Three days, three concerts

It’s official, summer time is almost here and tours are in full swing. Over the last three days I’ve attended three amazing, and completely different shows. It’s been a whirlwind to see some great artists play in such a short period of time. The amount of concerts coming to the Bay Area is overwhelming. I don’t have the money, or the time to go to every one I want to, but it’s great to have so many options to choose from. Here’s a look back at my music-filled weekend!

Miike Snow
Thursday, April 15th at the Independent
Band from Stockholm, Sweden.

jj
Friday, April 16th at Bottom of the Hill
Two-piece band from Gothenburg, Sweden.

Jónsi
Saturday, April 17th at Amoeba Record Store
Side project of guitarist and vocalist from the Icelandic post-rock band, Sigur Rós.

T.H.I.N.K Gold! Conference

Almost two years ago I helped co-create an event with the San Francisco 49ers and the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (BAWSI), called the T.H.I.N.K Gold! Conference. The title, T.H.I.N.K Gold, represents the event’s objectives of imparting tips about “Training, Health, Inspiration, Nutrition, and Knowledge” for success in athletics and life. The conference itself is an exclusive event, in which we hand pick a group of 50 female high school athletes from the surrounding Bay Area community, using online applications in the selection process, and invite them to join as at the San Francisco 49ers practice facility to partake in the days panel discussions, keynote session, workouts, and one-on-one interactions with professional athletes.

This year was the conferences 2nd year, and while I am no longer with the team who I represented in launching this event with, I still wanted to be apart of what this conference represents and the message it carries.

Here’s a look at this year’s event:

San Francisco 49ers Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Duane Carlisle and US Olympic and World Cup soccer star, Brandi Chastain speak with girls about the importance of keeping both your body and mind active.

A keynote discussion comprised of San Francisco 49er offensive lineman, Tony Wragge; VP of Communications for the San Francisco 49ers, Lisa Lang; softball Gold medalist, Jessica Mendoza, and moderated by BAWSI founder, Marlene Bjornsrud.

T.H.I.N.K Gold Conference group photo including conference participants, staff and athletes.

From Sweden with love

Thanks to my amazing friends in Sweden, I received my second T-Post shirt in the mail today! T-Post, for those of you who don’t know, is the world’s first wearable magazine. It’s based on a subscription service, and much like your favorite paper magazine you don’t know what the story is about, or who’s designed it until you get it. So every 5 weeks you get an exciting little surprise in the mail.

So now in addition to this gem:

An augemented reality T-shirt, that allows you to challenge your computer in a real game of play rock, paper, scissors.

I now own this:

Kudos to my beautiful friend, Simon, for modeling the shirt so handsomely online.

While the shirts can be quite pricey to get here in the US, they’re well worth it. I can’t wait to get my next one!

Jónsi

Jónsi Birgisson, better known as the lead singer from Sigur Ros, is embarking on a solo venture, aply called Jónsi. I saw sigur ros play about two years ago at the Greek Theatre, in Berekley, CA and was completely blown away. So when I got word of his solo tour, I didn’t hesitate to buy tickets without even hearing a single song.

Today there was a post on the bands website of Jónsi covering MGMT’s “Time to Pretend,” and it’s quite a treat. This, in addition to what his live show is promising to deliver, will surely make for one great show. To say I am merely excited, is a vast understatement.

Check out the album’s single, “Go Do.”

Also, expect other great things, like this, to naturally follow. I anticipate this video to contain the same beauty that Sigur Ròs’s Heima had.

Let the countdown begin!

Sonoma bound

Yesterday, a group of 25 people, some wine connoisseurs , some newbies, and some people who just came along for the ride, embarked on an all-day wine tasting trip to Sonoma. We set out in the early morning hours, coffee in hand and beer in our bags, for our journey outside the city walls.

Our method of transportation.

The view as we left the city behind us.

Sing-a-longs to mixtapes, while sharing snacks and laughing.

Our destinations, Segehesio, Hawkes, and Mercury.

The city in our sights, as we traveled back home.

Memories made with old friends and new.

Sunny day in San Francisco

It’s Friday, time to end the work week and look ahead to the weekend. And what better way to start it, then with lunch in Dolores park.

Two suitcases

So for the last two years I’ve owned nothing more than two suitcases. Moving from Florida to San Francisco, San Francisco to Stockholm, and back again. So needless to say, upon my return to the Bay Area this past month, I’ve been quite swamped with getting things back in order. From moving into a new apartment, working Noise Pop, volunteering with ATC, and just catching up on things, it’s been a whirlwind. So let me take a moment to recap.

Noise Pop was again a huge success. This year I worked merch for some amazing bands, including:
Atlas Sound, who played a special acoustic show with vocalist Bradford Cox, at the infamous Great American Music Hall.

Rogue Wave, who played a surprise intimate show at the small indie club Bottom of the Hill.

Then I got the real treat of working the green room for Industry Noise. An all day conference for, as they put it, “MUSICIANS, MUSIC LOVERS, INDUSTRY SCHMUCKS, and TECH GEEKS.” The conference afforded me some great opportunities to meet a lot of incredible people, including Claudia Gonson of the Magnetic Fields, and industry professionals of YouTube, Pandora and Apple. Though my most memorable encounter was with one of my new favorite people, Josh Freese (permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, but who has also played drums in Weezer, Nine Inch Nails, Guns n’ Roses and with Sting). He’s quite a character, very charismatic, laid back, and just an amazing person to share a coffee and conversation with at 9 in the morning.

Aside from working, I also was able to take in some great shows and art galleries during the festival.
I managed to get backstage for the Dodos and Magik*Magik Orchestra performance at the Palace of Fine Arts. A truly beautiful performance. My friend Sean captured some incredible audio from the show, check it out here.

I also got to enjoy Art of Noise , a gallery of art inspired by music. With the most interesting piece of the night coming from Ted Riederer, who transforms musical performances into permanent pieces of art.

So here’s to the months ahead, may they be as busy and interesting as these last few have been.

Hej då Stockholm, Hej San Francisco

So after three wonderful months of living in the heart of one of my favorite cities, I am back to my normal (as if you could ever begin to call it that) life in San Francisco. Back to late night Mission burritos and afternoon picnics in the park. Trading in the T-Bana and Läkerol, for In-N-Out Burgers and cable cars.

In my short time back I’ve already begun to miss a few things:
1) Princess cake, Vinter chocolate, and Saft fläder
2) Coffee and conversation at Café 60
3) The music scene and atmosphere in Södermalm or “Söder”
4) Practicing Swedish on the bus with complete strangers
5) The beauty and stillness of the winter

The few things I won’t miss:
1) Pickled herring
2) Waiting for the bus after hours
3) Systembolaget
4) Late nights in Stureplan
5) The wind while walking by the water on a cold night

Farewell Stockholm, until we meet again.