Cloud Nothings Over San Francisco

CLOUD NOTHINGS

METZ 

THE WYTCHES

GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, SF

07 JULY, 2014

 Cloud Nothings settled into the core of their West Coast swing supporting Here And Nowhere Else with an appearance at the venerable Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, before heading down to LA for a string of Southern California dates. Along for the ride were The Wytches from Brighton and Toronto's mighty METZ. The Wytches kicked things off, previewing tracks from their upcoming debut LP, Annabel Dream Reader, due out in August on Partisan Records over here, and on their home turf in the UK, Heavenly Recordings. Based on their performance, it will be an LP to keep an eye out for. Considering the other bands on the bill, they were facing the right audience for a band playing mostly unheard songs, and a thundering impression was made. METZ, of course, brings the noise, and their sole album to date, a self titled effort on Sub Pop, provided heavy fodder for the huddled masses. "Get Off" and "Knife In The Water" were rousing highlights, and their energy level was unflagging throughout.

Here And Nowhere Else is, at the halfway point, head and shoulders above anything else I've heard this year, and the question was how the new Cloud Nothings tracks would be integrated into the set, and how they would hold up live. Turns out the set was the new album, sans one track, and with a few old cuts to leaven it out...strict Neil Young Rules, no attempt at appeasement offered.The old material  that remained was reinvigorated, and songs that would be cornerstones of the sets of most artists were summarily kicked to the curb.

The last time we caught up with Cloud Nothings, near the end of the touring cycle for Attack On Memory, they were not rote, but thoroughly controlled, as if a demonstration of precision rather than a spontaneous explosion. This performance was gloriously messy technically, but suffered from no shortage of sparks. Remaining a trio, they seemed hellbent on making up for the recorded multiple recorded guitar tracks by sheer will alone. After roaring through "Now Hear In" and the anthemic "Quieter Today", they threw the crowd a bone with the older "Stay Useless" before gurning back into the heart of darkness with "Psychic Trauma" and "Giving Into Seeing". The feral jam of "Pattern Walks" was a centerpiece, and things built to a head with the set-closing duo of "No Thoughts" and "I'm Not A Part Of Me". Coming back for an encore, the nailed the audience to the wall with a stripped down version of "Wasted Days" that pretty much wrung out what stuffing remained in the audience.

CLOUD NOTHINGS

METZ

THE WYTCHES

Shadows And Light: Angel Olsen live

ANGEL OLSEN

CIAN NUGENT

GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, SF

03 MARCH, 2014

 

While the Noise Pop Festival concluded its yearly run on Sunday, the following day offered up a gentle reminder that San Francisco never sleeps, as the Great American Music Hall welcomed Angel Olsen. Olsen's been making her way up the state, selling out in San Diego and wowing Los Angeles.

Her newest album, Burn Your Fire For No Witness, saw her transition to a full band, and the show reflected accordingly. Opening with "Hi Five", Olsen cast her spell from the get-go, milking a fat fuzz-tone to offset the longing and dislocation of the lyrics. Along with "Forgiven/Forgotten", they've opened her up to a whole new audience, but one gets the impression that it would be dangerous to trap her in any one place, as evidenced by her droll observation, "Got that one out of the way...", at the song's conclusion.

"Stars" showed off the band in full flight, and with "Lights Out", the groove was locked in. With her sardonic stage presence and unshakeable mien, she would make a fine denizen of The Roadhouse, should David Lynch ever get moving on that rumored reboot of Twin Peaks. The records only half prepare you or what's to come, and when she finally cuts loose with The Voice, it's truly one for the ages, and all the sudden those Roy Orbison comparisons are starting to make sense. The foundation of that comparison is not purely the voice, but the subtext, the songs of finding strength in the pain, the literal forging of one's self in the fire. The peak of the evening was a dynamic take on new album closer "Windows", starting soft and lulling one in, before the band came in on a wave and rode the song to an immense conclusion. The band left the stage on that high note, but Olsen remained to essay a gut-clenching solo take on "Enemy" that reduced the noisy dinner hall to utter silence. A musical E.F. Hutton moment, to be sure, and an exclamation point to the evening. While her musical pallete has broadened, the roots are strong, and the only question seems to be where she wants to go.

Cian Nugent opened things up in style, with the Irish folkie picking his way through a meandering acoustic journey, seemingly oblivious to the rustling crowd. As the song progressed and his technical expertise became undeniable, engagement began. On "Double Horse", a stark cut that built to an intense conclusion, he thoroughly made his mark, and received a thundering ovation. Switching over to electric, he pulled out a Michael Hurley cover, a perfect choice for a San Francisco audience. As a lesson in faith in one's own vision, and as a prelude of what was to come, it was a fitting start to the evening.