In case you missed yesterday’s report, my good friend Patrick Luddite, who I see every six months when I am out West, has been kind enough to agree to file reports from San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival, taking place right this second. It’s long been one of America’s best music festivals (I prefer it, actually, to SXSW, because it’s much more about the bands and fans, and much, much less a music industry confab).
If you missed yesterday’s report, with reviews of original lineup SEBADOH, THE NEW TRUST, LOVE OF DIAGRAMS, and THE BENT MUSTACHE don’t worry, you can still read it by clicking my name in dark red just above.
Here is his report on night two, this time a truly blow by blow description of everything he saw/heard/sensed. He will keep them coming! So check here daily! Tomorrow he/we will present night number three! Cheers! And my thanks again to Patrick.
Jack Rabid
Noise Pop 2007, San Francisco, Night #2
By Patrick Luddite
Noise Pop night number two began in similar fashion to the previous, what with me arriving painfully early at the Great American Music Hall. As I mentioned yesterday, this venue served as the destination for those seeking fine dining and loose women from 1906 up until the Great Depression. At this point SALLY RAND presided over the Music Box as a showcase for her elaborate fan dances. The end of WWII saw the lights dim on The Music Box and Sally’s fans. Thankfully it only stayed shuttered until 1948 when it opened once more under the name Blanco’s, offering jazz as opposed to fine dining and women of ill repute.
My next entry will bring us current but for now let’s return to Noise Pop. Last night I entered the venue just before start time due to guest list hassles but tonight it was straight in as soon as I arrived. Balls. 7:40 and naught to do. This being ROKY ERICKSON’s first show in San Francisco in nearly 25 years it seemed best to sit back and watch the freak show begin. Mind you it’s very early, the first band isn’t on ‘til 8:00, and yet there is already plenty of facial hair, gray hair, and the odd tie-dye, and even some henna tattoos in sight. There are quite a few people here already, certainly, compared with last night. I’m guessing about 70-100 and the first band won’t be on for 20 minutes. Pity the poor NEW TRUST last night, who had 20 people at the end of their first song!! The first band on, WOODEN SHJIPS, have a fast-growing buzz surrounding them. Their two releases to date, a 7” and 10”, are stunning examples of new millennium psych/space rock and sadly long sold out. Stop looking backwards Roky fans, and looks what’s in front of you now. As I chew on that, it also occurs to me that we have a few decades in rock represented on tonight’s bill. You’ve got Erickson representing the ‘60s, with the HOWLIN’ RAIN paying homage to ‘70s southern fried boogie in the vein of ALLMAN BROTHERS (with a dash of BAD COMPANY) and then on to the ‘80s for Roky’s “I Walked with a Zombie” with ‘90s indie rock being presented by San Francisco’s own ORANGER with the whole thing capped by Wooden Shjips’ psych for the year 2007 and beyond! The ‘60s theme continues with JEFFERSON AIRPLANE’s ‘Don’t you want somebody to love’ blasting over the PA. God I hope we don’t end up at “We built this City!!!”
7:50 now, and the crowd in front of the stage runs from end to end and three deep. Weird. I really hope this doesn’t scare Wooden Shjips as this is only their third gig. It’s not a bad show for the third time out, opening for a legend and all. I mean it’s not KRAUT opening for THE CLASH for their first gig [at Bonds, June of 1981; I was there—JR] but still, not too shabby in my estimation. Some punk/goth kids walk by as I scribble. We get all kinds here. Gad… yet more facial hair as well as 50-year-old waist and hairlines flowing in as I look on in wonder. Every conceivable type of recording gear (audio/video/amateur/professional/cell phone) is in sight as well—all to capture for YouTube and dimeadozen.org one hopes! Full disclosure, I possess no cell phone nor audio/video recording gear. Call me PATRICK LUDDITE, my friend!
The stage is set. Drum kit in back, Ace Tone Keyboard and loads of pedals/effects are stage right. Also in view are an Ampeg bass amp and a couple of Fender Twins from the looks of it.
Have I mentioned there are some seriously old people here? Just an observation I should add, not a judgment. I support the concept and am a living example of such. Rock on, geriatric citizen!
8:02… the lights finally dim and the Wooden Shjips appear. The four piece, guitar, bass, drums and keyboard, hail from SF and have ex-members of Santa Cruz’s BOTULISM in the ranks. Their full length is due on Holy Mountain Records and a couple of 7-inches (one for Sub Pop and one for Polly Magoo) coming down the pipe as well. “We are the Wooden Shjips and we are honored to be here” quips the guitarist/vocalist. “We are proud to have you” comes the reply from the crowd. The band gets right at it with a nice drone, a simple bass line, and a steady, minimalist beat with the guitar at times wailing away with abandon while the Ace Tone shimmers in the background. To say that pot would not dull the experience would be the understatement of the year. Repetition is the key to this experience. The music draws you in slowly as subtle changes are employed and the cycle repeats and builds and repeats and builds. The second song is more of the same, but different (think about it—you know what I mean). The crowd is getting larger and the band has the full attention of the 150ish people here. Ah, here we are—the first dancing girl sighting. She clearly has just watched Woodstock at her sorority house. Of course she seems to have come without a shirt and is sporting a black bra on top. Someone needs a friend to tell her that’s not a good idea! As I focus back on the band/music, it’s clear that they are new to performing live, as the members look to each other as if to say, “When do we end the song?” No matter, it only adds to the charm. Song number three starts with a bit more rockin’ and no drums (drummer employing some small bells—sleigh bells?—to great success) while the bass just keeps driving and the sound of a jet engine swirls. It’s space rock with a noticeable (and nicely done) VELVET UNDERGROUND quality that just screams. Fantastic. The song keeps building and stops on a dime. Stunning. The last song, while not as good as the previous, is still a keeper. Switch that last two songs around and the set would’ve been perfect. Generous and well-deserved applause rings out and I’m off to a fine start this night. Wooden Shjips—the band to beat tonight. When asked how they managed to get on the bill (being so green), I was told that the singer put a picture of Roky Erickson under his pillow and had his label guy ring up and ask. See kids, sometimes it pays to ask! What’s the worst that could happen? And a label guy actually getting off of his duff! Will wonders never cease?
After a short break to change the gear, Howlin’ Rain hit the stage at 8:56. All five guys sport facial hair save the drummer (who in addition to having no beard/mustache is balding). The San Francisco-based band was started by ETHAN of COMETS ON FIRE along with JOHN MOLONEY from SUNBURNED HAND OF MAN and a third fella called IAN GRADEK with some other players along for the ride. From the looks of things Maloney is out and GARRETT GODDARD from fellow Birdman Records’ band THE CUTS is on the drum kit. The crowd is thick and ready to be rocked, and that’s exactly what it got from this crew: two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards throwing out southern fried rock that again brings the Allman Brothers >to mind but then I also sense CSNY [who wrote “Wooden Ships” but not “Wooden Shjips”—JR], BLUE CHEER, and more than a little bit of the GRATEFUL DEAD. While reviewing press clippings, I came across the quote “acid jams for the freak-folk set.” I couldn’t have said it better myself (so I won’t). It’s not my cup of tea, truth be told, but I have to give credit where it is due, and boy is it due. This band is on fire and the crowd is behind them through the length of their 30-minute set. There’s very little interaction with the audience other than the occasional “Thank you” (OK, that’s not really interaction…) but it matters not, as the band plow through their allotted time to continually growing exultation. After eight or nine songs it’s done. If boozy-impassioned vocals, soaring guitars, and southern fried rock are what gets you out of bed, Howlin’ Rain is your band.
Next up is Oranger, another local band. I’m not that familiar with them but I am told they have been around for maybe a dozen years, and they play a psych-pop style of rock which should fit in nicely with tonight’s theme. The band hits the stage at 10:00 sharp, and what do you know—same format as Howlin’ Rain—two guitars, bass, drums, and keys (there is also a Theremin involved). It’s a much different road being traveled with this bunch, though and at first I don’t get the psych-pop reference too much. It seems more ‘70s straight-ahead rock, but as the set moves on I slowly start to see/hear the reference. And as with the previous band, I’m not a fan of this kind of music, but I can’t really slag them off. They are all excellent players who are clearly filled with passion for their craft and the crowd loves it. What the hell do I know? Eight or Nine songs in 30 minutes weren’t bad, but it didn’t move me.
I really feel I should have addressed the Howlin’ Rain and Oranger in the same paragraph, as I found so many similar qualities. No, they’re not stylistically similar but similar in composition of the group, and quality of the songwriting and passion (that word again) for what they do. I’d have to recommend both bands if you like what they do; just please don’t invite me along!!
After a quick equipment change, ROKY ERICKSON AND THE EXPLOSIVES are before the crowd. And I have to say I’d don’t think I’ve ever seen this level of hero-worship in my life. The place is going crazy, and they’ve yet to play a note (sounds oddly similar to my description of SEBADOH’s first few moments yesterday, and it was only times 1,000!). Roky looks great, and from all reports he’s been in fine spirits, and seemingly fully engaged after a quarter century away from the Bay Area. The previous night he attended a screening of You’re Gonna Miss Me and was apparently mobbed—and the love fest continues this evening. The band open with “A Cold Night for Alligators” and the crowd loves it, applauding and whooping wildly through the song to only get louder when it ends. Then straight into “White Faces” with “Don’t Shake Me Lucifer,” “Bermuda,” and “Creature With the Atom Brain,” much to the crowd’s pleasure. Roky can do no wrong. And that’s one thing that struck me as I walked around all evening, pad and pen in hand. In the eyes of his fans, he could do no wrong. Strangers kept stopping me and asking who I worked/wrote for, and then offering their own Roky stories while imploring me to “say nice things.” At first, I just thought this was really weird, but after a while (and it happened at least 10 times), I really began to appreciate how much this damaged man from Texas has touched a great many people. His first hit with 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS came out in 1966 when he was 19, and he is now well past his prime, and yet to the vast majority of those in attendance this was a very special happening—a homecoming of sorts. You had to see the look on the faces of this nice couple in their mid-40s as they talked about seeing Roky on his last trip to SF in the early ‘80s “at that place across from The Stone (a long closed club in The City’s North Beach neighborhood), you know it” (I didn’t) said it all. (It was neither On Broadway, nor the Mabuhay Gardens.) Sure, they had had far too much to drink, but the joy that bled through was palpable throughout the venue. I’ll be honest; I wasn’t that interested compared to the rest there. Sure, the 13th Floor Elevators were great but I was a small child in their heyday. The band tonight was professional; far more than competent—and the crowd ate it up. A couple of the songs were straight Chicago-style blues, and this reminded of nothing but a dull night at KINGSTON MINES during my grad-school years (albeit with Roky’s still amazing voice over the top). And yet the floor still bounced with the giddy masses dancing. The band launched into “Two-headed Dog” and the adulation was kicked up another notch. Pay no mind to what I think of Roky, but pay attention to what I’m relating about how his fans felt. Nearly 60 minutes into the set, the familiar sounds of “Your Gonna Miss Me” began to yet more frenzy from the crowd, and without a doubt the highlight of the night. As it turned out, that was it for the set, but the crowd wanted more, and were given another dose: “ I Walked with a Zombie” and “The Wind and More” ended the evening.
Wooden Shjips took the night, but the headliner owned the night in everyone’s eyes but mine. Works for me – I had fun.
Night number two down with TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS on tomorrow night—once again at my second home known to you as The Great American Music Hall. Speak to you later…
