See Moir Music: Late September
Still ascertaining a reasonable frequency and content level for these missives. Please let me know what you want to receive, if you have opinions. On to the show!
Shows I’m Going To
Wed 9/25 — Hot Chip at the Fox Theater
No more GA tickets available, but you can still see them!
Fri 9/27 — Tinlicker at Audio
$10 before 10:30 with RSVP. Silly name but good music!
Sat 9/28 — Bombay Bicycle Club at The Fillmore
I last saw them in 2012 or so and I’m excited to see them again.
Sat 10/5 — Anjunadeep Open Air on Treasure Island
The lineup is out, and Luttrell is playing, along with a bunch of other people. I’m excited for the outdoor venue and to see Luttrell again. And the other DJs too.
Fri 10/11 — Pete Tong at Halcyon
Last time I saw him (the first time I’d seen him), multiple guys came up to ask “Is this your first time seeing Pete Tong?!” while he was DJing. Hopefully this time no one will speak to me while he’s playing.
Sat 10/12 — MSTRKRFT at Audio
Last saw one half of MSTRKRFT in DFA 1979 at UC Theatre in Berkeley, but have never seen them proper. Looking forward to it!
Wed 10/16 — Maribou State at Regency Ballroom
Missed them last time they were in town. I forget how much I enjoy them until I hear one of their songs, then I get excited again.
Sat 10/26 — Kölsch at Audio
Talked myself into seeing him. Hoping the fact that it’s Halloween-themed will make it more fun, not less.
Sat 11/2 — Born Ruffians (and Last Dinosaurs) at The Fillmore
I’m just going for Born Ruffians, who killed it when I saw them at Slim’s. I’ll consider sticking around for Last Dinosaurs, but I have a ~ mystery event ~ afterward to go to as well, so I’ll prolly leave after Born Ruffians are done.
Mon 11/4 — Two Door Cinema Club at Fox Theater
Saw them 2 years ago at the same venue by myself. It was a great time. Looking forward to another great show in the same spot, but with more company this time!
Wed 11/20 — Bloc Party (performing Silent Alarm) at the Masonic
It’s throwback time! Excited to see them live, finally.
Fri 11/22 — Elderbrook at 1015 Folsom
I promised you I’d be seeing Elder Island or Elderbrook, and here we have it.
Fri 11/29 — The Blaze (DJ set) at 1015 Folsom
Did I already buy tickets to this even though I have plans over Thanksgiving to go climbing? I did. Did I love their most recent album so much I bought it? Yes, I did.
Sat 11/30 — Catching Flies at GAMH
I saw him open for Bonobo and it was so much fun. Excited to see him again.
Shows I’m considering or can’t go to
Fri 10/4 — Yoke Lore and Bad Bad Hats at the Independent
Sold out now, but I’ve seen them both at least once, and they put on a fun folk-rock show. I recommend it, but I don’t need to go.
Sat 10/5 — UMEK at Great Northern
If I weren’t going to an all-day festival on the same day, I’d probably go to this. Thanks Rebecca for the recommendation! Here’s an UMEK set for a taste.
Sun 10/13 — Darius and Starfari DJ set at Phoenix Hotel Poolside
I like Starfari, I am pretty sure I’ve heard Darius before?
Fri 10/18 — Dancing About Architecture: A Night of Music Writers at the Makeout Room
Uhhhh go see some music writers read some of their stuff as part of LitQuake/LitCrawl?? I’m very sad I can’t go to this.
Fri 10/18 — Bad Cop Bad Cop at Bottom of the Hill
Badass women punk rockers. I saw them open for the Smoking Popes and they were good.
Sat 10/19 — Darude at Mezzanine
Is Darude more than Sandstorm? Maybe. He’s pretty okay with how things turned out though as it is, per this story behind the song YouTube video.
Sun 10/20 — Day Party with Alex Cruz at Everdene Rooftop / Virgin Hotel
I discovered Alex Cruz when I shared a room with a friend of a friend at a wedding in Greece. She played one of his sets and I enjoyed it so much I tracked him down. Still haven’t managed to see him live, and that streak will continue.
Sun 10/20 — Justice DJ set at 1015 Folsom
I’m pretty sure seeing Justice is never a bad idea. This is super sold out, but make it happen if you can.
Sun 10/20 — JOSEPH at The Fillmore
If you want an indie-folk vibe instead of electro DJ, go to this show.
Thu 10/24 — MEUTE at Great American Music Hall
A marching band from Berlin does arrangements of electronic music. Just try to stop watching this video of them playing Flume. I’ve seen it at least 10 times.
Fri 10/25 — Amtrac at The Great Northern
Amtrac shows up every few months here in SF, but The Great Northern is a beautiful venue.
Fri 10/25 — Bicep DJ set at 1015 Folsom
I mean you could just do a double header and go from The Great Northern to 1015. I’ve done it. It’s probably safer to just decide which DJ you want to see more. (spoilers, it’s Bicep)
Thu 10/31 — I don’t hate myself so I’m not going to any shows on Halloween but:
Fri 11/1 — Solumun at the Midway
I don’t actually listen to him but people I trust do.
Fri 11/1 — Electric Guest at Regency Ballroom
I saw this band play on 4/20 last year. A rapper opened for them. He had two people come on stage during his set and take a shot from his boot, immediately after he took it off his foot. If you want an experience like that, I recommend going to this show. I didn’t realize they were “stoner rap” until I went to the show.
Fri 11/8 — Goldroom (Live) at Mezzanine
I’ve seen a lot of his DJ sets this year and last year. Not sure I need to see his live set.
Thu 11/14 — Madeon at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Billy G)
Am I still in college? No. Am I still considering this? Yes.
Wed 11/20 — Cold War Kids at The Fillmore
I’ve seen Cold War Kids 5ish times. I still love their music, so it’s always a temptation to see them again.
Fri 11/20 — The Cinematic Orchestra at Regency Ballroom
I listen to one of their songs to fall asleep sometimes. This probably means I should not see them live.
Fri 11/20 — Fakear + DJ Aaron Axelsen at Rickshaw Stop
I’ve listened to some Fakear songs and remixes, and I always enjoy Aaron Axelsen’s sets.
Sat 11/23 — Duke Dumont at The Midway
Would I go just to listen to Ocean Drive? No. Do I listen to other songs by him? I might.
Other notes
Recent great releases
Keita Sano has a new EP, it’s a good time. I almost called it a fun time, but his music isn’t necessarily fun.
I apparently missed Tourist’s new album in February, probably because I barely knew who he was in February and by August I was flying to NYC to see him perform with Bonobo. That’s what happens when you go see a show to see Gilligan Moss perform, stick around and get to witness Qrion killing it and Tourist making you feel like you’re in a dreamworld.
This track was on my Spotify Release Radar playlist, but was also played by someone today in a DJ community meetup I went to. Algorithms, meet real-world community introduction to music: The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition (Cristoph Remix Edit).
I discovered this Kid Francescoli - Moon song (apparently again, as it was already saved to my Spotify library) after leaving YouTube on after clicking on a YouTube link for a random song posted on an Identification of Music comment thread on Facebook.
Shazamming while Dancing
Reviews or Shazams from shows I went to last month.
Tycho on 9/6 at the Greek Theatre was stunning and in my top shows of the year. Projection mapping visuals onto the facade was mindblowing, and the timbre of his music was gorgeous. We won’t speak of the poor sound quality of Poolside’s set.
Toolroom put on a great party in the courtyard of the SF Mint on 9/7; I most enjoyed Anthony Attalla’s set (and was maybe too tired by the time Mark Knight came on to appreciate his vibe). See the previous missive for my Shazams.
Max Cooper, bless his heart, came onstage at 11:30PM for his set at Public Works on 9/7. What a hero for those of us that love live music and love sleeping. The visuals were entrancing, as was the set. Distracted occasionally by an epic makeout sesh to the left, someone that passed out on their face twice in rapid succession, and someone texting with their screen brightness turned up to 100%. See the previous missive for my Shazams.
Ok so a quick aside to note that I saw Hamilton finally on 9/11 and it was an excellent show, very catchy tunes, but I was epically distracted by seemingly poor sound mixing. The levels were totally off from where I sat, and it turned out to be a fluke of just that—where I sat. Reminded me of the episode Hear Here from the podcast 20K Hertz, about theater design and live sound. Recommended (both the musical and the podcast).
Bon Iver on 9/12 at the Chase Center was a let down. I don’t think he fit into an arena show—didn’t take up space, set design felt distant from the crowd, and was tough to connect to. I posted about this in a facebook group of music lovers and one of the reactions was basically “that’s a Bon Iver show if you don’t get it you don’t get it” which is kind of a bummer reaction to go with a bummer show.
Lane 8 and Ben Böhmer also put on a fun day party at This Never Happened on 9/14, where I danced with old and new friends alike and enjoyed the sun and the shade in downtown Oakland.
Meanwhile, Mumford and Sons on 9/19 at the Chase Center put on a spectacle of a show—A six-song encore, featuring all the traits of an encore: the acoustic quiet song, the song that brings the openers out to help perform it (a cover of The Middle East - Blood), their biggest hit out of them all, their title single off their latest record, and yet another song. I recommend the opener, Gang of Youths, for their lead singer’s dance moves and for fans of Gaslight Anthem.
Read Moir Music
If you’re not watching Vox’s Earworm series, you’re missing out on some serious music knowledge. I went to a DJ/producer community meetup this weekend to learn about the history of disco and house music, and much of what I learned touched on the incredible research in these two great Earworm episodes, one on how disco led to Chicago house, and why disco made pop songs longer (or, the birth of the 12” vinyl single). It also reminded me of Yvonne Turner, as Andy Beta in Pitchfork reminds us, was a crucial producer, mixer, and remixer in the early days of house music.
This essay by Shawn Setaro published on Complex dove into some of the ways that data is changing how music is produced and marketed, and how data is starting to affect how music is made too. It called to mind some of what the podcast Switched on Pop covered in their episode on how streaming has changed the sound of pop. This is a super popular topic, with Dani Deahl writing in The Verge about Charli XCX and the fact that artists are more frequently releasing music in an effort to keep their music current (and thereby in demand and with high streaming numbers) rather than waiting for an album release.
An earlier episode of the same podcast features an interview with a musician that uses algorithms to write music. Clive Thompson (author of another of my favorite books, Smarter than you Think) also covered the phenomenon of algorithmically-composed music for Mother Jones earlier this year, especially centered on the role of that kind of music in ad campaigns, soundtracks to your shopping experiences, and more mundane locations that permeate our environment.
The interplay of data, the algorithm, and music weaves its way through this essay by Jace Clayton on Artforum about streaming. It’s tough to explain, but absolutely worth the read. Jace Clayton also wrote my favorite music book ever, Uproot: Travels in 21st Century Music and Digital Culture