San Francisco Dispatch #5: Amnesia -- with Indianna Hale/TV Mike and the Scarecrows

This dispatch series was meant for Intraffik, but I'm posting them here.

Amnesia.  If that is the name of a music venue, wouldn’t you think that the music would be death metal or some dark trance sounding music?  Or maybe there would be women dancing in cages and the walls would be lined with very scary or disturbing art.  None of those thoughts or the thoughts I might have put into your heads applies to this location.  Amnesia is like entering a bar from the Old West.  Once you enter the bar, if you immediately turn around and look up you’ll see a line of beer barrels above the front door.  The music stage looks like it might have gotten transported from a real Old Western bar and by that I also mean the stage looks very old.  The guitarist from one of the bands (Indianna Hale) would tap his foot and after each tap I worried that he might crash three feet down as a floorboard would bounce an inch or two upon each tap.  As for the audience, there was no pretense.  No one was dressed in a “hey, look at how cool I am” fashion. It was a show up in what makes you most comfortable look – minus the possibility of the pajamas look.

First band up at Amnesia was led by singer Indianna Hale.  She definitely doesn’t have that death metal look.  The music was Americana.  Indianna Hale and her band appeared to be having more fun than the audience, which for some reason felt that standing 10 yards back from the stage was an appropriate distance.  Indianna Hale couldn’t help but laugh throughout her set.  There was some kind of inside joke going on between the three band members throughout their set.  When their set ended, a demand was made for an encore.  There was some hesitancy on their part.  Finally, one of the band members called out, “Would you like to see Indianna on the drums and singing like Karen Carpenter?”

Next up was  TV Mike and the Scarecrows.  Now for those of us from a certain Los Angeles music scene, this might cause us to think about Mike TV and Get Set Go.   TV Mike and the Scarecrows on this night continued the Americana sound with a six member band though it was mentioned from the stage that they are at times a seven member band.   Their set went on for about 45 minutes.  Though I enjoyed their set, I was a little upset about the length of their set as I was hoping to catch a little of the last band of the night. Unfortunately for me, I needed to head off towards the BART.

Amnesia unique touch:  steps to the stage are pulled out from under the stage during switchovers.

Conversation of the night outside Amnesia:  You’ve got to come and check out my band one of these days, also.

San Francisco:  is San Francisco that rare city where one feels safer walking around at midnight versus walking around at 7 p.m.?  I’ve been finding myself going to a number of venues around Mission Street.  I find myself more concerned about my safety exiting the BART system in broad daylight versus when I’m heading back to the BART system at midnight.  I’ll need to talk to my San Francisco friends about this someday.

Southwest.  So I hit A List membership.  After my Thursday night out at Amnesia, I checked in online and got assigned number A17.  Now for those of you who don’t know anything about Southwest that is a very good number to have.  Off to the airport I went on Friday evening in a very good state of mind.  Not only was I heading back to Los Angeles, but I was basically going to get to sit wherever I wanted on the plane.

I got to the airport and come around 9:30 p.m. I got this strange feeling that the previous Southwest flight to Los Angeles hadn’t left yet along with a number of other flights.  The terminal was just way too crowded.  The Southwest plane at the gate my flight was supposed to depart from had the lights off inside and generally just had the appearance of being unoccupied.  I kept looking up at the departure board and it kept saying that my flight was on schedule; however, it also kept saying that the flight before mine was delayed until 9:20 p.m.  Now why would it keep saying that?  Soon a Southwest employee made an announcement, “As you all know our computers are down . . . “  What are you taking about, we all know?!?  A long story short, there went my awesome number as Southwest had suffered a massive computer failure and everyone who hadn’t given up after waiting around for 4 hours plus were packed onto the first available flight to Los Angeles once the computer system came back online.

I didn’t get to my home until 3 a.m.  I could have gotten home by 2:30 a.m., but I was delayed by another 30 minutes when our flight landed at LAX and we couldn’t get to our gate.  Why?  A China Air jet was getting towed out of an area we needed to get towed into and during this process the tow caught on fire (not the plane, the tow).

Comment of the Southwest flight:  If you’re in the technology field and you’re interested in a job with Southwest, check Southwest.com tomorrow morning because there will be job openings posted.

San Francisco Dispatch #4: The Knockout - All Your Sisters and In Letter Form

Another different venue was in store for Dispatch #4:  The Knockout.  It was a night of “postpunk noir” as described by the Disorder invite I saw on Facebook.  My opinion on the night: one band sounded like The Cure while another reminded me of a Los Angeles band called The Monthlies.

The Knockout is south of the 24th Street Mission BART stop.  A little bit of a walk from the BART stop, but not so far as to prevent one from taking that walk.  The Knockout (to a degree) is a dead ringer for The Silverlake Lounge.  The stage area is painted in black, including a black ceiling.  A disco ball is almost in the exact same position in relationship to the stage.  There is also an uncanny similarity in the narrowness and depth of the stage and floor.  

As for the crowd, the color black was definitely the appropriate attire for the night.  I stood out like a guy in a suit at The Smell.  I took a look around the audience a few times to see if I might recognize anyone in the crowd.  Since this was my fourth night out in the San Francisco music scene I figured there might be a 1% chance I would recognize someone.  I didn’t initially, but when I was about to leave I suspected I recognized a couple that was just coming in for the night.  They had that fashion sense that stood out.  Sometimes you see what you want to see.

All Your Sisters was the first band up for the night.  They had a nice crowd for being the first band of the night.  There were a couple of photographers in the crowd that were there specifically for them (I didn’t notice the photographers photographing the second band).  Their sound reminded me of The Cure.  The set started with just their vocalist on stage.  Then the keyboardist joined mid-song.  And then for their second song the drummer came on stage.

Noticed:  after their set, the lead singer had so much music equipment to pack up that the second band was pretty much set up by the time he got all his stuff off the stage.

In Letter Form was the second band of the night.  As they started off, I couldn’t help but hear undertones of one of my favorite Los Angeles bands, The Monthlies.  (I haven’t heard much from The Monthlies in the last year though in January they did leave a one word Facebook and Twitter message.)

Unfortunately, I still follow an LA rule (though slightly adjusted), which is the get in bed by midnight rule.  In San Francisco, I do have a 30 minute adjustment to the LA midnight rule, driven by the fact that I do not have a car and must depend on the BART system.  The LA rule resulted in me missing the last two songs (as well as the last band of the night) of In Letter Form.  Upon arrival at the BART, I realized I could have stuck around for the last two songs as the BART was delayed by 20 minutes.  That stunk -- stinks that I missed the last two songs and stinks that my rule wasn’t met that night.

My one big complaint about the San Francisco music scene is the fact that on two occasions, the first band of the night didn’t start until past 10:15 p.m.  I like the LA music scene where in many locations the first band starts at 9:15 p.m.  I guess we in Los Angeles like to sleep a little bit more or perhaps we just wake up earlier than folks in San Francisco.  Or maybe they just drink more coffee in San Francisco.  Or maybe it is because a lot of LA venues have 4 bands playing versus 3 in San Francisco though I have to say that in the Echo Park/Silver Lake part of Los Angeles the venues clear out after the 11 p.m. band.

Random Thoughts

Thoughts on San Francisco weather.  It is June and at night it can be freezing.  I was walking to the BART on this particular night and the chill factor made it feel like December in Los Angeles.  I am told that July is even colder.

Thoughts on San Francisco food.  I’m a vegetarian so I’ve been checking out the vegetarian restaurants around town.  Herbivore and The Golden Era Vegan Restaurant stand out.  Those restaurants would immediately rank as the best vegetarian restaurants in Los Angeles.

Thoughts on recognizing people.  A few weeks back I was at the LAX airport and happened to notice a young woman.  She was in line with me as we were going through security.  We also were on the same flight out to San Francisco – sitting within a couple rows of each other.  So on a recent weekend, I was back in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to catch The Princess Bride.  I was heading to take care of a pre-movie human need when I couldn’t help but notice a young woman walking past me.  Where have I seen her?  My mind started to scan the memory banks . . . wait a second, the San Francisco flight.  What are the chances?

San Francisco Dispatch #3: Brick & Mortar - Mahgeetah, My Goodness, Fool's Gold

This Dispatch Series was meant for Intraffik, but I'm posting the series here.

I am slowly edging my way into the San Francisco music scene.  I’m doing so kicking and screaming in a way as I find myself scanning for band names that sound familiar.  My main source of information at the moment is the San Francisco Weekly calendar and on one particular scan I noticed that there was a FREE show at Brick & Mortar.  Free!  That felt like a Monday night in Los Angeles even though it was on a Tuesday night.  Also, Los Angeles based band Fool’s Gold was headlining.  I’d never seen Fool’s Gold so it was all the more reason to head on out.

I jumped onto the BART.  I was aiming to get to Brick & Mortar at 9 p.m.  I arrived at around 9:10 p.m.  There was a short line out the door.   I was hoping that this didn’t mean that the venue was already at capacity.  Luckily, it wasn’t though when I was next up at the door I was told to wait as they planned on letting folks into the venue in waves.  Two young and beautiful women decided that they didn’t want to wait in line so they cut the line and walked inside.  They were promptly told to get back out.  And they promptly decided to leave all together.

I got inside as the first band was into their first song (Mahgeetah ).  Now was this an actual San Francisco-based band? I wasn’t sure and would have to look it up after the show (they are).  They are a four piece band.  I maneuvered my way towards the stage via the side. When I got to the stage area, I noticed that everyone was standing five yards back from the stage.  I wanted to go to the front of the stage to take some photos (unfortunately, the photos were taken with my point and shoot and not with my DSLR; my hotel room that I’m staying at does not have a safe and I feel uncomfortable leaving my DSLR and lenses out in the open when the maids come in to clean).  I was a little hesitant.  Why were all these SFers standing so far from the stage? Eventually, a couple rowdy guys broke the shyness of the crowd and brought the crowd closer to the stage.

The second band was a two-piece band from Seattle, My Goodness.  The drummer started the set with a row of 4 cups of water lining the front of the stage.  He needed them as this band had some serious energy flowing throughout their set.  After the set, folks headed up towards the stage, congratulating them on their set.

The final band of the night was Fool's Gold .  The sounds of lingering tunes set to the evening waves along a Hawaiian beach spun through their set.  I noticed that they were treated well by the staff.  Towels were brought for each member of the band – needed by the end of the first song – along with a glass of vodka (or similar type drink).

As for Brick & Mortar:  it reminds me of The Bootleg.  Brick & Mortar is a venue that seems to be located in a forgotten part of San Francisco’s night life.  The venue also has a high ceiling and a piano on stage (which on this night was used as a storage spot for a drum set).

Let’s take a moment to discuss Southwest

The most hilarious comments from a Southwest flight attendant:      

Comment 1:  Federal law prohibits tampering with the lavatories’ fire alarm and web cam.  She didn’t just say that?  No, there is not a web cam in the lavatories.

Comment 2:  There are 135 of you and 3 of us.  We’re out of ‘What do you have’ and ‘I don’t know’ drinks.

San Francisco Dispatch #2: The Lab

This series was meant for Intraffik.com, but I'm posting this series here.

I decided to check out an event in San Francisco where various musicians got 15 minutes to perform.  The venue was called The Lab.  I didn’t know what to expect other than it would be “art” music.  I was thinking it might be similar to a movie scene depicting modern music in Paris.  I had briefly checked out the venue’s website, but I didn’t have any time to click through the links for the artists.  I jumped onto the BART, got off at 16th St. Mission and walked a block to The Lab.

When I got to the door, I hesitated.  What sounded like a fire alarm was ringing inside and a small group was hanging outside.  Hmm.  No one seemed overly concerned about it, but for a second I thought that perhaps someone had accidentally set off the alarm and folks were just hanging outside until it got fixed as the noise was very irritating.

I noticed a guy inside who looked like a ticket guy.  Let’s do it, I thought.  I walked in hesitantly.  The guy looked up and nodded, “Come inside.”  Okay, so this high pitched alarm sound was related to this event.  The tickets were based on a sliding scale between $5 and $10.  I noticed that ear plugs were being made available.  Folks were gathered around part of the space so I walked on over.  An artist (Moe! Staiano) was running back and forth, turning on alarms and bells that created piercing sounds.  To end the show, he attempted to run around the crowd with saran wrap, but that didn’t work out as he hoped as he was having a difficult time getting the saran wrap separated from the roll.  He defaulted to running around the crowd with yellow warning tape. And when that ran out, he returned to the saran wrap, having better luck that time around.   And then he turned off the alarms.

Next up was a trio of young women (Weather White) playing foot pedals.  In the middle of their performance the ceiling lights flickered on and off.  This signaled that their set had run over the 15 minutes – my assumption.  One of the women cried out, “That was only 8 minutes.”  There was some brief confusion and awkward moments as the band attempted to find out if they were really supposed to end their 15 minute set.  A photographer called out, “This is very awkward.”  The woman who had cried out snapped back, “What do you mean awkward?”  She was taking her art very seriously.  The photographer tried to explain his perspective, “It is awkward for us and you, because your set is being cut short.”  Another band member randomly drifted off into the crowd in very slow motion, I was unsure of her intent as she seemed indecisive on rather to stay with her band mates or to disappear into the crowd.  One of the show organizers ran up and said, “My mistake.  I got the times mixed up.”  They closed out the set with one last song.

The next three sets highlighted a guy playing digital music (Wobbly), a gal playing with a mask on (Zeek Sheck) and two musicians with a synth and various strange contraptions (Pigs in the Ground).  I started to look around me at the crowd during these three sets.  A handful of folks were attempting to move to the beat.  I wasn’t exactly sure what the beat was.

Note:  I found a video of Pigs in the Ground’s set at The Lab.  There was the brief use of a trumpet that I don’t even remember hearing.  I have to admit there is this soothing brainwave sound to their music.

The last set of the night for me was a band with two saxophones and a drum set (Ettrick).  I was half thinking I would listen to some non-digital inspired music. I was wrong.  I’m not sure how they did it, but as they blew through the saxophones the most high pitch digital sounds blasted from the speakers. The drum set was used more for beating out cymbal anger then an attempt to create any rhythm.

I have to admit I was confused by the night, but I also have to say I kind of enjoyed the mess.

A non-music observation on BART before getting to The Lab:

I walked over to a BART station and put my Clipper card over the reader.  In front of me, the gates were open.  I couldn’t recall if the gates were already open before I swiped my Clipper card or if I had just missed seeing the doors open up.  I decided to just walk through.  When I got to the 16th Street Mission stop I swiped my Clipper card and a message showed up saying to see the attendant.  Great, the gates where I got on had been open before I swiped my card and I just hadn’t noticed.  Either I was going to get a steep fine or a harsh warning.  I was thinking worse case that I would get a $100 fine and so as I walked to the booth I planned out how to complain big time about that worthless BART gate. Well, I was just asked where I had come from and then he checked my history from the Clipper card.  The guy then just said in a bored voice that I owed $3.50.

Brief mention of the LA Music Scene:

As mentioned in my last post on San Francisco, I do get to come home to Los Angeles on the weekends.  So the next day after my night at The Lab, I headed off to SFO airport.  My original flight was delayed by an hour.  When I reached the gate area, I noticed that the flight before mine was also delayed and that it was going to leave in 30 minutes.  I walked up to the gate desk and asked if I could jump flights.  I got to LAX 30 minutes earlier than anticipated!

Okay, now to the LA music scene.  Scanning Facebook on my return to Los Angeles, I noticed a post from Eastern Conference Champions saying that they were playing a set at El Cid.  Oh yes, I was there!!!  I am so hooked on the LA music scene.

Sirah at The Satellite

Sirah. She hit the stage and you knew something special was about to happen.  Sirah is a ball of energy, interacting with the crowd until they fall under her spell.

Skin Town at The Satellite

Skin Town. Now who gives the middle finger, with just a touch of a smile, to the crowd listening to her set:  the lead singer of Skin Town.  A mix of R&B, New Age and Asian influences:  that seems to be Skin Town.  Maybe I should catch them again to come up with a better genre.  

A Movie Review: Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis. Llewyn is a struggling folk singer in New York.  He takes the occasional paying gig that helps him survive a little, but he mainly just lives by couch surfing.  This movie is a great love story to musicians who are trying to get that one big break.  How does it turn out?  You'll need to see the movie.

As for why the Oscars didn't nominate this movie for best picture:  glaring miss.

Movie Review: All is Lost

All is Lost. I didn't love this movie until perhaps a week after seeing it.  I just continued to think about how the main character methodically went through his mental list to survive his sinking ship.  Just amazing.

A Movie Review. August: Osage County

August: Osage County. Some of the story line is a little over the top.  How many family secrets can possibly come out in such a short period of time?  On the other hand, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep give performances to remember.  It is almost like watching two champion boxers going toe-to-toe.

A Movie Review: Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips. The pirates seem a bit naive when dealing with the US Navy, but never mind.  This movie has an intensity even if you know the ending.

If I had an Oscar vote . . .

It is that time of the year again: Oscar season. I looked at my Top 10 lists from the last two years and compared it to the Oscar nominees. Of the 17 Oscar nominated movies over the last two years, 9 of the nominated movies did not make my Top 10 list. And, of course, a number of movies I loved didn’t make the Oscar list. For example: Dark Knight Rises, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Like Crazy.

So I am going to say this: if I was able to cast an Oscar ballot for this year’s Best Picture nominees, this is my very unique list.

10. This is the End. A movie with a number of actors playing hyper-exaggerated versions of themselves might come across as an egotistical project. And perhaps it is; however, I found this to be the funniest movie of the year. This solid comedy deserves recognition.

9. Monsters University. These characters want to be scary, but they really aren’t. We just need to remind little children not to look under their beds, because you just never know if you’ll come across that one scary

8. All is Lost. I walked out of this movie thinking: it was okay, but definitely not a movie I’d consider for my Top 10 list. Then I just found myself thinking more and more about this movie and how Robert Redford’s character methodically and courageously goes through a checklist in an attempt to survive after his yacht is wrecked. I started to realize this movie had really impacted me and did deserve a place on my list.

7. Inside Llewyn Davis. This movie is a love story to the New York 1960s folk scene. As I was watching this movie, I couldn’t help but feel it could also be interpreted as a love story to the Echo Park/Silverlake music scene circa 2007-ish.

6. Saving Mr. Banks. The movie trailers are all about Walt Disney trying to convince the author of “Mary Poppins,” P.L. Travers, to let him turn her book into a movie. This movie is so much more then that. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, make sure you bring a few tissues.

5. Her. We’re off in the not too distant future. What first caught my eye wasn’t how wonderful this movie is, but the set design. The not too distant future has us returning back to the style from the 1950s. Interesting. What is more interesting is this quirky love story that in the back of your mind you know might someday become reality.

4. World War Z. How do I describe this movie? Take Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and add steroids to the mix. In sports, steroids are a bad thing. For this movie, it makes the search for a cure of a worldwide epidemic so much more intense. Is this a scary movie? Not really. It is more of a thrill ride that takes you along as it attempts to find that cure.

3. Despicable Me 2. Minions. Girls growing up. Evilness in the world that needs to be conquered. Yes, this is my second cartoon on the list and the most deserving. How does one not love this movie!!!

2. American Hustle. Jennifer Lawrence is the comic relief in a very funny movie. Need I say more?

And my best picture award goes to . . .

1. The Wolf of Wall Street. This movie examines the immorality of Wall Street. You watch this movie in shock. Individuals are scammed and then that money is laundered by the scammers. There is constant drug use. Prostitutes roam around the trading desks. There are examples of extreme risks taken (helicopter/luxury yacht) that put other lives in danger. Then there is potential redemption that really is an attempt to create a cloned mini-Jordan Belfort (the Wolf). I am sure that there will be individuals who see this movie and will want to become the next Jordan Belfort. This movie, in fact, shows such a scene. But the honest truth: folks like that are just sad and pathetic.

I know I am ignoring many movies that are likely to get a nomination. Of some of the potential nominees, I saw 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, Dallas Buyer’s Club, Nebraska and Captain Phillips. If any of these movies make the cut, I won’t complain. I squirmed through much of 12 Years a Slave. I loved the movie Gravity up until the last five minutes where I was waiting for the soundtrack from 2001: A Space Odyssey to pop up. Dallas Buyer’s Club has great acting. Nebraska is quirky fun. Captain Phillips delves into inner courage.

I’ve read about a couple other possibilities out there that I haven’t seen yet: Before Midnight and Philomena.

A Movie Review: Nebraska

Nebraska. A quirky movie about an elderly man who believes he's won a million dollars.  It's a movie about family, but also explores how unearned wealth can cause the uglier side of individuals to come out.

A Movie Review. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. To me, this movie has two personalities. The first half of the movie is just plain boring as our two lead characters are taken from district to district, a victory tour. Then when we get to the games, the movie explodes into an exciting flick.