About Me

I ramble about a number of things - but travel experiences, movies and music feature prominently. See my label cloud for a better idea. All comnments and opinions on this blog are my own, and do not in any way reflect the opinions/position of my employer (past/current/future).

24 February 2012

Noise Pop at the Brick and Mortar

Noise Pop, now in its 20th year, is an annual musical tradition focussing on Indie Rock, in Sab Francisco, and responsible for unearthing quite a few well known bands. I discovered it last night while looking for potential gigs, also unearthing the fact that Die Antwoord were playing a sold out gig a 3 blocks away from where I am staying! So I resolved to attend at least one gig of the festival, which ends on Sunday.

The first band, a duo really, Carleta Sue Kay, comprising of a singer and a guitarist; was a last minute addition to the line up. The lyrics were brilliant - humorous, witty, interesting (e.g. "my post appocalyptic, super narcissistic love song") and the singer had an impressive vocal range to complement.

The second band, Chapter 24, was a four piece (2 guys, 2 gals) and were quite opposite to the band they were following. The vocalist had a weird reverb effect and seemed to mumble quite a bit, although she did sound good. What it was however. Is really good music and a singer who seemed to be jumping or walking in a trance. It was entertaining to listen to, and amusing to watch.

Bare Wires is a three piece band that'l looks and sound as they are from the 70's. Their guitar play was superb, and overall had foot tapping, some jumping and/or swaying music. Can't really comment on the lyrics as I couldn't make out the words; not sure if the singer was mumbling or I was just very tired.

Dirty Ghosts, the last band lived up to its headline billing. Their lyrics weren't as interesting as the first act, but they had a richer and most interesting sound of the bands of the night. They had an engaging stage presence.

It was quite a packed venue, and the audience demographics was quite varied. Compared to South African bands at the same stage of their performance career, these bands were a lot more polished and professional.

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