The Blind Shake: Live In San Francisco [Album Review]

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blind-shake-live-in-san-francisco The Blind Shake
Live In San Francisco
Castle Face Records [2015]

ratings3_5







Fire Drill Album Review: The seventh entry in Castle Face’s Live in San Francisco series features Minneapolis trio The Blind Shake, who specialize in their own unique style of “take no prisoners” sonic fury. Equal parts garage and noise, with some surf elements thrown in, this band is white hot live. The ten tracks presented here in pristine audio (and recorded over the same stretch of shows as the OBN III’s excellent Live in San Francisco LP) serves as both a handy introduction to the band, as well as being a supremely excellent live document of what must have been one hell of a good time. I didn’t know much about this band going in to this one, but much like the entries in this series from Destruction Unit and the aforementioned OBN III’s, I left a fan after hearing it a few times. I must warn you though, if you don’t like to rock out and have fun, maybe you should just avoid this record all together. So don’t be a stick in the mud, check this one out!



The Blind Shake Website
The Blind Shake Facebook
Castle Face Records

– Reviewed by Kevin Poindexter

Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, I am extremely proud of the area I grew up in and the influence it has had on the world at large, from the Wright Brothers to Robert Pollard, the area has been a center of innovation both technologically and artistically. During my college years at the University of Dayton, I found myself becoming more and more immersed in the local music scene, a period of time in the early to mid 90's that coincided with the rise of bands like Guided by Voices, Brainiac, and The Breeders, who added to the rich musical legacy of the area. Dayton is also the hometown of many giants of funk in the 70's and is also the birthplace of Jazz greats Billy Strayhorn, John Scofield and Bud Shank. I wrote extensively for The Fire Note, a great online magazine focused on indie rock, in the 2010's while simultaneously being a partner in Rockathon Records, before retiring from both in 2018. In 2024, my thoughts turned back to helping at Rockathon and more importantly to pick back up on my writing, and more specifically to write about my love of jazz. I'm always listening, always searching for something new, something great. It's been a lifelong journey, and I still feel like there is so much out there to hear.

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