Image by Camille Ikalina-Robles
Annuals' San Francisco gig fuels the fire inside
June 7, 2008, at Cafe Du Nord
By Camille Ikalina-Robles
Published: June 9th, 2008 | 2:12pm
Annuals remind me of why I love music, with their soaring melodies that dance within bizarre and often cloaked imagery, and their intense percussion that makes me feel like my heart stopped beating, with only the constant hit of the snare to remind me that I’m still alive. It's easy to get lost in the pure beauty of it all, only to have Adam Baker’s voice bring my feet back down to earth again.
Too many times we find a band provocative and enticing through the cords of our headphone speakers, but more often than not a band seldom lives up to that in a live show. We live in a time where there’s plenty of everything. But after seeing Annuals live for the first time, I know now that their talent exists well beyond the limits of my iPod.
Cafe Du Nord is a special venue. If you’ve gotten to see a band on this stage, then chances are you’ve been on the cusp of some amazing musical discoveries. Sometimes I am surprised at who I’ve been lucky enough to see at this spectacularly intimate venue; often, it’s a band or musician on the verge of success. It’s the place where you stand in awe of a group you’ve just discovered and wonder, “How does everyone not know about them yet?”
Before Annuals took the stage, it was hard to imagine how six band members, two keyboards, and two drum kits were going to fit on this teeny, tiny platform two feet off the ground. From the beginning, vocalist Baker and guitarist Kenny Florence rocked with such intensity that it seemed they were only inches from knocking each other off the stage. “Complete, or Completing” opened the set, followed soon by two new songs, “Around Your Neck” and “Sore” from the Wet Zoo EP (Canvas Back). Mike Robinson and Anna Spence headed up bass and keys, respectively, while Donzel Radford and Zack Oden handled drums and percussion. “Sway,” “Carry Around,” and “Brother” represented Annuals’ 2006 full-length, Be He Me (Ace Fu).
Close to the end of the set, Baker whispered an enthusiastic “Finally!” to the crowd, as he eagerly jumped behind the drum kit for “Ease My Mind.” After all, doesn’t everyone dream about being a drummer? Utter chaos ensued as the band raised the energy level to new heights, an intensity that flowed right into “Hot Night Hands” to close the set.
As people made their way out of the club, the glorious buzz of witnessing such chaotic beauty was still tingling the ends of my fingertips. In the coolness of the air outside and the warmth brewing inside, I was gloriously reminded how great music can make someone feel so alive.
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