Tuesday night’s sirens echoing through the Mission were coming out of The Chapel, currently one of the Mission’s hottest venues for live music. The sirens were all part of a song (“Gangsta”) and a dazzling performance by the Oakland-based band Tune-Yards.
Sponsored by Converse, the band crossed the Bay to present new songs from its upcoming album “Nikki Nack,” the follow-up of the 2011 “Whokill.” And they were not the only creative East Bay force invading the Mission Tuesday night. Both pre-bands —The Tambo Rays from Oakland, as well as Berkeley-based producer and electronic songwriter Yalls — demonstrated why so many think of Oakland as “the new Mission.”
The sibling-led combo Tambo Rays delivered solid indie-chill pop. Dan Casey — better known under his artist name “Yalls” — filled The Chapel’s holy hall with hypnotizing beats, dreamy lyrics and enticing hooks.
Despite great performances by Tambo Rays and Yalls, it was pretty obvious who the 250-300 fans — including a fair number of children — came to see.
The venue filled up relatively late, and the best both pre-bands got out of the crowd was a sympathetic nod here and there. This changed halfway through Tune-Yard’s set.
When Tune-Yards entered, it was clear that a lot has changed since San Francisco last saw them: The saxophone players supporting the core-band members Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner have been replaced by two (very talented) vocalists, and the otherwise so Tune-Yards-typical looping pedal was very sparsely called into action — mostly for old songs of which there were few.
Except for “Powa,” “Bizness” and “Gangsta,” the set exclusively consisted of new tracks. It was everything but a loss: Merrill Garbus’ alluring voice has not changed a bit, and with the rhythmic section as dominant as ever, the new Tune-Yards sounded fresh, dynamic and, above all, happy to be back on the stage.
The fourth photo — it’s “Bizness,” not “Powa.”
Thanks for the tip, corrected it!