San Francisco, CA – 27 Jul 2023
Bands of three different styles combine forces to make for one great night of music
Having just moved to the SF/Bay Area, I’m busy exploring all of the great venues around, and on this night got to pay a visit to the famous Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco proper. The Dollyrots were passing through town on their way south for their Year of the Bunny Tour. The dynamic duo were also pulling along Sacramento’s Dog Party for the tour, and Oakland punks Stay Out crossed the Bay Bridge into the city to start things off for the night.
For those like myself who haven’t been, Bottom of the Hill is both similar to your normal bar/club, but also a bit unique. Walking in you immediately have the bar running along your right, with the sound booth tucked in on your left. Building supports are in the middle, and then the open floor with a decently-sized stage up against the left wall. Following the bar on the right past the stage is the kitchen, bathrooms, and then another seating area with access to an outdoor smoking area (behind the stage).
Stay Out took the stage around 8:30pm to start the night. Being a bit more on the faster, melodic side of the punk spectrum, the band from across the bay were probably well aware that a majority of the audience was not there to see them. You wouldn’t know it by their attitude, though. They came on stage full of vigor and energy, and kept that going the entire set. Aside from getting your music in front of new ears, part of an opening act’s job is to start getting the crowd warmed up. Stay Out did not disappoint there. Posting progress photos on social media the night of, I joked about how they acted like they were playing Wembley but, in hindsight, bands that get to that point are so disconnected from the actual crowd that maybe that’s a poor analogy. Stay Out were definitely more in tune with their audience than your Foo Fighters or Taylor Swifts can ever be anymore.
Next up came the sibling duo of Dog Party. Earlier in the month I was lucky enough to see them for the first time with Jon Snodgrass and friends, albeit as an acoustic act. Unplugged and electrified bring two similar, but different Dog Parties to the stage, neither of which are bad on the ears. This makes sense, of course, and when they plug in, they really get going. Dog Party are fun, and they’re loud. The songs are always catchy, you can tell that they are students of music and know how to put a hook in the right place. Modern pock sensilbilities coupled with 50s and western sounds. One thing that surprised me seeing them live electrified is how much more emotive and expressive the vocals are over their recorded material. Both sisters, Lucy especially, are known for their vocal acrobatics. On stage those are turned up to 11.
If I had one misgiving, they didn’t play “Hit and Run,” which is such a great song. Maybe next time I should just ask?
Seeing Dog Party live is an invigorating experience, and I highly recommend you partake if you have the chance.
Closing out the night, headliners The Dollyrots came on and, well, I’ll digress here: Julie River once told me that Luis and Kelly are some of the most personable people ever and, while I didn’t have the chance to speak with them directly, it’s immediately evident by their stage presence that they are not just seasoned veterans, but are still simply doing what they love and enjoying every minute of it. I don’t want to say that their performance is unrefined, and I can’t speak to whether or not this would apply to a larger venue, but this night at Bottom of the Hill it felt more like we were just hanging with the band at their practice space instead of at a proper concert. They disarm you with their charm and set a level of comfort that allows the attendees to really enjoy the show. Despite a few guitar/amp issues for Luis near the beginning (at one point humorously covered by Kelly doing a vocal guitar solo, half-assed and hilarious), it sounded great. One thing about The Dollyrots is their ever-revolving cast of percussionists. For now, and for this tour, they were joined by Aixa Vilar (Go Betty Go) on the skins.
Of special note is that The Dollyrots are pretty much a family affair at this point, a some of their merch highlights both Luis and Kelly, but also children Rover and Daisy. Both kiddos are along for the tour, and even get on stage during an intermission of sorts to help out with a song that honors the attendees in the front row by name. After that there was a yo-yo demonstration by River, who then essentially stayed on the stage yo-yoing for the rest of the gig.
The Merch Table: All bands had plenty of great merch. Albums, shirts, hoodies. Although I am in dire need of new shirts, I’m also trying to lose some pounds around the middle, so decided against clothing as I don’t want to get something that won’t fit later on (either bigger or smaller). Instead I dropped some cash for a sparkly button from The Dollyrots to put on one of my flatcaps.
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.
