Show Reviews

Until I get in the mood to do more reviews you can peek at the photos I've been taking instead.

Twin Steps+So Stressed+Young Mings @ The Attendance Office 2/24/12
(posted 3/6/12)

Is there such a thing as a pleasant mosh pit? Because that's what I felt like I was watching perched atop the kitchen counter of the Attendance Office in East Davis last weekend as the jumble of eager (and mostly booze-imbibed audience) swayed around the living room to the violently romantic shred-punk of Oakland-based band Twin Steps. While the sound of Twin Steps' recorded material pulls rhythms from early 60s era R&B ballads and garage stompers, their live repertoire strays away from pop sensibilities and lets loose a hellion of true punkdom.

Drew Pearson's vocals were hardly audible (if even at all) throughout their set but the altogether danceable beat and scattered fender melody was contagious. I guess the moment most engrained into my memory that night happened when Pearson grabbed the donations bucket, plopped it upside down on his head and instructed crowd members to "Grab your amazing utopian lover... the one that will sit with you by a river for all eternity" before the group broke into an extended jam of "Pinkie Promise*" for their last song. All I can say is don't miss 'em the next time they come around!

*If you don't happen to be well-aquainted with the hits of a one Miss Etta James, take a listen to the opening bars of "Pinkie Promise" then click on the second video for Etta's "All I Could Do Was Cry."

The Vespertine Circus's Zombie Apocalypse @ The Vagabond Ballroom 1/21/12 
(posted 2/7/12)

Last month my good friend Katie and I made the trip over to San Francisco to stay with a friend in Glen Park for the weekend and do a little sight-seeing. Another friend - and now San Francisco local - invited us all to what she described as a "zombie-themed circus." Intriguing? Yes. So after a quick yummy dinner at TC Pastry in the Outer Sunset district (my first venture into dim sum) and a brief jaunt to the Musée Mécanique on Fisherman's Warf we headed across the Bay Bridge to West Oakland. 

We pulled up to the "ballroom," a broken down-looking warehouse on Isabella Street, and parked as close to the venue as possible. (I ain't hatin', but if you're a quartet of young female twenty-somethings in West Oakland after dark then it's probably in your best interest to consider the proximity of your parking spot in relation to your intended destination.) Past the gate and front door we entered the home of the Vespertine Circus where we were asked to sign a liability waiver upon payment of the cover charge. As we were some of the last audience members to arrive we took our seats in the very front row on a pile of mattresses, inches from the stage. Minutes later the house lights came down and we were greeted by the ringmaster, Dr. Jack Kastner. He promised a night of charming and unique entertainment from an equally charismatic and talented cast of clowns, only to be subsequently interrupted by a hand-puppet goat who claimed to be suffering from the stomach flu. It was this "stomach flu" that would spread throughout the show, turning the clowns into zombies as they performed acts of contortion, aerial silks and cyr-wheel acrobatics. The first living dead casualty turned out to be Le Petite Tilly Rex, the "tiny clown" played by Caroline Sownie, who appeared every so often for a bit more comedic relief in between - and even during - fire juggling and gravity defying feats. The small stage and short acts also helped contribute to the vaudevillian vibe of the place. There was even a trapeze act carried out above the audience and a makeshift (adult) refreshment bar in the back to which audience members could retreat during the intermission.

Given the chance I'd probably see another Vespertine Circus performance (especially since they change the theme of their show every month.) If you're interested in seeing this charming little group or would like to help support this independent effort they perform on the third Friday and Saturday of each month. The show's producer and co-director, Bunny Zlotnik, even teaches aerial classes at the Vagabond Ballroom!

Mikal Cronin @ Luigi's Fun Garden 12/4/11 + new release for 2012!
(posted 1/12/12)

It's a little after 8pm on Sunday December 4th and my cohorts and I walk into Luigi's Slice in mid-town, slightly apprehensive of the joint's minimal humanoid presence. Maybe this was one of those shows that actually started on time because of who the headliner was, so we hurriedly payed the $5 cover* and slipped into the "Fun Garden" concert space next door. Les Fine Steps' Julian Elorduy was still sound-checking and the only other person in the room was Sacramento-DIY music scenester-turned Luigi's sound tech Dylan (aka former guitarist for G. Green.) This had perhaps been the most talked-about show among my fellow KDVSers since King Tuff had played in Davis the month before, so where the hell was everyone?? Our small group sauntered back out into the restaurant and grabbed a table to sit and debate the curiously abandoned state of the place. Well, it probably didn't help that the other place to be was an hour and a half away at the Total Control/Oh Sees show in San Francisco (or even the Iggy & The Stooges show at the Warfield*)... If only they'd known that Ty Segall and Emily Rose Epstein were seated at the next table over, munching on overpriced slices of A-okay pizza and waiting to back the next biggest garage-rock crooner since Ty himself.

After we'd identified our neighbors as the biggest "celebrities" in the room and commented in hushed tones about how much the man of the hour "really does look like John Cusack in person!" we wandered back into the gallery-like show room to anticipate Sacramento's first coming of the Cronin.

Les Fine Steps opened the show, once again reincarnated as a Julian Elorduy solo project. This time a keyboard drum-machine timekeeper and cool, ambient guitar refrains made the sonic atmosphere comfortable enough to seat ourselves on the available benches. For this show someone had apparently thought enough to arrange them congregation-style away from their usual places against the walls. A few more familiar faces wandered in by the time two man gut-buster The Babs Johnson Gang kicked off the second set. Their "we'regonnasmashyercranium'nmakeyerbrainbleed" numbers reverberated through to the adjacent pizza parlor so forcefully that you still had to yell to be heard. In that respect the local Sacto duo has yet to disappoint.

By the time Mikal Cronin and friends hit the stage there were about 20 people (maybe?) making up the scattered audience, about half of whom were seated as if awaiting an aurally joyous sermon from the next messiah of fuzzy-psych ballads. I first saw this mid-80s John Cusack doppleganger steal the show onstage at the Hi-Tone in Memphis at Gonerfest 8 this past September. My initial reaction to Cronin's Gonerfest performance -- where did this guy come from and what do his parents look like? Well, to answer the first question at least, he's been teaming up with Ty Segall and the Moonhearts on the San Francisco unit for the past few years before he released his debut self-titled LP on Trouble In Mind Records in 2011.

But back to the anxiously awaiting crowd at Luigi's... Luckily it was a quick transition into the last set with an optimal bathroom/cig-break/suspense ratio. A humble-looking, moppy-haired Cronin took the stage with acoustic guitar in-hand while Segall, Epstein and an unknown co-conspirator on bass tuned up their gear. The band opened with harmonizing "oooo's" and "ahhh's" to Cronin's surefire heart-stealer "Is It Alright." With Cronin's lead, Segall and Epstein began their rampage on songs like "Get Along" and "Apathy," emphasizing Cronin's acoustic axe-driven rhythms as only this power duo could. While the LP certainly has it's softer moments I can't even remember a lull in the live sonic assault that was Segall playing like he had the spotlight - building speed and maximum riffage into climactic scuzz-ridden solos until literally tearing the strings off of his guitar like a madman. Yet somehow, with this possessed-looking Segall convulsing at every strum of his turquoise Stratocaster and the ever-entrancing Epstein pummeling away at the skins, Cronin's simple harmonies and earnest vocals were never corrupted. We left that night with an elated mindset that one can only attain by having their mind blown out the back of their head. Nevermind that this was a grossly underattended performance -- the man still nailed it. If there's an artist you should ever regret missing last year, it's Mikal Cronin for sure. This upcoming singer/songwriter has arrived and is not to be missed live! I'll even help you rectify your sins by posting his upcoming tour dates here:

Feb. 10-13 - Miami, FL @ Bruise Cruise Festival

March 2 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall # 

March 3 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour # 

March 4 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah # 

March 14-17 @ SXSW 

# w/ Ty Segall, White Fence, Feeling of Love

Cronin's third 7" (and a split with King Khan and the Shrines) comes out next month on Bruise Cruise records. Check out Cronin's half, "Am I Wrong," here if you can't wait. Ty Segall will soon be releasing a few new records himself including a collaboration with Tim Presley, the mastermind behind jangly 60s psych-garage pop project White Fence, projected for a Spring 2012 release on Drag City.

*Just a note: One of the best (if not THEE best) things about living in the Davis/Sacramento area -- seeing amazing all ages live shows with minimal out-of-pocket damages in an intimate, 15-minute drive setting.