Category Archives: Live Music

Live Music, Music, Photography

Photos: Thee Sacred Souls Bring Their Lowrider Soul To Phoenix

San Diego’s sweet soul pioneers, Thee Sacred Souls, played to an intimate sold out crowd at Valley Bar in Phoenix, AZ on October 4th, 2022. The trio featuring vocalist Josh Lane, drummer Alex Garcia, and bassist Sal Samano blend the easygoing grace of sweet ’60s soul with the grit and groove of early ’70s R&B. Their self-titled debut album released back in August was produced by Bosco Mann (aka Daptone Records co-founder Gabriel Roth) on Penrose Records, a new Daptone imprint.

At one point during the set, Lane came down into the crowd to sing ‘It’s Our Love’ as the crowd circled around him with their phones. There was no opener for this one, but during the set, backing vocalist Jensine Benitez took the lead on two songs to sing her recently released first single “Ilusíon De Amor” and a smooth cover of East of Underground’s ‘I Love You’.

When the band came back out for an encore they said this was surprisingly their first time doing one. That made this a special one and was pretty wild that they hadn’t taken the leap in another of the sold out shows on this, their first U.S. headlining tour.

Click into the gallery below. All photos by Justin Yee (@yeesus)

Live Music, Photography

Photos: Caribou Breathes Life Back Into The World

Got a pretty special crop of photos to share here. The great Justin Yee (@yeesus) had the chance to capture Caribou’s set at The Van Buren in Phoenix, while I relished in the experience myself at the Fox Theater in Oakland two nights later.

Led by Dan Snaith, Caribou oughta be considered nothing short of one of the best live bands on the planet. Last week’s shows were another fine installment in their touring history with the crowd bursting with life. Caribou’s music is a perfect soundtrack to whatever this incredibly inspirational feeling of being back at live shows again is called. A damn near 20 minute version of “Sun” was icing on the cake of a can’t miss live show. Check out the photos below from the Phoenix show and click into any of them to expand the gallery!

AS & JY

Bay Area, EE Presents, Live Music

ZOLA Album Release Show at Cafe Du Nord

Hyped to announce the first Everything Ecstatic Presents show of 2020! We’re partnering up with the good peeps at Noise Pop for ZOLA’s album release party at Cafe Du Nord on Thursday, January 23rd.

ZOLA is the musical project of SF native Zola Johnson (not to be confused with Zola Jesus.) She has an elegant and powerful voice that guides her gorgeous indie R&B/pop songwriting in both English and French. Her debut LP, Don’t Eat, is out Friday, January 24th on KIDinaKORNER Records.

Joining the bill are fierce Bay Area stalwart rocker Emily Afton and SanduNdu, the solo project of EE faves Bells Atlas.

Get to know ZOLA on my Noise Pop Podcast Sound of the Bay LIVE episode and peep her gorgeous Twin Peaks Session atop the San Francisco fog bank below.

Tickets for the show are available here. Holler!

Top photo by Rianna Garrido

Bay Area, EE Presents, Live Music, Photography

VISION: Meernaa + Brijean + Waterstrider at Amnesia (Photos)

On Thursday, December 5th, we hosted three of our favorite Bay Area indie bands in an intimate evening at Amnesia. Better yet, it was a phone-free affair courtesy of our friends at Yondr and everyone felt well…present.

The music was beautiful and our pal Ginger Fierstein was there with her Holga camera to capture some of the show and crowd. I’ve always loved Ginger’s photography because she uniquely captures the magic of a moment. Peep the photos below, some words from Ginger and follow Everything Ecstatic on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on what’s next!

“I try to anticipate feeling and emotional moments when I’m shooting. I only have 12 shots on a roll, so I have to be careful not to waste them. The goal is to make each frame a worthwhile memory for whoever’s in the frame. I think I do a lot of double exposures to extend the life of the roll, but to also try and capture something a little less literal than a straight photograph could.” — (All photos by Ginger Fierstein)

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Bay Area, Drinks, Live Music

Analog Time Machine: Die Hard at the Roxie Theater

We’re presenting the second “Cult Classic Party” in the Analog Time Machine series with the best Christmas film of them all: Die Hard! Our first ATM party was back in May for the 40th Anniversary of the Warriors and now, we’re super hyped to present THE cult classic holiday movie!

Thursday, December 12th at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, it’ll be a Die Hard screening + themed beers from Local Brewing Co (Yippie-Ki-Yay IPA and Hans Gruber Lager!) and a pre-show DJ set called “Elevator Music” by Chad Salty!

Tickets can be purchased here and the music gets started at 8:30, with the film at 9:15. Welcome to the party pals!

Made it to the bottom of the post? Lucky you! Now enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to Die Hard + a limited edition print + a hat from Local Brewing!

Bay Area, EE Presents, Live Music

A Digital Detox w/ Salami Rose Joe Louis, Foxtails Brigade & MPHD

On Thursday, August 1st, Everything Ecstatic is putting on another show and this time, we’ve teamed up with Yondr to make it phone free! That’s right folks…dude who puts his phone up the second the music starts and records the whole first song? Gone. Homegirl who scrolls through Instagram instead of watching the bands. See ya!

If you’ve gone to a Dave Chappelle or Jack White show recently, you’ve probs seen what Yondr does. They make these little sleeves to pop your phone into at a show so you can’t pull it out ’til it’s over. I know, I know…this is what it’s come to, to ween us away from our phones at live events, but damnit if we don’t need it sometimes. They’re also based out of the Mission and I’m stoked to collab with them on this show…And what I love about booking this showcase, is that it illustrates how it’s not just major acts that benefit from a phone-free experience, it’s local and emerging artists as well (and it’s also just $5 at the door at Amnesia on Valencia St; full details at this link)

With that, here’s a bit about the all-Bay Area lineup!

Salami Rose Joe Louis

Recently signed to Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder records, Salami Rose Joe Louis is the project of producer/multi-instrumentalist Lindsay Olsen. Her music is a trip into outer space for people who are standing on their own two feet. Dig it.

Foxtails Brigade

A total fucking staple in the Bay Area scene, Foxtails Brigade are a baroque-pop group helmed by singer Laura Weinbach. Collectively, they’ve been putting down one of the strongest live performances in the Bay for a minute.

MPHD

A tech-house producer at his core, MPHD is a shape-shifting DJ who’s a staple in SF. We premiered his Repetition EP last year and it’s a short, but steady slap.

Bay Area, Live Music, Other

Hiero After Dark: Images & Words From The Best Hip Hop Party of the Year

All photos by Ché Holts.

This was a long time coming. Sure, the Hiero Day festival graces Oakland every Labor Day weekend, but Saturday night’s Hiero After Dark party at The Midway in SF represented a far more ambitious event for the Hieroglyphics crew. It was so crucial for the culture and nothing short of a triumph.

We can’t deny the influence that Hiero has on Bay Area hip hop culture. Their legacy is timeless. But building on that legacy by propping up other artists in the Bay and mainstream nightlife culture, is what Hiero After Dark did best. The Midway was an apt massive space for the 2,000+ goers and felt like a hip hop funhouse.

“Tonight was about connecting the new era…” Hieroglyphics’ Pep Love told us. “…connecting the artists with the new wave doing business: venues, promoters, people who curate events… Community and culture is what packs the house and that’s what Hiero does best.”

Continue reading Hiero After Dark: Images & Words From The Best Hip Hop Party of the Year →
Bay Area, Live Music

Planet Dust: A 90’s Electronic Dance Party In SF!

Everything Ecstatic is crazy excited to partner with Subsonic and Popscene on a new 90’s electronic dance party coming to Amnesia on Saturday, June 8th!

DJ’s Aaron Axelsen (Subsonic) and Spinelli (Everything Ecstatic) will be dropping classic 90’s electronic bombs from acts like Björk, The Chemical Brothers, Air, Roni Size, Everything But The Girl and more!

You can snag pre-sale tickets for $8 and RSVP on Facebook here. One lucky pre-sale ticket purchase will win a very special CD (remember those?) Come party with us. Holler!

Live Music, Music, Travel

5 Days In Seattle In 5 Songs

I took a jaunt up to Washington for the first time in damn near a decade last week. And despite multiple trips to Seattle in the past, I’d never seen a proper concert in the city before. This is no longer the case, and a couple of these five tracks that marked my trip related back to those live music experiences. Here they are, along with two new discoveries and one absolute classic that tell the story of a memorable trip to the PNW.

Nicola Cruz – “Criançada” (feat. Castello Branco)

We arrived on a Wednesday and made our way that evening to the tightly-packed yet still comfortable Nectar Lounge in Seattle’s Fremont District. Nicola is one of the few producers I’ll make a point to not miss when he comes through for a DJ set and I was happy to make up for the SF set I’d be missing with this Seattle tour stop. “Criançada,” with it’s Brazilian rhythms and vocals by Castello Branco, is a total standout on the incredible cultural journey that is Siku. Nobody infuses indigenous South American music into electronic production quite like the French/Ecuadorian Cruz and more than anything, this is type of music I want to have playing at a club when I’m catching up with friends, drinking and dancing the night away.

Continue reading 5 Days In Seattle In 5 Songs →
Bay Area, Drinks, Live Music

Everything Ecstatic and Anchor Brewing Presents…

This one’s pretty straightforward y’all! Everything Ecstatic curated a badass showcase of local artists for Anchor Brewing’s SF Beer Week Local music showcase! It goes down Friday February 8th at Amnesia on Valencia St and features the elegant vocals of Zola, the R&B magic of Amen’Auset and a double super special DJ set from Johnny Hwin of Cathedrals.

Anchor will be pouring their new Fog Breaker IPA  (haze free…mostly), Anchor Steam (classic) and California Lager (SZA’s favorite beer…maybe.) Tickets are only $5 at the door, RSVP on Facebook if you’re into that sorta thing and peep the full details on the flyer below!