Day Schedule
for Sat, September 05, 2009
[Return to calendar]

At Slim's:
333 11th Street
San Francisco, California

Wire Train / Translator
Debora Iyall (Romeo Void)
Benjamin Bossi (Romeo Void - he will be performing a special acoustic set)
DJ Choice

Showtime: 8:30 PM (Doors: 8:00 PM)
Ticket price: $26
Tickets available on-line at: slimstickets.com
All Ages 6 and Over

***PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SHOW WILL NOW START AT 8:30PM***

Wire Train was originally formed as the Renegades in April 1983 in San Francisco. The band signed to the local 415 Records label, also home to acts like Translator and Romeo Void, all of which found themselves with a national distribution deal when 415 entered into a deal with Columbia Records. Wire Train's first album, "In a Chamber," made the national charts in 1984, as did its second "Between Two Words" in 1986 and fifth "No Soul No Strain" in 1993. Brian MacLeod replaced Federico Gil Sola for the second album, and Kurt Herr left during the making of "Between Two Words," to be replaced by Jeff Trott for their third album, "Ten Women," which also charted in 1987. The group's, "Wire Train" (1990) and "No Soul No Strain" (1992), appeared on MCA Records. In 1993 MCA rejected their sixth effort "Snug" as "too weird." Subsequently it has been released as a digital download through iTunes and Amazon in April 2009.

Inspired by the Beatles, the four-piece Translator featured two singer/songwriter/guitarists (Steve Barton and Bob Darlington) and a sound that spanned Merseybeat and stripped-down rock to psychedelia. Larry Dekker on bass and Dave Scheff on drums completed the lineup, a constant during the band's initial seven-year run, as well as for their sporadic, post-breakup reunion appearances. Formed in Los Angeles in 1979, Translator relocated to San Francisco where they were signed to Howie Klein's independent label, 415 Records, on the strength of the demo tape they sent to college radio station KUSF; the loose and rambling yet laconic "Everywhere That I'm Not" remained the band's signature tune.

The song was featured on Translator's debut album "Heartbeats and Triggers" (415/Columbia, 1982), which was produced by David Kahne and became an underground and college radio hit, though its 1983 follow-up, the Kahne-produced "No Time Like Now," didn't fare as well. Breaking away from a tight new wave formula and finding a simpatico producer in Ed Stasium, the band created a lush third album simply titled "Translator" (1985).

As the decade wore on, they increasingly explored psychedelia, and live shows became three-hour affairs filled with traditional San Francisco rock-style jamming. "Evening of the Harvest" (1986) was the sound of a mature band and their most realized statement to date, as it fused rock with the band's increasingly nuanced side. And yet, it signaled their end. That year Columbia issued "Everywhere That I'm Not: A Retrospective"; two more CD retrospectives "Translation" (Oglio, 1995) and "Everywhere That We Were: The Best of Translator" (Columbia Legacy, 1996) followed, and the band took some brief shots at reuniting in 1993 and in 1995. In 1996, ten years after their official breakup, the band was paid its highest compliment when Beatles fans mistook their take of the instrumental "Cry for a Shadow" for a new recording by the Fab Four from the "Anthology" sessions (in fact it was an old Translator B-side). Translator continued to reunite on occasion, and Barton also worked as a solo recording artist. In 2006 Translator appeared at the annual SXSW festival in Austin, TX, where their tight, stripped-down rock of the '80s sounded right in line with the 21st century's back-to-basics rock. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide

***After tonight's show head down the block to New Wave City at the DNA Lounge! Show your ticket stub from the show for 2-for-1 admission!***

***As part of the Bay Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project, the Bay Bridge will be closed in both directions over Labor Day weekend 2009 in order for Caltrans to perform seismic safety work on a section of the bridge slightly east of Yerba Buena Island. The closure will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 3, and the bridge will reopen by 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8.

This work will impact traffic coming into and going out of San Francisco and Oakland over the long weekend. As Caltrans provides more information about the closure and travel alternatives, 511.org will keep you updated with the latest information.***