Noise Pop: I became BFFs with Ben Hopkins of PWR BTTM’s dad
PWR BTTM (by: Marc Fong) Early last year, I went to PWR BTTM's first San Francisco show ever. On Thursday, February 23 of 2017, I witnessed their first Oakland show, which sold out weeks before. A constant thread between most of the bands that played that night was that they were ones I had been following for a while, watching blossom into something unbelievable. In 2015, I saw The Total Bettys ' third live show ever, in a lightly crowded apartment of a college friend. In 2016, I went to SOAR's first live show as a whole at Thrillhouse Records. The [...]
What’s Happening This Week? A Guide To Shows Around The Bay, Feb 20 ― Feb 23
Diet Cig is set to play Brick & Mortar this Wednesday night. Monday, February 20 Cloud Nothings, Kid Trails @ The Independent Start your Noise Pop week off strong with extraordinarily loud garage punk band Cloud Nothings. Tuesday, February 21 Weyes Blood @ Swedish American Music Hall Weyes Blood: mournful instrumentation, vocals drenched in a blue hue, and a name derived from the Flannery O'Connor novel Wise Blood. Tino Drima, Spooky Mansion @ Bender's Bar and Grill TBB writer Hailey Simposon explains Tino Drima "is a six-piece super-group of sorts, featuring members of O (fka Black Cobra Vibers), French Cassettes, and [...]
Photos + Review: PWR BTTM at the Rickshaw Stop
PWR BTTM (photos: Karissa Tom) PWR BTTM is an underrated band. Even as they continue to gain publicity for their commitment to gender-neutral bathrooms at shows, safer-space crowds, and thoughtful commentary on queer identity and aesthetic, no writing can capture the bristling queer joy and rage present in a PWR BTTM crowd, or the sheer talent they bring to the stage each night. As Jensen, a member of the Wednesday-night Rickshaw Stop crowd, told me: “I’m pretty sure I’ve never felt more comfortable [than here].” When Ben Hopkins, Liv Bruce, and touring bassist Nicholas Cummings took the stage in San Francisco on [...]
Bay Area faves PWR BTTM returning to Rickshaw
PWR BTTM, the guitar-and-drum punk rockers from New York, are on a cross-country tour that will bring them to Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco on November 9 with fellow Bard classmate Bellows. Their second full-length album is slated to come out in 2017, but that isn't stopping PWR BTTM from hitting the road hard. In anticipation of the upcoming album, the duo has released a new music video for the song "I Wanna Boi." "If I had to elevator-pitch my concept for this video, it would go something like 'Miss Havisham and Dr. Frank-N-Furter act out that visual gag from Arrested Development [...]
The Bay Abridged: June 22 – July 5
Illustration by Cassidy Miller In this recurring feature known as The Bay Abridged, our staff writers provide short, witty recaps on shows they attended around the Bay Area. A scene check, a heat check, and sometimes more — stop by every other Wednesday for the most comprehensive and concise recap of the Bay Area concert scene. Burger Boogaloo at Mosswood Park (OAK), June 25-26. On a perfectly warm and sunny, summer weekend, Burger Boogaloo once again brought the punk, garage, psych, surf, and all other filthy sub-genres of rock to Oakland, hosted by legendary scumbag, John Waters. The two days [...]
Ticket Giveaway Wednesday: PWR BTTM, Real Estate at Gundlach Bundschu
To enter for a chance to win tickets to any show below, email contest@thebaybridged.com with the name of the band and the date of the show you’re entering in the subject line and your full name in the body of the email. Winners will be selected at random and notified via email. Wednesday, June 29 Pity Sex, PWR BTTM, Petal @ Slim's 8pm, $15, all ages. Buy advance tickets here. Thursday, June 30 Whiskerman, Radio Skies, Mayya & the Revolutionary Hell Yeah @ Rickshaw Stop 8pm, $10, all ages. Buy advance tickets here. Thursday, June 30 Folkyeah presents: Real Estate [...]
The Bay Abridged: Jan 20 – Feb 2
In this recurring feature known as The Bay Abridged, our staff writers will provide short, witty recaps on shows they attended around the Bay Area. A scene check, a heat check, and sometimes more — stop by every Wednesday for the most comprehensive and concise recap of last week's Bay Area concert scene. Howe Gelb & Sylvie Simmons at The Chapel (SF) Jan. 24 SF treasure Sylvie Simmons played a beautiful Donovan tune "Catch the Wind" and a slew of brand new songs including a tear jerker called "Nothing". Howe joined her for the last few songs in full Curious [...]
Review: PWR BTTM leave the negativity at the door
With all the hype I gave this show and PWR BTTM, with the amount of words that wouldn't stop spewing out of my mouth and fingers awaiting it to be January 25th, it turns out I was not wrong at all. I think I actually hyped up this show less than I should have, but no amount of words could give it justice. Even if you were horribly depressed or just terribly anxious before you entered into Rickshaw Stop, the moment you walked, in you were welcomed and at ease. I rushed straight to the bathroom (which were all transformed into [...]
Interview: PWR BTTM, the band breaking the world with glitter
Liv and Ben of PWR BTTM, by Andrew Piccone Now to the band I discovered in 2015 that has not only made a positive affect on me, but to all I know who loves their music and personalities. I try to stay away from commenting on the visual appearances of musicians, but with PWR BTTM, the way they appear when they perform is art. Not only is it them controlling how we see them, but it's an inhibited way of controlling how they see themselves. How we see ourselves. Ever since I got into their music, I've been more [...]
Live This Month: January 2016 — an audio guide to upcoming SF concerts
http://media.libsyn.com/media/thebaybridged/LTM_January_2016.mp3 Download: Live This Month: January 2016 (Podcast #378) In Live This Month, we sample some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing in the coming month in the San Francisco Bay Area. This month's episode introduces some new local bands to our podcast, including the surf-pop of Spooky Mansion and psych-rock from Smokin' Ziggurats. We've also included a mid-podcast three-song set of local heaviness, including Sexless, Life Stinks, and Bosse-De-Nage. Life Stinks is one of two bands in this mix playing at SS15, a weekend of shows commemorating fifteen years of NorCal label Ss Records. Over its tenure, [...]