Shake + Pop

GREEN VELVET MEGAMINIMIX mp3

GREEN VELVET

+DESIGNER DRUGS

+RICHIE PANIC

+ERIC SHARP

+ANDREW PHELAN

JUNE 20 @ MEZZANINE

Shout Out Out Out Out!

Check out Shout Out Out Out Out's new behind-the-scenes video shoot!!



The sassy, spritely Canadians will be in SF in full force on Friday the 13th of March for a spooky soiree at Mezzanine: SLASHER & BANGERS, also ft. Rye Rye live!!!

MezzanineIV :: All hallowed out with Yelle

The French imports pirouetted into the City for a sold-out Halloween show. A cause des garcons...

In his Relm

DJs are a lot more creative than people give them credit for. The shitty ones, of course, stand there and just pretend to do something (a la celebrities who think throwing on an iPod and hitting "shuffle" is sufficient). The more advanced use vinyl, mashups, stage antics and beer to make their sets stand out.

City native Mike Relm decided to go down the latter route while also throwing down his mixing skills live, in time, to video screens looming behind him on Friday night. Not a bad idea for one with nimble fingers.

I'll admit it is sort of odd to stand there and watch someone behind a turntable. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to dance or observe, but I was glad I did both. One of the things I like about Relm is that he seems to be and practice being a pretty cool guy, which includes intersplices footage of movies, videos, and random shit alongside his scratching; the infamous "O" face video did make an appearance as well as some homemade short films Relm did, communicating with audience via a tablet of paper and nothing else.

The dude definitely knows to mix; we heard some 90s grunge with some Ladytron, some hip-hop followed by indie, all done live in tune with the video images flashing around. Relm also dropped new single from his new album Spectacle called "Everytime" with the video he directed behind it. The slow-motion stop imagery, going backwards, and shot in a gorgeous black and white feel made it a neat watch.



Thanks for being a cool guy, Mr. Relm.


Photos by Kapshure/Berderp

MezzanineIV :: Identity crisis with the Dewaele brothers

Soulwax, aka 2 many djs, aka two dudes from Belgium, discuss the "painful" process in making their documentary The Weekend Never Dies, their remix superstar friends, and contest the notion of brotherly love.

GET SCHOOLED :: Heidi

Last week we were excited to host Heidi; she's sure to be back soon, so check out the Get Schooled with her below!

--
Heidi (Get Physical, U.K.) - a London-by-the-way-of-Ontario DJ known for her knack of pulling up infectious beats to bring to the dance floor! Playing for us Friday, August 8 with fellow headphone wearers Craig Kuna, Kevin Knapp, and Eric Sebastian.

Check out how New York City partied when she stopped by (courtesy of AirDropTV):

I'm so fucking excited about tonight - also, thanks Oprah!

Mr. Thicke, please don't be upset I said these things about you...

Lasers?? Where??

I will be the first to admit that music without vocals never used to tickle my fancy. I grew up on a plethora of music (classic rock, alternative, country, R&B, hip-hop, rap), but the farthest extend to my exposure of voiceless pieces was when my dad would play this album during Christmas. Tragic.

(Actually. I have fond memories of that composition...sorry Dad.)

It wasn't until I took some music courses in my first year in college that I really gained a huge appreciation for opera and classical music, even seeing Philip Glass three times in one weekend (cue nerd music, I know). Since then, I gotta hand it out to musicians who create in a variety of mediums and with instruments-or-not, and even to the DJs who tour exclusively just to mix beats live.

Two of my favorite albums this year, Ratatat's LP3 and the soundtrack to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (done by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis), are all noise and no vox. I am pleased to add Booka Shade to that list of favies, because German homeboys threw it down two weekends ago. I've struggled with how to write a review for them (how to describe two dudes on stage...hmmm); but I think to say that I walked in with no reference to the duo and walking out a fan is enough. Thankfully I had my good friend Charlie to provide me with hilarity and background ("These guys are like the Michael Jackson of German techno"), and we danced the whole time to the sounds of Water and Arno. Some highlights from the guys:

• Beating the shit out of a drum kit that looked like they picked up for Rock Band at Best Buy
• Hiding behind a DJ booth with what looked like a call center service rep's headset
• Lots of fist pumping
• Lots of jumping
• German accents

Also, when we walked in, there was a sign posted on the Mezz door that stated "Please note this show will have lasers." I don't know about you, but any show with some fucking lasers has got to be good.

And completely gratuitous, but here is what I thought the whole time because of that sign:

Booka, please be my boyfriends...

This is a true story

"Hey Wendy! Guess who is coming to Mezzanine next week," I asked my dear friend, who I was on the phone with last night. She’s recently moved back to the Bay Area from a stint being amazing across the planet, and our conversation had reached a good breaking point to talk about upcoming shows.

"Who?"

"This one singer...son of a guy named Alan Thicke..."

"Shut the fuck up! Are you serious?" and bursts of "What?!?!" was all I heard as I fell onto my bed in stiches of laughter.

"Sexual chocolate!"

"Did you just really refer to him as confectionary with a purpose?" I asked.

"Yes…and you didn’t tell me this when we first started talking? This is headline news. What is wrong with you?"

Apparently, this guy is a big deal. Or something. Who am I kidding, the first thing we all want to know is if Robin Thicke can live up to that last name of his. C’mon now.

Kidding!

But on a serious note, I am truthfully very excited to see what this crooner can belt out. I like indie and alt as much as the next Pitchfork ho, but I also very much adore R&B and adult contemporary music as it was the basis for a lot of my childhood (as well as Bone Thugs N’ Harmony and Puffy, but that is a different story). And, as much as I love Justin Timberlake (Robin’s other ‘white chocolate’ brother), Thicke does the falsetto and the suave better than the former NSYNC'er and with the greatest of ease. I’m sure he’s gonna just look at some ladies in the audience and they’ll get pregnant.

Keri Hilson is also opening for Mr. Thicke; I know her as a guest vocalist from Timbaland’s Shock Value record from last year ("The Way I Are" is a brilliant club anthem, albeit illiterate in title), but Wendy informs me that she actually did a lot of vocal arrangements on that album as well as has written for the likes of Usher, Britney Spears, and Mr. Tim. Pretty impressive if you ask me. I guess I’ll forgive her for this heinous video she did with PCD’s Nicole Scherzinger. (I mean, really? Hoisery as head gear? Not cute.)

Come get pregnant next week with me!

Fun Friday: which dude is less crazy?

I have an internal battle in picking which performer has more sass, diva behavior, and good music between Michael Jackson and Prince. On one hand, the Purple One can play his own instruments, has showed his bare ass more times to count, and did one of the best sing-a-long movies to date (don't tell me when "Purple Rain" comes you don't clench your fist and pretend to have a cape on...that's a pretty shiny velvet). Plus, he still performs and does stuff like piss off Foo Fighters.

On the other hand, MJ had so many singles in his heyday, and his iconic status is hard to argue. He pretty much cemented the way we think about the Moonwalk dance in pop culture as well - but he does shit now like hang his kids over balconies and get terrible plastic surgery, so I dunno. Maybe both are in their own element.

I wanted to pit two videos of each wonder against each other, but what to pick? Ballads? Dance anthems? Songs solely about automobiles? Since the Soul Slam tomorrow is supposed to be more about grooving, I chose some videos to get us in the mood.

Arguably, one of the most memorable dance routines ever:


I also danced to this song when I was in high school:


Oh, wait. I can't post any Prince videos in comparision because he's kinda suing YouTube right now for being YouTube. Or something. How retarded.

Hmm. I guess we will only tell who will win tomorrow.

(And go ahead, try to YouTube any Prince video right now. There are non. Nil. It's tragic, actually.)

I'm also gonna post this M. Jack video too, because I fucking loooove the harmonies. Soz Princey-poo...way to be Internet-unfriendly.

GET SCHOOLED :: Drop The Lime

We'll be starting a new feature called "Get Schooled" (a working title, as this is as clever as Jenz can get hungover on a Monday), where we spotlight upcoming artists with videos, photos, interviews, and whatever other educational tools we can get our grubby hands on. The first one ran last week; check it!

--
Drop The Lime: a New York producer and DJ who knows what a party should be! DJs from Argentinian spectacular Club Zizek and SF's Tormenta Tropical also join in spinning for you on July 24. Check out what you'll be on board for:

That girl is a baaaaaaaaad girl

How did everyone like the Wyclef show last night? Boss? Bad? Drunk? I wasn't able to make it out as I suffered a huge allergy attack when I got home (damn you weather change), and I'm bummed I missed the opening act Kardinal Offishall cos I superlove this jam:



Sigh. Next time.

Dilated Peoples ensure dilation of the mind

"Another Day" is a clip of what to expect from the guys who visit Mezzanine on June 26. Check it out!