When I was about 12 or 13, the video Natural One by Folk Implosion hit MTV, and my friends and I all lost our collective shit(s). I remember a buddy of mine immediately picked up the single (yes, there were singles then), and we spent ages listening again and again. This paved the way for us to learn about Dinosaur Jr., which in turn led to Sebadoh albums and the perilous and angsty journey into punk rock.

Thusly, with nigh overpowering nostalgia fueling me, I took in the recent Lou Barlow (of said bands) show on the Cowgirl patio. First off, I was feeling pretty impressed that Barlow was playing such a small venue, but it seems that Santa Fe is getting bigger shows like this more often. Plus, I’m willing to bet Barlow is one of those super-cool and down to earth musicians who subtly rules the land while keeping his head.

I arrived a tad early to check out Sarah Jaffe (myspace.com/sjaffe) open the show. In the days leading up to the concert, I’d heard nothing but good things about the Texas singer-songwriter, and Jaffe started strong with a beautiful voice and a quiet and subtly sad sound. Instantly, I realized there was something familiar about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Sarah Jaffe folkin' it up

Jaffe’s cellist and keyboardist added complexity to the simple guitar work, but I was going mad trying to figure out where I had heard this before. Then it hit me: I’ve sat in my room listening to Cat Power and Feist too ,and whether or not she realizes it, Jaffe emulates these musicians quite closely. Though Jaffe’s voice is solid, it sounds almost exactly like Leslie Fesit, a fact that kind of pissed me off. Now, I’m not saying that she was bad or anything, but it was just nothing I haven’t heard before. Jaffe’s strength is in her voice and not guitar playing. At times, this seemed to put undue pressure on her band, and a cursory glance at the crowd proved that I was pretty much the only person bored by the performance. It makes sense, though. Those unfamiliar with indie folk/country are bound to be impressed by an artist with such obvious-and worthy-influences. I suppose Jaffe makes a good transition for those interested in getting into these types of music, but I don’t see her having much lasting power in a genre already jam-packed with too many faceless acts that sound exactly the same. Continue reading »

The end of this month marks South by Southwest, the legendary music festival in Austin that brings musicians traipsing from far and wide to play with thousands of other folk-rock-indie-alternative-generally cool artists. Santa Fe, depending on where you’re coming from, is on the way or very close to being on the way to Austin, so each year we get to rope in tons of talent that may not otherwise swing by our neck of the woods.

There are tons of chances to catch SXSW artists in Santa Fe this week; Corazón, for one, is holding the first (annual?) SXSF Transit Music Festival from March 11-15, bringing in tons of stellar acts on their way to Texas. Cowgirl has a bunch of shows this week as well, some of which we were able to feature in this week’s paper, but one of which slipped through the cracks (it got confirmed past our press deadlines): Anamieke Quinn will play the Girl this Friday, March 12, along with ABQ rockers Ants Have Voices.

Quinn is pretty much totally badass. She’s presently based in Phoenix, so she’s really coming out of her way to play for us, and we here at SFR are quite chuffed that she’s making the trip. While she’s played in bands since college and may perhaps be best known as the yodeling cowgirl that played with Phish for the band’s Vegas ‘96 show, Quinn is now a decidedly solo act. Lady-led bands are all well and good, but there are few things hotter than a girl onstage with an acoustic guitar (this, coming from a nothing-but-straight female), and that’s precisely what Quinn is.

Go below the jump for more about Quinn, plus a rundown of a slew of acts that are on their way to the Motherland. Continue reading »

While Doug Nava awaited election results among family, the other two District 1 City Council candidates, Russell Simon (Marble Tap Room) and incumbent Chris Calvert, election-partied the old-fashioned way.

We followed Calvert to Cowgirl for ribs and booze and, yes, the District 1 results.

He won!

Continue reading »

Happy Hour for Haiti

5 pm
Wednesday, Jan. 20

No cover; donations accepted

Cowgirl
319 S. Guadalupe St.
982-2565

This week, in a last-minute fundraiser thrown together by some particularly charitable Santa Feans, a whole slew of local musicians will rock Cowgirl for a good cause. All donations from the cover-free evening are set to benefit Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross in the organizations’ efforts to help Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12.

The lineup is set to include individuals Lydia Clark, CB McCarty, Cozy Ralston, Joe West, Matthew Andrae, Bill Hearne, David Manzanares, Josh Martin, Margaret Burke, Jim Almond, Felicia Quintana, John Kersweg, Susan Holmes and Michael Kott, plus bands The Rattlers, Venus Bogardus and Zenobia & Friends. According to event organizer CB McCarty, more are signing on every day, so by the time Wednesday rolls around, we’ll have quite a billing!

And yes, the evening does take place during Cowgirl’s award-winning happy hour, so if ever there was a reason to down a few margaritas, this would be it.

Tonight is the big night for Albuquerque’s Felix y Gatos. The band is one of the most solid acts that plays around town, the kind of group I never go out my way to see live but have stopped dead in my tracks to listen to as they rocked their funky zydeco, Americana, polka-tinges swing. But tonight at the Cowgirl the dance party will be even more hoppin’ as the band releases its demo CD into the world and is joined by Sharon Gilchrist.

The show starts around 8 and costs a well-worth it $5!

The demo is a solid effort from a band that has managed to capture its fun improvisational style without losing an ounce of spontenaety. Felix y Gatos will have you dancing and purring into the night.