Damn Handsome and the Birthday Suits, Decapitate the
People for the Government. Despite the awkward name, puzzling album
title, and amateur artwork, Damn Handsome’s music is absolutely
worthwhile. The San Francisco trio’s four tunes draw deftly from
pop-punk and glam rock, like Green Day circa 1995 crossed with Green
Day circa 2005. (self-released)
At the Rockit Room (406 Clement St., San Francisco) on May 11. 8
p.m., free
Gemini Soul, Dark Skin Babies: The Movement. It’s the
band’s boldest artistic statement yet, but Gemini Soul may have gone a
bit overboard in crafting Dark Skin Babies: The Movement. Two
discs of what the band deems “jazz for a new generation” — a
smooth, funky hybrid highlighted by Ajamu Akinyele’s poppin’ bass and
rendered with a futuristic, electronic feel — gives listeners too
few new ideas in too much space. (Pearl Jazz Recording)
At EON Coffee (24970 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward) on May 10. 1 p.m.,
free
Various Artists, Still Here and Gone: Mark Hummel’s Blues
Harmonica Blowouts. If you love harmonica and you love the blues,
this is your album. Two discs and two solid hours of various styles and
artist personalities should provide more than enough fodder for the
blues harmonica fetishist. Culled from fifteen years of Oakland
resident Hummel’s Blowout concert series, the collection
provides a comprehensive overview of this small slice of the musical
world. (Electro-Fi Records)
At Yoshi’s Oakland (510 Embarcadero West, Oakland) May 8 through May
10. Times and ticket prices vary.
Victor Little, Inner Portrait. Perhaps the last place
you’d expect to find the Mars Volta’s furiously fast and technical new
drummer is on a jazz-funk fusion album, but that’s just where El
Cerrito prodigy Thomas Pridgen has landed. He’s in good company with
veteran Bay Area session bassist Victor Little, who more than deserves
to be out front with this excellent solo debut. (self-released)
