The Start of Something
Although I hear and read their name everywhere, I'm not that familiar with Voxtrot, other than the non-stop Smiths references and that one EP I got off of Emusic. Still, I was excited to have the chance to catch them while I'm here in San Fran, especially since I have another engagement when they play D.C. in a few weeks.
Keeping with my recent posts while I'm out of town, I'll have to keep this somewhat quick. My kneejerk reaction: Voxtrot sure lived up to the hype for me. Great tunes, a burgeoning stage presence, engaging personality...you name it, they've got it. All the teenage girls standing next to me during the show (and there were A TON of them) wanted to have the lead singer's babies right then and there. Seriously. They have some serious crossover potential as far as that's concerned. Also, their bassist looks like Paul McCartney, Hoffner bass and all. I'll let you decide if that's a positive or a negative.
[MP3] Voxtrot | Kid Gloves
[MP3] Voxtrot | Trouble
[MP3] Voxtrot | The Start of Something
On Tuesday, I had dinner & drinks (she had dinner, I had drinks) with fellow music industry refugee SFist Krissy, and she called the venue, The Great American Music Hall, her favorite in the country. I'm not sure I'd agree (I'm pretty spoiled with the 9:30 Club - which has it's faults, but is still great), but I would be remiss if I didn't give TGAMH its collective propers. Great sight-lines, top notch sound, nice staff, friendly vibe, photographer friendly camera policy. It's kinda like a West Coast Bowery Ballroom. Color me impressed.
During said get-together with Krissy, she mentioned that Sound Team was recently dropped from Capitol, which was news to me. But after seeing them again, I can see why. I want to like this band, but their lack of anything resembling a hook in their songs makes it very hard. They're the anti-Supergrass, great verses in search of a decent chorus. I would be hard-pressed to hum a single tune they played last night. Also, no "Your Eyes Are Liars." WTF?
Au Revoir Simone weren't really my thing either. Top notch harmonies, but the whole recreating Pet Sounds with organs and drum machines thing got old really quick.
Tonight: Pela and Mary Timony at Bottom of the Hill.
PS - I have no idea how the photos look, so I'm just putting them here and not on Flickr. Now I know why people don't use Dell Laptops to edit photos. I'll have edited photos up on Flickr sometime next week.
TGAMH is a great venue. Almost too small, actually. It's too easy to get stuck on the sides or way in the back. Since it's narrow, it's hard to squeeze in the middle. But a great venue, and having a bar and seats upstairs is nice. I prefer the Fillmore, but that's a bigger venue. And it *is* the Bower of SF. Spot on.