Danzig
November 10th at Warfield

It briefly seemed like he’d never come out. The huge logo-adorned backdrop, skull-like stage ornaments, and the elevated drum kit platform had all been set up for several minutes and a hype man had already paid a few visits to inquire of the audience, “Are you guys ready for Danzig?” The legendary frontman (first name: Glenn) of the Misfits and Samhain finally rolled out with a three-piece backing group, wearing a black mesh top and launching into “Skincarver” from 2004’s Circle of Snakes. From there, it was an album-to-album best of, focusing on 1988’s Danzig, 1990’s Danzig II: Lucifuge, and 1992’s Danzig III: How the Gods Kill—the three records generally acknowledged as the best results of his solo endeavor. Biker bar anthem “Twist of Cain” and its fantastic, brooding chord-for-chord descendant, “How the Gods Kill”, were two of the best tracks, and Danzig, despite being 53 years old, whipped and stalked around the stage with youthful exuberance. The audience didn’t get to hear any tracks from his pre-1988 bands, but the blues-metal riffs and his remarkable charisma made for an entertaining, well-structured set. Especially entertaining was a particular gimmick in which a stagehand brought a delivery pizza box to the stage. He swung by the individual band members’ corners of the stage to inquire if they wanted any, and as he creeped behind Danzig, the legend turned around and kicked the pizza box clear out of the dude’s grasp. Maybe not as cool as pyrotechnics might have been, but definitely entertaining and certainly a lot safer. Speaking of safety, Danzig’s sign-off upon exiting the stage (after rousing renditions of “Killer Wolf” and “Dirty Black Summer”) was “Be safe!” Surely a peculiar outro for a singer so passionate in his love for ghouls and gory horror flicks, but his follow-up line humorously reminded who it was we’d been watching: “… Don’t kill anyone!” – Michael Harkin

Watch: “Twist of Cain“  [at youtube.com]

Crooked Fingers, Port O’Brien
November 11th at Great American Music Hall

Crooked Fingers and Port O’Brien is a pretty neat pairing, and I really couldn’t understand why Great American Music Hall was so slight on the attendance… maybe it’s the crumbling economy that we’re all sick of talking about that’s keeping everyone inside the cost-free safety of their homes, but it was a standout show by both acts. Though billed as co-headliners, Port O’Brien played first, their rackety, off-kilter songs full of hometown vigor that displayed itself most prominently when they invited a throng of people up on the stage to clack on percussion and ring out their performance with “I Woke Up Today.” Though I’ve seen this band a number of times, and Crawdaddy! is no stranger to their story, it’s been fun bearing witness to their mounting exposure throughout the past year.

Next up was Crooked Fingers, whose set began with Eric Bachmann, man behind the moniker, setting up for a stripped-down song off his solo record. When the rest of the live ensemble of Crooked Fingers (multi-instrumentalist Miranda Brown was a main fixture on the stage) joined him, they remained reflective, hushed, and moody, with intricate violin and cello, keys and guitar, melding together into really beautiful Americana arrangements. Though Bachmann is a singer-songwriter sorta guy, he works exceedingly well with his bandmates, graciously giving them the run of the stage when the time calls for it. The sound was spot-on that night, and they did two of my faves, “New Drink for the Old Drunk” and “White Trash Heroes.” Though the masses might not have made it out, those fans who were there representing were steadfast, the ones that share in the energy put out by the band, and also give back—creating that sort of warm, intimate ambiance that shows in San Francisco have always been notable for facilitating. – Angela Zimmerman

Listen: Crooked Fingers, Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Robyn Hitchcock
November 12th at Great American Music Hall

Although there’s no need for Robyn Hitchcock to get nostalgic—his most recent releases, especially 2006’s Olé! Tarantula with the Venus 3, are of the same top-shelf quality as his older output—a revisit to a classic like 1984’s I Often Dream of Trains is an absolutely welcome occasion. That record, which brought him out of a brief personal and artistic slump after 1982’s lackluster Groovy Decay, recently got the reissue treatment as part of last year’s I Wanna Go Backwards box set. Tonight he gave a revised, reordered run-through of the record to a seated audience. Before Hitchcock took the stage, someone placed a cassette player atop his black piano, which started playing “Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl” until Hitchcock sat down and slowed the tape before stopping it. That was the only peep heard of that song (one of the album’s best) all night, and he immediately set about playing the haunting “Nocturne” instrumental, setting an initially somber tone to the evening’s affairs. The album’s darker moments were offset by his humor—his surreal, inter-tune audience banter was always fascinating and often funny, whether he was talking about how society has reached “the age of miracles” or explaining why “Trams of Old London” is a “fog song” (it was accompanied by mist from a smoke machine overhead). Due to the album’s stripped-down sound, the band was a three-piece lineup for most of the night, featuring Terry Edwards on keyboards, bass guitar, horns, and vocals, Tim Keegan on guitar and vocals, and Hitchcock on lead vocals, guitar, and piano. All three harmonized around the central microphone to sing the a cappella number “Uncorrected Personality Traits”, and songs like the eerie “Sounds Great When You’re Dead” and the glittery beauty “Cathedral” were fleshed out in captivating fashion. These tunes showed no signs of age, despite the fact that, as Hitchcock pointed out, he wrote them way back “before Kurt Cobain joined Nirvana.” An iridescent rendition of “This Could Be the Day” was introduced as the one “glimmer of hope” on the record, and its performance was a definite highlight of the main set—it’s odd hearing lines like, “This could be the night I cut a malignant growth with a steel knife,” sung with his characteristic jubilance, but that’s part of the emotionally intricate package with Hitchcock, a musician whose genius and dreamy visions still go criminally underrated. Let’s hope that changes soon! – MH

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
November 14th at the Independent

Though Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are apparently popular enough to sell out two nights at the Independent, I was most intrigued by the supporting band for the first night’s show, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, an act a music friend just started incessantly yapping about. Furman’s voice mimics a cross between Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Dan Bejar of Destroyer, and his onstage mannerisms are quirky and theatrical, with the bass player, rhythm guitarist, and drummer hosting the anchor to his expressive front and center stance. The four-piece took their position on stage, interspersed with various random animals, like one of those freaky owls that scare away pigeons, and a plastic goose they named Mortimer (also listed as a member of the band). Furman rips on harmonica for a few songs, and is quite a sentimental lad. He also brings his own artistic stamp to what could otherwise be arguably derivative, and puts forth altogether strong and consistent songwriting, raw and unrefined enough to keep things dynamic. Grace Potter is a young lady with country-rock-white-woman-soul, a killer voice, and lots of talent… though I found I wasn’t really into her songs, a little too boring and adult contemporary to satiate me on this particular Friday night. – AZ

Listen: Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Read past installments of It Shows:

Bridge School Benefit, Against Me!, Torche, Crystal Stilts, and Mt. Eerie

Wire, Brightblack Morning Light, Joe Jackson, and Pinback

My Bloody Valentine, Silver Jews, Beach House, Bluegrass Festival, and more