Monday, October 19, 1998
With talented bands, show deserves name ‘Best of San
Francisco’
MUSIC: Los Angeles experiences all the talent nine acts can
squeeze into a mere three hours
By Sumyi Khong
Daily Bruin Contributor
With hot competition like a view of the Golden Gate Bridge
through a misty sunrise, the decadent joys of Haight Ashbury and
the steaming clam chowder-filled bread bowls of Fisherman’s Wharf,
the ‘Best of San Francisco’ showcase had a lot of guts to choose
such a self-praising title. Fortunately for the nine unsigned Bay
Area bands, their high-caliber performances delivered. Hella
delivered.
Variety was the theme for last Thursday night, but instead of a
disjointed mix of performances, the acts formed a mosaic of
well-crafted tunes, solid vocals and dreamy melodies all united by
a common quality  talent.
This night of refreshing music took place at The Mint. Standing
alone in the unglamorous portion of Pico in West Los Angeles, this
unpretentious joint is hidden amongst a glut of fabric stores.
Though a seemingly unusual place for such a top-quality show, the
low-key setting provided the appropriate match for a night of music
that had more substance than flash.
Under the seedy red lighting and requisite red velvet curtains
emerged the opening band, Dart. Like their namesake, their catchy
guitar riffs were sharp and their lyrics to the point. Looking like
Shaggy from ‘Scooby-Doo’ (right down to the retro ’70s garb), lead
vocalist Rick Stone had instant stage presence.
Sounding like Weezer without Prozac  the less-poppy
melodies still contained that geeky charm stylized by the group
that sings of sweaters becoming undone. Michael Russels’ horn
injected a slinky edge to the swoony guitars, complimenting Stone’s
throaty moans.
After a quick break, For Stars took the stage. Immediately,
frontman Carlos Forster began to gyrate limply to his band’s soft
guitar intro, looking like he had just popped a bunch of
muscle-relaxers. But to the crowd’s surprise, the putty-bodied
performer projected a strong voice.
As his haunting vocals took over center stage, the rest of the
musicians of For Stars orbited their instruments around Forster.
The dreamy music had shades of Dave Matthews, sprinkled with the
fragileness of the Eels. Forster’s beautiful voice sang the songs
like twinkly lullabies, perfect for listening to in bed.
The concert had a casual, unpretentious feel despite the
inescapably hip patrons that stoically inhaled their cigarettes
while inspecting each other’s knee-lengthened, Capri pants.
Ian Brennan, the mastermind of the evening’s showcase, was also
the ringmaster for the night. With nine top-notch bands on the
roster, the order was picked by a giant spinning wheel which
Brennan twirled, ‘Wheel of Fortune’ style.
The acclaimed band Liar won the next spin. They were the 1997
winners of the WAMMY Awards (best unsigned Bay area band) and
recently topped that with this year’s BAMMY Awards (Bam! Magazine’s
pick for best unsigned Californian band).
Bamming and whamming intensely on his electric guitar, lead
singer Eric McFadden cut an imposing  if eclectic-looking
 figure. Liar provided a great example of what happens when
the fusion of extremities goes beyond anything imagined. Their
sound is probably best described as country-on-acid.
As soon as McFadden began twanging his guitar, the funky music
instantly cast a groovy vibe into the air. Soon, even the Gothic
gel-head set couldn’t help but bop in their chairs. McFadden’s
hyperspeed fingers climbed all over his guitar with soaring riffs
that Lenny Kravitz can only dream of.
Liar’s next piece was straight acoustic, putting the instruments
in the spotlight. Swaying toward mystic rock, the song melded
together shades of old-school Russian folk in an indescribable yet
audience-winning way.
McFadden had a playful interchange with rock-violinist Steila
Schat, who sawed away on her electric violin while McFadden
mellowed out on the guitar. When it was his turn to jam, his tight
riffs wowed the crowd with his slammin’ playing style.
Liar’s energetic buzz was only curtailed by the time constraints
of trying to fit nine bands in three hours. At the end of Liar’s
set, the revved-up crowd clamored for more. McFadden promised to
perform an encore if the audience would ‘shut up.’ Instant silence.
Exercising as much control over the fans as their instruments, Liar
started rocking again. The dizzying performance proved why Liar is
the reigning WAMMY and BAMMY champs.
There was never a lull in the stimulating evening of talented
bands. In the age of Matchbox 20 and the Goo Goo Dolls, it’s rare
to experience so much originality in popular music. The biggest
gripe anyone could make would be that the quantity of quality acts
ended up short-changing the bands, since each group was rationed
just 15 minutes of fame.
Even though the ‘Best of San Francisco’ concert displayed a good
sampling of high-grade Northern Cal bands, the groups themselves
needed more than just a Warholian minute to showcase their
individual best. Maybe fewer bands on the bill would give the acts
a chance to display their musical depth. But despite the slightly
shallow representation of each group, the ‘Best of San Francisco’
talent showcase still blew away L.A. crowds with the creme de la
creme of San Francisco acts.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]