» Saturday, July 18
blasthaus presents
BONOBO (LIVE)
Mighty: 119 Utah Street / SF
9pm - after / 21+ up / http://www.blasthaus.com

A young Simon Green (for it is he who is the monkey king) refused to be dragged down by the lazy journalistic prose that labeled him 'chillout' and 'downtempo'. Far from it. He upped the stakes, and indeed, even stuck his neck out, moving from his original label Tru Thoughts to Ninja Tune, and set about taking things to the next level.

Cos it's all about the levels with Bonobo. Not in a techy, studio kinda way, but in the levels of involvement with his music. On the surface there are the organic, pastoral atmospheres, the catchy melodies, the elements that caught people from his first album. You can engage with a Bonobo tune in that way if you wish, and will be well rewarded for it. But it's the deeper, slightly hidden levels that you should investigate, for they bring the greatest prize. It's these elements that he first explored on 'Dial M For Monkey', as a greater focus on live instruments, the intricacies of rhythm, the darker shades of the soul, and almost a sleight of hand, that meant that you could be in one mood one minute, and the next you would somewhere different. Later on 'Days to Come', his third album proved the kind of quantum leap in quality that very few artists make - a big, brooding, emotional and uplifting record that you can dance to, do the dishes to, or sit and really study. With his fantastic band, (in which he plays bass and with whom he has headlined the Big Chill and the Glade at Glastonbury) the Monkeyman is set to transform these studio pieces into living, breathing music, the stage is set for Simon Green to step up. The days to come look bright indeed, but sad and beautiful and lovely, too. Don't miss them.


$22.50 Ltd advance tickets ($2.51 service charge applies)
Tickets also at Tweekin (Haight & Fillmore)
and Aquarius (Valencia & 21st)/ 9:00pm - after / 21+ up