OPENING FOR: Destroyer at The Fillmore

WHAT TIME? 9PM Sharp.

WHEN? Tuesday, June 5th 2012 (Tomorrow)

WHY SHOULD I GO?

You are cordially invited to another classy night of music and humor hosted by none other than Snob Theater. This night of smart humor and brilliant music will be accompanied by Dhaya Lakshminarayanan (SF Sketchfest, High School Quiz Show, NPR), Karl Hess (Montreal Just For Laughs, G4 TV, Bridgetown Comedy Festival), Mike Drucker (wrote for SNL, The Onion, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), and the amazing Rory Scovel (Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show, CONAN).

And of course our musical guests will include dark folk artists Whiskerman and Tea Leaf Green lead songwriter and keyboardist Trevor Garrod.

This is a rare chance to experience these artists in an intimate environment, in affect, seating is very limited.

I entered the slightly packed Regency Ballroom with minimal knowledge of what Yann Tiersen is like in a live setting. All I knew were his heartbreaking and simplistic compositions for the films Amélie and Good Bye Lenin. I did have a few tracks from 2010’s Dust Lane, but I don’t remember if I particularly enjoyed it enough to return to it. After carefully doing my research on his recent album, Skyline, I realized his non-soundtrack material is significantly different but no less engaging and cinematic.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to witness two extraordinary bands play the classy and echoing halls of The Palace of Fine Arts. Having seem Jonsi (of Sigur Ros) and The Books dominate this stage already, I was confident that both the mighty Explosions in the Sky and Books guitarist Nick Zammuto’s aptly named new project Zammuto would mesh well with this elegant and seated venue.

I’ve seen my fair share of the Bay Area’s own WATERS perform at some of San Francisco’s most prestigious concert venues and Van Pierszalowski always surprises. If you’ve been lucky enough to witness Delta Spirit live, you’d know this is a perfect line-up for May 11th at The Fillmore. So show up early and see these guys rock your gorgeous face off!
Keep in mind that WATERS’ debut full length was released last year and is a healthy addition to anyones music library.

Buy it now.

MP3: WATERS – For The One from Out in the Light (2011)

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.

Finally! Lets wrap up this party of post about the festival I attended two months ago. Let’s get something straight though before I describe the conclusion to my festivities; SXSW is more than just an interactive festival of music, film, and social media advances, it’s a social experience on several different levels. Yes there is free live music (minus official shows), free beer, free food, and free transportation (see Ray-Ban Taxi), but what makes SXSW is the adventure of it all. Even though you’re being bombarded with all sorts of corporate messages and absurdly ridiculous marketing techniques (see Giant Doritos Vending Machine Stage), SXSW is a playground for the modern young adult. You experience music you’ve never heard before, try food you’ve never tasted before, meet people you’ve never met before, and participate in all sorts of adventures that will garner stories that will eventually be shared with your friends, future children, or cats. It’s not just one of the best music festivals around, it’s one of the best communal gatherings of young, like-minded people around. I will be back again next year for sure.

Now without further ado, here’s the rest of The SUPER LATE SXSW 2012 Coverage.

I’ll keep it short as Brown Bird’s set was exactly that. If you haven’t heard of the RI/Maine duo, it’s about time you put down that Mumford & Sons album and list to what gritty folk rock can really sound like. With David Lamb at acoustic guitar in hand and cellist Morganeve Swain, the band displays passionate and intelligent songs of adventure, tear jerking stories of loss, and psychedelic journeys through the human mind only a seasoned mountain man would understand. With the foot stomping grandeur of Bilgewater from last year’s Salt to Salt, the fierce and forceful Down to the River from 2009’s The Devil Dancing, to the pure melancholy of The Brokedown Palace of My Head from 2008’s Bottom of the Sea; Brown Bird displays all respectful aspects of traditional blues-based folk music that isn’t washed over by pop sensibilities and simplistic escapism. Brown Bird makes you work to understand why they sing what they sing. It’s a rewarding experience for anyone willing to take the time to recognize their talent.

“What’s that Shawn? You haven’t finished talking about SXSW?”

No I haven’t Mr. Made-Up-Person, I have not. It’s called “being super busy with stuff.” Now that those things are done, I can wrap this shit up and move on to other stuff. What do you say? Wanna read about a festival that happened two months ago? Yes? Okay one person, I shall!