Category: Events & Concerts

Old meets new in Lijiang during the COART international artists festival

Old Meets New in Lijiang During the COART International Artists Festival

Posted on by Keane Li

China isn’t the red communist country of same-faced okay men and yessir women that the past presented. The nation formerly under Mao’s cultural servitude is now brimming with hip artists, free thinkers and incredibly fashionable people. This was especially true during the COART international artists festival in Shu He Ancient City during the start of this month. Folks of past traditions mixed with young artists from around the world in the historic town, creating a dichotomy of old and new that was visually appealing.

Continue reading “Old Meets New in Lijiang During the COART International Artists Festival” →

Garbage @ The Warfield Theatre (10.01.12)

Posted on by Keane Li

Garbage at the Warfield Theatre, Oct. 1 2012

In the midst of all my travel posts, I wanted to get back to an old theme and share something music-related. Last night, Garbage, one of my favorite bands ever, performed at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco. Anyone who had their pivotal youth years in the early-to-mid 90s can appreciate the magnitude of such a show. They performed all their old favorites, as well as new songs including one that was apparently never played live before. It was a great show, perhaps the best concert I’ve ever been to. Continue reading “Garbage @ The Warfield Theatre (10.01.12)” →

Palio di Ferrara – The medieval festival in photos and video

Posted on by Keane Li

Palio di Ferrara - Column in Piazza Ariostea

It was like a weight holding us down, preventing us from moving. They called it the hottest place in Europe, I later learned after reading the papers. Ferrara, serving as the host city for an annual tradition dating back to 1279, brings a number of towns together for the Palio di Ferrara. In colored vestments and heavy armor, participants paraded down the main street. How could they survive in this heat when I can barely lift an arm for my Caffè Shakerato, I wondered, already perspiring. Thankfully, they managed, and we were presented with an amazing series of colorful visuals, flag dances and marching bands. Continue reading “Palio di Ferrara – The medieval festival in photos and video” →

Artisti in Piazza – Closing down the medieval village of Pennabilli for an annual street artist festival

Posted on by Keane Li

It’s not often that I can say I sat in a conference room with the mayor of a medieval Italian town to talk about my blog. (Yes, this blog.) A few days ago, the BlogVille crew met the fine folks running Pennabilli, a hilltop town in Emilia-Romagna. They welcomed us to their wonderful home prior to the start of perhaps their largest celebration.

The name of the city derives from two formal rivals, those living in the castles at Penna and those at Billi. In the 16th century, they joined together to form the city now known as Pennabilli. Today, the city houses notable art installations by poet and intellectual Tonino Guerra, as well as attractions like meditation gardens and Tibetan bells donated from the Dalai Lama. More relevant to this post, Pennabilli hosts an annual three-day festival known as Artisti in Piazza – Festival Internazionale dell’Arte in Strada (“Artists in the Piazza – The International Festival of Street Art”), drawing innovative entertainers from around the world to their cobblestone streets.

If you should ever find yourself in Emilia-Romagna during the time of this festival, do yourself a favor and join in on the fun. It’s full of good people, great shows and really delicious food. Even without Artisti in Piazza, Pennabilli is a beautiful place to visit, as evidenced by the videos and photos below.

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Continue reading “Artisti in Piazza – Closing down the medieval village of Pennabilli for an annual street artist festival” →

Best of the Italia Beer Festival in EUR, Rome

Posted on by Keane Li

A few days ago, some new friends and I ventured out to EUR (Esposizione Universale Roma), a neighborhood outside of central Rome built by Mussolini for what would’ve been the site for the World’s Fair of 1942 if he hadn’t gone all cray-cray into World War II. We were there for the Italia Beer Festival, a celebration of craft brewers in Italy.

Italian Beer Festival - Official Bib and Tasting Glass Continue reading “Best of the Italia Beer Festival in EUR, Rome” →

Becoming a Travel Writer with the Gogobot Travel Salon

Posted on by Keane Li

On April 10, Gogobot will be hosting their first-ever Travel Salon in San Francisco! If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to become a travel writer, while receiving tips from established authors and networking with other travelers, this is the event for you. It’ll be held at Monarch, a beautiful new lounge in SoMa.

Note: I’m currently working with this awesome company, so I may be slightly biased in determining the event’s expected awesomeness. Additionally, I will be there myself, so I can assure you the event will be awesome.

Here’s the info: Continue reading “Becoming a Travel Writer with the Gogobot Travel Salon” →

Opening Night of New Italian Cinema Festival – La Nostra Vita with Director Daniele Luchetti / Nighttime Shots of SF

Posted on by Keane Li

Last night was the opening night of New Italian Cinema Event’s New Italian Cinema Festival. The week of premieres, hosted at Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema, celebrates new additions to Italian film.

Opening the event was a presentation of La nostra vita (Our Life), by renowned director Daniele Luchetti. One of my favorite films, Mio fratello è figlio unico (My Brother Is an Only Child) was also directed by Luchetti, so I was particularly excited to see him in person. He offered his own thoughts on his film—touching on current cultural trends in Italy—which I found very insightful as a preface for the viewing.

To paraphrase: “People in Italy only care about money now, and the only institution that keeps people together is the family.”

Correspondingly, La nostra vita is a film as heavy as it is beautiful. Filmed in the documentary style with minimal direction, it’s much like looking into a real person’s life. It’s no surprise that actor Elio Germano received Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his role as the protagonist in this film. His portrayal of a man struggling to support his children was very honest and believable.

Calendar and tickets of upcoming premieres for the New Italian Cinema Festival

Before and after the film, I took some photos of San Francisco at night. With the full moon out and the crowds gone, it was the perfect time to capture a few shots.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE – The 8th SF MusicTech Summit

Posted on by Keane Li


SF MusicTech Summit | Performer Magazine — July 2011

The Brightest Minds in Music Technology Converge

The 8th SF MusicTech Summit, held on May 9, brought together musicians, computer developers and business professionals under one roof for a day of panels dedicated to brightening the future of the music industry.

“You can’t pirate intimacy,” opened Evan Lowenstein of StageIt, concisely summarizing the morning’s panel featuring guests Brandon Boyd and Mike Einziger of Incubus. The panelists focused on fan engagement and stressed that great concert experiences can’t be pirated. Boyd and Einziger offered their viewpoints as established artists, including Boyd’s professed shyness to self-promotion. Einziger commented on the shift with emerging technologies: “When we were young, we mailed out mailing lists and drove around to schools, but nowadays that’s a waste of money.”

The “Live Music Marketing” panel brought together founders from a number of top events promotions websites. Live Nation’s Aaron Siuda opened: “I’ve shifted 30% of my budget to online ads. You don’t need to do the shotgun approach.” Artists are now able to cost-effectively target demographics using metrics offered by platforms like Facebook. Julia Hartz, co-founder of Eventbrite, added, “Ticket buyers are ten times more likely to buy a ticket if they see a friend sharing it.” Songkick’s Ian Hogarth offered a reminder of the importance of simpler communications: “Text, phone and email still rank high on shares next to Facebook.”

In the afternoon, Mashable’s Jolie O’Dell quickly bypassed the obvious platforms of Facebook and Twitter in “Tools for Your Band.” The panel suggested services for artists like Topspin, SoundCloud, and Songtrust and SoundExchange for royalties. Perhaps the most celebrated tool of the Summit was RootMusic’s BandPages, a Facebook Page customization service. While such tech-centric recommendations were common throughout the day, the majority of the panelists still emphasized the fundamental importance of creating great content and engaging authentically with fans.

And to that, some things never change.

– Keane Li, photo by Kara Murphy