Punk

THURSDAY 20

Fresh Meat Festival

With “Trailblazers,” the 12th annual Fresh Meat Festival — a celebration of transgender and queer performance — is paying tribute to musicians, dancers, and theater people who hoe their own rows. This year they all do it in our own neighborhoods. The dancers, AXIS Dance Company, Barbary Coast Cloggers, Allan Frias’ Mind over Matter and Sean Dorsey Dance and Las Bomberas de la Bahia couldn’t be more different from each other. What they share, beyond working in the Bay Area, is a clear vision of what they want to do and the skill and perseverance to stick to it. Very simply, they have become tops in their field. To see them now in a sort of meta context of their sexual orientation, is a joyous opportunity to add another notch to their trailblazers spirit. (Rita Felciano)

Through Sat/22, 8pm, $15–$25

Z Space

450 Florida, SF

www.brownpapertickets.com

The Ape Woman: A Rock Opera

Step right up and view Dark Porch Theatre’s presentation of The Ape Woman, May van Oskan’s rock opera exploring the life of one Julia Pastrana, an indigenous Mexican woman who achieved fame (infamy?) on the 19th century circus sideshow circuit. Sometimes also dubbed “the Bear Woman,” the diminutive Pastrana suffered from hypertrichosis — resulting in thick, dark hair all over her face and body, a trait that made her a valuable prize for unscrupulous promoters. With a set styled like a Victorian sideshow tent, van Oskan’s opera tells Pastrana’s fascinating live story via 14 original songs, backed up by a seven-piece ensemble. (Cheryl Eddy)

Opens tonight, 8pm

Runs Thu-Sat and June 26, 8pm; Sun/23, 4pm, through June 29, $15–$30

Exit Studio

156 Eddy, SF

www.theapewoman.com

The Bottle Kids

I once saw Bottle Kids frontperson Annie Ulukou at the Stork Club with nothing but a ukulele. This could have gone any which way, but instead of succumbing to the soft, lullaby tone inherent to the miniature instrument, Annie amplified and distorted its sound to backup the heartbreak and pure aggression of her voice. This is indicative of the Bottle Kids sound as a whole. Their shows can be as personal, subtle, soulful and as easy to access as a ukulele in a small room while still sucker-punching you square in the gut. Check this band out while it’s still free to see it live. (Ilan Moskowitz)

9:30pm, free

Grant and Green Saloon

1371 Grant, San Francisco

(415) 693-9565

www.grantandgreensaloon.com

FRIDAY 21

PANSY

Why does nightlife hold us in its timeless spell? And, perhaps more topical, will the nostalgia for the necessary craziness and joy of ’90s nightlife ever let us go? Evan Johnson, one of our most intriguing drag performers (beloved alter-ego Martha T. Lipton, the Failed Actress, is a hoot) goes deeper in solo stage show Pansy, conceived with Ben Randle. His character, Michael, discovers a time capsule full of VHS tapes, cassettes, and flyers documenting ’90s gay club kid Peter Pansy, and finds shivery parallels with his own life emerging. “I want to address the ‘shadows’ of AIDS and queer history and Pride… That time period, 1993-95, became the vehicle for me to address the vital nostalgia and escape of the San Francisco queer fantasy,” he says. Johnson’s been hosting lively Q&As with legendary nightlife biggies after each performance, including Pansy Division’s Jon Ginoli, Dan Nicoletta, Alvin Orloff, and Sister Roma. (Marke B.)

Through June 29th, $10-$15

New Conservatory Theatre

25 Van Ness, SF

(415) 861-8972

www.nctcsf.org

SATURDAY 22

San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival

First of all, can we just enjoy this awesome WTF moment? A music festival. Powered by bicycle pedaling. Even in its seventh year, SF’s annual Bicycle Music Festival is still a wonder to locals. It offers the chance to listen to great music by folk band Laurie Lewis and the Righthands, Bill McKibben, Justin Ancheta Band, Manicato, and more, in a beautiful setting for free. In fact, it’s in three beautiful settings, because the event is packed up and deployed throughout Golden Gate Park. The event is known to draw some crazies, the cool kind who perform synchronized dances or twirl around on cycles while playing the trumpet — so be warned. It is definitely worth checking out, particularly if you’re a bike enthusiast interested in meeting fellow cyclists, or just a live music fan. And if the bicycle-powered music bit doesn’t have the same amazeballs effect on you, there will also be hand-cranked ice cream and smoothies made from the same bike power. (Smith )

Noon-5pm, free

Golden Gate Park

Pioneer Log Cabin Meadow to Stow Lake Drive at JFK Drive, SF

bicyclemusicfestival.com

Grandpa Fest

You don’t know Grindcore Grandpa? Hmm, how to explain to this. Basically, he’s the stoic elder gent who shows up at tons of hardcore and underground punk shows, lives for grind, and has a Lack of Interest shirt with his own face on it (as such, he’s more known as Grandpa of Interest). He’s turning 86, and that’s a big deal, so the Gilman is hosting Grandpa Fest and bringing in some of his favorite acts, legends of the scene including experimental Man is the Bastard offshoot Bastard Noise, and sludge-master Noothgrush, along with Stapled Shut, To the Point, Connoisseur, and Happy Pill Trauma. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll honor the man with a dive in the pit at breakneck speed. (Savage)

7pm, $10–$12

924 Gilman, Berk.

www.924gilman.org

Fete de la Musique

“The music everywhere and the concert nowhere,” declared French composer Maurice Fleuret in 1981. And then e went on to launch “Fete de la Musique” on the summer solstice of 1982, slyly celebrating that pagan holiday by bringing the French population out into the streets to play all the music they could. Soon the festival spread, and became a French tradition. Now, San Francisco’s Alliance Francaise is reviving the tradition with a roisterous day full of bands (Rue 66, Horse Horse Tiger Tiger, Crash Landings, Kiwi Time, more), drum circles, guitarists, and more — plus a few bars stocked with great wine, natch, to keep us in the spirit — on three floors. “Enjoy some Canadian music and food as well,” the Alliance promises, “as we welcome our Quebec cousins to celebrate their national holiday, the Fête de la Saint-Jean Baptiste.” French sounds all round! (Marke B.)

2pm-8pm, free

Alliance Française de San Francisco

1345 Bush, SF

fetedelamusiquesanfrancisco.wordpress.com

SUNDAY 23

City Lights at 60

Bookstore, publishing house, Beat writers hub, San Francisco institution. City Lights, founded by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin in 1953 (and now co-owned by Ferlinghetti and Nancy Peters), has meant a great many things to several generations of San Franciscans and tourists that flock to its North Beach storefront. It’s published important tomes, hosted readings and acoustic concerts, political conversations and book release celebrations. Just this past year saw a Pussy Riot gathering, Richard Hell reading, and a Sister Spit anthology release party. In celebrating six decades of life (that’s right, City Lights is officially 60 years young), the bookstore will host “City Lights at 60” lectures and readings through the rest of the year (“Howl Legacy: The Continuing Battle for Free Expression,” July 14, “Women of the Beat Generation,” Nov. 19), and an ongoing “Sundays in Jack Kerouac Alley” series. It all kicks off with the official birthday party today at the shop. The fête includes flash readings, archival footage, store discounts, and a live performance by the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco. (Savage)

2-5pm, free

City Lights

261 Columbus, SF

(415) 863-2020

www.citylights.com

TUESDAY 25

Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown

Listening to Tyler Bryant, I get the sense that music was his first love. And even though he sings, “take my hand/take my heart/now honey, my super lady,” in the song “Lipstick Wonder Woman,” (which, conceivably, is about a human woman) I still believe that his most sultry seductress is the raw power and electricity present in his songs. His Nashville-based group makes authentic rock’n’roll that’s not reliant on over-reverbed guitar tones or a few simple fuzz-laden chords. Bryant can play, and his songs overwhelming reflect this. Reminiscent of the Black Keys, Bryant’s vocals are filled with soul, and the energetic beats anchoring his songs beg you to dance. (Smith)

With Girls and Boys

9pm, $15

Brick and Mortar Music Hall

1710 Mission, SF

(415) 371-1631

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Q&A: Vela Eyes on passing out in the studio, taping merch to the car hood, and becoming ‘a real band’

Tony Robles

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June 18, 2013

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Vela Eyes is a relatively new indie-pop act right out of San Francisco that combines a huge, spaciously synthesized sound with the personality and camaraderie one can only find in decades-old friends. It’s a perfect fusion of the rawness of punk influences with the technical proficiency and sampling-song mapping of a DJ set.

The group has been playing packed shows throughout the Bay since its inception mere months ago, most recently an album release party for its first EP, The Pleasure Sunrise, last week at the Elbo Room. Get to know Vela Eyes before the band’s next local gig (you’ve got ‘till July 26):

SFBG So you guys don’t have a van and had to come up with a crazy wacky maneuver to get your gear back from your record release show?

Julia Johari We had to make three trips to get all of our stuff there. But at the end of the night we realized we didn’t want to make multiple trips to get our stuff back. So I just remember Nate being like “I’m going to tape the merch to the hood of my car!”

Ian Zazueta Luckily I brought that big roll of red duct tape. I knew it would come in handy.

SFBG Tell me about playing the Elbo Room for the record release show.

Jef Pauly I actually had the place in mind after playing there a few times. It’s got a very intimate atmosphere and packs a crowd close together.

Nate Higley That’s a P.C. answer. Truth is we knew we couldn’t sell out Mezzanine.

JJ We knew we would be able to pack Elbo Room.

Florie Maschmeyer And the sound was really important, we’ve always felt we sounded really good in the Elbo Room.

IZ It’s kind of a give and take. You want a location that’s a good fit for you, but you don’t want to sacrifice a good on-stage sound or the sound that’s directed at the audience.

SFBG Where does your sound start?

FM We kind of conceptually write. For example, I would call and be like “I just had the weirdest dream, you want to hear me out?”

IZ And I would honestly take notes and stuff while she was talking and start coming up with some things. Then Florie would add some more and we’d build a song around it. Then Nate brings in a lot of creativity and musical contrast and intelligence to it. We’re finally starting to develop our style.

NH Yeah, it doesn’t take like a year to write a song anymore! [Laughs]

JP We’re basically hitting phase two now that we’re a “real band.”

IZ Oh, you mean since you joined the band! [Everyone laughs]

JP Well, did you have any drummer before me?

IZ Yeah we did, it was called Logic Pro and it wouldn’t talk back. [Everyone laughs]

SFBG So Jef, as a drummer, you always play to a click track?

JP Every practice, every show.

IZ For me, who creates a lot of our sequences and samples, having someone who can be able to do that adds so much more to our creativity and allows so much more potential for pushing our product. A lot of people would see playing to a click as being more rigid, but once we establish the right tempo to the song, in terms of manifesting a product, it gives us so much more freedom.

SFBG So any time I see you guys play live anywhere it will have the exact same tempo?

IZ Yep.

FM Especially because we have trigger sequences that happen all throughout the track.

SFBG The trigger sequences are something you’ve designed ahead of time to drop at a specific point with the metronome in the course of the song without physically having to push a button to turn whatever sound on?

FM Yeah, it’s in the song already. So Jef gets the count-in and then the song starts.

JP There really is no room for messing up. There’s just a count-off at the beginning and if I miss the start, it’s all over.

SFBG On multiple occasions I’ve heard you refer to your music as “the product,” what does this mean?

FM We refer to it as product because it takes our music and makes it a sellable package. That’s what you have to do if you want to be in the music industry, you need to have a product, which means your image, your music, your presence. In the end that’s what we pay for, that’s what we record and what we sell. It’s always important that we think of the product as a whole because we’ve got so many different songwriters in this. Egos can battle, but we always agree on what’s good for the project. The music is a separate entity who’s not one individual person. At different points anyone in the band might be leading the song, but it always comes down to what’s right for the product, the band as the whole is separate from us individually at this point.

SFBG What, in one sentence, is the selling point for me to come to your next show?

FM It’ll be a sexy kick in the teeth. I think you’ll love it.

SFBG So let’s close this out with another awesome rock and roll story, shall we?

FM Remember when we got all hammered and passed out in the music studio, sleeping on the floor, spooning? Then I pissed my pants.

IZ No, the funny thing is that she tried to blame me. Like, after she peed all over me. Florie’s like “how do you know it wasn’t you?”

SFBG Were you playing a show beforehand or something?

NH No, this was just a typical Thursday night.

Vela Eyes plays next July 26 at Bottom of the Hill, with the Orange Peels and the Corner Laughers.

The Return of the Replacements

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June 13, 2013

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Word from somewhere outta the Midwest is that the Replacements–in many ways the quintessential American indie band–are reuniting for a trio of festival shows. In Denver, Chicago and Toronto. Whether or not the band will add more dates is uncertain, as is the band’s lineup. The band’s best known living principals, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson are on board. Their last lead guitar player, Slim Dunlap suffered a stroke and is unable to play, drummer Chris Mars is now a fine artist and may be unwilling to play (their notorious feuds ended when they recorded tracks to raise cash for Dunlap).

Their evolution as a band, detailed in Michael Azzerad’s wonderful tome Our Band Could be Your Life is almost the story of Amerindie itself. Beginning on a tiny Minneapolis independant label Twin Tone as a not really hardcore at all band that played the same circuit as their city mates Husker Du, the Replacements 1984 album Let It Be ranks with any of the great classic blues based rock discs ever made–without any hint of the blues. Signing with Warner Brothers in the wake of the masterpiece, they continued to their evolution into more cerebral roots music. Perched between the underground that birthed them and the commercial success that eluded them, they called it a day 22 years ago.

Whether or not their motives for returning are financial (bassist Stinson has made a good living as Duff McKagan’s “replacement” in Guns N Roses) or artistic (they ain’t sayin’), it is unlikely that they will play enormous festivals with the same shambling, shit-faced style that they were notorious for in the 80’s. Prone to being barely vertical, playing whatever songs came to Westerberg’s pickled cerebellum, from bubblegum oldies to metal, their gigs weren’t even uneven, they were almost upside down–unlike most of their fans from that era, I didn’t really dig the drunken stumble-bunny schtick because I loved their songs.

I hope they’ll stick to them, from all of their discs and I guess I hope they come to California as well (by way of semi-disclaimer, Stinson and I are former bandmates in a short-lived “punk cover band” called Strap On Baster). At their peak, they were the open and honest bards of the dark ages known as the middle 80’s, at their nadir, comatose. Let’s hope for the former and not the latter from these truly American originals.

Party Radar: Cold Cave, Hussyclub, Bushwacka, Fag Fridays, Actress, more

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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June 13, 2013

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Party Radar: Cold Cave, Hussyclub, Bushwacka, Fag Fridays, Actress, more

Is there anything better than HRH Prince Charles a-cuttin’ and a-scratchin’ some real tunes on some real vinyl? (Real vinyl is making a comback in 2013, according to the NY Times on Wednesday … and in 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2012 again ….)

Anyway, yes! As Pride month engulfs us with its classic waves of queens, it’s nice to know we can call on a real prince to DJ our underground affairs. (Video, of course, after the jump.) In the meantime, let’s keep on dancin’:

>>ACTRESS, FALTYDL

I’ve had a boy-crush on FaltyDL for about a few many years now: groovy UK nu-bass antics with a brain and a pout. Swoon. Actress gets even brainier, reconfiguring simple elements into strange, telescopic soundscapes. They’re headlining a big Ninja Tune showcase that also includes Slugabed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfUzmXodyXY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wsKiQDTBzg

Fri/14, 10pm-3am, $17.50. 1015 Folsom, SF. www.1015.com

>>BUSHWACKA

The longtime UK smart-house favorite performs an intimate set in the Public Works loft under split-personality moniker “Just Be” which “emerged from the UK electronic music melting pot of the late ’80s” and is a bit more underground rave-spirited than his well-known alter ego with Layo as “Bushwacka and Layo.” Really good stuff here.

Fri/14, 10pm-3:30am, $10 advance. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

>>EDIT MURPHY

Sweet and breezy tunes from the go-to Motown re-editor (who’s given his sets a more updated R&B spin lately) at the always cute Push The Feeling party.

Fri/14, 9pm, $5 presale. UndergrioundSF, 424 Haight, SF.

>>HUSSYCLUB

The Oakland electro duo’s “post-hyphy TURF dance meets performance art queer feminist rap” has been causing some needed discomfort on both those scenes — single “Straight Girl,” with a package of neat, just-dropped remixes, “Straight Girl Comes Out” on Mother Records, shows they’re more than weird faces. At the always bubblin’ Fix Yr Hair party.

Fri/14, 9pm, $7. Rebel, 1170 Market, SF.

>>FAG FRIDAYS

That big-room gay house sound, a la Club Universe, is definitely back — if last month’s installment of this revived monthly (with Universe DJ David Harness) is any indication. DNA Lounge was packed with sweaty mens, diverse and in the mood for, er, love. This month sees funky booty-cutie Robert Jeffrey behind the decks with Ms. Harness and Rolo.

Fri/14, 10pm-late, $20. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. www.facebook.com/fagfridays

>>COLD CAVE

As my wonderful partygirl colleague Emily Savage writes, “Your two favorite parties (120 Minutes and Lights Down Low) come together this weekend for one spooky-special mashup of noise, ideas, and freaks, with live performances by darkwave duo Cold Cave backed by underground post-punk legend Boyd Rice, R&B/dance music-mixer Brenmar, and Jokers of the Scene, who are known to ‘craft epic nine-minute Salem remixes or rave out with their own anthemic tracks.’ With 120 Minutes residents S4Nta_MU3rTE and Chuncey_CC, Lights Down Low residents Sleazemore and Richie Panic.”

Sat/15, 9pm-late, $15-$20. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF.www.publicsf.com

>>FRANCK ROGER

Great, groovy and gorgeous old school-style quality house from this longtime Parisian player — lots of tunes I love I’m just finding out are actually by him, ha. This is a party put on by

Sat/15, 9:30pm, $8 advance, $15 door. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

>>MOUNT KIMBIE

Incredibly vital UK dub-bass duo bring their special brand of ethereal tingles and acres-worth of ideas to the Independent.

Mon/17, doors 8:30, show at 9pm, $18 advance, $20 at door. The Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. www.independentsf.com

Selector: June 12-17, 2013

Andrew Lam

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June 11, 2013

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WEDNESDAY 12

The Trashies

What would you get if you paired those slimy Garbage Pail Kids with primal 1960s garage rock band the Monks? It’d probably turn in to something like the Trashies. A few weeks back, the Bay Guardian premiered a new video from the sloppy Seattle-and-East Bay act, featuring the band writhing in the mud at the Albany Bulb, screeching and freaking out psychedelically on guitars, and yelping “I’m a worm!/watch me squirm.” If it all sounds a bit familiar, this beach squelch shimmy, it’s because Uzi Rash frontperson Max Nordile also has a hand in Trashies, lending his particular style to the band’s intoxicating sounds. (Emily Savage)

With Buffalo Tooth, Scrapers

8:30pm, $7

Hemlock Tavern

1131 Polk, SF

(415) 923-0923

www.hemlocktavern.com

FRIDAY 14

Queer Women of Color Film Festival

Five vibrant screening programs, 57 short films, and a particular focus — “Bridge To Truth: Queer SWANA/AMEMSA Communities” — on the feminist threads weaving through recent revolutions in Southwest Asian, North African/Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities: if this year’s festival doesn’t open your eyes to some amazing things happening in the world of queer women of color, well, here’s a loaf of Wonderbread, go nuts. “From the intoxicating first kiss to candlelit prayer rugs, from transmen of color dating to Navajo beauty pageants, to the ebb and flow between parents and children, this festival is awash with films that fill our spirits,” QWOCMAP, the great local arts institution that produces the fest, promises. Three days of flicks culminate in a party, 9pm on Sun/16 at Slate Bar, with DJs Wepa and AlmiuX and a host of friendly faces. (Marke B.)

Through June 16

Various prices and times Brava Theater

2789 24th St., SF

www.qwocmap.org

Date Palms

There’s this sense of impending doom ever-present in any given Date Palm piece. The instrumental band — which once described its sound to me as “psychedelic minimalism with Eastern tinged melodies driven by cyclical, distorted bass patterns” — has thriller cinematic appeal. Without the distraction of vocals, the mind is left to wander in these unsettling patterns, wobbling toward the deep unknown, creating eerie visions. In this way, it’s the soundtrack to the mini movies fluttering through your brain. This is never more apt than in single “Dusted Down,” off new album, Dusted Sessions, out this week on Thrill Jockey. And yet, one needn’t conjure a mind-flick for that particular track. There’s already a video, and it’s as trippy as deserved, with blurry visions of the band, analog video feedback, and a looping rainbow of madness. (Savage)

With Jackie O-Motherfucker, Soft Shells, Lady Free Mountain

9pm, $7

Night Light

311 Broadway, Oakl.

www.thenightlightoakland.com

The Bats

New Zealand rockers the Bats got their start 30 years ago, and have stayed together all this time, with all four original members still in the fold, an almost unheard of feat these days. The cult Kiwi favorites released their latest album, Free All The Monsters (Flying Nun Records) in 2011, imbued with an almost ethereal sound and feel, which could be partly due to the fact that it was recorded in a former lunatic asylum. The video for the single “Simpletons” shows haunting scenes of the aftermath of the major earthquake that struck the Bats hometown of Christchurch that year — but like their fellow countrymen, the band is as resilient as ever. (Sean McCourt)

With the Mantles, Legs

9pm, $15–$17-

Rickshaw Stop

155 Fell, SF

(415) 861-2011

Monster Drawing Rally 2013

There will be no Grave Digger, no Bigfoot, no Mean Green Machine. There will be no Mud Tractor Pull (pull … pull …pull …) — or mud for that matter, either. But you never know what else will arise from the annual, hugely popular Monster Drawing Rally at Southern Exposure Gallery. A honkin’ 120 artists rev their creative engines in one hour shifts of 30 artists each to produce spectacular works, instantly available for sale at $60 each. Meanwhile, spectators can egg these MONSTER ARTISTS on while enjoying the inspirationally arty yet danceable sounds of DJs Juan Luna-Avin and Joshua Pieper and food from select street trucks. It all takes place at underground-feeling Mission design warehouse the NWBLCK, and proceeds go to Southern Exposure’s community art programs. Gentledrawers, start your engines. (Marke B.)

6pm-11pm, $15

1999 Bryant, SF

(415) 863-2141

www.soex.org

SATURDAY 15

Papa Bear and the Easy Love

Papa Bear and the Easy Love create a river of music and then go for a swim inside it. Some artists wear their music like accessories, a backdrop to their eccentric selves. Some become one with it, creating a pleasant unity on stage. Others stomp on top of the sound, trying to resuscitate the riffs and beats as they plunge from the speakers to the ground. With Papa Bear and the Easy Love, beautiful harmonies and soft finger-picking acoustics become the mantra on stage — and it is beautiful to watch. It makes the crowd wish to go for a dip as well. (Hillary Smith)

With Big Tree, Song Preservation Society, City Tribe

9pm, $17

Great American Music Hall

859 O’Farrell, SF

(415) 885-0750

www.slimspresents.com

SUNDAY 16

StyleWOW

Dear San Francisco Art Institute,

You’re forgiven for the questionable taste shown in the naming of your annual student fashion show because I anticipate that its runway lewks will be fantastic. We are known as a fabulous city to live in (if one — or one’s parents — can afford it), but not to launch a high fashion career. The walls of your institution have long been a holding container for bright style stars who light out after graduation for more apace fashion worlds. And so: while the SF style scene continues to grow, your event remains one of the year’s more exciting chances to see high fashion here in the city. I for one am excited. Sincerely, (Caitlin Donohue)

7pm, $20–$50

San Francisco Design Center

101 Henry Adams, SF

stylewow.brownpapertickets.com

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

Everything about the story of Aly Spaltro’s transformation into Lady Lamb and the Beekeeper seems old and out of time. In the Maine town where she went to high school, she practiced in the basement of that bygone establishment, a video store, and produced her first recordings through another, an independent record store. Then there’s her alter ego, the name of a Victorian woman who came to her in a dream (for real), which maybe that explains the biggest leap of time: Spaltro performs far beyond her 22 years. With her preternatural understanding of human feeling and her unique ability to sing about it, the very old and young Lady Lamb should not be missed. (Laura Kerry)

With Torres, Paige and the Thousand

8pm, $10

Rickshaw Stop

155 Fell, SF

(415) 861-2011

Tracy Morgan

Getting his first major mainstream exposure on the TV show Martin in the mid-1990s, Tracy Morgan quickly went on to join the cast of Saturday Night Live based on the strengths of his hilarious comedic talents. On SNL, he created classic characters such as animal expert “Brian Fellows” and the moonshine-swilling “Uncle Jemima” and performed a host of side-splitting celebrity impersonations. Now that 30 Rock — where he poked fun at his own celebrity in the guise of “Tracy Jordan” — has ended its cult hit run, Morgan is hitting the stage for a series of live gigs ahead of his new TV project, Death Pact, which is slated to air on FX.

(McCourt)

8pm, $35.50

Palace of Fine Arts

3301 Lyon, SF

(800) 745-3000

www.palaceoffinearts.org

The Front Bottoms

The Front Bottoms’ shows are usually teeming with fans who are just as excited as them — we’re talking double rainbow excited. The New Jersey indie-punk group’s sarcastic and humorous lyrics guarantee a sing-along show. “And you’re so confident, but I hear you cry in your sleeping bag,” scream the die-hards along with the Front Bottoms. Though the Ludo-esque vocals sound great and the songs are quite catchy, a good part of the energy comes from the party atmosphere provided on stage. Going to a Front Bottoms concert is like going to a house show, but with an above average band playing the gig. You still get to go bat-shit and get weird, just to good music instead. (Smith)

With Weatherbox, Night Riots

8pm, $12

Brick and Mortar Music Hall

1710 Mission, SF

(415) 800-8782

“A Radio Silence Live Tribute to Buddy Holly”

With all legend surrounding his untimely death, one tends to forget the most important thing about Buddy Holly: the bespectacled kid (age 22) had a serious knack for songwriting. He was a prolific musician who wrote a bunch of timeless rockabilly-blues blended rock’n’roll juke classics in his relatively short career. (“That’ll Be The Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “True Love Ways,” “Crying, Waiting, Hoping,” “Everyday.”) As a small gesture to correct the collective direction of remembrance — and to prove the music didn’t really die that day on the “Winter Dance Party” tour — local lit mag Radio Silence presents a tribute night to the songs of Holly. There’ll be Greil Marcus, an icon of rock journalism, reading from his as-yet-unpublished new book, plus conversations with and performances by Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces, Van Pierszalowski of Port O’Brien and WATERS, and singer-songwriter Thao Nguyen. As with any proper SF event, there’ll be DJs and food trucks as well. (Savage)

7pm, $20

Public Works 161 Erie, SF (415) 779-6757

www.publicsf.com

TUESDAY 18

Brooke D.

Brooke D. is a solo artist — but unless you’ve seen her live you wouldn’t have a clue. The San Francisco native’s loops of soft hums and harmonies alongside simple beats offer a full backdrop (not that it’s needed) to her gentle, poignant vocals. And yet, the subtle empty spaces in D.’s tracks lend a withholding quality that is altogether alluring. The result is a refreshingly captivating performance. Worth seeing for the a capella novelty alone, D.’s show is also impressive because of her freestyle harmonies in which she flawlessly reaches high notes unattainable to most. She delivers a unique and skilled three-person performance for the price of one. (Smith)

With Sea Lioness, Doncat, Tendrils

9pm, $8

Bottom of the Hill

1233 17th St., SF

(415) 626-4455

The Guardian listings deadline is two weeks prior to our Wednesday publication date. To submit an item for consideration, please include the title of the event, a brief description of the event, date and time, venue name, street address (listing cross streets only isn’t sufficient), city, telephone number readers can call for more information, telephone number for media, and admission costs. Send information to Listings, the Guardian, 225 Bush, 17th Flr., SF, CA 94105; or e-mail (paste press release into e-mail body — no attachments, please) to listings@sfbg.com. Digital photos may be submitted in jpeg format; the image must be at least 240 dpi and four inches by six inches in size. We regret we cannot accept listings over the phone.

Heads Up: 7 must-see concerts this week

Tony Robles

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June 11, 2013

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Dear 2 Chainz: we’d like to formally apologize on behalf of our city, if you were indeed robbed at gunpoint (details are a bit murky at this point). Terrible things happen in every city, and San Francisco is no exception. But we must trundle forward, as a city of sonic fiends who love this place called home, always exploding with new bands, and welcoming traveling acts from around the world.

This week, we celebrate a particularly beloved member of own pack: Sonny and the Sunsets has a new record, and it’s a leap in yet another direction for the singer-songwriter and his crew. There’s also a Date Palms album release, a visit from New Zealand rockers the Bats (locals the Mantles open), the return of Cold Cave, some existential slop-punk from the Trashies, and a tribute to “rock‘n’roll specialist” Buddy Holly. Music lives on, despite despair.

Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:

Sonny and the Sunsets
It’s the record release party for Sonny and the Sunsets’ newest, Antenna to the Afterworld. The confessional record, which hints at Modern Lovers and Silver Jews (a shift from country break-up record Longtime Companion), opens with Sonny Smith talk-singing a call-and-response conversation, “Something happened/I fell in love/but it was weird/Real weird.” “Good weird?” the voice on the other side implores.
With Burnt Ones, Cool Ghouls.
Tue/11, 8pm, $7
Eagle Tavern
398 12th St., SF
www.sf-eagle.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoUjLj7Lp2w

The Trashies
What would you get if you paired those slimy Garbage Pail Kids with primal 1960s garage rock band the Monks? It’d probably turn in to something like the Trashies. A few weeks back, the Bay Guardian premiered a new video from the sloppy Seattle-and-East Bay act, featuring the band writhing in the mud at the Albany Bulb, screeching and freaking out psychedelically on guitars, and yelping “I’m a worm!/watch me squirm.” If it all sounds a bit familiar, this beach squelch shimmy, it’s because Uzi Rash frontperson Max Nordile also has a hand in Trashies, lending his particular style to the band’s intoxicating sounds.
With Buffalo Tooth, Scrapers
Wed/12, 8:30pm, $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
(415) 923-0923
www.hemlocktavern.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg4fgl9jnT0

The Bats
“New Zealand rockers the Bats got their start 30 years ago, and have stayed together all this time, with all four original members still in the fold, an almost unheard of feat these days. The cult Kiwi favorites released their latest album, Free All The Monsters (Flying Nun Records) in 2011, imbued with an almost ethereal sound and feel, which could be partly due to the fact that it was recorded in a former lunatic asylum. The video for the single “Simpletons” shows haunting scenes of the aftermath of the major earthquake that struck the Bats hometown of Christchurch that year — but like their fellow countrymen, the band is as resilient as ever.” — Sean McCourt
With the Mantles, Legs
Fri/14, 9pm, $15–<\d>$17-
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
(415) 861-2011
www.rickshawstop.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zi4Ec2Fr2E

Date Palms
There’s this sense of impending doom ever-present in any given Date Palm piece. The instrumental band — which once described its sound to me as “psychedelic minimalism with Eastern tinged melodies driven by cyclical, distorted bass patterns” — has thriller cinematic appeal. Without the distraction of vocals, the mind is left to wander in these unsettling patterns, wobbling toward the deep unknown, creating eerie visions. In this way, it’s the soundtrack to the mini movies fluttering through your brain. This is never more apt than in single “Dusted Down,” off new album, Dusted Sessions, out this week on Thrill Jockey. And yet, one needn’t conjure a mind-flick for that particular track. There’s already a video, and it’s as trippy as deserved, with blurry visions of the band, analog video feedback, and a looping rainbow of madness.
With Jackie O-Motherfucker, Soft Shells, Lady Free Mountain
Fri/14, 9pm, $7
Night Light
311 Broadway, Oakl.
www.thenightlightoakland.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImOJP_Pp7EY

Cold Cave
Your two favorite parties (120 Minutes and Lights Down Low) come together this weekend for one spooky-special mashup of noise, ideas, and freaks, with live performances by darkwave duo Cold Cave backed by underground post-punk legend Boyd Rice, R&B/dance music-mixer Brenmar, and Jokers of the Scene, who are known to “craft epic nine-minute Salem remixes or rave out with their own anthemic tracks.” With 120 Minutes residents S4Nta_MU3rTE and Chuncey_CC, Lights Down Low residents Sleazemore and Richie Panic.
Sat/15, 9pm, $15-$20
Public Works
161 Erie, SF
www.publicsf.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqcy96QzeRg

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper
“Everything about the story of Aly Spaltro’s transformation into Lady Lamb and the Beekeeper seems old and out of time. In the Maine town where she went to high school, she practiced in the basement of that bygone establishment, a video store, and produced her first recordings through another, an independent record store. Then there’s her alter ego, the name of a Victorian woman who came to her in a dream (for real), which maybe that explains the biggest leap of time: Spaltro performs far beyond her 22 years. With her preternatural understanding of human feeling and her unique ability to sing about it, the very old and young Lady Lamb should not be missed.” — Laura Kerry
With Torres, Paige and the Thousand
Sun/16, 8pm, $10
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
(415) 861-2011
www.rickshawstop.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdqsUML8wv0

“A Radio Silence Live Tribute to Buddy Holly”
With all legend surrounding his untimely death, one tends to forget the most important thing about Buddy Holly: the bespectacled kid (age 22) had a serious knack for songwriting. He was a prolific musician who wrote a bunch of timeless rockabilly-blues blended rock’n’roll juke classics in his relatively short career. (“That’ll Be The Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “True Love Ways,” “Crying, Waiting, Hoping,” “Everyday.”) As a small gesture to correct the collective direction of remembrance — and to prove the music didn’t really die that day on the “Winter Dance Party” tour — local lit mag Radio Silence presents a tribute night to the songs of Holly. There’ll be Greil Marcus, an icon of rock journalism, reading from his as-yet-unpublished new book, plus conversations with and performances by Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces, Van Pierszalowski of Port O’Brien and WATERS, and singer-songwriter Thao Nguyen. As with any proper SF event, there’ll be DJs and food trucks as well.
Sun/16, 7pm, $20
Public Works
161 Erie, SF
(415) 779-6757
www.publicsf.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQiIMuOKIzY

Arturo Vega, RIP

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June 8, 2013

42

Arturo Vega, creative designer and lights operator for the de facto inventors of punk rock the Ramones, died this morning. He was 65.

Vega, a Mexican national who emigrated to New York in the ’70s, was the designer of the “Hey Ho Let’s Go” eagle/baseball bat/band member’s name logo that adorned their shirts for 20 plus years. He was also the band’s virtual lifeline in their formative years, providing a home for bassist Dee Dee and singer Joey in his Bowery loft.

He was a gentleman and a warm hearted, soft spoken genial man with a dry wit. He was also a champion of punk rock and its bands–when my first group (Thrills) first started playing CBGB and Hurrah, Arturo would store our gear for us at the Ramones loft and when off the road, always cheer us on–his approval meant a lot, because if Arturo thought you were OK, you were OK.

Later in his life, he became a fitness fanatic and chronicler of all things Ramone. Was always a joy to hear from him.

Like it was 1979 forever. We’ll miss you, Artie.

Realness

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June 4, 2013

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FILM First things first: yeah, you did just attend the 11th San Francisco Documentary Film Festival in November. The schedule shift for the 2013 fest — it’s now sandwiched between the well-established San Francisco International Film Festival (which ended May 9) and Frameline (starts June 20) seasons — is a gamble. Will Bay Area film fans (who probably also attended the DocFest-affiliated SF IndieFest in February) suffer festival fatigue, or will DocFest’s programming (Burning Man! Bettie Page! Pint-sized magicians!) lure ’em in anyway?

Let’s hope it’s the latter, since the 12th annual fest boasts a well-curated mix of films that loosely fall into two categories: those with provocative subject matter and those that are crowd-pleasers, with crossover potential therein. Opening-night selection Spark: A Burning Man Story melds both traits. Suitable for both longtime Burners and folks who don’t know much about that colorful desert carnival — but have marveled at the scope of its cultural influence, for better and worse — this film by locals Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter offers an insider’s look at variously chaotic, despairing, and triumphant preparations for the 2012 festival.

Spark captures Burning Man’s inner-circle organizers amid a tumultuous period, as they confront concerns both practical (including a stressful ticket-sale snafu) and philosophical (why are they selling tickets in the first place?) that have exploded along with the event’s ever-growing popularity. The film doesn’t shy away from showing the less-graceful aspects of this transformation, but at its core it’s a fairly starry-eyed celebration of Burning Man’s allure, depicting the event as a magnet for artists and free spirits — and Spark‘s striking cinematography suggests that Brown, Deeter, and crew also found inspiration there.

“For some people, Burning Man ignites a passion or creativity that might have been buried or beaten out of them through their adult life,” says Brown, a first-time filmmaker with a background in tech start-ups. “That was the theme of the film: what does it look like, maybe for the first time, to act on a dream? It takes a lot of courage and tenacity to make that happen — and inevitably, dreams collide with reality and become difficult and challenging, and you have to make compromises. I saw a lot of stories like that coming out of Burning Man, and it was kind of my story, too.” (For more on Spark, check out Steven T. Jones’ article in this issue of the Bay Guardian.)

Bearing a far less hopeful message is DocFest’s closing-night film, Terms and Conditions May Apply, about internet privacy (or rather, the increasing lack thereof). Director Cullen Hoback turns to animation, talking-head interviews, and pop-culture snippets — like Parks and Recreation‘s lovable lout Ron Swanson learning about “cookies” — to liven up what could’ve been a movie comprised mostly of computer screenshots.

Though a late-act attempt to ambush-interview Mark Zuckerberg feels a little gratuitous, the concerns Hoback raises are completely legit, and backed up with real-life examples; thanks to government initiatives like the Patriot Act and corporate sneakiness (you don’t really read those lengthy “Terms and Conditions” agreements before you click through, do you? Does anyone?), one’s online profile can be laid bare with ease. This explains why those random ads on Amazon seem to know an awful lot about your interests — and, more alarmingly, why a SWAT team paid an urgent visit to a guy whose Fight Club-inspired Facebook status was misinterpreted as a terrorist call to action.

Another film that’ll drive you into your fear-the-future bunker is Vivienne Roumani’s Out of Print, which packs a lot of information into its 55-minute running time. There’s the expected discussion of how self-publishing online has upended the traditional publishing world, but also thoughtful investigations of the importance of libraries, of fair-use access versus copyright laws, and of how reading short snippets online is actually changing the way our brains learn. Chillingly, the film sits down with a group of teenagers repulsed by the idea of library research. Like, who has time to read an entire book on a single subject? “I’d rather just Google it,” one kid shrugs. (That sound you hear is the concept of critical thinking dying a slow, agonizing death.) And it’s not just kids: the film cites a statistic that one out of every four American adults did not read a book in any format in 2012.

Thank goodness for Magic Camp, Judd Ehrlich’s gentle study of a summer camp for proudly nerdy budding magicians. “I like the elegance of magic,” one tween rhapsodizes, and it’s heartwarming to see attitudes like that embraced, even if some of the counselors deploy tough-love to help their charges improve. All of the campers Ehrlich profiles face obstacles in their normal lives (Tourette’s syndrome, dyslexia, parents struggling with long-term unemployment), and the kids clearly view their week-long escape as more than just a chance to refine their card tricks. For some of them, it’s their only crack at a safe space where uniqueness is not just encouraged, but actually celebrated.

Similar uplift — but with much darker undertones — comes courtesy of Running for Jim, about cross-country coach Jim Tracy, who’s led the girls’ team at San Francisco’s University High to multiple state championships. KGO-TV’s Dan Noyes co-directs this profile of a respected (if cantankerous) leader who lives in his car on occasion (a stark contrast, one suspects, to the home lives of the student athletes who attend the private school). When Tracy, a lifelong runner himself, develops Lou Gehrig’s disease, the kids rally to support him — and his sarcastic sense of humor remains intact, even as his body falters. Another local film about courage in the face of a devastating illness can be found in The Sum Total of Our Memory, Barbara Klutinis’ sensitive, surprisingly optimistic look at married couples grappling with Alzheimer’s disease. The 30-minute film, which draws on both interviews and experimental-film techniques, is a high point in the festival’s shorts program devoted to Bay Area filmmakers.

One of the hotter DocFest tickets is sure to be Mark Mori’s affectionate Bettie Page Reveals All, narrated in the form of a rambling, chuckle-punctuated interview with the late pin-up icon herself. (We never actually see her except in archival film and images.) Even die-hards who already know the story behind the legend — a rough childhood, several unsuccessful marriages, mental-health issues — will likely learn some new tidbits. (A friend recalls watching 2005’s unauthorized biopic The Notorious Bettie Page with its subject, who hollered her opinion — “Lies! Lies!” — throughout.) Associates like Hugh Hefner and Dita Von Teese drop by to praise Page’s talents and legacy, but there’s no greater proof of lasting glamour than Page’s famous photographs, which she clearly loved posing for, and never regretted, even after embracing Christianity later in life.

Elsewhere in the fest, animal lovers should take note of Life with Alex, Emily Wiok’s profile of “real-life Dr. Doolittle” Irene Pepperberg, a scientist who spent decades working with an African Gray Parrot named Alex — who, despite his “walnut-sized brain,” developed a large vocabulary and the ability to identify certain colors and shapes. To its credit, the film also includes points of view that are skeptical of Dr. Pepperberg’s research (see: “Clever Hans”), though its cloying piano score grates long before the hour-long film reaches its conclusion.

Also worth mentioning, and filed under “straight from Sundance,” are Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, about the young, outspoken, and unfairly imprisoned Russian feminists; and Nick Ryan’s The Summit, set atop the world’s second-highest peak. The latter uses riveting re-enactments (à la 2003’s Touching the Void) and eyewitness interviews to piece together a disastrous chain of events that ended in 11 deaths in a 48-hour period — setting a grim new record for the sport of mountaineering. *

SAN FRANCISCO DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

June 6-23, $11-$20 (passes, $25-$160)

Various venues

www.sfindie.com

Have love, will travel

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June 4, 2013

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emilysavage@sfbg.com

TOFU AND WHISKEY Trails and Ways have zigged when others zagged. Though in reality, the band’s process is becoming more in line with the path many underground musicians take to create and distribute work in 2013. It’s avoided traditional labels, instead choosing to release a record through a Tumblr-based community project, and before that generated intense web interest with original singles, clever covers, and inspired remixes, building a reputation as a talented crew of globally inspired dream poppers.

And that windy route has paid off. The melodic Oakland quartet, which was named one of the Guardian’s Bands on the Rise earlier this year, will play its biggest headlining show yet this week, Fri/7 at the Independent (9pm, $12, 628 Divisadero, SF. www.theindependentsf.com). It’s part of its first full US (and Canadian) tour. All of this is in celebration of a record that’s been buzzed about since the first hints were dropped a year or so ago: the Trilingual EP is here.

If you’ve been following the band’s trajectory, you’ve heard many of the tracks before. Five-song Trilingual begins with faraway wind chimes and sturdy hand-claps, kicking off new single, “Como Te Vas,” which then builds into a electronic dance pop track with catchy guitar hooks over island synths and layers of echoing Spanish vocals. It bleeds directly into championed early released “Nunca,” lovely and moody “Tereza,” which ends with the sounds of rolling waves, along with previous single, the bossa nova beat driven “Border Crosser” (which supports the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights) and bubbly “Mtn Tune.” A few of the tracks showcase that two female-two male vocal counterpart dynamic of Trails and Ways, others spotlight and highlight one or two voices — all strong in their own right.

“Some of the songs we put out last year but had never given them a home. It’s our debut of songs written and recorded together as this band,” guitarist-vocalist Keith Brower Brown tells me. “Working as this four-piece changed how and what we do to the core. Before we went on this first major tour, we wanted to bring together our work so far — and new material — into this physical object to tour behind, a declaration of who we are and what we’ve done as a band.”

Although the foursome — Brower Brown, bassist Emma Oppen, drummer Ian Quirk, and guitarist-synth player Hannah Van Loon — initially considered expanding Trilingual into an LP, they decided not to force the additional tracks, to let the work settle and grow organically. “We realized that we never want to rush a full-length out the door. A lot of things have happened really fast for us — especially given that we’ve just been doing all this on top of demanding jobs and other projects.” (That ends soon; two of the four quit working full-time jobs on May 31, so when they return home from tour, they’ll be spending “infinite time” on their music.)

“If you’re too deep in the echo chamber you can feel this pressure to kick out new material every week. But when we put out a debut LP we want it to be as good as the albums that inspire us to make this music.”

It’s this kind of careful attention to detail that draws listeners in to Trails and Ways, the delicate layers of sound, the snippets of additional beats and instruments. Each track tells a story, and is intended to take a listener on a journey. As Brower Brown points out, that intension is right there in the band’s name. These joint interests in both traveling and exploring other cultures came from the time Brower Brown and bassist Oppen spent living in Brazil and Spain. “When you’re traveling in foreign space, wrestling with language and identity to express yourself takes you — by necessity — to the most creative place I know…and a lot of our songs and musical obsessions were sparked in those moments at the raw edge of translation and incomprehension.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNi_xKxySos

The band will release the EP through Non-Market, a brand new East Bay based DIY community label in which Trails and Ways are very involved. “We hope [it] will transcend the market of music promotion and distribution, by just having Bay bands write about other Bay bands,” Brower Brown says. “So it’s a open, principled, non-commercial music community.”

Along with being a stop on the band’s “Trans-American Trilingual Tour,” the Independent show is also kind of the label kickoff. The band’s San Francisco openers are local pals, Social Studies — and Astronauts Etc., which has also been a core part of the Non-Market dream.

The tour will take the travel junkies through much of the US and Canada. They’re “looking forward to 8,000 miles of time together in the minivan,” along with the hopes of popping off the road for hikes and lake swimming. The band is also itching to meet Drake in Toronto, and will play the same stage as both Kendrick Lamar and Tom Petty at the Firefly Music Festival in Delaware, plus a show in Chicago with its Portland, Ore. friends Radiation City. Even without the release of a proper full-length LP, the group will be headlining most of its US tour.

TOTAL CONTROL

If you somehow missed killer 2012 LP Henge Beat, Total Control is an Australian punk supergroup of sorts, featuring members of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, UV Race, and more. The band, which recently put out a split with Thee Oh Sees, sounds like a mix of Suicide and Joy Division, with lyrics aimed at sci-fi curiosities and paranoid guitar lines doused in just the right amount of doom and gloom.

Sat/8, 8pm, $12. Eagle Tavern, 398 12th St., SF. www.sf-eagle.com. With Thee Oh Sees, Fuzz.

Sun/9, 8pm, $10. Uptown, 1928 Telegraph, Oakl. www.uptownnightclub.com. With Grass Widow, Neon Piss, Synthetic ID.

LUMERIANS

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the Lumerians out and about in San Francisco, as the five-piece spacey, psychedelic wanderers (also recently described as a “Oakland stoner quintet”) reminded fans on social media this week. They also claim to have some secrets in store for the crowd at this show, which opens with fellow locals Wax Idols, at SF’s newest music venue, the Chapel. With this group, it’s got to be something cosmic.

Sat/8, 9pm, $15. Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF. www.thechapelsf.com.

NVH

Local record and book shop the Explorist International (which specializes in rural American music, jazz, international pop and folk, and electronics) is curating shows at Amnesia for the month of June, this week bringing out Sub Pop’s NVH, a.k.a. Noel Von Harmonson of Comets on Fire. With this solo project, the experimental knob-twister and guitarist blasts out mind-numbing soundscapes. With Diego Gonzales, DJs Special Lord B and Phengren Oswald. Upcoming Explorist International-curated shows at Amnesia include free-jazzists Aliacensis (June 18) and Nordeson/Shelton Duo (June 25).

Tue/11, 9:30pm, $5. Amnesia, 853 Valencia, SF. www.amnesiathebar.com.

SONNY AND THE SUNSETS

Here’s yet another show at the newly re-opened Eagle Tavern: the record release party for Sonny and the Sunsets’ newest, Antenna to the Afterworld. The confessional record, which hints at Modern Lovers and Silver Jews (a shift from country break-up record Longtime Companion), opens with Sonny Smith talk-singing a call-and-response conversation, “Something happened/I fell in love/but it was weird/Real weird.” “Good weird?” the voice on the other side implores. With Burnt Ones, Cool Ghouls.

Tue/11, 8pm, $7. Eagle Tavern, 398 12th St., SF. www.sf-eagle.com.

Selector: June 5-11, 2013

Andrew Lam

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June 4, 2013

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WEDNESDAY 5

“New Filipino Cinema 2013”

Fourteen out of the 16 films screening at Joel Shepard and Philbert Ortiz Dy’s co-curated series are American premieres. Aside from being an impressive coup for the programmers, that statistic suggests we don’t get many Filipino movies stateside, despite the country’s thriving cinema industry. All the more reason to visit Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for “New Filipino Cinema 2013,” a five-day, 16-film showcase with several filmmakers appearing in person as well as a panel discussion puzzling over “What is New Filipino Cinema?” One highlight is sure to be the delightfully insane-sounding Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles, Erik Matti’s horror-comedy about Philippine folklore’s favorite fetus-gobbling monster. (Cheryl Eddy)

Through Sun/9, $8–$10

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

701 Mission, SF

www.ybca.org

Lenka

Here’s a sweet little slice of pop for your foggy SF summer. Lenka’s album Shadows, on her own Skipalong Records, is about as breezy as it gets, with the songwriter’s child-like whisper whipped into pleasant melodies rising over fiddle-de-dee beats and bells; they’re songs that have been described as modern lullabies for adults. But don’t let the lilting pop fool you, the Australian singer-songwriter (and wife of visual artist James Gulliver Hancock, who does much of her album artwork and stage design) has major creative chops, having worked as an actress by age 13 in her homeland, and in collaboration with Australian electronic group Decoder Ring on the soundtrack to ’04’ film Somersault. She’s released a couple of albums on Epic Records since a late aughts move to the US, and her newest, Shadows, drops this week. The song “Show” from her ’08 debut is likely her best known stateside, thanks to its brief appearance in commercials and family-friendly sitcoms. (Emily Savage)

With Satellite

9:30pm, $15

Café Du Nord

2170 Market, SF

www.cafedunord.com

Fossil Collective

Fossil Collective will not offer you a chance to let loose and dance. You may not even sing along with the band at its shows. But its performance doesn’t need any of that. The group is fond of making the type of music you simply love and truly appreciate. Reminiscent of Fleet Foxes, the angelic harmonies of Fossil Collective could take you to the heavens and back. All that finger-picking of the acoustic guitars alone is entrancing enough. “Only when the moon is bright enough/only when the stars are high enough,” croon the brothers in “Let it Go.” Well, the moon is bright enough with this band, and the stars are definitely high enough. The Leeds-based band opens tonight for the Boxer Rebellion. (Hillary Smith)

9pm, $21.50

Fillmore

1805 Geary, SF

(415) 346-6000

www.thefillmore.com

THURSDAY 6

Sam Amidon

He’s highly derivative; completely unoriginal; a thief. And he’s refreshing because of that. Growing up in Brattleboro, Vt., folk music surrounded Amidon and seeped into his psyche. As he wrote his new album, Bright Sunny South, songs from his youth resurfaced and he would build on or reshape them, The result feels so old and familiar that it’s uncannily thrilling, as if he has the ability to communicate with the ghosts of Irish traditional music, historical Appalachian tunes, and old New England melodies and beckon them into a living frenzy. Amidon fits more neatly into the folk revival than his peers; he has literally brought folk back to life. Come see his beautiful reincarnation at the Chapel. (Laura Kerry)

With Alessi’s Ark

9pm, $12

Chapel

777 Valencia, SF

(415) 551-5157

www.thechapelsf.com

Slough Feg

Once a constant presence on local stages, metal battlecruiser Slough Feg has been hiding in a nebula of late, awaiting the moment to strike. The time is now ripe; the band returns this week to the Eagle Tavern, also recently on hiatus. But though the historic SOMA leather bar has undergone a few renovations, expect no such changes from Slough Feg when it returns to the Eagle’s long-running Thursday Night Live series. The band’s inimitable sound continues to mix galloping classic metal with infectious melody; vocals by singer/guitarist Mike Scalzi veer from Sci-Fi to show tunes to philosophy and sometimes encompass all three at once. When he ducks offstage to change costumes, brace yourself for incoming fire. (Ben Richardson)

With Owl, Wounded Giant

9:30pm, $10

Eagle Tavern

398 12th St., SF

www.sf-eagle.com

FRIDAY 7

San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival opening performance

You know it’s June when the SF Ethnic Dance Festival (by now just about the oldest event of its kind in the country) returns. Still, without a permanent, or at least a stable home, the Festival with its four weekends of 35 companies and over 500 performers, will perform where it is welcome: at YBCA, the Legion of Honor and closes with an artists’ discussion at the Museum of the African Diaspora. The opening performance by Ballet Folklórico Netzahualcoyotl (Mexico) and Fogo Na Roupa Performing Company (Brasil) will take place in the Rotunda of City Hall. What a great idea to have the seat of government be inundated by the sounds, sights, and sentiments of cultures that were alive and thriving before this city was even a speck on the map. (Rita Felciano)

Noon, free; additional performances, $18–$58

City Hall Rotunda, SF

(415) 978-2787

www.sfethnicdancefestival.org

Parquet Courts

The genre “Americana punk” doesn’t describe the music of Parquet Courts as much as it describes their story. The Texans relocated to Brooklyn a few years ago, and now that they’re in a jungle of a city, they’re going to do what they want. With songs off of Light Up Gold (2012) such as “Yr No Stoner,” “No Ideas,” and “Stoned and Starving,” the band projects the attitude of people whose greatest care is deciding between Swedish Fish or licorice. Any laziness in subject, though, is undermined by music that captures and emits real energy. Parquet Courts may be punkish, but they understand where they came from. And considering their weird and exciting breed of rock, we can’t wait to see where they’re going next. (Kerry)

With Cocktails, Pang

9pm, $12

Rickshaw Stop

155 Fell, SF

(415) 861-2011

Raissa Simpson’s UNLOCK

Choreographer-dancer Raissa Simpson may best be recognized locally for her nuanced yet powerful performances with Robert Moses Kin and Zaccho Dance Theatre, and as the brain and heart behind the 3rd Street Youth Center and Clinic. For her own Push Dance Company, she has choreographed among others, the early, still eloquent solo Judgement in Milliseconds, the intimate site-specific Mixed Messages as well as an ambitious hip-hop opera, Black Swordsman Saga. For her present eighth season concert she chose a venue she knows inside out: Zaccho Dance Theatre’s recently refurbish performance space. The mixed evening’s focal point will be the premiere of UNLOCK, inspired by anthropologist-writer Zora Neale Hurston: it will be danced by Adriann Ramirez, Nafi WatsonThompson, Arvejon Jones, Jhia Jackson, Elizabeth Sheets, and Katerina Wong. (Rita Felciano)

Through Sun/9, 8pm, $25

Zaccho Dance Theatre

1777 Yosemite, Suite 330, SF

push.eventbrite.com

Mark Farina and Roman Flügel (two sets each)

Sideshows can be sad at 1am. I once witnessed a DJ give up, outright get on the mic and tell us to pack into the main room to see the headliner, an uncomfortable situation on every level, and the difference between a party and a show. Here, Public Works is tricking out the conventional club hierarchy, with dual performances from two headliners, starting with a signature mushroom jazz set from Mark Farina in the loft and Roman Flügel housing the main room. At some point they’ll pull the old switcheroo, not just on the stages, but on genres, showcasing an entirely different sound — house and techno, respectively — from each. (Ryan Prendiville)

With Dax Lee, Duserock

9:30pm-3:30am, $20

Public Works

161 Erie St., SF

(415) 932-0955

www.publicsf.com

SATURDAY 8

“Plants from Outer Space”

How could the theme “Plants from Outer Space” steer you wrong? The San Francisco Succulent and Cactus Society’s annual show and sale is this weekend, and the theme is just that, with plant oddities from around the succulent world on full display. And if you’re picturing Seymour Krelborn squinting upwards after that Total Eclipse of Sun before noticing his own little leafy plant of horror, you’re also in my brain. More to reality however, the show will include California plant vendors with succulents, cacti, and the like, with society members of the nonprofit educational organization on hand to answer all your pertinent plant questions. (Savage)

Also Sun/9, 9am-5pm, free admission

San Francisco County Fair Building

1199 Ninth Ave., SF

www.sfsucculent.org

San Francisco Free Folk Festival

The San Francisco Folk Music Club is teeming with diehard folk fans who just might plague you with the same passion. Musicians and listeners alike will gather for the 36th time at this excitingly diverse event. Though large and busy, the festival offers an intimate experience with performers playing on three different stages. More than 20 folk groups will perform throughout the day from noon until 10pm, making this a must-see for Bay Area folk fans or people just looking for a fun, folky time. Some artists I recommend looking out for: Anne and Pete Sibley, Misisipi Mike Wolf, and the Easy Leaves. Just try leaving not a die-hard folk music fan; I dare you. (Smith)

Noon-10pm, free

Presidio Middle School

450 30th Ave., SF

www.sffolkfest.org

SUNDAY 9

Said the Whale

So, what did the whale say? The Canadian group Said the Whale may not have a straight answer to that, but it sure wouldn’t mind shooting the bull with you after the show anyways. On stage, it employs this same personable energy. Its upbeat attitude transforms into a deep appreciation of the depressing or fickle moments of life. It has a driving theme of nature in many songs, like in “Hurricane Ada” and “Seasons”. It’s not just the lyrics that reflect this theme though. Stomping, swaying, and thrashing around, the musicians of Said the Whale are all four seasons. Collected, they’re a hurricane. If you’re lucky enough, they’ll sweep you up with them. (Smith)

With Parson Red Heads and Desert Noises

Brick and Mortar Music Hall

10pm, $10

1710 Mission, SF

(415) 800-8782

You can see a video of Persia and Daddies Plastik performing Google Google Apps Apps at Esta Noche here.

Sunset Island

From boat parties in the bay (and Croatia!?) to a campout in Belden Town, Sunset Sound System is putting on bigger, bolder events than ever in 2013. But still, the one I look forward to the most is this “Electronic Music Picnic” on Treasure Island, which recalls both the crew’s name and its origins, dancing as the sun went down on the Berkeley Marina in 1994. The key word in this year’s lineup is “live,” featuring sets from the all hardware Detroit duo Octave One and vintage toned Chicago house veteran Tevo Howard, as well as the deep sounds of Midwestern DJ DVS1. (Prendiville)

With Galen, Solar, J-Bird

Noon-9pm, $10–$20

Great Lawn, Treasure Island

www.sunsetmusicelectric.com

The Guardian listings deadline is two weeks prior to our Wednesday publication date. To submit an item for consideration, please include the title of the event, a brief description of the event, date and time, venue name, street address (listing cross streets only isn’t sufficient), city, telephone number readers can call for more information, telephone number for media, and admission costs. Send information to Listings, the Guardian, 225 Bush, 17th Flr., SF, CA 94105; or e-mail (paste press release into e-mail body — no attachments, please) to listings@sfbg.com. Digital photos may be submitted in jpeg format; the image must be at least 240 dpi and four inches by six inches in size. We regret we cannot accept listings over the phone.

Music listings

Andrew Lam

-

June 4, 2013

0

Music listings are compiled by Emily Savage. Since club life is unpredictable, it’s a good idea to call ahead or check the venue’s website to confirm bookings and hours. Prices are listed when provided to us. Visit www.sfbg.com/venue-guide for venue information. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.

WEDNESDAY 5

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Boxer Rebellion, Fossil Collective Fillmore. 9pm, $21.

Crystal Fighters, Alpine Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $16-$19.

Girls in Suede, Turtle Rising Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $5.

Gunshy Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Hopie, Rey Resurreccion, Nate the Great, DJ Custo, DJ Ry Toast Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $8.

Lenka, Satellite Café Du Nord. 9:30pm, $15.

Ricky Stein Hotel Utah. 8pm.

Nathan Temby vs Jason Marion Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 10pm, free.

Twice as Good Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Big Bones Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Joey Defrancesco Trio Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $25.

Dink Dink Dink, Gaucho, Eric Garland’s Jazz Session Amnesia. 7pm, free.

Experimental Music Yearbook Center for New Music, 55 Taylor, SF; www.centerfornewmusic.com. 7:30pm, $5-$7.

Terry Disley Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.burrittavern.com. 6-9pm, free.

Michael Parsons Trio Revolution Café. 8:30pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Bluegrass Country Jam, Jeanie and Chuck Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Chris Ford Band Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 7pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Booty Call Q-Bar, 456 Castro, SF; www.bootycallwednesdays.com. 9pm. Juanita MORE! and Joshua J host this dance party.

Cash IV Gold Double Dutch, 3192 16th St, SF; www.thedoubledutch.com. 9pm, free.

Coo-Yah! Slate Bar, 2925 16th St, SF; www.slate-sf.com. 10pm, free. With Vinyl Ambassador, DJ Silverback, DJs Green B and Daneekah.

Hardcore Humpday Happy Hour RKRL, 52 Sixth St, SF; (415) 658-5506. 6pm, $3.

Mercedez Munro, and Ginger Snap.

Martini Lounge John Colins, 138 Minna, SF; www.johncolins.com. 7pm. With DJ Mark Divita.

Timba Dance Party Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St., SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5. With DJ Walt Diggz.

THURSDAY 6

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Sam Amidon, Alessi’s Ark Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $12.

Anhedonist, Necrot, Fabricant Hemlock Tavern. 8pm, $8.

JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound Café Du Nord. 9:30pm, $12.

Rick Estrin and the Nightcats Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Field Independent. 9pm, $16.50.

Foxtails Brigade, Jessica Fichot, Waterstrider Amnesia. 9pm.

I the Mighty, Animal in Me, Belle Noire Thee Parkside. 9pm, $10.

Kromosom, Frenzy, Kontrasekt, Condition Knockout. 10pm, $8.

Limousines, popscene DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9:30pm, $20.

Midtown Social Ray Vaughn, DJ Ted BAGel Radio Bottom of the Hill. 7pm, $15.

Dave Moreno and Friends Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Papi vs Lee Huff Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 10pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Sam Bass Gypsy Jazz Revolution Café. 8:30pm, free.

Shannon Ceili Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Joey Defrancesco Trio Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $25.

Zoë Keating Exploratorium After Dark, Pier 15, SF; www.exploratorium.edu. 6-10pm. $10-$15.

Chris Siebert Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Family Crest Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission between Third and Fourth Streets, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. 12:30pm, free.

Sunny Snecker BrainWash, 1122 Folsom, SF;www.brainwash.com. 5pm, free.

Whiskey Pills Fiasco Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Afrolicious Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $8. With DJ-hosts Pleasuremaker and Senor Oz.

All 80s Thursday Cat Club. 9pm, $6 (free before 9:30pm). The best of ’80s mainstream and underground.

Pa’lante! Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St., SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5. With DJs Juan G, El Kool Kyle, Mr. Lucky.

Ritual Temple. 10pm-3am, $5. Two rooms of dubstep, glitch, and trap music.

Ritual Bass DNA Lounge. 9pm. Dubstep and trap with Emalkay, MRK1, Jack Sparrow, Nebakaneza.

Supersonic Lookout, 3600 16th St., SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 9pm. Global beats paired with food from around the world by Tasty. Resident DJs Jaybee, B-Haul, amd Diagnosis.

Tropicana Madrone Art Bar. 9pm, free. Salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, and more with DJs Don Bustamante, Apocolypto Sr. Saen, Santero, and Mr. E.

FRIDAY 7

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Alvon Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Cellar Doors, Sister Chief, Posole, Kevin Eagle Oliver, Joel Gion Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $10.

French Cassettes, Vela Eyes, Trims, DJ Omar Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $12.

Lee Huff, Papi, Jason Marion Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 10pm, free.

Kill Paris, Liam Shy, Deep City Culture, Djedi Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 8pm, $15-$20.

Josiah Leming Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 7pm, $15.

NVO, Gamelan X, Cavalry, DJ Phleck Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9:30pm, $15.

Parquet Courts, Cocktails, Pang Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $10-$12.

St. Valentinez Band, Starving Millionaires, Kingsborough Slim’s. 6:30pm, $15.

Terry Malts, Cold Beat, Number One Smash Hits Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

Trails and Ways, Social Studies, Astronauts, etc. Independent. 9pm, $12.

Top Secret Band Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Victims Family, Porch, Brubaker Thee Parkside. 9pm, $10.

Scott Weiland Fillmore. 9pm, $39.50.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Audium 1616 Bush, SF; www.audium.org. 8:30pm, $20. Theater of sound-sculptured space.

Peabo Bryson Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $45; 10pm, $40.

Fire Woman Revolution Café. 9pm, free.

“Gwah Guy: Crossing the Street” ODC, 351 Shotwell, SF; odcdance.org/theater.php. 8pm. A collaboration between Marcus Shelby and Flo Oy Wong.

Hammond Organ Soul Jazz, Blues Party Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Musical Art Quintet Emerald Tablet, 80 Fresno, SF; (415) 500-2323. 8pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Jinx Jones and the King Tones Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 9pm.

Littlest Birds Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Royal Deuces, Tom Armstrong and the Branded Men, Muddy Roses, Ramsay Moodwood, DJ Blaze Orange Café Du Nord. 8pm, $15.

DANCE CLUBS

Funkin’ Fridays with Swoop Unit Amnesia. 6pm.

Haceteria Slate Bar, 2925 16th St., SF; www.slate-sf.com. 10pm, $5-$7. With Leech, DJ Myles Cooper, and DJ CZ.

Joe Lookout, 3600 16th St.,SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 9pm. Eight rotating DJs, shirt-off drink specials.

Madlib Medicine Show 1015 Folsom, SF; www.1015.com. 10pm, $20.

Old School JAMZ El Rio. 9pm. Fruit Stand DJs spinning old school funk, hip-hop, and R&B.

One More Time: A Tribute to Daft Punk DNA Lounge. 9pm, $15. With Ton Sol, Freefall, M3RC.

Paris Dakar Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St., SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5. With DJs Epic, Fuze, Bocar, Claude.

Strangelove Cat Club. 10pm, $7. Wax Trax in the back with DJs Mitch and Lexor, Metropolis Records in the front, and more.

Twitch DNA Lounge. 10pm, $5-$8. With Nonviolent, Ariisk, resident DJs Justin, Omar, and more.

SATURDAY 8

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Cumstain, Dark Seas, Burnt Thrones Club Thee Parkside. 9pm, $5.

Five Iron Frenzy Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $25.

Free Energy Slim’s. 9pm, $14.

Chris James and the Showdowns Riptide. 9:30pm, free.

Lumerians, Wax Idols Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $12-$15.

Maine, Rocket to the Moon, This Century, Brighten Great American Music Hall. 7pm, $21.

Nervous, Coins, Bradbury Thee Parkside. 3pm, free.

Papi, Jason Marion, Lee Huff Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 10pm, free.

Pine Box Boys, Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit Independent. 9pm, $15.

“SF Rock Project plays Jack White and Beck” Thee Parkside. 1pm, $5.

Tall Shadows Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Waiting Room, Catharsis for Cathedral, Windowpain Industries Amnesia. 6:30pm, $5.

Wet Illustrated, Violent Change, Pure Bliss, Tony Molina Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $7.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Seth Agustus Revolution Café. 9pm, free.

Audium 1616 Bush, SF; www.audium.org. 8:30pm, $20. Theater of sound-sculptured space.

Peabo Bryson Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $50; 10pm, $45.

Hammond Organ Soul Jazz, Blues Party Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

North Beach Brass Band brunch Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 1-3pm.

Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Truckstop Darlin’, Brother Dege Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 8:30pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Free Folk Festival Presidio Middle School, 450 30th Ave., SF; www.sffolkfest.org. Noon-10pm, free.

Jenny Kerr Band Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Lucky 7 Band, Bootcuts, B-Stars, Nickel Slots, DJ Blaze Orange Café Du Nord. 8pm, $15.

Tom Rigney and Flambeau Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission between Third and Fourth Streets, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. 1pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Bootie SF: Hubba Hubba Revue DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10-$15. With Bow-Tie Beauties, Keith Kraft, and more.

Braza! Slate Bar, 2925 16th St, SF; www.slate-sf.com. 10pm, $5. Brazilian dance party.

Chase: Part V Lab, 2948 16th St., SF; www.thelab.org. 9pm, $5. With Austin Cesear, Panavision, Bobby Browser, Ash Williams, and more.

Club Gossip Cat Club. 9pm, free before 9:30pm, $5–<\d>$8 after.

Cockblock Rickshaw Stop. 10pm, $10. With DJ Motiv, Natalie Nuxx.

Tormenta Tropical Elbo Room. 10pm, $10. With resident DJs Shawn Reynaldo and Oro11, Uproot Andy.

Panic in the Panhandle Panhandle, Fell at Masonic, SF; www.silentfrisco.com. 1pm-sunset, $10-$20. Silent Frisco event with Christian Martin and Ardalan, MOM DJs, and more.

Paris Dakar Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St., SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5. With DJs Epic, Fuze, Bocar, Claude.

2 Men Will Move You Amnesia. 9pm.

SUNDAY 9

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Alkaline Trio, Bayside, Off With Their Heads Regency Ballroom. 7:30pm, $26.

Anamanaguchi, Chrome Sparks, Pale Blue Dot Rickshaw Stop. 7pm, $12-$15.

“Battle for Mayhem Festival” DNA Lounge. 5pm, $15. Battle of the metal bands.

Curates, Lusjoints, Budros Café Du Nord. 7:30pm, $10.

Desert Noises, Parson Red Heads, Said the Whale Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10.

Dave Moreno and Friends Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Secrets of the Sky, Before the Eyewall, Catapult the Dead Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $7.

“SF Rock Project Students playing New Rockers, Jack White, Beck” Bottom of the Hill. 2pm, $5.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Howell Divine Revolution Café. 8:30pm, free.

Lavay Smith Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

ZOFORBIT: A Space Odyssey Center for New Music, 55 Taylor, SF; www.centerfornewmusic.com. 5pm, $15.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Brazil and Beyond Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St., SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 6:30pm, free.

Easy Leaves Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 4-7pm.

Hamed Nikpay Yoshi’s SF. 7pm, $45; 9pm, $40.

Secret Town, Misisipi Mike Wolf Thee Parkside. 4pm, free.

Kyle Thayer, Anne Kirrane, Gerry Hanley Plough and Stars. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Beats for Brunch Thee Parkside. 11am, free.

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $6. Dub, dubstep, roots with DJ Sep, J. Boogie, Ludichris. .

Jock Lookout, 3600 16th St, SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 3pm, $2.

MONDAY 10

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Damir Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Zack Kouns, Cube, Armon Pakdel, Jordan Epcar Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $9.

Nekromantix, Silver Shine, Thee Merry Windows Slim’s. 8pm, $15-$17.

Beth Orton, James Bay Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $30-$35.

Void Boys Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $6.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Classical Revolution Revolution Café. 8:30pm, free.

Thingamajigs Presents: Pacific Exchange Center for New Music, 55 Taylor, SF; www.centerfornewmusic.com. 8pm, $10-$15.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Toshio Hirano Amnesia. 9pm.

Stereofidelics Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 8:30pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Crazy Mondays Beauty Bar, 2299 Mission, SF; www.thebeautybar.com. 10pm, free. Hip-hop and other stuff.

Death Guild DNA Lounge. 9:30pm, $3-$5. With Decay, Joe Radio, Melting Girl.

M.O.M. Madrone Art Bar. 6pm, free. DJs Timoteo Gigante, Gordo Cabeza, and Chris Phlek playing all Motown every Monday.

Soul Cafe John Colins Lounge, 138 Minna, SF; www.johncolins.com. 9pm. R&B, Hip-Hop, Neosoul, reggae, dancehall, and more with DJ Jerry Ross.

Vibes’N’Stuff El Amigo Bar, 3355 Mission, SF; (415) 852-0092. 10pm, free. Conscious jazz and hip-hop with DJs Luce Lucy, Vinnie Esparza, and more.

TUESDAY 11

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

A.N.S., Conquest for Death, Ruleta Rusa, DJ Agitator Knockout. 9:30pm, $7.

Authority Zero, Ballyhoo!, Versus the World Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $14.

Luciano, Inner Circle, IKronik Independent. 9pm, $25.

NVH, Diego Gonzales, DJs Special Lord B., Phengren Oswald Amnesia. 9:30pm, $5.

Small Black, Heavenly Beat, Silver Hands Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $15.

Stan Earheart Band Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Ron Thompson and the Resistors Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Nick Culp Revolution Café. 8:30pm, free.

Terry Disley Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.burrittavern.com. 6-9pm, free.

Tommy Igoe Big Band Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $22.

Live Electricity Exhibit with Lance Grabmiller, Gino Robair, Jon Raskin Center for New Music, 55 Taylor, SF; www.centerfornewmusic.com. 7:30pm, $10-$15.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Barry O’Connell, Vinnie Cronin Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Underground Nomads Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St., SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5. With DJ Amar, Dulce Vita, Sep resident DJs.

DANCE CLUBS

Bombshell Betty and her Burlesqueteers Elbo Room. 9pm, $10.

Stylus John Colins Lounge, 138 Minna, SF; www.johncolins.com. 9pm. Hip-hop, dancehall, and Bay slaps with DJ Left Lane.

Takin’ Back Tuesdays Double Dutch, 3192 16th St,SF; www.thedoubledutch.com. 10pm. Hip-hop from the 1990s.

Heads Up: 8 must-see concerts this week

Tony Robles

-

June 4, 2013

1

When does cute become cloying? Because this newly viral video of a baby playing along to the Beatles with his dad is seriously tickling me pink — it’s pretty damn adorable — but after watching it a dozen or so times, it’s left me longing for something noisy and gross, just to wash off the darlingness of it all.

And the best shows this week are something of demonstrative polar opposites as well. There’s sugary Australian pop act Lenka, and fellow Aussie post-punks Total Control, then global dream popsters Trails and Ways, and metal battlecruiser Slough Feg, Americana punks Parquet Courts, and the Sunset Island fest, known as the “electronic music picnic.” They are all in the mix.

Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:

Lenka
Here’s a sweet little slice of pop for your foggy SF summer. Lenka’s newest album Shadows, on her own Skipalong Records, is about as breezy as it gets, with the songwriter’s child-like whisper whipped into pleasant melodies rising over fiddle-de-dee beats and bells; they’re songs that have been described as modern lullabies for adults. But don’t let the lilting pop fool you, the Australian singer-songwriter (and wife of visual artist James Gulliver Hancock, who does much of her album artwork and stage design) has major creative chops, having worked as an actress by age 13 in her homeland, and in collaboration with Australian electronic group Decoder Ring on the soundtrack to ’04’ film Somersault.
With Satellite
Wed/5, 9:30pm, $15
Café Du Nord
2170 Market, SF
www.cafedunord.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW8rg6XeP3U

Slough Feg
“Once a constant presence on local stages, metal battlecruiser Slough Feg has been hiding in a nebula of late, awaiting the moment to strike. The time is now ripe; the band returns this week to the Eagle Tavern, also recently on hiatus. But though the historic SOMA leather bar has undergone a few renovations, expect no such changes from Slough Feg when it returns to the Eagle’s long-running Thursday Night Live series. The band’s inimitable sound continues to mix galloping classic metal with infectious melody; vocals by singer-guitarist Mike Scalzi veer from Sci-Fi to show tunes to philosophy and sometimes encompass all three at once. When he ducks offstage to change costumes, brace yourself for incoming fire.” — Ben Richardson
With Owl, Wounded Giant
Thu/6, 9:30pm, $10
Eagle Tavern
398 12th St., SF
www.sf-eagle.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDgAAQBlANs

Permanent Ruin
Here’s another show at beloved taqueria, Casa Sanchez — is this becoming a thing now? That’s great — chips, salsa, and live punk bands. And Maximum Rocknroll is presenting this one, headlined by Permanent Ruin, a grinding Bay Area hardcore band that blasted out seven-inch Más Allá de la Muerte on Warthog Speak, earlier this spring, and has in the past opened for bands like Gehenna and Tragedy.
With True Mutants, Dead Pressure
Thu/6, 7pm, $5
Casa Sanchez
2778 24 St., SF
Facebook
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZT789KUPWE

Trails and Ways
The melodic Oakland quartet, which was named one of the Guardian’s Bands on the Rise earlier this year, will play its biggest headlining show yet this week. It’s part of its first full US (and Canadian) tour. All of this is in celebration of a record that’s been buzzed about since the first hints were dropped a year or so ago: the Trilingual EP is here.
With Social Studies, Astronauts Etc.
Fri/7, 9pm, $12,
Independent
628 Divisadero, SF
www.theindependentsf.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbX0NaoAo8U

Parquet Courts
“The genre “Americana punk” doesn’t describe the music of Parquet Courts as much as it describes their story. The Texans relocated to Brooklyn a few years ago, and now that they’re in a jungle of a city, they’re going to do what they want. With songs off of Light Up Gold (2012) such as “Yr No Stoner,” “No Ideas,” and “Stoned and Starving,” the band projects the attitude of people whose greatest care is deciding between Swedish Fish or licorice. Any laziness in subject, though, is undermined by music that captures and emits real energy. Parquet Courts may be punkish, but they understand where they came from. And considering their weird and exciting breed of rock, we can’t wait to see where they’re going next.” — Laura Kerry
With Cocktails, Pang
Fri/7, 9pm, $12
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
(415) 861-2011
www.rickshawstop.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWAdh4YIpd8

Total Control
If you somehow missed killer 2012 LP Henge Beat, Total Control is an Australian punk supergroup of sorts, featuring members of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, UV Race, and more. The band, which recently put out a split with Thee Oh Sees, sounds like a mix of Suicide and Joy Division, with lyrics aimed at sci-fi curiosities and paranoid guitar lines doused in just the right amount of doom and gloom.
With Thee Oh Sees, Fuzz
Sat/8, 9pm, $15
Eagle Tavern
398 12th St., SF
www.sf-eagle.com

With Grass Widow, Neon Piss, Synthetic ID
Sun/9, 8pm, $10
Uptown, 1928 Telegraph, Oakl
www.uptownnightclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaBhBbG8PFM

Lumerians
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the Lumerians out and about in San Francisco, as the five-piece spacey, psychedelic wanderers (also recently described as a “Oakland stoner quintet”) reminded fans on social media this week. They also claim to have some secrets in store for the crowd at this show, which opens with fellow locals Wax Idols, at SF’s newest music venue, the Chapel.
Sat/8, 9pm, $15
Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF
www.thechapelsf.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WTIHwUjg68

Sunset Island
“From boat parties in the bay (and Croatia!?) to a campout in Belden Town, Sunset Sound System is putting on bigger, bolder events than ever in 2013. But still, the one I look forward to the most is this “Electronic Music Picnic” on Treasure Island, which recalls both the crew’s name and its origins, dancing as the sun went down on the Berkeley Marina in 1994. The key word in this year’s lineup is “live,” featuring sets from the all hardware Detroit duo Octave One and vintage toned Chicago house veteran Tevo Howard, as well as the deep sounds of Midwestern DJ DVS1.” — Ryan Prendiville
With Galen, Solar, J-Bird
Sun/9, Noon-9pm, $10–$20
Great Lawn, Treasure Island
www.sunsetmusicelectric.com

Lou Reed’s not so perfect day

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June 2, 2013

87

Last Friday, it was revealed that Velvet Underground co-founder and occasionally proclaimed “godfather of punk rock” Lou Reed had undergone a life-saving liver transplant in Cleveland. Reed, 71 was “dying” according to his third wife, Laurie Anderson. She says that Reed is already improving and up and around doing tai chi, but that “he will never be completely better”.

Given that Reed is in his eighth decade on the planet and is notorious for drug-related anthems like “Heroin”, “Waiting For The Man” and “White Light/White Heat”, there is a pushback of a sort. Why would this elderly reprobate, surely the cause of his own misery get leap-frogged ahead of a younger person. Someone more deserving.

This kind of ridiculous moral posturing and shrill self-righteousness is at the heart of every argument when anyone with a self-inflicted ailment seeks treatment. First of all, Reed’s liver failed from complications from Hepatitis C. Like many intravenous drug users, he had no idea this existed when he was using–no excuse you say? He should have known better–how? And that if he’d only lived an ascetic existence, this never would have happened? Reed has been intermittedly sober for almost 30 years as documented on his album “The Blue Mask”. Secondly, that he’s 71, why “waste” an organ on him?

Because he’s ill. Just as you’d wish a measure like that would be taken if you had made it to 71 and had loved ones. The idea that a chronic smoker shouldn’t get a lung, or an obese person a lapband because they’d brought this onto themselves and were now too old to benefit–that’s a rather strangely “anti-life” attitude.

Yeah, it isn’t fair that Reed or David Crosby, Mickey Mantle or Phil Lesh got priorities for a new liver having run the old one down to nothing (which is quite a feat, as Cedars’ liver expert John Vierling told me years ago, the liver is the body’s strongest organ). Especially when there are younger people whose livers didn’t fail from abuse but from organic causes. But the afore-mentioned have something in common–they’re wealthy. Perhaps if the financial issue weren’t part of it and it was a “liver lottery” and paid for by Medicare, this would be “fairer”. But as long as moral scoldery and the adoration of the “free market” seem to be on the same (right) side of the political coin, fat chance.

I’m happy for Lou and Laurie. Lou’s songs are among my favorites and anyone that nay-says his skill because it’s simple music sung by someone with a limited vocal range can pound sand. Long may he run.

Sonny Bono, inventor of punk rock

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June 2, 2013

5

Did Sonny Bono invent punk rock?

“I Got You, Babe” and “The Beat Goes On” are at root the most primitive songs of the era–just as neanderthal as “Wild Thing” or “Gloria” or “Louie Louie”. The latter song is a three note bass lick–even Suicide wasn’t that minimal (usually).

And these were enormous hits.

And he was high on dope when he skied into a tree and died. (And it’s said he was murdered and the official story is a lie, a la Nancy Spungen) Top that, Johnny Thunders!

Live Shots: Chvrches at Mezzanine

Tony Robles

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May 30, 2013

2

The night started with shrieks. Well, back up. It actually started sedate. Opener Still Corners had cancelled at the last minute, due to visa issues*,” so we knew it would be a bit of a wait before headliner Chvrches came to the stage at Mezzanine. In the meantime, we stood around commenting how nice it was that there was no one under 21.

The show had originally been scheduled at the Rickshaw Stop, but when it sold out quickly, it was moved to Mezzanine, and anyone under drinking age was issued a refund. This meant there wasn’t the early crush of teenagers permanently camped out at the front of the stage.** I know, I know, it’s not nice to gloat over someone else’s exclusion. Maybe I forget about being that age and not understanding how I wouldn’t get to see my newest musical obsession live, just because the venue was 21+. I remember now, though, because twenty minutes before start time the other side of the spectrum arrived: the banshees.***

You know them. The kind of people who slip through the crowd, pretending their friend is just…over…there, until suddenly they stop in the gap you’ve made for them to pass, and you realize that their friends are actually behind them, daisy-chained along (and now standing on your feet). The kind that love, love, love each other (and are so glad they’re all here!) but don’t give a damn about anyone else. The kind that re-count how many free shots they’ve been given (not recount as in a great story, but re-count as in they can’t keep track of the actual number at this point).

The kind that seem a few penis straws short of a bachelorette party. The kind that — when you supportively catch them mid-stumble and extricate them from the remaining inch between your date — turn to their friends and act like you manhandled their pudenda. The kind that are (of course) joined by their moist, B.O. laden friend Owen****, who is the kind of guy that just happens to be surrounded by assholes all the time, since his breed of loud, shrieking belligerents has the perfect mix of self-awareness and obliviousness to make it seem like assholes surround them wherever they go. The kind of people who have to say, “Let’s not fight tonight.” *****

Obviously, it wasn’t really that bad, but whenever you wait extra long without an opener, the crowd starts to feel a bit hellish. In which case, Chvrches coming to the stage with a slow downed version of Prince’s reverent intro to “Let’s Go Crazy” was the perfect segue into the musical reward for our suffering:

Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called life

Electric word life
It means forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here to tell you
There’s something else
The after world

A world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night

Once on stage, the Scottish electronic pop trio started out with “Lies,” and the bright sharpness of singer Lauren Mayberry’s voice quickly pushed the shrillness of banshees out of mind. It has an instantaneous accessible quality to it that immediately hooks in and grabs attention, validating the lyrics “I can sell you lies, you can’t get enough. Make a true believer of, anyone, anyone, anyone.” It goes a long way to explaining how, after posting just a few songs online, the group of Glaswegians has captured such attention.****** On “Recover,” played later in the evening to the crowd’s largest response, Mayberry sings with a monosyllabic attention, giving such clarity to the words that they hardly even matter. It could be the alphabet.

Refreshingly, this focus comes without grandstanding.******* Mayberry is rather stationary on stage, but the clarity of her iconically pop voice is by itself without pop-cliche affectations, dances or costumes.******** The band functions best as a unit. Iain Cook and Martin Doherty are the musical foundation, combining elements of post-punk and synthpop, updated with some trap elements (see: the intro to “The Mother We Share”).

Both act as multi-instrumentalists and backing vocalists on stage, with Doherty most notably giving a little oomph to chunky drum samples on the MPC, and Cook bringing his bass to the forefront on songs like “Lungs.” When Doherty took lead vocals for a song, his singing was a little more raw, a little more tender — like early Bernard Sumner — with a pleading stage presence and a more obvious Scottish accent.

After playing as much already released and new material as a band that hasn’t actually released an album could have — with Doherty thanking the crowd for the largest headlining show they’ve ever done — Chvrches returned to the stage (and the Purple One) for a cover of “I Would Die 4 U.”

*It always seems to be visa issues when a band cancels. Is that just the all-purpose excuse?
**The luxury of an empty bladder.
***The only reference to Scottish culture I’ll make, since sadly it’s all I know.
****He is always named Owen.
*****With emphasis on “tonight” because it happens frequently enough to be a normal occurrence.
******To the point that their first live show was reportedly already filled with label types and music journalists.
*******Choice quote: “As my mom says, we’re all the same, nobody’s special, we’re all shit.”
********So, pre-Madonna stage with a Madonna-esque voice, but not prima donna.

Here’s your gentrification-eviction-displacement electro theme song. Let’s dance.

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May 29, 2013

19

Here’s your gentrification-eviction-displacement electro theme song. Let’s dance.

“Hey gurl, where you moving to? Moving to the East Bay, living life the broke way. SF keep your money. FUCK YOUR MONEY!”

In-our-face drag performer Persia has teamed up with phantasmic trio Daddies Plastik to create an ecstatic dance punk anthem for our insane SF economic times, “Google Google Apps Apps.” It’s really catchy! Gentrify me, gentrify me, gentrify my love.

And it all comes from personal experience.

;

Persia told me (appropriately through Facebook):

It all began a few weeks ago, when I received an invite via facebook to “Save Esta Noche,” the only gay Latino bar in SF (where I perform every Saturday at 7pm and 11:30pm with Mitzy Lee, Vicky Jimenez and Lulu). Apparently the bar was in trouble, they had lapsed on some of their bills and the bar was on the verge of closing. Upon reading the invite, I realized that none of the Esta Noche performers were on the bill, so I made a few phone calls and put in my two cents. I was directed to the offices of David Campos, whose staff was behind organizing the event. I informed them that I found it appalling that there were no Esta Noche performers on the bill. They informed me that everything was done last minute and they were not able to contact us but they were very grateful that I called and wanted us. So, Lulu and Mitzy Lee and myself, were added to the bill. All while getting ready to be un-employed from my current job, SFMOMA, when it closes for remodeling.

Facing unemployed from possibly two places had me on edge. My stress level was at a maximum. However, it wasn’t until I saw my friends perform at the Eagle, Daddies Plastik (San Cha, Vain Hein, Tyler Holmes), that it dawned on me, “I should write a song, and have my friends help me.” Lately, the Black Glitter Collective (a group of artists and homies I’m in) have all been facing troubling life events; from couch surfing to having problems with our landlords, to losing jobs, having work hours cuts, moving to the East Bay, etc. So, as Daddies Plastik performed their last song, I wrote down lyrics on my phone. I wanted the song to be silly and in your face.

Two days later I went to Daddies Plastik’s home in West Oakland. They came up with a hawt tune, we structured my ideas in pop-music format and on May 18th we performed it live at Esta Noche, for their benefit. Then last night, we took the song to our producer Keith Tadashi Kubota aka I.VII.I.IX. and he worked his magic.

We, Daddies Plastik and I, will continue to collaborate. This summer we’ll be working on an EP, along the same lines as Google Google Apps Apps. Together, alongside the Black Glitter Collective, we’ll be working on music videos and other projects.

What we do is secret

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May 28, 2013

2

emilysavage@sfbg.com

TOFU AND WHISKEY Bay Area garage pop quintet the Mantles will release Love Enough to Leave on Slumberland Records next month (June 18) and play the Rickshaw Stop a few short days before that (June 14). The breezy group formed in 2007, but sounds like it could just have easily been hanging out at Vesuvio in Jack Kerouac Alley or across the street at Specs Bar in 1968, grasping stiff drinks and talking politics and fashion with local drunks.

Although, singer-guitarist Michael Olivares, wife and drummer Virginia Weatherby, and their new dog Jumbo moved to Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood last year thanks to rising rents in Bernal Heights, where they formerly lived. So that old-time SF scenario isn’t quite as picturesque as conjured. But the band still bleeds Bay Area. Olivares and Weatherby frequent nearby 1-2-3-4 Go! Records for vinyl, and the Night Light, the Hemlock, the Knockout, and El Rio for live shows. The band recorded its new album with local legend Kelley Stoltz, and the other three band members — keyboardist Carly Putnam, bassist Matt Roberts and, newish lead guitarist Justin Loney — live scattered throughout SF, in the Tenderloin and the Mission.

Plus, it’s really more the sound that evokes those vintage tastes, those early Nuggets-esque psych-pop ideals. Olivares gets the comparisons and appeal, though hopes his band does not come off as just a carbon copies of the past (it doesn’t). “We definitely like all of that music and other things from that era, that culture,” he says. “We’re aware enough though that I hope to not become just a blatant revivalist band that’s trying to wear tie-dye shirts and bell-bottoms or something.”

But still, the favorable comparison is applicable, “Most of the music I listen to is from that era, the ’60s and ’70s, so I’d say we’re pretty heavily influenced by it.”

This may come as no surprise to listeners still besotted with the Mantles’ self-titled 2010 debut (Siltbreeze), with its nimbly Byrds-like appeal. Yes, three years later (and EP Pink on Mexican Summer in between) the mood remains upbeat, but like the musicians who created it, there’s an older wisdom to the approach.

There’s a seen-it-all-before strength from tracks off Love Enough to Leave such as “Brown Balloon” and only slightly more solemn album closer “Shadow of Your Step.” It’s like the group time-warped and took those free-wheeling early folk popsters back to the garage with them, plugged in and showed them proto-punk, then had a serious conversation about what would happen to the Bay Area in 2013: housing prices will rise again, there will be this thing called the web that changes everything.

When asked what’s changed since he first moved to SF a decade ago, Olivares says it seems like bands have gone poppier (including his own), but also notes there’s been a shift in the sheer number of house shows in SF proper.

He says their migration to the East Bay loosely influenced title track, “Long Enough to Leave,” and “Don’t Cross Town.”

Conversely, there are some more character-based tracks inspired by books and films like Mike Leigh’s comedic camping ode Nuts in May (1976), including jangly opener “Marbled Birds” and the illusory single “Hello,” which initially seems like a pleasant conversation. Cheery to begin with, it feels like candy and turquoise rotary telephones in teenage bedrooms (a ruse, the band members are all actually in their early 30s). But then, it gets to the line, “Hello/Maybe you can help me get out of here.” Ah, the hook, and out comes the reverb. Olivares told me it was actually about a time when his friend in France was sending postcards and he kept forgetting to respond.

While the Mantles may evoke vintage San Francisco, there’s something moving in this week that’s entirely new to the area and musical landscape. The America’s Cup Concert Series at the America’s Cup Pavilion (between Piers 27/29), stricken by neighborhood complaints, finally soldiers forward (but now down to 30 concerts from 40). It’ll be SF’s largest venue — holding up to 9,000 classic rock fans in an outdoor concert bulb connected to the equally maligned America’s Cup. Teamed up with Live Nation, the Pavilion will host a barrage of top 40 acts including Imagine Dragons this weekend, Fri/31, (already sold out).

Then there’ll be Sting, the Steve Miller Band, Counting Crows with the Wallflowers, 311, Train, Sammy Hagar, and it goes on. It’s a rather stale line-up, perhaps best suited for those legitimately excited for the boat races. The youngest group is the Jonas Brothers, after that Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco (all well into their 30s). Perhaps the only really interesting additions are Weezer and the symphony. Here’s hoping the neighbors don’t keep complaining.

BAY FEVER

And now, a little spring-cleaning for Tofu and Whiskey. Some Bay Area bands are killing it in late May and June. Dreams in the Rat House (Hardly Art), the explosive new full-length from Oakland trio Shannon and the Clams dropped last week. As noted when the single “Rip Van Winkle” was released, the kings and queen of surfy doo-wop have kept up their hip-shaking guitar lines and voracious vocals with a joyfully trashy edge. There’s also now a mini doc on the band, OutofFocus TV’s “American Music Episode 6: featuring Shannon and the Clams,” which you can check on Youtube and Vimeo.

In it, Shannon Shaw, Cody Blanchard, and drummer Ian Amberson (who quit sometime during filming apparently) struggle to describe their band, which leads to a great video edit that includes snippets of each saying words such as “fantastical, ballads, cozy, weirdo, Muppet, punk, oldies.” shannonandtheclams.com. Song to check: “Rip Van Winkle”

After what seems like an eternity (three years and a brief hiatus) Rogue Wave will release new record Nightingale Floors Tue/4 on Vagrant Records. It’s the band’s fifth studio album, and newest since 2010’s Permalight. On Nightingale Floors, bandleader Zach Rogue and longtime drummer Pat Spurgeon battle out demons (death, personal tragedies) and come out the other end with trusted jangly guitars, Rogue’s delicate vocals that still sound like an old friend telling stories, and Spurgeon’s expert off-time drumming — a sharp new release produced by John Congleton (who also produced Rogue’s solo effort, Release the Sunbird). In addition to Rogue and Spurgeon, Nightingale Floors includes contributions by bassist Masanori Mark Christianson, guitarist Peter Pisano, vocalist Jules Baenziner (Sea of Bees) and Mwahaha’s Ross Peacock on synths.

The record seems to take listeners on a narrated life trip, through “College” and “Figured It Out” to the “Siren’s Song,” finally settling on the inevitable with twinkly “When Sunday Morning Comes” and unhurried “Everyone Want to Be You.” Rogue Waves plays the Independent July 13. roguewavemusic.com. Song to check: “No Magnatone”

And then there’s Oakland’s Mortar and Pestle. On its self-titled new full-length, the band projects a vibe akin to a trippier Little Dragon. There are bouncy keyboard lines and scattered found-sound touches boosted by the lush, dreamy vocals of lead singer Janaysa Lambert. On first single “U.V” there’s even the familiar ping-ping-ping of a classic pinball game, forcing you to picture the full Mortar and Pestle set-up placed neatly between games in a 1980s arcade. The synth-pop trio is also one of the first acts to see release on Metal Mother’s new label-collective, Post Primal, so you know it has her stamp of approval. www.mortarandpestlemusic.com Song to check: “Pristine Dream.”

Björkphilia

Andrew Lam

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May 21, 2013

0

MUSIC Can you even recall your first run-in with the mythic, boundary-less creature that is Björk? Perhaps it was bounding through the neon blue forest with tiny crystals underneath her eyes as a giant paper-mache bear chased her through Michel Gondry’s video for “Human Behaviour,” off 1993 solo album Debut. Or maybe it was poised for the tabloids in an elegant swan dress, holding a large egg purse and preening for the worst dressed lists at the ’01 Academy Awards after her devastating performance in Dancer in the Dark (2000). Those long obsessed will likely point to first hearing ’88’s “Birthday” by the Sugarcubes, her early Icelandic act (post teenage punk bands), on international radio.

Whenever — and however — it went down, it left a lasting impression, the stunning shock of that otherworldly voice tends to permeate memories. Solo, Bjork has long coupled that voice with innovation, always grasping at new objects and sounds, or as she described it to me in conversation, she’s “like a kid in a toy shop.”

Her latest triumph was Biophilia, the ’11 album that paired science, nature, iPads, Tesla coils, and tinkling church bells. Since its release, she’s hopped the planet with her sonic education in tow, spreading pixie dust and learning tools at schools and museums along the way. Next up, she’ll play a trio of shows at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond (Wed/22, Sat/25, and Tue/28). Also during that time, her Biophilia Education Program comes to the Exploratorium, which means interactive workshops exploring connections between music and technology, Wed/22 through Tue/28.

In her unassuming but confident way — with the most endearing accent I’ve ever heard — the avant-pop megastar opened up to the SF Bay Guardian about her song writing process (yes, there’s a new project in the works), early punk career, natural musicology, and how to keep it all DIY:

SF Bay Guardian How did you initially come up with idea to include apps for every song on Biophillia?

Björk It started in 2008. I wanted to use touch screens…though the iPads weren’t out ’till 2010 or something. But I’d been using touch screens on my Volta tour, but more just to perform on stage. When I started doing Biophillia, I was very determined that I wanted to write with [touch screens], not just perform. That’s when I started to map out, to visualize. I had to decide, what did I want to hear on the touch screen when I’m writing this song. That sent me back to my own music education as a child, when I felt the way they explained scales and rhythms and those basic musicology themes, was way too academic. It was like reading a book to learn to dance.

Music is something that doesn’t work that well in the written word, you know? Especially not explaining to kids. So I started making my own map…this is how I would I like to have scales and this is how I would like to have chords and this is how I would like to have arpeggios and this is how I would like to have counterpoint, and so on. This project became naturally educational. I was kind of like, repairing my own education. I was trying to cover what I thought was lacking when I was in music school. In that way, I was able to share it.

We [created] a different program for each song. For example, one song would feature arpeggios, and then I would pick an actual element that would be the simplest way for a kid to understand what an arpeggio is, to visualize it. So we took a pendulum to explain counterpoint, a little bit like how church bells swing back and forth, and that’s like a bass line that swings.

I wrote 10 songs and we did different programs for each song, and it came together using natural elements. For example, one song is called is called “Crystalline” and there are crystals kind of growing as the song changes.

In 2010, when we were programming this and were kind of almost done, the iPad arrived, so we were like, ‘wow!’ It’d be silly just to record these songs and put them on a CD because we’d already written all these programs, we might as well share the programs, and put them with some more poetic, natural things — the moons, the tides, things like this. It was a very gradual thing.

SFBG And now it’s been brought in to educate children at schools throughout Iceland, but also there are related events where you’re touring, as well?

Björk It differs from city to city. So far it’s been in Manchester, Iceland, New York, Buenos Aires, and Paris, and now it’s going to be in California. Some places, like for example, New York Library and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, took on the curriculum for a few months, and the middle school of Reykjavik, the 10 to 12-year-olds, they have it now in their curriculum for the next three years. It’s looking like it’s going to go to more countries. It sort of keeps growing.

SFBG It seems like you’ve long been ahead of the curve, as far as creating music with new technology, is that something you grew up with as well?

Björk I’m actually really bad with technology. I think that’s why I’m so excited about, for example, the touch screen, because it’s like I waited until technology caught up with me, for it to be simple enough. You have your imagination, and whatever helps you express yourself, I’m all for it, if it’s the violin or piano or singing. Or what has been really helpful for me, since I started doing my own solo albums, the computer has made me a lot more self-sufficient. I guess that comes from being in bands for 10 years, where things are more democratic. It was always drums and bass and keyboards and guitars in every single song [laughs], which is great. But then when I started doing my own album, I was like a kid in a toy shop, I wanted to have every single noise. And this is great, using the computers to do this yourself. It’s quite empowering, especially for a girl. You don’t have to go through this whole hierarchy of whatever, you can just be self-sufficient.

SFBG Some of your early groups were punk bands [Tappi Tíkarrass, and KUKL, which toured with Crass], I was wondering how you discovered punk as a teen, and ended up working with Crass?

Björk I was hanging out with kids that were older than me, like the other guy who used to sing in the Sugarcubes and another guy who was friends with Crass. They played our country, and then we would go and visit them at their farm [Dial House in Essex], and for me what was most important was that one of the bands that was on Crass’ label, a band called Flux of Pink Indians, had a bass player called Derek Birkett and he helped the Sugarcubes release their first album, just from his bedroom. And he’s my manager still today. So I’ve worked with him for like, 30 years now.

It’s pretty much DIY, especially now when the labels are not really functional like they used to be. It’s pretty much just three of us that do most of my stuff.

SFBG Do you have any other long-term goals with Biophillia, or are you working on your next project?

Björk I think I will be doing that on the side, but when it comes to writing my own stuff, I always like the first couple of years to be kind of mysterious. It’s important to play around in the dark, blind-folded, not really knowing what you’re doing. Biophillia was very much like that the first two years, it was very intuitive and impulsive and having no idea what would come out of it. And I’m at that stage with my next album. I really enjoy that. As much as it’s rewarding when [an album] first sees the daylight, I think I even enjoy more the first half of the process, when it’s all still a mystery.

SFBG Were you living in New York during the early playing stage of Biophillia? It seems to have a real connection to natural elements, and science, so I assumed you were in Iceland?

Björk I’ve been living half the year in New York and half in Iceland. I think Biophillia addresses my life in Iceland and the financial crises in a direct way because it’s sort of very DIY. And one of my first dreams was that Biophillia would be a music house and each room would be a song — eventually these rooms became the apps. But it might be that we would be able to go back and make a musical house in Iceland that would serves also as a children’s’ museum and we would use one of the buildings that got kind of half-built in the financial crises and create jobs that way.

But also Biophillia is also about urban areas, because you could stay connected with the moon through your iPad, or to nature and natural structures with your phone.

SFBG My time is almost up but may I ask a few of your favorite things? Like your favorite songs currently, or music that’s helping inspire you creatively now?

Björk At the moment I’ve been listening to the new James Blake album a lot. These things change all the time!

SFBG Favorite mythological story or creature?

Björk I like Icelandic mythology, there’s a lot of amazing tales there.

SFBG And a favorite tour snack?

Björk Um, I like berries.

SFBG Any kind in particular?

Björk Mmmm, no, I like all of them.

BJÖRK

Wed/22, Sat/25, Tue/28, 8:30pm, $75

Craneway Pavilion

1414 Harbour Way, Richmond

www.craneway.com

Selector: May 22-28, 2013

Andrew Lam

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May 21, 2013

0

WEDNESDAY 22

God Loves Uganda

One of the most memorable docs to play this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival, Roger Ross Williams’ God Loves Uganda offers a remarkably all-access look at evangelical Christians who travel from America to Uganda. In Africa, these bright-eyed youths build medical clinics, teach school, and preach their ultra-conservative religion — directly influencing a rise in hate crimes and draconian anti-gay laws. To mark both Harvey Milk Day and the International Day Against Homophobia, American Jewish World Service and the Horizons Foundation host a screening of this important film. Since it’s bound to stir emotions (outrage is a big one), there’ll be a post-show discussion with human rights advocates and religious leaders. (Cheryl Eddy)

6pm, free (seating is limited, so RSVP is required)

SFJAZZ Center

201 Franklin, SF

gc.ajws.org/rsvpmaker/film-screening-god-loves-uganda

Shout Out Louds

My favorite songs by this Swedish pop group have clear antecedents in ’80s New Wave. With Our Ill WIlls (2007) opener “Tonight I Have To Leave It” singer Adam Olenius was a ringer for Robert Smith at his most ebullient (read: “Just Like Heaven”) and “Impossible” hit on the Human League and Simple Minds. It could be derivative, but with the Joy Division via Interpol meets the B-52s sound of “Glasgow” on its latest album Optica, the system the group has is working, particularly the sparkling production. Opening band Haerts seems a perfect match, as its slick debut single “Wings” sees the SOLs referent for referent, and adds in some Spandau Ballet and Stevie Nicks vocals to great effect. (Ryan Prendiville)

With Haerts

8pm, $19

Great American Music Hall

859 O’Farrell, SF

(415) 885-0750

www.slimspresents.com

THURSDAY 23

“A Gathering of Angels: opening event for Beat Memories“

Let’s get it out of the way: A picture tells a thousand words. Though this doesn’t exactly apply to Allen Ginsberg, whose poetry portrayed imagery as vividly as any picture could, the many photos he took capture a different dimension. While his words express a Beat mythology that continues to resonate, his pictures freeze isolated moments that bring the figures surrounding Ginsberg alive in a profound and intimate way. We see Kerouac smoking coolly against a brick wall in 1953, then again in 1964, frowning and slumped in a chair; there’s Burroughs up close in a dark room, and Corso in an attic. The photos, beautiful works of art in themselves, show us the living people comprising the cultural history and because of that, they’re fascinating. This opening event includes a pop-up poetry salon, drop-in zine making with Rad Dad creators, and a “typewriter petting zoo.” (Laura Kerry)

Through September 8

6:30pm, $5

Contemporary Jewish Museum

736 Mission, SF

(415) 655-7800

www.thecjm.org

Philip Glass at 75

Philip Glass is no ordinary composer. Having collaborated with everyone from Ravi Shankar to David Bowie, while writing stacks of of symphonies, operas, and film scores in the process, Glass has shifted the direction of classical music as wildly, and influentially, as any living figure. In celebration of his 75th birthday, SF will be treated to screenings of two Glass-scored films, accompanied live by the Philip Glass Ensemble: Godfrey Reggio’s famously plotless multimedia extravaganza, Koyaanisqatsi (1982), and Jean Cocteau’s early film adaptation of The Beauty and the Beast, La Belle et la Bête (1946). Punctuating the weekend-long festival is a Q&A session with Glass himself, moderated by SF’s own Brad Rosenstein. (Taylor Kaplan)

Philip Glass Ensemble: La Belle et la Bête

Thu/23-Sat/25, 8pm, $40–$65 (Sat/25 includes Q&A)

Lam Research Theater at YBCA

700 Howard, SF

(415) 495-6360

www.ybca.org

Koyaanisqatsi

Sun/26, 7pm, $40-65

Davies Symphony Hall

201 Van Ness, SF

(415) 864-6000

www.sfperformances.org

Detroit Cobras

Some bands you’ll just never be able to judge by their album cover(s). Some bands just don’t have time for all that studio nonsense. They wanna rock — and they wanna rock with you. Up close and personal. In your face. Get it? That pretty much describes the rough-and-ready Detroit Cobras method, after releasing a scant handful of albums, they’ve continued to tour extensively, bringing the husky, tough-girl vocals of Rachel Nagy and the gritty, jangling guitar riffs of Mary Ramirez to the people. Their reinterpretations of vintage, B-side rock, soul, and Motown give songs that could have been contenders a brash new life, while their relentless stage show gives their adoring fans a good, old-fashioned, foot-stomping workout. (Nicole Gluckstern)

With Pangea, the Chaw

9pm, $16

Slims

333 11th St., SF

(415) 255-0333

www.slimspresents.com

“Project Open Walls”

What’s a gallery when none of its art is for sale? Project One, the Potrero gallery and art bar is exploring the concept in 2013, for which it is asking its artists not to contribute paintings or sculpture to their exhibitions, but rather to paint the walls of the gallery itself. “Project Open Walls” enjoyed its first opening in February with numerous artists (street and not) contributing murals of busy vase tableaus, color-forward twirls of 3D tags, and luminous flower designs. Now, those walls will be gradually painted over. This month, the grizzly bear-focused muralist Chad Hasegawa gets up, in addition to one of last year’s Goldies award winners, dreamy minimalist painter Brett Armory. (Caitlin Donohue)

Opening reception: 7pm, free

Project One Gallery

251 Rhode Island, SF

www.p1sf.com

FRIDAY 24

Performance Research Experiment #2: Paradox of the Heart

Scientists frequently ask for volunteers on which to test the hypothesis their research suggests. Artists rarely get that kind of concrete response to what they are working on. In come Jess Curtis and Jörg Müller — and a bevy of artist and scientist collaborators — who will help them get scientifically measurable information that we the audience provide through our responses to what happens around us. The data will be translated into what Curtis calls an “interactive mash-up of dance/performance and physical science,” also called Performance Research Experiment #2: Paradox of the Heart. In case you care, the 2003 Experiment #1, also by the team of Curtis and Müller, drew on the duo’s background in circus arts and involved a lot of brooms and balls. (Rita Felciano)

8om, $20

CounterPULSE

1310 Mission, SF

www.eventbrite.com

Black Moth Super Rainbow

Black Moth Super Rainbow is nothing if not mysterious. The five enigmatic band members perform under whimsical stage names — Tobacco, the Seven Fields of Aphelion, Power Pill Fist, Iffernaut, and Father Hummingbird — that speak volumes about the fantastical and wonderfully absurd psychedelic pop they produce. The band, formed in Pittsburgh in 2002 originally gained attention from a run of buzz-building shows as SXSW. The band’s liberal use of analog electronics like a vocoder, Rhodes piano, and Novatron gives its music a sunny, retro sound. Underneath the barrage of strange instruments and layers of synth, Black Moth Super Rainbow sneaks in solid pop hooks and tight songwriting. Through its decade of existence, the band has continuously improved with each new release, and the sixth and most recent full-length Cobra Juicy certainly continues this evolution. (Haley Zaremba)

With the Hood Internet, Oscillator Bug

9pm, $19.50

Fillmore

1805 Geary, SF

www.thefillmore.com

TSOL

First gaining notoriety for songs such as “Code Blue,” an ode to the joys of necrophilia, along with the infamous riots that would break out at its early shows, T.S.O.L — or True Sounds of Liberty — was among the earliest and best of the Southern California punk bands to emerge in the late 1970s. While singer Jack Grisham has found other outlets for stirring up the social pot over time, including a 2003 gubernatorial run and as an author (his newest book, Untamed comes out next month) he and guitarist Ron Emory are still keeping the group going strong more than 30 years after their inception in Long Beach, Calif. (Sean McCourt)

With VKTMS, Rush and Attack

9pm, $13

Thee Parkside

1600 17th St., SF

(415) 252-1330

www.theeparkside.com

SATURDAY 25

“Sex Worker Sinema”

The cinema, er, sinema portion of the San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival — focusing on “the lives, the art, and the struggle for workers’ and human rights of people employed in sex work industries” — is highlighted by several intriguing-sounding documentaries. Alexander Perlman’s Lot Lizard explores the lives of prostitutes who conduct business out of truck stops; James Johnson’s American Courtesans widens the scope, following 11 different sex workers in various situations; and a legendary NYC trans activist and Stonewall icon gets her due in Pay It No Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson. Also on tap: a full slate of shorts, both doc and narrative. The $35 pass scores entry into all films in the fest. (Eddy)

2pm-midnight, $35

Roxie Theater

3117 16th St, SF

www.sexworkerfest.com

Mikal Cronin

Mikal Cronin has been bouncing around the San Francisco music scene for a couple of years as an unsung hometown hero, collaborating with Thee Oh Sees, recording with Ty Segall and performing in the Ty Segall Band, while quietly releasing his own solo records and singles. Finally, Cronin is no longer sidekicking. This year’s full-length MCII has received rave reviews from major music publications (SPIN and Pitchfork have labeled it among the best new music of the year) and Cronin is enjoying a headlining slot on a national tour. Tonight’s gig at the Rickshaw Stop is a much-deserved album release-party, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if Cronin pulls up some old friends to help him celebrate. (Zaremba)

With Audacity, Michael Stasis

9pm, $12

Rickshaw Stop

155 Fell, SF

(415) 861-2011

TUESDAY 28

Radiation City

A quiet, practical friend of mine who nevers speaks in hyperbole just declared that Radiation City is his favorite band. It is a strong statement, but not surprising considering the band’s near-magical wooing ability. Comprised of two couples, even the band can’t resist its own magnetism. Maybe it’s a result of chemistry that extends offstage, but Radiation City has arrived at an enchanting formula the combines dreamy pop, some ’60s girl band flare, a shadow of psych-rock, and the occasional hint of bossa nova. After the May 21 release of its third album, Animals in the Median, Radiation will play new music to an enchanted crowd at Rickshaw Stop. My picky friend will be among those dancing, shouting, and bewitched. (Kerry)

With Cuckoo Chaos

8pm, $12

Rickshaw Stop

155 Fell, SF

(415) 861-2011

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So many summertime festivals

Andrew Lam

-

May 21, 2013

6

caitlin@sfbg.com

MAY 25-26

Carnaval Parade: Starts at 24th St. and Bryant, SF. Sun/26, 9:30am, free; Festival: Harrison between 16th and 24th Sts., SF. Sat/25-Sun/26, 10am-6pm, free. www.carnavalsf.com. The Mission’s most colorful processional and music fest had to change hands this year to avoid financial ruin. Show your delight at its survival by showing up in force for the samba, sequins, and spectacle.

MAY 30-JUNE 5

Green Film Festival Various locations, times, prices, SF. www.sfgreenfilmfest.org. An outdoor screening of a documentary on the tiny house movement is one highlight of this year’s 50 film-program exploring environmental issues today.

JUNE 1

Latino Comic Expo Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission, SF. www.latinocomicsexpo.com. 11am-5pm, free with $7 museum admission. In its third year, the popular convergence of Latino panel-makers is dedicated to the memory of underground scribbler Spain Rodriguez.

Chocolate and Chalk Art Festival 1400-1800 Shattuck, Berk. www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com/chocolate-chalk-art. 10am-5pm, free entry, 20 chocolate tickets $20. Picante habanero chocolate chunks gelato? Chocolate ricotta pizza? Discover the possibilities of gourmet cacao and create a sidewalk chalk masterpiece at this fest.

JUNE 1-2

Union Street Festival Union between Gough and Steiner, SF. www.unionstreetfestival.com. 10am-6pm, free. Union Street pops with its 37th annual street fair. Browse craft vendors, cruise your neighbors, and snack to the tunes of live jazz from local bands.

JUNE 6-23

SF Doc Fest Various locations, times, prices. www.sfindie.com. Burning Man and Bettie Page flicks mark the program for this real-life film fest.

JUNE 8-16

San Mateo County Fair San Mateo County Event Center, 2495 South Delaware, SF. June 8, 9, 11 and 14-16, 11am-10pm; June 10, 12-14, noon-10pm, $7–$10 single day, $17-22 season pass. www.sanmateocountyfair.com. Morris Day, an Aerosmith cover band, and Three Dog Night perform alongside a youth piano competition, bareback pony riding, floral art displays, and more at this traditional county fair.

JUNE 9

Haight Ashbury Street Fair Haight between Stanyan and Masonic, SF. www.haightashburystreetfair.org. 11am-5:30pm, free. The groovy posters don’t lie — this classic, hippie-flavored street fair is great place to watch a battle of the band in the sun and ruminate on whether you can ever really have too much tie-dye.

JUNE 14-16

Queer Women of Color Film Festival Brava Theater, 2789 24th St., SF. www.qwocmap.com. From Hawaiian to Navajo culture, this festival of 55 shorts in five programs shows the QWOC experience from a global perspective.

JUNE 15-16

North Beach Festival North Beach neighborhood, SF. www.sresproductions/north_beach_festival.html. 10am-6pm, free. Harken back to North Beach’s days as a close-knit Italian community with this venerable street fair, featuring a traditional blessing of the animals at the National Shrine of St. Francis de Assisi, street painting, music, and snacks galore.

Marin Art Festival Marin Civic Center, 95 Buena Vista, Mill Valley. www.marinartfestival.com. 10am-6pm, $10. This showing of 350 fine artists is a fine excuse to ramble in the sun by the UFO-esque, Frank Lloyd Wright-built Marin Civic Center.

Crystal Fair Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, SF. www.crystalfair.com. June 15, 10am-6pm; June 16 10am-4pm, $6. Over 40 vendors of crystals, jewelery, metaphysical well-being make this the place to get your woo on.

JUNE 16

SummerStruck Monterey Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Rd, Monterey. www.summerstruckfestival.com. 11am-6pm, $22.50-40. Twangers unite — this debut year lineup of Jason Michael Carroll, American Young, Buck Ford, and more promises to be stocked with multi-gallon headwear and boots like you wouldn’t believe.

JUNE 16-AUGUST 12

Stern Grove Festival Stern Grove, 19th Ave. and Sloat, SF. www.sterngrove.org. Every Sunday, 2pm, free. Deltron 3030 with Kid Koala and Del the Funky Homosapien, Boz Scaggs, and the Symphony and Ballet’s yearly performances are all phenom draws at our favorite, free park ‘n’ picnic weekly summer concert soiree.

JUNE 20-30

Frameline 37 Various locations, times, prices. www.frameline.org. SF’s premier LGBT film festival surges back hard with historical docs, animated features, and more. The opening night gala features Concussion, a head trauma-driven sexy drama. Fest closes with GBF, an at-times comical look at coming out and getting popular in high school.

JUNE 21-23

Sierra Nevada World Music Festival Mendocino County Fairgrounds, 14480 Highway 128, Boonville. www.snwmf.com. $60-75 one-day festival pass, $170 three-day festival and camping pass. Those looking for a music fest with camping to which to bring their brood would be well-advised to choose SNWMF — a lineup headed by Damian Marley features sounds from across the world and a more mellow crowd.

JUNE 22

Berkeley World Music Festival People’s Park, 2556 Haste, Berk., 1-6pm, free; Telegraph Avenue businesses, 1-9pm, free. www.berkeleyworldmusicfestival.org. Amble along and around Telegraph Avenue for a plethora of free shows, from Tunisian MC Rai at People’s Park to Vukani Mawethu Choir’s South African harmonies at the Berkeley Art Museum, with smaller concerts at businesses in between.

Mt. Tam Jam Mountain Theater, Mount Tamalpais State Park. www.tamjam.org. Noon-7pm, $50-100. After-party, 10:30pm, $30. Galactic, Cake, Taj Mahal Trio, and more rock this fundraiser for Mount Tam State Park — at a venue that hasn’t housed a rock concert since 1967.

Summer Sailstice Encinal Yacht Club, 1251 Pacific Marina, Alameda. www.summersailstice.com. 10:30am-8pm. Join the boating set to celebrate this worldwide day of sailing culture. In the Bay, view America’s Cup boats, guest ride a vessel, take in live tunes, and more.

JUNE 22-AUGUST 10

Stanford Jazz Festival Various venues, times, prices. www.stanfordjazz.org. Lil’ ones can learn more about this venerable American music genre at a special kids concert series and educational offerings. Older fans will get their fix at a plethora of concerts featuring up-and-comers (like Taylor Eigsti and Julian Lage), offbeat geniuses (Savion Glover), and legends (hey, Herbie Hancock).

JUNE 29-30

San Francisco Pride Various venues, times, prices. www.sfpride.org. Should the year’s champion-level PR idiocy of naming, then reneging on Bradley Manning as grand marshal leave you with a bad taste, check out the many, amazing unofficial queer parties, readings, and exhibits that rock the city the last week in June.

JUNE 29-SEPTEMBER 22

Shakespeare in the Park Various times and Bay Area venues. www.sfshakes.org. Why you live in the Bay Area: exquisite cultural offerings like the 30th year of free Bard offerings in peaceful park settings.

JULY 6-7

Burger Boogaloo Mosswood Park, Broadway and West Arthur, Oakl. www.burgerboogaloo.com. Noon-9pm, $40 weekend pass. Burger Records just keeps outdoing itself. It has fests around the country that bring together an elite mix of sloppy, legendary, and up-and-coming surf, garage, fun punk, and slack doo-wop acts.

Fillmore Jazz Festival Fillmore between Jackson and Eddy, SF. www.fillmorejazzfestival.com. 10am-6pm, free. Kim Nalley, Bayonics, Crystal Money Hall typify the wide-ranging sounds heard at this free, three-stage celebration of Fillmore’s jazztastic past.

JULY 18-21

Silent Film Festival Various times and prices. Castro Theatre, 429 Castro, SF. www.silentfilm.org. Spend the weekend immersed in loaded looks and dialogue cards at this lineup of classic quiets.

JULY 18-28

Midsummer Mozart Various venues, times, prices. www.midsummermozart.org. Churches, missions, wineries, and the Legion of Honor all host concerts of Mozart’s genius for this fest’s 2013 season.

JULY 19-21

Sunset Campout Belden Town, Calif. www.sunsetcampout.com. Germany’s Dixon and Robag Wruhme are the early announced performers at party crew Sunset’s stellar camping trip — perfect for dancefloor stalwarts who can’t stomach the crowds at larger music fests.

JULY 25-AUGUST 12

Jewish Film Festival Various venues, times, prices. www.sfjff.org. “Rebels, rabbis, and reubens” seems about as amazing a descriptor as you need for this yearly celebration of the Chosen on film.

JULY 26-28

Gilroy Garlic Festival Christmas Park, Gilroy. www.gilroygarlicfestival.com. 10am-7pm, $17. Fear not having pungent breath at this classic small-town fest. Garlic-inflected free ice cream, cook-offs, and celebrity chef appearances make it the order of the day.

JULY 27-28

Berkeley Kite Festival Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley Marina. www.highlinekites.com. 10am-6pm, free. World record-sized kites, flying lessons, aircraft crafting, and more at this celebration of soaring craft.

Renegade Craft Fair Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion, SF. www.renegadecraft.com. 11am-7pm, free. Bring your ducats and splurge on DIY presents for all your 2013 birthdays, anniversaries, and plain old “I appreciate you” moments.

JULY 28

Up Your Alley Dore between Howard and Folsom, SF. www.folsomstreetfair.com/alley. 11am-6pm, $7 suggested donation. Hey daddy, cruise the local talent at this leather fair before the happy chaos of big sister Folsom Street Fair hits in September.

JULY 28-AUGUST 4

SF Chefs Union Square, SF. www.sfchefsfoodwine.com. Various times and prices. Sample the city’s best eats and learn from the best in expert demos and classes at this food festival.

AUGUST 3-4

Aloha Festival San Mateo County Event Center, 1346 Saratoga, San Mateo. www.pica-org.org. 10am-5pm, free. No booze allowed at this celebration of Pacific Islands culture, but you won’t miss it: tasty plates, infotaining activities for the little ones, and lots of music and performance rock.

Oakland Art and Soul Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakl. www.artandsouloakland.com. Aug. 3, noon-8pm; Aug. 4, noon-6pm, $10-15. The line-up will be announced in June for this East Bay music and food fest, where the tunes range from R&B to jazz and indie.

AUGUST 3-4

Nihonmachi Street Fair Post between Laguna and Fillmore, SF. www.nihonmachistreetfair.org. 11am-6pm, free. We’re down for a fair whose intended mission is to provide jobs for a neighborhood’s youth, and Nihonmachi always delivers community power-building and more – go to 2013’s edition for a doggie section, Asian artisans, and street cuisine.

AUGUST 4

Jerry Day Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, McLaren Park, 45 John F. Shelley, SF. www.jerryday.org. 11:30am, free, donate to reserve seats. A forgotten Excelsior playground was converted into the music venue for this annual celebration of the Dead’s godhead, who grew up nearby.

AUGUST 9-11

Outside Lands Speedway Meadows, Golden Gate Park, SF. www.sfoutsidelands.com. Three-day tickets now on sale, $249.50. Sway to Paul McCartney, grind to D’Angelo – and then get all those calories back at the superlative, locavore-oriented beer, wine, and food sections at this hip-kid SF music fest.

AUGUST 16-18

Tattoo Body Art Expo Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva, SF. www.bodyartexpo.com. Aug. 16, 2-11pm; Aug. 17, 11am-11pm; Aug. 18, 11am-8pm, $20. Babely bros and bro’d out babes gather to show off their ink, get tatted by visiting masters, and compete for body art superlatives.

AUGUST 17

Festa Coloniale Italiana Stockton between Union and Filbert, SF. www.sfiacfesta.com. Check website for details on time and price. Go beyond red sauce at this decadent convergence of Italian food trucks, artists, crafters, gluttons, more.

Street Food Festival Folsom and 24th St. and surrounding streets, SF. Check website for details, www.sfstreetfood.com. Alcoholic artisan Jello shots, fried grasshoppers, snacks from restaurants high and low — food entrepreneur incubators La Cocina throw a damn good street party that’ll leave you stuffed. We recommend making an appearance early in the day to avoid lines.

Stumptown Brewery Beer Revival and BBQ Cook-off Stumptown Brewery, 15045 River Road, Guerneville. www.stumptown.com. Check website for time, $75-100. Unlimited tastings with 30 breweries and 30 BBQ teams out in the summer glory of Guerneville. More information, we think, is unnecessary here.

AUGUST 24-25

Gem and Mineral Show SF County Fair Building, Ninth Ave. and Lincoln, SF. www.sfgemshow.org. Aug. 24, 10am-6pm; Aug. 25, 10am-5pm, check website for prices. Revel in sparkle and shine at this expo of glittering gewgaws – bring in your own to stump on-site classification experts.

Bodega Seafood, Art, and Wine 16885 Bodega Highway, Bodega. www.winecountryfestivals.com. Aug. 25, 10am-6pm; Aug. 26, 10am-5pm, check website for price. Sea breeze, fresh crab, hay bales – good times await at this food, art, and beer fest.

First City Monterey County Fair and Event Center, Monterey. www.firstcityfestival.com. $149.50-279.50 two-day passes. Did you know this seaside hamlet was the Golden State’s first capital? In a bid to recapture our hearts, the city is hosting a two-day musical line-up of big time acts like Modest Mouse, Passion Pit, MGMT, Neko Case, Beach House, Toro y Moi, and Devendra Banhart.

SEPTEMBER 9

EcoFair Marin Marin County Fairgrounds, Civic Center, San Rafael. www.ecofairmarin.org. 10am-6pm, $5. Green jobs guru Van Jones headlines Marin’s second annual celebration of sustainability. Eat locally made bites, learn how to make butter and raise chickens, and browse the wares of enviro-retailers from pet shops to biodegradable casket makers.

SEPTEMBER 12-15

Ceramics Annual of America Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, SF. www.ceramicsannual.com. Various times; $10 one-day pass, $20 two-day. Sculpt your mind with the vast, globally sourced panorama of ceramics art at this fest. Artist demos abound if you’d like to throw your own pot in the ring next year.

SEPTEMBER 15

Comedy Day Sharon Meadow, Golden Gate Park, SF. www.comedyday.org. Noon-5pm, free. Yucks galore at this outdoor stand-up fest. Take in a Will Durst solo show, open mics, and local showcases.

SEPTEMBER 13-15

Armenian Food Festival St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church, 825 Brotherhood Way, SF. facebook.com/annual-armenian-food-festival-bazaar. Check website for times, free. Sarma, sou-beoreg, spices – this homey community fest is great for kids, Armenian culture addicts, and hungry people.

SEPTEMBER 14-15

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point, SF. www.ghirardelli.com. Noon-5pm, $20-125. Your tasting tickets to this fest go towards Project Open Hand. That should add to the glow you’ll cull from sampling fine chocolates and wine, and watching local chefs demo their concoction skills.

SEPTEMBER 20-21

Taste of Greece Annunciation Cathedral, 245 Valencia, SF. www.annunciation.org. Spit-grilled meat, fetching circular dances – SF’s only Greek food festival is a great place for a day of cultural meal-planning.

SEPTEMBER 21

Super Hero Street Fair Islais Creek Promenade, Cesar Chavez and Indiana, SF. www.superherosf.com. 2pm-midnight, $10-20. It’s your time Diana Prince – whip out that golden lasso and head to this goofy celebration of Lycra and defeating evil. It all culminates in a street side dance party for the costumed and plain clothes alike.

SEPTEMBER 21-22

Polk Street Blues Festival Polk between Pacific and Union, SF. www.polkstreetbluesfestival.com. 10am-6pm, free. Laze with the fam listening to this fest’s two stages of music, complimented nicely by an array of tasty street foods.

SEPTEMBER 27-29

Eat Real Fest Jack London Square, Oakl. www.eatrealfest.com. Sept. 27, 1-9pm; Sept. 28, 10:30am-9pm; Sept. 29, 10:30am-5pm, free. One of our favorite food fests puts the emphasis on local foodcraft, wine, and beer. Three days of live entertainment and classes in DIY foodieism 4 U.

SEPTEMBER 29 Redwood City Salsa Festival Redwood City Courthouse Square. www.redwoodcity.org. Noon-8pm, free. Yes, the tomato-based spicy flavor agent. And yes, the hip-swiveling hot beats. Both, and more, at this small town’s downtown celebration.

Folsom Street Fair Folsom between Seventh and 12th Sts., SF. www.folsomstreetfair.com. 11am-6pm, $10 suggested donation. Its impressive donations to local charities makes this fetish and leather fair – the largest in the world – a community favorite and global center of BDSM culture with demos and sidewalk runways like you wouldn’t believe.

Heads Up: 7 must-see concerts this week

Tony Robles

-

May 20, 2013

4

Bjork is coming! She’ll bring Biophilia’s ambitiously in-the-round and touch screen app-filled show to Richmond, Calif. this week. Plus, the educational component of that tour will make its way to the Exploratorium via a handful of science and sound experiments.

The sparkly avant-pop star is the major music news this week in the Bay, however there also is the annual (and reliably well-curated) SF Popfest, plus a bunch of other shows you should be checking out as well, like Japanese doom masters Boris, Swedish indie popsters the Shout Out Louds, the gritty B-side soul goodness of the Detroit Cobras, and local rock’n’roller Mikal Cronin — high on the release of a celebrated new solo album, MCII.

Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:

Boris
The experimental Japanese drone legends are playing two shows at the Rickshaw Stop this week — only one of those is sold out (that would be Tuesday). At Wednesday’s show, Boris will perform the four song, 70-minute masterpiece/“cult classic” album Flood, in its entirety. The ‘00 sludge-rock album hovers between psychedelic and doomy in all the right ways.
With deafheaven
Wed/22, 8pm, $18
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
www.rickshawstop.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvCLhq8okxc

Mortar and Pestle
On its self-titled new full-length, Oakland’s Mortar and Pestle sounds something like a trippier Little Dragon. There are bouncy keyboard lines and scattered upbeat found-sound touches boosted by the lush and dreamy vocals of lead singer Janaysa Lambert. On first single “U.V” there’s even the familiar ping-ping-ping of a classic pinball game, forcing you to picture the full Mortar and Pestle set-up placed neatly between games in a 1980s arcade. The tropical synth-pop trio is also one of the first acts to see release on Metal Mother’s new label-collective, Post Primal, so you know it has her stamp of approval.
With the Visibles (Record Release), Great Spirits
Wed/22, 9pm, $8
Brick and Mortar
1710 Mission, SF
www.brickandmortarmusic.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqEGK6li2rE

Bjork
Can you even recall your first run-in with the mythic, boundary-less creature that is Björk? Perhaps it was bounding through the forest with crystals underneath her eyes as a giant paper-mache bear chased her through Michel Gondry’s video for “Human Behaviour,” off 1993 solo album Debut. Or maybe it was poised for the tabloids in an elegant swan dress, holding a large egg purse at the ’01 Academy Awards after her devastating performance in Dancer in the Dark (2000). Those long obsessed will likely point to first hearing ’88’s “Birthday” by the Sugarcubes, her early Icelandic act (post teenage punk bands), on international radio. Whenever — and however — it went down, it left a lasting impression, the stunning shock of that otherworldly voice tends to permeate memories. Solo, Bjork has long coupled that voice with innovation, always grasping at new objects and sounds, or as she described it to me in conversation, she’s “like a kid in a toy shop.”
Wed/22, Sat/25, Tue/28, 8:30pm, $75
Craneway Pavilion
1414 Harbour Way, Richmond
www.craneway.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvaEmPQnbWk

Shout Out Louds
“My favorite songs by this Swedish pop group have clear antecedents in ’80s New Wave. With Our Ill WIlls (2007) opener “Tonight I Have To Leave It” singer Adam Olenius was a ringer for Robert Smith at his most ebullient (read: “Just Like Heaven”) and “Impossible” hit on the Human League and Simple Minds. It could be derivative, but with the Joy Division via Interpol meets the B-52s sound of “Glasgow” on its latest album Optica, the system the group has is working, particularly the sparkling production. Opening band Haerts seems a perfect match, as its slick debut single “Wings” sees the SOLs referent for referent, and adds in some Spandau Ballet and Stevie Nicks vocals to great effect.” — Ryan Prendiville
With Haerts
Wed/22, 8pm, $19
Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell, SF
(415) 885-0750
www.slimspresents.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dXpmbZDnRk

The Detroit Cobras
“Some bands you’ll just never be able to judge by their album cover(s). Some bands just don’t have time for all that studio nonsense. They wanna rock — and they wanna rock with you. Up close and personal. In your face. Get it? That pretty much describes the rough-and-ready Detroit Cobras method, after releasing a scant handful of albums, they’ve continued to tour extensively, bringing the husky, tough-girl vocals of Rachel Nagy and the gritty, jangling guitar riffs of Mary Ramirez to the people. Their reinterpretations of vintage, B-side rock, soul, and Motown give songs that could have been contenders a brash new life, while their relentless stage show gives their adoring fans a good, old-fashioned, foot-stomping workout.” — Nicole Gluckstern
With Pangea, the Chaw
Thu/23, 9pm, $16
Slims
333 11th St., SF
(415) 255-0333
www.slimspresents.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8ZhLBO9NZY

Sea Lions
The pizza-loving Sea Lions (think a more beachy Vaselines) come to the Bay via Oxnard, Calif. courtesy of this weekend’s SF Popfest. And that fest lineup for the evening is rather ingenious, bookended with the awesome “stoner-punk” LA shredder Colleen Green — go now and check fuzzy “Heavy Shit” — along with distorted-pop maker Permanent Collection, and more.
With Still Flyin’, Burnt Palms
Fri/24, 9pm, $12
Café Du Nord
2170 Market, SF
www.cafedunord.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko_FxbKq9PM

Mikal Cronin
“Mikal Cronin has been bouncing around the San Francisco music scene for a couple of years as an unsung hometown hero, collaborating with Thee Oh Sees, recording with Ty Segall and performing in the Ty Segall Band, while quietly releasing his own solo records and singles. Finally, Cronin is no longer sidekicking. This year’s full-length MCII has received rave reviews from major music publications (SPIN and Pitchfork have labeled it among the best new music of the year) and Cronin is enjoying a headlining slot on a national tour. Tonight’s gig at the Rickshaw Stop is a much-deserved album release-party, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if Cronin pulls up some old friends to help him celebrate.” — Haley Zaremba
With Audacity, Michael Stasis
Sat/25, 9pm, $12
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
(415) 861-2011
www.rickshawstop.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S2eTV2v3V0

Behold! Highlights of ArtPadSF and artMKT

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May 16, 2013

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In this week’s issue, Guardian visual arts Matt Fisher singled out some highlights of the big ArtPadSF and artMKT shows, which open tonight and run through Sun/19. Here’s a slideshow that shows you what he was talking about. Artist descriptions after the jump:

ARTPADSF:

Andrew Benson, Johansson Projects

Benson’s sometimes gooey, sometimes crunkly digital video/experimental software work breathes some ragged, frenetic energy into the standard trope of “relationships between the body and technology.” His piece is scheduled to be projected from the Phoenix onto the six-story building next door at 8pm, Thu/16-Sat/18.

Justine Frischmann, Unspeakable Projects

Frischmann’s paintings look like something that one of those spiders on Benzedrine would make. If it lived inside an Etch A Sketch. And used neon spray paint. During a dust storm. Trust me, these are compliments.

David Hevel, Marx & Zavattero

Hevel makes collaged sculptures and sharp pop abstract paintings, usually riffing on American celebrity. His work at the fair will be very MTV 1983.

Scott Hove, Spoke Art

Will Oaklander Hove be showing one of his intensely drugged up fanged wall cakes, a knotted rope work installation, or a surrealism-on-meth painting? Yeah, it all sounds good to me, too.

Jason Kalogiros, Queen’s Nails Gallery

Kalogiros makes edgy, dense, cerebral, photo-based works, lately by manipulating found commercial images. I’m hoping to see a couple from his series of Cartier and Bvlgari watches.

Ed Loftus, Gregory Lind Gallery

Loftus does photorealism pretty much the right way, by marrying intense attention to detail with an obsessive and neurotic subject matter that crawls under your skin ever deeper the more time you spend with it. While you’re in Gregory Lind’s space, also check out Thomas Campbell and Jovi Schnell.

Matt Momchilov, Unspeakable Projects

Momchilov queers punk and rock fandom in the traditional sense of the word, meaning his paintings and sculpture snatch and redirect standard accoutrements of punk fanboys and girls to point that hardcore laser focus in new directions and at more fey subjects.

Gregg Renfrow, Toomey-Tourell

I won’t blame you one bit if you try to lick Renfrow’s luminous, vibrating color field abstractions. His meticulous, precise, wondrous paintings are like visual everlasting gobstoppers, and I fully expect that by the time I see ’em, they’ll have a layer of saliva all over.

Jonathan Runcio, Queen’s Nails Gallery

Runcio makes incisive 2 and 3D work that takes traditional hardedge abstraction in the art concrete vein, shacks it up with remnants of urban architecture, and has a post-formalist lovechild.

ARTMRKT

Johnna Arnold, Traywick Contemporary

The fair’s Collector’s Lounge will be showing Arnold’s video created to accompany the richly saturated, haunting landscape photos that will be showing offsite at the gallery.

Carol Inez Charney, Slate Contemporary

harney’s complex photographs were the single most outstanding thing I saw last year at ArtPad. That’s complex like a personality, not like your taxes. A year later, I’m prepared for the brainfreeze again.

Amanda Curreri, Romer Young

Curreri’s precisely conceived conceptual color and abstract works are subtle in that they tend to yield only small nibbles at first pass, but they’re deceptive that way, and usually end up smacking you around by the time it’s all over.

Lauren DiCioccio, Jack Fischer Gallery

DiCioccio has recently been applying her super-meticulous needlework to fastidiously x-ing out individual letters in pages of books, as an act of both scrutiny and physical redaction of the received, mediated world.

Joshua Hagler, Jack Fischer Gallery

Somewhere in the Hamptons summer home where Glenn Brown and Lucian Freud are renting with Mark Tansey and Matthew Day Jackson, Hagler is stoned on the couch making fart noises with his armpits. That is also a compliment.

Claire Rojas, Gallery Paul Anglim

Sure Gallery Paul Anglim shows Barry McGee, but I’ll be looking at the Rojas paintings, whose hard edge and off-kilter abstractions of interior architectural spaces are spot-on and mesmerizing.

Diane Rosenblum, Slate Contemporary

Rosenblum switches up hyperanalytical and conceptual works that incorporate research, crowdsourced interactions, and photography. I’m hoping to see images from a series of recent photos that work Flickr comments into the image.

Dana Hart Stone, Brian Gross

I can’t wait to examine Hart Stone’s paintings up close, which in the past have been made by repeatedly transferring or printing antique images in rows onto canvas. Also at Brian Gross are Bay Area stalwarts Roy de Forest and Robert Arneson.

Esther Traugot, Chandra Cerrito

Traugot combines found organic objects with crochet. I know what you’re thinking, but this is not a Portlandia skit. She does it the right way, promise.

Selector: May 15-21, 2013

Andrew Lam

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May 14, 2013

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WEDNESDAY 15

Appleseed Cast

Change seems to be the only constant for Lawrence, Kansas’ meandering Appleseed Cast. Chris Crisci’s 14-year-old band has produced eight albums, dabbled in about as many different genres, and has a revolving-door lineup that would exhaust any frontperson. But Crisci shows no signs of tiring. In fact, the lyrics for the band’s most recent album, this year’s Illumination Ritual, were written over the course of three nights, between the hours of midnight and 4am. Though the band’s career has arced far from its oldschool emo beginnings, the vespertine Illumination Ritual gets back to its moody roots. With a fresh lineup and a nostalgic new sound, the Appleseed Cast’s tender instrumentals and Crisci’s earnest vocals have never sounded so good. (Haley Zaremba)

With Hospital Ships, the Dandelion War

8:30pm, $14

Bottom of the Hill

1233 17th St, SF

(415) 626-4455

THURSDAY 16

ArtPad

Here’s an idea for a surrealist film: enter one hotel room and find metal hands that respond to their viewers, enter another and find a strange light sculpture, then cut to a performance of a synchronized swimming team in a pool in the courtyard. This is no film plot, but a description of ArtPad, the arts fair that will take over the entire Phoenix Hotel for three days. With galleries from the Bay Area and beyond filling every room with experimental exhibitions, while food, drink, and performances contribute to the festive vibe, the event promises to be surreally epic. (Laura Kerry)

Through May 19

$15–$40

Phoenix Hotel

601 Eddy, SF

www.artpadsf.com

Liss Fain

It was almost exactly a year ago that Liss Fain Dance premiered her luminous The Water is Clear and Still at Z Space. It’s perhaps her must successful collaboration with her longtime designer Matthew Antaky, who created a translucent multi-level space that welcomed Fain’s choreography and her fine dancers. It was one of those wondrous installation pieces that you could walk around in, but most of us stayed glued to our spots in an attempt to catch everything. Water is steeped in Jamaica Kincaid’s lyrical memories of a Caribbean childhood, both painful and exotic. Fain now has added a prologue. Solid Ground, based on Kincaid’s latest book, in which she revisits those childhood memories from a mature woman’s perspective. The piece is also moving from Z Space to YBCA’s Forum, which has successfully hosted other Liss Fain Dance installations. (Rita Felciano)

Thu/16-Sat/18, 8pm; Sun/19, 5pm forum, $15–$30

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

700 Howard, SF

www.lissfaindance.org

Sandra Bernhard

It’s hard to pinpoint the moment when one learned that Sandra Bernhard was amazing. The stand-up comedian has been doing the damn thing for so long (since the ’70s), that she’s always just — been around, a fixture of the alternative culture firmament. A foulmouthed, straightforward, erudite queer back when they never made it network TV, she languidly lent cameos to Isaac Mizrahi’s Stripped and Madonna’s Truth or Dare, turned in seam-busting rants for her epic performance art-concert films like 1990’s Without You, I’m Nothing, and yes, was the first regular-appearing gay character on a network sitcom on Roseanne. To miss Bernhard’s first run in San Francisco in two years would be a revocation of your cool card, don’t do it. (Caitlin Donohue)

Also Fri/17

9pm, $45

Bimbo’s 365 Club

1025 Columbus, SF

(415) 474-0365

www.bimbos365club.com

Big Boi

Any lingering notions of Big Boi as the “conventional” half of legendary Atlanta hip-hop duo Outkast should be dispelled by his two solo albums, including his most recent effort Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, released last November. Aided by cameos from Phantogram and Little Dragon in “Vicious,” Big Boi dives into rock guitars, female vocalists, and electronic bass to present a fearless, kaleidoscopic vision of rap. Track “Objectum Sexuality” sees Big Boi wax lyrical about women in between Phantogram’s Sarah Barthel’s floating vocals, a French interlude, and samples of atmospheric harp plucking. And just when you think he has slipped too far into moody, indie-fusion territory, Big Boi snaps you back with a devastating, horns-laden, proudly Atlantan club banger “In the A” with T.I. and Ludacris. (Kevin Lee)

With Killer Mike, Fishhawk, Goast

8:30pm, $35

Mezzanine

444 Jessie

(415) 625-8880

www.mezzaninesf.com

Janelle Monae at the SF Symphony

“Is it peculiar that she twerk in the mirror?” You can’t really blame her if you’ve caught R&B andro-angel Janelle Monae’s newest single with Erykah Badu “Q.U.E.E.N.” — the ode to iconoclasm, with its simple, catchy bass line is the perfect soundtrack to strutting and popping in front of reflective surfaces. Catch the singer’s turn with the SF Symphony tonight — the musicians have prepared original arrangements for her songs, and you’ll get tunes from her new album to boot. The ticket price is fairly astronomical, but the evening is a fundraiser for the Symphony’s educational programs, so there’s that. Plus attendees are granted access to a pre-show sparkling wine reception and after-party at City Hall. (Donohue)

7pm reception, 8pm concert, $90-$275

Davies Symphony Hall

201 Van Ness, SF

www.sfsymphony.org

FRIDAY 17

Midi Matilda

The first time I was confronted with local pop duo Midi Matilda, I was not-so-patiently waiting for Starfucker to take the stage at the Regency Lodge last September. Not expecting much from an electronic duo that was playing one of its very first shows, I was dumbstruck by the second song. Midi Matilda is the embodiment of everything that’s missing from contemporary twee-pop. It has a sense of intimacy, soul, and joy, embodied by great hooks and hilarious choreographed dances that are absolutely infectious. Operating backward from most bands, Midi Matilda wrote and recorded music before it ever established a live presence, gaining attention on the web with its “Day Dreams” music video. The duo’s catchy, dreamy pop songs make for a nice listen, but it is its goofy antics and blissful onstage presence that make a great new addition to the San Francisco music scene. (Zaremba)

With OONA, holychild

8:30pm, $12

Rickshaw Stop

155 Fell, SF

(415) 861-2011

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

“You’re Supposed To Roll Your Hips In Time/ You’re Supposed To See Your Age Rewind” intones Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. on the bright electronic pop track “If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor),” off its new Patterns EP. On its albums, the Detroit duo of Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein alternate between aw-shucks folksiness and the party-hearty synth-and-rock of MGMT and Phoenix. While firmly rooted in the here and now, DEJJ have shown respect to its musical inspirations with covers to classics by Madonna and the Beach Boys. The duo paid homage to Gil-Scott Heron with a shimmering, upbeat take on his funk classic “We Almost Lost Detroit,” resplendent with a video showcasing authentic locals and establishments from the Motor City. (Lee)

9pm, $16

Independent

628 Divisadero

(415) 771-1421

www.theindependentsf.com

SATURDAY 18

Disappears

A 16-minute song has to do a lot of work to keep its listeners invested, but the strange thing about Disappears’ “Kone” off of the band’s April EP is that it is compelling because it doesn’t seem to make too much of an effort. An experiment in Kraut and psych-rock, the song harkens back to the very beginnings of proto-punk; though it involves less muddy intensity, it recalls those stretches in some Velvet Underground songs that don’t feel the need to arrive anywhere, but simply relish the ride. And isn’t that the aim of any good concert? It certainly will be at the Disappears’ Bottom of the Hill show. (Kerry)

With LENZ, the Tambo Rays

10pm, $12

Bottom of the Hill

1233 17th St., SF

(415) 626-4455

Exrays and Mwahaha

Going to the Lab is like a weekly, weekend celebration of “the other.” You might see any combination of drag, performance art interludes, or Sunday’s ritual Godwaffle Noise Pancakes, but should definitely count on some underground, experimental shit. Hidden among the crowded club corridor along 16th and Mission, at times it becomes a mini-rave cave. This Sat/18 should be no exception to those guidelines when Exrays (members of THEMAYS and Maus Haus) bring their old-school Atari-sounding glitchiness. The band hangs on to fun melodies while the frontperson delivers mopey vocals (it could just be that his voice is deep). Oakland’s Mwahaha headlines and goes for more of a sensory overload approach. It’s collaborated with tUnE-yArDs and will open for Sigur Ros in London this summer. (Andre Torrez)

With Seventeen Evergreen, Mohani

9pm, $7–$15 (sliding scale)

Lab

2948 16th St., SF

(415) 864-8855

www.thelab.org

Hunx and His Punx

It was a dark day here in the Bay when Seth Bogart, a.k.a Hunx, packed up his bags and moved to Los Angeles, leaving the city’s burgeoning garage rock scene a little less gay in every way. Despite this tragic loss, Bogart hasn’t slowed down at all since his relocation, with a variety web TV show (Hollywood Nailz), his own novelty record label (Wacky Wacko), a new solo album, and a brand new Hunx and His Punx record on the way. Despite the 2011 dissolution of the Punkettes, Hunx still rocks a deliciously genderqueer persona and is backed by some truly kickass ladies. This intimate show, featuring bandmate Shannon Shaw’s own group Shannon and the Clams as well as fellow SF ex-pat Ty Segall’s Fuzz is like a big, happy Bay Area reunion — and everyone’s invited! (Zaremba)

With Shannon and the Clams, Fuzz, Peach Kelli Pop, Twin Steps

8pm, $15

New Parish

579 18th St, Oakl.

(510) 444-7474

www.thenewparish.com

SUNDAY 19

Gothic Tropic

For a band that has released so little music — only the 2011 EP Awesome Problems — Gothic Tropic has a developed sense of itself. Part of it is in frontperson Cecilia Della Peruti’s tendency to perform shoeless so as not restrict her dance moves. Another aspect arises in her nickname for the trio, “the Sacred Three.” The primary feature, though, is the band’s sound. As its name suggests, Gothic Tropic plays sunny and exotic psych-pop tinted with some grit and darkness, and it plays it well. See the band in all of it’s fully-formed glory at Brick and Mortar. (Kerry)

With Seatraffic, Cruel Summer

9pm, $10

Brick and Mortar

1710 Mission, SF

(415) 800-8782