Last Saturday night, like most nights at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill, was filled to the brim with music. The crowd and the performers seamlessly synced together, clad in the same apparel, drinking the same lager, discussing the same albums. People watching one set ended up playing on stage soon thereafter. There was a lack of pretentiousness, and good vibes ran strong.
Letting Up Despite Great Faults come from LA and channeled My Bloody Valentine on stage well beyond anything which they have produced on record so far. The ethereal songs were played by the four band members, who (except for their drummer), all played various instruments proficiently. I think that was my favourite bit of their set, seeing the band journey within the stage, sharing vocal responsibilities and synth duties. With bands like Letting Up Despite Great Faults, the very allure of the music comes from the distinctive sound of each song played, because the lineup varies from song to song. The instrumentation was consistently top notch, and the band’s set was received well with the crowd, despite their less than ideal spot as the first of four bands playing.
Three other bands played after Letting Up Despite Great Faults: Birds and Batteries, Loquat, and the effervescent Noise Pop headliners themselves, Memory Tapes.
Birds and Batteries had a Radiohead-loving avant guard attitude about them, coupled with strong vocal deliveries similar to Wayne Coyne’s. Loquat had good, guitar driven musicality but a singer who should have been at American Idol auditions instead of on stage at an indie music club. Memory Tapes went above and beyond stimulating multiple senses at once, delivering powerful doses of musical inebriation.
all in all, another fantastic night of music at Bottom of the Hill
Letting Up Despite Great Faults - In Steps [mp3]
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