1. Kendrick Lamar at The Fox Theater November 10th, 2015
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The Fox Theater Marquee
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
It was a major bummer missing Kendrick Lamar's set at Outside Lands last Summer but when Another Planet Entertainment announced he was playing The Fox Theater in Oakland on November 10th I was so excited! The floor at the sold-out show was packed long before he took the stage and you could feel excitement radiating from the young crowd in the air and all around you. Kendrick burst on to the stage accompanied by a full band and got right to the music; feverishly pacing the stage, working the crowd, hyping everyone up as he went. Fans fed off of his raw, intense energy as he rapped with captivating fluidity and a fierce passion, it was amazing to watch him in action. The room did not stop moving as every song on the hit rich set list (including "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" and "Backseat Freestyle" ) ignited dancing, cheering, singing and flurries of applause from fans. Sincere exchanges with the crowd amplified his energy packed performance as Kendrick connected with fans with a super personable manner.
Hands down, Kendrick Lamar put on the most charismatic, humble, energetic, un-pretentious hip-hop/rap show sans a negative air that I've been to. With that said it's one of the most genuinely energized shows I've had the pleasure of seeing where elation coincided with enjoyment on stage and throughout the sold-out crowd.
Topping my Outside Lands 2015 will be tough this festival season because last Summer I had the most amazing opportunity....I was hired to be part of the Vendor Coordinator Team at OSL 2015!
I was under the wing of a rad ass dude named Ricky who does this type of work for a living all around the country. The week leading up to SF's coveted 3 day music/food/art/wine/beer festival, Ricky showed me the ropes of how to get food vendors set up with all of the amenities they'd need throughout the run of all of the festivities and then making sure they were all good once gates were open right up until we wrapped up each day/night. Everyone on the vendor coordinator team were pros (this what all of them do for a living!) and they were all super welcoming, friendly and fun!
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Dan Deacon @ Outside Lands 2015
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Of course they all loved music but they were foodies more than anything else and Outside Lands is just as much of a food fest as it is a music fest; good, top notch food too not standard run of the mill, over-priced festival feed. I thought it was really neat to catch up and chat about everyone's favorite food they ate at the end of each day as well as share what sets they caught. It gave me a completely different perspective of the festival because I'm so use to being surrounded by show goers who only really care about the show(s), where eating is more of a necessity not one of the headlining festivities.
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Mac Sabbath @ Outside Lands 2015
Photo by Marc Fong |
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Nate Ruess @ Outside Lands 2015
Photo by Marc Fong |
While my whole OSL experience was a dream come true, these are the acts that I saw that top my list from last year: Dan Deacon, Mac Sabbath, Nate Ruess (especially the fun. songs he performed!), Cold War Kids, Green Velvet, catching Freedia's "Azz Everywhere" and watching all of Sir Elton John's set with my direct supervisor Ricky.
3. The Matches at The Fillmore December 28th, 2015
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The Matches at The Fillmore 12/28/2015
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
One of my favorite local punk bands The Matches played two nights at The Fillmore which happens to be my favorite venue in SF. The ticket I bought to see The Matches on Monday December 28th was the first and only concert ticket I purchased in 2015 which goes to show how much I love The Matches! (I would have bought a ticket to the show on Sunday December 27th but it was listed as sold-out when I went to the box office.) The show wasn't sold out but the floor was full of new and old fans: some, who like me have quite literally grown up with the band, listening to them and going to their shows since they were known at The Locals. And, there was also a bunch of fresh faced young punks in the crowd too which was awesome to see that even after their "un-official" breakup The Matches still have the power to make new fans.
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The Matches at The Fillmore 12/28/2015
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
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The Matches at The Fillmore 12/28/2015
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Monday night's set list featured more slower tempo-ed songs like "The Barber's Un-Happiness" from their 2nd album, 2006's
Decomposer and "To Build a Mountain" from their 3rd and final album, 2008's
A Band In Hope but they kept things light and extremely lively with engaging banter and plenty of stage diving! Between songs Shawn and John boasted about the past, thanked their loyal fans, gabbed about the show the night before and just hammed it up, laughing at and with each other. My highlights from that night are when they played old school songs like, "Jackslap" "More Than Local Boys and one of my all time faves from back in my hay day "Say 18". Also, there wasn't a photo pit that night, but a good friend let me borrow their pro camera so it was really awesome to be able to (try) to get some awesome shots of one of my favorite bands.
Out of all of the times I've seen The Matches over the years I can't tell you a show of theirs I remember seeing that didn't end with "Sick Little Suicide" and December 28th, 2015 was no different! Another bonus: staff handed out complementary Matches Fillmore posters at the end of the night as people left!
Ever since the New York sad-core electro-pop-rock duo, MS MR broke into the music business a few years ago, I've been lucky enough to see them at: Great American Music Hall, Monarch,
The Independent and
The Fillmore. None if those shows quite compare to when I saw them at Popscene last Spring. Lizzy and Max hit the road with their band to promote the release of their 2nd album,
How Does It Feel which was released on July 17th, 2015. It was no real surprise that tickets to their show at SF's premire indie club, Popscene at The Rickshaw Stop on May 7th sold-out!
Per usual, there was an instant, friendly connection between the band and their fans, their infectious positive energy was through the roof and Lizzy's sensational ear to ear beaming Colgate smile was revealed between every song.
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MS MR @ Popscene 5/7/2015
Photo by Carlos Rodriguez |
The set included new songs with dark yet fun disco flare which were warmly received by fans but songs they played from their debut album ("Fantasy", "Salty Sweet", "Think of You" and "Hurricane") really got the dance party going. Getting up close and personal with MS MR at Popscene was more intimate of a show than the times I've seen them at other small venues. It was awesome getting to hear and see them perform brand new tunes before the new album was even out!
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Purity Ring at The Fox Theater 6/19/2015
Photo by Marc Fong |
The Canadian dream-pop duo hit the road with gusto in support of the anticipated release of their sophomore album, Another Eternity; selling out shows all along the way, including their show at The Fox Theater in Oakland on June 19th. Having been a fan since their humble beginning and seeing them play smaller places like The Independent I was excited to see what they'd bring to a larger scale show.
Their stage design was simply beautiful: curtains of stringed bulbs hung down from the ceiling subtly illuminating the stage. The dull hum of rotating soft white light and shades of violet splendidly accentuated their signature hauntingly romantic sound which was flawless over acoustics at The Fox. Purity Ring's style matched the more mature sound heard on the new record. Gone are the days of Witchy-Bohemian garb as singer Megan James perused the stage, weaving through the strings of lights in a sleek, all white, futuristic pant suit. Even her curly mane was tamed, hanging long and straight. With songs from both albums, the set was magically hypnotizing and though it's my #5 best show of 2015 Purity Ring's pretty stage design was my #1 favorite one that I saw last year.
6. FKA Twigs at Treasure Island Festival 2015
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FKA Twigs @ Treasure Island Music Fest 10/17/2015
Photo by Marc Fong |
About a month before the 8th annual Treasure Island Music Festival the promoter, Another Planet Entertainment, announced that FKA Twigs would be replacing Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique on October 17th. It's safe to say she quickly became one of the most anticipated acts. The British fashionista's set started a little behind schedule but once she hit the Bridge Stage that Saturday night she was absolutely captivating.
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FKA Twigs @ Treasure Island Music Fest 10/17/2015
Photo by Marc Fong |
The back-up dancer turned singer/songwriter/producer effortlessly demanded attention in a Bustier, lace pant suit and seducing attitude. Her unique dancing was choreographed perfectly, flowing with the experimental trip-hop and her R&B singing style. It was a beautiful set all around: from the sound, to the performance to the scenery.
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Glass Animals @ The Fox Theater 9/19/2015
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
I missed their show at The Fillmore in April so needless to say I was pretty happy that I ended up getting to see Glass Animals on the headlining tour for their hit 2014 debut album, Zaba at The Fox Theater September 19th! Mirroring the tropical theme of the album cover, their stage design was a fun one with tall faux palm trees and over-head, color changing triangle lanterns. Front-man Davey Bayley delivered an energy packed performance, churning out all the hits from Zaba ("Gooey', "Black Mamba", "Pools", "Hazey") and a cool cover of Yeah Yeah Yeahs in about an hour long set!
With only one album, the show wasn't expected to be long but it did seem a bit rushed, not phoned in but almost as if they were losing their steam on tour even though it was the first show of the tour. Maybe they were saving they're energy so they could last and delieer the same quality set at every show on the tour? This didn't hinder my enjoyment of seeing Glass Animals, I was just happy to experience their feel good, indie, island vibes live!
The Aussie Boys of
Atlas Genius returned to SF and played a sold-out show at The Independent two days after the release of their sophomore album,
Inanimate Objects. The very charismatic lead singer/guitarist, Keith Jeffery carried the show with a vibrant stage presence and an exuberant abundance of crowd interaction throughout the colorful indie-tronica set. They eased the roomful of restless fans into a night filled with new tunes, with two familiar tracks, "Symptoms" and "If So" at the top of the set. Feeding off of Keith's euphoric energy, the mood in the room was a good'un with a upbeat, ultra chill vibe. It's always a good time when you can tell a band is happy to be there and Atlas Genius was visibly happy to be back in SF!
I just got to add thia: I got there right when doors opened and as I walked into the venue, I did a double take as I walked by the lead singer Keith! He noticed me stop in my tracks: embarrassed I bashfully waved and said hi and he returned the gesture. I told him I was really looking forward to the show and explained that I usually don't do this but...asked if could I get a picture with him. He said yes and seemed as happy as I was to take a selfie with me!
Oh man I headed into the show super jazzed after that! He's such a cool dude!
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Atlas Genius @ The Independent 8/30/2015
Photo by Marc Fong |
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Luchafer @ The Fox Theater 12/8/2015
Photo by Marc Fong |
Luchafer, a team of Lucha Libre Mexican wrestlers was the opening act for Puscifer at The Fox Theater in Oakland on December 8th.Tickets to see one of Maynard James Keenan's bands sold-out and I don't think that his mega fans at the seated show knew exactly what they were in for. Two teams of two (one male and one female) gave it their all with a very animated battle! It's rumored that the TOOL/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer front-man himself dons a mask in Luchafer and battles it out but I'm spectacle...regardless, I wish more opening acts put on a wrestling show in a full-on wrestling ring on stage! Luchafer riled the crowd the right amount and were highly entertaining!
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Alice in Winterland 2015: James Bay @ The Masonic 12/4/2015
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
My friend who's a professional freelance photographer was hired to take photos for the Bay Area radio station Alice 97.3-FM Winter show-case concert, Alice In Winterland and he asked me if I wanted to help and he'd let me use one of his professional cameras! I didn't even have to think about it, of course I was more than happy to help, plus I got to shoot?!
Deal. Done. Sign seal delivered!
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Alice in Winterland 2015: Michael Franti @ The Masonic 12/4/2015
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
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Alice in Winterland 2015: Zella Day @ The Masonic 12/4/2015
Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
It was a little nerve racking heading into the photo-pit surrounded by a bunch of big burly pro photogs but at the same I was super excited to be shooting with a legit camera, it had been so long. The pressure was on to deliver the goods and I was honored to that I was asked to help. Not only did I get to shoot, Zella Day, Michael Franti and James Bay but I got to shadow my friend, at work on-site at a show like the good old days. It was a good night.
