SEMF: Part Deuce

Beautiful things happened at the Townhouse Lounge Saturday night for the final installment of The Sacramento Electronic Music Festival. Music was made and had, hearts were warm, a DJ got engaged, and Canada invaded Sacramento.

New music obsessions happened as well. Paper Pistols and Dusty Brown are now in my youtube and Myspace rotation. Paper Pistols was one of the most beautiful and moving sets I have seen. Paper Pistols is a man, his drum set, and his music. Drums always amaze me.

You could see the passion in the way he played, the trance he was in, and how he exhausted himself physically, musically and emotionally. At one point it was almost as if he had expelled too much intensity as he made one last lick of his drum during a song nearly passing out, or going to some other musical realm.

Dusty Brown returned for another set at SEMF, surely topping Thursday's performance. Lead singer Jessica Ashleigh Brown, is mesmerizing to say the least, as is her voice. She soothes, she haunts, she pulls you in without even trying.

At one point in their set, she sang from her leather bound notebook. It was like hearing pages from her diary, only not in the really girly sense like Taylor Swift. With a mix of folk, and electronica Dusty Brown is half optimism, half sorrow, but wholly good for the ears.

The New Humans are a Sacramento sensation. Even though you've heard all the songs before, you might have partied at the same bar before, or never even heard of them, they ALWAYS put on a stellar performance. The New Humans are fun, they get you on your feet, and bring the sweat out of your pores because you're dancing so hard to their disco tech.

With their synths, piano, and drum combination, The New Humans are as musically well rounded, as they are dressed. Lead singer, Cole Cuchna, has a voice like that of Matthew Bellamy from Muse as he bellows out "off with your head" for their song "Fever". If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing them perform, or danced to their music, you must not be from Sacramento.

Thank you SEMF for providing us Sac Rats with three extremely fun days of music. I can't wait for next year, it can only get better.

(photo credits: Harlee Ria DeMeerLeer)

SEMF rocks TOHO

(Daedelus, left, and, right, Jessica Ashleigh Brown of Dusty Brown Photo Credits: amfm)

Sacramento just got ten times cooler this weekend. The Sacramento Electronic Music Festival, which kicked off Thursday at The Townhouse Lounge, is back in full force and better than ever. Only it's second year, SEMF was able to bring in some noteworthy bands and some of Sacramento finest local electronic acts.

Thursday set the tone for the weekend with a slew of sick music. Those waiting in the never ending line were left disappointed when the event sold out before 11 pm on the opening day. Tycho and Thriftcar got the crowd warmed up with their no less than dope sets, with San Francisco's Tycho bringing an ethereal vibe to the room and Thriftcar holding down the instrumental hip hop swag.

(Tycho. Photo Credit: Harlee Ria DeMeerleer)

Sister Crayon and Daedelus headlined the night, and rocked the jam packed upper level full of sweat soaked dancing fans. Sister Crayon never disappoints, especially not when they play in Sac, their stomping grounds. They closed out the night with a brand new song off of their upcoming album, Bellows, after the audience insisted on an encore.

Daedelus was such a treat to see, especially since you could witness the pure pleasure he had performing in front of the crowd. As the sweat poured down his face, he never stopped smiling in his Willy Wonka get up, as he operated the outer workings of his button lit keypad before him. I don't even know how the thing worked, but it definitely worked for everyone in the room.

(Sister Crayon. Photo Credit: Harlee Ria DeMeerleer)

Big ups to Sac for bringing out Sister Crayon, Tycho, Thriftcar, Rufio, Dibiasie, Pregnant, DJ Fresh Machine, DJ Whores, Daedelus, Little Foxes, Favors, Boss Magic, Shaun Slaughter, Melee Beats, Roger Carpio, Taylor Cho, Adam J, The New Humans, Bonjay, Dusty Brown, The Fruitbat, Two Playa Game, Seventh Swami, Paper Pistols, Chachi Jones, hearts + horses, Mike Diamond, Sex & Weight, and My Cousin Vinny.

Read more about SEMF after the weekend music high subsides...

Check out some youtube footage from the event.

Check out the SEMF Facebook page here for more footage.

Get Your Tents Ready

If you haven't already heard, the musically mind blowing Coachella Music and Arts Festival lineup was revealed yesterday.

If you aren't going, you should be.

And if you don't know yet, you have 86 days to decide.

Coachella kicks off the start of the outdoor music festival season, and it is set to take place the weekend of April 15th in Indio California in the Coachella Valley. Kings of Leon, Kanye West and Arcade Fire headlining the festival, all worthy choices considering both Kanye and Arcade Fire dropped new albums, and Kings of Leon became everyone's new favorite band (although personally I liked them better before their new found fame).

Joining them is a slew of other great artists, too many to name in fact. Some acts that jump out are definitely The Black Keys, Ratatat, Wiz Kalifah, Animal Collective, Broken Social Scene, Crystal Castles, Sleigh Bells, Warpaint,The Kills, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill,and the list goes on. Who knows who you will see, and who will pop out on stage. Last year Beyonce made a surprise cameo to Jay-Z's set.

If you're too broke to go, Coachella's got you covered with a new feature, LAYAWAY. Yes, you can pay for half of your ticket now, and half later. Better be fast though, tickets are $269, and will probably sell out.

Check out Coachella here.

2nd Saturday

Second Saturday is an art walk that takes place every second saturday of the month where the galleries of Midtown Sacramento open their doors to let the walls speak for the night.

These are some dope pieces that have caught my eye and I wanted to share them with amfm and you all.

Check out the amfm facebook page to view the album. The more art I see, the bigger the album, so stay tuned!

Ahhh Kanye Monsters

If you haven't seen the video for Kanye West's song "Monster" featuring some killer collabos with Bon Iver, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, and Nicki Minaj, you've still been living in 2010. The video leaked with the start of the new year, and I must say, even Kanye is getting a bit dark.

If he and his crew weren't trying to brush off Illuminati rumors, they sure will have some explaining to do after the release of this video. At one point in the video, Kanye is leaning against a wall and as the camera pans away we see him casually holding the head of a woman, blood dripping and all..That's some monster shit right there!

Other things to look out for are dead models, Kanye sporting grillz (no they are not real), and good Nicki versus bad Nicki with a hint of domination and S & M for your viewing pleasure.

Check out the video for Monster below..if you dare.

Happy Feet

A woman can never have enough shoes. Dresses, sure, but shoes are a different story. Perhaps that's why New York based designer Rachel Antonoff, responsible for her Mooka Kinney line of dresses, has teamed up with G.H. Bass & Company to create a collection of shoes that will knock your socks off!

Her shoes are have that same whimsical, playful and fun vibe that her dresses allude. This is made quite apparent in the small details, like the bow tie accents on oxford styles, and the color choices ranging from the classic black and white to the modern clash of blue and red.

Actually, these shoes remind me a bit of a post we made awhile back about the fun loving Hello Kitty kicks. Perhaps those two should collaborate and make beautiful shoe creations..