Event Review: Cloud Cult at The Bottom of the Hill

There are few live shows I've looked forward to as much as Cloud Cult at the Bottom of the Hill, and while the evening provided a few genuinely transcendent moments of musical communion between band and audience (and a surprisingly great set from opener Music for Animals, who reminded both the boyfriend and I of an 80s rock band in their bouncy sound and onstage presence), it also showed how difficult it can be to take tracks that are infused with the lushness of studio production on the road and into a live setting. A bit of ugliness at the end, involving greed and money flaunting during the auction for the two paintings that were produced on stage during the set, wound up spoiling what would otherwise have been a great evening of live music.

In my original review of Cloud Cult's new album, The Meaning of 8, I commented on the complex arrangements in the band's tracks, their ability to mix electronic and acoustic sounds, and the way they could create huge anthemic builds that then broke out into cleanly delivered musical moments. These qualities are a combination of the band member's inherent musical talents and some very advanced production techniques, and while the former is something that you can take out into the clubs, it's very difficult to recover studio magic in a live mix. In Cloud Cult's performance of tracks like "Pretty Voice," "The Meaning of 8," and, what in my opinion is destined to be a classic indie rock anthem, "Take Your Medicine," the band clearly put across all the emotional power that I expected, thanks both to their ability to master the dynamics between themselves and the power of Craig Minowa's vocals (and Craig is even cuter in person than he is in the band photos), but all those clean moments, the fine separation of the instruments that gave them each their own voice, were drowned in a muddy mix. The Bottom of the Hill is a wonderfully classic Hessian rock club, and while I don't know if the woman doing the mixes was travelling with the band or was the resident sound person, it seemed as if her technique was better suited for bands with a more traditional, straight-ahead rock sound. Music for Animals, for example, which relied on classic bass, drum, two guitars and a synth, and a basic fusion between them all, had a much more solid sound. Another contrast between the two groups was that while Music for Animals clearly enjoyed being on the stage together and working off one another to create a performance of their songs, the members of Cloud Cult seemed more introspective and centered on their own parts. The performance of their tracks didn't stray beyond what you would hear on the album, which meant that just as a track like "Take Your Medicine" built up and engaged the audience, it would be over.

I'm glad that I got to hear Cloud Cult in a small venue like Bottom of the Hill that fosters a sense of intimicy with bands on the stage, because if they can put out another album like The Meaning of 8, I'm sure that they will be able to fill much larger venues. At that point they may also have worked out the kinks in how they adapt their songs for live performance, and I would certainly love to hear them on a cleaner sound system. I thought I heard that they will be coming back through San Francisco in August, and I will definitely go check them out again to see how their live sound has matured after a couple months of being on the road.

And now for the ugly part. As part of Cloud Cult's shows Connie Minowa and Scott West each create a painting on stage during the set, and then the paintings are auctioned off after the show. I thought it would be cool to take home something more than a t-shirt that would remind me of the evening on an emotional level, and so I put in a bid on Connie's piece. At the time I didn't take much notice of it, but the starting bids for both pieces were from the same peson, at the same price. I thought that this meant this was the acceptable starting bid level, and while it was a little high, it wasn't outside the realm of what I would consider to be a good price for original art. A little later I checked and noticed that I had been outbid, so I let it go and bid on Scott West's piece, which the boyfriend said he preferred anyway. After the show I went to check on the bidding and found I had been outbid again, this time by the same person, Charlise (unsure of the spelling there, since my bifocals don't work so well in dim light when reading handwriting), who had won the Connie Minowa painting. I bid again, and Charise then put up a sum that was way more than I could afford. So I asked her, was she really willing to pay over a thousand dollars for both paintings, and wouldn't it be fair to let one of them go to someone else? She responded that she had gotten both paintings that had been created during the Sacramento show the night before, and she was going to get both of these as well, whatever it took. Since I was obviously up against someone who was motivated by greed and had the money (or the credit card) to back it up, I backed off, but it really pissed me off as an example of the kind of attitude that leads people to buy Escalades and drive out street fairs - I've got money, I don't care about you, I'm going to get what I want and my money is what makes it possible for me to be both arrogant and selfish. It was something of a bummer to go from reaching up to this peak of existential intensity only to be pulled back down into the muck of money. Since this seems antithetical to what I perceive as Cloud Cult's ethos, I hope they will find a way to balance between the financial benefit to Connie and Scott from such behavior, and the rather ugly drives behind it. When I got home I sent them an email that was perhaps more splenetic than I would have liked (it was late, I'd had more than enough shots of Jaeger with Stella chasers, and I was kinda upset that I'd lost out on something I'd really liked because I don't have bucks to just throw at things) and I hope that I didn't come across as just a sore loser, but I hope that they will take up my suggestion of allowing one person to only buy one painting. After all, I'm sure they would prefer to share themselves with, and give pleasure to, as many folks as they can who are receptive to what they have to say.

Upcoming Event: Benefit for Bus Station John at The Transfer, Saturday May 5

I caught a small item in Larry-Bob's Queer Things to do in San Francisco that said Bus Station John had recently been burned out of his apartment. And so this Saturday there is a benefit for BSJ at The Transfer, starting at 9PM, with the DJs from Starbooty. It's $5. BSJ's parties aren't my cup of tea, but he has done his part for San Francisco gay club culture, and, from all reports, is a very nice guy, so if you're in the Castro Saturday night, stop by the Transfer, have a drink, and help a guy out.

C.L.A.W.S and Gentleman's Techno Parties

In further evidence that techno is now blowing up as San Francisco's dominant cool kid music, the SFWeekly has an article in this week's issue about techno producer Brian Hock, aka C.L.A.W.S, and his Gentleman's Techno parties, described by devotee Kid606 as the closest thing to the way they party in Berlin and a tonic to the "handbag house" (love that term) that otherwise rules at clubs like Pink. As someone who has partied in Berlin I'd love to check one of these events out, so if anyone can give me the hook-up I'd be most appreciative.

MIT Study: How to Describe Timbre

One of the biggest challenges I face when writing about music is how to describe it. Recently the boyfriend and I were having a discussion about what it meant when music, particularly electronic music, was described as "dark." Well, it turns out that some folks at MIT are interested in this problem of describing timbre as well, and have put together a really neat survey to see find out how people translate what they hear into descriptive terms. Check it out and see how you would describe the sounds you hear.

Your Saturday Guide for May 5, 2007

It’s Cinco de Mayo, which means lots of gringos drinking too much tequila and Corona and acting like Mexico’s independence from Spain is just another excuse for them to behave like imperialist caricatures of people from a developing nation. Oh well, that’s just us crazy Americans.

Kind of a slow Saturday, as I assume everyone is saving their energy for How Weird Street Faire afterparties on Sunday.

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: HOUSE OF LOTUS Cinco de Mayo Burning Man Fundraiser
Yes, they encourage you to dress up like a cowboy and behave in deplorable ways, but there’s a great DJ line-up and an underground location (I’m not even supposed to be posting this for public consumption, but what the hell, it’s not like that many people will see it here anyway).
10PM to 6AM
$15 pre-sales from http://cinco.eventbrite.com, $20 at the door
Secret Underground Location available at www.houseoflotus.com on Friday

Kontrol at the End-Up featuring live sets from Stephen Beaupre and Ambivalent
Your monthly offering of “minimal techno and avant house” with the boys from Kontrol at one of the best clubs in town (though watch out for that security pat-down)
10PM to 6AM
$15 at the door
The EndUp, 6th and Harrison

Tabu at the Sky Bar
Okay, I put this up for completeness only, because every bit of communication I see coming from these kids is managing to piss me off. This is the same crew, Bay Area Beat Drop (BABD), that does Fuk Werk Fridays happy hour (check out my review) at 111 Minna and filterSF at Fat City, so ostensibly they're a minimal techno collective. So far every one of their flyers has featured a NSFW image of a mostly naked woman (seriously, I’m afraid to look at their Myspace page at work), they describe their music as “sultry and teasing,” they have an annoying Flash site, this event says “No old jeans or t-shirts,” and they want you to pay $15 before midnight, $20 after, and apparently this isn’t even the main room for this club, but you can see through the floor to the main room, where they play hip-hop. So, if anybody has been or plans on going to this party, please hit me back and let me know what it was like so I can decide if I should keep listing it. Somehow I think this is techno for the bottle service crowd, which is a big turn-off for this jaded gay DJ and, I hope, you all as well. It’s also pretty bad when you can’t even list the address for the club where you’re having your party on your own damn website (and if you want your browser window to open at a normal size, be sure to clear your cache after looking at this Flash monstrosity).
10PM to 2AM(?)
Free before 11 with RSVP to tabu@babd.org, $15 before 11, $20 after midnight
520 4th Street

Your Friday Guide for May 4, 2007

Whoo, another crazy Friday in clubland. It looks like everyone is throwing their big deal parties on Friday in anticipation of How Weird Street Faire and its attendant afterparties on Sunday, with Saturday offering the chance to replenish your serotonin and other vital neurotransmitters.

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Underground United at a Special Underground Location!
This is certain to be a big hoopla party with a who’s who of DJs from Seismic, Opel, and Big Smile – guaranteed bangin’ breaks, progressive house, and other fun dance treats in three rooms.
All Night Long
$5 before Midnight, $10 afterwards
Call 415-762-0155 for location

Lucky Pierre, a HomoElectroDisco at The Stud
Come as a Super Friend and get a free beer while the keg lasts! Free queen-sized birthday shot at midnight! Been meaning to check out this party for a while now, so this is probably where I’ll wind up for the evening.
10PM – 3AM
No cover charge listed

Garth and Jeno Back2Back at Club 222
Ah, that old-skool vibe is guaranteed to come into play here, but after hearing Jeno at Refuge last weekend I bet there will be some new-skool tech house as well. Great little space, just be careful wandering the ‘loin getting there. These guys team up every 1st Friday.
10PM – 2AM
$10

Where Da Partyz At: A Birthday Celebration for Morris Mizrahi
With DJs Tall Sasha, Brad Robinson, Laird, and Dirtyhertz
Duplex Nightclub
1525 Mission
9PM to 2AM
FREE!

Ursula 1000 at the Porn Palace
942 Mission Street
A Mexploitation Fiesta with burlesque dancers and all the attendant tequila messiness, costumes strongly encouraged
10PM to 4AM
$15 Presale / $20 Door
Get your tickets at: www.cuatrodemayo.com

More NIMBYism in the Panhandle

Today's San Francisco Examiner has an article on the latest struggle between those who want to create public arts and civic events, and those who are worried, worried, worried about "crowds," "noise," and "trash." In this case members of the Black Rock Arts Foundation's ScrapEden project want to create a temporary (important word, that) 30 foot wide, 18 foot tall bandshell made out of "used car hoods, computer circuit panels and plastic water bottles." The bandshell will be in place from June 1 until September 15, and will be used on a daily basis, from noon until dusk, for events like puppet shows and acoustic performances that are expected to draw "crowds" of about 25 people. The project has the support of the Recreation and Park Department, as well as Supervisor Ross Mirakami, whose district includes the Panhandle. So what are the objections from the neighbors?

“The noise factor is definitely a deterrent for anyone in the neighborhood,” said Maureen Murphy, who lives on Oak Street. “Although they said there would be no amplification, any time you construct any sort of a band shell … Things start out with the best intentions, but things get out of hand.

Wow, that's really a reasoned response - "but things get out of hand." I'm terrified of what might happen after a group of toddlers gets all riled up by a puppet show in the middle of the day. Ms. Murphy is also concerned about "safety," since the Panhandle is in a strip between two major streets, but if that's the case, maybe we should also ban dog walking, frisbee playing, and jogging, since you never know when any of those activities might take someone out in the street in a non-crosswalk area. She's also worried about trash - man, those crowds of kids and folkies really know how to mess up a place. Another neighbor feels that the Panhandle is too small an area for an 18 by 25 foot band shell, so she suggests putting it in Sharon Meadows, a space in the middle of Golden Gate Park that would completely dwarf the structure and take it away from serving those people who live in the Panhandle area.

In short, it looks like these people decided to just be reactionary against anything that might possibly, in some small way, for some short period of time, impinge on their concept of their neighborhood (and, no doubt, their property values). So instead of coming up with real reasons for why this should not be allowed, they're grasping at straws and trying to concoct worst-case scenarios. Let's hope that the Board of Supervisors is a little bit more rationale in making decisions about this.

Cochella in the New York Times

The New York Times today has an article on the Cochella festival down in Indio, from which we've been enjoying the run-off these past few weeks. A couple article highlights:

The big scary War of the Worlds tripod in the background of the article photo was at Burning Man this past year and won my award for most dread-inspiring art on the playa

The electronic music dance tent made it seem as if "This year . . . dance music were having a resurgence instead of a decline," though the artist described is Tiesto *sigh*

The Jesus and Mary Chain are back: "The big thing was the band’s singer, Jim Reid, and the rigor of his acid blankness; the corners of his mouth almost never turned above a flat line. 'Are you having fun?' he asked the crowd, after singing “Sidewalking.” The crowd said yes. 'Well, we’ll see what we can do about that,' he said."