Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Sizzle

Nina Kraviz spun early into the a.m.

Christopher Victorio

The Magnetic Fields were a bit too mellow.

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• Bill Graham
• Mistah F.A.B.
• Rush Limbaugh
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Concerts and Tours

• S.F.'s Icee Hot party brought in Muscovite DJ Nina Kraviz for one of its largest parties ever on Saturday, and the resulting crowd filled dancefloors upstairs and down. Not all the DJ sets were successful, but Kraviz's headlining performance was. She started off with rudimentary techno, then worked into a set of long blends and EQ-tweaking that had devotees working it out past 3:30 a.m.

• Australian pop singer Gotye's show moved from the 500-capacity Independent to the 8,000-capacity Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. That's a huge leap — and it's never happened before, according to show promoter Another Planet Entertainment. Gotye's April 14 Saturday Night Live performance was the impetus for the move, but it remains to be seen whether he can sell out Bill Graham as quickly as he sold out a club 16 times smaller.

• In a revealing conversation, indie-folk singer Ani DiFranco defended political songs, explained how being a mother has changed her work habits, and called Rush Limbaugh "dark-hearted." "The middle of the road these days is fucking fascist if you ask me," DiFranco said, reminding us why she's still a radical hero long into her career.

Fizzle

• The Magnetic Fields demonstrated that all the wit in the world won't make up for a too-mellow show. Over two hours at the Fox Theater, Stephin Merritt's band played live at a volume that wouldn't offend his damaged left ear. But the band's acoustic versions felt drained of the adventurism that makes its recordings so interesting.

• Responding to a national tragedy, Oakland rapper Mistah F.A.B. immortalized Trayvon Martin in "God Don't Love Me." The track highlights F.A.B.'s talent for compassionate rhyme: "The whole world wanna talk about Kony," he spits in a Tupac-reminiscent cadence. "But ain't nobody speakin' on the little homie."

• All those rock songs you love? Lots of 'em were stolen. After Springsteen admitted as much at SXSW, we went looking for lesser-known pilfered tunes and found 'em in the catalogs of the White Stripes, Nirvana, Green Day, Elastica, and more. The thievery in rock's back pages is shameless.