Leopold and His Fiction: Ain’t No Surprise
January 8, 2009
San Francisco stripped-down rock-and-roll trio Leopold and His Fiction are going vinyl-only for their sophomore album, Ain’t No Surprise, which comes out next Tuesday, January 12th. Reviewers have cited everything from Dylan to Skynyrd in trying to capture the band’s melting pot of sounds, which include elements of Detroit garage and hints of California pop. Check out the excellent title track below:
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Leopold and His Fiction – “Ain’t No Surprise” (from Ain’t No Surprise)
The band’s vinyl release show is this Friday, January, 9th at the Hemlock Tavern, with The Healing Curse and Candy Apple. 9pm, $7, 21+.
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The new Fox Theater opens in Oakland
January 7, 2009
It’s always good to see another venue opening in the Bay Area, and the folks at Another Planet have announced that the long-anticipated renovation of the Fox Theater in Oakland is now complete, with shows scheduled to begin in early February. An initial schedule, now available on the Fox’s web site, lists concerts featuring The Black Keys, The Devil Makes Three, Lee “Scratch” Perry, The Lovemakers and more, with additional events promised to be announced soon. A special presale for the initial slate of shows starts tomorrow at 10am.
The Fox opened in 1928 and was one of a number of California movie theaters eventually acquired by the Fox Film Corporation. A number of old Fox theaters have been restored as concert venues, including the Foxes in Redwood City and Fullerton, California, while San Francisco’s was demolished in 1963. The Oakland theater closed its doors forty-three years ago, but after a seventy-five million dollar renovation, the venue will now have a capacity of up to 2,800 (for reference, that’s over double the size of the Fillmore).
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Magic Bullets: Lives for Romance, 12″ Release Party
January 7, 2009
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Magic Bullets – “The Book Is Closed” (from Lives for Romance)
Fans of a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love rejoice! Magic Bullets (Feature Podcast) are back with a new self-released 12″/digital EP featuring four great songs. With Lives for Romance, the band has smoothed some of its post-punkier edges, creating some swooning pop that ideally compliments charismatic singer Phil Benson’s tales of high melodrama. The result is very compelling, which is to be expected from one of the Bay’s best indie pop groups.
Magic Bullets celebrate the new EP with a release party this Friday at Bottom of the Hill. They’re playing with The Passionistas (Feature Podcast), Airfix Kits, which features former members of Giant Haystacks, and DJ Primo. 10pm, $10, All Ages.
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Episode 145: Live this Month – January 2009
January 6, 2009
Stream the episode:
Every month, we dedicate a week of our podcast to highlighting some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing soon in the San Francisco Bay Area. We’ve got ten great bands playing some excellent shows this month, so head out and see some live music! [More...]
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Animal Collective Listening Party With Maus Haus and French Miami
January 5, 2009
To celebrate the early vinyl release of Animal Collective‘s 9th full-length, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Terrorbird Media and various record stores and radio stations across the country are holding listening parties tomorrow night, Jan. 6.
Lucky for us, San Francisco not only gets a listening party at The Knockout, but a performance from two of our favorite local bands: Maus Haus and French Miami. The show is presented by Terrorbird, Amoeba and KALX. Amoeba will be there selling the record, and they’ll of course be playing it for all to hear between band sets. AND, there will be a drawing for awesome prizes, including giant posters and download cards, ticket giveaways and grand prize giveaways of ‘The Domino Years’ prize packs.
If you’re unfamiliar with Animal Collective, check out their MySpace page and take a gander. Listening parties were created for bands like this. Spin called their music “sometimes blissful, often uncanny intermingling of song and space,” and Pop Matters said they “[bridge] the gap between Brian Wilson and avant-garde tribal chant.” The band’s releases have varied from uber-esoteric spacey and primal sounds to more earthy Americana. With this in the background tomorrow night, there will be no shortage of conversation.
Better still, the event is FREE, so come on out for a night of great local music and to preview an exciting new record. It’s an early show from 7-10pm. 21+. If you’re going to be in another city Tuesday night, check out the full list of parties here.
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Wednesday: The January Rumble!
January 5, 2009
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LoveLikeFire – “From a Tower” (from An Ocean in the Air)
It’s the beginning of the month, which means it’s time for the latest edition of The Rumble! This Wednesday at Harlot, The Owl Mag and cohorts have a great show planned, featuring performances by LoveLikeFire and French Miami.
LLF definitely had a busy 2008, during which they recorded their first full length album at Tiny Telephone with producer Bill Racine (Mates Of State, Rogue Wave) and completed a cross-country tour to the CMJ Festival and back. The band will be releasing their new album on UK label Heist or Hit Records, and you can stream their first single, “William,” at their web site.
DJs Amp Live (Zion I) and Bagel Ted round out the bill Wednesday night. RSVP for the show at SonicLiving.com and it’s free. Otherwise, $5 at the door. 8pm, 21+.
Check out LoveLikeFire’s new music video for “William” below: [More...]
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Sunday Night String Stampede
January 2, 2009
What better way to start off the new year than with a themed local music show? This Sunday, Jan. 4, Cafe du Nord will host the Sunday Night String Stampede – a show featuring some of the Bay Area’s best string-centric artists.
The line-up is stellar: Uni and the Ding String Trio, Foxtails Brigade, The Definite Articles (with special guests The Trifles) and New Pantheon. This marks the beginning of a busy month for Uni, who will be touring throughout the West this month and beyond. Foxtails Brigade will follow shortly behind, beginning a small tour in the tail end of January.
8pm, $10.
Below, check out a video from Uni: [More...]
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The Rickshaw Stop’s Fifth Anniversary!
January 2, 2009
Over the next week, the Rickshaw Stop celebrates five years as one of the City’s best venues. Previously a camera studio, the Stop’s success is well-earned, with quality booking and a commitment to the local music scene, and we hope it continues indefinitely.
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Sean Hayes – “Flowering Spade”
This weekend, the bash kicks off with two shows featuring Los Angeles Cambodian pop/psych-rock band Dengue Fever. Tonight, they’ll be supported by local singer-songwriter Goh Nakamura and on Saturday, they’ll be joined by indie pop-rockers The Attachments. Next Wednesday, San Francisco’s Sean Hayes headlines the third night of the festivities, where he’ll be joined by local songsmith Michael Musika.
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Goh Nakamura – “Hangman”
Tickets for all three shows are currently available at RickshawStop.com.
