San Diego’s El Ten Eleven, Portland’s Yourself and the Air, and NYC’s Michna visited SF’s Rickshaw Stop this past Friday as they rounded out their national tour with a few West Coast Dates. Now, the last time I saw the dudes from Yourself and the Air, I had to take a friend to the hospital in Eastern Washington via an after-party accident following their show with our own band Jacen Magnolia. Luckily, all is well now and nobody got hurt this time. Yourself and the Air also successfully replanted to Portland from Chicago. Rickshaw’s sound dude could’ve done a finer job, as Yourself’s overall mix was a bit muddy and leadman Erick Crosby’s vocals weren’t really done justice. But they still delivered a tight set, where I was reminded at their ability to simultaneous offer atmospheric, floating vibes coupled with driving, danceable rhythm.

Gears certainly changed when Michna followed up Yourself’s three-piece, straight forward rock set with a solo, electronic DJ set. This definitely mixed up the mood and, in my opinion, just demonstrated that the El Ten Eleven dudes just have large ears. Michna offered up a down-tempo, somewhat trip-hop instrumental set with a very impressive light show. It’s always enjoyable to nurse a cocktail with two pulsating light orbs and spirals of beams shooting through the venue. El Ten Eleven got a bit of a late start, but made up for it by hopping into their tunes quickly. El Ten’s attention to detail, technicality and post-rock musicianship are always amazing to watch live. It’s beyond me how Kristian Dunn manages and times all his loops. However, far beyond the typical math rock instrumentation, El Ten Eleven makes sure the music feels good and isn’t just a show-off contest. Tones and textures are always accounted for, and as band member Kristian noted, “we want girls to come to the shows too”.

[nggallery id=43]