Category Archives: Concerts

Haybaby – Che Cafe, San Diego – March 24, 2016

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Hay Baby 02

I went to the Che Cafe tonight (for the first time) to see local favorites Big Bloom but was also impressed with the performance of Brooklyn band Haybaby.  This guitar/vox, bass and drums trio would be hard to put into any one genre. Really, they seemed like a noisy/poppy/indie rock band that is willing to go anywhere the song takes them.  The rhythm section of Sam Yieldon bass and Jeremy Duval on drums was locked into a groove on most songs, allowing the singer/guitarist, Leslie Hong, free reign to just go apeshit over and around whatever they were laying down.

Haybaby, who are apparently quite busy in the Brooklyn club scene, have been on tour for a while now, including a stop at SXSW – though according to Yield, they had to miss some shows due to flooding along the way. He also said that though the band has toured before, this was their first trek to the West Coast and from one venue to another they’re never sure what they’ll find or how many fans they’ll play for. He did say that Haybaby gives the audience everything they’ve got whether it’s 100 fans or just 7 people checking them out. I’d like to see this band again, but next time with better lighting and sound than the Che offers.

Links:  Haybaby Instagram

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Metric – House of Blues, San Diego – Feb. 25, 2016

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Sometimes I feel like I live in a bit of a musical bubble.  Since I don’t listen to the radio and none of my friends listen to the music that I do, I often don’t have a sense of how popular a band is. I remember going to a Portugal. The Man show a few years back at the House of Blues here in San Diego, expecting the place to be about half-full, and instead it was completely sold out.

Metric did one better and not only sold out the 1,100 capacity venue but added another show the previous night.  And this crowd really showed their appreciation for this 18 year old band as they sang and danced and responded rapturously throughout the set.  And Metric showed the love back, playing a 2 hour set of hits and deep cuts from throughout their history.

And then there’s Emily Haines, proving that age really is just a number (she’s 42!), as she danced and bounced and bounded across the stage from start to finish.  She really acknowledged the fans and how far they had all come – both the band and the audience – noting that many in the audience may have become fans back in high school and that by now they all had jobs and many had kids of their own.  She talked about what a journey it had been from the old days of arriving in a van and playing the Casbah to playing to a packed house at a great venue like the House of Blues.

Personally, I love the Casbah and I sure wish I had discovered Metric back in those days, but I am also really glad to see talented, ambitious artists achieve this kind of success.

Here’s my video of “Artificial Nocturne” from early in the show.

And here’s the closing number, “Breathing Underwater” (there was a coda where they launched back into the chorus but I didn’t get that).

Sharkmuffin: The Soda Bar 2/17/16

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I still enjoy seeing the big rock shows where bands play long sets with astonishing lights and staging in front of 20,000 fans.  I’ve recently seen groups like Rush, Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters clock in at 3+ hours, all with mesmerizing stage shows.

Yet I have to say that I enjoy a night like this, with 4 bands in just 3 hours, just as much. After local acts Lucky Keith, Big Bloom and Soft Lions warmed us up (with an assist from a bar just steps away!)  we got to see New York indie/punk/garage rockers Sharkmuffin.  The three-piece features founding members Tarra Thiessen on guitar/vocals and Natalie Kirch on bass, along with new drummer Kim Deuss.  Together the band, which released their first EP’s back in 2013,  played a propulsive, dynamic set of songs off of their debut long player, Chartreuse.

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If you’re a fan of Sleater Kinney, Veruca Salt, Hole, Yeah Yeah Yeahs et al  – then you better check out Sharkmuffin.

Here’s my clip of “Tampons Are for Sluts” from this show.

Find Sharkmuffin here

Built to Spill: The Casbah 2/15/16

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Indie rock stalwarts Built to Spill played back-to-back sold out shows last week at San Diego’s venerable rock club, the Casbah. This quickly became a tough ticket to get as the band typically plays much larger venues when they hit town.  The Casbah can fit only 200, and even with two shows, demand easily exceeded supply.  The Casbah has a reputation though for punching above its weight and the band apparently likes the venue as they have played there several other times throughout the years.

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And really it was great to see a band of such stature in such an intimate setting. The crowd was responsive and enthusiastic throughout the performance and the band responded with a 1:50 set (which is long by Casbah standards) that included at least half of the new album, last year’s excellent Untethered Moon.  One of the highlights from that record was “So” which included a typical Doug Martsch guitar freak-out to start the song before settling into a riffy, melodic groove.  For an encore – and by encore I mean the band leaves the stage and walks out to the sidewalk until they are called back in – they performed an epic, slow building, version of “Time Trap” off of 1999′s Keep It Like a Secret.

If I were to find fault in the show it is that they performed as a 3-piece with only Martsch on guitar.  As good a guitar player as he is, and he is really good, he can’t play two guitars at once.  One of the strengths of BTS is the interplay between multiple guitars, both with a lead over the top of a rhythm guitar or with intertwining leads as on the aforementioned “Time Trap”. Hopefully next time around the band will be back to full strength, but either way I’ll be there wherever they decide to play.

Arkona: The Merrow 9/26/16

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I cannot remember how I came across this pagan/folk metal band from Russia.  I only know that as soon as I heard the song, “Лица бессмертных богов” (Faces of Immortal Gods) off the 2009 album Goi, Rode, Goi!, I was completely hooked. Fronted by Masha Scream, a force of nature who somehow does both the singing and growling, Arkona mixes medieval folk melodies and instrumentation along with crushing heavy metal.  The band has found the perfect combination of melodic clean vocals with just the right amount of black metal growling.  And while many European bands in related genres choose to sing in English to broaden their appeal, all of Arkona’s lyrics, which are based around Russian folklore and Slavic mythology, are in their native language . The band itself is named after the last pagan Slavic city-state.

Arkona
Arkona

Though they were touring in support of their excellent 2014 LP, Yav, the band played songs from throughout their catalog.  Highlights included the set opener of “Yav”, as well as “Goi-Rode-Goi!”, “Slovo” and the encore track, which was an epic version of “Yarilo”.    And let me tell you – this was one really loud fucking show! Even after the three opening acts – Helsott, The Dread Crew of Oddwood, and Heidevolk (Netherlands)softened us up- Arkona still managed to pummel us for another 70 minutes!

Here’s a video I took of “Yarilo” that night.

Arkona
Arkona

The opening bands that night worked us over pretty good.  First up was Helsott , a pagan/black-metal band from here in Southern California.  Following them, after a short break to let our ears heal a bit, was The Dread Crew of Oddwood – an acoustic pirate-metal band (they call it “Hard Mahogany”!) from right here in San Diego.  The third act, Heidevolk from the Netherlands, was another pagan/folk-metal group that featured two lead guitars and two singers.