Ha Vay headlines a three-stack of indie rock chantoozers at Neck of the Woods on Saturday, 22 April 2023.

Hump Day News goes West to San Francisco.

Hump Day News landed in foggy San Francisco to cover a short spate of shows. Can we shake off our East Coast bias and hear with fresh ears what sound sounds like on the other side of the continent?

It’s indie music in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge, not gamelans in Gambia. Not a problem. Musicians and clubs hit the same beats in San Francisco as they do in Boston: social media promotion (“ticket link in bio!”), bored door guys, too many IPAs on the beer list, peeved sound techs, friends and family who leave right after Jenny or Johnny or Josie performs.

Still, there’s a hint of something different in the air blowing through the bones of Alcatraz. Even with all the bloody carnage wrought within the city limits by Silicon Valley bozos, there’s a space for San Francisco bohos. Hump Day News broke out the notepad and knocked back a few beers to find out…

And what a day to do it for music lovers: Record Store Day 2023!

Does the day make you giddy with excitement or do you groan with regret? What began as a well-intentioned, one-day commercial bonanza for hardworking record stores morphed, at some point, into a tackier affair. Vinyl tourists flock to mobbed shops in the hopes of purchasing a “Record Store Day”-exclusive release. Maybe to sell at an inflated price on eBay later? It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

The good news is that the shark has been jumped so decisively that record stores, artists, and labels have wised up. Exclusive releases still arrive on the day of days, but they don’t flood the market, and there’s more wheat than chaff. The wheel might be turning around to make Record Store Day fun again!

Here’s the deal though: Record Store Day (along with Hump Day) Is Every Day.

Don’t let some jerkoff on eBay tell you otherwise…

Emma Gerson

The solo acoustic opener Emma Gerson played pop Americana in the key of Lana Del Rey. August vocals, syruped with a little reverb, told tales of love and loss. Shout out to the “Supernova” song.

Kacie Hill

The first full band of the evening dialed up the country.

We’re not talking big hair and rhinestones out of Nashville, it’s still San Francisco after all. But there were enough shades of rustic twang in the four-piece to soundtrack a truck commercial.

Frontwoman Kacie Hill maintained an upbeat, laid back demeanor as she led her terminally chipper backing band though a mix of originals and covers, including an Alabama Shakes number.

Ha Vay

The headliner Ha Vay brought a dreamy, foggy four-piece to the stage. The bones of the band were straight Americana, but the soul of their sound had spookier wyrd folk textures. The frontwoman has a haunting specter of a voice, peeling off ethereal runs over buoyant and brooding melodies. Listen to one of her latest releases “Avalanches and Unfamiliar Ways To Die.”

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