Aidin Vaziri: February 2010

28 February 2010

Pop Quiz: Tegan and Sara

Aidin Vaziri | It's no contest: Tegan and Sara Quin are the best lesbian identical twin singer-songwriters from Canada. We're not the only ones to think so. Neil Young signed them to his label, the White Stripes covered one of their songs and Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla produced their latest album, "Sainthood," on which the 29-year-old sisters go nuts with Pac-Man-era synthesizers and drum machines. The CD is a long way from its lovelorn predecessor, 2007's "The Con," but Tegan (the older one by eight minutes), who lives in Vancouver, tells us that's a good thing.

Tegan
Q: I've been told this is your grown-up record.
A: Every single time we put out a record, people say it's our grown-up record.
Q: That's good. At least you're moving in the right direction. Does playing the old songs bring back bad memories?
A: Yeah, totally. When you've written a great song, it has the ability to transport you back to the place you were when you wrote it. For a song that's depressing, it can be really hard. But it's also gratifying to know you don't feel that way anymore.
Q: Maybe it would help if you didn't play 2 1/2-hour sets.
A: I went out to dinner with my girlfriend and she said, "You look really tired." I'm actually kind of excited for when we get to do some opening gigs and festival shows later in the year, where we have only 45 minutes to play. It's daunting being an artist with six albums in 12 years. I feel so responsible to put on something amazing every night. Not an Olympic Opening Ceremony or anything, but I want to be that Tegan and Sara people connected to six or seven years ago, even though there are more people in the room now.

Review: Johnny Cash, 'American VI: Ain't No Grave'

Review: Johnny Cash, 'American VI: Ain't No Grave': Aidin Vaziri | "There ain't no grave can hold my body down," Johnny Cash sings, opening the final set of songs he recorded with producer Rick Rubin before his death in 2003. The Man in Black's mood is tough but resigned. He had just buried his wife, June Carter Cash, and was coming to terms with his own mortality after years of health problems left him at a standstill. With 10 tracks clocking in at a half hour, it's a brief goodbye that sees Cash lending his gravelly bass-baritone to solemn covers of Sheryl Crow's "Redemption Day," Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times" and Tom Paxton's "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound," as well as a new original, "1 Corinthians, 15:55." Even though it is the last piece of the "American Recordings" collection, it is also the least likely to inspire tears. Using members of the Avett Brothers and Tom Petty's band to flesh out the songs, Rubin has made them sound unexpectedly sweet-natured, capturing not the dread that comes from expecting death but the sense of liberation that comes with crossing over.

Live Review: Dodos and Magik Magik Orchestra at the Palace of Fine Arts

Indie rockers the Dodos shared a stage with Magik Magik Orchestra for a memorable pairing: Aidin Vaziri | Jordan Kurland and Kevin Arnold, the guys behind San Francisco's annual Noise Pop Festival, had plenty of concerts to choose from on Thursday. But they spent most of the night standing in the same spot, just off the left side of the stage at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, where in front of a sold-out crowd a one-off collaboration was taking place between two distinctly different local acts - the unassuming indie-pop trio the Dodos and the modular symphonic group Magik Magik Orchestra. The show didn't boast the biggest names at the festival, which officially comes to a close Sunday with a concert by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, but it may have provided this year's defining performance. Read more.

22 February 2010

Pop Quiz: Yoko Ono

Aidin Vaziri | Last year, Yoko Ono revived the Plastic Ono Band for its first studio album in decades, "Between My Head and the Sky." It's hard to blame her for the delay; her time has been occupied by making art, campaigning for peace and handling the affairs of her late husband, John Lennon. Ono, 76, tells us it was their son, Sean, who suggested bringing back the group - which at points counted Eric Clapton, Keith Moon and Frank Zappa as members - with a new lineup that includes Japanese indie-rockers Cornelius and Yuka Honda. The Plastic Ono Band kicks off this year's Noise Pop Festival with a performance Tuesday at Oakland's Fox Theater.

Yoko Ono
Q: In New York you performed with original band members Eric Clapton and Klaus Voorman, plus guests including Bette Midler, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Paul Simon. Not bad.
A: I know. I wasn't expecting that. I think Sean created this concert as a tribute to me or something. I know what it is; my birthday is Feb. 18 and it's a birthday present. I'm not going to ask him because birthday presents are supposed to be a secret, right?
Q: It's not a very good secret.
A: No, it's a very public surprise.
Q: To his credit, you're probably not the easiest person to shop for.
A: Isn't that funny? He could have given me a pebble or something and it would be easier. Read more.

Rogue Wave: Beginning To See The Light

Despite hard times, Rogue Wave keeps rolling: Aidin Vaziri | Rogue Wave's fourth studio album, "Permalight," documents an era of trials, tribulations and personal tragedies for the members of the Oakland indie-rock band - although you would never be able to tell by the Cher-style dance beats of the title track. In the past few years, drummer Pat Spurgeon battled kidney failure, former bassist Evan Farrell died from injuries sustained in a house fire and, just last September, front man Zach Rogue slipped two discs in his neck, temporarily becoming paralyzed. "It's been the most challenging year of my life," says the singer, who still has trouble moving his fingers. "But I didn't want to make the record sound morose. I want it to sound hopeful, even if it's a song about running away from zombies." Read more.

The Cut-and-Paste Guide To Noise Pop

The complete music lineup for Noise Pop 2010: Aidin Vaziri | The people behind the Noise Pop festival like to keep things interesting. Though the annual fete celebrating independent music, art and culture is entering its 18th year, there are still plenty of surprises in store when the weeklong event officially kicks off on Tuesday. For the first time, not one but two Noise Pop concerts will take place in the East Bay at the newly refurbished Fox Theater. One of those will feature Yoko Ono making a rare Bay Area appearance with a new lineup of the Plastic Ono Band. The other sees the return of festival regulars Magnetic Fields, who will also sneak in a show at the Herbst Theatre next week, a day after the closing party. Meanwhile, music fans once again will be able to catch sets by countless buzz bands at venues throughout the city, long before they start filling arenas like past Noise Pop headliners such as the White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse. Read more.

The Magnetic Fields' Roots Revival

Stephin Merritt opts to show fans another side: Aidin Vaziri | The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt has made the perfect album to capture the loud, scruffy spirit of the 18th annual Noise Pop Festival. The only problem is that he released "Distortion," his feedback-drenched tribute to the Jesus and Mary Chain's blasts of white noise, two years ago when his band last played the festival. On the other hand, Merritt's new album, "Realism," which the band will perform selections from on Saturday and March 1, was inspired by the delicate chamber-folk sounds of Judy Collins' mid-'60s records, "Wildflower" and "In My Life." "I went on a big folk record shopping trip," Merritt says. "It was a yearlong spree, in fact. And I listened to all of the stuff before I made 'Realism.' " This isn't the first time the literate 44-year-old singer-songwriter, whose entire wardrobe consists of shades of brown and white, has taken an abrupt creative turn. Read more.

12 February 2010

Review: Sade, 'Soldier of Love'

Review: Sade, 'Soldier of Love': Aidin Vaziri | Sade's voice sounds a little huskier on her first studio album since 2000's "Lovers Rock," but the British singer hasn't lost any of her mojo. Her return is marked with another concise, meticulously manicured collection of songs designed primarily to soundtrack wine tastings and make headboards thump. Apart from the title song, "Soldier of Love," which is layered with stark military rhythms and dramatic guitar chords, the record mostly settles into a familiar groove, matching leisurely verses and tasteful acoustic flourishes with a lingering air of sadness. On highly stylized tunes like "The Moon and The Sky" and "Babyfather," it feels like no time at all has passed - not only since her last release but her first, 1984's "Diamond Life." For those who have depended on Sade's music as a cheap aphrodisiac over the years that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The Pick-Up Artist

Boot camp teaches bachelors how to score booty: Aidin Vaziri | "You are here to breed," said British dating coach and author Adam Lyons to his audience of 15 Bay Area bachelors who shelled out a thousand bucks apiece to sharpen their seduction techniques. Lyons, 29, billed as one of the world's top-ranked pickup artists, hosted an intensive boot camp at the Serrano Hotel last weekend, advising his love-hungry disciples on how to approach women, build attraction and find motivation within. Having transformed himself from a Dungeons & Dragons-obsessed teenager to serial dater of models after picking up a copy of Neil Strauss' 2005 book, "The Game," a guide to the strange world of pickup artists, Lyons said he had an innate bond with his students. "We didn't get the period from 18 to 25 that most guys in college have, running around (and) having loads of sex," he said, confessing he spent those years wearing capes and wizard hats, which, not surprisingly, aren't much of a turn-on for the opposite sex. Read more.

Pop Quiz: Carrie Rodriguez

Aidin Vaziri | Carrie Rodriguez might seem like the odd one out on the Acoustic Brotherhood Tour, which also includes Los Lonely Boys and Alejandro Escovedo on the bill. But the fiddle-playing Texan singer-songwriter says she has no problem fitting in on such a testosterone-heavy bill. "I've become one of the guys," Rodriguez shrugs. At 31, she's a hardy road warrior who has put in the miles behind two critically successful studio releases. Her third, "Love and Circumstances," arrives in April on Berkeley's Opus Records.

Carrie Rodriguez
Q: You have a covers album coming out in April. What inspired that?
A: Well, I had been singing a song at the end of my concerts in Spanish every night called "La Punalada Trapera" that my great-aunt Eva Garza used to sing. And every night people would come up and say, "Where can I get your version of that song?" I couldn't figure out how to put it on my own albums because it didn't really fit, so I decided to make a covers album.
Q: I noticed you didn't do any Beyoncé songs. That was just a horrible oversight, right?
A: No, I'll save that for the live show. Read more.

The Anti-Love Playlist

The anti-love song mix tape: Aidin Vaziri | Valentine's Day sucks. At least it does if you're stuck alone at home listening to your dusty old copy of Joni Mitchell's "Blue." But because we love you - even if no one else does - we've gone to the trouble of putting together a playlist of the best breakup songs from the past year so you can at least bawl to an awe-inspiring soundtrack. We've also plucked out the best lyrics, some of which might help you realize that your lousy love life pales next to that of someone with a record contract. Download them and weep. Read more.

Pop Quiz: The Damned

Aidin Vaziri | The Damned was the first British punk band to release a single, get on television and tour the United States. It was also the first British punk band that everybody forgot. But the group has been going strong in various incarnations for 35 years and will revive anarchic classics such as "New Rose" and "Smash It Up" next Sunday at Slim's. It's a concert best experienced with a loved one, guitarist Captain Sensible says.

Captain Sensible of the Damned
Q: The Damned did everything before everyone. Why isn't your logo emblazoned all over the T-shirts at Urban Outfitters, like some other bands?
A: We did the punk thing as we saw it and signed with tiny DIY labels. That's why we're not so well known. But it's nice to be still out there doing it. Gigging's fun.
Q: You've had some trouble with keeping your pants on in the past. Think they'll stay on at this show?
A: I'm going to try real hard to behave myself. I promise. Read more.

Review: Wild Beasts, 'Two Dancers'

Review: Wild Beasts, 'Two Dancers': Aidin Vaziri | You know when you're driving down the freeway and suddenly a cat busts out of its pet carrier in the 747 above your head, kicks open the escape hatch and lands claws out in your lap? That's pretty much the sound that comes out of Wild Beasts front man Hayden Thorpe's mouth when he sings - and it's a total revelation. On the British band's thrilling second album, his high-pitched croon helps pull together a dynamic, nervy set of tunes that mainline the Talking Heads' fluid rhythms, Jeff Buckley's wounded angst and U2's arena-filling melodies. The sweet quiver works especially well on shimmering songs like "The Fun Powder Plot" and "Hooting and Howling," and things really take off when it's paired with bassist Tom Fleming's huge baritone on the rumbling "All the King's Men," a heady and atmospheric song that signals the Beasts' heavyweight ambitions.

Live Review: Nick Jonas and the Administration at Zellerbach Hall

On his own, Nick Jonas tries hard to grow up: Aidin Vaziri | Poor Nick Jonas: He just wants to grow up. But on Saturday night the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers was standing in a room with 2,100 people who would much prefer he stay 17 forever. Performing a sold-out concert at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall on the last date of a two-week club tour to promote "Who I Am," the new album by his side project Nick Jonas & the Administration, the wavy-haired singer dropped every possible hint that he was ready to be taken seriously. He affected a rough-hewn blues accent. He covered the stage with ornate Persian rugs. He even brought along a backing band made up of guys three times his age. Read more.