We've got a show!

Come on down, come on down, the orphans gathering all around...

And now, for your enjoyment, an entire set by Vomit Launch.

Here they are, just as I remember them. I kind of wish they kicked the set off with another one of their great originals, rather than their cover of one of my least favorite Barbara Manning songs ever. Once that's out of the way though, it's mesmerizing. I also like the way Trish takes charge when the guy "introducing" them starts to get really tedious.

Mission Bells still ringing in my ears

AISLERS SET, THE CHAPEL, SF 9/28/14

It's harder than it used to be to recover from a late Sunday night gig and go to work the next day, but this night was the kind of event that made it worth the trouble. One of the bands that defined "turn of the century San Francisco" were reuniting in their hometown. Most people think of the Aislers Set as an indie-pop band, and sure, they have those elements of melody, jangle and casual sincerity, but to put them in such a narrow category is to do them an injustice. AV (formerly Amy) Linton is a rare artist with a gift for capturing a time and a place, pulling off the neat trick of writing songs so specific and personal they end up both universal and surreal. Three albums, Terrible Things Happen, The Last Match, and How I Learned To Write Backwards, constitute a snapshot of a Mission District that thrived briefly between gentrification surges, chronicled through a fistful of songs that were poignant, wry, colorful, and occasionally saucy.

Two bouncy, catchy, Flying-Nun-crossed-with-the poppier-side-of-the-Ramones kind of bands opened. We enjoyed them thoroughly while they were playing and forgot them immediately. Soon as the Aislers Set came on, the music was riveting yet delicate. Linton's aw-shucks, breathy delivery and unique 12-string guitar sound is as familiar and engaging as ever. Supported by the How I Learned To Write Backwards lineup plus two horn players/percussionists, the band ran through songs from their three very different-sounding albums without cutting any corners. Finally, after avoiding the instrument all night, Linton joined in on the ecstatic trumpet climax of "Mission Bells". It was bliss.

Ear Candle Radio's Top 20 for September 2014

1. Mecca Normal - Art Was the Great Leveler - Empathy for the Evil
2. Snapper - Cause Of You - Snapper 12" EP
3. Rebby Sharp - Some Men - In One Mouth And Out The Other
4. Y Pants - Magnetic Attraction - Y Pants
5. Firekeeper - Bali Song - To Wake The Living
6. Eric's Trip - Secret For Julie - Love Tara
7. Dot Vom - Fat Case (demo) - Demos
8. The Clean - Point That Thing Somewhere Else - Anthology
9. Pete Seeger - Garbage - Pete
10. Rico Bell - The Whole Thing Stinks - Darkside Of The Mersey
11. Paleface - World Full of Cops - Paleface
12. Harry Belafonte - Go Down Emanuel Road - Jump Up Calypso
13. Darlene Love - A Fine, Fine Boy - Phil Spector Back to Mono (1958-1969)
14. Cryptohelix - X-City Rockers - The Nostalgia Bottle Breaks
15. Nocturnal Projections - Alone in the Corner - Nerve Ends In Power Lines
16. Laurie Anderson - Language Is a Virus from Outer Space - United States Live
17. Jeffrey Horn - Pulsar - Jeffrey Horn
18. Public Image Limited - The Pardon - This is What you Want...This is What you Get
19. Vital Disorders - Tough Times - ZOMBIE
20. Mecca Normal - Wasn't Said - Empathy for the Evil