Happy Summer Solstice y’all!

This Spring was a whirlwind of graduate school classes and events, a move abroad to China, and so much more. Luckily I was able to fit in some great Fauxchella shows and compile a new music playlist along the way. Since this is a long overdue retrospective I’ll keep it brief, in hopes that I can spend a bit more time on a new series I’m calling “Music Travel Logs”, stayed tuned 🙂

Fauxchella is the time of year when San Francisco residents benefit from a plethora of shows played by Coachella bands. These musical mavens escape the hipster desert oasis for some less culturally appropriated, authentic California culture. With my crazy class schedule I’d hadn’t planned on attending many shows, but as so often happens in life, sometimes you don’t plan for Fauxchella, but Fauxchella plans for you. In April I saw three shows in six days – and the exhaustion and exhilaration that ensued was worth it all. I finished the week feeling more refreshed and renewed than I had in months, conjuring up a line I had originally written as a joke from my first Music on my Mind Post: “Music is my religion and I’m determined to worship frequently.” Amen. 

April 15th: The XX @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

Fauxchella 2017 started with a sold out show by The XX, an effusive British band whose sound has grown in complexity and brilliance with time. Ironically I first fell for these shoegaze rockers at the Coachella 2014 festival. Their heavy breathing melancholic lyrics and pulsating drum beats enveloped the desert and swallowed the audience whole with musical intoxication. Three years later, their set had matured and greatly improved thanks to their newest blockbuster album release, I See You. Pitchfork noted this album “attempts to incorporate every band member’s talents into a new version of their sound, one true to their roots but richer and more varied”. Their set at Bill Graham Civic Center was powerful and moving, here are my two favorites off their new album “On Hold” and “Say Something Loving”.

 

April 17th: Radiohead @ The Greek Theater

Next up was the legendary rock band, Radiohead. They were playing five sold out nights at the Greek Theater, an intimate outdoor amphitheater on the UC Berkeley campus seating only 8.500 people. From the first moment Radiohead came onstage it was clear they were grateful to leave behind the shadows of a huge stadium crowd for this more intimate experience. Their three hour set spanned in time and space touching upon many of their hits – 15 Step, Reckoner, No Surprises . As a soft rain fell from the sky Thom Yorke crooned an acoustic version of Fake Plastic Trees and it felt as if the whole audience held their breath with anticipation and reverence. The intimacy of this show fueled the audience, their hoots and hollers cast out any of the dark damp weather that night.

 

April 20th: Whitney @ The Independent

The last show of Fauxchella, Whitney, was a the only show I’d planned on seeing for months. After a strong breakout album, Whitney had taken indie folk rock audiences by storm. Last July  I extolled the values of their music, both timeless and current in the same pitch. This Chicago band is the perfect road trip companion, I listend to them throughout a backpacking trip in the Desolation Wilderness last summer and their smooth vocals and reverb set the perfect sunset soundtrack. Since the summer it had been hard to listen to this band because their music was tangled up in some painful memories. Luckily I got to rewrite those memories with a fantastic sold out live show that I spent dancing and singing alongside two of my best friends, healing old wounds and reclaiming their sweet melodies for a happier time in my life. Enjoy two of my favorite singles off their debut 2016 album, the title track “Light Upon the Lake,” and  “Golden Days”. 

 

And for your new music wanderings, please enjoy the new music playlist “Cold Sun, Warm Heart”. This playlist is a tribute to the frigid rainy days that chilled the streets of San Francisco this Spring, and the songs that kept us cozy and warm: