Let’s dance. And rock. And stand idly in amazement. And headbang. And worship. And stay up too late on weeknights. And empty our wallets. And...check out these shows already.
Tuesday: Will Butler at Great American Music Hall
Will Butler, master of ceremonies for Arcade Fire, brother of Win Butler, arch nemesis of Bay Area music writer Will Butler, continues his victory rap around America after the resounding success of debut album Policy. (Do yourself a favor and bookmark the story linked to above. It's Shakespearean music journalism at its finest.) The album stands as a fresh departure from the grandiose ambitions of Arcade Fire, and instead finds Butler getting back to his twang-rock Texan roots.
Thursday: Jenny Lewis at Fox Theater
The indie rock universe’s crush on Jenny Lewis has matured over the years. It began with her involvement in the wonderful indie rock band Rilo Kiley, where she sang lead vocals with winning charm. Her work on cult indie classic album Give Up by Postal Service took her celebrity to greater heights. Then the internet just got jealous when she started a band with boyfriend Johnathan Rice, simply called Jenny and Johnny. In her solo career we can get back to focusing just on Jenny and her infinite talent.
Thursday: The Tropics at Rickshaw Stop
The Tropics are here to save us from ourselves. From their website: “The Tropics descended on San Francisco during the peak of the city's cultural identity crisis to uphold the timeless essence of the city that has been drawing the starry-eyed masses westward for decades.” We’ll call it Project Save Manifest Destiny, and here’s its rallying cry:
A going concern for 20 years, Spoon has somehow managed to maintain an upward trajectory the entire time. It’s not uncommon for indie rock bands at the 10-year mark, let alone two-decade mark, to take the nostalgia-act route and capitalize on early cult wins. But Spoon has pushed the envelope forward year after year, most recently on their massively successful album They Want My Soul — the rare critical and commercial triumph. Spoon, in Spoon fashion, has released yet another single, “TV Set.” Is their tenth album in the works? Pretty please?
Friday: Chromeo at Greek Theatre
You might think Montreal electronic duo Chromeo fall right into the heart of EDM classification, but not quite. Sure, they make dance music — really, really sticky, hooky dance music — but they don’t identify with the usual EDM motifs and culture. They steer clear of the massive bass drops and stuttering mixes, preferring the classic '80s funk approach. And wow does it work.
Best of Last Week
The Tallest Man on Earth ran through a sprawling set of classics new and old Thursday night at the Fox Theater. The current tour features — at long last — TMOE lead singer Kristian Matsson with the backing band he deserves. His new album features more layers than his past efforts, but the spare moments that allow his Dylan-esque voice to bask in freedom are still plentiful. To the unitiated, Dark Bird is Home may sound straightforward and borderline adult-contemporary, but the easy-going ditties serve as subtle misdirection from painful, dark, deep stories of lost love and isolation. Stirring stuff.
A day later, New York-based chillwave act Wild Nothing brought well-suited jangle to The Chapel in the Mission. And damned if the chill quotient wasn't through the roof, appropriate underneath the Chapel's charming wooden, echoing ceilings. Wild Nothing reaches back to decades past for inspiration, whether it's the strung-out '80s synth-pop tropes of Talking Heads, the peachy joy-pop of '60s era Beach Boys, or the psych-y noodling of the Grateful Dead. Friday's show took a decidedly psychedelic lean, with lead singer Jack Tatum emphasizing space-y guitar solos over his whispering vocals. Props to Converse for re-thinking the live context for this show: Wild Nothing was allowed to hand-select their (extremely promising) opening act, local buzzband Cocktails, which was also allowed to record in Converse's coinciding pop-up studio at Different Fur in the Mission as part of the initiative.
Follow @ChrisTrenchard for more words like these.
