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Local Loving Elixir in the Upper Haight
From the folks at Magnolia Brewing Company comes one of the most inviting spots you'll find in the Upper Haight, The Alembic. Boasting a "local loving" motto, which means not only a creative, super-upscale pub menu favoring regional ingredients but also a selection of local beers on tap (including Magnolia's own). The Alembic is an elixir for those seeking a mellow spot for drinks and eats in the Haight.
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He's Got the Airwaves in a Chokehold
Travis McCoy is tattooed and pierced, and his band Gym Class Heroes has the hottest single of the moment -- "Cupid's Chokehold" a bouncy love song about the splendors and pitfalls of relationships. Gym Class Heroes perform at a sold out show at The Fillmore on March 27. McCoy spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from a tour date in Detroit.
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SF Station Blows It Up
After hitting the top of the charts all over the world with their current album Eyes Open, Snow Patrol can sell out the biggest venues with no problem and the show at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium definitely proves it. As eight thousand fans sang along, Gary and the boys rocked. I have to say this was a great show overall with lights and sounds that filled my head to the brim.
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Released on Relatively Conscious Records, 12/12/06
A stunning debut from San Francisco locals And A Few To Break. This epic, survivalist approach to post hardcore sounds at once like everything and nothing you have ever heard. These fellas have something to fight for and this becomes quickly evident within the first few scream-along seconds of Procession.
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Released on Drag City, 4/24/07
While The Fucking Champs prefer to not have their music pigeonholed into one particular genre, it's nigh on impossible to not characterize them as a metal band. With aggressive guitar riffs, pounding drums, and a grand, operatic sound, metal is certainly the genre that would appear to be the best fit for The Fucking Champs. But, The Fucking Champs are not your typical big haired, spandex clad assemblage of heavy metal rockers.
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Released on Iceage Cobra, 2/13/07
The Seattle based rock band, Iceage Cobra suffers no lack of confidence or swagger in the release of their tongue in cheek album, Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People. This kind of boldness is almost endearing coming from a young, relatively unproven band brimming with bluster and bravado. That being said Iceage Cobra is more than just bark. They bring a reasonable amount of bite as well. For those who thirst for their rock straight up, Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People brings it in spades.
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A Shot of Testosterone to the Head
300 is like a piece of liquor store candy. It's got no substantive value and two seconds after digesting it you'll forget all about it, but it's tempting and you just can't help yourself. A big budget marketing campaign in which the principle characters are displayed in captivating hues and enthralling poses with the words "Prepare for Glory", and the promise of Frank Miller's artistic genius are all one needs to be lured into the theater.
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A Monster Movie with a Message
Directed and co-written by Joon-ho Bong (Memories of Murder, Barking Dogs Never Lie), The Host ("Gwoemul," literally "monster" in Korean), a monster-as-political-metaphor horror/thriller from South Korea, arrives on American shores a few short months after breaking box office records in South Korea that saw it gross more than $85 million dollars.
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What Makes Us Who We Are
Names are important. They are what make us who we are in both a literal and profound way. They are how the world sees you and how you see yourself in the world. I was named by one of my aunts and I am grateful that she gave me a powerful, unique appellative; my name means "something which is not possible" in Hindi. However, it was a difficult name to have growing up in this country around non-Indians who neither knew its meaning nor knew how to properly pronounce it. One of the protagonists in the film The Namesake has had a similar experience to mine.
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The Case For (And Against) Ralph Nader
As the foremost consumer advocate of the 20th century and the most controversial presidential candidate of the 21st, Ralph Nader is as fascinating as he is polarizing. Given his achievements in the fields of automobile and pharmaceutical safety, it could be argued that Nader has done more for America than some presidents. Yet he remains a figure of bitter contention, reviled in some circles for siphoning off enough votes in a few critical states to hand the 2000 election to W.
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Treatments for a Charmed Life
Ever since I was old enough to appreciate those 80s Calgon commercials and young enough to have only a meager comprehension of the word "stress" I was wholly entranced by the concept of pampering. I got my first manicure at age 16 and was 21 when I got my first facial (and the rest is, as they say, history), but the delayed gratification was out of this world. After all, I grew up daydreaming about perfume bottles with glass stoppers, mysterious fragrant potions that lay beyond reach in my mother's armoire, and tubs fitted with frothy beds of bubbles.
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It Can't Happen Here
Slavery in California? I'm reminded of the Frank Zappa and the Mothers song "It Can't Happen Here", which, in its 60's impressionistic way, is about our innate ability to block certain concepts from our image of everyday reality. One of the big shockers (and there are many shockers) about Slavery: InHuman History, currently at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, is that it did indeed happen here. Slavery in California was not widespread as in other states, but documents recently located by scholars give definite proof of its existence. Two of these rare documents comprise part of the exhibition.
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