Musical Vagabond: California Dreamin' - Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers @ Fillmore West

So I’m sitting at home writing this post, seriously California dreamin’. I understand why all the hippies in the ‘60s wrote so frequently about the joys of California and wishing they were there. California is one of my favorite places on earth, specifically San Francisco. There aren’t many places in the world more unique, more beautiful or more awesome than San Francisco, and this is why it’s my favorite city in the world. I had been before as a child for the first time and came back years later in college to watch University of Maryland play in the Emerald Bowl at the San Francisco Giants stadium (what is wrong with this picture?). Several years later, my cool cat father and I took the trip of a lifetime and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to San Diego, stopping at all the Major League Baseball stadiums and other breathtaking sights along the way. I truly fell in love with California that trip, but my most recent trip there solidified that yes, I indeed need to live there one day.

After meeting Erika at Bonnaroo 2013, I knew immediately we were friends/soulmates/partners-in-crime. We got drunk at Walk the Moon, discovered Nicki Bluhm, painted each other’s faces, and most importantly, washed each other’s hair after long nights in the Tennessee sun and cooking in the sauna that were the camping tents. In a word, we were inseparable. Although I’m sad that we don’t live in the same city, I was beyond stoked when I found out she was moving to San Francisco. I would definitely be visiting.

BONNAROOOOOOOO

I was finally able to visit San Francisco the last weekend of January 2014. Having essentially the exact same mind, she was way ahead of me when she informed me that Nicki Bluhm would be performing at the legendary Fillmore West Theatre. This trip (and this concert) were going to be awesome for so many reasons.

I arrived in San Francisco on a Thursday night, and I was finally reunited with my Bonnaroo partner-in-crime. The universe was again as it should be. I knew the trip was off to a good start when Erika and I made the wise decision to welcome me to San Francisco at the diviest of dive bars in the SoMa neighborhood. This bar was complete with pool tables, satanic porn art graffiti, west coast hipsters and Disney love songs remixed with rap. I think I made it to the promised land (I had this epiphany several times during my trip – I think it’s a telling revelation).

My first full day in San Francisco was a day of wandering and sightseeing. The food mecca of San Francisco, the Ferry Building, gave me the best seafood I’ve had in a while (and mutant seagulls). We wandered over to Fisherman’s Wharf – not for the overpriced tourist SWAG, but for the largest collection of sea lions I’ve ever seen. We walked to Ghiradelli for some free sundaes and to the Marina for some delicious strawberry cocktails and beautiful views (I don’t mean the men at what is called fondly by San Franciscans, the ‘Dateway’). Dinner consisted of BALLER Chinatown food, more dive bars and San Francisco history lessons from surfer BRAHs on Polk Street.

Us on San Francisco Bay!

The following day was my favorite of all and one I look back on with the distinct thought that San Francisco is where I belong. Today was the day I would return to my mecca – Haight-Ashbury – and see Nicki Bluhm in a musical institution. What was not to like? Especially considering I was wearing a tank top in January. We started with breakfast tacos in the Mission District (BREAKFAST TACOS?! AM I BACK IN AUSTIN! THIS IS HEAVEN!) and bottomless-ish mimosas. From there, we walked to one of the best places on earth – Dolores Park. This a park in the middle of San Francisco, filled with hippies to families to frat boys on the weekends. Picture the lawn of a concert venue – people on blankets with picnics, Frisbees, some harmless experimenting. Then take away the concert. This was just a giant lawn of people loving life and California sunshine. Erika and I made some new friends from inland California who offered us beverages, serenaded us with ukuleles, and offered friendly games of Frisbees. Dolores is notorious (or beloved by locals, as I see it) by a wonderful human being named the Truffle Man. He sells tasty edibles out of his truck and in San Francisco, business is GOOD. He was not there on this particular Saturday, BUT we did see a lovely young lady dressed in a Bavarian beer goddess outfit, selling edibles out of a wooden basket – pretty awesome.

In the meantime, we secured our Nicki Bluhm tickets and wandered over to Haight-Ashbury – those hills ain’t no joke. We sat in a local institution in the Haight, Squat and Gobble, and reenergized with some grub and most importantly, mucho amounts of coffee. We were able to go into a few thrift shops and other hemp-centric stores in the Haight before it was time for us to head to the Fillmore.

Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers hail from the Bay Area, so as hometown heroes, Erika and I were excited to hear the show sold out for several reasons. It is an honor to sell out the Fillmore because the venue will print a concert poster for every patron and pass them out at the end of the show, and frame one of the posters and post it in the Fillmore’s version of a Hall of Fame of sold out shows. Nicki Bluhm was in great San Francisco company in this department – Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield, and so on. I was in AWE. The tradition for sold out shows at the Fillmore continues with the venue giving out free apples when patrons enter the venue – we took advantage.

The venue was packed but Erika and I got a nice spot on stage right. The crowd was a combination of old and new San Franciscans, proud of their homegirl. The show opened with a local band named Goodnight, Texas – a great band with an impressive acoustic set. They showcased folk sensibilities combined with Irish and bluegrass sounds. Their set consisted mainly of classic folk ballads, which was refreshing to hear without the drum-heavy and chanting common in today’s folk scene.

After such a mellow set, the crowd was ready to rock out with Nicki and the Gramblers. Nicki Bluhm and her band made their mark on YouTube with some Van Sessions videos, consisting of Nicki singing and playing childhood instruments and her band playing ukuleles and singing cover songs. Below is an example of their greatness:

Nicki came on stage looking like a true San Francisco goddess in a fitted black dress and her signature bangs. She is officially my style hero with her effortless California style and persona. They rocked the house and then some. This is probably one of the most utopian shows I've ever experienced. Nicki Bluhm identifies with "girl singers" - chick lead singers in a band of men. She's in good company if you ask me - Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane anyone?

In the middle of her set, she made the ultimate gesture to her hometown by covering "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane. SHE IS GRACE SLICK. It's incredible. I was in too much shock to take a video of this moment in the show as everyone was going insane, but here's a vid so you can see how awesome she is:

She very much falls into the category of rocker chicks like Grace Slick and Stevie Nicks, and more current rocker chicks like Grace Potter. I find her band, the Gramblers, to be similar to Grace Potter's band, the Nocturnals, with a bit of a funkier, folksy vibe. She covers other heroes like Linda Ronstadt:

Her originals are just as fun, funky and empowering - this is one of hers called "I'm Your Woman":

Erika and I rocked our faces off, forgetting about how much our feet were killing us and ended the night on a fabulous note. We got our posters, another apple and cabbed home delirious and euphoric.

I wasn't in San Francisco long this time around, but I will absolutely be back. Hopefully for an extended period of time.

Erika & I at Mission Street brunch!