Friday October 6, 2006 SGN.org |
 |
Volume 34 Issue 40 |
 |
|
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008
|
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
 |
the Music Lounge by Albert Rodriguez - SGN A & E Writer |
|
.jpg) |
|
| Scissor Sisters sparkle in San Francisco; Snow Patrol sightings in Seattle and Portland; Basement Jaxx interview pushed back a week; Sarah McLachlan and Beck release new CDs | |
| Scissor Sisters shine at San Francisco's Warfield Theater for sold out crowd
Some people leave their hearts in San Francisco. I left ten pounds there. This after dancing and working up a sweat during the first of two sold out Scissor Sisters concerts at the Warfield Theater. It was a high-energy performance, with lots of Gay boys shaking their moneymakers throughout the 2000-plus capacity venue. I was fortunate to be in the pit of the Warfield, just below the stage, which afforded me perfect views of lead singer Jake Shears. No panty lines, folks. And I'm sure he trims the hedges, if you know what I mean. He's in the best shape ever, with a chest that could double as a dessert tray. Shears wore a leather pants-jacket combo, and then slipped into a glittery, one-piece hooded ensemble for the encore. Ana Matronic was sassy and hilarious, and looked stunning in a yellow-black dress that accented her hourglass figure. I haven't compared notes yet with fellow SGN writers Richard Kennedy or Jessica Browning, both of whom attended Wednesday night's Gay-la at The Showbox, to find out if Scissor Sisters played similar set lists or re-wore the same outfits from the San Francisco show. But I will say that the Bay Area crowd was one of the wildest I've ever witnessed. They didn't care about being cool or being too Gay, they simply released their inner-queens and had a ball. I recommend going to a concert at the Warfield Theater, if you're ever in San Francisco for business or pleasure. And, I suggest staying at The Mosser boutique hotel (www.themosser.com), located four blocks from the Warfield and on the same square block as Old Navy, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bloomingdales. Snow Patrol sound check parties, in-person meetings, and hotel run-ins Don't call me a stalker or a groupie. I'm just a huge fan with friends in nice places. I was privileged to be invited to Snow Patrol's sound check parties, at Seattle's Moore Theatre and Portland's Roseland Theater two weeks ago. Sound check is when the artist runs through a few songs on the day of show to make sure their equipment is set up properly, and that the sound meets their approval. Fortunately, Snow Patrol had no problems during either of their sound checks and afterwards shook hands and took pictures with a small group of media representatives and fans, about twenty people in each city, and autographed anything we had with us. I had gobs of stuff, and they were kind enough to autograph everything. These guys are the coolest! Each Snow Patrol member was really, really friendly, primarily lead vocalist Gary Lightbody who said he'd recently seen the film Little Miss Sunshine and liked it a lot. Lightbody also made sure everyone at the sound checks had tickets for the shows, either in Seattle or Portland. If not, he asked the band's assistant to put them on the guest list. Damn sweet! In Portland, we saw Snow Patrol climbing into a van when we pulled up to our hotel. They were en route to an interview at a radio station and had gone shopping before then, as evidenced by an Apple store shopping bag that one of the members was carrying. Inside the hotel, my friends and I spotted Lightbody talking with the group's assistant, and he waved hello and later greeted us when we made our way to the elevators. It's so awesome when a major rock star can slip in and out of his rock star shoes and be totally down to earth, letting those around him feel comfortable and not intimidated. Basement Jaxx interview bumped to next week The Basement Jaxx interview I previously announced for this week has been bumped to next week, for our October 13 issue. It's ready to go, but our Fall Arts issue was entirely moved back. Jaxx member Simon Ratcliffe phoned in from London, just as his family's midwife had arrived at his home to attend to duties revolving around the upcoming birth of the Grammy-winning artist's first child. He was very polite to excuse himself during our conversation twice to give the midwife instructions. Basement Jaxx have a new album out entitled Crazy Itch Radio and are in the process of putting together a US tour for 2007. Next week, it's Basement Jaxx's Simon Ratcliffe getting his groove on inside "The Music Lounge". Sarah McLachlan reissues Mirrorball, Beck rushes Information out to fans Sarah McLachlan, a huge favorite with Gay and Lesbian music buffs, and genre-bending alt rocker Beck have just released new projects, yet both are completely different. McLachlan, a three-time Grammy winner who interviewed exclusively with the Seattle Gay News in 2003, has put out a remastered version of her in-concert album Mirrorball, which was recorded at Portland's Rose Garden Arena (Theater of the Clouds). It's a double-disc offering, wrapped in a special digipack package that includes unreleased photos and reflections of the concert and tour by McLachlan and her band members. Beck's brand new CD, simply titled Information, hit record store bins this week, earlier than initially planned. No word on why the release date was moved up, but it didn't seem to bother fans of the multi-Grammy winner who gained critical acclaim with previous efforts like Odelay, Midnite Vultures and Sea Change (SGN's Album/CD of the Year, 2002). Information is uniquely packaged, in that Beck faithful can decorate their own disc covers with stickers included inside the CD. I've pasted my stickers on personal items, like my toothbrush. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
International Readers |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 It's new! and live from Bumbershoot! |
 |
 |
|
|
working for the freedom to
|
copyright Seattle Gay News - DigitalTeamWorks 2006