The Bay Bridged and BAGeL Radio Present: A Night at the Great American Music Hall

We’re so excited about this show – we have to post about it again! We hope to see you all there tomorrow! Don’t forget to send in your entries for our ticket giveaway!

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The Bay Bridged is proud to announce its latest in an ongoing series of concerts spotlighting the best indie rock in the San Francisco Bay Area. This show, co-presented by BAGeL Radio, spolights several bands who have caught the attention of radio and critics alike by excelling at the kind of melodic pop that filters classic influences through unique songwriting voices and perspectives. From a less academic approach, though, it’s fun, catchy music that you can dance to and will be a great show!

We’re also giving away 2 pairs of tickets to this show! Just send an e-mail to contest[at]thebaybridged.com with your favorite animal sound and why! The contest closes Friday at noon!

Congratulations to Matt H. and Jack H. for winning our contest! Thanks to all who entered!

Click to listen to our feature episode on Music for Animals!

Headlining the show is Music for Animals, a San Francisco four piece who have been packing local clubs with their tight, danceable rock sound. “SF’s most fun alterna-rock-dance-pop band.” (Zero Magazine) “Poppy in that way that makes you want to dance…They write songs with easy appeal and avoide mainstream patterns.” (The Owl Mag)

Click to listen to our feature episode on Magic Bullets!

Magic Bullets‘ debut album a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love has the critics calling this indie-pop group one to watch. “[S]uddenly the whole group materializes, the song is fully realized, and it’s a shot of joy.” (Bay Guardian) “Lynch’s cleanly calculated guitar melodies and Sweatt’s infectiously bold bass lines mesh seamlessly…Magic Bullets’ recipe for success: powerful precision and impressive musicanship.” (Spin.com)

Click to listen to our feature episode on Dreamdate!

On Come Over Now, Dreamdate hook you in with the catchy vocals and keep you listening with their sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking stories. “Dreamdate get right to their business of brightening our day with their short, snappy tunes…[Y]ou might find yourself hummin’ along with these gals’ warm, smooth female vocals. Nice.” (Aquarius Records)

Opening the show is San Diego’s Transfer. Winners of the 2006 San Diego Music Awards’ “Best Alternative Album,” the band is widely considered one of the best in the San Diego scene, mixing classic rock references into their unique sound.

Ted from BAGeL Radio will DJ between sets, offering up the best in new and cutting-edge indie rock, undoubtedly showcasing the skills that won him CMJ’s “Specialty Music Director of the Year” in 2005.

Weekend Picks and Links: August 30th-September 2nd

Hope you have a good long holiday weekend. Here are a few shows to check out:

Thursday

- The Passionistas and The Dont’s at the Make-Out Room, with The Happy Hollows. The show starts at 9pm, is $7, and is 21+.

Click to listen to our feature episode on The Dont’s!

Friday

- LoveLikeFire at Cafe du Nord with Bellavista, Rescue Me and DJs Omar and Fletcher (Popscene). Show starts at 9:30pm, is $10, and 21+.

Click to listen to our feature episode on LoveLikeFire!

Saturday

- The Bay Bridged & BAGeL Radio Present: Music for Animals, Magic Bullets, Dreamdate and Transfer (San Diego) at the Great American Music Hall. Show starts at 8pm and is $12. We’ll be back tomorrow with our in-depth show preview.

Around the Web:

- There’s an in-depth article about The Bay Bridged in the 96 Hours section of today’s Chronicle! (online here) Thanks to Delfin Vigil for the write-up and for sharing our enthusiasm about Saturday’s show.

- And speaking of Saturday night, have you entered our free ticket giveaway? Details on the sidebar under Featured Shows.

- This week’s Bay Guardian has the “Class of 2007,” bands that are “the most talented unusual suspects we suspect will bust out with great things this year and next.” Check out the article on the aforementoned Passionistas here.

- Pacific Noise has relaunched with a new format we like quite a bit. Their latest feature is on Bay Bridged alumni The Lovely Public.

Make-Out Room Cuts Back on Live Music

I can’t tell you how sad we were to learn that the Make-Out Room is cutting their live music on Mondays through Thursdays. When I think back on all of the places The Bay Bridged has gone to see bands in San Francisco, I don’t think there is a place that has influenced us, or this site, more. Not only did we get to meet some great people and present our very first show there, but The Make-Out Room allowed us to learn about some of the best local music in town. All is not lost, though. Live music will still be booked for matinee shows on Friday and Saturday nights as well as a regular live shows on Sunday nights.

The last weeknight show (for now) will be happening this Thursday and looks to be a great night of rock, punk, and a dash of pop. Headliners The Passionistas, with their catchy beats and driving rock will cap off a night following performances from Los Angeles’ The Happy Hollows and Bay Bridged alumni The Dont’s. The show starts at 9pm and is $7.

For more information on the show and the new music schedule, you can head on over to the Make-Out Room’s web site. We will truly miss spending some great weeknights over at the Make-Out and hope that one day they will return.

Benefit Show for NARAL at El Rio Tonight

Click to listen to our feature episode on Pidgeon!

Tonite at El Rio, WireTap Music presents Pidgeon and Little Teeth (who’s MySpace page seems to be temporarily disabled, but you can visit member Andy Tisdall’s page), plus DJs. Pidgeon, who is on Absolutely Kosher, can flip on a dime between brooding melodic bass-driven numbers reminiscent of the label’s mascot Pinback and post-hard rock anthems that echo the band’s declaration: “We Will Kill You”.

Proceeds will be shared with NARAL, an organization supporting women’s rights. NARAL educates voters about reproductive rights in California and provides resources and information for voters about how to support pro-choice legislation and elect pro-choice legislators. In 2003, NARAL launched a new chapter, NARAL Pro-Choice California. Its stated mission is “maintaining a vibrant presence in the country’s largest and most influential state.”

8pm, $6, 21+

Episode 79: August 2007 Monthly Mix

Von Iva
Photo by: Kee Photography

This week’s podcast episode is our latest Monthly Mix, the one week a month where we sample from a variety of great releases by San Francisco Bay Area artists, instead of devoting the whole episode to a single band. This week we’ve got some great tracks, including a number from some recently released CDs.

The episode kicks off with a song from Von Iva’s brand new CD titled Our Own Island, which we previewed here. You can pick up the new CD at the band’s web site or on iTunes, and can hear more of their frenzy-inducing electro-pop at their MySpace page.

We’ve also included a great song from Music For Animals‘ excellent self-titled full length, released earlier this year on Three Ring Records. We are co-presenting the band’s next show this Saturday, September 1st at the Great American Music Hall, which also features Magic Bullets, Dreamdate and Transfer. It’s a great bill and we hope to see you there.

San Francisco’s The New Centuries recently sent us their 2006 self-titled release, which is a very nice mix of danceable rock and pop sounds with some noisier elements as well. You can hear more at the band’s MySpace page and web site, and you pick up the CD at CDBaby and iTunes. Their next live show is September 27th at Fat City with Master/Slave and French Miami.

The title track from Boneless Children Foundation’s brand new album Stars for Anyone is a wonderful slice of indie rock we’ve been enjoying around the studios. The band released the album last week; you can find a music preview at their web site and hear more at their MySpace page. BCF’s next show is at the Elbo Room on Monday, September 24th, with Fpodbpod and Cult of Sue Todd.

In The Special Goodbye, singer and songwriter David Stockhausen is joined by Arthur Adams of Blammos and Tim Marcus, who also plays pedal steel in Or, the Whale and a number of other bands. The song we’ve included is the title track from the band’s latest EP, Silver Tongue, a very nice mix of electronic and traditional rock sounds. We recommend you check out more at their MySpace page. Catch the band Thursday, September 13th at Amnesia with All My Pretty Ones. The show starts at 9pm.

Holy smokes! Sleepy Seeds, the debut CD by The Matinees completely blindsided us in all of the right ways. It’s full of catchy, beautiful numbers featuring some sweet vocals. Check out more from this San Francisco-based indie pop duo’s excellent release over at their MySpace page.

We discussed the new CD from Numbers, titled Now You Are This earlier this month when the CD was released. It’s a terrific album from this always-evolving trio that’s out now on Kill Rock Stars. Head here to check out a video for the song “Mind Hole,” which we’ve included in this episode. Find more songs at their MySpace page and web site.

San Francisco’s Carta release their debut full length The Glass Bottom Boat next Tuesday, although you can already pick up a copy from their label Resonant and on iTunes. The album’s dense mix of ambient-leaning largely instrumental pieces has been receiving very strong reviews across the web and you can hear more at their MySpace page and web site.

An Ocean in the Air

Click to listen to our feature episode on LoveLikeFire!

Recognized as one of the city’s strongest up-and-coming modern rock groups, LoveLikeFire avoids the genre’s usual conventions by keeping their hooks super-anthemic, with appropriately big production supporting singer-guitarist Ann Yu’s soaring vocals and the band’s thick melodic rock. We interviewed the band back in March, at which point they’d found success locally and in Southern California on the strength of 2006’s Bed of Gold EP. At that time the band was continuing to record new material, some of which found inclusion in the podcast episode.

The band’s newest material has found a permanent home on their new EP, An Ocean in the Air, which comes out tomorrow. The seven track release can be streamed in its entirety at LoveLikeFire’s web site and it’s full of catchy-as-hell numbers sure to keep the band winning new fans, including a couple of our favorites, like “From a Tower” and “Wish You Dead.”

Although their CD release party isn’t until October, you can catch the band this Friday night at Cafe du Nord:

Friday, August 31st
Cafe du Nord
w/ Bellavista, Rescue Me and DJs Omar and Fletcher (Popscene)
9:30pm, $10, 21+

The band is currently accepting pre-orders for the new CD over at their web site. You can hear more music on their MySpace page as well.

The Return of The Fucking Ocean

Click to listen to our feature episode on The Fucking Ocean!

In addition to having one of the most fun names to write or say, San Francisco’s The Fucking Ocean is one of our favorite Bay Area groups, with a wonderful mix of arty punk dissonance, catchy melodies, and smart lyrics that can convey how seriously messed up the world can be with a sincere anger and frustration. When we last caught the band at the Mission Creek Music Festival, they announced that they were taking a break from their energetic live shows, as member John was moving to New York.

A few months later, the good news is that John’s coming back to visit, which means that there are some upcoming Fucking Ocean shows, starting tomorrow night:

Tuesday, August 28th
Hemlock Tavern
w/ They Shoot Horses Don’t They
9:30pm, $6

Thursday, September 6th
The Stud
w/ Help Yourself & DJ Adee Licious (All Men Are Evil Except My Girlfriend)
10pm

Friday, September 7th
Edinburgh Castle
w/ Meho Plaza, Mi Ami, and Late Young
10pm, $5

In addition to the shows, the band has completed a new 5 song EP to be released soon. The band previewed the EP during an interview on Western Addition Radio, which you can download here. You can hear more TFO at their MySpace page and web site.

Update: John won’t be at the Hemlock show, but will be back for the others. At the Hemlock show, the band will have guests playing his parts, calling it “punk rock vaudeville night.”

Weekend Picks: August 23rd-26th

Plenty of tough choices over the next few days. Here are some options:

Thursday

- The Hot Toddies and The Attachments at the Rickshaw Stop, with Get Set Go. Show starts at 8pm and is $8.

Click to listen to our feature episode on The Hot Toddies!

- Sean Smith at the Argus Lounge, with Andy Tisdall, Kyle Williams of Volunteer Pioneer, and The Southern Ocean (Jeff Ray/Katrina Lamb). Show starts at 9pm and is $5.

- Tim Cohen (of Black Fiction) at the Hemlock Tavern, with Sensations and Lee Bob Watson. Show starts at 9:30pm and is $7.

Click to listen to our feature episode on Black Fiction!

- The Parish at Bottom of the Hill, with Built Like Alaska and Audio Out Send. Show starts at 9pm and is $8.

Friday

- The Morning Benders at Bottom of the Hill, with Au Revoir Simone and Oh No! Oh My!. Show starts at 10pm, is $10 and is all ages.

Click to listen to our feature episode on The Morning Benders!

- Boy in the Bubble at the Make-Out Room with Sir Salvatore. The show starts at 7:30pm and is $6.

Saturday

- Or, the Whale, Birds and Batteries, and Social Studies at Great American Music Hall. The show starts at 9pm, is $12 and is all ages.

Click to listen to our feature episode on Or, the Whale!

- The Bay Area Indie Fest at the John Muir Amphitheater in Martinez. The festival starts at noon and features 20 bands on 2 stages. Admission starts at $10.

- Numbers‘ CD release at the Elbo Room, with Tussle and T.I.T.S. The show starts at 10pm and is $6. We previewed Numbers’ new album on Monday.

Sunday

- Lady Genius‘ first show, at the Make-Out Room with El Olio Wolof and Skybox. Show starts at 9pm and is $6.

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