Shannon and the Clams

Find your fangs: Total Trashfest is upon us

Steven T. Jones
-
0
Find your fangs: Total Trashfest is upon us

I can already envision the sound of Shannon Shaw‘s voice singing Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” and it’s music to my ears. The James Hetfield-penned classic is the stuff of nightmares, and with “Rocktober” officially here, the timing is right for the return of the Total Trash Halloween Bash.

Who knew Shannon and The Clams were such metal fans? Or are they? Maybe it’s irony, but either way — you won’t want to miss this annual throwdown of shenanigans, in which your favorite Bay Area bands (and a few from beyond) get all costumed up as other, perhaps more famous rockers from decades past.

This year Total Trash and 1-2-3-4 Go! Records are keeping their co-production in the East Bay for the holiday weekend for two nights of rock n’ roll debauchery. On Friday, Oct. 31, Seth Bogart — better known as Hunx — will slip on his fangs (suitable for sucking) to host and perform as Gayracula. I expect the song “I Vant To Suck Your Cock” will get some stage time; after all, it was basically written for Halloween.

Sleazy horror flicks will project on the screen for the party with a costume contest at Leo’s Music Club on Telegraph Ave. for night No. 1, but the killer lineup doesn’t end there. Yogurt Brain might be on to something with this year’s attempt to upstage their performance last year as Weezer by doing another seminal ’90s act — Smashing Pumpkins. I’m wondering if a bald cap will be employed, or if this will be pre-bald-by-choice Billy Corgan? Pookie and The Poodlez does the Donnas and Cumstain will be Sleezer (another Weezer cover band?).

SF’s legendary Phantom Surfers highlight night No. 2 at Eli’s Mile High Club on Saturday. Those guys always seem prepared for Halloween with their masks, so I think they get a pass on having to dress anyone else.

These shows are always tons of fun and if the Bay Area can come together on one thing, it’s that Halloween rules. Grab a wig and get your tickets before it’s too late.

TOTAL TRASHFEST
Starring Hunx as Gayracula, Shannon & the Clams as “Metallica”, Phantom Surfers, Yogurt Brain AS “Smashing Pumpkins”, Teutonics, Charlie Megira, Pookie & the Poodlez as “The Donnas”, Cumstain as “Sleezer”, Scouse Gits
Oct. 31 through Nov. 2
9pm, $20
Leo’s (5447 Telegraph) and Eli’s Mile High Club (3629 MLK), Oakl.
www.totaltrashfest.com

The Best of Burger Boogaloo

Steven T. Jones
-
0

This weekend Oakland’s Mosswood Park was transformed into a mini music festival of adorable proportions. After two days of PBR, sunburns, and a heap of eclectic and altogether awesome music, the results are in: Here is the best of Burger Boogaloo 2014. [Check yesterday’s review for a different sort of run-through.]

Best mosh pit: OFF!
Keith Morris’ newest hardcore punk outfit stirred up a lot of energy and even more dust on Saturday. Playing after the relatively tame Milk N’ Cookies, OFF! turned it up to eleven (really, I think my ears are still ringing) for a rager of a set that resulted in some serious headbanging, slam-dancing, and stage diving. Just what the doctor ordered to keep morale high as the sun went down.

off

Best posse: Shannon and the Clams
Hometown heroes Shannon and the Clams played a killer set on Sunday. While their setlist crushed it, the backup singers brought it, and the tiki-and-vegetable themed balloons thrown into the crowd were a lot of fun, the main attraction was to the right of the stage, parked on top of an amp. The fan who lipsynched and shimmied his way into all of our hearts was later revealed by Shannon herself to be her “creepy little brother,” making his devotion to the Clams even more aww-worthy.

shannon

Best battlecry: The Meatbodies
Midway through the day, a port-a-potty crisis became apparent as lines grew longer and tanks grew fuller. Taking the stage at the end of the Meatbodies’ set, a brave Burger employee announced that due to all of the delicious food and drink provided by their sponsors, the toilets were at critical mass and no number 2 deposits would be accepted at that time. From the middle to the end of this moving speech, the Meatbodies’ guitarist began the rousing and inspirational cry of, “Poop yo pants! Poop yo pants!” Words to live by.

meatodies

Best bouffant: Ronnie Spector
Everywhere you looked at Burger Boogaloo, stunning feats of follicle engineering were peeking out of the crowd. Beehives and bouffants of all sizes and colors came out for the show. I overheard one couple saying they had made a game of tallying beehives and had found 16 midway through Sunday alone. Unfortunately I missed the memo that big and bulbous is the vogue look for garage rock, but Ronnie Spector did not. With the biggest hair and the best attitude of the day, Ronnie stole all our hearts.

ronnie

Longest distance traveled: Thunderroads
Japan’s Thunderroads were the wildcard of the festival. With all the raw power of every generic rock band to follow in ACDC’s footsteps, Thunderroads won us over not with originality or musicality but with pure earnestness and excitement to be playing for us. The magic of the moment is best captured by the words of Thunderroads’ guitarist: “Thank you America, USA! I can’t English, but I love you!” We love you too. More than you know.

thunderroads

Best Striptease: Nobunny
Nobunny killed it with a high-energy set and truly great punk performance on Saturday (although someone should break it to frontperson Justin Champlin that Thunderroads had the harebrained-rock-star idea to climb the precariously-stacked amps hours before he did). Nobunny came to the stage in his trademarked and road-weary bunny mask and a red onesie, which impressively concealed a leather jacket and a pair of briefs, which yes, did eventually come off to reveal…another pair of briefs. Finally, a striptease for the whole family.

nobunny

Best ‘90s throwback: The Muffs
How ‘90s are The Muffs? Featured on the Clueless soundtrack ‘90s. 23 years into their existence, the Muffs were the perfect addition to the lineup, falling squarely between the untouchable status of Ronniw Spector and the hyper-contemporary blog buzz around bands like Nobunny and Shannon and the clams. Still rocking a mini-dress, blunt bangs, and one of the best grunge growls in the biz, Kim Shattuck reminded us just how much we owe to and miss our fellow flannel-wearers of yesteryear.

muffs

Happy hump day music news!

Steven T. Jones
-
0
Happy hump day music news!

Hiatus, schmiatus: Thee Oh Sees have been added to an already-dreamy Burger Boogaloo lineup. Catch ’em alongside OFF!, Shannon and the Clams, Nobunny, Terry Malts, and of course the inimitable Miss Ronnie Spector herself, July 5-6 at Mosswood Park in Oakland.

Who needs Coachella anyway? In between their two weekend stints at that shitshow of a music festival down south, Waxahatchee is playing a free show at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza today at 5pm. Are you in Berkeley? It’s goddamn beautiful out. You should go.

Start your itinerizing: Outsidelands just announced each day’s lineup and put single-day tickets on sale. Are you in more of a Kanye-Disclosure-Warpaint-Mikal Cronin kind of mood? Or a Tom Petty-Tycho-Big Freedia head space? These are the tough questions.

Cocktails grow up: Don’t worry, one of SF’s favorite fuzz-power-pop bands hasn’t gone and gotten lame, though. This new track, “Tough Love,” off Adult Life, suggests the five-piece has gotten a little tighter and just a little slicker, in a good way. That record won’t be out until June 17, but you can probably hear a lot of it at the Rickshaw Stop this Fri/18, when they open at the EP release party for The She’s.

“My brain is a little addled in terms of my long-term memory.” That’s Courtney Love, in an excellent oral history of Hole’s Live Through This, in honor of the album’s 20th anniversary. No matter what you think of her or her Dave Grohl reconciliation or her mediocre missing airplane-finding skills, this album is still gorgeous and important and yes I will fight you about that.

Also, this interview.

Alive, not well

Michael Redmond
-
0
Alive, not well

[Update: La Luz was in a car accident during its tour and will no longer be playing these shows. The accident totaled the van, destroyed the gear, and band members suffered injuries. To donate, click here]

TOFU AND WHISKEY Sometimes the unexpected can rip you apart. It can gnaw at your insides, leave your stomach in knots, and twist your thoughts into a confused, messy blur. And sometimes, those rare unanticipated moments can inspire you anew. All the hurt and bewilderment and dark emotions reconfigure and morph into a project, such as an album.

La Luz guitarist-vocalist Shana Cleveland felt this molten wave firsthand and the end result is a striking, blackened surf rock album with four-way doo-wop melodies and churling riffs smacking against the seawall. It’s the full-length debut from the Seattle all-lady quartet: It’s Alive (Hardly Art). The group tours to SF this week, opening up for of Montreal (Fri/8-Sat/9, 9pm, $21. Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell, SF. www.slimspresents.com).

It’s Alive was built from death. “When something that dramatic happens, it could either crush you or give you a crazy energy,” Cleveland says. “For me it was like, after I came out of just being really depressed for awhile I was really inspired to….I don’t know exactly how to phrase it. It’s kind of a weird thing to talk about, I guess. It’s so heavy.”

That heavy moment took place May 30, 2012, when a deranged shooter burst into a Seattle café — Café Racer, where Cleveland and her friends routinely hung out — and killed five people. Around the corner from her house, it’s where she first met La Luz bassist Abby Blackwell. On that spring day last year, it’s where her friend Drew Keriakedes (otherwise known as “Shmootzi the Clod”), a vaudeville-style singing circus clown, died, slain in the rampage.

She describes him as always giving open, honest performances that made everyone fall in love with him — that performance style informed her own artistry. And the months after the shooting informed her songwriting. Though she also notes an intuition affected the record.

“It’s weird because a lot of the lyrics I wrote before the shooting happened and then a lot of them I wrote after. But then when I looked back…I kept seeing these weird premonitions. It just seems like the air was really heavy with this insane event and I was sort of channeling this crazy shit that was about to happen. This sounds kind of New Age-y. But when I looked back over the lyrics I was just like, ‘holy shit!’ I think I just felt something in the air.”

That gloom bled into It’s Alive, a record equally inspired by legendary surf guitarist Link Wray, who also lent a darker edge to the style.

“So it’s sort of a haunted album. It’s kind of cool that it’s coming out around Halloween, it seems fitting.”

It’s the band’s first real record, though before it played a single show, it recorded a demo tape called Damp Face. Both were recorded with the group’s friend Johnny Goss, who was living in a trailer park on the outskirts of town at the time. Goss, who “accumulated all this really cool old recording gear,” took a leisurely approach to It’s Alive, hanging out with La Luz and working together to add new vocal overdubs or extra fuzz.

Cleveland describes it as a highly collaborative process between Goss and the rest of La Luz — bassist Blackwell, drummer Marian Li Pino, and keyboardist Alice Sandahl — though she wrote the bulk of the lyrics before they started playing together. Once La Luz came together, the group altered the music and included everyone’s input.

But Cleveland is also comfortable making art on her own. In addition to La Luz, she’s also a poet (she actually majored in poetry at Columbia College in Chicago) and a visual artist, known for drawings and paintings of other bands and singers, often with big retro hairstyles or matching vintage suits.

“I found this record in a thrift store once and someone had done like, a ballpoint pen drawing of Buffalo Springfield. It was tucked inside of the record and I was really fascinated by it..and I kind of became obsessed with it. I’ve [always] been kind of obsessed with bands I guess, because my parents were both in bands too so it’s my whole life.”

Her dad plays in country and blues bands, her mom sings and plays blues harmonica. They met on tour, in fact — her dad was traveling with a band and stopped in her mom’s Colorado town, then she joined him on the road.

Cleveland grew up playing the instruments her parents — since divorced — had strewn around the house in Kalamazoo, Mich. She picked up guitar around 15 and began playing Veruca Salt songs.

After college, Cleveland headed west to LA but says she hated living in the San Fernando Valley. One day her mom brought her a copy of Seattle alt-weekly, The Stranger, and on a whim, she decided to move there.

“I packed up my Oldsmobile and moved. I don’t know if [The Stranger] knows that yet! I kind of want to tell them.”

Seattle became home and she has since ingrained herself in the local music scene, ticking off favorite Seattle acts like Rose Windows — “They’re doing this like, ’60s psych Jefferson Airplane kind of thing, they’re all really amazing players” — blues combo Lonesome Shack, and Pony Time.

For now, La Luz is touring on It’s Alive, and revving up for a first ever European jaunt in early 2014. While the songwriting began on a darker note, Cleveland is now seeing brightness in the future, at least when I pry out her band goals: “I really want to tour with Ty Segall. That’s just a dream of mine because I would like to see him play every night. I hope that happens. I really want to play with Shannon and the Clams too, because we’re all huge fans of theirs. And the Growwlers. We just played with them but I think it’d be fun to play more shows with them in the future too. They’re one of our favorite bands.”

 

SIX WEEKS RECORDS 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Two decades is a long lifeline for a DIY record label — especially one known for such short songs. Six Weeks Records, founded in ’92 by Athena Kautsch and Jeff Robinson, has distributed dozens of grimy grindcore, breakneck punk, and loud-as-hell hardcore albums from bands around the world. Clearly dedicated to the art of deafening music, the label also publishes the Short, Fast & Loud fanzine. This two-night anniversary fest features acts of the Six Weeks Records family including LA powerviolence legends Despise You, Tokyo’s Slight Slappers, NY’s Magrudergrind, Capitalist Casualties, Backslider, Coke Bust, P.L.F, and more.

Fri/8-Sat/9, 7pm, $17 each ($30 two-day pass). Oakland Metro, 630 Third St, Oakl. www.oaklandmetro.org.

 

MINOR ALPS

With Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Juliana Hatfield of guest-starring-angel-on-My So-Called Life fame forming an intricate new pop band together — Minor Alps — it’s clear the ’90s resurgence beats on. The guitar-swelling, melodious new act, which just released debut LP Get There (Barsuk), plays the Independent Mon/11. And with it comes openers Churches, whom we previewed here at the Guardian before. The Nirvana-loving Bay Area band just released two new tracks: “Pretty in Black” and “Goths on the Boardwalk.” Says frontperson Caleb Nichols, “‘Goths on the Boardwalk’ is the culmination of my two years of living in Santa Cruz. It’s been weird — goths everywhere. [It’s] an ode to my love-hate with this place.” The angst continues.

Mon/11, 8pm, $20. Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. www.theindependentsf.com.

 

CRASHFASTER

Local Nintendo-blasting electro rock group crashfaster released the track “Beacon,” the first single of its forthcoming sophomore LP, Further, this week. Like its earlier work, “Beacon” is a bouncy, nostalgic, digi-ride through ’80s video game culture, backed by motorcycle revving guitarwork and sound effects, in rock’n’roll chiptune style, which looks good for the rest of Further. Recorded at Different Fur Studios, that new full-length sees release Nov. 19 — but before that there’s a show at DNA Lounge. With Bit Shifter, Trash80, Unwoman.

Nov. 14, 9pm, $15. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF. www.dnalounge.com.

 

Haunted! Halloween and Day of the Dead events and parties

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
-
4
Haunted! Halloween and Day of the Dead events and parties

Oh hi, spooky. It’s the Bay Area’s favorite time of year, with both candy and muerte on our minds. here’s a handy guide to what’s going down on Hallow’s Eve and boo-weekend.

THURSDAY 31

Afrolicious Super Fly Halloween Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF; www.elbo.com. 9:30pm-2am, $10-15. Get retro-spooky with the Latin funk and super-groovy sounds of the Afrolicious party crew. Style out in ’70s-inspired costumes and get down: the live Afrolicious house band will be covering legendary Blaxploitation masterwork soundtrack Super Fly by Curtis Mayfield in its entirety. Far out!

All Hallows’ Eve DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. 9pm, $13 advance. The annual party at the DNA Lounge is a showcase of its party talent, with DJs from club nights Bootie, Meat, Death Guild, New Wave City, Fringe, 120 Minutes, and more spinning goth and New Wave dance favorites and mashups. Plus an airborne performance by the high-flying Vau de Vire Society. 

Back2Back Halloween Project One, 251 Rhode Island, SF; www.p1sf.com. 8pm-2am, $10. Beloved Wicked crew DJs Jeno and Garth celebrate nine years of their Back2Back party with some psychedelic house gems.

Black Mammoth Mighty. 119 Utah, SF; www.mighty119.com. 9pm-3am, $13-15. Buoyant Burning Man juggernaut Pink Mammoth gets dark for another one of its enormous blowouts, with DJs Galen, Kramer, Miguel Solari, Tyrel Williams, Gravity, and more.

“Creatures of the NightLife” California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park, SF; www.calacademy.org. 6-10pm, $12. NightLife teams up with the Bay Area Science Festival for this spooky night hosted by Peaches Christ. Highlights include tips on how to survive a zombie attack, the latest on bioengineering (for any aspiring Dr. Frankensteins out there), monster make-up application, and more.

The Flaming Lips’ Halloween Blood Bath Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove, SF, www.apeconcerts.com. Retiring elements that came close to being trademarks. (No space bubble, kids. Go see Diplo, who ripped it off, as he does every gimmick.) With their latest, The Terror, Oklahoma City psych rockers the Flaming Lips seem to be on their own private dark side of the moon, and the current tour promises to be a different kind of spectacle.

“Hacienda Halloween” Peralta House Museum of History and Community, 2465 34th Ave, Oakl; www.peraltahacienda.org. 5-7pm, free. Visit the Peralta Hacienda Historical House for a unique Halloween party, with stories of California’s early years, autumn vegetables, and maybe even an East Bay spirit or two.

Halloween at the Chapel The Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm-2am, $15. Bobb Saggeth, the female-fronted Black Sabbath tribute band, headlines this black mass with Haight Breeders (covering Misfits songs, natch).

Honey Soundsystem + No Way Back Halloween F8, 1192 Folsom, SF; www.eventbrite.com. 9pm-4am, $15. Two of SF’s sharpest DJ collectives combine forces to bring in the dark-edged house of NYC DJ Willie Burns and Split Secs. Should draw a great mixed crowd ready to dance.

House of Babes Halloween Holy Cow, 1535 Folsom, SF; www.thehouseofbabes.com. 9pm-2am, $10-$13. A young, fun shindig featuring a queer rainbow of hip-hop flavors from DJs Rapidfire, Pink Lightning, Dav-O, Boyfriend, and Jenna Riot, plus drag performances Amo A Nia, Rheal’Tea, and Vain Hein. Proceeds go to St. James Infirmary.

Lights Down Low Halloween Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF; www.mezzaninesf.com. 9pm-late, $30. Two amazing house headliners: The Magician, from France, who truly has a magic touch, and Germany’s Tensnake, genius of disco-tinged tunes. Should be bonkers stuff from the ever-reliable Lights Down Low party crew.

Minus Monster Mash Public Works, 161 Erie, SF; www.publicsf.com. 9pm-3am, $18. A spooky showcase of classic techno label M-nus, now based in Berlin, with gaiser and matador performing live and DJ Hobo warming up.

Monarch Monster Mash Monarch, 101 Sixth St, SF; www.monarchsf.com. 9pm-3am, $20. The Green Gorilla party DJs celebrate 18 years of Gorillaness with awesome house DJ Heidi from the UK.

The Monster Show The Edge, 4149 18th St, SF; qbarsf.com/EDGE. 9pm-2am, $5. Loveable drag queen Cookie Dough’s weekly drag show takes a killer turn, with blood-soaked performances by Mutha Chicka, Sugah Betes, Sue Casa, and more. Music by MC2. Will Cookie do her infamous Carrie number?

My Boo 111 Minna Gallery, SF. www.111minnagallery.com. 9pm-2am, $10. “The illest Halloween party” — well that’s to be expected from downtown hip-space 111. This costume party includes hip-hoppy DJs Shortkut and Neil Armstrong, plus a ton of cool, arty giveaways.

Nerd-O-Ween Churchill, 198 Church, SF; www.eventbrite.com. 8pm-2am, $20. It’s a nerd party, duh! Dress up as your favorite Poindexter and join the Motown on Mondays and San Franpsycho crews for some soulful hits and coke-bottle glasses.

SFJazz Halloween SFJazz, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7:30pm, $35-55. Join jazz wiz Maceo Parker and his band for an upbeat concert, followed by a dance party with DJ Dancy Pants and a costume contest presented by drag dears Lil Miss Hot Mess and VivvyAnne ForeverMore.

Total Trash Halloween Bash Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph, Oakl; www.totaltrashfest.com. 9pm, $5-10. NoBunny as Bo Diddley! Shannon and the Clams as The Saicos! Monster Women as the Go-Gos! Yogurt Brain as Weezer! The fantastic annual four-day garage-rock Total Trash Fest kicks off this year with a great concept: rockers as other rockers.

Tubesteak Connection Halloween Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF; www.auntcharlieslounge.com. 10pm-2am, $7. DJ Bus Station John’s great gay weekly party pays tribute to the bathhouse disco parties of the past. And the naughty spirits of those days will rise again on Halloween, with a $100 midnight costume contest hosted by the gorgeous Miss Donna Persona and a full dance floor of horribly cute boys.

FRIDAY 1

“Resurrect Sex Workers Fundraiser Day of the Dead Celebration” Fireside, 1453 Webster, Alameda; www.esplerp.org. 9pm, $15 single, $25 couple. All proceeds from this burlesque show benefit the Erotic Service Provider Legal, Educational and Research Project’s legal battles.

SATURDAY 2

“La Llorona: Weeping for the Life and Death of the Mission District” Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission, SF; www.missionculturalcenter.org. The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts’ 36th Day of the Dead exhibit. Surrounding the Day of the Dead celebration and exhibit, the center is hosting a series of workshops and events including a gala reception Sat/2 at 6pm ($6), a Dia De Los Muertos “Moda y Ofrendas” Fashion Show also Sat/2 at 9:30pm ($5), and a “Mole to Die For” tasting contest Nov. 13.

San Francisco Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos Celebration Procession begins 7pm at 22nd St and Bryant, SF, ends at Garfield park for alter viewing. www.dayofthedeadsf.org. SF’s beloved marking of this Mexicn holiday includes music and a huge parade to Garfield Park, where eye-popping altars and offerings to dead loved ones are on display. A can’t-miss cultural event.

 

 

Cover me bad

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
-
0
Cover me bad

MUSIC Halloween’s like Christmastime for crafty weirdoes. But for me, crudely sewn, elaborate costumes are only half the fun. Around these parts, creativity seems to peak during what is arguably the most wonderful time of the year. The Bay Area particularly steps it up by honoring the punk band tradition of the Halloween cover show (where legendary bands are paid tribute through song and dress).

This year’s Total Trash Halloween Bash (www.totaltrashproductions.com) offers some of the usual suspects when it comes to rockers delivering camouflaged covers. However, with Nobunny channeling Bo Diddley as “Nodiddley” and Russell Quan joining Shannon and the Clams as Los Saicos, we step out of the box that usually brings us Cramps and Misfits covers. While those shows are completely appropriate (along with the typical homage to bands like the Ramones, the Damned, and Alice Cooper) and have proven popular, Oakland’s sentimental-grunge act, Yogurt Brain, has opted to take on Weezer this year. Rest assured — fans of the Blue Album and Pinkerton won’t be disappointed.

“I can’t wait to hear them do ‘Buddy Holly’ live,” Nobunny emails back in anticipation. Figuring it’s not the masked-man’s first time at the rodeo, I asked him and a few others about the origins of this tradition. No one seemed to be able to pinpoint exactly when and where it started, but Mark Ribak from Total Trash Productions quipped Thee Oh Sees’ John Dwyer “probably invented it” as an alternative to seeing the Cramps on Halloween (Bill Graham Presents booked an annual Cramps Halloween show in SF starting in the mid-1980s).

Ironically, Nobunny’s first, full-cover set would be the Cramps back in 2009; the same year front man Lux Interior died. I asked far and wide and got scattered remnants of Halloween parties past (like the time a member of Chicago’s Functional Blackouts recalled his previous band dressing in drag, billing themselves as Pretty Pretty Pretty Princess, and doing Bikini Kill songs in 1999).

“Here it definitely seems like more of an event than other cities I’ve lived in, but cover shows seem to happen everywhere in every city,” says Stephen Oriolo, Yogurt Brain’s guitarist and songwriter. He’s gotten into the theatrical spirit so much that by press time he’ll already have done a couple of shows as TRAWGGZ (a Troggs cover band) with members of the now defunct Uzi Rash. “Halloween is a time to be something you’re not. Merging that idea with parties or shows naturally makes sense to do a cover set.”

LA Burger bands like Pangea and Audacity have covered Nirvana and Adolescents respectively. Closer to home, the Clams, who are repeat offenders, have done Devo and Creedence Clearwater Revival (which by all accounts was something you had to see to believe), and Uzi Rash made minds melt with a searing interpretation of Monks songs, shaved heads included (Thee Parkside’s Hallorager II, another Halloween show, will have a different Monks cover band this year. www.theeparkside.com).

As for some of Nobunny’s favorite Halloween tricks: “I like the pranksters, like Ty Segall doing the Spits when they were scheduled to be the Gories. Or my absolute favorite was when Uzi Rash, who were scheduled to play as the Fall, soundchecked as the Fall, and then came out at showtime and performed as the Doors. Great swindle!”

So put on your costume (you might even win a contest if it’s good) and have an old fashioned sing-along with a room full of equally pumped people at one of these shows. I just pray my chances of hearing “The Good Life” live doesn’t end up being a prank. The room is sure to erupt as the tradition thrives in the Bay.

 

In the year of worms

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
-
4
In the year of worms

emilysavage@sfbg.com

TOFU AND WHISKEY That voice. Those eerie, singular vocals that are somehow both alien and intimately familiar. They sound like electric Tesla coils wrapped in whipped silk. San Francisco’s Hannah Lew is most often heard harmonizing by three with her striking post-punk trio Grass Widow. With newer project Cold Beat, it’s her vocals alone above the needling guitars and anxious synths of a different band.

Lew has been writing songs as Cold Beat for some time, in between Grass Widow releases and tours, but this week she releases her first EP under the moniker: Worms/Year 5772, with songs inspired by the trauma of Lew’s father passing away a few years back. While Cold Beat is mainly a Lew production, she enlisted many local rock ‘n’ roll luminaries to both play on the album and back her up at shows.

The record’s sound is rounded out by guitarist Kyle King, drummer Lillian Maring, and Shannon and the Clams’ Cody Blanchard on guitar and synths. The live band features King, the Mallard’s Greer Mcgettrick on guitar, and Erase Errata’s Bianca Sparta on drums. That live version will celebrate the release of the EP with a show at the Night Light in Oakland Tue/5.(Cold Beat also plays Great American Music Hall on Nov. 14.) But before that, Lew spoke with the Bay Guardian about the origins of Worms/Year 5772, her DIY record label and music video projects, and the songs she played at her wedding last week:

SF Bay Guardian What inspired you to write new music as Cold Beat, outside of Grass Widow?

Hannah Lew I always write songs and sometimes they just didn’t totally feel like Grass Widow songs. I just kept collecting them and not really knowing if I should release them. As the tunes started accumulating I decided I should get a band together and figure out a way to share the songs. When Kyle King and I started playing — his energy really enabled the songs to come to fruition.

SFBG Can you tell me a bit about the songwriting process with Worms/Year 5772 and how the themes of “death, Internet surveillance, paranoia and science fiction” translated into the music?

HL “Worms” was written as a response to my grief about my father’s death in 2009. I couldn’t help but imagine worms eating his corpse — which was a very visceral image I couldn’t get out of my head…I think the horror of this was something I couldn’t really share with anyone, and in taking time to write more songs on my own I started realizing that it was good for me to have an outlet for some other concepts that were a bit more personal.

I always turn to science fiction when I am trying to understand or relate my feelings. It gives me a change to explore depths of doom and hope that I can more easily imagine not on this earth. In writing all the lyrics alone for Cold Beat there is a little more of me just in my own head which can be great and sometimes paranoid or depressed. I get really bad insomnia and many Cold Beat songs were demoed at 5 or 6am.

Grass Widow lyrics are always more of a conversation where as Cold Beat lyrics are more like an interior dialogue. It’s kind of like describing a dream to someone.

SFBG Does “Year 5772” refer to the Jewish calendar? Why did you make this connection?

HL My late father was a rabbi and I was raised very religious. I was writing Year 5772 about a dystopian post-apocalyptic dream I had that seemed to take place in some distant future and I started thinking about how the Jewish calendar is already in Year 5772 — actually a couple years later now since the song was written a few years ago — and how our concept of the future is based in what point in time we imagine ourselves in — but the concept of linear time is very relative.

I guess being Jewish is kind of futuristic and ancient simultaneously. I like the idea of collapsing time and writing a song that takes place in a landscape outside of time. I also like thinking about existing in many times simultaneously.

SFBG Did you find the solo songwriting process freeing or more complicated without the group’s input?

HL Some of the Cold Beat songs were written during the time Grass Widow was writing our last record — Internal Logic. Somehow they just seemed more personal and better spoken from one voice instead of related by three people. I think the complicated part for me was deciphering which songs were Cold Beat songs and which ones to give to Grass Widow.

Grass Widow is a great space where the three of us would relate and abstract our feelings and dreams together. But there were some things I was going through that I couldn’t synthesize with anyone else and just had to express on my own. I like having conversations about concepts with bandmates, but I also like working alone.

Luckily I can do both! I think it is important to be able to do things on your own so you know who you are and have something to offer a collaborative project. Just like in love.

SFBG You got married last weekend — what key songs were on your playlist? Are you willing to give up any other details?

HL It’s all kind of a blur. but it was so much fun! Some friends of ours put together a wedding band with Kyle King as the band leader. My husband (whoa!) and I put together a set list for the band to play of all our favorite dancing songs. I think the party really went crazy during the Dick Dale version of “Hava Nagila” and we got lifted up in chairs and everything, but also [the Flamin’ Groovies song] “Shake Some Action” was pretty epic too.

My friend Henson Flye made giant clamshells and Raven Mahon made a moon photo backdrop. We had a choir of friends sing “I’ll Be Your Mirror” while I walked down the aisle. It was really beautiful and a beautiful way for all our friends to express their love and friendship and show us support and for us to throw a fun party for everyone. We’re lucky to have a lot of love. Still buzzing from it!

SFBG As with Grass Widow (HLR), you’re putting Cold Beat out on your own label, Crime On The Moon. Can you tell me about the label, and why you’re sticking with DIY?

HL I really enjoy doing everything myself. HLR has been a great experience and we really took the time to make critical decisions about how we wanted to do business. I figured I could easily do it myself with Crime On The Moon since I had the experience of putting out the last few Grass Widow releases. One drawback is that when you put music out on a label you have an instant fan, publicist, and advocate — so when you’re on your own you have to manufacture your own confidence for what you are doing. But having good bandmates and support from your friends goes a long way!

SFBG You also make music videos — will you make any for Cold Beat? Are you working on any others currently?

HL Mike Stoltz, who made the Grass Widow “11 of Diamonds” video and collaborated with me on “Give Me Shapes,” is in the process of editing a Cold Beat video for “Worms.” So that will be out in the next couple of weeks! I am always updating my site (www.hannahlew.com) with new finished videos I make for other bands.

SFBG Anything else you want people to know about Cold Beat or about other upcoming projects?

HL Well I’m excited for our EP to be released November 5. We’ll have copies at our record release show at the Night Light in Oakland with Screature and Pure Bliss. Then we’ll be touring the West Coast to follow that.

I’m also releasing a seven-inch [that] Raven and I recorded with Jon Shade on drums under the name Bridge Collapse. We recorded with Kelley Stoltz and I’m looking forward to releasing those songs along with a compilation of SF bands writing songs as a response to the tech boom. So a lot of exciting Crime On The Moon projects ahead!

COLD BEAT

Tue/5, 9pm, $6

Night Light

311 Broadway, Oakl.

www.thenightlightoakland.com

Heads Up: 7 must-see concerts this week

Tony Robles
-
1

Ready to get weird? Naturally, as this is the week of All Hallows Eve (i.e. the best time of the year), the shows you must see are downright spooky: The Flaming Lips’ Halloween Blood Bath, Maya Jane Coles at Freaky Friday, the Hellraiser’s Ball series’ Terry Malts show, Total Trash’s extended Halloween bash, and so forth.

Go out goblins and ghouls of the Bay, raise some spirits and remember the dead. And never forget: Nilbog is Goblin backwards.

Here are your must-see shows: 

Terry Malts
Full disclosure: The Bay Guardian is co-sponsoring this event, the first in a series of Hellraiser’s Ball shows. But it deserves to be in Heads Up anyways, because Terry Malts are San Francisco pop punk perfection, and they’re back after touring off new full-length Realizes This is Nowhere (Slumberland), released last month.
With Violent Change
Tue/29, 8pm, $10
Brick and Mortar
1710 Mission, SF
www.brickandmortarmusic.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXfyXo5KQDI

The Flaming Lips’ Halloween Blood Bath
“Oklahoma City psych rockers the Flaming Lips’ mold-breaking performances are as varied as the band’s back catalog. Motorcycle exhaust filled punk orgies, dazzling Christmas light powered spectacles, car stereo orchestras, and for at least the last decade, the technicolor, eyeball melting, heart swelling celebrations of pure weirdo pop, accented by confetti cannons and costumed menagerie. Now it’s switching up again, retiring elements that came close to being trademarks. (No space bubble, kids. Go see Diplo, who ripped it off, as he does every gimmick.) With their latest, The Terror, the Lips seem to be on their own private dark side of the moon, and the current tour promises to be a different kind of spectacle.” — Ryan Prendiville
With Tame Impala, White Denim
Thu/31, 7pm, $47.50
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
99 Grove, SF
www.apeconcerts.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2NCjcsgrbg

Halloween at the Chapel
Bobb Saggeth, the female-fronted Black Sabbath tribute band, headlines this black mass with Haight Breeders (covering Misfits songs, natch).
Thu/31, 9pm-2am, $15.
Chapel
777 Valencia, SF
www.thechapelsf.com

Total Trash Halloween Bash: Yogurt Brain as Weezer
“This year’s Total Trash Halloween Bash offers some of the usual suspects when it comes to rockers delivering camouflaged covers. However, with NOBUNNY channeling Bo Diddley as “Nodiddley” and Russell Quan joining Shannon and the Clams as Los Saicos, we step out of the box that usually brings us Cramps and Misfits covers. While those shows are completely appropriate (along with the typical homage to bands like the Ramones, the Damned, and Alice Cooper) and have proven popular, Oakland’s sentimental-grunge act, Yogurt Brain, has opted to take on Weezer this year. Rest assured — fans of the Blue Album and Pinkerton won’t be disappointed.” — Andre Torrez
With NOBUNNY as Bo Diddley, Shannon & the Clams as Los Saicos, more
Thu/31, 9pm, $15
Stork Club
2330 Telegraph, Oakl.
www.totaltrashfest.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahW9D03XtLA

AYLI Presents Freaky Friday with Maya Jane Cole
“During previous appearances in the city, London artist Maya Jane Coles has come dangerously close to being outpaced by her popularity. Pressed to the sides of Monarch during her set last year, my extensive catalog of deep struts and funky steps was reduced to a little heady bobbing for lack of space. It’s a relief that AYLI is bringing her to the more spacious venue of Public Works, particularly now that Coles released her Comfort LP, a vocally-oriented bit of silky house, featuring guest appearances by Kim Ann Foxman and Karin Park. (The track with Park, “Everything,” is the album’s standout.) Still, given how packed this party is on the lineup side, including co-headlining Romanian-born techno producer Cosmin TRG, it may be wise to stake prime floor space early.” — Prendiville
With Bells & Whistles, Brian Knarfield, Cubik & Origami LIVE, more
Fri/1, 9pm-4am, $20 presale
Public Works
161 Erie, SF
(415) 932-0955
www.publicsf.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB_rlsF83u4

Total Trash Halloween Bash: The Sonics
“The folks behind Total Trash are bringing a relic from the first wave: The seminal Washington-based 1960s garage rock band, the Sonics, will play a string of shows for the annual Total Trash Halloween Bash. The Sonics were there in the very beginning. They got their start in a time when the British Invasion was in full swing. Rejecting sugary-sweet mop-topped bands, the Sonics idolized Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.  ‘We thought, to heck with wearing suits and neckties,” keyboardist-vocalist Gerry Roslie says. “Playing love songs felt wrong — we could only play music with power. We played loud and we played how we felt: like animals.'” — Erin Dage
With Phantom Surfers, Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Fri/1, 7:30pm, $35
New Parish
579 18th St, Oakl.

With Roy Loney, Dukes of Hamburg, Wounded Lion, Chad & the Meatbodies
Sat/2, 7pm, $35
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
(415) 861-2011
www.totaltrashfest.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXtuKsbORVY

Dance Party Boys
“OK, despite the name this isn’t a dance party, but let’s freak out! Gayish punk-metal outfit Dance Party Boys (which includes several members of the nightlife scene, including former Pansy Division back-up dancer Xavier Breff) hit the 924 Gilman stage with Brave Ulysses, Black Bones, and NslashA for some good ol-fashioned moshing.” — Marke B.
Fri/1, 8pm, $10
924 Gilman, Berk
www.924gilman.org

Get to the show, weirdos

Michael Redmond
-
2
Get to the show, weirdos

FALL ARTS There are so many things competing for your precious time: long lines for pricey gourmet coffee, civic responsibilities and volunteer work, actual work, glazed fake cronuts or whatever the kids are into these days. Make live music a priority as well — your days will float by on a pink cloud of fuzzy, hangover-fueled memories.

As we’re lucky enough to live in a region stuffed with musicians and venues that take in touring acts, the options for every week are damn near endless. Here are some shows to take note of this season, one for (nearly) every day of the upcoming months. (Note that dates and locations are subject to change, so always check the venue site.)

>>READ MORE FALL ARTS GUIDES HERE

Plug them in to your Google Calendar. Better yet, stick this list to your wall with chewed-up bubblegum. Either way, impress your friends with superior show knowledge:

Aug. 30 [UPDATE: postponed due to illness] Icona Pop: As silly as it’s always been, bubbly Swedish electro-pop duo Icona Pop is in the running for the arbitrary media-hyped “song of the summer” (or as Slate puts it, the yearly “Summer Song–Industrial Complex”) thanks to party track, “I Love It,” featuring fellow up-and-comer Charli XCX. And, get this, the album from which “Love It” springs, This Is… (Record Company Ten/Big Beat Records), isn’t even out until Sept. 24. Squeeze out the last bits of this very poppy season and hold out for the recorded versions by taking in this live set. Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Aug. 31 [Here’s another to make up for that cancellation above] Rin Tin Tiger, French Cassettes Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Aug. 31 Sonny and the Sunsets, Shannon and the Clams Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Sept. 2 Ty Segall Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Sept. 3 Superchunk and Mikal Cronin Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Sept. 4 Zomby (live) Public Works, SF. www.publicsf.com.

Sept. 5-6 “UnderCover Presents Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited:” For this event, the UnderCover Presents collective dives deep into the introspective, folk-rock world of Bob Dylan’s ’65 gem (which gave us “Like a Rolling Stone”) with covers by Carletta Sue Kay, Quinn DeVeaux, Whiskerman, Beth Lisick, and guest music director Karina Denike, among others. Freight & Salvage. www.thefreight.org. Also Sept. 8, Contemporary Jewish Museum. www.cjm.org.

Sept. 6 Mission Creek Oakland: The month-long fall music and arts festival packs a punch with dozens of local bands playing 15 East Bay venues, including the Uptown, the Stork Club, and Children’s Fairyland (!). It kicks off with a free opening party tonight at the Uptown with Naytronix, Clipd Beaks, YNGBMS, and Safeword. Various venues, Oakl. www.mcofest.org.

Sept. 7 Push the Feeling with Exray’s Underground SF, www.undergroundsf.com

Sept. 8 Lil Bub book signing with Nobunny: So Lil Bub is this famous Internet cat and Nobunny is the infamous IRL punky masked Bunny-Man; together they’ll claw through the Rickshaw Stop all day and night. This multipart Burger Bub Mini-Fest includes a Lil Bub book signing and doc film screening, plus live sets by Nobunny, Colleen Green, the Monster Women, and the Shanghais. Paws up, everyone. Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.

Sept. 9 Sex Snobs Elbo Room, SF. www.elbo.com

Sept. 10 Bleeding Rainbow Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.

Sept. 11 Moving Units DNA Lounge, SF. www.dnalounge.com.

Sept. 12 Julie Holter Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com.

Sept. 13 120 minutes presents Death in June Mezzanine, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com.

Sept. 14 Rock the Bells: the annual touring hip-hop fest returns, headlined by Kid Cudi, A$AP Mob. feat. A$AP Rocky, E-40, and Too $hort, Common, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on Sept. 14; Wu-Tang Clan, Black Hippy feat. Kendrick Lamar, and Deltron 3000 on Sept. 15. Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mtn View. www.livenation.com.

Sept. 16 Kate Boy Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.

Sept 17 Julie Ruin: Kathleen Hanna returns to her pre-Le Tigre output but beefs it up with a full band including fellow Bikini Kill bandmate Kathi Wilcox and is set to release bouncy feminist dancepop record Run Fast Sept. 3. A few weeks later the Brooklyn band lands in SF. Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com.

Sept. 18 Berkeley Old Time Music Convention Various venues, Berk. www.berkeleyoldtimemusic.org

Sept. 19 Hard Skin 1-2-3-4 Go!, Oakl. 1234gorecords.com.

Sept. 20 Foxygen Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Sept. 21 Tape Deck Mountain and Battlehooch El Rio, SF. www.elriosf.com.

Sept. 22 “Radio Silence presents: Doe Eye performing Arcade Fire” Brick and Mortar Music Hall, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com.

Sept. 24 Wax Tailor Mezzanine. www.mezzaninesf.com.

Sept. 26 Zola Jesus Palace of Fine Arts, SF. www.palaceoffinearts.org.

Sept. 27 Peter Hook and the Light Mezzanine, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com.

Sept. 28 “Station to Station:” This train-travelin’ art and music experiment, organized by artist Doug Aitken, pulls a stop in Oakland with live performances by Dan Deacon, Savages, No Age, Sun Araw and the Congos, Twin Shadow, and more. And the train itself is designed as a moving kinetic light sculpture, so expect a bright show. 16th St. Station, Oakl. www.stationtostation.com.

Sept. 30 Chelsea Wolfe Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 1 Peach Kelli Pop Hemlock Tavern, SF. www.hemlocktavern.com.

Oct. 3 MØ Brick and Mortar Music Hall, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com.

Oct. 4-6 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: Bonnie Raitt, Bettye LaVette, Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers, Devil Makes Three, Chris Isaak, Mark Lanegan, First Aid Kit, Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside. As the free annual fest releases lineup names in glorious song medleys, this is who we know for sure will fill GG Park with folk-country-hardly-strictly-bluegrass notes this year, as of press time. There will be more added in the coming weeks, so check the site. Golden Gate Park, SF. www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com.

Oct. 5 Har Mar Superstar Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com.

Oct. 7 No Joy Brick and Mortar Music Hall, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com.

Oct. 8 Fucked Up Terror Oakland Metro Opera House, Oakl. www.oaklandmetro.org.

Oct. 9 Iceage Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.

Oct. 10 Thee Oh Sees Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Oct. 11 Extra Action Marching Band Mezzanine, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com

Oct. 12 Marky Ramone with Andrew W.K.: Is this pairing crazy enough that it just might work? While Joey Ramone has sadly passed on to punk rock heaven (lots of leather and skinny jeans), drummer Marky Ramone is carrying on the legacy by enlisting pizza guitar-having party rocker Andrew W.K. as his frontperson. The band known as Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg performs classic Ramones songs. Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com.

Oct. 13 Legendary Pink Dots DNA Lounge, SF. www.dnalounge.com.

Oct. 14 Langhorne Slim Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 15 Tim Kasher Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.

Oct. 16 Dustin Wong Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com.

Oct. 17 CHVRCHES Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com.

Oct. 18 Robert Glasper Experiment SFJazz Center, SF. www.sfjazz.org.

Oct. 19 Treasure Island Music Festival: the forward-thinking two-day fest out on windswept Treasure Island includes Atoms for Peace, Beck, Major Lazer, Little Dragon, Animal Collective, James Blake, Holy Ghost!, Sleigh Bells, and more. Giraffage, and Antwon are the locals on the bill. Treasure Island, SF. www.treasureislandfestival.com.

Oct. 20 Goblin Warfield Theatre, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com.

Oct. 21 Hunx & His Punx Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com.

Oct. 22 Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck Paramount Theater, Oakl. www.paramounttheatre.com.

Oct. 23 Oh Land Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com.

Oct. 24 Woodkid Regency Ballroom, SF. www.theregencyballroom.com.

Oct. 25 The Blow Bottom of the Hill. www.bottomofthehill.com.

Oct. 26 Airfield Broadcasts: For this large-scale event, composer Lisa Bielawa will turn Chrissy Field into a giant “musical canvas” in which listeners can interact with broad sounds floating through the area with the help of nearly a thousand professional and student musicians including orchestras, choruses, bands, and experimental new groups. The musicians will begin in the center of the field then slowly move outwards, playing Bielawa’s original score. Chrissy Field, SF. www.airfieldbroadcasts.org.

Oct. 29 The Jazz Coffin Emergency Ensemble El Rio, SF. www.elriosf.com.

Oct. 30 Save Ferris Regency Ballroom, SF. www.theregencyballroom.com.

Oct. 31 Danzig Warfield, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com.

Nov. 1 Janelle Monáe: Futurist soul crooner Janelle Monáe has had a big year, releasing “Q.U.E.E.N.” with Erykah Badu in the spring, and more recently she fired off Miguel duet “PrimeTime.” The last time the pompodoured singer made it to SF she was dancing down the aisles at the SF Symphony’s Spring Gala (earlier this year), but a darkened venue is much more her speed. Think she’ll be wearing black and white? Warfield Theatre, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com.

Nov. 7 Wanda Jackson: The stylish rockabilly queen, and former real life Elvis paramour — and crackling vocalist behind tracks like “Fujiyama Mama” and “Let’s Have a Party” — is still brash and still touring at age 75. And she’s still putting out new tunes too, with her own 2012 LP Unfinished Business, and just before that a collaboration with Jack White on The Party Ain’t Over (2011). Yes, the party continues. Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com.

Nov. 8 Of Montreal Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com.

Nov. 13 Those Darlins Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com.

Nov. 14 Kayhan Kalhor and Ali Bahrami Fard SFJazz Center, SF. www.sfjazz.org.

Nov. 16 Melt Banana Oakland Metro Opera House, Oakl. www.oaklandmetro.org.

Nov. 17 Rhys Chatham: This is vastly bigger than your average rock concert. See, avant-punk composer Rhys Chatham will perform the West Coast premiere of his “A Secret Rose” with an orchestra of 100 electric guitars. That’s right, 100-times the shred. The Other Minds-presented hourlong performance will include musicians from Guided By Voices, Akron/Family, Tristeza, and more. Craneway Pavilion, Richmond. www.brownpapertickets.com.

Nov. 18 Misfits Oakland Metro Opera House, Oakl. www.oaklandmetro.org.

Nov. 22 Kate Nash Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com.

 

Get trashed

-
3
Get trashed

emilysavage@sfbg.com

MUSIC During high school one day in a sleepy Marin County enclave, Tina “Boom Boom” Lucchesi went to a local record shop where Erik Meade of Jackson Saints and the Pukes worked, and he put on a Redd Kross album. “Total obsession,” Lucchesi says now, a few decades later, from her punky, vintage-filled Peewee’s Playhouse home in Oakland. “He was playing the Teen Babes from Monsanto record, and I was like, I’m going to buy that — and I did.”

This week, Lucchesi’s early 1990s-born wild surf-punk group the Trashwomen will play alongside Redd Kross for the first time ever, during the two-day slackfest Burger Boogaloo (Sat/6-Sun/7, noon-9pm, $25/day. Mosswood Park, 3612 Webster, Oakl., www.burgerboogaloo.com). The Boogaloo, a yearly collaboration between Orange County, Calif. label and shop Burger Records, and East Bay promoters Total Trash Booking, is known for bringing an eclectic, sometimes manic mix of surf, punk, garage, doo-wop, and retro rock’n’roll acts commonly associated with both organizers.

This year, for the first time, it’s all outdoors, and the headliners are impressive: Redd Kross, Jonathan Richman, the Zeroes, the Oblivions, Fuzz, the Trashwomen. The rest of the lineup is too, including Audacity, Mean Jeans, Shannon and the Clams, Mikal Cronin, Guantanamo Baywatch, and more.

The Trashwomen immediately stuck out in the stellar lineup, mostly because the other groups are all active bands. The Trashwomen haven’t played together in four years (during a brief reunion for Budget Rock in ’08), and before that, they’d been broken up since ’97. So why now?

For Total Trash’s Marc Ribak, the choice was obvious. “In the Total Trash babe bible, Trashwomen rank number one!”

But for said babes, it was all about Redd Kross. “Redd Kross is playing! We’re all big fans, so we were like,’we’ve got to do it!'” says drummer Lucchesi, sitting on a teal patterned couch in her home next to bassist Danielle “Lead Pedal” Pimm, and guitarist Elka “Kitten Kaboodle” Zolot.

Though they also mention getting stoked to see Mexican punk legends the Zeros, and Portland, Ore. sloppy surf-rock group Guantanamo Baywatch.

“We’ve gotten a lot of offers, but we all have busy lives. There was a time when we were doing it but then you know, it kind of fizzled out,” she adds. “In the early ’90s, when the garage thing was so great in San Francisco, we played with the Mummies, the Phantom Surfers, Supercharger, we all played together. And then it just kind of died out, and we did get sick of it, and each other. But it’s fun, I like getting together and playing with these guys once in awhile.”

While their initial run ended in ’97, the group left a lasting impression on future generations of San Francisco garage groups, particularly girl groups, which has surprised Zolot. “I have my Instagram, and a lot of young bands that are still in high school [post on there] like ‘oh I look up to you,’ ‘you inspire me to write music and be a girl on guitar,’ and I’m like, how did you even hear about us? It’s cool, but sometimes it shocks me that young people know who we are.”

It’s a combination of sound, style, and era that carries on the Trashwomen torch. Likely the Internet accessibility of music had a hand in it too. The music itself, on albums like debut ’93 record Spend the Night with the Trashwomen (Estrus), is a raucous jumble of raunchy original garage anthems (“Cum on Baby,” “I’m Trash”), syrupy rock’n’roll numbers (“Daddy Love”), and surf-punk covers of rare ’60s gems like the Fender Four’s “Mar Guya” and Starfire’s “Space Needle.”

The aesthetic was based in high camp and cheap glamour — also seen on the cover of Spend the Night with the Trashwomen, the trio lounging in bed together, dolled up and looking tough in leopard print bras, red lace crop tops, and black babydoll dresses.

“It came from a lot of pin-up stuff and ’60s go-go girls. We wanted to have a weird persona, I think, like Russ Meyer bad girls,” Lucchesi says.

The group was known to play live in matching outfits, often trashy lingerie. “I don’t know if you’ll see us wearing lingerie on stage again though,” Zolot says.

Though Lucchesi and Pimm do mysteriously mention possible planned outfits for Burger Boogaloo, noting that they’re working on a little something.

“There may be just a little flair,” Pimm says with a laugh.

“No bikinis though!” Zolot again reminds everyone.

The three have an easy rapport, which Pimm says took only about 22 years to master. Each time they get back together in Lucchesi’s garage, it’s like starting over fresh, but the songs eventually come rumbling back to them, she says. They’ve been practicing for about two months this time around, going back through the classic tracks, with no intention of writing new ones. “I get disappointed when I see an older band and they don’t play much of their stuff that we all grow up with,” Zolot says. Everyone nods in agreement.

The group originally came together fresh out of high school. Lucchesi and Pimm had gone to school together in Corte Madera and both moved to San Francisco at age 18, where they met Elka. She’d grown up in Los Angeles, and moved to SF, forming the psychobilly group Eightball Scratch.

The Trashwomen were supposed to be a one-off Trashmen cover band for a New Year’s party at a long-gone venue called the Chameleon, kicking off 1992 in surf garage style. The idea was masterminded by Mike Lucas from the Phantom Surfers, then a popular local surf band.

For NYE, they learned a handful of Trashmen songs, got drunk, and played the set twice.

“After that, people kept calling, so we realized, we better write a bunch of songs,” Zolot says.

Since she’d been in Eightball Scratch, she’d already been playing punk and rockabilly guitar parts, so she continued to do so in the Trashwomen, adding even more surfy reverb.

She’s been playing music since before she can remember, and as a teenager was influenced by the Go-Go’s. “I’d listen to the Go-Go’s and pretend I was on stage.”

“I think every girl did that when that album came out,” says Lucchesi, who since the Trashwomen has gone on to front a dozen bands, including the Bobbyteens. “The Ramones definitely got me more into guitar. Every day after work I would just come home and play to the tape.”

Their personal influences all seem to overlap with those creepy-sexy goth punks, the Cramps. “All the great punk stuff, and new wave, all that stuff was happening. We were lucky we got to see it,” Lucchesi says. Putting on a mock cranky-old-lady accent she adds, “Kids today, they don’t kno-ow.”

In the early days of the Trashwomen, the threesome often played the Chameleon (in the space formerly known as Chatterbox and which is now Amnesia), and also the Purple Onion, frequently popping up at lesbian nights at clubs, warehouse parties, or underground house shows. They once wore bras scrawled with the word “Feminist” to the Faster Pussycat lesbian night at FireHouse 7 in Oakland. Often, fights would break out at their shows at the Purple Onion, just the high drama of the scene.

They also once played Bimbo’s, opening up for Nina Hagen, and they flew to New York to play CBGBs, which was monumental for all three. The day after the show, they went to Coney Island, ate hot dogs, and rode the Cyclone — on which Zolot severely injured her back; she has yet to go on a rollercoaster since. They were also heckled along the boardwalk, Pimm says. “Some of the girls at Coney Island, they were like, ‘excuse me, B-52s!'”

The band also toured Europe and Japan briefly, playing alongside its Japanese equivalent, the 5.6.7.8’s.

“The Germany shows were weird,” Pimm says. “We played somewhere in East Berlin, and all these metalheads walked in and we were like, ‘this is our audience? They’re going to hate us!’ The crowd ended up not letting the Trashwomen leave the stage, standing up front with folded arms, begging them to play more.

From all the stories, it seems like an aggressive, wildly exciting time for the band, but it’s easy to see why it eventually fizzled. Lucchesi has gone on to form acts like the aforementioned Bobbyteens, and is also currently in two-person garage-punk band Cyclops with her boyfriend Jonny Cat, and Midnite Snaxxx, with former Bay Guardian staffer Dulcinea Gonzalez. She also runs Down at Lulu’s a little vintage shop and hair salon in Oakland she opened seven years back with Seth Bogart, a.k.a. Hunx, and now runs solo.

Pimm too opened a salon, Marquee, last year in Oakland, near 1-2-3-4 Go! Records.

Zolot works in catering at wineries in the Napa area, dressing like a pin-up girl and shucking oysters with a mobile oyster bar, and also does photography. She’s not currently in another band, but says she has some secret music projects in the works.

“We didn’t even know that!” Lucchesi says when Zolot reveals this.

“It’s not the same style as people would expect, so I don’t talk about it much,” Zolot says.

“I want to know — is it hip-hop?” Lucchesi jokes.

“No! That’s for Tasha, she’s got that covered,” Zolot says, speaking of her daughter, Natassia Zolot, a.k.a rapper Kreayshawn. (Kreay can be heard at age five screaming the lead on the Trashwomen single “Boys Are Toys.”)

“That’s for the younger generation,” Pimm says.

What we do is secret

-
2
What we do is secret

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.”

Video Premiere: The Trashies do the worm

Tony Robles
-
0

The view from my studio apartment’s bay windows includes a clear view of my building’s garbage chute. Often times the chute gets clogged and the trash piles high for days. I think about it and freak out over how it will fester and potentially attract vermin. Obviously, I don’t like it when that happens, but I’ve thought to myself, “Man, that dude from Uzi Rash would really love it here.”

So what’s the Oakland frontperson (with an affinity for making his own refuse-themed jams) been up to since the Rash cleared up? Well, as this video post depicts, Max Nordile is literally writhing around in muck and he’s got some friends in the Trashies that have joined him.

“I’m a Worm” off their fourth LP, Teenage Rattlesnakes, is another Dan Shaw-directed VHS video, starring Nordile and his band mates in this gunked-up role. Most of them are from Seattle (including members of Unnatural Helpers, TacocaT, and Shitty Pete and the Fucks), but the East Bay influence is clear.

The video opens with some accusatory name calling before panning over to the band members working through their “mangled Monks worship” as they conduct full-body pantomime as the scum of the Earth. A shrill, descending guitar solo later, each one them has made a mess of their white shorts by the time they’ve reached the finish line comprised of a dilapidated set of instruments.  

I’m told wriggling around at Albany Bulb’s mud flats is a gross and “smelly affair”.  Seems these worms may never learn.

The West Coast tour, “West Coast Worms Save Music,” starts Fri/31 and coincides with the album release.

In Oakland: June 4  with Courtney n’ the Crushers, Shannon and the Clams and Wet Spots at the Stork Club.

In San Francisco: June 12th with Buffalo Tooth and Scraper at the Hemlock Tavern.

Selector: May 15-21, 2013

Andrew Lam
-
0

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

www.bottomofthehill.com


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

www.rickshawstop.com


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

www.bottomofthehill.com

 

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

www.brickandmortarmusic.com


TUESDAY 21

“Eating Nose-to-Tail: The Whole Animal Movement”

Let’s face it, Americans loves meat. But everyday consumers and informed connoisseurs are grappling with an increasing number of unanswered health and environmental questions with their meat, questions that an increasingly centralized food industry has left mostly unanswered. Unsatisfied with the growing gaps along the production chain, farmers, butchers, and chefs have banded together under the Whole Animal movement, which emphasizes using all of an animal for preparation and consumption. At this talk, four of the Bay Area’s meat authorities slice into how the movement stresses conservation and connects local producers, preparers, and eaters. After the talk, Dave the Butcher gives a whole animal butchery lesson while diners delve into delectables at the Ferry Building, with proceeds going to the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture. (Lee)

With Chris Cosentino, Ryan Farr, John Fink and Tia Harrison

6:30pm program, $12–$20; 8pm butchering demo, $80–$100

Commonwealth Club

95 Market

(415) 597-6700

www.commonwealthclub.org


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.

Love spells trouble

-
0
Love spells trouble

emilysavage@sfbg.com

TOFU AND WHISKEY The twin star driving forces behind Bleached (hellobleached.tumblr.com) have been around. Not in a cruising with delinquents kind of way, but that’s probably where their music is best blasted — careening down the California coast in a shiny convertible with a shitty ex-lover or two, rooftop down, an open bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, lipstick-stained cola can, and the stereo crackling.

Really though, being around more refers to the basic facts that singer-guitarist Jennifer Clavin and bassist Jessie Clavin have been playing music together for a long time, since junior high, and have toured nearly as long. More so, they’ve been connected since birth — they’re sisters who grew up together in the sleepy San Fernando Valley and reached for instruments partially out of boredom and isolation.

Their first notable band was early Aughts-born Mika Miko, which became known for its near-residency at formerly grimy downtown LA venue the Smell — and its frenetic live shows on tour with bands like the Gossip and No Age.

“Mika Miko was a mutual breakup,” younger sister Jessie says with a casual Valley girl affect from the dusty tour road between El Paso and Austin, Texas. “It ended because everyone wanted to do something else, go different directions. But me and Jen still wanted to play music together.”

They began slowly picking up the pieces for Bleached shortly after Mika Miko’s 2010 breakup and released three well-received seven-inches, but had yet to debut a proper LP until just recently. On April 2, they unfurled a melodious, punks-in-the-sun full-length, the punchy pop Ride Your Heart on Dead Oceans. On tour promoting the new record, Bleached will be in San Francisco Sun/5 at the Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. www.theindependentsf.com.

So while Jen and Jessie are blood-related and forever sonically entwined, there’s an exhilarating feeling of something new afoot at this very moment in time. “I feel like it’s a new little chapter right now for us,” Jessie says. “For so long we were just like, playing live shows with songs from the seven-inches, and that’s basically all people really knew. So now that it’s out, this tour just feels really exciting — people are going to have the record, they’ll know what to expect.”

“At the beginning [of Bleached] everyone was comparing us to every current girl band, but not anymore, maybe now that our record came out, that’s why it’s changed.”

The rock’n’roll record hints at early punk like the Ramones around its edges on opener “Looking for a Fight,” but that’s washed away with cooling waves of jangly California surf pop melodies and mid-century teen dream vocals on songs like “Dreaming Without You” and “Dead Boy.” And despite the inherent upbeat nature of the tracks, much of the lyrics in songs like “Love Spells” and “When I Was Yours” reflect a somewhat darker time for singer Jen, who moved to New York briefly between the fall of Mika Miko and rise of Bleached. Suffice to say, she’s not singing about her cats or whatever.

In NYC she joined the band Cold Cave, desperately missed her sister, dated the wrong kind of boy, and wrote breakup songs for the band she’d soon reform back on the West Coast. “I was going through a really rough time,” Jen says as Jessie passes her the phone. “I moved back to LA and stayed in [our] parent’s house in the desert for a month…and locked myself in my room, kept myself distracted by writing a bunch of songs.”

Ride Your Heart was recorded and produced last fall in various studios in Burbank and at Bedrock LA in Echo Park. At the time, Jen was listening to a lot of Blondie (there’s a song on the album called “Waiting By the Telephone”), and both sisters survived on a steady diet of Bowie — Ziggy Stardust era — along with the the Stones, Velvet Underground, and the Kinks. “We communicate better when we know exactly what we’re listening to,” Jessie says.

And communication is key to any relationship, particularly the mythic sibling-bandmate dynamic. Though this one seems far less tumultuous then those widely discussed rock’n’roll brotherhoods. “We’ve been doing this for so long. It helps to work through it and get stronger,” says Jessie. That connection was tested when Jen was in New York. While she was with Cold Cave, she was still occasionally working on songs for an early version of Bleached, but the distance was too great. “We were trying to still write back and forth, but it was just difficult, it wasn’t the same as when we’re in the room together and start playing and Jen starts singing and has the melody. It just didn’t work out.”

Now, Jen lives in Hollywood, walking distance from the Universal backlot, and Jessie lives in Silverlake. The local LA bands they listen to are most frequently their friends’ acts, including Pangea and Audacity, and they like Oakland’s Shannon and the Clams, and other Burger Records acts. As is the current zeitgeist, Jessie says Bleached might soon be doing a tape with Burger too.

“We grew up with mixtapes. I definitely remember first hearing the Germs [that way],” Jessie says. “I was transitioning from listening to like, KROQ alternative to like, underground, but then I’d go to school in a Germs shirt and think I was really cool.”

Laughing, she adds, “Well I wouldn’t say cool, but definitely different.”

 

STEREO TOTAL

Oui! The multilingual French-German power-pop duo Stereo Total is back with a new album, Cactus Versus Brazel on Kill Rock Stars, packed with the expected adorable electro ditties, and a rejuvenated je ne sais quoi. With Super Adventure Club, Giggle Party.

Wed/1, 8pm, $15. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. www.rickshawstop.com.

 

MARIEE SIOUX

Crystalline psych-folk crooner Mariee Sioux’s twinkly followup to debut Faces in the Rocks (2007), Gift for the End was released a whole year ago, but there was never a proper SF release party (and there was some drama with the label it was supposed to be on going defunct) so the local songwriter is celebrating now. It’s a haunting, whispery, tender album, like a less annoying Joanna Newsom selection, and deserving of attention — no matter if that’s taking place on a much later date. With Alela Diane, Conspiracy of Venus.

Thu/2, 8:30pm, $16. Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell, SF. www.slimspresents.com

 

MIKE PATTON/WAXWORKS

Experimental contemporary live music always seems to creep its way into the SF International Film Festival. And who better to bring weirdo sound experiments than the current king of such things: Mike Patton. The operatically inclined Patton, perhaps best known as the debonaire genius behind Faith No More and Mr. Bungle (and recently as songwriter for the film The Place Beyond the Pines), will appear alongside three percussionists: Scott Amendola, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum’s Matthias Bossi, and William Winant at the Castro. The quartet, which has never before performed in this arrangement, will play an original score to 1924 German expressionist silent film, Waxworks.

Tue/7, 8:30pm, $22–$27. Castro Theater, 429 Castro, www.sffs.org.

 

Music Listings

-
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 1

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Bob B. vs Jason Marion Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 10pm, free.

Face Jam, Easway Slim’s. 9pm, $15.

Family Crest, Foolproof Four, Roem Baur Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

Kontravoid, Scott Arford, DJ Justin, DJ Crackwhore Elbo Room. 9pm, $8.

“Live Hardcore Karaoke with Girl-illa Biscuits, DJ Ty Webb Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, free.

Harvey Mandel Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $18.

My Revolver, Trainwreck Riders, Vows Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $15.

“Ourshelves Benefit Concert” 50 Mason Social House, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 7pm, $10. With Dawn Oberg, Ira Marlowe.

Terry Savastano Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Sleepy Sun, Feral Ohms, Meg Baird, DJ Brett Wilde Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $15.

Stereo Total, Super Adventure Club, Giggle Party Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $15.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

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

Terry Disley’s Rocking Jazz Trio Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.mystichotel.com. 6-9pm, free.

Ricardo Scales Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 6:30pm, $5.

Craig Ventresco and Meredith Axelrod Cafe Divine, 1600 Stockton, SF; www.cafedivinesf.com.7-9pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Cha Ching Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5.

Subcontinental Drift Cafe Du Nord. 8pm, $5.

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

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.

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

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

THURSDAY 2

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Beautiful Machines, Moonlight Orchestra, KnightressM1 Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

Frank Bey Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

City Tribe, Before the Brave, Cold Eskimo Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10.

Clinic, No Joy, popscene DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9:30pm, $15–$20.

Custom Kicks, Acorn Bcorn, Vignettes Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $7.

Guido vs Bob B. Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 10pm, free.

Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, Colin Meloy, Amanda Palmer, Rhett Miller, Young Fresh Fellows Fillmore. 8pm, $35.

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

Bob Schneider Swedish American Hall. 7:30pm, $20.

Drew Schofield Hotel Utah. 8pm, $8.

Mariee Sioux, Alela Diane, Conspiracy of Venus Great American Music Hall. 8:30pm, $16

Naked Soul Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $8.

Zomboy DNA Lounge. 8pm, $15.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Stompy Jones Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 7:30pm, $10.

Jason Moran SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7;30pm, $25–$60.

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

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Pa’lante! Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF.; www.bissapbaobab.com 10pm, $5.

Two Man Gentleman Band, Misisipi Mike and the Midnight Gamblers Amnesia. 9pm,$7.

DANCE CLUBS

Afrolicious Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $8. With Pleasuremaker, Senor Oz.

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

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

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.

FRIDAY 3

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Back Pages Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Buckeye Knoll, Choirs, Emily Moldy Band Bottom of the Hill. 9:30pm, $10.

Creeping Pink, Slam Dunk, Pure Bliss, Violent Change Thee Parkside. 9pm, $7.

Forrest Day, Latyrx, Ghost and the City Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $21–$26.

Dead Skeletons, Old Testament, Mark Matos/Os Beaches, Infinity Rider Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $20–$35 (three-day pass).

Funk Revival Orchestra Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $10.

Helmet DNA Lounge. 8pm, $20.

Killing Joke, Czar Fillmore. 9pm, $35.

K’s Choice, Ash Thursday Cafe Du Nord. 9pm, $20.

Little Boots, Avan Lava, Feathers, popscene DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $15–$20.

Mindless Self Indulgence, Chantal Claret Regency Ballroom. 8:30pm, $27.

Pierced Arrows, Pins of Light, New Flesh Elbo Room. 9pm, $12.

Poor Man’s Whiskey, Lonesome Locomotive Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $18–$20.

Alice Russell Mezzanine. 9pm, $20–$25.

Nathan Temby, Chris A., Bob B. Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 10pm, free.

Vietnam, Gap Dream Independent. 9pm, $15.

Sharrie Williams Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $22.

Young Fresh Fellows, Peter Buck, Chuckleberries Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $18.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

“COPUS Artist Showcase” WestSide ArtHouse, 540 Balboa, SF; www.copusmusic.com. 8pm, $10. With Jonny Mac, and open mic.

Rachelle Ferrell Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $32; 10pm, $28.

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

Jason Moran “Fats Waller Dance Party” SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7;30pm, $30–$50.

Prince de Dame Center for New Music, 55 Taylor, SF; www.centerfornewmusic.com. 8pm, $10–$20.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Rustabouts Bluegrass Band Plough and Stars. 9pm, $6.

DANCE CLUBS

Funkin’ Fridays with Swoop Unit Amnesia. 6pm.

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

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

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs including Stepwise, Steve, Claude, Santero, and Elembe.

Strangelove Cat Club. 9:30pm, $3–$7. Industrial and goth with DJs Tomas Diable, Joe Radio, Skarkrow, and Fact 50.

Twitch DNA Lounge. 10pm, $8. With Youth Code, Sewn Leather, resident DJs Justin, Omar, Rachel Aiello, Kevin Sniecinski.

SATURDAY 4

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

American Professionals, Bobbleheads, Last Out Thee Parkside. 4pm, free.

Bob B., Nathan Temby, Chris A. Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 10pm, free.

Claire on a Dare, Son of Invention, Night Falls 50 Mason Social House, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 10pm, free.

Conquest for Death, Complete Disorder, Bankrupt District El Rio. 10pm, $7.

Creative Adult, Spitting Image, Curiosity, Know Secrets Thee Parkside. 9pm, $8.

Dead Meadow, Dead Skeletons, LSD and the Search for God, Shine Brothers Brick and Mortar Music Hall.10pm, $20–$35 (three-day pass).

Dirty Hand Family Band Riptide Tavern. 9pm, free.

Electric Jellyfish Hemlock Tavern. 5pm, $6.

Fallen Riviera Neck of the Woods, 406 Clement, SF; www.neckofthewoodssf.com. 8pm.

Foxtails Brigade, Battlehooch, Hogs of Change Bottom of the Hill. 9:30pm, $12.

Frightwig, Gone to Ground, Quaaludes Cafe Du Nord. 9pm, $12.

Infamous Stringdusters Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $22–$25.

Javelin, Helado Negro, Silver Hands, EpicSauce DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $12.

New Spell, Anita Stryker, Odd Owl Amnesia. 9pm.

Os Mutantes, Capsula, Killbossa Independent. 9pm, $25.

Prizehog, Drunk Dad, Connoisseur Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $7.

“Rock for Life” Sutter Room at the Regency, 1290 Sutter, SF; rockforlifesf.eventbrite.com. 7pm, $10–$15. With Global Affront.

Caitlin Rose Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 7pm, $15.

Scissors for Lefty, Beta State, Breakdown Valentine, Deer Park Avenue Slim’s. 9pm, $13.

Stone Foxes, Little Hurricane, She’s Fillmore. 9pm, $21.50.

Taaryn, Light Fantastic Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $15.

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

Voodoo Fix Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $10.

Sharrie Williams Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $22.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

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

Booker T. Jones Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $35; 10pm, $28.

Jason Moran Bandwagon and Skateboarders SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7:30pm, $20–$40.

Trespassers/Adrian, Buckaroogirl SF Live Arts @ Cyperian’s, 2097 Turk, SF; noevalleymusicseries.com. 8pm, $15.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

La Santa Cecilia, Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeno Band Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Mission between Third and Fourth St, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. 1-3pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Bootie SF DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10–$15.

Cockfight Underground SF, 424 Haight, SF; (415) 864-7386. 9pm, $7. Rowdy dance night for gay boys .

Foundation Som., 2925 16th St, SF; (415) 558-8521. 10pm, $5–$10. DJs Shortkut, Apollo, Mr. E, Fran Boogie spin Hip-Hop, Dancehall, Funk, Salsa.

Go Bang! Stud. 9pm, $7. With DJs Pavone, Pone, Steve Febus, Segio Fedasz, and more.

Haceteria Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin, SF; www.decosf.com. 9pm, free before 11pm, $3 after.

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs.

Saturday Night Soul Party Elbo Room. 10pm, $5–$10. With DJs Lucky, Paul Paul, Phengren Oswald.

SUNDAY 5

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Absurdo, Side Effects, Ruleta Rusa, Brain Rash Knockout. 4:30pm, $7.

Bleached, Ex Cops Independent. 8pm, $14.

HIM, Eyes Set Kill Fillmore. 8pm, $41.50.

Psyclon Nine, Vile Augury DNA Lounge. 9pm, $15.

Terry Savastano Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Spider Heart, Brubaker, Rare Animals Bottom of the Hill. 7pm, $10.

Spirit Family Reunion Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $12.

Taxes, Major Powers and the Lo-Fi Symphony, Tall Sheep Cafe Du Nord. 7:30pm, $10.

Tesla Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $38.

Touche, Seatraffic, DJ CoolGreg Thee Parkside. 8pm, $8.

UV Race, Shannon and the Clams, Life Stinks Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $10.

Justin Vivian Bond, Carletta Sue Kay Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $27.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Jason Moran Bandwagon and Skateboarders SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7:30pm, $20–$40.

Noertker’s Moxie, Blue Lotus Musicians’ Union Hall, 116 Ninth St, SF; www.noertker.com. 7:30pm, $10.

Kally Price Old Blues and Jazz Band Amnesia. 8pm, $5.

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

Kim Waters Yoshi’s SF. 7pm, $24; 9pm, $18.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Brazil and Beyond Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF.; www.bissapbaobab.com. 6:30pm, $5.

Doncat, Mosshead, Windham Flat Thee Parkside. 4pm, free.

No One From Nashville Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 4-7pm, free.

Dance clubs

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

MONDAY 6

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

BLAMMOS!, Dandy Lions, Jazz Guys Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

Damir Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Jerry Joseph and Walter Salas-Humarar Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $15–$17.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Front Country Amnesia. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Bass is Great Elbo Room. 9pm, $5. With Mad Vatsky, Cosby Kid, Megabus.

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.

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 7

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

B. Hamilton, bad Bad Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $6.

Cool Ghouls, Pyyramids, Hindu Pirates Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, free.

Kegals, Loss, Breaks, DJ Motorchad Knockout. 9:30pm, $7.

Kvelertak, Cancer Bats, Black Tusks Slim’s. 7:30pm, $15.

Outsiders, With Wolves, Boo Radley’s House Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

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

Joseph Vincent Cafe Du Nord. 7:30pm, $12.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Terry Disley’s Mini-Experience Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.mystichotel.com. 6-9pm, free.

“Inspire Music presents HipKids Chorus and VOICES Chorus” Yoshi’s SF. 7:30pm, $8–$25.

DANCE CLUBS

Pendulum Elbo Room. 10pm, $5. Gothik danse party with DJs Nako and Hether.

 

Music listings

Andrew Lam
-
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 17

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Bad Religion, Bronx, Polar Bear Club Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $20.

Bullet for My Valentine, Halestorm, Young Guns, Stars in Stereo Warfield. 6:30pm, $32.

Debra Iyall Group, Corner Laughers, Blake Jones and the Trike Shop, Andrew Griffin 50 Mason Social House, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 8pm, free.

He is We, Before the Brave, Dylan Jakobsen Swedish American Hall. 7:30pm, $15.

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

Joe Buck Yourself, Viva Le Vox, Blue Diamond Fillups Thee Parkside. 8pm, $8.

Laura Mvula Cafe Du Nord. 8:30pm, $14.

Night Beats, Cool Ghouls, Primitive Hearts, Big Drag Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10.

Mike Reeb Brainwash Cafe, 112 Folsom, SF; www.brainwash.com. 7:30pm, free.

Savages Independent. 8pm, $15.

Terry Savastano Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Sigur Ros Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove, SF; www.apeconcerts.com. 8pm, $49.50.

Telescopes, LSD and the Search for God, Flavor Crystals Elbo Room. 9pm, $10.

Three O’Clock Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $30.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

Terry Disley’s Mini-Experience Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.mystichotel.com. 6-9pm, free.

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

Mike Phillips Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $26.

Ricardo Scales Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 6:30pm, $5.

Craig Ventresco and Meredith Axelrod Cafe Divine, 1600 Stockton, SF; www.cafedivinesf.com.7-9pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Blood and Dust Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Quinn DeVeaux Rite Spot Cafe. 8:30pm, free.

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

 

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.

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

THURSDAY 18

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Anadel, All My Pretty Ones, Passenger and Pilot Bottom of the Hill. 9:30pm, $9.

Call Slim’s. 8pm, $30.

Get Dead, Shell Corporation, Uncommonmenfrommars Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $10.

Kaleidoscope feat. Peter Daltry Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $15-$20.

Lynx, Becky Knox Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $7-$10.

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

Nathan and Rachel Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Seatraffic, Silver Hands, Shortcircles DNA Lounge. 8pm, $10.

Shannon and the Clams, Memories, Emotional Thee Parkside. 9pm, $8.

Vacationer, EXRAY’S, DJ Aaron Axelsen, Epicsauce DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $10-$12.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

“Bill Frisell: Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish” SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7 and 9:30pm, $40-$80.

Guerrilla Composers Guild: Percussion Project Center for New Music, 55 Taylor, SF; www.centerfornewmusic.com. 7:30pm, $8-$15.

Zakiya Hooker feat. Chris James Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $26.

Stompy Jones Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 7:30pm, $10.

Nick Rossi Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm, free.

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

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

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

Tipsy House Plough and Stars. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

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

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

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

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

FRIDAY 19

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

A Tribe Called Red, Brogan Bentley Thee Parkside. 9pm, $10.

Buffalo Tooth, Organs, Funs, Sweat Lodge Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $6.

California Honeydrops, Freddie Hughes Band Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $16.

Cypress Hill, Berner Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $42.

Filligar Cafe Du Nord. 9:30pm, $12.

Gaslight Anthem, Matt Mays Warfield. 9pm, $32.

Keith Harken, Trace Bunday Swedish American Hall. 7:30pm, $18.

King Khan and BBQ Show Slim’s. 9pm, $16.

Lee Vilensky Trio Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm, free.

Mother Mother, Birdmonster, Yassou Benedict Bottom of the Hill. 9:30pm, $14.

Tambo Rays, Girls in Suede, Travis Hayes, DJ Emily Rose DNA Lounge. 9:30pm, $8.

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

Tinariwen Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $55.

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

Wombats, Colourist Fillmore. 9pm, $25.

Young Prisms, Sisu, Chasms Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $8.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

Raquel Bitton, Rebeca Mauleon Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $30.

Black Market Jazz Orchestra Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 9pm, $10.

Kyle Bruckmann, Aran Shelton, Anton Hatwich and Mark Clifford Center for New Music, 55 Taylor, SF; www.centerfornewmusic.com. 8pm, $8-$12.

“Goodbye Taxes, Hello Mary Jane Music and Burlesque Party” Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10. With Jugtown Pirates, Three Times Bad, and more.

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

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Flamenco del Oro Emerald Tablet, 80 Fresno, SF; www.flamencodeloro.com. 8pm, $10. With Kina Mendez, Gopal Slavonic, and more.

Matt Jaffee and the Distractions Dolores Park Cafe, 501 Dolores, SF; www.doloresparkcafe.com. 7:30-10pm.

Bernie Jungle and Virgil Shaw Lost Church, 65 Capp, SF; www.thelostchurch.com. 8pm, $10.

Queer Cumbia Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF.; www.bissapbaobab.com 8pm, $3-$7. With DJs Adan Atl, Rosa La Rumorosa, Jiggles and Alumiux.

Renegade String Band, Samantha Harlow, Elli Perry Plough and Stars. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Back to the USSR Retro Dance Party Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $10-$15. With DJs Ze’ev, Luka, and more.

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

OK Hole Amnesia. 9pm. With Bronze, Dangerous Boys Club, DJs.

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

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs including Stepwise, Steve, Claude, Santero, and Elembe.

Thirsty Third Fridays Atmosphere, 447 Broadway, SF; www.a3atmosphere.com. 10pm, $10.

SATURDAY 20

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Beach Day, Chains of Love, Bam!Bam! Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $10.

Black Clothes Pointy Shoes, Whoosie What’s It’s, Imperils Thee Parkside. 9pm, $7.

Freak Tank, Voco, Rad Thee Parkside. 4pm, free.

Fusion Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

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

Infected Mushroom, Randy Seidman, Liam Shy Regency Ballroom. 9pm, $35.

Phil Manley Life Coach, 3 Leafs, One and Future Band Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $8.

Michael McIntosh Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm, free.

Moonalice Slim’s. 7:20pm, $4.20.

Rad Cloud, Massenger, No///Se Amnesia. 7pm.

Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause, Tim McIlrath, Jenny O. Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $20.

Shinobu, Wild Moth, Exquisites, Great Apes Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $9.

Ronnie Size Independent. 9pm, $25.

Speed of Light, Burnt Reynolds Bender’s, 806 S. Van Ness, SF; www.bendersbar.com. 10pm, $5.

“Stepsister Fundraiser with Ty Segall (solo)” Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $15

White Mystery, Warm Soda, Burnt Ones, Glitz, Cumstain, Sir Lord Von Raven Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 4:20pm, $10.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

Black Market Jazz Orchestra Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 9pm, $10.

“Bill Frisell: Hunter S. Thompson’s The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7:30pm, $40-$80.

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

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Kiss the Sky Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF.; www.bissapbaobab.com 10pm, $5. With DJs Nina Sol and Emancipacion.

Teruhiko Saigo Yoshi’s SF. 7pm, $35; 9pm, $25.

DANCE CLUBS

Bootie SF: Bootchella DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10-$15. With Smash-Up Derby, Monistat, Meikee Magnetic, and more.

Fringe Madrone Art Bar. 9pm, $5. Indie music video dance party with DJ Blondie K and subOctave.

Kinky Disko Underground SF, 424 Haight; www.kinkydisko.com. 10pm, $5. With DJs Rotten Robbie and Johnny Sonic.

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs.

Radio Franco Bissap, 3372 19th St, SF; (415) 826 9287. 6 pm. Rock, Chanson Francaise, Blues. Senegalese food and live music.

Saturday Night Soul Party Elbo Room. 10pm, $5-$10.

Secret Society of the Sonic Six Cafe Du Nord. 11:30pm, $7. With Lady Bear and Her Dark Dolls, DJ Le Perv, Omar Perez, Rachel Tension.

Smiths Party Slate Bar, 2925 16th St, SF; www.slate-sf.com. 10pm, $5. Sounds of the Smiths, Morrissey, the Cure, and New Order.

Wild Nights Kok BarSF, 1225 Folsom, SF; www.kokbarsf.com. 9pm, $3. With DJ Frank Wild.

SUNDAY 21

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

“A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy” DNA Lounge. 8pm, $10. With Ghost Town Gospel, Jerk Church Tabernacle Choir.

Beggar’s Jamboree, Serene Lakes, Gene Pool and the Shallow End Bottom of the Hill. 3pm, $10.

Jason Chen, Tiffany Alvord Great American Music Hall. 7pm, $12-$14.

Chop Tops, RevTones, Mad Mama and the Bona Fide Few Thee Parkside. 8pm, $12.

Chronic Town, Japanese Baby, Gang of Forty Make-Out Room. 7:30pm, $8.

Dead Western, Metacomet, Cookie Tongue Amnesia. 9pm.

Lee Fields and the Expressions, Lady, Bang Girl Group Revue Bimbo’s. 8pm, $25.

Legs, Chastity Belt, Cash for Gold Hemlock Tavern. 6pm, $6.

Red Jacket Mine Hotel Utah. 8pm, $8.

Junior Reid, Andrew Reid, and the Pure Roots Band, Wada Blood Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $25.

Queensryche, Voodoos Fillmore. 8pm, $40.

Terry Savastano Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Leah Tysse Yoshi’s SF. 7pm, $25.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

“Bill Frisell: Hunter S. Thompson’s The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 4 and 7:30pm, $35-$75.

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

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

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

Creak, Olde Belle Thee Parkside. 4pm, free.

Darcy Noonan, Richard Mandel, Jack Gilder Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Sweet Felony Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 4-7pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Beats for Brunch Thee Parkside. 11am, free.

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $6. With DJ Sep, Vinnie Esparza.

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

MONDAY 22

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bass Drum of Death Fillmore. 8pm, $32.50.

Cannons and Clouds, Bad Powers, Owl Elbo Room. 9pm, $7.

Damir Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Men, CCR Headcleaner, White Cloud Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $12.

Medeski Martin and Wood (acoustic) Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $35.

Layla Musselwhite Rite Spot Cafe. 8:30pm, free.

Tennis System, Cruel Summer, Dead Leaf Echo, Slowness Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Earl Brothers, Pick Amnesia. 6pm.

DANCE CLUBS

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

Dead Guild DNA Lounge. 9:30pm, $5. Gothic, industrial, and synthpop with Joe Radio, Decay, and 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 23

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Acid Blast, Golden Mean, Mulch, Bar Fight Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $7.

Arabs, Father President, Secret Secretaries Elbo Room. 9pm, $5.

Beach Fossils Slim’s. 8pm, $15.

Medeski Martin and Wood (acoustic) Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $35.

Palma Violets Independent. 8pm, $15.

Sense Fail, Such Gold, Real Friends, Major League Bottom of the Hill. 6:30pm, $19.

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

Titan Ups, Satisfactions, DJ Revival Sound Selector Amnesia. 9pm, $8-$10.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Terry Disley’s Mini-Experience Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.mystichotel.com. 6-9pm, free.

Rene Marie’s Experiment in Truth Quartet Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $20.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Roem Baur Bazaar Cafe, 5927 California, SF; www.bazaarcafe.com. 7pm, free.

Dave Cory and Friends Plough and Stars. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

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.

Live Shots: Burgerama II outtakes

Tony Robles
-
1

Ed. note: Andre Torrez’s feature story on Burger Records, tape culture, and Burgerama II will be in next week’s issue of the Guardian. Here’s photographer Dallis Willard‘s images and impressions of the Santa Ana festival.

At the end of March, my friend Andre and I flew down to LA to check out Burgerama II. The second annual garage-slop festival drew a sold out crowd of kids ready to dine on $5 burgers and stage antics. As someone who feels pretty comfortable with the Bay Area’s rock scene, it was a great chance to check out how the other half of California gets down.

Pulling into the Observatory’s parking lot, the differences were readily apparent. Teens dragging along parents, floppy neo-hippy hats, and lots of face make-up seemed to be the norm.

In San Francisco, audiences seems to come in two flavors. Either “This is the first/best concert I’ve ever been to, so I’m going to go completely bananas.” or “I’ve spent two hours on this outfit, so I can be seen at this obscure side project. Please don’t bump me or dance too close to my hair.”

The vibe in Santa Ana seemed to be one of excitement and camaraderie. Kids were all around checking the stage times and discussing who they were looking forward to seeing the most. Security cracked jokes as they hustled everyone through the entrance. Even the bartender was overly apologetic that he couldn’t serve me since I had forgotten to get a drink bracelet.

The bands seemed to be having a great weekend as well. Hunx gave a fan a mid-set haircut for her birthday. A sea of female fans washed over the security barriers to swarm the stage, and plant kisses on their favorite Black Lips members. My favorite memory was of the entire venue trying to cram into the tiny Constellation room to watch Shannon and the Clams.

Over all, it was a great weekend. My only regret was not buying a Burger Records t-shirt before they were all sold out. I guess that’ll be first on my agenda for next year. — Dallis Willard, dalliswillard.com.

Music listings

Andrew Lam
-
0

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 20

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Chelsea Light Moving, Grass Widow Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $21.

H is 4 Hector, Elephant Listening Project, Anju’s Pale Blue Eyes, Gordon Welch Red Devil Lounge. 7pm, $14.

Lee Huff vs Greg Zema Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm, free.

Ivan and Alyosha, Lemolo, Branches Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $9-$12.

Koruscant Weekend, Y Axes, Curious Quail Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

Mindless Things, John Moremens Floatation Device, Tomorrow Men, DJ Sid Presley Elbo Room. 9pm, $5.

Dawn Richard Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $24.

Terry Savastano Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Trapped Under Ice, Soul Search, Caged Animal Thee Parkside. 8pm, $10.

Yi, G. Green Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $7.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

Terry Disley’s Mini-Experience Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.mystichotel.com. 6-9pm, free.

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

Ricardo Scales Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 6:30pm, $5.

Transcription of Organ Music, Michael Beach, Michael Tapscott Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm.

Craig Ventresco and Meredith Axelrod Cafe Divine, 1600 Stockton, SF; www.cafedivinesf.com.7-9pm, free.

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.

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

Soul Train Revival with Ziek McCarter Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5.

THURSDAY 21

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Aggrolites, Struts, Pinstripes Thee Parkside. 9pm, $17.

Books on Fate, Dandelion War Cafe, In Letter Form, Upstairs Downstairs Cafe Du Nord. 8:30pm, $8.

Gunshy Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Freddie Jackson Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $35; 10pm, $25.

Theo Katzman, Joey Dosik, Caleb Hawley Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $12-$15.

Landmine Marathon, At Our Heels, Apocryphon, Man Among Wolves DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10.

Lonesome Locomotive, Twin Engine Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5.

Midnite Independent. 9pm, $27.

Rin Tin Tiger, Emily Bonn and the Vivants, Denim Wedding, Dull Richards Hotel Utah. 9pm, $8.

Lia Rose, Arann Harris and the Farm Band Bottom of the Hill. 9:30pm, $12.

Rudimental, Charlotte Church, Kidnap Kid, popscene DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $15-$17.

Swells, Torns ACLs, Sunrunners Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $6.

Greg Zema vs Lee Huff Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

De Akokan feat. Pavel Urkiza and Ricardo Pons SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7:30pm, $20-$40. John Santos Presents.

Stompy Jones Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 7:30pm, $10.

Midnight Flyte Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm.

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

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

“Accordion Babes Revue” El Rio. 9pm, $7.

Craig Ventresco Cafe Divine, 1600 Stockton, SF; www.cafedivinesf.com. 7pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Afrolicious Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $8. DJs-hosts Pleasuremaker and Senor Oz spin Afrobeat, Tropicália, electro, samba, and funk.

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

Base: Pezzner, Gabriel I, Quinn Jerome Vessel, 85 Campton Place, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm, $10.

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

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

FRIDAY 22

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Hoodie Allen Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $24.

Aloha Screwdriver Knockout. 10pm, $7.

Body and Soul Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Django Django Public Works. 9pm, $20.

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

Finish Ticket, holychild, Ghost and the City, Nikolaus Bartunek Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $10.

Frail, Night Club, Happy Fangs DNA Lounge. 9pm, $12.

Hotel Eden Milk Bar. 8pm, $10.

Freddie Jackson Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $35; 10pm, $25.

Jesus and the Rabbis Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $10.

Lianne La Havas, Jamie N Commons Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $21.

Life Stinks, Sex Church, Shark Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $6.

Moonfox, Cusses, Tzigane Society, Cheers Elephant Thee Parkside. 9pm, $8.

Murs, Prof, Fashawn, Black Cloud Slim’s. 9pm, $21.

Pimps of Joytime, Vokab Kompany Independent. 9pm, $22.

Ponies, Kelly McFarling, Gareth Asher Cafe Du Nord. 8:30pm, $12.

Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, Billy Iuso and the Restless Natives Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $15-$20.

Jeff V., Lee Huff, Greg Zema Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

Black Market Jazz Orchestra Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 9pm, $10.

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

Michael McIntosh Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm.

Connie Sheu Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco Chapel, 1187 Franklin, SF; (415) 776-4580. 7:30pm, $10-$15.

Emy Tseng Red Poppy Art House. 7:30pm.

Papa Vazquez’ “Pirates and Troubadours” SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7:30pm, $25-$50. John Santos Presents.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Baxtalo Drom Amnesia. 9pm, $7-$10. Gypsy punk, belly dance, and more.

La Clave Cigar Bar and Grill, 850 Montgomery, SF; www.cigarbarandgrill.com. 10pm, $10.

DANCE CLUBS

Ghostly International Showcase 1015 Folsom, SF; www.1015folsom.com. 10pm, $20. With secret headliner, Com Truise, Shigeto, Dauwd, Heathered Pearls.

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

Odyssey Public Works. 9:30pm, $10. With Eli Escobar, Guy Ruben, Robin Simmons.

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

120 Minutes Elbo Room. 10pm, $10-$15. With Blue Sky Black Death, Deniro Farrar, Child Actor, DJs S4NtA_MU3rTE, Chauncey CC.

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs including Stepwise, Steve, Claude, Santero, and Elembe.

Twitch DNA Lounge. 10pm, $5-$8. With Lebanon Hanover, Jewels of the Nile, DJs Justin, Omar, Rachel Aiello.

Oliver Twizt, SteelE vs Whitock, Tech Minds Vessel, 85 Campton Place, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm, $20-$30.

SATURDAY 23

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Nigel Bennett Sub-Mission. 8pm, $5-$7.

Benjamin Brown Shine Lounge, 1337 Mission, SF; www.shinesf.com. 8pm, $8.

Peter Case, Deep Ellum Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $18-$20.

Matt Costa, Carly Ritter Slim’s. 9pm, $16.

Deer Tracks, Magic Wands, RXCCXXNS Thee Parkside. 9pm, $8.

Dengue Fever, Jhameel, DJ Vinroc Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $25-$35.

Elektrik Sunset, Copper Tones Thee Parkside. 4pm, free.

Equipto, Michael Marshall, Z-Man, Lroneous, Otavo Dubb Elbo Room. 10pm, $15.

Lee Huff, Greg Zema, Jeff V. Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm, free.

Jinx Jones Riptide. 9pm, free.

Loose Interpretations, Hookslide Amnesia. 6pm.

Andrew McMahon, Barcelona Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $28.50-$30.

Makeunder, Glass Gavel, Freigher El Rio. 9pm.

Milk Music, Gun Outfit, Neon Piss Bottom of the Hill. 9:30pm, $10.

Moira Scar, Lady Bear and Her Dark Dolls, DJ Necromos, Le Perv, Omar Perez Cafe Du Nord. 9:30pm, $7.

Pimps of Joytime, Vokab Kompany Independent. 9pm, $22.

Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, Billy Iuso and the Restless Natives Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $15-$20.

Specials, Little Hurricane Warfield. 8pm, $37-$47.

Will Sprott, La Luz, Anna Hillburg Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $8.

Steel Panther, Hillbilly Herald Regency Ballroom. 9pm, $25.

Tall Shadows Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Afro-Cuban Jazz Project with Jimmy Branly Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $30; 10pm, $25.

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

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

Mario Flores Latin Ensemble Cigar Bar and Grill, 850 Montgomery, SF; www.cigarbarandgrill.com. 10pm, $10.

Ramshackle Romeos Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm.

John Santos’ “Filosofia Caribena” SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7:30pm, $25-$65.

Ryan Gregory Tallman, Waxy Tombs, Black Spirituals, IN/S Lab, 2948 16th St., SF; www.thelab.org. 9pm, $6-$10.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Craig Ventresco and Meredith Axelrod Atlas Cafe, 3049 20th St, SF; www.atlascafe.net. 4-6pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Bootie SF: Request Night DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10-$15. Mashups with A Plus D, Dada, Smash-Up Derby.

David Garcia, Justin Milla Vessel, 85 Campton Place, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm, $20-$30.

Opel 11 Year Anniversary Mighty. 10pm, $20. With Felguk, Syd Gris, Melyss, Kimba, and more.

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs.

Re: Edit Underground SF, 424 Haight; www.undergroundsf.com. 10pm. With James Demon, Larry Gonnello Jr., Loryn, and Zenith.

Temptation Cat Club. 9:30pm. $5-$8. Indie, electro, new wave video dance party.

SUNDAY 24

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Nigel Bennett Red Devil Lounge. 9pm, $10.

Dirty Hand Family Band, Vans, Angel and the Badman Bottom of the Hill. 7:30pm, $10.

Hans Eberbach Castagnola’s, 286 Jefferson, SF; www.castagnolas.com. 2pm, free.

“Japan Nite 2013” Independent. 8pm, $15. With Pirates Canoe, Jake Stone Garage, JOSY, and more.

Alexz Johnson, Charlene Kay, Jay Stolar, Misty Boyce Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 7pm, $15-$35.

Low Cut Connie Cafe Du Nord. 8pm, $10.

“Markscheider Kunst 20 Year Anniversary” Rickshaw Stop. 7:30pm, $40-$50.

Mutilation Rites, Inter Arma, Embers, Wild Hunt DNA Lounge. 8:30pm, $10.

Nile, Insanity Slim’s. 8pm, $21.

Reptiel, Cassowary, Heroic Trio Hemlock Tavern. 6:30pm, $6.

Terry Savastano Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Bone Cootes, Barneys Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm.

Citizens Jazz Red Poppy Art House. 7pm, $8-$10.

Gypsy Allstars feat. Gipsy King Family Yoshi’s SF. 7pm, $25; 9pm, $20.

“Switchboard Music Festival” Brava Theater, 2718 24th St., SF; www.switchboardmusic.com. 2-10pm, $20. With Zofo, Subharmonic, Rob Reich Quintet, and more.

Uncommon Time SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 7:30pm, $25-$50. John Santos Presents.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Heel Draggers Amnesia. 8pm, $5-$10.

Twang Sunday Thee Parkside. 4pm, free. With Tin Roof Sundae.

DANCE CLUBS

Beats for Brunch Thee Parkside. 11am, free.

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $6. With DJ Sep, DJ Theory.

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

MONDAY 25

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Cool Ghouls, Meat Market, Buffalo Tooth, Locomotives Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 8pm, $6.

Damir Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

James Finch Jr., Night Drives, David and Joanna Bottom of the Hill. 8:30pm, $10-$20. SF Bike Coalition benefit in the memory of Rob Koziura.

French Montana, Chinx Drugz Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $27.

Iceage, Merchandise, Wet Hair, DJ Omar Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $12.

Laura Meyer Osteria, 3277 Sacramento, SF; www.osteriasf.com. 8pm, free.

Today is the Day, Black Tusk, Ken Mode, Fight Amp Elbo Room. 7pm, $15.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Mike Burns Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm.

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. Gothic, industrial, and synthpop with Joe Radio, Decay, and 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 26

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

“#BOTH (Aimee Mann and Ted Leo), John Vanderslice Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $20.

Caveman, Pure Bathing Culture Independent. 8pm, $15.

Clutch, Orange Goblin, Lionize, Scorpion Child Regency Ballroom. 7:30pm, $24.

Crashdiet, Crucified Barbara, Snakeskyn Whiskey DNA Lounge. 8pm, $13.

Gravy’s Drop, Acid Baby Jesus, Hellshovel, Primitive Hearts Hemlock Tavern. 8pm, $8.

Hopi Astronaut Riptide. 9:30pm, free.

Off With Their Heads, Roll the Tanks, Sydney Ducks, Hear the Sirens Thee Parkside. 8pm, $10.

Papa Bear and the Easy Love, Quiles and Cloud, Mama D and the Dirty Suns Amnesia. 9:30pm, $5-$7.

Schematic, Treehouse Cafe Du Nord. 7:30pm, $10-$12.

Shannon and the Clams, Paint Fumes, Las Ardillas, Lose Vigilantes Knockout. 9:30pm, $8.

Stan Erhart Band Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Veronica Falls, Brilliant Colors, Golden Grrrls Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $12-$14.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Terry Disley’s Mini-Experience Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.mystichotel.com. 6-9pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Boca do Rio Yoshi’s SF. 8pm.

Toshio Hirano Rite Spot Cafe. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Scraps! DJ Night Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 8:30pm, free.

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.

Vinyl addicts

Andrew Lam
-
1
Vinyl addicts

emilysavage@sfbg.com

TOFU AND WHISKEY “Rock and roll has never been remotely monolithic,” early Rolling Stone columnist Greil Marcus writes in the introduction to the 1978 book he edited, Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island (Da Capo Press). “There have always been countless performers to pin your hopes on; though one may have found identity as a member of an audience, one also found it by staking a place in that audience, defining one’s self against it.”

He recalls a time when all rock fans simply had to have an opinion about the Beatles, about Elvis, but notes there’s is no longer a single figure that “one has felt compelled to celebrate or denigrate.”

“The objects of the obsessiveness that has always been a part of being a rock and roll fan…are no longer obvious,” he continues, “which means, for one thing, that while one’s sense of the music may not have perfect shape, it’s probably a lot richer.”

Marcus wrote these words in Berkeley in the late ’70s, though they ring truer today. For Stranded, Marcus invited rock critics such as Lester Bangs, Ellen Willis, and Nick Tosches to answer the basic parlor game question in essay form: “What one rock-and-roll album would you take to a desert island?” He’ll read from the book this Thu/14 at 6pm at a new record shop, also called Stranded, 6436 Telegraph, Oakl. (www.strandedinoakland.com).

The brick-and-mortar Stranded opened about five months ago (in November 2012) and is run by Oakland’s Steve Viaduct, the 36-year-old founder of Superior Viaduct records, an archival label that focused on reissues and archival collections of Bay Area punk and post-punk for its first year and is now in the process of expanding its output. One of those releases was MX-80 Sound’s ’77 album, Hard Attack, which is the record Viaduct says he‘d take to a desert island.

Since the Stranded opened, there have been a handful of shows and author appearances, along with the everyday bustle of record obsessives. “We had pretty modest goals [for Stranded]. We wanted a cool place to hang out and meet other vinyl enthusiasts. With no budget for things like advertising, our biggest milestone has been that we are breaking-even financially and we are having fun doing it.”

I asked Viaduct what bands best exemplified the ethos of the label and shop, and instead he chose a book: “That is a tough question because Superior Viaduct is very much a work in progress. Perhaps the best example of the label’s ethos is our first book, From the Edge of the World: California Punk 1977-81, by photographer Ruby Ray. The photos are amazing. Ruby captures a moment that barely existed in the first place, yet still resonates today.”

Marcus’ appearance came naturally. A noted lover of vinyl, he’d stopped by Stranded a few times and gave the owners of a copy of his book. When Viaduct found out his friend had chosen the book for her Rock N’ Roll Book Club, he decided it was time to invite Marcus to speak at the store. After that, the next events at the shop are Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie “Prince” Billy performing live in-store (March 31), then Rock and the Pop Narcotic author Joe Carducci reading May 3.

Given the crumbling of big box music chains and the US economy as a terrifying whole, it’s a particularly troublesome time to open a store of any kind, let alone one mostly focused on physical music — though there are shining examples to the contrary, such as Burger Records and Amoeba Music — so I was intrigued by the store’s arrival.

“Buying records in stores is more fun for customers and shopkeepers,” Viaduct says, shrugging off the concern. “The personal contact really makes a difference. There is nothing better than to recommend something and a day or two later the person comes back and says, ‘Thanks! That record is great.’ Of course, we know that folks can buy records online, so we do not even try to compete with that.”

1-2-3-4 GO!

One of those shining star examples of making it work in the name of the music you obsessively collect — fellow East Bay record shop and label, 1-2-3-4 Go! (www.1234gorecords.com) is this month celebrating five years in Oakland.

Also noteworthy: the label will be 12 come August (time for a Bar Mitzvah?). It’s notable for discovering and releasing records by trash, thrash, psych, punk, garage, surf, doo-wop, whatever local acts along the lines of Nobunny, Shannon and the Clams, Personal and the Pizzas, Lenz, and Synthetic ID.

With its move to a bigger space, the store is now also noted for its all-ages shows, with many of the above frequenting the location along with out-of-towners from LA and beyond. For the five-year marker, the shop is having a big sale on March 23 and 24, and will celebrate further with its second annual the Go! Go! fest May 16 through 19.

I asked label-store owner Steve Stevenson, a 33-year-old Oakland resident, the same question as Viaduct regarding the problems with opening a store such as this. Stevenson perhaps had it rougher, as his doors first opened in that very tumultuous year of ’08.

“2008 was brutal but there was a ton of support. I had no money to advertise but for the first three weeks I was packed with people who had heard about this record store that was barely bigger than a walk-in closet,” he says. “Honestly, the store struggled for the first three or so years; always making it but always just barely. Since moving in to this new space, things have really taken off. I’m able to hire employees so I don’t have to do everything myself which gives me time to do even more cool stuff for the store and book shows outside of it at places like New Parish.”

“We’re one of the very few record stores in the East Bay and we exist through the support of this community and our mail order customers around the world,” he adds. “We’re always growing, expanding, and trying new things because of this support and there’s no way I can say how much I appreciate it. It’s massive.”

AFROLICIOUS

Is Afrolicious the hardest working world band in the Bay Area? It seems to pop up everywhere. The 12-piece Latin soul-tropical Afrobeat act met at Elbo Room’s energetic weekly Afrolicious party, and is this week playing the Great American Music Hall in celebration of its debut full-length album California Dreaming, released on its own label, Afrolicious Music. With Midtown Social Band, Afrolicious DJs Pleasure Maker and Senor Oz.

Fri/15, 9pm, $15. Great American Music Hall, 850 O’Farrell, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Shannon and the Clams awaken ‘Rip Van Winkle’

Tony Robles
-
0

Our beloved kings and queen of trash rock and doo-wop hybrid Shannon and the Clams released “Rip Van Winkle,” the first single off their upcoming Hardly Art release, Dreams in Rat House (coming May 21).

The song, which features back-up by Magic Trick’s Noelle Cahill, is again the perfect blend of garage pop and beachy surf punk a la the Trashwomen, and has that cool hiccuping guitar effect kicking off the hip-shaking, foot-stomping, hand-clappy new track. As expected, chainsaw vocalist-bassist Shannon Shaw’s distinctive pipes stand out above all else. This all just serves to further excite us for the release of Dreams in Rat House.

Check the new song HERE.

Shaw, vocalist-bassist Cody Blanchard (King Lollipop), and drummer Ian Amberson also this week announced a tour with fellow Bay Area favorite, Mikal Cronin, which takes the bands through SXSW and back. Unfortunately that schedule does not yet include a local show upon return, though that can’t be far behind, right? (Alas, Shannon and the Clams plays its SXSW kickoff last night at Elbo Room.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0PBWuqRrpg

While the new album has yet to produce an official video, this seems like a good time revisit the Shannon and the Clams mini movies we’ve loved since the beginning (many directed by Shaw’s brother, Dan), way back when we just knew of Shaw as of Hunx’s Punkettes, and after the devotion solidified with 2010’s glorious Ruin Christmas EP and 2011’s Sleep Talk LP (1-2-3-4 Go!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Mk03QVeCg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NrAWAxE5dM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KUgVsM8rw

1234Page 1 of 4

48hills.org is the official publication of the non-profit San Francisco Progressive Media Center.
Contact us: info@48hills.org