Tuesday, Feb. 24
MUSIC:
Opening Night Party
w/ Deerhunter, Lilofee
Mezzanine, 10 p.m., free w/ RSVP and
badge-holders
CITY ARTS & LECTURES:
John Darnielle
In conversation and song hosted by
Tobias Wolff
Herbst Theatre, 8 p.m., $20
MUSIC:
Antony and the Johnsons
Nob Hill Masonic Center, 8 p.m.,
$32.50-$40
Wednesday, Feb. 25
MUSIC:
The Aimless Never Miss
w/ the Sleepover Disaster,
Evacuee
Benders, 5 p.m., free
FILM:
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
The Roxie, 7 p.m., $10
Ashes of American Flags
The Roxie, 9:15 p.m., $10
ART:
Sights of Sounds
Works of art from the music
community.
Park Life, 7 p.m., free
MUSIC:
The Mountain Goats
w/ Papercuts
Swedish American Music Hall, 7:30 p.m.,
$20
Mountain goats have cloven hooves that
afford them the balance and grip to climb to heights unreachable by
most people and animals. Mountain Goats front-man John Darnielle has
ascended his indie-pop band to equally outstanding heights with
heartfelt lyrics and tenacious songwriting; since 1995 he has recorded
more than four hundred songs under the Mountain Goats moniker.
Darnielle will play solo along with SF pop band the Papercuts, which
plays hazy, sleepy pop with shaky vintage organs that’s the sonic
equivalent of sinking into a soft couch after popping a painkiller.
It’s a pleasant hum that will hug your eardrums. The show is already
sold out, but don’t fret — you can still purchase a Noise Pop
festival badge for access to this and all other general admission
shows. — Cassie Harwood
Stephen Malkmus
w/ Kelley Stoltz, Peggy Honeywell, Goh NakamuraÂ
Great American Music Hall, 8 p.m., $20
Everyone knows Stephen Malkmus as a member of the influential ’90s
indie rock group Pavement, but by now Malkmus has re-established
himself as a solo artist — starting with a self-titled release on
Matador Records in 2001 and through subsequent tours and releases with
his band Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. The Great American’s ornate
interior and stellar acoustics should make for an excellent sensory
experience for Malkmus to play his first-ever solo show in the Bay
Area. Supporting acts include SF lo-fi wizard Kelley Stoltz, who
released his fourth LP, Circular Sounds, on Sub Pop last year;
sweet-sounding folk singer Peggy Honeywell, and SF singer-songwriter
Goh Nakamura. — C.H.
Sleepy Sun
w/ Lumerians, True Widow, Kings & Queens
Bottom of the Hill, 8 p.m., $10
French Kicks
w/ Broken West, Here Here
The Independent, 8 p.m., $15
Matt Costa
w/ An Horse, Robert Francis, Two Sheds
Slim’s, 8 p.m., $20-$22
Thursday, Feb. 26
MUSIC:
Scissors for Lefty
w/ Picture Atlantic, Man/Miracle
Benders, 5 p.m., free
Thao Nguyen
w/ David Dondero, Sean Smith, Colossal Yes
Swedish American Music Hall, 7:30 p.m., $14
Josh Ritter
w/ Laura Gibson, Dave Smallen, Tiny Television
Great American Music Hall, 8 p.m., $20
SOLD OUT
Martha Wainwright
w/ AA Bondy, Ryan Auffenberg, Karina Denike
Slim’s, 8 p.m., $12
Goblin Cock
w/ Warship, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, Kowloon Walled
City
The Rickshaw Stop, 9 p.m., $12
They may perform in Grim Reaper cloaks, play doom metal very
straight-faced, and be called “Goblin Cock” for chrissakes, but the San
Diego band led by Pinback’s Rob Crow is not — repeat not
— a joke band. At least, not any more than Ween could be
considered a joke band. Which is to say, its lyrics and videos may make
you laugh, and its antics ridiculously over the top, but at its core,
Goblin Cock plays D&D-inspired metal with a reverence that actually
results in good music. Following up on 2005’s Bagged and
Boarded, the band just released Come with Me If You Want to
Live. It’s the perfect outlet for all you hipster closet metal
heads. — Kathleen Richards
From Monument to Masses
w/ Crime in Choir, Built for the Sea
Bottom of the Hill, 9 p.m., $12
What’s nice about a band that uses sound-clips in lieu of a vocalist
is that each member has an equal “voice” in the band’s overall sound.
In the case of SF instrumentalists From Monument to Masses, that
collective voice is spoken through complex instrumentation punctuated
by computer and synth; the effect is something like a digitized
orchestra. The band headlines Bottom of the Hill in its first local
show in more than a year. The show falls on the eve of its fourth
full-length release, On Little Known Frequencies, due March 10.
Coincidentally, SF instrumental prog-rockers Crime in Choir —
whose atmospheric anthems sound like some past rendering of the future
— is also celebrating the recent release of its fourth album,
Gift Givers. Locals Built for the Sea round out the bill with a
mellow mixture of cello, piano, and angelic vocals. —
C.H.
Thee Oh Sees
w/ Tyvek, Unnatural Helpers, the Fresh and the Onlys
Cafe du Nord, 9 p.m., $12
Kool Keith: Dr Octagon vs. Dr. Doom and Mike Relm
w/ Crown City Rockers, kutMasta kurt
Mezzanine, 9 p.m., $18
Who will reign supreme in the battle between Dr. Octagon and Dr.
Doom? It’s a good bet that regardless of the winner, Kool Keith will
prevail as the two contenders comprise just a couple of the rapper’s
many personas. The New York lyricist, known both for his solo career
and as a member of the hip-hop group Ultramagnetic MCs, stops by the
Mezzanine as part of his month-long tour with West Coast DJ and
producer kutMasta kurt. Also on the bill is the five-piece Oakland
hip-hop group Crown City Rockers and SF DJ/turntablist/mash-up artist
Mike Relm. The genre-defying DJ has toured with such diverse acts as
Blonde Redhead and the Blue Man Group. Blue, red, blonde — he
covers the whole spectrum. — C.H.
FILM:
Of All the Things
Artist’s Television Access, 7 p.m., $9
Largo
Artist’s Television Access, 9 p.m., $9
Friday, Feb. 27
SCHMOOZE:
Industry Noise Conference
Swedish American Hall, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., registration required
MUSIC:
Maus Haus
w/ Sugar & Gold, Tempo No Tempo
Benders, 5 p.m., free
St. Vincent
w/ Cryptacize, Rafter, That Ghost
Great American Music Hall, 8 p.m., $16
The Morning Benders and the Submarines
w/ the Mumlers, Rademacher
Slim’s, 8 p.m., $12-$14
Berkeley’s the Morning Benders return from a cross-country trek to
co-headline Slim’s with their tour mates, the Submarines. Last year saw
the Benders release their first full-length, Talking Through Tin
Cans, drop a free album of covers, release live sets via iTunes and
LimeWire, and play coast to coast and San Diego to Seattle. Their new
EP, Grain of Salt, opens with the title track’s trebly rock
wounded-heart, but the subdued B-sides, especially “Your Dark Side” and
the title track’s remix, indulge the group’s fascination with
the harmonies, dynamics, and moodiness of Brian Wilson’s mid-’60s
artistic crescendo. The Benders play songs from their album, EP, and an
upcoming album tentatively titled Big Echo at Slim’s.
— Eli Messinger
Ra Ra Riot
w/ Cut Off Your Hands, Telekinesis, the Hooks
The Independent, 8 p.m., $15
SOLD OUT
Telekinesis
On record Telekinesis is a one-man-band holed up in a Seattle studio
with producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, the Decemberists). On
tour, Michael Benjamin Lerner is joined on drums and vocals by a band
of guitar, bass, and keyboards to reproduce his melodic pop-rock. His
forthcoming eponymous album is suffixed with an exclamation point to
indicate the hyperkinetic energy with which his songs tumble forth.
Lerner mates his power-pop hooks and indie-rock atmospherics to lyrics
of rusty hearts, far away longings and childhood memories. —
E.M.
Dear and the Headlights
w/ Kinch, Big Light, A B and the Sea
Bottom of the Hill, 8:30 p.m., $10-$12
Port O’Brien
w/ Odawas, Ezra Furman & the Harpoons, Dame Satan
Cafe du Nord, 9 p.m., $13
ART:
The Art of Noise Pop
Mini Bar, 5 p.m., free
FILM:
Agile Mobile Hostile: A Year with Andre Williams
Artist’s Television Access, 7 p.m., $9
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop: A Gypsy-Punk documentary
Artist’s Television Access, 9 p.m., $9
Saturday, Feb. 28
SHOP:
Pop N’ Shop
More than forty Bay Area designers and artists selling their
stuff.
The Verdi Club, 12-4 p.m., free
MUSIC:
Music for Animals
w/ Aim Low Kid, Audio Out Send
Benders, 4 p.m., free
The Matches
w/ Dizzy Balloon, Ex-Boyfriends
Bottom of the Hill, 1 p.m., $14
Themselves
w/ Rainbow Arabia, Yoni Wolf, Boy in Static
Apple Store Downtown, 2 p.m., free
Bob Mould
w/ Mark Eitzel, Donovan Quinn, Jason Finazzo
Swedish American Music Hall, 7:30 p.m., $20
Bob Mould has left a profound imprint in the history books of punk
and alternative rock that’s still taking shape. In the ’80s there was
Hüsker Dü, the ’90s saw his indie rock band Sugar, and since
1989 the singer and guitarist has blasted out eight solo albums. Phew.
This year will be no exception for Mould, who is at work on his
autobiography and also has a new album, Life and Times, coming
out in April. Expect his upcoming solo acoustic show at the Swedish
American Hal to be pretty mellow, with performances by local musicians
Mark Eitzel, Donovan Quinn, and Jason Finazzo. — C.H.
AC Newman
w/ Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele, Devon Williams, City
Light
The Independent, 8 p.m., $15
Portugal. The Man
w/ Japanese Motors, Girls, Love Is Chemicals
Cafe du Nord, 9 p.m., $13
Clues
w/ Loch Lomond, Harbours, the Red Verse
The Rickshaw Stop, 9 p.m., $12-$14
Sholi
w/ the Dead Trees, Everest, Jake Mann
Bottom of the Hill, 9 p.m., $12
Flosstradamus and N.A.S.A.
w/ Wallpaper
Mezzanine, 9 p.m., $18-$20
FILM:
Seven Signs: Music, Myth and the American South
Artist’s Television Access, 2 p.m., $9
I Need That Record: The Death (Or Possible Survival) of the
Independent Record Store
Artist’s Television Access, 4 p.m., $9
Sunday, March 1
MUSIC:
No Age
w/ White Circle Crime Club, Infinite Body, Veil Veil
Vanish
Bottom of the Hill, 1 p.m., $12
Les Savy Fav
w/ the Mae Shi, the Drums
Mezzanine, 8 p.m., $20
FILM:
Loki
Artist’s Television Access, 2 p.m., $9
Nightflight: Born Again
Artist’s Television Access, 4:15 p.m., $9
