I love both of these bands, but in an arena–no thanks. Don’t get my wrong, the show was very good it just wasn’t my cup of tea. The Arctic Monkeys didn’t play “Fake Tales of San Francisco” which I thought was a too cool for school move. The Black Keys sound better in a bar, smaller setting where their music builds on the ambiance. It is hard for me to write something because it’s never worth it to be critical.  I love Arctic Monkeys, but it was only towards the end of their set did they “bring it.”

Earlier today, Bay Area rapper G-Eazy released the official video for “Mariyln.” The heartbreak love song has G-Eazy at his best, venturing between contemporary rapper and old school charmer. He’s currently on tour blowing up–so don’t say we didn’t tell you.

Santigold’s latest album title, Master of My Make-Believe , is awfully fitting. On Master of My Make-Believe you’re either following Santigold from opening track “Go” or you’re lost in the dust. There is a lot happening on this concise (under 40mins) eleven-track album. Santigold manages to swag out on “Look At These Hoes,” talk politics on “Disparate Youth,“ tell off a “Big Mouth,” and introspectively finds herself on “Fame” and “This Isn’t Our Parade.” Like her self-titled debut, sonically the album blends so many styles into an indescribable hodge-podge that critics describe it as new wave with African rhythms, post-punk with hip hop, reggae with electro, or whatever the fuck. (Surely, the added production from Diplo, Q-Tip, and Switch doesn’t hurt.)

Santigold sings, raps, and mixes so many genres–but most importantly–she does it all flawlessly. Santigold’s Master of My Make-Believe is an amalgam. As difficult as it is to make a full record worth listening to, it’s even harder to create one with such diversity, clarity, and harmony—something that Santigold has proven (twice) she can do.

This is already insanely popular, but Bon Iver’s stripped down set with S. Carey is fantastic. It clearly showcases how talented both artists are. I’ve been wanting to write something more profound about it for while, but well–I just don’t need to say much since the music says it all.

St. Vincent brought her amazing talent to the Fox Theater on Tuesday night. It was the end of my 2012 Fauxchella coverage. It was a long, but rewarding three weeks, which left me with some great shots, a few sleepless nights, and plenty of great memories. I couldn’t think of anyone more fitting to end with than Annie Clark and her band.

Her stage presence carried the right amount of madness and wit, and by no means overshadowed her superb songwriting and impeccable musicianship. Annie Clark was both commanding and calming on stage; she grasped the audience with her smile and demeanor, animating across the stage, while hammering away perfectly on her guitar.

tUnE-yArDs opened the evening, and had the hometown crowd grooving. They made several ‘local’ sentiments; reminiscing of the neighborhood dive-bars and their nearby childhood experiences. It was a perfect build up to the headlining act.

-Written and photographed by Darryl Kirchner

Fiona Apple has never had a good relationship with the music industry. First, there was her acceptance speech back in 1997 at the MTV Music awards for her debut single “Sleep to Dream” where she proclaimed “This world is bullshit!” After a long hiatus she quietly released When the Pawn… the title of which is actually a 97 word poem and arguably the fan favorite. But most recently was her battle with Sony music over the release of Extraordinary Machine in 2005. Apple, the ever-perfectionist crafted the album slowly and upon its completion with producer and counterpart, Jon Brion, got into a disastrous spat with Sony over the style. Sony wanted a softer, more marketable Fiona, a makeover and complete reworking of the tracks. The album was shelved indefinitely and only released after a major fan campaign for Sony to release it.

Seven years later, fans finally get a taste of new the new Fiona. The single “Every Single Night,” is heavily lyric driven, emphasizing her as a poet who happens to sing similar her previous work. While the lyrics are direct in the emotion they convey, her voice transcends feeling, which is why so many people identify with her music. The album. The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do will be released in its entirety on June 19. If you waited seven years, a month and a half isn’t that much!

Sunday April 22nd saw M83 kicking off a two night, sold-out-early, run at The Fillmore in San Francisco. With tickets selling for up to three times face value, this was amongst the most eagerly anticipated of the Coachella blow-ins. The show kicked off with a short set from I Break Horses. “Goodbye Sweet Dreams” was notably good, but it often felt like the vocals were completely drowned out.

M83 opened the show with a brief welcome from the monster that appears on the Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming album cover. The polished hour and fifteen minute set was surprisingly not dominated by material from their already mentioned breakout 2011 album, and that is no criticism. M83 had no trouble saturating the Fillmore with their epic stage show driven by the biggest and best drum section I’ve ever heard and synths that make the entire 1980s seem like a warm up. Then there was the female lead singer, Morgan Kibby, alluring, charismatic, a true tour de force who stands out amongst an already talent-loaded group. Band founder Anthony Gonzalez delivered vocals true to the studio recordings and his interactions with the audience were genuine and moving, conveying the elation felt by the group with their new found popularity.

The set featured a blend of M83′s more mainstream songs with huge drums, emotive synths and echoing choruses (think “Reunion,” “Steve Mc Queen” & “Midnight City”) mixed with more chill and dreamy recordings (“Wait,” and “This Bright Flash”). “Steve Mc Queen” was a stand-out moment, the highs of the original recording filling the venue just like I had hoped. “Midnight City,” the song that first attracted hipsters and yuppies alike to M83, ignited the audience into a frenzy that was only enhanced by an awesome saxophone solo. One low point for me was the Daft Punk cover “Fall,” which just didn’t work alongside the euphoria of M83s chosen songs.

The first encore song, “Skin of The Night” was, for me, the highlight. Ms. Kibby led a Kate Bush-esque piano ballad that stunned and surprised, or as one friend suggested “She’s making love to the audience.” It was that good. Leaving the Fillmore I was formulating a to-do list…explore more of M83’s music, get a saxophone and somehow convince Ms. Kibby to become the future Mrs. O’Donnell!

-Written by Adam O’Donnell and photograph by  Jessica Choi

Download Mp3 – M83: “Skin of The Night”

Although this was my fourth time seeing The Shins, each time leading up to Tuesday night was an outdoor festival: Vegoose in 2007, Outside Lands in 2011, and the first weekend of this year’s Coachella. However, the more intimate – and housed – setting of the Mondavi Center for the Arts, was a welcomed invitation to the average listener like myself. Their sound was contained and engaging, not washed and loose. Without a doubt, the band won me over with their Tuesday night performance.

Rarely do I go to a show where I enjoy sitting down and simply watching and listening, but not this time. I relaxed and soaked in the syncopated guitars and harmonies. James Mercer’s voice is clearly the centerpiece of the group, but their use of harmonizations, and the way in which they fall on and off of each other’s every note, is remarkable. The gentle hums of  ”Caring is Creepy,” from their debut record Oh Inverted World, sent the crowd into a frenzy; while, the reminiscent, yet layered “Simple Song,” from their newest release, left everyone in awe. Being an all seated event, it was only until halfway through the performance that everyone was standing, singing, and dancing the rest of the night away.

The group will be out promoting their new record, Port of Morrow throughout the US for the first half of the summer. In mid-June, they’ll travel across seas to play selected dates and festivals throughout the UK. Port of Morrow was just released on March 20th, and is available everywhere.

Written and Photographed by Darryl Kirchner

The Shins – “Simple Song” 

Originally scheduled for the cozy Independent venue off Divisadero, Gotye’s show was swiftly moved to the massive Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in light of his overwhelmingly popular and successful hit single “Somebody I Used to Know.” As of this writing, there has been staggering total of 174,076,598 views of the official video on YouTube.

Coming out to the melodic and chimerical “Eyes Wide Open,” the group brought their energy early. The crowd thanked them, cheering and clapping as the last chord of the song rang out. It would be untruthful however, to not admit the awkwardness of the room as the show continued on. It became clear that most of the 8,000 people had come to see one song, and only a small portion – perhaps those who had tickets to see them at the Independent months ago – were fully engaged and appreciative of the rest of the performance. Not necessarily because people weren’t enjoying it;  but for many it seemed to be the first time they had heard any other material from the singer-songwriter, let alone see him perform live.

As a casual listener, I was really impressed by both the musicianship and the overall timbre of Wouter ”Wally” De Backer’s music. His voice was clearly engaging, and his use of live instrumentation, particularly drums, was the added piece of sound that really sets him over the top. The band that accompanied him on stage was clearly enlightened by the whole experience and were solid performers, and impeccably constructed the live versions of his music. The chilled out groove of the reggae influenced “State of the Art” was another highlight from the 2011 release, Making Mirrors, and the heavy bass line thumped thoruoghout the grandiose Bill Graham PA.

Playing in between their two performances, the group wrapped up Coachella this weekend. Also, this past week “Somebody I Used To Know” topped the Billboard 100 as the Number One song of the week. Congratulations, and here’s to hoping this show intrigued his newly adopted fans enough to fully understand and appreciate his full music catalogue.

The Fillmore is quickly becoming my favorite venue in SF for one simple reason: the lights. As a photographer, really a visual person in general, the lights, their interaction with the musicians onstage and the fans offstage, can turn a great set into a fantastic show.  I love giving in to that moment when a great band is playing, the audience is into it, and then the lights twist just so…to make a simple moment, memorable.

And last night was on point at the Fillmore. Great lights covered the stage as Wild Flag raged. Wild Flag is a rock-star studded indie band with four immensely talented women jamming out. A collection of ex-members of other great bands these ladies know how to put on a show, sprinkling in a few high kicks and fancy guitar tricks. Former Sleater-Kinney members round out half the group with drummer Janet Weiss and singer/guitarist/Portland enthusiast Carrie Brownstein. Then there’s guitarist/singer Mary Timony of Helium and Autoclave, and Rebecca Cole of The Minders on keyboards/backing vocals.

In an age of auto-tuned and electronically shifted music, I like to hold onto the Wild Flags out there. Bands that love to play music and rage.  So if you happen to be heading to Coachella for weekend #2 add them to your playlist and watch them shake that Indio desert.

-Written and photographed by Julie Logan

Wild Flag: “Romance”