairy’ and ‘forest dweller’ weren’t enough to send fans straight to the nearest Porta Potty, a terribly animated film that played along side this three chord opera sealed the deal. 

Fans have always loved The Decemberists because of Meloy’s knack for storytelling but this time he missed the mark. I give the band credit for trying to push the envelope and do something new but the band needs to get back in the studio and do something good.

Where to start? Get rid of the fairy.

Treasure Island Music Festival 2009

Flaming Lips play the Bridge stage at Treasure Island Music Festival October 18th, 2009 Photo: Kelly Mahan

Treasure Island in San Francisco, CA transformed once again this weekend for the third annual Treasure Island Music Festival. Attendees ‘awwed’ and ‘ooed’ at SF’s skyline as they crossed the Bay Bridge on shuttle busses that hustled fans to and from the event. 

What started out as a dreary day turned into a beautiful sunset as Beirut and his quartet of brassy Balkan songsters serenaded tweens and music fiends but the big finish came with a blow out show from The Flaming Lips. The Oklahoma psychedelic rockers closed out this years festival with a bang while fans screamed and relished in the confetti and streamers bursting from their set. To put it simply, concert goers went home happy.

Photo Slide Show>

Where my Kings at?

It has been about 5 years since scando cuties Erlend Øye and Eirik Bøe released an album under the moniker Kings of Convenience…

I say moniker because well, let’s get real here no matter what the name of the project it all sounds the same when it comes to Øye. But, we love it.

This Woody Allen doppleganger has been quite busy with his current project, Whitest Boy Alive – my personal favorite of his endeavors – but at last Kings of Convenience are set to release their newest album Declaration of Dependence which will hit stores on October 19th.

Check out their first single A Boat Behind – the little scandi-folk crooners are back. : )

If you find yourself in the UK catch these guys playing live:

October 13th – Bexhill, De La Warr Pavilion

October 14th – London, Barbican

October 15th – Warwick, Arts Centre

24 views of San Francisco

 

From September 3rd through the 26th, 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco is showcasing 24 different San Franciscan artists and their view of the city they love . NeighborhoodSF is a collection from San Francisco’s top artists who were each given the assignment to represent the city’s many unique neighborhoods.

Artists include: Mike Giant, Jeremy Fish, Sylvia Ji, MARS-1, Coro [Justin Kaufman], Nate Van Dyke and Adam 5100 – just to name a few.

Jeremy Fish covers North Beach, S.F’s “Little Italy,” and the best part is that he’s showcasing and selling limited edition silkscreen prints of a unique North Beach piece for the unbelievable low price of $40! But wait, it gets better…all proceeds will go the homeless outreach organization; North Beach Citizens.

Limited edition prints of work by Mike Giant, Sylvia Ji, Coro, and Brett Amory will be made available opening night and for the duration of the showas well

Don’t forget this is the last weekend to catch this unique collection so be there or be square!

Photo courtesy of 111 Minna

Swedish synthpop duo The Knife debuts Opera in Copenhagen!

Just when we thought The Knife couldn’t get any weirder…they decide to go and compose an Opera!

 The Swedish synthpop duo has collaborated with the Danish theater group Hotel Pro Forma on Tomorrow, in a year known as I Morgen om et År in Danish, an 80 minute electro – opera commemorating the 150th publication anniversary of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of  Species.

The show is directed by Ralf Richardt Strøbech and Kirsten Dehlholm while hip-hop inspired Hiroaki Umeda provided the choreagraphy for the six dancers on stage. The show includes an opera singer, a pop singer, and an actor that perform The Knife’s original compositions representing Darwin, time, and nature.

” The performance is divided into two parts – analogous to the development and publications of The Origin of Species. The first part of the performance is exploratory. It concentrates on observing the underlying sequences and relationships between image, narrative, movement and music used in the performance. The second part is a synthesis of the material. It is written for three singers of different backgrounds: popular music, classical opera and the performing arts. They are the narrators and the main characters in the performance,” Hotel Pro Forma describes.

If you find yourself at a stop on Tomorrow, in a year’s tour you MUST check out what will, without a doubt, be an unforgettable and electrifying experience!

DATES

Sept. 2, 2009            Old Stage, Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen – WORLD PREMIERE 

Sept. 4-5, 2009         Old Stage, Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen

Sept. 11-12, 2009      Chateau Rouge, La Batie – Festival de Geneve

Oct. 8-9, 2009          Hellerau – European Center for the Arts Dresden, Germany

Nov. 27-28, 2009      Large Hall, The Concert Hall Århus, Denmark

Jan. 29-31, 2010       Dansens Hus, Stockholm

Sam3 hits San Jose

Hailing from Granada, Spain Sam3 debuted his first solo exhibition,”Exsitu Insitu,” at Anno Domini gallery in San Jose, California on September 4th.

Since 2006, Sam3 has been creating what he refers to as “shadows” in the form of dark silhouetted murals which can now be seen in 24 cities and 13 countries worldwide. “Exsitu Insitu” includes 12 new works on canvas as well as a hand painted stop animation film all created in San Jose in the days leading up to the gallery’s September 4th opening.

Sam hand painted 2,136 frames of animation on the gallery’s three main exhibition walls which serve as the back drop for his canvas work. Each frame was photographed and then digitally animated by Sam himself. The musical score to the film was composed by Endika Currier of San Jose’s Nu Class jazz group, Panthelion.

Exhibition dates: September 4 – October 17, 2009

Gallery hours: Tuesday through Friday, noon – 7 p.m., Saturday, noon – 5 p.m.

Be sure to check out his animation here: EXSITU INSITU from sam3 on Vimeo.