My concert double-whammy failed -- but I saw A Place To Bury Strangers
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Artist:
A Place To Bury Strangers, Film School
(The Mezzanine, San Francisco CA, 12/05/07)
The Thermals, The Big Sleep, Scandells
(Slim's, San Francisco CA, 12/05/07)
San Francisco was a land of concert plenty on December 5th. A couple of months back I'd already had to decide between Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and The Thermals. Having loved The Thermals' debut album in 2003 but not having managed to see them live yet, I opted for a ticket to their show - but with a heavy heart over missing the tight-as-hell Dap-Kings. Then on the cusp of Thanksgiving one of my new pet bands, A Place To Bury Strangers, were scheduled to support Film School the same night. Since I had heard only awesome things about APTBS shows, I bought a ticket without hesitation, leaving the worries about how to resolve the conflict for later.
The plan I cooked up was to see APTBS but skip Film School (whom I certainly like OK on record) and hurry from the Mezzanine to Slim's, which are only about a mile apart, to catch The Thermals. But obviously the plan was going to be wrought with the contingencies of stage times at the two venues.
Arriving in the city after replenishing my red Rhone stocks at one of my favorite wine importers in Berkeley, the box office at Slim's wasn't open yet when I drove by so I couldn't find out about their stage schedule yet. After some dinner, I went over to the Mezzanine at 8pm when the doors were opening and found out that APTBS would be playing 10:15-11:00 and Film School 11:30-12:30. Having a plenty of time, I made my way back to Slim's, only to be told by the box office lady that The Thermals would go on around 10pm. Bad luck 1, my plan 0. But I had resolved not to miss APTBS. Sorry, Thermals.
Luckily I had time to see the two opening bands at Slim's, which were both pretty good. Scandells are an all-girl poppy garage punk trio from Riverside. The Big Sleep are a muscular trio from Brooklyn. The guitarist and the female bassist/keyboardist share duties on droning the vocals, but really the band is all about big angular guitar riffs. I liked them a lot and in retrospect I should've bought their record. Then back over to Mezzanine, a converted warehouse type venue (exposed ventilation shafts, etc.) with a lot of San Francisco hipster types in the audience.
Apart from their woefully short 45-minute supporting slot, APTBS made all of the bad luck and running around worth it. Their being less loud than I expected (I didn't even wear ear plugs, which I usually do) didn't diminish Oliver Ackermann's shredding one iota. All those sounds from one man! There were a bassist and a drummer on stage. Some songs were played, mostly originals, possibly a cover or two. None of that really mattered. I felt like a fortunate onlooker to one man's very personal quest for a guitar sound like no other.
The dramatic culmination of the APTBS set was when, in the middle of the driving "I've Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart," Ackermann ripped the thick E string loose from his Fender Jaguar, wound it around his hands like Jack the Ripper, and set out to strangle the guitar which by that point was lying akimbo on the stage floor. Some sonic awesomeness ensued until Ackermann calmly picked up another guitar, plugged it in, and the band finished the song. (Release it in some format, guys!) This was, in the full British sense of the expression, something very special indeed.
Film School were fine apart from the booming drum sound and the singer's thin voice. But there was just no comparison. I felt like leaving halfway through their set, but stuck with it through to the end although I'd much rather have been watching another set from APTBS. Dispersing into the night at 12:25, I had a tiring drive back to Sacramento but woke up with warm fuzzy feelings about APTBS. Theirs was, without a doubt, one of the best shows I saw this year. And I saw many very good ones.
(The Mezzanine, San Francisco CA, 12/05/07)
The Thermals, The Big Sleep, Scandells
(Slim's, San Francisco CA, 12/05/07)
San Francisco was a land of concert plenty on December 5th. A couple of months back I'd already had to decide between Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and The Thermals. Having loved The Thermals' debut album in 2003 but not having managed to see them live yet, I opted for a ticket to their show - but with a heavy heart over missing the tight-as-hell Dap-Kings. Then on the cusp of Thanksgiving one of my new pet bands, A Place To Bury Strangers, were scheduled to support Film School the same night. Since I had heard only awesome things about APTBS shows, I bought a ticket without hesitation, leaving the worries about how to resolve the conflict for later.
The plan I cooked up was to see APTBS but skip Film School (whom I certainly like OK on record) and hurry from the Mezzanine to Slim's, which are only about a mile apart, to catch The Thermals. But obviously the plan was going to be wrought with the contingencies of stage times at the two venues.
Arriving in the city after replenishing my red Rhone stocks at one of my favorite wine importers in Berkeley, the box office at Slim's wasn't open yet when I drove by so I couldn't find out about their stage schedule yet. After some dinner, I went over to the Mezzanine at 8pm when the doors were opening and found out that APTBS would be playing 10:15-11:00 and Film School 11:30-12:30. Having a plenty of time, I made my way back to Slim's, only to be told by the box office lady that The Thermals would go on around 10pm. Bad luck 1, my plan 0. But I had resolved not to miss APTBS. Sorry, Thermals.
Luckily I had time to see the two opening bands at Slim's, which were both pretty good. Scandells are an all-girl poppy garage punk trio from Riverside. The Big Sleep are a muscular trio from Brooklyn. The guitarist and the female bassist/keyboardist share duties on droning the vocals, but really the band is all about big angular guitar riffs. I liked them a lot and in retrospect I should've bought their record. Then back over to Mezzanine, a converted warehouse type venue (exposed ventilation shafts, etc.) with a lot of San Francisco hipster types in the audience.
Apart from their woefully short 45-minute supporting slot, APTBS made all of the bad luck and running around worth it. Their being less loud than I expected (I didn't even wear ear plugs, which I usually do) didn't diminish Oliver Ackermann's shredding one iota. All those sounds from one man! There were a bassist and a drummer on stage. Some songs were played, mostly originals, possibly a cover or two. None of that really mattered. I felt like a fortunate onlooker to one man's very personal quest for a guitar sound like no other.
The dramatic culmination of the APTBS set was when, in the middle of the driving "I've Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart," Ackermann ripped the thick E string loose from his Fender Jaguar, wound it around his hands like Jack the Ripper, and set out to strangle the guitar which by that point was lying akimbo on the stage floor. Some sonic awesomeness ensued until Ackermann calmly picked up another guitar, plugged it in, and the band finished the song. (Release it in some format, guys!) This was, in the full British sense of the expression, something very special indeed.
Film School were fine apart from the booming drum sound and the singer's thin voice. But there was just no comparison. I felt like leaving halfway through their set, but stuck with it through to the end although I'd much rather have been watching another set from APTBS. Dispersing into the night at 12:25, I had a tiring drive back to Sacramento but woke up with warm fuzzy feelings about APTBS. Theirs was, without a doubt, one of the best shows I saw this year. And I saw many very good ones.
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