Day 18: San Francisco - Cafe du Nord
pictures: Shasta Lake (Northern Cali)+ the band on break near Mt. Shasta
Here is a review of the show in SF Weekly
We roll in to town with a couple hours to spare to explore the Castro district, near Twin Peaks. Just our luck (not), it is Columbus day, so many stores are closed. That conveniently reduces things to mostly food and drink. Casey spots a comfortable bar with patio and hauls us in for a beer. My throat is sore, so beer is not so good. I opt for a walk around the neighborhood and take my chances that I'll find something I like better. Within half an hour I was relaxing at the El Flore patio, with free Wifi (got to send out the entire Alberta blog). And there I was in full San Francisco style, eating pumpkin bisque, sipping sangria and keying away at the laptop.
This one looks like a bust with an early Monday night show. It would help if the third act scheduled tonight was local. I check: the extra opener, Rosi Golan is from Brooklyn , and Rosi expresses the same wish that the other bands were local.
Anyways, somehow the room fills up... Wooden Sky sound amazing again, and we manage to pummel Monday night into feeling like a Saturday. Thanks for getting everyone dancing Kip. Amongst the fun crowd were peeps who found out about us online, purchased our music on itunes and drove from as far as Sacramento and Big Sur. It's always great to meet people who have come from far and wide to see you. Makes it feel like we're doing something right. These people have insight too as to where we should play next time we're in the area. Suffice to say we now have plans to play at the Fernwood in Big Sur next time we hit California, ideally in the spring on the way back from Australia, if things go as planned.
I really like the staff at Cafe du Nord. Extemely friendly, they provided us with a buffett of lasagna, steak and salad on arrival, and were very accommodating at the bar (staff=Rob and Lana for personal reference). I learned that this is one of the older bars in town. It is attached to the Swedish American Hall, and it indeed has an old vibe to it. For anyone from Toronto, I would say it compares to a cross between the Latvian House and the Cameron House.
We knew the house soundman, Ross, as he is the drummer from Emily Jane White who we met on tour in France last February. The sound at this club was so good, Ryan had us all dialed in within half a song at soundcheck.
After the show, Mark somehow comes out with a hot fresh pizza he just got down the street. Perfect timing.Then we roll out of town and let GPS take us towards the #5 highway. No scenic Pacific Coast Highway for us. We are directed back across the Bay Bridge into Oakland. For a while it seems like there are no hotels. Finally we find a Motel 6 within 5km of the highway, near the Oakland airport.
As we drive through the neighborhood, it begins to take on resemblance to the setting for the TV show "COPS": high fences, some with barbed wire, no one around, a few deserted buildings. A great place to leave your vans full of musical gear. The Motel 6 itself provides a good defence to the surroundings: High fences, and a security gate where you get screened before checking in. We are safe. The next morning at the local gas station we overhear a pizza delivery woman lamenting that between the pouring rain and the gunshots she heard this morning, she'll be overwhelmed with business. Everyone will stay indoors on this day in Oakland.
pictures: Shasta Lake (Northern Cali)+ the band on break near Mt. ShastaHere is a review of the show in SF Weekly
We roll in to town with a couple hours to spare to explore the Castro district, near Twin Peaks. Just our luck (not), it is Columbus day, so many stores are closed. That conveniently reduces things to mostly food and drink. Casey spots a comfortable bar with patio and hauls us in for a beer. My throat is sore, so beer is not so good. I opt for a walk around the neighborhood and take my chances that I'll find something I like better. Within half an hour I was relaxing at the El Flore patio, with free Wifi (got to send out the entire Alberta blog). And there I was in full San Francisco style, eating pumpkin bisque, sipping sangria and keying away at the laptop.
This one looks like a bust with an early Monday night show. It would help if the third act scheduled tonight was local. I check: the extra opener, Rosi Golan is from Brooklyn , and Rosi expresses the same wish that the other bands were local.
Anyways, somehow the room fills up... Wooden Sky sound amazing again, and we manage to pummel Monday night into feeling like a Saturday. Thanks for getting everyone dancing Kip. Amongst the fun crowd were peeps who found out about us online, purchased our music on itunes and drove from as far as Sacramento and Big Sur. It's always great to meet people who have come from far and wide to see you. Makes it feel like we're doing something right. These people have insight too as to where we should play next time we're in the area. Suffice to say we now have plans to play at the Fernwood in Big Sur next time we hit California, ideally in the spring on the way back from Australia, if things go as planned.
I really like the staff at Cafe du Nord. Extemely friendly, they provided us with a buffett of lasagna, steak and salad on arrival, and were very accommodating at the bar (staff=Rob and Lana for personal reference). I learned that this is one of the older bars in town. It is attached to the Swedish American Hall, and it indeed has an old vibe to it. For anyone from Toronto, I would say it compares to a cross between the Latvian House and the Cameron House.
We knew the house soundman, Ross, as he is the drummer from Emily Jane White who we met on tour in France last February. The sound at this club was so good, Ryan had us all dialed in within half a song at soundcheck.
After the show, Mark somehow comes out with a hot fresh pizza he just got down the street. Perfect timing.Then we roll out of town and let GPS take us towards the #5 highway. No scenic Pacific Coast Highway for us. We are directed back across the Bay Bridge into Oakland. For a while it seems like there are no hotels. Finally we find a Motel 6 within 5km of the highway, near the Oakland airport.
As we drive through the neighborhood, it begins to take on resemblance to the setting for the TV show "COPS": high fences, some with barbed wire, no one around, a few deserted buildings. A great place to leave your vans full of musical gear. The Motel 6 itself provides a good defence to the surroundings: High fences, and a security gate where you get screened before checking in. We are safe. The next morning at the local gas station we overhear a pizza delivery woman lamenting that between the pouring rain and the gunshots she heard this morning, she'll be overwhelmed with business. Everyone will stay indoors on this day in Oakland.
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