Your Daily Lick: Pine & Battery
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
2 (self-released)
Lovely, gentle indie-rock dominates Pine & Battery’s sophomore release. With skillful musicianship and solid songwriting, this is a step forward from its first release, but doesn’t abandon its previous musical style. Frontman Jeff Campbell’s melodic, pretty vocals tie the whole thing together and help Pine & Battery stand out in a sea of other bands working in the same genres.
At Grant & Green (1371 Grant Ave., San Francisco) on March 5. 10 p.m., free
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Animal Collective’s ODDSAC Film Screens in SF March 25
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
A feature film collaboration between the band Animal Collective and filmmaker Danny Perez will screen at San Francisco’s Sundance Kabuki Cinemas on Thursday, Mar. 25. Entitled ODDSAC, the film (which is being billed as a “visual album”) is a “dense and surreal layering of audio and visual elements that eschews conventional narrative to create a visceral, immersive experience.” (Just check out the trailer.) 6:30 & 8:30 p.m., $15.
The screening will feature director Danny Perez and members of Animal Collective.
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The Heart Is A Drum Machine DVD Releases Tomorrow
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
A new documentary that explores the question “what is music?” releases on DVD tomorrow. The Heart Is a Drum Machine is a feature-length documentary directed by Christopher Pomerenke and featuring an original score by the Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd (including a cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” with Tool’s Maynard James Keenan on vocals). Also featuring Mickey Avalon, Jimmy Eat World, Modest Mouse, Wayne Coyne, John Frusciante, Jason Schwartman, MGMT, Sleater Kinney, Elijah Wood, and the Postal Service.
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Your Daily Lick: Elliot Randall & the Deadmen
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
Caffeine & Gasoline (self-released)
Transplanted Southern boy Elliot Randall makes charming Americana. With classic three-part harmonies, country twang, and subtle rock elements, Caffeine & Gasoline sounds deeply authentic. Like most country, lyrically it’s depressing stuff, but in a way anyone can empathize with. Most of this album falls under the bluesier end of the country spectrum — a welcome departure from most modern Americana.
At Cafe Du Nord (2174 Market St., San Francisco) on March 6. 9 p.m., $12
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Mills College Signal Flow Festival Starts Thursday
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
Want to hear the latest student works in experimental music and sound art? Mills College’s annual spring music festival, Signal Flow, includes performances of works such as Holly Herndon’s 195, which “explores the juxtaposition of acoustic, amplified and processed voice in an attempt to address the question of the electronic disembodiment of the human voice,” and Dan Good’s It’s Not About Time, in which “flashbacks from recent memory randomly overlay the live performance, mixing like and unlike textures and creating harmony and dissonance.” Signal Flow runs Thursday, Mar. 11 through Sunday, Mar. 14. All performances are free. For a full lineup, click here. http://music.mills.edu/signalflow/signalflow10/concerts.html
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Berkeley Art Museum Moving Downtown After All
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is moving to downtown Berkeley after all, and will occupy the former UC Printing Plant, the Chron reports. UC Berkeley had wanted to knock down the 70-year-old printing plant and replace it with a new museum, but fell well-short in its fundraising efforts.
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Sistas in the Pit Play Copwatch Anniversary Party
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
Twenty years ago, three women founded the police-accountability group Copwatch in Berkeley. And on Thursday, March 11, three women will celebrate the organization’s founding by playing “sexy rock, black-girl style.” The band Sistas in the Pit headlines a benefit concert for Copwatch at Ashkenaz (1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley), which will also double as a celebration for International Women’s Day and a memorial for Oscar Grant, who was killed by a BART police officer on January 1, 2009. Cat Brooks and Miss Jada Simone will also perform. 7:30 p.m., $10-20 sliding scale.
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Yelp Gets Sued Again
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
Yelp, the popular but controversial online site, has been sued in federal court again for alleged extortion, according to the San Jose Business Journal. It was the second time in the past few weeks that Yelp has been sued in court for an alleged of scheme of using customer reviews to make money. In the most recent case, a San Diego County day spa owner claims that Yelp deleted positive reviews that she solicited from customers after she refused to buy advertising with Yelp.
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Rebecca Kaplan Has a Shot at Being Mayor of Oakland
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan told the Oakland Tribune late last week that she’s “seriously” considering running for mayor this year, the Trib reports. Kaplan said she plans to issue an announcement about her decision next month. Her entry in the race would shake up the mayoral campaign, and would make her the third viable candidate, after ex-state Senator Don Perata and Councilwoman Jean Quan. Mayor Ron Dellums has not announced whether he plans to seek reelection.
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Mark Growden to Release New Album
Robert Gammon @ March 8, 2010 # Comments Off
“Americana noir” singer/multi-instrumentalist Mark Growden will release his ninth album, Saint Judas, on March 16 through Porto Franco Records. The San Francisco-based musician says the album includes themes of “love and loss, sin and faith, perseverance, compassion, and, most significantly, redemption,” explaining “it takes some grieving to get through to the joy.”
Listen to “Saint Judas”:
Growden will celebrate the release with a four-day concert series at Porto Franco Art Parlor (953 Valencia St., SF), Thursday, Mar. 11, through Sunday, Mar. 14. Shows at 8:30 p.m., plus a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. $20; $5 off for students with ID.
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