This is where I write up summaries of live concerts I have attended so that I can better remember them. They should be in a nice format which I have yet to figure out.
2/15/17 Sweet Chariot (**), Feral Ohms (***), Slim Cessna's Auto Club (*****)
Sweet Chariot was a local classic-style rock band. I found them fairly bland, but the bassist was fun to watch. Feral Ohms was a lot more interesting, and very loud. Guitarist, bassist, and drummer. The guitarist was great and is kind of famous; I was watching Cedric Bixler-Zavala's "What's in my bag?" video for Amoeba when he mentioned "this guy Ethan, from a band called Heron Oblivion" and I was like "hey, it's that guy!". SCAC was amazing with A+ crowd work. I remember the track "Jesus is in My Body - My Body has Let Me Down" as being particularly good live. Left a bit early. [The Chapel, SF, with Jess]
4/18/17 Russian Circles (*****), Eagles of Death Metal (***), Mastodon (****)
Russian Circles was surprisingly drony, but I think it works in a live setting. Eagles of Death Metal was a lot of fun. I remember Jesse throwing his sweat-drenched shirt into the crowd and praying it came nowhere near me. Mastodon was great; they played Circle of Cysquatch, which I was hoping they would. Brann threw some drumsticks into the crowd and I had a very different reaction to them than I did the shirt. [The Warfield, SF, with Joey]
7/20/17 Aloha Screwdriver (***), Fascinating Creatures of the Deep (****), The Tomorrowmen (****), The Kilaueas (***), Slacktone (*****)
The International Surf Classic (II, I think?). All the bands were good. Aloha Screwdiver had light-up shoes and did a little laser-gun fight during a long drum solo. FCOtD did a great cover of Flash of Green. The Tomorrowmen were in all silvery-robot outfits. I missed most of the Kilaueas to go eat. Slacktone was amazing, clearly miles above every other band. [The Ritz, San Jose]
10/21/17 Holy Wood (*), Sabertooth Zombie (**), Litany for the Whale (*****), City of Caterpillar (*****)
Holy Wood's first ever performance, and it showed. The singer sounded like she was trying to do Corin Tucker. Sabertooth Zombie was sort of unpleasant; they attracted a lot of kids with skateboards. Litany for the Whale's last concert, probably; most of the crowd was here for them and they were very good despite really horrible venue sound problems. Half the people left before seeing City of Caterpillar, so I got to be real close. After like a thirty minute delay (they did NOT tolerate the venue problems) they played basically their whole discography. It was great. [Arlene Francis Center, Santa Rosa]
12/29/17 Shannon Lay (**), Vagabon (**), Cherry Glazerr (***)
Shannon Lay was ok. Vagabon was good but not my thing; she's gotten pretty big now I think (though bizarrely all three of these acts are in decreasing order of Spotify listeners). Cherry Glazerr played a new track and a cool mostly-instrumental live-only track (with the only lyrics being "I don't want to make this a habit"), and the lead singer mooned the audience for some reason. [The Fonda, LA, with Ilana]
2/23/18 George Cessna (***), Sweet Chariot (**), Slim Cessna's Auto Club (*****)
I missed Blue Oaks in transit. George Cessna played along to pre-recorded instrumentals and it was cool to see father and son perform on the same day. Sweet Chariot was exactly the same as before. I finally got to stay for a whole SCAC concert, and this was an even smaller venue so it was even better. Good venue. [Bottom of the Hill, SF]
5/15/18 Feral Ohms (***), Le Butcherettes (*****), Hot Snakes (*****)
Feral Ohms was exactly the same as before. Le Butcherettes were way better than I had expected; Teri had an amazing stage presence and the drummer was surprisingly good. Hot Snakes were amazing and they played most of the tracks I had hoped for. Gar had a smile on his face the whole time, and Jon acted as if the people in the front row were old friends. The drummer was Jason Kourkounis this time. The venue was pretty cool. [August Hall, SF]
5/29/18 Marisa Anderson (****), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (*****)
Marisa Anderson was a surprisingly good acoustic guitarist (it's kind of hard to pin down here style). Godspeed was an amazing experience. This was a concert hall, so we were sitting down. [Fox Theater, Oakland, with Joey]
3/4/19 A Very Loud Death (****), Ozello (*****), Pinky Doodle Poodle (*****)
AVLD was pretty good, but their atmospheric style is better on an album than in the live setting. Ozello was surprisingly extremely good. Pinky Doodle Poodle was very dynamic and did great crowd work. At one point the guitarist basically just went into the crowd and soloed in front of each person individually. [Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta]
5/22/19 Moreland the Shooting (***), Sarah and the Safe Word (*****)
MtS was pretty good, though their style can get a bit samey. They are very earnest. SatSW were second only to SCAC in live performances that I have seen. They sound great live and put on an entertaining show. Two other groups (Lokella, Hail Your Highness) were both no-shows, so both MtS and SatSW, got to play basically their whole discographies. [Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta]
6/17/19 Sanguine (**), Knife Wife (***), Priests (****)
Sanguine was alright but not my thing. I enjoyed Knife Wife way more than I expected; they have a fun post-90s 90s ennui. I always enjoy seeing the extreme difference between the headliner and the openers in terms of stage presence and technical ability, and Priests was no exception. [The Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta]