Tag: Yelp.com

Happy New Year! Favorite Songs and Top 10 Posts of 2010

Posted on December 31, 2010January 12, 2011 by Keane Li

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2010

If you have an rdio account, click here for a more convenient playlist. And please be sure to add your favorite songs to the comments below!

Bat for Lashes – "Daniel (Mt Eden Dubstep Remix)" / One Year

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Keane Li

Bat for Lashes | MySpace
Mt Eden Dubstep on YouTube

I promised myself I would do whatever it takes this year to achieve all my goals. Most notable is the desire to push Festizio, my band, as far as it can go: more shows, another studio release and networking with as many people as I can. Music was always what I felt most passionately about so I think it’s important to do this while I can. I’m not so naà¯ve as to think we’ll be around forever. People get married, have kids, move away or go to space. It’s expected and should be encouraged for everyone (going into space more so for some people than others). One year… to move as efficiently and expeditiously as I can in the right direction.

I think we’re off to a good start. We already played a big Yelp Elite Event in Oakland at The New Parish, a new venue opened by the owners of The Independent. We also have two radio appearances and two more gigs coming up in the next few months, including a cool performance at the Chabot Space & Science Center (in the Planetarium, no less).

So, I’m more than happy so far. Unemployed but busy as hell. Time waits for no one. Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’. Sweep the leg.

By the way, if you want to help me on this lofty mission, please tell your friends, family and pets about Festizio. And please do follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You don’t have to buy anything or perform any sexual favors (unless you want to), but rather share us with the people in your life… especially if they’re record producers.

Festizio Performing at Yelp Goes Gaga! at The New Parish in Oakland

Posted on January 12, 2010December 19, 2011 by Keane Li

Are you an Elite member of Yelp? If so, be sure to RSVP for the first East Bay Elite Event of 2010 because we’ll be performing that night! Not only will it be our first performance in Oakland, but it’ll be the first in a series of belated CD release shows. Because, while our album has been out for awhile, we haven’t properly celebrated its launch.

(Get the album here: CD Baby | iTunes | Amazon)

Better late than never…

Jan 21 – Yelp Goes Gaga!

8 – 11pm

The New Parish
Categories: Music Venues
579 18th Street at San Pablo
Oakland, CA 94612
http://www.thenewparish.com

Those hip to the scene have no doubt heard about Uptown Oakland’s newest hotspot, The New Parish. Created by one of the fellas behind The Independent in SF, uniquely designed and rigged up with a killer sound system, hopes are high for this venue. We’ve just heard that they’ll be granted their liquor license mid-month, and you know what that means right? Elite party on January 21st from 8-11pm!

Oh yes, they’re so eager to get yelpers in the house, the ten day countdown is on for a blow out! To ease into the night, guests are invited to enjoy spirit tastings courtesy of Drink Me Mag and Caribbean nibbles from neighboring restaurant, Hibiscus for the first hour. Then the party will really get kicking when Stunna starts flowing, and yelpers Ryan S and Keane L‘s band Festizio rock the stage! Combining ambient sounds and driving rhythms in a landscape of intertwined harmonies, this will be an outstanding performance. To keep that groove going, we’ll have a special guest DJ come in with an arsenal of banging beats!

So bust out your hottest Lady Gaga-esque outfit and stunna shades, the first East Bay bash of 2010 is going to be blinding!

Radiohead – "Everything In Its Right Place"

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Keane Li

www.radiohead.com
www.myspace.com/radiohead

I incorporated this song in a Yelp review a year ago. It was in response to feeling particularly down and listless, when I was trying to figure out how to find balance in my life. Unemployed and searching for meaning, I’m finding this theme particularly relevant again…

Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco

The naked, descending notes on the opening track of Radiohead’s Kid A fall into a schizophrenic scatter of ambient sounds. I remember first understanding this album in New York when I plugged in at the Museum of Natural History and it transformed my experience into one more visceral. The chaotic repetition is meditative, and it distracts from the endless noise and static in the head.

Everything…

Everything….

Everything…

There’s little better than enjoying a cup of coffee in the Ferry Building. The echo of spoken voices provides just the right amount of audio haze, and the view of the Bay keeps the mind at peace. The food options are also incredible – my favorites being Delica rf-1 and Acme Bakery – where one can grab a bite of quality comfort to enjoy with the scenery.

There are two colours in my head…

What was that you tried to say?…

I like to believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe it’s delusion, but there’s solace in knowing that, like the song, even random chaos retains some structure, that even the craziest noises can come together in meaningful harmony. Visitors enter from all around the world and are never seen again. It’s serendipity and chance that pulls us together. You prepare yourself as best you can for the world, but if the world isn’t ready, you must remain patiently wanting… and after that, it’s all a matter of luck…

It’s all a matter of timing.

Everything…

…in its right place.

Carla Bruni – “Tout Le Monde” / Crossing the Northern Border

Posted on October 28, 2009June 20, 2011 by Keane Li

www.carlabruni.com
www.myspace.com/carlabruni

I know I already reviewed Carla Bruni’s debut album, Quelqu’un M’a Dit, but I wanted to revisit one of her tracks in relation with my trip to Vancouver. Before heading to the airport, I discovered and shared Bruni’s “Tout Le Monde,” knowing it would be the last thing posted for a week on my Facebook profile (yeah, serious business). It’s my favorite song right now as it reminds me of the moments I spent with my family in Vancouver, in limbo between employed and (what I would discover a week after returning) unemployed.

Vancouver is a pretty city. It’s got a great living balance between urban life and an appreciation for nature. They’re pretty good with keeping things green too (idling your car is a crime). The numerous mountains surrounding the pristine harbor create a really breathtaking view. And at night, lights high in the hills emit a row of faux stars floating above the city, confusing us for days until we finally figured out what they were.

Before I left, my friend, Elena, convinced me to write an essay for the book she’s publishing. I remember starting the essay in our dark hotel room, blessed with a view of Yaletown building lights. I started by writing about the quietness of the space – muffled street sounds perforated by rambunctious voices of late night revelers below – and included mentions of my parents, soundly asleep in the bed nearby. But I wasn’t able to finish the essay in Vancouver…

Just like the video, like going through a dark tunnel, is how one might describe traveling. When you’re in a plane, it’s as if you’re not a part of this world. You move between cities in a climate unique to your own. While it may be raining and dreary on the Earth’s surface, your existence above the clouds leaves you immune and bathed in sun or stars… in transition and above the storm.

My phone was off for a week. I don’t think I’ve ever had a phone off that long… No internet. No email. No Twitter. Totally free. It felt really nice. Checking my stream upon returning to the States was a little disheartening. I really don’t need to be hearing about the latest-upgrade-to-software-I’ll-never-use during all my waking hours, I discovered (no offense to you if that’s what you love to Tweet about). It was really nice being cut off. I can’t stress that enough.

I wasn’t able to finish the essay in Vancouver… Instead, I finished it after I returned, a few days after getting laid off. I think the multiple scenarios, time lapses and life situations in which the essay was being redrafted in really aided its development. It framed itself within a new perspective, reflected upon and transformed. And that it found completion during this period of uncertainty and confusion is particularly ironic given the focal topic of the essay project…

“Happiness.”

See the complete photo set: Facebook Photos – Vancouver
Read more about the places I visited: Yelp Reviews – Vancouver!

Paolo Nutini – "New Shoes" / Revisiting the past through pictures of old shoes…

Posted on October 18, 2009December 19, 2011 by Keane Li

www.paolonutini.com
www.myspace.com/paolonutini

I’ve enjoyed Paolo Nutini’s 2006 debut, These Streets for some time now but only recently felt compelled to write an entry on it. Overall, a fantastic set of songs, it’s gotten me through many an introspective day with bittersweet tracks like, “Last Request,” “Rewind” and “These Streets.”

As I was going through some old Yelp pictures, I saw a photo I took of my own shoes. I was instantly brought back to that day, what I was feeling and how different things are now. From this inspiration, I’ve revisited a collection of past moments, as told via shoe, to serve as a reminder that it’s about time I grab a new pair…

â˜œ For the past four years, I’ve pretty much only worn Onitsuka Tigers. I still remember the first pair my ex-girlfriend gave me back in (what must have been) 2005. They’re affordable, stylish and really lightweight. They don’t provide adequate cushioning for the avid walker, as I discovered in Boston two years ago, so I enhance them with inserts. A simple adjustment and it feels like I’m walking on clouds. (2 minutes ago)

Some friends of ours are hosting the Pig Eat Fest to benefit the San Francisco Food Bank at Lake Merced. Two giant roasting boxes are filled with large, free range, local, sustainable, organic, et cetera pigs. I eat more meat today than I have in awhile. (07.11.09) â˜ž

â˜ It’s Memorial Day Weekend. My original plan to fly to New York and spend the night wandering before flying back the next morning is foiled by the fact that all my friends there aren’t in town. Instead, my Family Plan sis, Tinna and I drive to Fort Bragg and leave our names (“keaneiscool“) in the sands of Glass Beach. Promptly after, Tinna shows the world that Keane, in fact, is not cool by stomping my name into sandy submission. (05.24.09)

I have to go to work on a Sunday?! Luckily, a couple of friends are coming along. We inadvertently discover the How Weird Street Faire right outside my office. It’s a nice surprise to spend the afternoon dancing in the streets with the slightly less ordinary. (05.10.09) â˜ž

â˜œ This is Truffles, a friend’s dog. We’re at Crissy Field, celebrating a birthday with a sunny view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I walked a long way here, not realizing how far it would be from my place, but was able to snap a lot of great photos along the way. (04.18.09)

Those of us far from home can always find warm comfort in Dolores Park during the holidays. And nothing says, “Happy Easter,” like beer swigging hipsters getting high on a Sunday afternoon. I’m pretty sure there’s a goat here too. There’s always a goat at Dolores Park… (04.12.09) â˜ž

â˜œ It’s February. My Italian friend, Veronica, has~~n’t~~ been to the Museum of Modern Art ~~yet, so~~ we decide to visit today while she is in the city. The special exhibit is one that requires participation. Goggles, gloves, nets and brooms – we try them all. After, I leave with a poster of a lone bird that I decide to hang on my bedroom wall. (02.08.09)

â˜œ I am in Hawaii. It’s just before Christmas and I’m visiting the Honolulu Academy of Art with my mom. It’s quiet and beautiful. I keep myself occupied by capturing photos to bring back as a gift for a friend. They are, to me, both elegantly sweet and sad. It feels like I’m stuck in time, with growing feelings that will eventually consume me for the rest of the following year. (12.20.08)

â˜ž I quit my job at the Federal Reserve Bank a month ago and have been backpacking down the East Coast since. I’ve been to Boston, New York, DC, Virginia Beach and Greensboro. Now I’m in New Orleans, on a ferry between the French Quarter and Algiers. I do not know that I will get an internship with Performer Magazine a month from now. I do not know that I will join The Conversation Group a month later. I do not know that I will get laid off from that same job two years after I start…

I do not know…

And thus, I do not care. (08.21.07)

Festizio – Yelp/OurStage Elite Event @ 111 Minna (02.22.08)

Posted on February 24, 2008December 19, 2011 by Keane Li

www.festizio.net
www.myspace.com/festizioband

When I was a kid, I dreamt of designing ambient restaurants with exotic food where people could escape into. I love art for similar reasons – a poignant painting reflects a refuge for the soul where one can get lost and disappear. 111 Minna exudes creativity and classy crowds, and thus it’s set apart from other bars in the nightlife scene.

(The only nametag I had on all night read, “Angela B.” That is, in fact, not my real name.)

The Yelp/OurStage Elite Event was obviously my best Minna experience (though I’m not complaining about the “Nude Girls” exhibit). Minna serves as an excellent music venue with a spacious and artistically decorated stage, and a separate bar area for more casual listeners.

(Someone threw a pair of women’s underwear on stage that had a mouth hole in the front. Dear You, where can I get more?)

A huge thank you to Jessica Morris of OurStage and Nish for the invitation, and to Jeremiah of Minna for the superb sound support. But really, it’s the brilliant Yelp Community that effectively stole the show.

(VIDEO: FESTIZIO BLOG)

If I could create just one beautiful escape for the world before I die, I’d be set.