Kate at Comic-Con

Kate Izquierdo gives her thoughts on Comic Con San Diego 2008, and shares with us a slew of pictures she took at the event. Above, Lucasfilm's Bonnie Burton models the latest in Leiaware.

Well, what can I tell you? This is my first Comic-Con and the point that all the veteran attendees were trying to make has stuck: it’s like every other other Con on steroids. The costumes, the squarefootage, the star power - everything is exponentially huge-ified. While this is wonderful from a l33t geek consumer perspective (I purchased four t-shirts in two hours and haven’t even made it to the toys yet) it’s decidedly not so wonderful when you have to bypass big movie debuts because of the massive lines. By around 3pm you can see the weeping children, the smeared facepaints, the fighting Hans and Leias, and the floors littered with exhausted program clutching nerds.

But we geeks are a strong, resilient people. We will inhale our candy bars, suck down a 32oz beverage and slap our plastic helmets back on our heads. We will sally forth to toil thru bins of Golden Age comics, to drool over display cases crammed with new toys, and to get friendly with scantily clad superheroines. As for me, any trace of fatigue I had dissipated with the sight of the new Watchmen figures. Rorschach, people. I get to own a Rorschach. It’s almost too cool to bear. Out in the real world we might have to defend our passions to non-believers, but at Comic-Con more than anywhere else, Geek is King. Stay tuned - I’ll take as many pics as I can out there on the front lines.

To see Kate’s entire collection of photos from Comic Con, head over to her Comic Con gallery on Flickr.

This Geek Monthly piece originally appears here.

Erykah Badu

An everywoman at war: Erykah Badu lets her 'fro, freak flag, and activist colors fly

Erykah Badu disappeared for a bit, taking her musical incantations and majestic head wraps on a retreat into motherhood. In 2006, she flitted back onto the mainstream radar in Dave Chappelle's Block Party, a concert film that takes place in a Brooklyn neighborhood and includes the comedian's closest muso pals. Badu's appearance stops the hustle and bustle of the event cold with her tiny frame and a huge glorious Afro, which blows off during her duet with Jill Scott during the Roots number "You Got Me." The movie audience I was with that day gasped in admiration as Badu let her trademark locks sail away while she continued to sing, her head and soul apparent for all to see — a diva whose resplendence and power does not rest on borrowed plumage alone.

Back then searching out Badu's whereabouts led to a stripped-down MySpace page with a selection of songs off her 2003 EP, Worldwide Underground (Motown/Island), and not much else. At one point an old press release showed up, but interjected between the normal publicist-speak were "additions" in block capital letters, which were gentle mockeries of her multiplatinum accomplishments and declarations about "paying bills" and other roadblocks appearing in her life. Her words had the feel of new life forcing its way up through the old. Two years on, that same page is a tricked-out site to behold: a dizzying pastiche of acid-rock tableaus and neo-propagandist political imagery that bears Badu's likeness — many a result of an art contest held for her fans. It was here that she chose to debut many tracks from her new album, New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War (Universal/Motown).more

Allen Oldies Band

The Allen Oldies Band delivers a reckless tornado of classic hits, a retro dance party of Sham-tastic proportions. But don't make the mistake of considering this Austin, Texas, ensemble a mere cover band. The Oldies have amassed a cult following built on the strength of a talented group of classic session players, sprinkled with a heavy dose of punk-pit sensibility. They have punctuated the beginning of South by Southwest in their hometown with an infamous 9:30 a.m. breakfast shindig replete with French maids serving jalapeño pancakes. They will play literally anywhere — but they will not play just anything. From "Wooly Bully" to "It's Not Unusual," the Oldies are resolute in their mission to bring the dance tunes of yesteryear to your doorstep.

Allen Hill dreamed up this raucous, plaid-blazer-clad army of fun. Hill is a bit of a musical raconteur, a de facto spokesperson for the retro Austin scene who fronts his own combo with feverish enthusiasm and wisecracks. Wearing a tuxedo and tennis shoes, Hill rushes from one end of the stage to the other, employing a tongue-in-cheek goofiness with the group and the audience, recalling Louis Prima at his best. Always looking to spread the message of party rock, the Oldies are no strangers to either the wedding or corporate event circuit — please book three months in advance — and have played backing ensemble to the likes of Chuck Berry and Archie Bell. Lest their paying gigs sound too staid, the Oldies have the indie cred of a live WMFU album, Live and Delirious (Freedom, 2006). While their trips outside the Lone Star State are not as frequent as their fans would like, they are finally set to grace our fair city with a dose of hyperactive twistin' tunes.

ALLEN OLDIES BAND With the Barbary Coasters. Fri/16, 9:30 p.m., $6.

Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923, Hemlock Tavern
Written for the SFBG

Elbow

What kind of universe renders the joys of love as equal parts worry and wonder?

"Darling, is this love?" asks Elbow's Guy Garvey quietly in the middle of "Starlings." He is answered by a deafening blast of horns, an apocalyptic brass rejoinder meant to warn the world of an oncoming storm of romantic uncertainty. What kind of universe renders the joys of love as equal parts worry and wonder? One that has fallen in and out of obsession — a planet of newly born babies, lost lovers, and fallen friends. Elbow brings this cast of characters and plots to life with Seldom Seen Kid (Polydor), its first album in three years, a study in carefully crafted atmospherics that intrigue without descending into melodrama.

Elbow began 17 years ago when the members met in college at Bury, England. They moved to Manchester and proceeded to release a series of critically lauded EPs before offering up 2001's Asleep in the Back (V2) followed by Cast of Thousands (V2, 2004) and Leaders of the Free World (Fiction/Geffen) in 2005. Along the way, the group became famous for clever, multilayered orchestral pop music and the evocative storytelling of Garvey's lyrics. For Seldom Seen Kid — a tribute to late singer-songwriter and friend of the band Brian Glancy — Elbow created the album on its own in a Salford, England, studio, giving production credits to keyboard player Craig Potter.more

NoisePop 2008: Cursive

The group Cursive doesn't play indie rock – they reconfigure it, tearing melodies to pieces with sharp cello parts and stitching them back together with swelling guitar riffs. The Omaha-born quartet has spent the better part of eight years crafting a turbulent, orchestral rock that blooms, rumbles, and lurches to multiple pregnant pauses. But lest you peg them for precious artistes, Cursive's lyrics have a depth and directness that steer you straight. As lead singer Tim Kasher warns in their song "Art is Hard," "the art of acting weak" is part of an indie mythos that serves "to boost your CD sales." With their acerbically twisted morality tales and chaotically scored tunes, Cursive have become a cornerstone of rarified pop.

In the normal scheme of things, getting to open for the Cure -- a band Cursive have been favorably compared to more than once -- could arguably be called a career highlight. Acclaim from national magazines for their 2003 album The Ugly Organ (Saddle Creek) wouldn't be too shabby either. But back in 2004, after four albums and relentless touring, the members of Cursive were fried. "It was kind of like, 'maybe this is a good time to stop' because we'd been doing it for so long," remembers bassist Matt Maginn. "Ugly Organ's success was a surprise
for us. We had to get our heads clear." more

NoisePop 2008: Judgement Day

Judgement Day has arrived, and it sounds like ... stringmetal. For the uninitiated, stringmetal happens when you get a classically trained violinist (Aaron Patzner) who has worked with the likes of Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Audrye Sessions together with his classically trained cellist brother (Lewis Patzner), both of whom love deep, dark metal. After being forged in the heat of busking sessions on the streets of Berkeley, the band became a trio with the addition of drummer Jon Bush. Kings of arpeggiated madness, Judgement Day will soon be sawing away at a club near
you. more

NoisePop 2008: Darker My Love

Hailing from LA, Darker My Love is the sound of a fuzzed-out psych-rock dream seen through black sunglasses. With distorted guitars and echo-y, disaffected lyrics, the band generates layers of static and dissonant fog that envelope the steeliest of non-believers. For all their laidback behavior, however, they're an entertaining bunch who -- if you believe their Darker My Dudes blog -- enjoy driving convertibles into chain pasta restaurants and opening up for the Jesus and Mary Chain. Automotive mishaps aside, Darker My Love brings a rock that is sometimes shadowy and gritty, keeping them a tremolo bar above the rest. more