Ghostland Observatory Rocked the New August Hall

Consisting of Pippi Longstocking braids rocking Aaron Kyle Behrens and vampire-cloak wearing Thomas Ross Turner, Ghostland Observatory has been making festival and TV appearances since 2004, before taking a hiatus in 2013.

In the time shortly before they stepped back a bit, they had been upping the production portion of their performances, adding lasers and mirrors to the experience. Now that they're back in the groove of things, these elements seem to have been perfected for this latest tour.

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Moon Boots at 1015 Folsom

A few Friday nights back, I traded my denim jacket concert uniform for a black tank top to follow Moon Boots to the club for a DJ set, and boy am I glad I did.

Moon Boots, aka Pete Dougherty, is a long time friend of The Danger!Sound, dating back to when Ray would do photo shoots for Pete’s former band, Hey Champ. We were able to take Pete and another DJ pal of his, the opener for his Independent show, Richard, aka Panic Bomber, to one of our favorite spots for dinner in the city, Izakaya Kou, just across the street from the Fillmore, just before the show.

I’m sure we looked every bit the part of the affable crew of scruffy, creative-looking types we are, deep in conversation about shared concerts and the music business. A carafe of sake, a pitcher of Sapporo, and all the gyoza and sashimi our hearts could desire later, we were in a Lyft to the venue, 1015 Folsom, nicely drunk and ready to watch Pete do his thing (and dance the night away).

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Masego at The Greek Theatre

How to make the sexy sax man a real thing? The force of talent that is Masego is here to make all your swingy, sexy dreams come true.

Masego opened for the king of cool Leon Bridges at the Greek Theater a few weeks back, and was a perfect match for the energy of the evening. After sliding onstage in a red sweater and opening with a sax solo, and he’s got the audience’s attention in a vice grip, the pit swaying to his beats.

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Leon Bridges at The Greek

Leon Bridges is our modern incarnation of a soul god.

He’s been compared to Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, but he’s the millennial genre-bending version- contemporary cool. He graced the Greek Theater a few weeks back, with the sax-wielding R&B man Masego as an opener, and it was an incredible show- if you’re given the chance, go see Leon Bridges!

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Andrew W.K. at the Fillmore

The iconic, towering nose-bleeding backdrop looms overhead when Andrew WK’s set begins, flanked by a wall of speakers and stadium ready lights.

While the drummer pounds out a driving beat, he’s joined onstage by a bass player, two metalhead guitar players, and a third guitarist that could be the twin sister of the scene stealing Domino from Deadpool II, all shredding their instruments with precision and power.

Then, our star walks on, picks up his mic, spreads his arms, and lets loose the high, operatic falsetto opening notes of “Music Is Worth Living For”. This is Andrew WK.

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Interview with Well Well Well

It was a sunny, uncharacteristically humid morning in San Diego when band Well Well Well hopped into their rented Cruise America RV and headed North, trading the sun and sand for the low hanging Summer fog of San Francisco.

“I’m ready for it!” Singer and guitarist Seton laughs- at which I cry a little inside. I said the exact same thing when I made the move to San Francisco from San Diego, and while I love my new City, at around this time in the summer I get reaaallly close to hightailing it back to the 70+ degree year-round weather. 

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Tinariwen at the UC Theatre Berkeley

Tinariwen, Tinariwen, Tinariwen- how do we describe the transcendent experience of seeing Tinariwen. 

For those of you who have never experienced this band, a bit of background- their founding member and frontman, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, witnessed his father’s execution at age four after an uprising in Mali in 1963. Growing up in refugee camps in Algeria, he built his first guitar from a tin can, a stick, and bicycle brake wire, and he first began to teach himself on this before a local Arab man gave him his first guitar.

Protest music from all corners of the world formed his, and the rest of the founding members of Tinariwen’s (Alhassane Ag Touhami and brothers Inteyeden Ag Ablil and Liya Ag Ablil in Tamanrasset) inspiration- Moroccan groups, Algerian pop rai, and Western acts like Hendrix, Santana, Presley, and Marley. It’s easy to see their influence in the skill and swagger of Ag Alhabib and acoustic guitarist Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni. Tinariwen is ultimately a collective of musicians, and it’s rare you see the same touring group twice.

Tinariwen literally means ‘The Desert Boys’, as they were called before they had a formal band name, and it fits this elegant group of musicians, who infuse their native musical style and instruments with Western guitars and rock n’ roll, like a glove. 

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Car Seat Headrest at The Fillmore

Last week, I had the chance to spend a night at the Fillmore with Naked Giants and Car Seat Headrest. We caught them on Wednesday, the second sold out night of shows with Naked Giants opening and Car Seat Headrest headlining.

The Car Seat Headrest we experienced at the Fillmore was a polished, gorgeous, well-produced show. Will Toledo, frontman and creative power, has crafted a beautiful indie rock repertoire over the past decade.

With his rich, deep voice seeming to drip from his thin frame, he more than fits the look of young, floppy-haired, pensive indie darling. His collection of albums and music under this moniker is unarguably great, and considering Toledo’s youth, impressive in its proficiency.

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Geographer at The Fillmore

Geographer, the synth-pop/indie-rock project of Mike Deni, stopped over at the Fillmore as part of his Alone Time Tour.

Deni is currently backed by Joyce Lee on cello and Cody Rhodes on drums, and a rockin’ light show. 

Seeing Geographer live is hypnotic. He tends to loop his gorgeously melodic songs and play with their structures, and when paired with Lee’s cello and lights bathing the stage, it’s incredibly immersive. Even though the crowd admittedly was most likely there to hear his more mainstream New Order cover, he got the crowd moving with a few dance hall-esque tracks- I’ve definitely seen the Fillmore more crowded, but a sea of enthusiastically bobbing heads filled the pit that night.

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.

Moon Boots at The Independent

The homie Moot Boots is always touring, so it seems, and we connected at The Independent in SF.

This was a particularly special occasion because his most recent tour had started a few days prior, playing with a live band comprised of all of the studio players from his recordings.

To make a long story short, it was the most original blending of electronic and ‘organic?’ music production we’ve witnessed live. By bringing in the incredible talents of his band of friends, forming essentially an electronic music supergroup from the talents of St. Lucia, Crystal Fighters, and Black Gatsby, among others, he has created a powerhouse of a show.

Read the full The Danger!Sound writeup, living at tracygrahamcracker.com.