DARK CASTLE

Dark Castle from a show we booked for them in 2011 at 924 Gilman.

Photo Taylor Keahey

NEUROSIS

I’m back from our short road trip to Portland for the Neurosis, Tragedy, The Body, Atriarch show at the Roseland Theater.  The sun was shining when I arrived in PDX, although the temperature hovered between forty and fifty degrees for most of the day, which is cold by Bay Area standards.  That said, I zipped up my hoody and wandered around as much as possible prior to the show, eventually making it as far as Pok Pok for lunch, which was awesome.

 The show itself was worth the trip, especially for the Tragedy and Neurosis sets. I was so into both bands that I only attempted to snap one or two pics early during Tragedy’s set, which turned out blurry.  During Neurosis’ set I made a conscious decision to just be in the moment and enjoy the show.  Early on though I did notice that there were a couple of guys there with nice cameras taking photos, and I figured I’d just look them up online when I got back to the Bay.  This Neurosis photo is by Al Case, and you can find more of his photos from last Saturday night’s show on his blog: http://traveljapanblog.com/wordpress/

NEUROSIS

Here’s some live Neurosis from 1989, which may seem like a long time ago, but when you consider the history of this planet, twenty four and half years is but an indistinguishable blip on the timeline of human existence.

CALIFORNIA LOVE

California Love at the Oakland Metro in 2005. We really hustled to find a venue for this last minute show (two weeks notice or something like that), which we finally did at the original Oakland Metro location on Broadway, next to the porn shop. The bill also featured Iron Lung, Unpersons, and Laudanum. Photo by Lars

HIGH ON FIRE

HIGH ON FIRE live at the 40th Street Warehouse in 1999.  I miss this spot, especially the Nicholas Noisegate era of the warehouse, and I guess I miss living a block away from such an awesome space.  Aside from all the great bands (I once saw Dystopia and Talk Is Poison play impromptu sets at a Melt Banana show there), I remember attending some killer art shows at the 40th Street Warehouse that featured work from a bunch of my friends at the time, not to mention all the other cool stuff that went down there on any given night, not just weekends.  Someone posted a photo recently on Facebook from the last show ever at 40th Street, and I remember that bill featured a bunch of bands that probably wouldn't have been allowed to play there during the space's heyday, so in a way that was the perfect send off for a venue that always a little unpredictable.

ATRIARCH

We quickly cranked out this flier for the ATRIARCH show on May 25th at Gilman, and we'll be there to support the best show happening that night in the Bay Area.  If you haven't been to Gilman for a while, then this is a good bill to come back to since it's a departure from what the club's been doing the last couple of years.

NEUROSIS

On December 31, 2012 we attended an invite only NEUROSIS show / New Year's Eve party at the Oakland Metro.  Here's the announcement that appeared on the NEUROSIS Facebook page:

Neurosis shall perform live at the Metro Opera House in Oakland California on New Year's Eve, December 31st 2012 with special guests Kicker and Young Lions.

This will be a free show and almost all tickets have been issued as invite only. This is a gift from Neurosis to our friends, family and loyal supporters from the bay area to celebrate the spirit of sound that brought us together 27 years ago.

A small portion of the tickets have been made publicly available for pickup only, one per person, at two SF bay area locations. 

So, without getting into a full blown show review or critique of the night as a whole, let's just say that I was blown away by NEUROSIS' two hour set, which kicked off just after midnight and featured a great mix of music, old and new, even going as far back as 1992's "Souls At Zero" LP. Here's the set list from last Monday night's show.

I found a couple of videos online that were uploaded the day after, and I thought I'd post them here just to give you a sense of how things looked and sounded at the Oakland Metro. I'm certain that more videos will go up in the coming days and weeks, and I'll do my best to add a few more here as well. 

 The first video (from top to bottom) is "We All Rage In Gold", followed by "Through Silver In Blood".

Update 5.3.13:

YOB at 924 Gilman (Full Set)

In the summer of 2011, UGZ Presents breezed back into 924 Gilman and booked three shows: RORSCHACH, YOB, and POISON IDEA.  It felt good to be out there again, flyering telephone poles, record stores, tattoo shops, bars, houses, etc. - not just online, although we did that shit too.  All three shows were great, averaging around 350 paid, with PI topping out closer to 400. Guarantees were met, bills were paid, and itches scratched. 


Thanks to killthatcat.com for filming and uploading YOB's set in it's entirety.

HIGH ON FIRE

The first single from the new HIGH ON FIRE album "De Vermis Mysteriis".

Black Dahlia

Throwback Thursday: UGZ #15 meets the Black Dahlia, aka Elizabeth Short, at the Mountain View Cemetery in 2004.

BIRUSHANAH at Gilman 2008

BIRUSHANAH is an experimental metal band from Osaka, Japan that UGZ Presents had the pleasure of working with at 924 Gilman in 2008. The band was brought to our attention first by Carl Auge, who was playing in DRAIN THE SKY at the time. Most of the credit for the experimental nature of this bill definitely goes to Nathan Carson from Nanotear Booking.

DARK CASTLE at Gilman 2011

Here's a song from Florida's DARK CASTLE, who co-headlined one of the best bills we've ever had a hand in putting together. All of the bands were so good, from WORM OUROBOROS to DISPIRIT to YOB. It was also UGZ Presents first show at 924 Gilman in over a year.

MAX MONTEZ | 924 GILMAN 25TH ANNIVERSARY

My interview with Gilman's current Co-Head of Booking took place at 924 Gilman on October 15, 2011.

CORRUPTED

CORRUPTED live at 924 Gilman in 2008, shot by Dan Hashthrash. One of those shows that made it all seem worthwhile.

NO STATIK

NO STATIK live at 924 Gilman on September 16th, 2011. This was their final song of a killer set, supporting another great band in RORSCHACH. Also on the bill were NEEDLES and BRAINOIL!

YOB - Live At Gilman

Here's a video of YOB playing "Ball Of Molten Lead" from their 2004 release The Illusion Of Motion at last Saturday's Gilman show. This clip comes to us courtesy of Corin, Dan, and KIll That Cat.

DISPIRIT

YOB

After taking more than year off from our booking duties at 924 Gilman, UGZ Presents returned on August 6th, 2011 with a bill consisting of some of the best bands on the planet. From top to bottom we had YOB, DARK CASTLE, DISPIRIT, and WORM OUROBOROS, and unfortunately for you if you're just finding out about this now on August 9th, you missed it. While it's not the same as actually seeing these amazing bands live, we will be posting videos and photos from last Saturday night here for your perusement.

To start things off, check out this live review of YOB, DARK CASTLE, DISPIRIT, and WORM OUROBOROS at 924 Gilman courtesy of CVLT Nation, and featuring some great live shots from the SF Sludge blogspot: http://www.cvltnation.com/yob-dark-castle-dispirit-worm-ouroboros-live-at-gilman/