See Moir Music: Surprise it's March
How is 2020 already 2 months in, what is happening.
Where I’ll Be
Sat 3/7 — zack villere at Slim’s
Got a ticket to this based solely on the power of Sand People. Kinda steep after fees though so I didn’t impulse buy two. Uhhh looks like he just put out an album so time to catch up! I’ll call it “moody indie bedroom rap”.
Thu 3/12 — Soulwax at Regency Ballroom POSTPONED :(
It would’ve been a back to back if I’d seen them play earlier this year, so I’m looking forward to seeing them this year. Hopefully their show gets rescheduled soon!
Conflicts and considerations
Mon 3/9 — Keane at Fox Theater
Uh remember Keane? Apparently they have put out other music since releasing “Somewhere Only We Know”. You’re welcome.
Thu 3/12 — Popscene 2005 indie dance party with Louis XIV live
I listened to Louis XIV a few times in college. I can’t remember what they’re like.
Thu 3/12 — Glass Animals at The Independent (sold out)
I forgot I recognized this band until my friend sent me the song Gooey. This show hella sold out tho, so if you’re going, enjoy!
Fri 3/13 — Third Eye Blind at Fox Theater
I WISH YOU WOULD STEP BACK FROM THAT LEDGE MY FRIEND. Apparently they’re local and still putting out new music. Good for you, Third Eye Blind.
Fri 3/13 — Camelphat with Eli & Fur at The Midway
Reminding myself that the reason I skipped Whethan playing a Halloween show is the same reason that I will skip this show so close to St. Patrick’s Day. Sometimes you gotta skip out on shows you might enjoy because you know you won’t enjoy the crowd.
Sat 3/14 — Fisher block party at Lake Merritt Plaza
I didn’t know who Fisher was until a few weeks ago, I’m pretty sure. I like his song You Little Beauty that someone dropped at a recent DJ set. Likely skipping this show for the same reason that I’ll skip Camelphat, but also just because I’m lazy.
Just Announced
Sat 4/11 — Guy Gerber at Halcyon
First heard his song What to Do at the Anjunadeep Open Air festival last year, and also fell in love with his track Claire, so I’m looking forward to this.
Sat 4/18 — Fatboy Slim at The Midway
Too many shows stacking up in April, so this is tempting but I’ll likely skip it.
Sat 6/6 — Nora En Pure, Spencer Brown, Le Youth, Cassian, and others at The Great Lawn at Treasure Island
I am prepared for the dusty scenic dance parties.
Sat 6/13 — Diplo at The Midway
I’ll be out of town for this. My favorite side project of his is LSD, a sort of reggaeton/pop/electronic collaboration. I’ll be better off digging into more actual reggaeton I think.
Other local things
Thu 3/5 — After Dark: Imprints at the Exploratorium
“What stories do our imprints—both physical and digital—tell?” Meta theme. I’ll be busy searching for apartments but the Exploratorium is always a good time.
If I am not too tired, will try to catch this event! Women! DJs! Immigration!
Haven’t read her book yet, but very tempted by this. I’m a bit of an Alexis Madrigal fangirl too.
Sat 3/14 — Beer, Dunes, and Trains walking tour at SOMARTS (and beyond)
I need to RSVP to this still, but I’ve enjoyed all the ShapingSF events I’ve been on so far. Lots to learn about this city!
Thu 3/19 — Analog Nightlife at Cal Academy of Science
“Tune into NightLife and drop out of the digital world when NightLife transforms the museum into a phone-free zone with an experimental night dedicated to life in the analog.” Interesting idea.
Cool things elsewhere
Thu 2/27 — Modular Synthesis Workshop: APOCALIPSIS U at Nowadays, NYC
Nowadays and Gray Area are somewhat converging on subject matter :)
Other notes
Recent great releases
Disclosure put out an EP called Ecstasy. It’s nice.
Caribou released an album called Suddenly. I enjoyed it.
Day Wave reemerged with a single, reminding me that I do still like fuzzy indie rock.
Sjowgren put out an EP, bolstering my hopes that I’ll get to see them live someday.
Blutch also released an EP, solidifying my adoration for French house and adding them to my list of DJs I periodically check to see if they’re coming to town.
Shazamming while Dancing
I ended up skipping Maya Jane Coles after I injured my foot. I knew I couldn’t rally for a (likely and then confirmed) 1am start time if it hurt to stand. Instead, I rested so that I could make it to Jacques Greene!
Jacques Greene at Starline Social Club was well worth it. His set mixing was akin to the kind of groove that I’d previously experienced at Tourist’s live shows. I left wanting more, and wishing he had a live album like Tourist too. Successful shazams ended up here: 💚 and the imposter shazams (along with others from DJ sets throughout the night) are in notjacques.
Read Moir Music
I have a list of DJs that I keep in my head (and now am committing to “paper”) that I periodically check to see if they’re coming to town. I don’t listen to their entire discography, but the songs of theirs that I listen to (and their Soundcloud sets) resonate with me enough to where they’re teetering on the edge of “drop everything to see them live”. I think of these DJs as the ones that are maybe too small for everyone to hype up if they were coming to town (like Jamie xx, or Disclosure, or others that also fall into the “drop everything to see them” bucket).
My list:
Hubert Kirchner, because of Era.
Keita Sano, because of Can’t Wait the Party and Sweet Bitter Love.
Blutch, because of his EP that I mentioned above.
O’Flynn, because of his album Aletheia.
Some others that aren’t quite at that tier yet, but lately I’ve been enjoying enough:
Fennec, because of Boy-U and So Far Now.
Bawrut, because of Pronto Arpeggio and More Cowbell.
Some that I made happen, finally:
I think I started keeping a mental list like this when I managed to see Yuksek play at Monarch, someone who I’ve heard many remixes of and just didn’t ever expect them to pop into SF and play at Monarch. Seemed like I lucked out. So every few months I just do a quick search to make sure I haven’t missed any show announcements by any of these DJs.
Then there’s the songs you just wish someone would drop into a DJ set because you just wanna groove to it.