excuses

best hometown goodness: morning benders' "excuses". yours truly just pumps out another great moment in indie music straight from my hometown. bravo nate chan! this performance was the genius of lead singer chris chu's admiration for phil spector. he even wrote him a letter. wish shar could have been a back-up singer. looked like a ton of fun with chris from girls and john vanderslice in tow. check him out taking snaps with his iphone at the 5:24 mark.

more reason to love girls

girls got voted #1 on the urban blog. they interviewed the acts with a questionnaire on the bests of 2009. chris of girls highlight one particular gem:

Five favorite albums of 2009:

1. The Pet Shop Boys - Yes
Its great pop anthems that I can't get enough of, perfect pop aesthetic and sensibility.

2. Cass McCombs - Catacombs
You saved my life.

3. Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns
These are the coolest kids on the block, be my girl diamond boy.

4. The Oh Sees - Help
This is San Francisco. They've always been a huge support and influence to us, GO SEES!

5. Mariah Carey - Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Just think this is a solid record and I think Mariah is an underrated artist. I am obsessed with you cause I love you Mariah!

- Christopher Owens

they are playing my hometown on valentine's day/chinese new year at my fav venue gamh. wish i could be there, but if you are so fortunate to be in sf then get your tickets early. they will not disappoint. i know it. can't wait to come home for the hols and hope to have as much fun as these kids below.

girls at bowery ballroom

best met expectations: girls at bowery ballroom. shar's been anticipating the show for months. in fact so much that multiple listens of album have gotten me a bit homesick for the fog and the sf bay.

chris owens' vocals were impeccable against the sometimes distorted cacophony of electric guitar, but mostly his lyrics of heartbreak filled an empty place in my heart of hearts. they played my favs "ghost mouth", "laura", and "lust for life". on the later the crowd erupted in dance. other noteworthy tidbits was the revelation that "headache" was the first song chris wrote. they also treated us to some treats like the b-side, "solitude" from hellhole ratrace (hhrr) 10" and the new tune "oh boy".
they encored with "lauren marie", which is also one of my highly regarded tracks. but chris really pulled out a doozy covering my all time favorite daniel johnston's song "true love will find you in the end". i got a bit of footage, but again filmed it the wrong way sorry.


i did also snag the set list from the new guitarist. it includes guitar tunes too. notice the extra special daniel johnston cover wasn't listed. emilio of the dig was promoting their show post show and was also stoked about the cover. he said beck does a sweet version. it's aight. i have been partial to basia's take, but chris might have hit it particularly home for me. so especially fitting to end the concert with an uplifting ditty.