Katz Bagels (& mediocre pizza) axed the crazy alien flying in a giant bagel from their signage recently. What is going on in my old neighborhood? Next thing they'll tell me is that B&K Cleaners will be overtaken by the Mob.
There's a before picture on Flickr where you can see the flying bagel in all its glory.
While I could complain about my sporadic access to hot water this week or the lack of power on my block for twelve hours this weekend, we all know there are more pressing concerns in the world. This week the country's oil issues hit close to home when a 810-foot-long container ship hit the Bay Bridge releasing 58,000 gallons of oil into the bay.
The area has been blanketed in a thick fog for a couple of weeks but this is typical weather here at 8:30 in the morning. No other ships in recent history have rammed into the bridge and investigations into the incident are ongoing. The Coast Guard is blaming the ship's pilot; the pilot is saying that the Guard gave him the okay. We'll probably be hearing about the case for months while it will take volunteers even longer to clean up the area.
The oil spill has already impacted the Bay Area. A triathlon on Treasure Island today became a biathlon as the swimming portion was canceled. The start of the crab season has been delayed and sport fishing has been closed.
During my sojourn home, I read an interesting article in the New Yorker on Paul Watson who is the man behind the Sea Shepherd Conversation Society.
Raffi Khatchadourian paints Watson as a controversial environmentalist whose extreme tactics are not supported by other major environmental agencies. (Watson was kicked out of Greenpeace.) He and his crew of mostly unpaid volunteers seek out fishing ships in the world's oceans and impair the ships to prevent them from continuing to hunt and fish. This tactic also puts his crews in danger. In seeking out a Japanese whaling fleet, Watson's ailing ship the Farley Mowat set out "to end its days at sea as a battering ram in the service of marine life."
Depending on the interpretation of laws applied to the oceans, specifically the U.N. World Charter for Nature, Watson's activities are illegal.
No country regards ramming, disabling, or scuttling ships to be legal activities, and, except on rare occasions, even naval ships cannot lawfully interfere with foreign vessels on the high seas.
This has caused Watson's ships to be stripped of their flags by countries who did not support his actions. When the Farley lost its flag in Australia, Watson ran a Sea Shepard flag up the line and told his crew that they were "on a pirate ship."
While Watson is fighting the good fight and his concerns about illegal fishing of endangered oceanic animals is admiral, the actions he takes are questionable. Read Khatchadourian's full article online at newyorker.com.
Unlike the beloved Bert on Sesame Street, I've never been all warm and fuzzy about pigeons. I usually wear a look of disgust when I see someone feeding them. However, I've never had a desire to punt one into the endzone either.
Yesterday, I Twittered about a pigeon that was stuck in a contraption on top of the roof my south facing windows look out on (click for my POV). (By the way, the sound of a pigeon trying to escape from an aluminum bowl resembles nails on a chalkboard.) The pigeon was still there today and had a visitor who appeared to be laughing down at his doomed brethren (see sketch). This was starting to bother me a bit. I was concerned about the pigeon. Not knowing how long it takes for a pigeon to starve to death, I really did not want to struggle with that guilt for a long time, but I wasn't sure what to do.
In a bit of random Friday conversation at work, we ended up chatting about pigeons. My co-workers care as much as (if not more than) I do about not letting helpless things suffer. They demanded encouraged me to take action, and immediately, I was sent a phone number for the local SPCA.
I went on the roof to check on the pigeon before calling to confirm that the pigeon was alive. It was in the vent and trapped in the space below the inner dome with nothing to grab on to and not enough room to spread its wings.
I called a few numbers before I got to the right one. The only number that matters is 415 554-9405 which I suppose you can call for your animal rescuing needs in San Francisco. I didn't get the feeling the guys on the phone cared about the pigeon trapped on the roof, and I was feeling a bit silly about calling. However, a woman showed up a couple hours later in an official looking khaki uniform with a net ready to go into action. She seemed to care even about the lowly pigeon. Within a minute, the pigeon flew away. She said that pigeons usually nest in those spaces, but this pigeon was unable to get out. It doesn't say much about the intelligence of this particular pigeon.
This experience sadly was the most interesting episode of my week.
Another update: Tickets are not available at any Amoeba store. Only by listening to KFOG or on the day of the show at Café Du Nord.
UPDATE: According to the Spoon mailing list, tickets will be given away. Here are the details:
...we'll be at Café Du Nord in San Francisco. You can win tickets by listening to KFOG and/or buying Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga at Amoeba (Berkeley) on 7/10. There will also be a small stash of tix sold at the door (for cheap) on the day of show. No advance tickets for this one. Rogue Wave opens.
Although I am not very excited by what I have heard of Spoon's new album, my curiosity is peaked by a show that was just announced for a week from Saturday. Here's what we do know:
KFOG Presents: SPOON There will be NO ADVANCE TICKET SALES for this show. All tickets will be sold day of show. Please continue to watch our website for further updates/details. Thank you!
Thank you, too, for managing to do nothing other than make me want to know more.
I'm not even sure if the show is at Cafe du Nord or the Swedish American Hall, but with tickets not being sold in advance, it means waiting in line more than once. Hmm. Saturday is my day off, but normal people also have that day off. Am I going to be able to get in? If the show is at Cafe du Nord, it will be packed with sweaty hipsters, but at Swedish American Hall there is seating and more space. (I saw Britt Daniel solo at Swedish American Hall, and it was awesome. (Read about that show.)
Even a mediocre Spoon album is better than 99% of everything else being released, so you should purchase Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga on July 10th when it is released.
While the rest of the world goes on about their lives, I'll be refreshing cafedunord.com every hour to find out more.
Ah, June is almost over which means that Pride is over and fireworks will soon be polluting the sky. The pomp and circumstance of Pride does not interest me, so my participation is limited to watching parades from the sidelines and going to see movies at the queer film festival, and Frameline 31 screens hundreds of films throughout the Bay Area for two weeks each June.
Itty Bitty Titty Committee was the closing night film I attended. Producer Andrea Sperling won the 2007 Frameline Award which was presented before the movie started with a far too long retrospective followed by a few speeches.
Sperling's wife, Jamie Babbit, is the director of Itty Bitty Titty Committee and was also in the audience to introduce the film. IBTC is a look at a feminist radical group fueled by a soundtrack of all your favorite Riot Grrrl bands. It's a fun film with some fantastical moments at the end that were only forgotten by the making out montage closing the film. If you don't take the film too seriously, it is easy to enjoy. The acting and production values are better than many films with bigger budgets. (Watch the trailer on YouTube.)
A few members of the cast and crew answered questions after the film, including Nicole Vicius, who played Sadie the worst-girlfriend-ever; Daniela Sea, who got the most applause, not for her character Calvin, but for her part on The L Word; and Guinevere Turner, who had a glorified cameo as a reporter. Babbit fielded most of the questions. One audience member was concerned about the excessive smoking by the characters in the film. There is a campaign to keep smoking out of the queer community that is building steam. I've seen posters on the sides of Muni buses in the city. Babbit, a non-smoker, said that the entire cast smoked which contributed, but smoking by twenty-something members of a radical group is not uncommon.
Audience Award Winner, Vier Minuten (Four Minutes), was the stand out of the three showings I attended at Frameline. A story of a piano teacher at a women's prison in Germany as she connects with a jailed prodigy. The film weaved glimpses of the present with Nazi activity in the same prison during WWII. The piano teacher was the common link between the two eras. It's a beautiful story about the relationship between these two very different women. I forgot to vote, so I'm really glad this film won the Audience Award.
The Look of Love was the title of the shorts program at the Roxie described as a "collection of shorts highlight[ing] the ups and downs of searching for love." The shorts ranged from okay to bad to awful. Licorice, Last Exit, Running Home, and Jo FM were the highlights.
It's always potluck when selecting films at Frameline. You have to purchase tickets in advance for most films, and usually, there is very little known about the film. I really happy with my choices this year, and I recommend both full-length features.
I finished reading The Kite Runner today. Khaled Hosseini's story starts with Amir's childhood in Afghanistan before the Taliban destroyed his homeland and chronicles his family's escape to San Francisco. The real heartbreak occurs when Amir faces his demons (literally through a far-fetched coincidence) when he goes back to Afghanistan as an adult to discover surprising truths and right his and his father's mistakes. Despite many grim scenes, the book ends on a hopeful note and is riveting throughout its nearly 400 pages.
Unfortunately, the book is being made into a movie. The filmmaker's decided other areas are more picturesque than the Fremont where Amir and his father live after moving to the US as scenes were filmed seemingly everywhere in the East Bay except Fremont.
From good to bad...I saw Because I Said So this afternoon. Mandy Moore is adorable but that's about all this movie had in the positive column. Lauren Graham was underused as were all the supporting cast (except Tom Everett Scott who was annoying as one of Moore's suiters). I wonder if there were originally subplots with the supporting cast. Most of these actors we watch weekly deliver on their own television shows, but in this movie, you barely even noticed them. I think Piper Perabo's ass got more screen time than she did.
Skip Because I Said So and see Catch and Release if you need to see a chickflick this weekend.
The scientists are weighing in, trying to calm fears about the Big One.
HAYWARD FAULT / 3 recent temblors are usual activity.
"These three quakes are minor occurrences," said David Schwartz, a USGS geologist. "The fact they occurred within four days has to be looked at as random and coincidental." The quakes occurred in what experts called a "pocket" of the Hayward Fault that is prone to quakes. Although it is somewhat unusual to see three quakes in such quick succession, they said, it is not unheard of.
I've lived in San Francisco for over three years, and I've felt four quakes--three in the last week. Now, I can recognize the difference between an earthquake and someone slamming a door in my building.
The picture here was taken about 10 feet to the north of my apartment building. It is no secret that I have no digital camera. (My camera phone takes shitty pictures.) So when I find a picture of my neighborhood, I'm going to steal share it.
SFist: Where Have All the Fliers Gone?.
Where have all the fliers gone? Long time pasting. According to the story, there's some dude who has been taking it upon himself to clean up the neighborhood by going around and tearing off all the fliers and handbills that have been taped onto walls, barricades, and streetlights. The dude, Gideon Kramer, is backed up by both state and local laws banning the posting of fliers.
I have only seen a woman tearing down fliers and posters, but she could be one of Gideon's minions. I actually saw her today wearing navy sweatpants and an ugly red sweater vest. The polls will not stay bare for long.
Imagine if Sleater-Kinney and the White Stripes mated and produced a spinoff band. The teenaged "Sleater-Stripes" venture would resemble the Bay Area band, Two Seconds.
With drums and a guitar, Sierra Frost and Lily Faden put together thirteen songs on To Pass The Time from Popsmear Records. Call 'em pop bursts since all but two of the tracks clock in at under 2 minutes and are littered with lyrics overheard at the skating rink or lemonade stand. Nothing resembling Colin Meloy here, but it is fun and catchy and that's all that matters with a pop song.
Give these tracks a listen (a little higher quality than what you'll hear on their MySpace page) and look out for what happens on their next record.
Last time Will Sheff stood behind the mic at Cafe du Nord, he had a sore throat but still ended up playing for almost an hour and a half with all of Okkervil River backing him up.
On Wednesday, a healthy Will stood alone on the tiny stage with an acoustic guitar, a set of harmonicas, and a keyboard. He kept thanking us for being there and seemed surprised by our applause, looking for our approval after each new song.
Although he played a lot of new songs which sounded great, the highlights were "No Key, No Plan" and a piano only version of "For Real" which was still as powerful as the album track.
He also played a few songs from the other band he plays a small part in, Shearwater.
Moving from the guitar to the keyboard, he was uncertain what song to play, changing is mind more than once. Deciding on a song, he stopped himself to warn us that the theme of the set was moving away from an "anti-Valentine's Day" feel to songs about decay.
The leader of a large band can sometimes flounder in the spotlight of the solo show, but Will Sheff embraced it and brought an enigmatic presence to the stage that was impossible not to watch.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend picking up Black Sheep Boy Appendix. Even though it is only an EP, the album contains some of the best songs from last year.
Continue reading "Will Sheff at Cafe du Nord on 08 Feb 2006" »
One of the few (few) things I miss about the Midwest is thunder and lightning. After this weekend in San Francisco, I think I'll be able to go another year without witnessing a storm as strong as the one I'm currently watching outside my windows. If my lightning math is still good, the strikes are more than 5 miles away with distance increasing rapidly.
A great way to spend a stormy weekend is reading. After the initial lull of the first fifty pages, Micheal Crichton's State of Fear has hooked me in. It's all about global warming. Global warming can be intriguing and suspenseful! I'm a little surprised.
In local music news, Finest Dearest is a San Francisco band who just happens to be playing down the street from me at the Elbo Room tomorrow night. Pretty keyboard tinkling and cello make the sound a little dreary (great for the current weather) but Finest Dearest are indie pop reminiscent of That Dog or a female fronted K Records band. Visit their MySpace page for two tracks from the Pacemaker EP and two demo songs. I highly recommend "Idaho".
Rain is flooding the Bay Area but I made it to the Great American Music Hall to see Aberdeen City open for Rasputina.
Going to mid-size shows only to see the opening act is always a little disappointing. Aberdeen City's set was a little over a half hour with about 5 minutes devoted to technical difficulties when the drummer broke a microphone. Rob McCaffrey was playing drums with two broken fingers and food poisoning and still managed to bang the drums hard enough to break something. (Of course, Brad Parker (vocals, guitar/bass guitar) said Rob was playing through the pain. I try to refrain from putting too much stock in between song banter.) The band managed to put forth a strong set though with "God is going to get sick of me" being a highlight.
I look forward to these guys returning to the Bay Area and headlining Bottom of the Hill or the Independent in the near future.
If you haven't gotten a hold of their debut album, The Freezing Atlantic, you can listen to my favorite song off the album here:
Next, go buy the album here. The art for the band website and album is beautiful! Even the SFist likes them!
Walking through Union Square today I had to avoid more than tourists. Security guards. Trailers. Catering vans. Wires. Will Smith has been filming a biopic in the city and the shoot literally blocked my path today. Pursuit of Happyness [sic] is also hiring extras locally.
However, you can't just hire anyone off the street to be in your movie.
A co-worker and I had a discussion on whether or not it was allowed to hire non-union actors for a movie. The gist of the SAG regulations say that a film production has to prove the non-SAG personal possess a unique skill that cannot be found in a union member. Ruling is determined on a case-by-case basis.
Update: Other reports indicate Tony Shalhoub's Monk has also been filming in the area recently.
I saw Jarhead last weekend. Go see it. There were some Donnie Darko moments with Jake Gyllenhaal looking directly into the camera.
My week has been pretty dull with work consuming all my time. I am getting better at playing dominoes while drinking though.
Next week Tina Majorino reappears on Veronica Mars. Office Space and Napoleon Dynamite are the oft quoted movies in my world right now. It almost makes me miss the days when my friends quoted Top Gun.
Tom Vek is playing Cafe du Nord on Monday.
If you take a chance on any band in the new year, I recommend you listen long and hard to The Februarys.
For almost a year, I've been listening to the five tracks that were available for download on their now defunct website and eagerly awaiting the release of a full-length disc. Well, the wait is over...kind of.
The cd, The Brighter Side of Things, was released independently and from what I can tell is only available at their live gigs. The Vancouver guys have yet to leave British Columbia. Hopefully, they've been paying attention to what Clap Your Hands Say Yeah accomplished with internet sales and will post a paypal link when their new website debuts.
Until then, you can download three tracks from their MySpace page and here is one of my favorite songs from the first round of mp3s they made available:
Download Plight of the Artist.mp3 (4595.6K)
RIYL: The Killers. Do you remember Better Than Ezra?
Remember to vote on Tuesday! I'm tired of getting recorded calls on my cell from "Mark Leno" and "Matt Gonzalez" telling me to vote one way or the other. And my mailbox, which I only check once or twice a week, was full of colorful, political fliers yesterday. Last week, the mayor made a deal with major supermarket chains to limit the amount of plastic grocery bags in circulation but you send me 20 pieces of unnecessary mail!?! (Yes, I recycled the mail. And I bring my own canvas bag to the grocery store.)
In San Francisco, the air is damp and cool today with Twin Peaks hidden by fog and I have finally recovered from Friday night.
The rainy season has finally descended on San Francisco. I'm ready for dark mornings. Tall buildings draped in fog. Mist. Wearing a denim jacket and toque. Weather that fits my mood during the long work day.
The week has been a weird mix of too much work and staying too long at the hotel bar with co-workers after work. I haven't spent much time at home.
And the fun continues as Halloween weekend has filled my calendar. Friday night is No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Last time I took home $49 dollars.
Don't know what I'm talking about? I learned how to play by watching Celebrity Poker Showdown. Phil Gordon knows what he is talking about.
I have an invite to a house party on Saturday. Unfortunately, I have no costumes in my possession so I might have to slap a "My Name Is...God" sticker on my jacket.
Last week, there was talk of a fund-raising costume party at counterPULSE on Sunday but further information is non-existent on the website.
Sunday might be my day of rest.
Other than Okkervil River, I've been listening to to old Belle & Sebastian while finally starting to focus on the band's biography, Just A Modern Rock Story. I also recently purchased the 33 1/3 book on Radiohead's Ok, Computer. (For frequent updates on the series, check out the 33 1/3 blog.)
As the bonus mp3, Belle & Sebastion's contribution to the Help: A Day In The Life album:
The Eighth Station of the Cross Kebab House.mp3 (5669.2K)
For a few bucks you can pick up the tracks by your favorite artists for a good cause, or you can get the whole album.
Will Sheff had strep throat when he was in San Francisco performing with his band Okkervil River on Sunday night. Will was fueled by steroids and lemons and made it through an hour long set plus another forty-plus minutes after the encore break. He kept saying that he'd rather play than be trapped on the tour bus. Fortunately, Will's voice is naturally rough so except for the one or two times he lost his voice completely there was little degradation of vocals.
The six band members traded places and instruments on the small Cafe du Nord stage. The trumpet player was amazing. Accordions are making a resurgence! I couldn't see the full stage until the crowd thinned out between sets but I was still too far back to see everything.
Having mainly been exposed to Okkervil River's most recent LP, Black Sheep Boy, I hadn't realized how alt-country/folk the band can sound. At times reminding me of Wilco. And with the storytelling lyrics, I thought of the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle.
If you have a chance to catch the tour (and I recommend you do), you can e-mail in your song requests. From the official website:
Also, we’re taking requests for this tour, and they can be sent to the e-mail address requests@jound.com. Sets are filling up fast, so send those requests in soon. If you can, though, try to limit them to one or two – we’ve been getting a few e-mails for, like, 15 songs.
I was able to pick up a copy of the Black Sheep Boy Appendix disc which is as good as the brilliant Black Sheep Boy. Jagjaguwar has an mp3 from the album available for download: "No Key No Plan"
Continue reading "Thursday is the new Monday, or er, the new Friday?" »
First, BART announces that it will run around the clock this weekend. And now there is a downloadable schedule for your iPod.
...if only MUNI would follow suit.
Updated with setlists for all bands.
After waiting in line behind an asshole who provoked the homeless for his own amusement. After being searched. I entered the Warfield[1] for the first time. It is a beautiful venue. But far larger a space than I like to see a rock show.
Opening up was the Bell Orchestre, an instrumental band featuring members of Arcade Fire. The opening song was great with more than a little resemblance to the Arcade Fire sound. Sarah Neufeld is energetic on the violin bouncing all over the stage for both the Bell Orchestre and Arcade Fire sets. Trumpet. French Horn. Drum kit. Upright bass. The songs varied from sonic bliss to sonic mush with the drums taking over at times. Fortunately, the cd doesn't disappoint. Recording A Tape The Colour Of The Light won't be officially released in the US until November but I picked it up at the show.
Ah, Wolf Parade. I can't wait to see them in a smaller venue. A nice set but they couldn't fill the room. (Unlike, Arcade Fire who had no problem possessing the entire venue.) The songs I loved were played a little faster than on the EPs, with "I'll Believe in Anything" outracing my ability to lip-synch along. A few songs I didn't recognize, but loved, which makes me long even more for the full length release in a couple of weeks.
Starting with "Wake Up", Arcade Fire took over the stage and the entire venue for the next hour and a half. (And Owen Pallet was there on stage right playing his violin with Sarah!) With the exception of a few comments from Win Butler about how grateful he was to be playing in front of an appreciative audience instead of "30 people in the pit on cell phones", there was little banter. From my bird's eye view, I could see the supporting cast laughing and teasing each other in the background. It was fun. Regine played drums for a few songs. Everyone traded instruments.
After some sound trouble to begin the encore, the group nailed "Tunnels" with so much force I was speechless, which was good prep for the more Funeral-esqe closer "In the backseat". At the end, Win and Owen fell into the crowd and disappeared. But as I made my way back out on to Market Street to catch BART back to the Mission, I found a huge crowd surrounding Win and Owen who were still playing acoustic guitar and bells respectively. How incredible!
There is nothing original about Parchman Farm's sound if you are fan of music from the late '60s through the early '70s. But in Parchman Farm's case it doesn't matter. The four members of the band walked on the tiny Independent stage and ripped through four songs in thirty minutes. The pauses between songs were short. The songs were long. And they never said a word to the crowd but I was hooked.
Drum kit. Bass guitar. Male lead singer. And impressive female back up vocalist on lead guitar.
The songs start and end with the guitars battling for control of the sound. The percussion fills the room before the vocals guide us on the stoner's journey. And the fuzz of the guitars lead it home.
Black Mountain drew an impressive crowd on Sunday night. The Vancouver collective played an hour long set with a fifteen minute encore. The only thing missing was the saxophone that is prevalent on a few songs on their self-titled release from Jagjaguwar records. All but one of the five players on stage had a mike. I wonder if the keyboard/synth/knob-turner felt left out. The harmonies were great though. Drums, bass guitar, male vocalist on lead guitar, and female vocalist with the tambourine and shaker up her sleeve. Great stage presence. Again, not much with audience conversation. Banter is a necessary treat for long time fans, but with bands I'm less familiar with, I like to focus on the music.
All and all the night fucking rocked.
As the author is easily distracted, this blog does not have a clear purpose. Topics range from music to San Francisco to hockey. To know exactly what I am up to now, you can follow me on FriendFeed. Any pictures I've taken will be available on Flickr. More information is available in the FAQ.
email: jen (at) lostingrovont (dot) com
