Show review: Wolf Parade @ Fox Theater, July 30

Wolf Parade rocked the Fox Theater in Oakland in a way I haven't seen them rock before.

I don't know if it was the absence of sound manipulator/synth player Hadji Bakara, who quit the band to work on a Ph.D., or vocalist/keyboardist Spencer Krug's longer hair, but for a band that often infuses their sound with baroque keyboards, Wolf Parade had a respectably rowdy crowd thrashing about the front of the stage throughout the entire show.

Part of it could be the excitement generated by their setlist Friday night -- they played an equal mix of songs from all three of their albums, yet placed their most epic tracks where they counted most: opening with "You are a Runner and I am my Father's Son," the song that launched their classic debut Apologies to the Queen Mary;  peaking midway with an orgasmic rendition of "I'll Believe in Anything;" and closing their first set with "California Dreamer" and finishing the show's encore with "Kissing the Beehive," colossal tracks from their second record, At Mount Zoomer.

I have to say the songs from their latest album, Expo 86, sound even better live, despite the Fox Theater's sometimes inferior acoustics (Wolf Parade's delicate keyboard lines sounded a bit fuzzed over on Friday). Expo 86 hasn't grown on me as immediately as their first two records, but "Cloud Shadow on the Mountain" and "What Did My Lover Say" especially earned a deserved spot on Wolf Parade's setlist.

One thing that really stood out was vocalist/guitarist Dan Boeckner's fired-up presence. Sure, Wolf Parade has always been balanced with Krug and Boeckner's alternating vocals, but I've always been a Krug girl, enjoying Krug's odd yelps a bit more than Boeckner's deep-throat crooning. I guess I'm not the only one who felt that way, as I overhead a fellow concertgoer exclaim "Go Dan!" and "See?" during the second song to his obviously Krug-loving wife.

But after Friday it ceased to be a Krug-or-Boeckner question. Wolf Parade is the ultimate yin-and-yang band.

San Carlos Library: A cheapskate music lover's dream

Going broke ain't no joke in the Bay Area.

Nevermind the ridiculous cost of living, every goddamn band in the world is touring through these parts, like, all the time. This isn't really a problem, per se. In fact, it's like winning a small-jackpot lottery when you find out your favorite band is coming through town.

But I spend too much goddamn money on shows. So much money that I never have the funds to buy all of the albums I want.

My cheapskate solution? Raiding my local library's CD racks.

While I've espoused the glory of the Millbrae, Pacifica - Sanchez, and South San Francisco branches, it is the San Carlos Library that is the real king of the bunch in terms of the best music collection.

Check out my score this weekend: Liars - Sisterworld, Passion Pit - Manners, Handsome Furs - Plague Park and Face Control, Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation, Sonic Youth - The Eternal, Conor Oberst - S/T, Baroness - Blue Record, Polvo - In Prism, Why? - Eskimo Snow, New York Dolls - S/T, Dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion, deadmau5 - Random Album Title, Other Lives - S/T.

Sure, some of these came out awhile ago, but for a measly 75 cents you can place a hold on newer albums, which tend to be checked out more quickly, and get 'em fairly fast. I've got The Arcade Fire's newest (coming out Aug. 3) in my hold queue already.

The library is a hip, hip place.

I think it's love. 

Give the sun the finger this weekend: Pitchfork Music Fest streams live

Those Chicago folks have it good, getting what may be the best overall festival of the summer for indie music fans in this weekend's Pitchfork Music Festival.

Well lucky for us West Coasters, Pitchfork is broadcasting some of the sets on the Internets, and today just might be the best day -- there's Real Estate, Titus Andronicus, Wolf Parade, LCD Soundsystem and Panda Bear, who played this "Untitled" track at Spain's Primavera Sound Festival this year that floats my boat into an ocean of holiness, not to overstate its awesomeness. I'm frothing at the mouth for Titus Andronicus, as well. Worth forgoing a bit of that Saturday California sunshine to tune in.

Saturday July 17 

1:00  (11 a.m. PST) Free Energy
1:45 (11:45 PST) Real Estate
2:30 (12:30 PST) Delorean
3:20 (1:20 PST) Titus Andronicus
4:15 (2:15 PST) Raekwon
5:15 (3:15 PST)  The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
6:15 (4:15 PST) Wolf Parade
7:25 (5:25 PST) Panda Bear
8:30 (6:30 PST) LCD Soundsystem 


Sunday July 18 

1:00 (11 a.m. PST) Allá
1:45 (11:45 PST) Cass McCombs
2:30 (12:30 PST) Girls
3:20 (1:20 PST) Beach House
4:15 (2:15 PST) Lightning Bolt
5:15 (3:15 PST) St. Vincent
6:15 (4:15 PST) Major Lazer
7:25 (5:25 PST) Big Boi
8:30 (6:30 PST) Pavement 

GAMH to sail the seas of Primus

Well hello there. 

What is this I see?

A show announcement, a BIG show announcement today.

Primus will play unarguably the best venue in the Bay Area on July 18. 

Great American Music Hall bitches!

Tickets go on sale Friday July 9, 10 a.m. sharp. 

Try to score tickets my little pretties, just wash, rinse and repeat: "I think I can I think I can I think I can."

Autolux announces Transit Transit tracklist, opening slot for Thom Yorke

Yes, we are still waiting on a release date for Transit Transit,  however Autolux did announce that their sophomore record will come out on tbd records.

And the Transit Transit tracklist!:

Transit Transit

Census

Highchair

Supertoys

Spots

The Bouncing Wall

Audience No. 2

Kissproof

Headless Sky

The Science of Imaginary Solutions

In other good/bad news:

Thom Yorke asked Autolux to open for him and Atoms For Peace at the Santa Barbara Bowl on April 17. I wish I knew the band so I could say congratulations! 

But the little devil in me is also jealous that Autolux isn't opening the Oakland shows, too. Here's hoping they schedule a Bay Area date, hmm, say, Monday, April 12?

Transit Transit = most anticipated record of 2010, no doubt. I have a feeling I'll be sneaking over to their MySpace page for a listen of "Audience No. 2" at least daily until the record is released.