Girlbandgeek Blog

Here is my long overdue review of Burger Boogaloo 2017. As I mentioned here I decided to attend only on Sunday, July 2. Although that meant perhaps missing my one chance to see Iggy Pop in this lifetime, I felt the Saturday ticket was overpriced at $99 and there were overall more interesting bands on Sunday. I stand by my choice.

Shannon and the Clams Performing at Burger Boogaloo 2017 – Click Image for Video

This would be my second time attending Burger Boogaloo. I went last year as kind of a fluke, and had a good time, so I was game again this year. Festivals are not my ideal way of enjoying music. The idea of spending an entire day, trapped in a large crowd of people, sitting through a bunch of so-so acts, waiting for the one or two bands that I am actually excited about, is not my idea of fun. But Burger Boogaloo is on a reasonable scale – not too huge. The crowd is friendly, colorful, spanning generations but leaning towards older people, attracted to the largely retro sounds of the Burger Records artists. There’s a good selection of food and drink, some merch booths, and John Waters introduces the bands. So what more could you ask for?

All the bands I watched were having a good time, and gave an enthusiastic performance. I watched every band in the lineup, with the exception of Roy Loney and FM Knives. I went and got food or something during their sets, but they seemed kinda boring to me. Although I probably wouldn’t buy the album for most of the acts, they were all enjoyable live, and had something unique to offer. Some of the highlights for me:

Glitter Wizard – like a lot of the bands that play this quasi retro 60s 70s 80s festival, Glitter Wizard was kind of campy. Sometimes camp falls on its face, but Glitter Wizard really worked for me. They were kind of a big hair, glam rock sort of act. Their lead guitar player was burly, and rugged, with a beard and a mass of black hair. If Vikings could be rock stars, they would be Glitter Wizard.

La Luz. This band was one of my primary motivations for deciding on the Sunday lineup. I watched a live La Luz set on YouTube and was hooked. They have a great retro surf-rock sound, and look like they’re having a lot of fun. This was a totally fun set, and I bought their CD Weirdo Shrine, and a cool shirt that says “Luzer” on it.

After La Luz played in the small Gone Shrimpin’ stage, I wandered over to “Butt City” to catch NRBQ. I didn’t have very high expectations. I thought they would be kinda boring, but in fact they kicked ass. They’re old rockers that are still rocking. The keyboard player was especially pumped, and would stand and jump around behind his keyboards, climb up on the amps and stuff. I’m not familiar with their music at all, but they put on on a kick-ass show.

Quintron and Ms. Pussycat. I had checked out some videos of this duo, and was definitely intrigued. Their live performance definitely exceeded my expectations in many dimensions. It started off with a bizarre puppet show – I couldn’t see too well, as the theater was packed and I was way off to the side. But it had something to do with a fashion show. The puppet booth stayed on the right side of the stage during their set. Quintron is a keyboard and electronic music prodigy, and his rig involved a couple of keyboards, a kick drum, and some various homemade looking gadgets. Ms. Pussycat did the vocals, shook maracas, and was occasionally joined by another vocalist on center stage. They had a fun, danceable sound, and a slightly subversive energy, reminiscent of Le Tigre. Definitely glad I got to check them out.

Shannon and the Clams was the only band from last year that was playing again – I think they’re kind of a tradition. They were great last year, and even better this year. I was at the back of orchestra at the Gone Shrimpin’ stage, which soon turned into a big mosh pit and stage diving party. Their sound is kind of retro rock and roll, with Shannon’s powerful vocals and Cody Blanchard’s twangy guitars. They have a strong local following that likes to party – there would be 4 or 5 audience members being passed overhead at any one time. They sang one emotional song that was about the Ghost Ship fire. For the last couple of songs members of La Luz and Quintron came out, colorful wigs were tossed into the audience and mayhem ensued.

X was one of my favorite bands at a point in time, and I saw them a couple of times in the 80’s when they were in their heyday. I still have a lot of love for X, and even more so because of their connection with Skating Polly which is, as you know, my favorite new band. Dawn and I saw X not too long ago at the Catalyst, so I didn’t have any energy around getting close to the stage. I was content to just hang back at a comfortable distance and enjoy the music. They sounded great, and played a good selection from their fabulous catalog of ground-breaking LA punk. Billy Zoom was definitely in full force, with tasty riffs on the Les Paul and even played saxophone on a couple of numbers. Definitely a good set.

The Buzzcocks were the final act of the festival. I had seem them once before at the I-Beam in SF during the 80s, which already seemed like sort of a reunion show. Now it was 30 years later. They actually put on a great show. Sure they’re in their sixties, and playing songs written 35 years ago mostly, but their songs are truly great, and they were in great form and seemed to be enjoying themselves. The set ended with my favorite Harmony in My Head, and I made my way for the exit. They came back for an encore, which I listened to as I walked back to my car. It was the perfect end to a great day of music.

Cat Power is one of those artists I was really into for a time, and whose music I admire, but I haven’t been actively listening to lately. I never had the chance to see her live, however, so I didn’t hesitate to buy tickets for her show at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz when they went on sale several months ago. Since relatively few bands I want to see come to Santa Cruz, I feel it is especially important to support artists I like when they do come to town. And since Patti Smith once praised the “legendary” acoustics of the Rio (as reported by my wife) I always feel like maybe I’ll have a mystical experience. (Music does sound good at the Rio, but I don’t know if it’s transcendently better than another venue.)

Cat Power

Cat Power is the stage name of Chan (pronounced “Shawn”) Marshall. I will use these monikers interchangeably when referring to the artist, but when referring to the person, will use Chan Marshall, or simple Chan.

The only Cat Power album I have is Moon Pix, her critically acclaimed “breakthrough” third record. I was really into it for a while, with it’s starkly poetic lyrics, celestial acoustic guitar picking, and the hauntingly beautiful voice. I would go see her on the basis of that album alone, though she has a half dozen others that are also well-regarded.

My wife consented to join me for the show, even though it was a Monday night. We had dinner in the (very good) taqueria next door to the Rio. There were already folks lining up to get in almost an hour before the doors opened. I was glad to see a good turnout for Chan. The audience was about 80% female, which I wasn’t expecting, but perhaps not surprising.

The opening band was Jade, formerly from the Magnetic Zeros, a band Dawn is into. Jade played acoustic 6-string and 12-string, and has a beautiful voice. She had long straight brown hair and a long, hippy dress. She alluded to some kind of controversy in her split from her former band, which we looked up on our phones, and I will not go in to here. She played about five or six songs, all of which I liked, and she was done.

After a good long wait, the lights went down and Cat Power took the stage. She wore black slacks and a jacket over a white button-down shirt, with a black tie. She had the familiar bangs and long dark tresses.

Cat Power’s performance was amazing. She can write catchy rock songs, for example He War or Ruin, but she didn’t play any of those. I sensed a desire to express herself on her terms, and not pander to “facile” catchiness. Also, she had no backup band, which probably would have been necessary for rock. All the songs were very slow – accompanied on her guitar or piano. She used two mics, and a lot of echo, which made her already whisky smooth voice sound even more otherworldly. I only recognized two or three songs. I think the second song was from Moon Pix. Later she covered Satisfaction by the Stones, in a slow syncopated rhythm which was very effective. And towards the end of the show, accompanying herself on piano, she played The Greatest.

She would play two or three songs in a row without stopping, so it was hard to even know when to clap. She would whisper something to the audience – “hi” or “thanks for coming out”. At one point she was fussing with her two mic setup for 20 seconds and she said “I know this looks like OCD but it’s not. Believe me, I would know (laughs).” She did really warm up to us, though, by the end. She would start riffing on some thought, and then have a hard time finishing it. As she got ready to sing what I think turned out to be her last song she got people to call out names various country artists like “Reba” “Emmylou” “Dolly” “Cher!”. She did a brief Cher impression(!) and then did a hilarious riff about Winona Ryder pronouncing her esses very sibilantly. Chan then proceeded to do a Winona impression which was pretty darned hilarious.

But all kidding aside, it was quite a satisfying concert, and I’m glad I went. Her voice and musicianship are impressive, and her instinct to let the songs unfold with an unhurried pace was spot on. Chan gives each note space, and each word hangs in the air, momentarily suspended. A really impressive and compelling performance.

So I had discovered the band Skating Polly just about a month ago, while clicking on something likely that popped up in my YouTube suggestions. I have written in a previous post some thoughts about my love for this band. Of course I checked out their web site immediately, and discovered that they were on tour and actually coming to San Francisco in a few short weeks – so I bought my tickets right away.

Skating Polly Merch

It’s already been more than two weeks since the show, but I did want to write my first impressions of Skating Polly down for posterity. It was a Saturday night and, as often happens, I was solo clubbing. I had never been to Thee Parkside, which is an unassuming restaurant/shed sort of place on 17th St. near the base of Potrero Hill. Parking was no problem. I was early, so I hung out in front until somebody came along who needed my extra ticket. I was offering it for free, but the guy who bought it was nice enough to buy my first non-alchoholic beer.

You enter through the restaurant part, which is connected to a bar area with a small stage in one corner. I noticed the clear orange drum kit seen in so many SP videos, and smiled to myself. There were maybe 30 or 40 people in the whole establishment. Curtis Mayo, the drummer and, as it turned out, multi-instrumentalist was manning the merch table out in the restaurant area. He introduced himself “Hi, I’m Curtis”. I introduced myself, and we exchanged some small talk about touring and such, and I told him I was a big fan of the band. I bought the three most recent CD’s (New Trick, The Big Fit, and Fuzz Steilacoom) and also a t-shirt, a black one with a contrasting white image of Kelli doing a high kick while shredding on the basitar. Peyton came over to handle the credit card transaction. I sensed she was a little withdrawn, so I suppressed my urge to gush too much.

I was afraid I’d be awkwardly standing by myself all night, but as luck would have it I met two friendly, tipsy women named Carmen and Michelle. They were forty-ish, so at least close to my age, and they shared my table and talked with me at least through the opening act. They were old friends, and the one had come down from Seattle to visit the other, and celebrate their birthdays. They had big bunches of birthday flowers with them, which was sweet.

Dirty Denim were the local openers. They were kind of dangerous looking with lots of tattoos, tight jeans and big hair. The drummer looked amazing in a tight red dress, updo, and cat-eye makeup. In fact she was a ringer for Amy Winehouse which I’m sure was intentional. Like their optics, their their music was loud, raunchy and fun. Next up were Gal Pals, a two-piece band from Austin. The first few songs felt a little unsure to me, but once they hit their groove (or maybe I hit the groove?) they really rocked. They had a really great energy and rapport with each other that was beautiful to watch.

More time passed, and finally Kelli, Curtis and Peyton took the stage. Kelli had on a kind of orange party dress. Peyton was wearing a short black dress which had a sheer, long over skirt. Over this she wore a hoodie, somewhat spoiling the effect. Curtis was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I was very excited for this moment, and they did not disappoint. What I remember of the set list is as follows:

Pretective Boy
Louder in Outer Space
Ugly
Hail Mary
Perfume for Now
Picker of His Words
Cosmetic Skull
Arms and Opinions

encore:
Hey Sweet
Alabama Movies

There were quite a few more songs that I didn’t recall. I brought my notepad, but I was too into the moment to jot stuff down, or take more than three blurry iPhone pics – I just wanted to enjoy each moment to the fullest. Hail Mary and Perfume for Now are two of my favorite songs, and the live versions were everything I hoped they would be. Like having your ears caressed by the Siren’s song one moment and in the next be pounded on the rocks by a tidal wave. So good. The one slight bummer was that Peyton was sick, or had something up with her throat/voice that prevented her from singing with her normal clarity and power. After the second song, Peyton took a spoonful of medicinal black syrup out of a sticky looking bottle. The band started the opening riff to Louder in Outer Space, which features some of the most beautiful Peyton vocals yet recorded. The song was still great, and she got through it, but Peyton was obviously in considerable discomfort, and it was clearly not what she is capable of.

Kelli did all of the band banter, and sounded like the enthusiastic, slightly aw-shucks yet edgy teenager she surely is, saying what a cool city “San Fran” is, and how excited they were to be ending their tour here. She excused Peyton’s vocal troubles, and indicated that they had switched up the playlist a little. They then launched into Picker of His Words, which was a treat. And although I think I’m a Peyton fan, in the way one might prefer Lennon to McCartney, I do adore Kelli and the many awesome songs where she is the lead.

Musically the three siblings are totally assured, and they give a performance that is tight, yet at the same time riding a wave of explosive energy. I like the way their songs alternate between quiet, almost whispered passages, and then the refrain comes down like a hammer with fuzzed out guitars, crashing drums and searing vocals. Yeah, can’t say enough about this band. For the last couple of songs Peyton switched with Curtis on the drums, and Curtis picked up the guitar. For the encore they did Hey Sweet, Alabama Movies, and one other I can’t recall. Curtis’ flashy shredding was a little over the top for me, but he was having fun, and it gave the encore set a crazy, metal intensity. I was certainly satisfied by the show.

I stopped again at the merch table to get my New Trick CD signed, and thank the band for the great show. Then I was on my way back home the the Santa Cruz Mountains.