FALL ARTS There are so many things competing for your precious time: long lines for pricey gourmet coffee, civic responsibilities and volunteer work, actual work, glazed fake cronuts or whatever the kids are into these days. Make live music a priority as well — your days will float by on a pink cloud of fuzzy, hangover-fueled memories.
As we’re lucky enough to live in a region stuffed with musicians and venues that take in touring acts, the options for every week are damn near endless. Here are some shows to take note of this season, one for (nearly) every day of the upcoming months. (Note that dates and locations are subject to change, so always check the venue site.)
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Plug them in to your Google Calendar. Better yet, stick this list to your wall with chewed-up bubblegum. Either way, impress your friends with superior show knowledge:
Aug. 30 [UPDATE: postponed due to illness] Icona Pop: As silly as it’s always been, bubbly Swedish electro-pop duo Icona Pop is in the running for the arbitrary media-hyped “song of the summer” (or as Slate puts it, the yearly “Summer Song–Industrial Complex”) thanks to party track, “I Love It,” featuring fellow up-and-comer Charli XCX. And, get this, the album from which “Love It” springs, This Is… (Record Company Ten/Big Beat Records), isn’t even out until Sept. 24. Squeeze out the last bits of this very poppy season and hold out for the recorded versions by taking in this live set. Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com
Aug. 31 [Here’s another to make up for that cancellation above] Rin Tin Tiger, French Cassettes Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com
Aug. 31 Sonny and the Sunsets, Shannon and the Clams Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com
Sept. 2 Ty Segall Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com
Sept. 3 Superchunk and Mikal Cronin Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com
Sept. 4 Zomby (live) Public Works, SF. www.publicsf.com.
Sept. 5-6 “UnderCover Presents Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited:” For this event, the UnderCover Presents collective dives deep into the introspective, folk-rock world of Bob Dylan’s ’65 gem (which gave us “Like a Rolling Stone”) with covers by Carletta Sue Kay, Quinn DeVeaux, Whiskerman, Beth Lisick, and guest music director Karina Denike, among others. Freight & Salvage. www.thefreight.org. Also Sept. 8, Contemporary Jewish Museum. www.cjm.org.
Sept. 6 Mission Creek Oakland: The month-long fall music and arts festival packs a punch with dozens of local bands playing 15 East Bay venues, including the Uptown, the Stork Club, and Children’s Fairyland (!). It kicks off with a free opening party tonight at the Uptown with Naytronix, Clipd Beaks, YNGBMS, and Safeword. Various venues, Oakl. www.mcofest.org.
Sept. 7 Push the Feeling with Exray’s Underground SF, www.undergroundsf.com
Sept. 8 Lil Bub book signing with Nobunny: So Lil Bub is this famous Internet cat and Nobunny is the infamous IRL punky masked Bunny-Man; together they’ll claw through the Rickshaw Stop all day and night. This multipart Burger Bub Mini-Fest includes a Lil Bub book signing and doc film screening, plus live sets by Nobunny, Colleen Green, the Monster Women, and the Shanghais. Paws up, everyone. Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.
Sept. 9 Sex Snobs Elbo Room, SF. www.elbo.com
Sept. 10 Bleeding Rainbow Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.
Sept. 11 Moving Units DNA Lounge, SF. www.dnalounge.com.
Sept. 12 Julie Holter Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com.
Sept. 13 120 minutes presents Death in June Mezzanine, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com.
Sept. 14 Rock the Bells: the annual touring hip-hop fest returns, headlined by Kid Cudi, A$AP Mob. feat. A$AP Rocky, E-40, and Too $hort, Common, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on Sept. 14; Wu-Tang Clan, Black Hippy feat. Kendrick Lamar, and Deltron 3000 on Sept. 15. Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mtn View. www.livenation.com.
Sept. 16 Kate Boy Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.
Sept 17 Julie Ruin: Kathleen Hanna returns to her pre-Le Tigre output but beefs it up with a full band including fellow Bikini Kill bandmate Kathi Wilcox and is set to release bouncy feminist dancepop record Run Fast Sept. 3. A few weeks later the Brooklyn band lands in SF. Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com.
Sept. 18 Berkeley Old Time Music Convention Various venues, Berk. www.berkeleyoldtimemusic.org
Sept. 19 Hard Skin 1-2-3-4 Go!, Oakl. 1234gorecords.com.
Sept. 20 Foxygen Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com
Sept. 21 Tape Deck Mountain and Battlehooch El Rio, SF. www.elriosf.com.
Sept. 22 “Radio Silence presents: Doe Eye performing Arcade Fire” Brick and Mortar Music Hall, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com.
Sept. 24 Wax Tailor Mezzanine. www.mezzaninesf.com.
Sept. 26 Zola Jesus Palace of Fine Arts, SF. www.palaceoffinearts.org.
Sept. 27 Peter Hook and the Light Mezzanine, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com.
Sept. 28 “Station to Station:” This train-travelin’ art and music experiment, organized by artist Doug Aitken, pulls a stop in Oakland with live performances by Dan Deacon, Savages, No Age, Sun Araw and the Congos, Twin Shadow, and more. And the train itself is designed as a moving kinetic light sculpture, so expect a bright show. 16th St. Station, Oakl. www.stationtostation.com.
Sept. 30 Chelsea Wolfe Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com
Oct. 1 Peach Kelli Pop Hemlock Tavern, SF. www.hemlocktavern.com.
Oct. 3 MØ Brick and Mortar Music Hall, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com.
Oct. 4-6 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: Bonnie Raitt, Bettye LaVette, Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers, Devil Makes Three, Chris Isaak, Mark Lanegan, First Aid Kit, Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside. As the free annual fest releases lineup names in glorious song medleys, this is who we know for sure will fill GG Park with folk-country-hardly-strictly-bluegrass notes this year, as of press time. There will be more added in the coming weeks, so check the site. Golden Gate Park, SF. www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com.
Oct. 5 Har Mar Superstar Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com.
Oct. 7 No Joy Brick and Mortar Music Hall, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com.
Oct. 8 Fucked Up Terror Oakland Metro Opera House, Oakl. www.oaklandmetro.org.
Oct. 9 Iceage Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.
Oct. 10 Thee Oh Sees Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com
Oct. 11 Extra Action Marching Band Mezzanine, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com
Oct. 12 Marky Ramone with Andrew W.K.: Is this pairing crazy enough that it just might work? While Joey Ramone has sadly passed on to punk rock heaven (lots of leather and skinny jeans), drummer Marky Ramone is carrying on the legacy by enlisting pizza guitar-having party rocker Andrew W.K. as his frontperson. The band known as Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg performs classic Ramones songs. Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com.
Oct. 13 Legendary Pink Dots DNA Lounge, SF. www.dnalounge.com.
Oct. 14 Langhorne Slim Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com
Oct. 15 Tim Kasher Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.
Oct. 16 Dustin Wong Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com.
Oct. 17 CHVRCHES Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com.
Oct. 18 Robert Glasper Experiment SFJazz Center, SF. www.sfjazz.org.
Oct. 19 Treasure Island Music Festival: the forward-thinking two-day fest out on windswept Treasure Island includes Atoms for Peace, Beck, Major Lazer, Little Dragon, Animal Collective, James Blake, Holy Ghost!, Sleigh Bells, and more. Giraffage, and Antwon are the locals on the bill. Treasure Island, SF. www.treasureislandfestival.com.
Oct. 20 Goblin Warfield Theatre, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com.
Oct. 21 Hunx & His Punx Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com.
Oct. 22 Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck Paramount Theater, Oakl. www.paramounttheatre.com.
Oct. 23 Oh Land Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com.
Oct. 24 Woodkid Regency Ballroom, SF. www.theregencyballroom.com.
Oct. 25 The Blow Bottom of the Hill. www.bottomofthehill.com.
Oct. 26 Airfield Broadcasts: For this large-scale event, composer Lisa Bielawa will turn Chrissy Field into a giant “musical canvas” in which listeners can interact with broad sounds floating through the area with the help of nearly a thousand professional and student musicians including orchestras, choruses, bands, and experimental new groups. The musicians will begin in the center of the field then slowly move outwards, playing Bielawa’s original score. Chrissy Field, SF. www.airfieldbroadcasts.org.
Oct. 29 The Jazz Coffin Emergency Ensemble El Rio, SF. www.elriosf.com.
Oct. 30 Save Ferris Regency Ballroom, SF. www.theregencyballroom.com.
Oct. 31 Danzig Warfield, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com.
Nov. 1 Janelle Monáe: Futurist soul crooner Janelle Monáe has had a big year, releasing “Q.U.E.E.N.” with Erykah Badu in the spring, and more recently she fired off Miguel duet “PrimeTime.” The last time the pompodoured singer made it to SF she was dancing down the aisles at the SF Symphony’s Spring Gala (earlier this year), but a darkened venue is much more her speed. Think she’ll be wearing black and white? Warfield Theatre, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com.
Nov. 7 Wanda Jackson: The stylish rockabilly queen, and former real life Elvis paramour — and crackling vocalist behind tracks like “Fujiyama Mama” and “Let’s Have a Party” — is still brash and still touring at age 75. And she’s still putting out new tunes too, with her own 2012 LP Unfinished Business, and just before that a collaboration with Jack White on The Party Ain’t Over (2011). Yes, the party continues. Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com.
Nov. 8 Of Montreal Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com.
Nov. 13 Those Darlins Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com.
Nov. 14 Kayhan Kalhor and Ali Bahrami Fard SFJazz Center, SF. www.sfjazz.org.
Nov. 16 Melt Banana Oakland Metro Opera House, Oakl. www.oaklandmetro.org.
Nov. 17 Rhys Chatham: This is vastly bigger than your average rock concert. See, avant-punk composer Rhys Chatham will perform the West Coast premiere of his “A Secret Rose” with an orchestra of 100 electric guitars. That’s right, 100-times the shred. The Other Minds-presented hourlong performance will include musicians from Guided By Voices, Akron/Family, Tristeza, and more. Craneway Pavilion, Richmond. www.brownpapertickets.com.
Nov. 18 Misfits Oakland Metro Opera House, Oakl. www.oaklandmetro.org.
Nov. 22 Kate Nash Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com.