For those who were keeping track, back in the end of May, my partner-in-crime Yumiko and I attended a show at the Great American Music Hall. That concert had three bands performing and the main headliner was Voxtrot. Well, of course, the band that I wanted to see (and encouraged Yumiko to see as well) was Au Revoir Simone, and they were the first opening band. With that, they played six, if not, five songs. A tad bit of a let down.
Well, in the end of July I received an email from Yumiko notifying me that Au Revoir Simone is playing again in San Francisco. This time, at a venue named Bottom of the Hill. The lineup was them along with Oh No Oh My and the Morning Benders. Due to the wording on the website, it was hard to tell if Au Revoir Simone would have been the opening band or not. After some research, Morning Benders are a local San Francisco band, and Pitchfork Media mentioned Au Revoir Simone going on tour with Oh No Oh My (and they’re based out of Austin, Texas). So, it came down to either of these two being the headliner. When we got there, we discovered Au Revoir Simone was the headliner.
Bottom of the Hill is basically a dive bar that happens to have a stage. It reminded me of Sacramento’s Blue Lamp, for those who know what I am talking about. We didn’t really pay attention to the Morning Benders or Oh No Oh My; we got drinks and sat in the outside portion of the bar. We realized that this evening was going to be a late one because the website said doors open at 8:30pm and the show started at 10:00pm, and there were two bands (as mentioned) to lead up to Au Revoir Simone.
We walked inside when Oh No Oh My were wrapping up their last song and they closed up shop. It took a while for Au Revoir Simone to start, which I thought was weird since they rely solely on three keyboards and a small xylophone. It was about 12:20am when Au Revoir Simone began playing their music.
With having the main spotlight, they could (and did) play a lot of their music, unlike the unfortunate experience of six songs like last time. Of course, their latest album The Bird of Music, was what they played the most of. However, their first album, Verses of Comfort, Assurance, and Salvation, was touched on a couple times. I was really excited when they played my two favorite songs from that specific album: “Through the Backyards” and “Stay Golden,” which also happen to be the first and last song on the album. Kind of weird.
Their performance went for about an hour, and I think they played pretty much everything of their latest album. My only concerns about their performance dealt with technical issues. For such a small amount of things to work with (keyboards and speakers), they had to keep telling their roadie to tune things or crank something up or turn something down between each song.
Since Bottom of the Hill is such a small venue, I was able to see the band up much closer. I wasn’t as freaked out this time by seeing the one member who reminded me of my mother when she was young and not married with children. This person looked like somebody else. So, I calmed down.
Well, in the end of July I received an email from Yumiko notifying me that Au Revoir Simone is playing again in San Francisco. This time, at a venue named Bottom of the Hill. The lineup was them along with Oh No Oh My and the Morning Benders. Due to the wording on the website, it was hard to tell if Au Revoir Simone would have been the opening band or not. After some research, Morning Benders are a local San Francisco band, and Pitchfork Media mentioned Au Revoir Simone going on tour with Oh No Oh My (and they’re based out of Austin, Texas). So, it came down to either of these two being the headliner. When we got there, we discovered Au Revoir Simone was the headliner.
Bottom of the Hill is basically a dive bar that happens to have a stage. It reminded me of Sacramento’s Blue Lamp, for those who know what I am talking about. We didn’t really pay attention to the Morning Benders or Oh No Oh My; we got drinks and sat in the outside portion of the bar. We realized that this evening was going to be a late one because the website said doors open at 8:30pm and the show started at 10:00pm, and there were two bands (as mentioned) to lead up to Au Revoir Simone.
We walked inside when Oh No Oh My were wrapping up their last song and they closed up shop. It took a while for Au Revoir Simone to start, which I thought was weird since they rely solely on three keyboards and a small xylophone. It was about 12:20am when Au Revoir Simone began playing their music.
With having the main spotlight, they could (and did) play a lot of their music, unlike the unfortunate experience of six songs like last time. Of course, their latest album The Bird of Music, was what they played the most of. However, their first album, Verses of Comfort, Assurance, and Salvation, was touched on a couple times. I was really excited when they played my two favorite songs from that specific album: “Through the Backyards” and “Stay Golden,” which also happen to be the first and last song on the album. Kind of weird.
Their performance went for about an hour, and I think they played pretty much everything of their latest album. My only concerns about their performance dealt with technical issues. For such a small amount of things to work with (keyboards and speakers), they had to keep telling their roadie to tune things or crank something up or turn something down between each song.
Since Bottom of the Hill is such a small venue, I was able to see the band up much closer. I wasn’t as freaked out this time by seeing the one member who reminded me of my mother when she was young and not married with children. This person looked like somebody else. So, I calmed down.
1 comment:
That's funny, because a lot of Sacramento bands play at Bottom of the Hill.
And keyboards are a bitch to soundcheck; strewth.
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