Think Critical Mass, but Drunker...

Photo Courtesy of SJBikeParty.org

Looks like Unity, Sounds like Chaos, Feels like Love.

The San Jose Bike Party is one of the fastest growing two-wheeled events in the Bay Area, and it’s easy to see why. I arrived at the meeting location in downtown San Jose in a lonely parking lot left empty under a shamrock intersection of 280 and 80 near the Childrens Science Museum about an hour and a half before take-off; but already major news outlets and cops had showed up to check out the group of about fifty bicycle-wielding hooligans. Most every one of these early-birds had already begun drinking and/or smoking, some double-fisting tall cans while riding handless. Less than five minutes after arrival, it seemed like the gates of hell (if Dante had riden bicycles through the Inferno) burst open and a steady stream of cyclists peddled down into this lot, which was becoming a lake of flesh, bone, rubber, and alloy metal.

I use the term ‘cyclists’ loosely because almost none of these people riding were cyclists in any traditional sense of the word. There were bicycles embellished as sea-horses, hipsters doing keo-spins on Deep V’s and aero-spokes, drunks towing baby carriages full of speakers, cholos on low-riders, and punks on BMX bikes; but almost none wearing a cyclist uniform spandex or aero-dynamic plastic helmets.

At around nine the night had set in, and bongos, beer, and free Red Bull kept everyone ready for the ride that had just begun. We were only two-blocks in when people were already getting pulled over for running red lights, and the unfortunate people stuck driving in this mess found their cars rendered useless. It was as if a diver found himself engulfed in a swarm of jellyfish. At least three cops were posted at every stoplight for the first mile, but resistance faded as the ride went on; it’s damn near impossible to enforce lawfulness on a party in the thousands driven by booze, weed, and bicycles.

The ride was relatively slow paced. I found myself sprinting and weaving through bicycles from time to time, but this was by no means a race. It was mostly people cruising next to whoever had good music playing, or whoever was passing around a blunt or a sport bottle full of rum. Only two rest stops were made, which is the lowest amount yet since SJBP’s humble beginning, but everyone seemed to be handling the ride just fine. The occasional person would cut out down a random street to take a shorter route home; but yells of “Bike Party!”, and “SJBP!” were solid until the un-official after party at La Victoria, a Mexican spot famous for their mysterious orange sauce (the chants then turned into “Orange Sauce Party!”).

The San Jose Bike Party takes place the third Friday of every month, and it is much worth riding, or even just observing; think of it as Bay2Breakers, but at night and on bikes. You don’t have to be a good rider, or even a rider at all. You just have to be ready to have a good time. This isn’t a politically charged critical mass, this is a San Jose Bike Party, and it is just that.

Check SJBikeParty.org for future ride locations, themes, and meeting locations.

SF: Trapped

Last night all Major news out-lets in the Bay Area announced that the BART Train Operators Union had denied the proposed contract (what ever that may have been), and that the Union denied it. In the ways of Unions and business that means one thing: Strike! I'm all for strikes, and everything they stand for: workers rights, monetary fairness, and "stickin' it to the man". But I couldn't help but cringe when I heard that the Unions strike would start Monday, August 17th. What does that mean? 350,000 Bay Area residents that ride BART to school, work, and for leisure are left in the dust. No doubt the local economy will suffer, as the other forms of trans-bay transportation can no where near supprt that many commuters. Sure, many of those 350,000 can drive. But here's the kicker! The Bay Bridge will be CLOSED for five days in early September. No bridge, No BART. San Francisco may as well be a fucking island. I cannot begin to imagine what that means for the Bay Area, but hopefully BART and the Union have some humanity and figure this all out within the next couple days; although both parties have halted negotiations. Fuck. Well, we're screwed; but only time will show how badly.

Singing in the Rain: Friday, First Day of Lollapalooza '09

Rain pattering against the wet cement outside is never a reassuring way to be woken up on the first day of Lollapalooza. But that's how my dreams were broken on that damp Friday morning in Chicago. The rain wasn't cold, luckily, but it was still coming down to see the show.

During The Knux performance the rain actually let up long enough to allow flocks of hipsters and passer-bys sporting transparent-neon ponchos to gather around the Citi stage at one 0'clock that after noon. The collage of people in the crowd danced, drank, and smoked to songs like 'Powder Room', 'Cappuccino', and of course, 'Bang Bang'. While the set winded down, the party winded up; and the rappers left the crowd jumping around to, what else, Chumbawumba's 'Jump Around'. It seemed like the brother had their own party backstage before the show, though. They were clearly fucked-up and had no problem preaching it to the crowd. But hey, this was a party damnit, and they were bringing it.

Shortly after The Knux, London's White Lies took the Budweiser stage...along with the rain. But a little bit of rain never hurt anyone, and this was proven during their performance. The rain actually just seemed to turn everyone on, and singing 'To Lose My Life' with thousands of your new best-friends is definitely a sexual experience. The down pour wasn't even at it's peak yet and already everyone looked they had just jumped out of the best shower they've ever had.

By the time Crystal Castles came on everyone who had been there for more than ten minutes was drenched; some even decided to cut straight to the chase and do somersaults through the mud. At the VitaminWater stage where they performed there was no longer a lawn, it had been trampled into a pit of mud, rain, sand, beer, and sweat. It didn't slow down the party though, by the time the set was over my shoes and pants were no longer black, but covered in a brown paste of what other than: mud, rain, sand, beer, and sweat. I might as well have joined those doing somersaults.

By night fall I found myself trapped in the lights beaming off of Perry's, Lolla's techno stage. Anyone there when the sun goes down will tell you it is impossible to leave that stage at that point, for any reason. That first night of 'Palooza at Perry's was headlined by Crookers and KiD CuDi; and they went together like Kentucky and Fried Chicken. Crookers tweeted out their signature up-beat, silly, clap induced beats to the 270 degree semi-circle of people who had skipped both Kings of Leon and Depeche Mode in order to party a little harder. Crookers was not lacking a crowd though, by any means; and it stayed strong while CuDi hit the stage. He's still a rookie though, and it showed. The Brooklyn-based rapper powered through his hits 'Day 'n' Nite' and 'Make Her Say'; but seemed less pumped during his other songs when no one knew the words.

Neither rain nor mud nor dwindling alcohol supplies could keep the first day 'Paloozers down. And overall, Friday was an extremely exciting foreshadow into what the rest of the Lollapalooza '09 weekend held.

Fun in the Sun (A Rare Happening in Fog City), Warped Tour '09 @ Pier 30/32

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The fifteenth annual Vans Warped Tour made its day three stop on San Francisco’s famous embarcadero. With the Bay Bridge cast in the background, thousands of fans from around California congregated to see music acts ranging from punk heroes Bad Religion to rapper POS.

The acts started promptly at 10:40am with Attack Attack! Kicking things off, as people were already getting scorched by the sun on one of the hottest days San Francisco has ever seen.

The Devil Wears Prada were also early birds but still managed to display the most energy out of any act all day. They played many key tracks off their newest release, “With Roots Above and Branches Below”, as well as their more well known older tracks. They expressed frustration because they experienced ‘a record number of technical problems’, but that didn’t get in their way of having fun, especially when their merch guy appeared on stage to throw down some guest vocals.

Escape The Fate advised their fans to drink plenty of water as they showered the crowd with water bottles while transitioning from ‘The Flood’ into ‘Situations’. The foursome sounded weak and empty in the open air venue, but that is to be expected when you record with three guitars on a track and only have one live guitarist. And their whole bad-ass persona doesn’t work as well on a bright day under sweltering heat as it does in a dark venue with smoke and lights.

Many generations of bands were represented at the show, and crowd seemed to match. Punk-legends TSOL played classics such as ‘Superficial Love’ and ‘Code Blue’ on the old-school stage while cracking jokes about the band’s ages sky rocketing alongside ticket prices.

New phenomenon Brokencyde, who is pretty much four scene kids with swoopy hair screaming over Lil’ John style beats, gathered a large crowd; while UK punk band Gallows criticized the group’s fans, calling out that Brokencyde is a joke and everyone who came to see them shouldn’t have shown up as they blasted into new songs from their recently released ‘Grey Britain’ record.

There was an interesting array of intros that acts used to grab wandering ears as they strolled by. MySpace sensation Jeffree Star opted for a more contemporary feel, doing a remix of Black Eyed Peas ‘Boom Boom Pow’, while Less Than Jake used the epically old-school Star Wars Theme song to build up the energy.

On the main stage set times were jumbled, which left audience confused and a little pissed. When Bad Religion was supposed to play and Underoath appeared instead, it was comical to see the first three rows vacate, which were then quickly filled by energy drink induced teens.

Anti-Flag showed their support for the people of Iran and their current situation of political dis-rest while high rises filled the sky behind them. They were garbed in matching green tee-shirts that read “Free Iran” while opening with their well known sing-a-longs such as ‘Turncoat’ and ‘Die For Your Government’ as a wave of fists were being pumped into the air.

Some attendees of the fifteenth anniversary Warped Tour were beat by the sun, while others beat by each other during intense mosh crew battles. I think everyone who went can agree though that the show was a huge success, and all music tastes were satisfied over the eight hour event. Warped Tour and its followers may be growing older, but neither are slowing down.

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Billy Talent Back Out From the Shadows, New Single "Rusted from the Rain"

(Link to Original Article Found at Bottom of Page)

Today, while a lot of pop-punk bands such as Green Day and New Found Glory are growing up and calming down, Billy Talent is not, and for now that is a good thing. The Canadian band’s new single ‘Rusted from the Rain’,from their soon to be released album, ‘Billy Talent III’; is true to the Billy Talent we know and love. Johnny Rotten-esque vocals, calm, pensive verses, and distorted, punchy choruses construct the single nicely.

This song sounds like a hidden gem B-side off their self titled freshman album, but a little more refined. Though, a predictably placed guitar solo makes the band seem a little more grown and complex. Lead singer Ben Kowalewicz reflects his emotions efficiently, and projects the disgruntled monologue of a person psychologically beaten and tired through an array of melancholy metaphors. The main riff is pleasantly simple, but also a little stale.

After the first couple of verses and choruses pulled me down in a slump with the narrator, I was on the verge of hope and inspiration with the semi-epic outro; which showed the matured side of their music and closed the song up nicely. It left me feeling like I had just triumphed a rough game of indoor football at the YMCA, but not quite like completing a work out with Mike Tyson.

Like told before, ‘Rusted from the Rain’ is up to par for Billy Talent. Although it seems as their sound hasn’t changed much in the last seven years since ‘Billy Talent I’, it will be interesting to see the end result on ‘Billy Talent III’. That pop-punk sound with more punk than pop that defines Billy Talent is still there, along with the angst and discontent.

Although those feelings of anger and aggression are relatable and warranted in these times of a falling sky, it might be time for Billy Talent to evolve into a different fashion by their next album. If they don’t do so, their fans with just grow up without them. 'Rusted from the Rain' is a catchy song, but it’s not the way Billy Talent wants their sound and name to end up.

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