An Acoustic Evening with Tim Bluhm, Neal Casal & Fred Torphy :: October 8

Tim Bluhm is affectionately known in San Francisco for his major role in the California Soul rock band, The Mother Hips.

Neal Casal has charmed many in the U.K, Europe, & Japan regularly over the last two decades with his solo work, and has recently gained U.S. recognition with his role touring with Ryan Adams & The Cardinals.

Fred Torphy just wrapped Outside Lands & Wanderlust fronting his SF-based band Big Light.

These three exceptional singer-songwriters bring their solo tunes to the Make-Out Room for one special evening of acoustic music. Thank you for helping make it a night of music to remember.

$12, doors open at 7p, music begins at 7:30p sharp & will conclude by 9:30p.

About reapandsow>presents:
reapandsow>presents is a division of San Francisco-based digital music distribution company, reapandsow, inc. We book, produce and promote events in the SF bay area and beyond, including the Annual Golden Gate Gramble and the reapandsow Artist Showcase at South by Southwest 2009.

feb recap

i've gotten really behind on this blog. i've seen some amazing music in the last couple months. at the same rate, there were some really mammoth shows that i didn't see, painstakingly enough. i'll do a quickie little recap, if not for my own little self-indulgence that i happen to share on the WWW. some "expected" great shows, some unexpected...

eagles of death metal, fillmore in early feb. didn't realized i would enjoy that one as much as i did. mingled with that camp thru a friend i met during the 2007 ryan adams/cardinals tour who was tour managing the EODM. they were a very sweet bunch of people, who have all known each other for years, and i felt grateful to be included for a night of their mayhem. major family vibe.

michael franti & ALO fox theater in oakland, during its opening weekend. that theater is poised to see some seriously epicly life-altering music, i reckon. believe it or not, i get kinda bored with michael franti lately. i feel ashamed of that, to a certain extent. but hey, i love SO much music that for me, it feels good to know what i like, at least. and its not that i don't like it. i dance, and my friends are there n stuff. it all just starts sounding the same to me at a certain point. whatevz really, i thought the part i caught of ALO was REALLY good. can't say enough about how good i think dan lebowitz (guitar for ALO) is. SICK!

the white thighs, connecticut yankee: valentine's day found me babysitting for my dear friends, then busting a move out to see my big light friends play w their original band the white thighs. it was a super silly fun time.

ALO & big light, the mystic in petaluma: my virgin run of the mystic. local faves both big light AND alo B R O U G H T I T. a stormy massively rainy drive up from the city north to petaluma brought a super fun night of music. GREAT way for me to see my first gig at that neato venue.

jackie greene band + phil lesh, bob weir, great american music hall (night one): i LOVE jackie's music. LOVE. this show was two sets of his original tunes, with an acoustic set by jackie/bobby/phil. um, HELL YES. the middle acoustic set on night one was a little rusty, but who cared? it was still REALLY good.

jackie greene band + phil lesh, bob weir, GAMH (night two): LOVED night 2 much better than night one. third set was KOOKOO! sorry, can't deal w the details right now, but that third set was FUN~ whew! couldn't mingle too much after cuz i had an ER-ER-EARLY flight the next morning to catch my last cardinals shows...

the cardinals plus ryan adams, new haven: LONG day for me, espesh having just ROCKED out at the jackie shows two nights prior, but this new haven show was good. the music was GREAT, but i was pooped from my travel day and ryan was kinda annoying me, prolly cuz i was tyty. nonetheless, GREAT music and i was happy to skip boston so i could be fresh for MONTCLAIR!

the cardinals plus ryan adams, wellmont theater: as it stands, this would turn out to be my "last" cardinals gig. it was a worthy show for me to bid farewell (for now) to my mighty friends who play that heavenly music. this show was just ON. had some of my SERIOUSLY best friends at the gig, and couldn't have asked for a better night of music/fun/mischief. just AWESOME. i can't even deal with putting the link to the show here cuz if i don't keep typing to get thru my recap, it will not happen.

again, this is all more for me than anyone, cuz i'm amused when i actually read some of this stuff back. i could try to put pix up n stuff along w it all but i don't have the energy. sorrs.

tonight!!!

ooh ooh ooh...i'm so excited!!!

i'm going to see big light open for the mother hips tonight in fairfax!!!

yes yes~ can't wait!!!

cool documentary ish on the 'hips

Merry Christmas!!!

i'm just sliding in, under the gun to get this christmas/kwanzaa/channukah/holiday message in before the buzzer.

i've been hard pressed to come up with some top 5 or top 10 list of shows or albums or whatevz. i'm not sure its possible. i mean, i guess if i got "serious", i could do it...with the caveat FOR SURE that i would prob amend it, and/or change it at whim, or ya know...amend & change being one and the same, of course.

fuck. january and february of 2008 seem like millions of years ago, right? its a good thing i have this blog cuz i would never remember what the eff i did this year!!!

off the cuff, since this is a remote report from the back shack, and i don't actually have my own computer at my fingertips for pix or whatevz or my itunes to see what i actually listened to the most, i'll say that there were some artists that made a HUGE impression on me this year, mostly thru live performances here or there, in and around the bay area. i feel like this is saying the sorta obvious, like saying the unsaid, but i realize that people check in from other places. and if you don't live in our town, i HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend checking these artists out sooner than later.

BIG LIGHT: click here to listen
mother hips: website
jackie greene: oh god, so hard to get me started on this, but go ahead...start here, for easy access!

i could get all micro about it. i still might before the end of the year. after all, there are a few days left to get down to the REAL nitty gritty. until then, hope your holidays are just the way you want them!!!

and, here's the instant gratification youtube vid, to round out this christmas post. (note: vid IS from 2006)

Sensations & Big Light in Novato, CA

sensations are another very cool "california soul" type of band, consisting of half of the mother hips (greg loiacono & paul hoaglin) + former drummer of cake, todd roper. i caught a super rad, groovy norcal show of theirs on friday night, along with the SF darling band BIG LIGHT opening (who sound better than ever).

below, you can download a sensations track, thanks to iodapromonet, and also be directed to various places to buy the LP.

we are also VERY excited to see big light opening for the mother hips on saturday night, december 20 at the great american music hall. VERY excited!!!

Sensations
"Slow To Show" (mp3)
from "Listen To My Shapes"
(reapandsow, Inc.)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

July recap

I snapped this pic on a street wandering in venice beach.

I feel I sorta ended up doing a poor job recapping my July on here. Really, it was just so FULL. Briefly, from where I left off...

July 12: Big Light and Surprise Me Mr. Davis @ cafe du nord. got there for the last song of Big Light cuz I had popped in at the independent for a little New Mastersounds, but the Big Light song I heard was really cute. It was Gillian Welch's "Wrecking Ball", which they learned I guess earlier that day, cuz they were in Santa Cruz, which is referenced in the song.

The SMMD portion of the show was ridic, per UJ. Can't say enough great things about their shows, and songs. Seriously. When their new album comes out, you will not be able to get me to shut up about them. Hey...smoke 'em if you got 'em...

July 13: Big Light and Surprise Me Mr. Davis...AGAIN!!! This was your quintessential hippie Sunday afternoon party. So awesome. Seriously.

July 16: The Police @ Concord Pavilion...missed Elvis Costello (I know, shame on me) but had to get my bearings. This show LARGELY exceeded my expectations in a big way. It was AWESOME. I was so pleasantly surprised!!! Had heard the 07 shows weren't that great, so figured this wouldn't be either. But it was!!! Had the pleasure of making Mr. Copeland's acquaintance and he was really, really groovy. Great human, great drummer.

July 18: Big Light and The Mother Hips in Redwood City...FUN. Really cool room, the Little Fox. Big Light sounded great, and I sound like a broken record but I don't care, The Mother Hips are A M A Z I N G.

July 19: Download Festival @ Shoreline Amphitheater~ saw lots of new music that I enjoyed: The Whigs, Cut Copy (whom I had remembered from Coachella), Mute Math...those were the stand outs for me. Each of whom were REALLY great.

July 21: N*E*R*D @ the Fillmore...my friend Matt Iarrobino was doing lights for them, and WOW! He was really good at it!!! I hadn't really clued into the music before the show, so didn't know what to expect, and was very stoked I was there. The crowd was PUMPED!!! On a Monday night!!! Great show.

July 31: Chuck Gonzalez & Stereo Glitter opened for Big Light @ 12 Galaxies~ per UJ, yeah, Big Light AGAIN. Whatever, they are our local band and I LOVE their songs.

And thank Goddess, that wraps up July. Don't make me pick a fave*

Big Light

thanks to IODA PROMONET for kicking down the legal MP3's for you to have. this band, Big Light, has been the highlight of my summer. enjoy this track, then go buy the EP from somewhere or go see a show!!!
www.myspace.com/biglightband

Big Light
"Hard Knocks" (mp3)
from "Big Light"
(reapandsow, Inc.)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Buy at Napster
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album

High Sierra 2008: Friday

Big Light: rallied bigtime to catch some of this set. Good for them for rallying, too!!! With a 10:45a slot, who knew so many people would be up groovin'. And with good reason. One of my two favorite new bands of the fest. Go see them, if you can (pictured here at Shady Grove stage, snapped by Kevin Runde).

The Weather Underground: good stuff. Caught part of this set and it was what I was thinking it was: REALLY GOOD.

For most of the rest of the afternoon, I was cackling with my girls, laughing harder than I have in years, to the point of tears, several times. I couldn't even drag myself out to music, we had our own little entertainment going. I missed some really good music (Akron/Family, SMMD), but what I gained in the giggles, was...well...worth it.

Mike Gordon: finally pulled myself together, and walked out to the mainstage. GREAT GREAT sound from Mike. Seriously. I was mega impressed. Go MIKE!!!

The Mother Hips: cruised over to the Hips stage, then headed back to camp where we could hear their set, so I was dancing and listening, and loving it, of course.

BLVD and MC SoulEye: this is my other new favorite "band"/artist of the fest. I was dancing so hard to this, super unexpectedly. It's like electronic hip hop that flows better than anything I've ever heard. Think Sound Tribe Sector Nine meets a hippie version of eminem but BETTER! Love love love them.

James Hunter: I could hear this from where I was mingling, and it sounded great. Def a great groove.

What happened after the official sets were done for the day was a set of music by High Sierra favorites, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, which is The Slip featuring Nathan Moore. This late night set at Camp Harry was to turn into the highlight of the festival (for me), with a very special influence taking over the whole camp. The music was, well, pretty much amazing, and the faces and mingling, and dancing and groovin' had a soundtrack that included a couple precious covers, like the Violent Femmes Blister in the Sun, and the Jackson Five's ABC, not to mention the regular epic grooves of SMMD and The Slip. DAMN!!! If I could rewind time, I would pause and go slow-mo thru that night over and over and over. EPIC!!!