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My Take on Rock Make

By Jaime Nabrynski

8/28/09

With the uneconomical prices of Outside Lands and Treasure Island tickets, someone decided that the time was ripe for a music festival for those that can’t, or won’t, pony-up the cash. For no charge, Justin Herman Plaza will house the San Francisco Symphony on September 11th, and in an opposite vein, last Sunday, Treat Street harbored the 2nd annual Rock Make Street Festival. Fifteen local bands were slated to grace two stages, which corralled 50 vendors, hundreds of hipsters, and an art gallery of sorts from 11a.m to 7p.m. For sale were the conventional t-shirts and band promoting knick knacks, as well as bowls made out of old records, eerily realistic miniature statues of children dressed in animal costumes, wildly inventive baby clothing and other uber crafty homemade apparel.

One would think that a free festival ($2 dollar donations were accepted at the gate) wouldn’t have the ammunition to produce quality acts. And while some of the art work reminded me a bit too much of a Tim Burton shrine, I have to really hand it to some of the bands I watched perform. Especially—a breed I’m not usually too fond of—the female performers.  
Though I rushed to see my favorite Santa Cruz originating outfit, the spirited Man/Miracle who rocked around 2pm, I didn’t arrive to the jubilee until 2:30ish, (It’s not a conspicuous location for those that are not familiar with the Mission). Charming hosts, Paco and Alicia did a good job at rallying the perennially stoic Mission based troops, and while I will never get used to the vacillating hot/cold San Francisco weather, the mood proved perfect for a breezy Sunday in the city enjoying talented local musicians with your best friend.  

Spotlight: Silian Rail. A kind of an inverted version of Jack and Meg from the White Stripes, this dynamic male-female duo consisted of Robin Landy laying down ethereal riffs on guitar and Jack Kuhn slamming away on the drums. But what sets them apart from the Stripes, is their lack of lyrics. A freestyle instrumental set had me glued to my cement seat. Somebody buy these kids a beer for me.

Also Worth Mentioning: Odawas. The electric knells of Odawas sounded like they belong on a soundtrack to a Western set in space. The angelic vocals of Michael Tapscott, a core member of what is supposedly a duo underneath the six or so instruments I saw, reminded me of an adolescent, Neil Young circa Transformer Man phase, and succeeded in giving me some sonic chills I’m still riding out.  

Most Memorable Sight: Silian Rail’s biggest fan. Half-way through the set, a middle-aged stout chap resembling Mary's earmuff wearing brother Warren in There's Something About Mary, came right up next to Eric’s drumset. With a kooky smirk and ears cupped he doted on every beat. Asked politely a few times to take his distance, the man only got closer, practically in Eric's lap. If you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em, and in that spirit, Eric handed the man a pair of extra drum sticks mid-song so that his air drumming had a more tangible release. With pure rapture he turned, and like a true rock star, salaciously flipped the audience off as he galloped away from the stage.###