The Rumble and Penny Arcade

I don't spend as much time in clubs as I used to, what with my advancing age and all that, but every month I'm stuck choosing between two events which always happen on the same night. The first Wednesday of every month in San Francisco plays host to both The Rumble and Penny Arcade, both of which feature live music, but are also both really about the hang as well. Last night I decided to try and hit both events, starting with the Rumble.

The Rumble is put on by Future Sounds, The Owl Mag and Sonic Living, and it's always fun and is sort of scene, too, in a good way. It's kind of become a sort of unofficial hangout occasion for music types - not just bands either, but radio folks (both terrestrial and online), bookers, music writers, etc. I've always had a good time there, without exception. This time it was at Milk Bar in the Upper Haight, but they're moving back to their regular spot at Cafe DuNord next month. Milk is pretty cool, by the way. It has a huge Sheppard Fairy mural in it that give the room some identity...

I was hoping to catch all 3 bands there last night, but the show got started a little later than I though so I missed Veil Veil Vanish (and almost all of LA's Pepper Rabbit as well). They're friends, so I was pretty bummed about this, but I'll make sure to catch them when they play again in may...Anywhoo, I did see an amazing new band called Silver Swans. My friend Ann Yu (who also fronts the amazing LoveLikeFire) sings and a dude named Jon Waters (no, not that one) who makes beats and plays keyboards. Ann was telling me they started when she did some guest vocals on a track her partner made after getting some interest from Ben Watt from Everything But the Girl do a single or something. The track sounded cool when they finished it and the pair decided to make it band. I thought they sounded sort of like a more techno-y Depeche Mode or a darker Erasure, but with a cool girl fronting it. Actually, scratch that - they reminded me of a more accessible, less Euro-y version of Royksopp. Check out some pics from the show:

Veil Veil Vanish hanging out


Silver Swans
Jon Waters
Ann Yu






Penny Arcade, now in it's 4th year (I believe) at the Make Out Room in San Francisco is also very cool, but in a different way. My man Raul Sanchez puts it on and it's a sort of showcase night, but a really well curated one. Raul books it so some smaller and newer acts get a chance to play with some more established bands, but everyone plays a pretty brief set and the show is always about the evening of music as a whole and not just about the headliners. This way, nobody is looking at their watches waiting for the last band to go on. And it's also a sort of unofficial hang of the music community in the city, but more about musicians that other folks.

Last night I was really hoping to check out my friend David's band, the Gypsy Moonlight Band (cool name, IMHO), but I got there late and only caught the last band, some dudes called Only Sons. They were good - they played a sort of cosmic country, bluesy rock sort of thing. And it was definitely well done. But like I said, Penny Arcade is also about the hang, and the hang was good. I ran into some friends, including two dudes who epitomize the ethos of really living it when it comes to music, Bart Davenport and Eric Shea. Check out some pictures.

Bass dude from Only Sons

Scene at the Bar
Raul Sanchez and Bart Davenport
Jenny Lund and Eric Shea
Candace and David and Lee

Check out the websites for all the stuff I just mentioned here...

A Complete Set of My Photographs From the Evening
Silver Swans
The Rumble
Penny Arcade
Only Sons
Make Out Room
Milk Bar

Ground Control Art Opening at the Public Salon

Last week my friend, the artist Micke Tong, had an awesome art show called "Ground Control" open at the Public Salon in San Francisco. In addition to showing his work in galleries all over the US and Asia, Micke is also the dude who created the album artwork for my band Loquat.
I DJ'ed the show, so I only took a few pics, but I wanted to share what I had with you.

About the art: "Ground Control" is a collection of mostly small sculptures of tiny, imaginary cityscapes that are really, really incredible to see. My favorite sort of art is the kind that makes you consider a subject deeply, but is also just entertaining to look at. These pieces were definitely along those lines.

Check these out from his show:




The spot was cool - it's a sort of old school barber shop that also shows art and has a really hip, but also really friendly, kind of vibe. My wife is gonna get her haircut there in a few weeks. Good times.

Some Party Pics:

DJ Rantz, Green Figueroa, Party Hat Lady
David Ricardo from the band B and Not B plays "Eye of the Tiger" at an impromptu performance by the band.
Artist/Racontuer Micke Tong
Drinking Art Lover


After the reception, we had a little impromptu after party at one of San Francisco's finest dive bars, The High Dive. Enjoy some moments:

Tony Sison and Friends
Smiling at the Bar
Having a laugh


Ari x6

You can find full sets of pics of the reception here:
www.flickr.com/photos/anthonysanfrancisco/sets/72157623777730458

The Afterparty here:

www.flickr.com/photos/anthonysanfrancisco/sets/72157623665989783

Micke Tong's Ground Control website: http://micketong.wordpress.com

Public Salon: http://publicbarbersalon.com

And finally, all my pictures are archived here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthonysanfrancisco/


Until Next Time,
Yours,
Anthony

One night in the mission.

I went out and and some drinks and snacks the other night with a few friends. Dan Nakamura and I talked about recording. Tim Carter and I talked about old friends bands and playing music. And then a big dog bellied up to the bar for a Tecate. Here's proof.

Gail the Bartender


Big friendly dog
Tim Carter

Dan the Automator

Let's Give This a Go

Ahem...

After working in technology for, oh, the past 8 years or so I finally just got hipped to the possibility of actually making a few bones from people checking out my stuff online. My flickr page page alone has over a quarter of a million views on it, and I pay $24 a year just to use the site. Pardon my honesty about this, but I'm hoping to flip the relationship I've had with the internet around at this point and start getting a few bucks back. Don't get me wrong - I don't want your money - I want some of those sweet micro-pennies from advertisers who are hoping you might look at my blog and take an interest in their camera equipment, or mixing consoles, or Kangol hats or whatnot.

Ok. That's it for full disclosure. Now onto the good stuff.

I intend to only post interesting words, pictures, inside information and juicy-but-true gossip on this page. I will share my thoughts on things I have experience with, on events that I witnessed and on arts that I feel meaning in. I will also share dirt, when and if it is appropriate. I keep secrets well and I don't intend for this to be a clearing house for those. But I will hip you to things that would interest you when I can.

And with that, let's kick this off.

My band Loquat went to the San Francisco Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay party last week. We won this year's reader poll for Best Indie Band which entitled us to 3 free beers at the party as well as the opportunity to hang out with strippers and alternative bookstore owners in a social environment. I brought my vintage Canonet QL G-III rangfinder along to snap a few pics. Here's proof:

above: DJ Paul of the Saturday Night Soul Party spins 45's for the kicks of my fellow victors.

above: the Lusty Lady Dancers seem to be having a very good time. And also having a stretch.

above: Oakland-based Craft Maven Tammy George cuddles up with Loquat drummer Christopher Lautz

above: Lusty Lady dancers enjoy the spotlight.

And that's it for now. Stay tuned for my future postings. I will be banging on and holding forth on subjects from the value of discontinued Canon L-series lenses, to dealing with the Chinese Consulate, to the lives of video editors in Hollywood, to the best places to drink on the street in San Francisco.

I love you,
Anthony San Francisco + The Hands Team