BY EVENTSEEKER STAFF
Photo Courtesy of Jon Ching
THE SOFT WHITE SIXTIES
The Chapel hosted a medley of artists last Friday, peppering the Mission with a variety of tastes. First up was Cannons and Clouds, a wistful indie rock band that started the night with flourishing crescendos. Next up, The She’s, a local band compromised of four San Francisco born-and-bred girls, brought a garage-pop feel with an enchanting innocence. Although some crowdmembers couldn’t catch their wavelength, there was no doubt that The She’s closing cover marked the height of the band’s performance and reeled the crowd back in.
Right as the Chapel began to get a little more cozy and a little more boisterous, the audience was graced with the band, NO. The Los Angeles indie rock group brought a “post-hymnal anthematic” groove, mashing together a sound between The National and Coldplay. Their single “Leave the Door Wide Open,” off of their debut album, El Prado, fed the audience a bewitching performance by their lead vocalist, leaning off the stage and into the crowd with a gripping gaze and a glass of scotch.
The night’s headliner, The Soft White Sixties, busted The Chapel open with a performance to remember. Frontman Octavio Genera slid and skipped across the stage with impressive grace, guitarist Aaron Eisenberg glimmered in a metallic jacket with monumental riffs, and bassist Ryan Noble rocked out aside a six-pack of PBR. On “You Are Gold,” the band brought out a stand-up bassist and violinist to reach every nook and cranny the Chapel offered. Finally, drummer Joey Bustos led them through the catchy closers, “Lemon Squeezer” and fan favorite, “Queen of the Press Club.” The Soft White Sixties flipped the switch on Friday night, foreshadowing their bright career ahead.
Photo Courtesy of KC Steblay
COM TRUISE
For a blend of music as specific and unobtrusive as Com Truise’s “mid-fi synth-wave, slow-motion funk”, as he describes it, it seems to have quite the cult following. The audience at The Mezzanine SF on February 27th during Noise Pop Festival was filled with fans who seemed to have been following and rooting for Seth Haley throughout his career.
There were echoes through the crowd of, “It’s so good to see him in the set up he deserves,” and “he’s blown up, this is way different than the last time I saw him.” Indeed Haley has racked up quite the loyal fan-base since the release of his first album Cyanide Sisters for free download in 2010.
He has had several name changes throughout his career, but he seems to be pretty settled on this one, as it was the centerpiece of his show. Although his website boasts, “it’s not about the name, its about the music”, he played within a massive light setup that displayed his initials “CT” in morphing colored lights.
The burly man stood up above the crowd in his light station and wooed them with music that flowed seamlessly together and through your body allowing even the most awkward crowd member to follow the rhythmic pattern.
Photo Courtesy of Adam Rutkowski
REAL ESTATE
Performing on the second of a two night, sold-out, stint at the Independent, festival headliners Real Estate put together a sweeping and wonderfully effervescent set. Enhancing the overall experience was the nine large white canvases set in a three by three grid formation on the stage wall behind the band. The flashing stage lights bouncing off the boards as the band played their wistful tunes, which consisted of a range of favorites such as “Fake Blues” and “All the Same,” as well as cuts off the band’s newest LP, Atlas, was nothing short of marvelous. Simply, it was a perfect exclamation point to put a cap on the week-long festival.
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