This week, the big news in SF was the glamtastic Lady Gaga show. But now that Gaga's gone, all that we're left with is a drag queen video parodying "Bad Romance" with "I Just Shit My Pants." A pretty funny clip from Ms. Sherry Vine, if you can deal with the stink of bathroom punchlines (and can safely listen to poop humor at work).
Neighborhood from Sam Young on Vimeo.
Local dance pop crew Sugar & Gold love their San Francisco neighborhoods--even if not every hood puts out. "She might not give you head," frontman PAM sings in its silly city love song "Neighborhood," "but she might let you share her bed."
In this video for "Neighborhood," director Sam Young keeps San Francisco classy, with no money shots but plenty of collages featuring local landmarks. We made out bits of the 38 Geary and Divis buses, street signs for Fillmore, Shotwell, Elizabeth and San Jose, and business signs for Tommy's Joynt, Polk Street Station, Green Apple, Pinecrest Diner, Dark Room, Mission theater, Mythic Pizza, and Eddie's Cafe. What'd we miss? Feel free to fill in the blanks of Sugar & Gold's favorite local hangouts below.
Kid Cudi
December 15, 2009
Regency Ballroom
Better Than: Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, not LeBron James
Rap is a memoirist's art, and Kid Cudi's music is some of the most personal rap around. His recordings about loneliness and fears contain an intimate softness, like lullabies sung right next to your ear. But how does a mood aimed at "solo stoners" listening in headphones translate to the live show?
Tuesday night Cudi solved the problem by speaking into his own ear. He emceed mainly around samples of his amplified voice singing recorded hooks and melodies from the stage speakers. There's a fine line between boy idols and this, but the technique freed (or forced) Cudi to speak his live lines more fiercely -- to challenge the crowd, not just rock its crib.
Occasionally he harmonized with himself, or punctured that background melody with improvised lines. Adding to this double-voiced effect, Cudi toyed with the feedback of the chanting crowd. He tossed his mic out toward the fans and stood by himself, absorbing a dual echo of his words ringing back from the audience and the wall of his reproduced voice blasting everywhere.
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Two Sheds @ Rickshaw Stop
Moody country with a warm, sweet feel is Two Sheds' stock in trade. A shuffling beat, philosophical lyrics, and ringing guitars plus string instruments and maybe a Rhodes or SK1 keyboard is what the Sacaramento quartet does best. Singer and tunesmith Caitlin Gutenberger is the anchor, as she stretches syllables and allows the occasional raspy edge on her voice. Slightly mumbly, pitched low, and entirely relaxed and in command, her delivery makes people think of Mazzy Star. But would Mazzy Star write a song called "WTF?" There's just something about pretty guitar players swearing languidly. Two Sheds and Honey open for Adam Stephens at Rickshaw Stop (7:30 p.m., $10)
For more of tonight's picks, click here.
