Last Friday, I made my way to San Francisco’s long standing (Built in 1908) Hotel Utah Saloon, for the first time, to catch a couple of danceable SF artists. I didn’t know what to expect as my friends and I made our way to a saloon for a show other than it was likely that stuffed trophy animals and tall beers would surround us.  My expectations were not far off as a large elk head and antlered Sphinx hung on the wall to greet us once we walked through the door.  The concert was held in a basement that was built intimately with proper sound and socializing in mind. The party was started with the electro pop Abba praising sounds of New Year Sun Bear, followed by the fuzzy lo-fi project Tomorow’s Tulips and the danceable flavor of Jhameel topped the bill and closed the night.

New York Sun Bear

We were first served up a strong dose of synth from New Year Sun Bear (NYSB). The crowd came out in full force to support the local music scene. NYSB’s number one fan Dan Rosenbaum, who was hugging the stage, received multiple shout-outs throughout the night. The show was set off with the wailing sounds of his instrumental track “Orange Cat”.  Front man Remy Cox owned the crowd throughout the entire set as they joined in clapping on nearly every song.  He moved through his most lyrically strong songs and his most infectious synth lines. This included his songs “I’m Not Staggered, Charlie.”, “Michela And I” and “Back From The Cosmos”. The set was highlighted with Remy leading the crowd in the opening lines to Abba’s “Dancing Queen” which closed out with an electronic remix of the song.  This brought him off of the stage and onto the dance floor to move with us before turning the stage over.

The transition into the next band was extreme as we moved from lively danceable songs to the fuzzy minimalist rock of Tomorrow’s Tulips. The sound was a bit off for this bill, but featured surferesque guitar sounds with simple lyrics reminiscent of SF buzzband Girls.

Next up, we had Jhameel taking the stage to return us to the electro dance sounds that started the night off. He was backed by a full band, which included bass, guitar and drums. The set was kicked off with “Submarine Lovers”; this was a smooth intro as it told a story in a way reminiscent to that of Iron and Wine. Completely changing up the mood and bringing the dance floor alive was his song “Shut Up” which was certainly influenced by funk filled 70’s bass lines. This diverse set included covers of Michael Jackson’s “PYT” and Broken Social Scene’s “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” both recreated with Jhameel’s unique style. He continued his strong set by playing “Bernal Heights,” which is full of catchy vocal layers backed with a powerful beat. I challenge you not to bob your head while this danceable track plays. Before closing out the set he played one of my favorite songs from his debut album, which is also the title track to “The Human Condition.” The rhythmic guitar and vocals on this song are addictive as this song includes all of the right elements to become a pop hit. Be prepared to hear much more from Jhameel as this 19-year-old singer-songwriter has skills that are way beyond his age.

You can download Jhameel’s album The Human Condition for free and stay connected with him on Facebook and Twitter at Jhameel.com

New Year Sun Bear also offers his debut album for free download and you can find his Facebook and Twitter connections at NewYearSunBear.com

All photos (c) Dan Cordie