This week holds big, anticipated-return shows like Local Natives at the Fox and Cody ChesnuTT at the Independent, new pairings like Adam Green and Binki Shapiro at the Chapel, an anniversary celebration at BAGel Radio’s locally curated Bottom of the Hill night with Mister Loveless and CHURCHES, legendary Malian offspring Vieux Farka Touré at Yoshi’s, and a possible faux listing (Jackie-O Motherfucker is supposedly playing Casa Sanchez).
Only time will tell. Go out, Bay Area music lovers, into the chilly night, and report back to us.
Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:
Cody ChesnuTT
The soul troubadour returns. Aside from his debut double-album, The Headphone Masterpiece (Ready Set Go), Roots collaboration, and brief 2010 EP Black Skin No Value (Vibration Vineyard), singer-songwriter Cody ChesnuTT just hasn’t been on the radar enough, given his powerful pipes. He brought it all back in late 2012, releasing socially-conscious soul gem, Landing on a Hundred (Redeye Label), which he’s touring on now.
Tue/29, 8pm, $15
Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF
www.theindependentsf.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAlAmbewaZo
Local Natives
“Local Natives stole our collective hearts in 2009 with their self-funded debut Gorilla Manor, an irresistible slice of unearthly folk rock, before cruelly fading into the background. Finally, four years later, they’ve resurfaced with a sophomore effort, Hummingbird. Though the Orange Country-bred group recorded the album in Brooklyn, the California sunshine still shines through its meandering, ethereal soundscapes. The band’s songs draw heavily from indie peers Grizzly Bear and Fleet Foxes, but manage to add a refreshing, summery glow to the reverb-heavy pop murk. The album, which was produced by Aaron Dessner of the National, promises to translate well to a live format, keeping the band’s trademarked harmonies in place while also allowing vocalist Kelcey Ayer’s dreamy falsetto to soar.” — Haley Zaremba
With Superhumanoids
Wed/30, 8pm, $25
Fox Theater
1807 Telegraph, Oakland
(510) 302-2250
www.thefoxoakland.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1dFjloBZYo
Jackie-O Motherfucker
[Disclaimer: I’ve found this show on two different punk listservs, yet nowhere else thus far. Got a call in to the shop.] Experimental, ’90s-born Portland act Jackie-O Motherfucker live at Mexican restaurant, Casa Sanchez, where I can also eat chips and salsa during the set? That’ll do just fine, thank you.
With You Nori, Cuttle Buttle, Baus.
Thu/31, 7:30pm, free
Casa Sanchez
2778 24 St, SF.
www.casasanchezfood.com
Brass Menažeri
The 12-year-old Balkan dance party band bids farewell at this final concert, with two live sets. Check this week’s issue (Wed/30) for more on the group’s demise.
Fri/1, 9pm, $15
New Parish
579 18th St., Oakl.
www.thenewparish.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twGgff89eno
BAGel Radio Anniversary Show
Ted Leibowitz has been doing Internet radio far longer than the majority of your favorite podcast hosts. His indie rock-oriented Internet radio station, BAGel Radio, is turning 10 this year. So the station founder-music director is throwing this show with local rock bands including Pixies-honoring Mister Loveless, angsty Churches, tender Birdmonster. A lineup worth showing up early for.
Fri/1, 9:30pm, $12
Bottom of the Hill,
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n990CcF_uuA
Adam Green and Binki Shapiro
“Opposites do attract. Adam Green is a so-called “anti-folk” Manhattanite with an extensive catalog of foul-mouthed, tongue-in-cheek ballads and admirably humble beginnings as Kimya Dawson’s counterpart in the Moldy Peaches. Binki Shapiro hails from LA, is a retro fashion icon and former member of Brazilian-American supergroup Little Joy, along with her ex-boyfriend and Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti. The duo’s vastly different backgrounds and musical leanings don’t seem compatible at first glance, but in practice they blend beautifully. During the writing of the record, both Green and Shapiro were going through romantic rough patches, which ultimately pushed the musicians to help write each other’s breakup albums, creating a finished product rife with earnestness and vulnerability.” — Haley Zaremba
With the Range of Light Wilderness
Sat/2, 9pm, $18
The Chapel
777 Valencia, SF
(415) 551-5157
www.thechapelsf.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrbeDDiU92g
Vieux Farka Touré
“It should be enough to say that Vieux Farka Touré follows the footsteps of his father, the late, Grammy-winning Ali, or that he’s known as “the Hendrix of the Sahara.” But not quite. In “Gido (featuring John Scofield)” — yes, of jazz-rock fame — an acoustic guitar expertly noodles in a Malian scale, a bend on an electric cues bass and drums, then the two guitars continue to converse. It’s tempting to fashion this into some metaphor about the melding of African music and Western rock, and though this wouldn’t be misplaced, the main takeaway from “Gido” and the whole album, The Secret (2011), is that it sounds great. As Yoshi’s will prove, Touré creates his own breed of music, and he does it well.” — Laura Kerry
With Markus James
Sun/3, 7pm, $25
Yoshi’s
1330 Fillmore, SF
(415) 655-5600
www.yoshis.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMI46WhdjRE