Mission Mission

You don’t want to miss this: Slavic Soul Party is a Balkan brass band from Brooklyn that doesn’t make it out here too often, and when they do it’s in much bigger venues. They just announced that they’ll be playing at the Mission tonight.

In addition to the Serbian brass band tradition, they mix in some American funk, soul, New Orleans, and whatever-the-fuck-they-want traditions. They even did a Nirvana tune on one of their records (and not some trite version of “Lithium” or something… try often overlooked In Utero gem “Very Ape”)!

Tonight (Sat, Nov 13) they will be performing at Amnesia with the Bay Area’s own premiere Balkan brass band Brass Menazeri. Who knows, if you’re lucky you might catch them all teaming up like Voltron and marching up Valencia St. later tonight.

I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. I like poor man’s stuff.

Anyway, this is the video for “Pagan Wedding” by local band Square Dance:

[Thanks, Allen!]

Check out the newest piece from Strike Anywhere Films. A mesmerizing music video that takes place on our very streets. 24th Street, to be more specific. Florence Hartigan sings “Paris” by Friendly Fires.

Hint: you’re going to want to click on the bottom right button to watch it fullscreen. How do they get that zoom so smooooth??

Notice how the amber colored haze of our pollution as it wafts across the bay to Oakland gives it a nice Tony Scott-like feel at the top of the frame.

Bonus! Check out this rad spec commercial they did. Simple and with perfect timing.

Today’s episode of Backseat Beat features local band Still Flyin’. They used to be a joke reggae band, and everybody loved it, but now they’re just a regular really good rock ‘n’ roll band. Hopefully everybody still loves it.

The video shows them playing some songs (at least one of which indeed sounds a bit like LCD Soundsystem) under a freeway, and then they ride around in the back of an old Volvo with the show’s host and sort of answer some questions. It’s fun. Watch it here.

Gifted kindergartner David Enos has produced a stunning animated history of the Doors. The narration, as you can see, is straightforward but haunting, and the depictions of Jim and the gang (and the supernatural oddities they encounter) will leave you breathless.

Watch it below now, or wait and see it on the big screen at next week’s San Francisco International Animation Festival.

(more…)

Tough crowd for one 24th st. busker.

[photo and title by Marty Your Friend]

California is a Place posted a lovely mini-documentary on a Los Angeles Mariachi trumpeter who goes by the name “El Rey” that you should check out. These guys live music.

Next time you’re sitting next to one of these smartly-dressed fellas on MUNI, be sure to wish him a good gig.

Here’s the link. Embedded below if you’re not google reader’ing.

These are the feet of Ash Reiter frontwoman Ash Reiter, who you might remember from her viral video smash Paper Diamonds. Tonight, Ash Reiter the band brings the rock ‘n’ roll to Elbo Room. It’s free, and sponsored by JanSport, so you might get a free backpack to boot, or something.

Andrew Sarkarati saw them at Hotel Utah with me last month and had a great time, even though he normally doesn’t like anything that’s not Boney M. or Abba, so you’ll probably have a good time too. RSVP on Facebook if you want.

P.S. “Stumble and Fall” is one of my favorite Ash Reiter songs. It starts to kick into gear around the 1-minute mark, so be patient:

I totally forgot to post this earlier, but in case you’re on you’re killing time on your iPhone in line at Boogaloos, why not cross your name off the list and head down the street to Porto Franco Art Parlor for their monthly Klezmer brunch? For 6 bucks, you get a kick-ass vegetarian Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditional dishes with a bit of a Russian tinge. Plus, no line.

And you get to see some awesome live Klezmer music courtesy of the Gonifs, featuring members of the Cottontails, Rupa and the April Fishes, and Brass Menazeri.

Porto Franco is in a Victorian flat at 953 Valencia between 20th and 21st. They go until 2pm. If you miss this one, they do this every last Sunday of the month.

This is a video of some Bananas fans doing a choral cover of the Bananas’ greatest hit, a sweet and tender nautically themed love song. People all over the world love the shit out of this band, and you can find out why tonight at the Secret Alley’s epic Saturday Night Halloween party. More on that here. Don’t miss it!