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Post by alimcg on Nov 2, 2008 11:43:32 GMT 10
I'm heading off on a bit of jaunt soon through the Americas (mainly US and Brazil), and was just wondering if any of my fellow forum members or anonymous guests have any good tips for music to check out in San Francisco?
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Post by vickibonet on Nov 4, 2008 16:47:50 GMT 10
Yoshis has jazz gigs all over the bay area: www.yoshis.comThere is a huge 2nd hand CD place SF that I always go to, it has a massive jazz and classical section. Can't recall the name - sorry, but just ask around, mostly they speak some kind of English dialect. You'll love that town it is loads of fun. :-) |
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Post by eamon mcn on Nov 6, 2008 1:46:11 GMT 10
One of the best bands i ever saw was Deerhoof, who are from san fran, and are mostly run by their drummer, who's name i can't remember, but who's a sort of indie rock Jim Black.
yep.
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Post by alimcg on Nov 20, 2008 11:06:18 GMT 10
Well. I went to Yoshi's last night and saw Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Not a bad gig. Will write more when the internet is free...
Off to the SF Symph tonight.
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Post by ironguts on Nov 20, 2008 14:05:42 GMT 10
any good golf courses?
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Post by alimcg on Nov 22, 2008 12:17:45 GMT 10
I'll ask Branford when I see him...
Back to the music - SFS played Mahler 8, very impressive.
Went to Rasputin music here but was a little disappointed. 5 floors of CDs, vinyl, DVDs etc, but not all that much to get excited about. Ended up just buying a rare Quarteto Novo album.
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Post by alimcg on Dec 4, 2008 4:05:45 GMT 10
In NY now, have seen a few great gigs already. The pick so far - Ari Hoenig Trio, Shorter with Imani winds, and Doug Wamble's Faulkner Project and the banjo player on the subway.
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Post by ironguts on Dec 4, 2008 7:20:38 GMT 10
Sac, you'll have a ball. Shorter would have been great to see in that situation. Keep us posted on all the goss.
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Post by captain on Dec 4, 2008 10:26:05 GMT 10
I'm confused, was Wamble the banjo player on the subway?
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Post by ironguts on Dec 5, 2008 18:47:24 GMT 10
Der, Wambles are from Wimbleton, they play tennis, everyone knows that. Subway has great sangers though, even a healthy choice nowa'd'a'y's
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Post by alimcg on Dec 8, 2008 3:18:52 GMT 10
Doug was only the banjo player on the subway if he has the ability to be in 2 places at once.
Wambles of Wimbledon make good use of things that they find, things that everyday folks leave behind. Maybe Doug is Orinoko.
The Shorter gig was great, but we were right up in the gods at Carnegie Hall, so some of the subtlety was lost.
Thursday night was the big disappointment for us. We went to the Lincoln Center to see an interview/lecture with Roy Haynes, which wasn't too bad, though the compere was a twit.
The let down came when we went to Dizzy's Coca-Cola Jazz Club (WTF?!) to see Kenny Werner, with Randy Brecker, David Sanchez, Scott Colley and Antonio Sanchez. It was heart-breakingly awful. Dizzy's is a jazz club for tourists and businessmen, so I didn't expect great atmosphere or a super knowledgeable audience, but I did expect the band to know the music.
The whole band had their heads in the charts - even Kenny who wrote them. They weren't great charts either to be honest. We only stayed for 3 tunes - I couldn't take any more, but as we left they announced that the next tune was Dolphin Dance. So, of the first 4 tunes, only 2 were originals, and the other two were commonly played standards. Not what I expected from someone who has at least some reputation as a composer.
That aside, it was still awful. The band had no energy, no swing, no rapport, no drive. If I'd payed $10 at a co-op gig for that I'd be pissed, but to pay more, in NY at such a well funded center - well fuck me!
I could go on about this for ages, but I have better things to do here - like the Met Museum of Art and MoMA.
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Post by captain on Dec 8, 2008 8:38:42 GMT 10
You took your mum to New York?
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Post by alimcg on Dec 10, 2008 14:19:26 GMT 10
Didn't you take your mum, cap? Quite disrespectful of you if you didn't.
Saw Ari Hoenig's group at Smalls again last night - so good.
In Boston now. Boston Symph tonight. They played Beethoven 7, The Rite of Spring and an Elliot Carter piece that I just didn't get.
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Post by alimcg on Jan 23, 2009 7:09:04 GMT 10
Well, today is the end of the line. Last day in Brazil, now back home.
Highlights... well, most were from pretty early on - Mahler 8, and then the Flecktones in San Fran, Ari Hoenig's group in NY (aj, bring them out!!!)(no, really aj, I'm serious), Treme Brass Band in Nola, and Doug Wamble of course, but then in Brazil - playing samba with Estacio da Sa in Rio (and going deaf as a result), and then in Salvador, Olodum's Bloco (and their junior bloco).
Worst gig - Kenny Werner
Most overplayed tune - Chan Chan. (Though 2hrs straight of the same tune at Estacio was a bit much...)
The best food - probably San Francisco. Mexico was pretty good too, and both were cheap.
Worst food - Cuba. Three words - cabbage, cabbage and cabbage.
Worst airline - American Airlines
Best airline - never though I'd say this in public - Qantas!
Worst smell - Mexico City (though Rio certainly had some funky moments)
Best day - Treme Jazz and Gumbo Festival
Worst pillows - Hotel Isabel
Worst bed - Hotel Isabel (but only the 2nd time around)
Best breakfast - Hotel Isabel (my only cereal for 10 weeks)
Worst Breakfast - a close call, so I'll award it as a dead heat to anywhere in Cuba. Honorable mention to the Layne Hotel - one little pastry doesn't count as "Breakfast included"!
Worst behaved tourists - the Polish. I still don't know why Cuba was so popular with Germans and the Polish...
Least helpful person - the hotel receptionist in Philly. Come on man, look alive.
Slowest internet - Philly
Strangest people - Americans, when travelling. I know that's rather specific, but if you've caught a domestic flight in America, you know what I mean.
Best public transport - well, too tough. Everywhere that we could actually work it out, the metro was great. Even Mexico City, which I didn't expect.
Worst public transport - well, this is maybe unfair, but we kept getting told the wrong thing, then the train line didn't exist, or we could buy tickets, but the train wasn't going through that station, etc etc, so here's to Philly. Good ol' Philly. Oh, and compounded by taxi drivers who have no idea where the hell they're going. Hopeless cunts. No wonder I didn't end up having a Phillly Cheese Steak.
See y'all on Wednesday!
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Post by ironguts on Jan 27, 2009 15:58:03 GMT 10
Back in time for the heat wave mate, well done. Golf soon?
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