San Francisco’s annual indie art, film, and music festival, Noise Pop, kicked off its twenty-first anniversary with a slew of gigs in venues all across the city last night!
Read our review of the night’s music lineup below to find out which musical acts stood out among the rest!
Top billed acts for the festival’s opening night included Jason Lytle of ’90s indie rock band Granddaddy, and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon who performed with Bill Nace in their new experimental rock side project, Body/Head.
But, as anyone who has been to Noise Pop in the past knows, the best part about attending the week-long festival is getting the chance to discover new bands through the indie festival’s diverse lineup of musicians.
This year, Hypable hit up two of the three music events scheduled for Night One of the festival: Noise Pop Happy Hour at Bender’s Bar and the Noise Pop 21 Opening Night Party.
Noise Pop’s first happy hour of the week played host to a variety of acts ranging from alternative rock with a classic ’70s vibe to garage band punk. The festival’s official opening night party, however, was comprised of musical acts which ranged from death metal to experimental rock.
Here are our picks for stand-out acts of the night that we think deserve a listen!
Stand-out acts of the night:
The Spyrals
Hailing from San Francisco, Calif., The Spyrals took to the stage last night at Bender’s Bar in the city’s Mission District and delivered a high energy rock and roll performance that left those in attendance pumped up and ready for more.
Heavy guitar riffs and prominent bass lines along with pleasant gritty reverb-heavy vocals give this band’s overall sound a vibe that is very reminiscent of ’70s rock and roll.
The retro vibe to The Spyrals’ sound can probably be accredited to the long list of classic rock legends they list as their influences which includes The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground.
Keep up with the band by following them on Twitter @TheSpyrals or liking them on Facebook!
Listen to this:
Burmese
To kick off Noise Pop’s 21st Opening Night party, death metal band Burmese rocked the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District with a sound that was heavy with bass lines and fueled by roaring guitar riffs.
Lead by a female lead, Burmese puts on an amazing performance that any fan of scream-o will undoubtedly be pleased with.
Though its sound will undoubtedly cater more towards fans of death metal and grindcore, it has to be said that even if you’re not into the scene, you’ll be hard pressed NOT to be impressed by the way the lead singer’s vocals add to the band’s musicality.
Most impressively, Burmese’s front-woman effortlessly manipulates her voice through the band’s repertoire from a shy-girl sing-song voice to guttural, almost animalistic shrieks.
With such a talented lead female singer fronting a genre where bands are predominantly fronted by male leads, it’s clear to us that Burmese is one to watch!
Listen to this:
Don’t forget, we’ll be bringing you coverage of Noise Pop 2013 in San Francisco all week long!
What do you think of The Spyrals and Burmese? Are you heading out to any Noise Pop shows this year? Let us know in the comments below!
This post was written by Hypable staffers Pamela Gocobachi and Natasha Artavia.