It’s Under The Stars, babe. A quasi-weekly column that presents new music releases, upcoming shows, opinions, and other adjacent items. We keep moving with the changes and thinking outside the margins.
A SALUTE TO THE UPTOWN JUKEBOX
Uptown, the dive bar and legacy business at 17th and Capp Streets that was founded a day after Christmas in 1984. Its last night is Fri/5. Get the details from this Mission Local post written at the beginning of November.
When I arrived at the intersection of hipsterdom in the thick of the eternal dream of the ’90s, it was at the Uptown where I could randomly talk to strangers, for hours, pint after pint, about all types of music.
During that era, things were really offbeat, raw, and still beautiful in The Mission. I witnessed a fight break out at … wait for it … poetry night at The Chameleon (the Valencia Street venue that would later become Amnesia, and is currently a beer store.)
The old jukebox at Uptown, the one where its dearly departed owner Scott Ellsworth blanked out the song “Uptown” by Prince because newbies to the bar would play it “ironically” and give even hardcore Prince fans (ahem!) a damn headache. But that jukebox also delivered Portishead to my musical vocabulary, and ever since that beautifully stumbe-upon, I found brothers and sisters locked into disparate sounds.
From its speakers came folk music with unearthly snippets of eroded dreams, cooked-up instrumental hip hop breakbeats. Playlists juggled blues, dub, and jazz. This thing had legs, wings, and ideas that cross-cut it all up into the wonder of music. In those olden times, folks would frequent bars in SF just to listen to music.
Dalva had several—that’s right, several—jazz nights when patrons would sip beer, martinis, gimlets, bitters and soda. Whatever it was, they’d just take in what the DJ was dealing.
Uptown in those days had a jukebox that just fit Capp Street, and the world around it.
Salute, my old friend.
MILL VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL IS BACK, MAY 11-12
Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, makes kids, adults, and even dogs salivate at once like the thought of outdoor music festivals. Just as we thought the Bay Area had hit max capacity for outdoor summertime concerts, the Noise Pop team brought their talents to Friends Field in Mill Valley last year, and pulled off the second edition of a locals-friendly, multi-generational hang that felt informal and still played huge.
What’s the secret sauce?
Booking local and international acts helps create a neighborly atmosphere for both casual music fans and the abundance of SF and Oakland music enthusiasts. Go ahead, call them record nerds. We are all familiar with one another.
For instance, Oakland’s Orchestra Gold, the stellar African psychedelic rock band, a breakthrough outfit in 2023 with press acknowledgments from us at 48hills, SFJAZZ, and NPR, performed on the main stage in Marin on Saturday. Organizers, making triumphant strokes in the curation department, were also wise enough to include a gig from Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew on their Remain in Light tour, which took the stage Sunday and turned out to be a crowd favorite. These contrasting, yet somewhat related tastes demonstrate that you don’t necessarily need stadium-filling acts to achieve success.
It would be a smart move to purchase tickets now, even before the lineup is announced later in January. Noise Pop and the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce have already proven they know what’s up.
Pick tickets up here.
VARIOUS ARTISTS, TWO SYLLABLES VOLUME TWENTY (FIRST WORD RECORDS)
UK imprint First Word Records consistently delivers high-quality music. With a foundation in hip hop, soul, and jazz, it has a keen eye for talent that transcends genre boundaries, but remains somewhat adjacent to Futuresoul.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their year-end compilation, Two Syllables, First Word’s new release showcases the best of their releases from the past year. This 2023 edition does not hold back.
The recipient of Gilles Peterson’s 2019 Label of The Year keeps supplying various levels of thump, including the sidewinder funk of New Sector Movements’ “These Times,” featuring the exceptional Allysha Joy on vocals, the keyboard prowess of Kaidi Tatham on “Fricassee,” an energetic interlude in “A Lil Bruk” by Quiet Dawn, and the funk-forward sinewy groove of “Head Rush” by Werkha. First Word remarked in its email newsletter that it was “light” year when it came to releases (?!) It seems that the comp proves it’s never about volume; always about quality control.
These 11 tracks, available at a flexible, pay-what-you-will price is an Xmas gift spilling over into January. Assembled by DJ Gilla, this edition of Two Syllables serves as a head-nodding reminder of the talent and creativity First Word Records has to offer, every year.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity—get your copy here.
FOLKTRONICA AT SWEETS BALLROOM, FRI/5
Some of the best parties happen after December 31. Why?
People need a reason to celebrate movement without all the damn pressure of making one specific night in the year perfect. The pressures are off, so you can have a good time, worry-free.
That, my friend, is the perfect setup for a proper get-down.
Our good friend DJ Sep is taking part in a new monthly party called Folktronika that will feature live Afro-Colombian cumbia by Los Alegres Callejeros, DJ Peace Sine, some yoga, Qi Gong, and ceremonial tea service. It’s a shoe-free dance floor with snacks and non-alcoholic drinks available.
Start the New Year off with this one. Grab tix here.
foamboy, “EXIT SIGN” (N.I.T.A.)
I’ve always seen foamboy, the progressive Portland duo outfit consisting of Wil Bakula and Katy Ohsiek, as a modernized Swing Out Sister, high off J Dilla tricks. But they refer to the project as a post-disco pop duo. Cool, Mang.
“Exit Sign”, their new single from forthcoming sophomore LP Eating Me Alive, arrives in March, and really brings the room together. It’s got those athleisure Sunday afternoon vibes where everybody is kinda checked out, but Wil Bakula is beat-conducting some nasty type of cool that can’t be ignored. Elevated slump shuffle is the flavor, and Katy Ohsiek pours out her ear-catching, hook-y runs—they slay all day—ever-so-gently laced with that damn-motivational Gen Z dread.
Bakula assures us via a press release that the song is heavily inspired by Kaytranada and Flume, who do this in their way on a lot of songs … but I just hear foamboy working out their typical green-smoothie blues with a bigger foot and better grumble on the bass.
Get familiar here!
