HRC special note: I NEVER take three days to produce a review….I’ve had a fever something awful. I’m also pissed because Twitterific failed the entire evening at this show, so no live updates happened….so, I will filter in what you would have seen into the review. /rant
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You know it is going to be a good night when you score rock star parking in front of the venue in the notoriously awful to park in North Beach. I love coming to Bimbo’s; it’s unfortunate that I don’t get to do it more often, but it’s a bit too classy of a joint for the metal and industrial shows I often attend. Walking in there is like being transported to some other place and time, and I am all but happy to be any place but the here and now.
io echo has just taken the stage. The female fronted five piece from LA spews their own brand of updated goth rock. Lead singer Io is one part Samara from The Ring, one part Emily Strange….point is that she looks like she could go coo-coo for cocoa puffs any second, and I like that. Dressed in a white shift dress with red crosses along the bottom, rail thin and pale with long black hair, she packs a powerful voice. Leopold Ross, guitarist, is in his own little world making his guitar scream. Here is my NIN connection for the evening- Leopold is brother to Atticus Ross, oftentime Reznor collaborator. I like all but two of their songs which I find overtly gothy, and they do a smokin’ cover of ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’.
9:35pm: this chick looks like Emily Strange!
Great Northern is one of those bands where I can separate out the fact that they sound good and that it’s not my thing. Very mellow dreamy rock- it felt odd sandwiched in between these two bands. Perhaps one girl-fronted band a night is all I can handle.
10:40pm: Great Northern- too mellow for me…
I believe this was my fifth time seeing She Wants Revenge. I love their first album to pieces, and hearing those songs live will never get old to me. By this point, the crowd- a mixed bag of hipsters, Death Guilders, and girls night out-ers- were well imbibed and ready to dance. The set showed off some new songs, but covered all of my old favorites: ‘Sister’, ‘Out of Control’, ‘These Things’, ‘Red Flags and Long Nights’, and of course, ‘Tear You Apart’. It’s amazing how the crowd singing along almost takes over now on several of those tracks (and that some of my choreographed dance moves have made it though three years of these shows). The new songs sound good- they definitely sport a more dark disco vibe that get the ladies riled up on the dance floor- they just will take this rocker chick a few more spins to get used to.
Funny things that happened during the set: Justin grabbed someone’s flip camera and filmed the crowd and the band for a bit. He also told people to stop smoking pot or take it outside because they don’t like it (I must be so used to this in SF now that I don’t even notice the smell). Then, he had to stop during ‘Tear You Apart’ and tell people “hey- no pushing- be cool!”. Rowdy SF crowds…
11:45pm: Getting my Revenge!
Despite a bit of an underwhelming sound issue where I chose to stand, it was a fun set. Seeing She Wants Revenge is always cathartic for me, and tonight was no exception. And I got to introduce my friend Gina to them.
And I’ll end on this note- afterward, we went to this weird bar across the street with an even weirder bathroom with a painted dolphin. This would have been my last tweet of the evening:
12:55am: Gina and dolphin in the weirdest restroom ever!
A slew of SWR ‘pit cam’ footage exists on youtube
OVERALL: 8.5/10
She Wants Revenge performance: 8.75/10
Great Northern performance: 7/10
io echo performance: 8.25/10
venue (Bimbo’s): 9.25/10
crowd/scene: 8/10
value ($13.00/ticket): 9.5/10
memorable: 9/10
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i wanted to be there so bad but had to catch a flight. i love swr so much. seen em when they came through last time. and i love io echo. good songs an she really looks like the girl from the ring! i love it!