Music lover's celebration comes to San Francisco
By Nate Seltenrich
The 11th annual Noise Pop Festival will take place in San Francisco from Feb. 25 through Mar. 2. The festival, which brings together a diverse range of indie rock outfits, will feature over 80 bands this year.
Headliners include Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, The Donnas, Cat Power, Hot Rod Circuit, Imperial Teen, No Knife and a rare appearance by the reunited Camper Van Beethoven.
The various performances will make use of nine venues in San Francisco, including Slim's, the Great American Music Hall, Bottom of the Hill and The Fillmore.
"I think it's awesome," says Hot Rod Circuit's Andy Jackson of Noise Pop. "I love any kind of festival."
His band will be performing on both Friday and Saturday nights at Bottom of the Hill along with Tsunami Bomb, with whom he says he is especially excited to perform.
Hot Rod Circuit has integrated two nights at Noise Pop into its first headlining tour. "We're going out to see what we're worth as a band," says Jackson. Hot Rod's two appearances at the festival will play an important part in helping them to assess how they fit into the indie rock scene.
This year also marks the fourth year that the Noise Pop Film Festival will supplement the musical offerings with 13 films and videos that explore the connection between music and video. Indie heroes the Pogues, the Pixies, Sonic Youth and the Bouncing Souls are each featured in a film. Other films present such topics as the alternative ukulele scene and a schoolteacher who sings about Canada.
"We look for films about music that we think the Noise Pop audience would like to see, and also try to throw in some unusual shorts and documentaries that might be of interest to that group," comments Noise Pop Film Festival Co-Curator Nick Tangborn.
Tickets for screenings are $7 and will be available at the door on the night of each show.
The festival has expanded considerably since its humble beginnings in 1993 at the hands of local music fanatic Kevin Arnold. The first Noise Pop featured five bands in one club on one night, but was met with so much enthusiasm from bands and fans alike that Arnold knew he had to do it again.
Over the years, the festival has featured such talents as the White Stripes, Jimmy Eat World and Modest Mouse.
According to Noisepop.com, the festival's highly successful philosophy is actually quite simple: "the focus is on the fans. It's a music-lover's celebration: the shows sell out, people have fun and every year the event grows a little bigger."
This year's festival is sponsored by a number of businesses and organizations, but perhaps most notable is Noise Pop' s recent alliance with the Experience Music Project. The festival has teamed up with EMP, an interactive music museum in Seattle, as part of its mission to actively engage in music education.
Noise Pop also offers a free educational series that includes five presentations with topics ranging from Entertainment Law to help with touring.
"Noise Pop is distinguished from other festivals by its sheer size and focus," says Nick Tangborn. "I can't think of another festival in the U.S. that's as consistent in booking, as focused on a specific kind (and quality) of music and as concentrated."
For more detailed information about Noise Pop and event times, places and costs, visit www.noisepop.com.