In a city starved for all ages shows and free shows, you can’t beat this opportunity to see Terry Malts and Uzi Rash on Saturday afternoon. Don’t let the location, the Speakeasy Ales & Lagers brewery, fool you — it is an all ages affair, but there will be tasty Speakeasy beers on hand for the adults. Terry Malts, by the way, have a new split 7″ coming out in June on Loglady.

Terry Malts, Uzi Rash, Synthetic I.D., Yi
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
May 26, 2012
4pm, Free, All Ages

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This is not just some slick marketing pitch, there really is a free meal involved: Buy a pre-sale ticket to the Steer the Stars CD Release party going down on May 26 at the Great America Music Hall, also featuring Debbie Neigher, Handshake, and HUFF THIS!, and you’re invited to a special event on June 9 at which all of the bands will cook you dinner (more details here).

Also, if you bring your ticket stub to Steer the Stars’ merch table at the show, you get a free copy of their debut album, Light Life Sleep and the Sea. Even if the dinner is BYOB, buying a ticket to this show might be the greatest deal of all time.

You can also just check out Steer the Stars’ album Light Life Sleep and the Sea right here:

And check out Debbie Neigher’s self-titled album, which is available as a name-your-own-price download on Bandcamp:

Steer the Stars, Debbie Neigher, Handshake, HUFF THIS!
Great American Music Hall
May 26, 2012
7pm, $15

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Surf Club may be from Stockton, but that doesn’t mean they’ve got the Land Locked Blues. On the contrary, their sound is pretty light and breezy summer pop, with — as you might have guessed — plenty of surf rock sounds mixed in. And as it turns out, their sound is still very much shaped by their hometown, even though it’s miles and miles from the coast.

I talked with Surf Club singer/guitarist Frankie Soto about wanting to escape Stockton, his favorite SF venues, and how 60s girl groups helped shape his sound. Check it out after the jump.

Surf Club plays the Knockout as part of SF Popfest on May 26th with Kids On A Crime Spree and Manatee.

Kids On A Crime Spree, Surf Club, Manatee, Dead Angle, Cruel Summer
The Knockout
May 26
4pm, $10

Mike G.: You guys are based in Stockton?

Frankie Soto: Yeah we’re all kinda from here except for our drummer, he just goes to school here. I met Fonso, who plays bass, in like fifth grade. Eddie, who also plays guitar, in 10th. And Jose, who drums, in senior year.

MG: I’m sure lots of reviewers like to point out that your band is called Surf Club but you live many miles from the coast. Do you think being from Stockton shaped y’all’s sound at all? How?

FS: I feel like it did a little bit. All of us are really just trying to get out of here, so we kinda play different than most of the other bands that are from here.

MG: What drew you to the surfy, sunny pop sound?

FS: I’m not really sure. We just wanted to be a pop band and then the songs just kinda started to sound this way.

MG: Any influences you particularly cite that you feel helped shape the sound?

FS: A lot of girl group stuff from the 60s. All of us being Mexican American we like grew up on that stuff. And The Beach Boys too of course.

MG: Really? There’s a strong affinity between Mexican American communities and 60s girl groups?

FS: Yeah with the whole “vato cholo” thing.

MG: Interesting. Do you think the “vato cholo thing” shapes your music? Are there any other non-musical influences that you think get brought into your music?

FS: I remember being a kid and every sunday my parents playing oldies on the radio. Otherwise, I don’t really think so.

MG: Cool. Well let’s talk about the EP: The Young Love EP is described as your debut on your press page, but I see you have a couple past releases on Bandcamp. Were those solo records or singles or something?

FS: They were just singles that we put out before our EP. We were kinda still figuring out our sound when we released those.

MG: Ah. You released the Young Love EP on Valentine’s Day. Seems like maybe there’s a backstory there. Care to share?

FS: It just seemed like the most romantic day to me. All the songs are kind of about girls.

MG: Where did you record it?

FS: We recorded it in our drummer’s living room while his parents were away at work.

MG: Digital? Analog?

FS: Digital. [Analog] sounds so much fun though, and the recordings come out with that warm sound.

MG: Have y’all played SF many times in the past?

FS: We’ve played a couple shows before Popfest. Our first show in SF was at Thee Parkside with Part Time. And we played Milk Bar with Permanent Collection and White Cloud, and a Noise Pop show with The Soft Pack. I guess we’ve played a handful of times.

MG: Got a favorite SF venue to play? Or a favorite SF live experience to share?

FS: Cafe Du Nord was a really nice place. And I really love the sound at Milk Bar. I don’t think we have had any cool live experiences yet.

MG: Is your Popfest appearance part of a tour?

FS: Kind of but not really. We play in LA a week after that show, and in Stockton a week after that one. We try not to play in Stockton a lot.

MG: Care to leave us with some last words of wisdom about why everyone should come see y’all’s show?

FS: I’m stoked to be playing with Mike Slumberland and some of his bands. And our vinyl is available for purchase at
http://deathpartyrecords.bigcartel.com/product/surf-club-young-love-ep.

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San Francisco’s own Grass Widow is streaming their new album Internal Logic over at Stereogum. A follow-up to 2010′s Past Time, Internal Logic is a tight collection of tracks, showcasing the trio’s layered vocal harmonies and slightly dischordant, pop-punk guitar sound.

Internal Logic is being released on May 29th on the band’s own label, HLR (short for Hannah, Lillian, and Raven). They’ll be touring in support shortly after, and will be playing a hometown show June 22nd at the Verdi Club.

Check out the full album over on Stereogum, or check out the album’s first single “Goldilocks Zone” below:

Grass Widow, Carletta Sue Kay, Hindu Pirates, Nicole Kidman (John Barba), Shannon and the Clams
Verdi Club
June 22, 2012
8 pm, $12

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The NorCal rhythm is gonna get you! That’s right, the Cotati Sound Machine is back. Sort of.

The Rum Diary are playing a reunion show at this year’s C.A.M.P. festival. Let all who have missed the ethereal indie rock sounds of the Cotati-based band rejoice.

The coolest part is that if you’ve been dying inside every day since the band broke up in 2007 because you never got to hear your favorite Rum Diary song played live, this is your chance. They’re leaving the set list up to you: go fill out this survey and tell them what songs you want to hear.

I say it’s “sort of” a reunion show, however, because original drummer Joe Ryckebosch is not going to be playing, though it appears they did initially hope to have him there.

But Daniel Mckenzie and Jon Fee, who went on to start the indie post-rock band Shuteye Unison after The Rum Diary broke up, will be in full effect. Shuteye Unison drummer Jake Krohn will be filling in on the kit, which means it kinda still counts as a reunion of sorts because he did play in The Rum Diary for a short spell after Ryckebosch left the group. So it’s all good. “Shuteye Unison to me is basically the same band with a different drummer,” Daniel McKenzie told the Bohemian. “People just want to hear the old songs, you know?”

Get yer C.A.M.P. tix here. If The Rum Diary reunion isn’t enough to sell you, perhaps you can be swayed by the fact that it takes place over three days (July 20-22) up in Guerneville on the banks of the Russian River and is held on an abandoned amusement park lot…?

Here’s a retrospective video put together when The Rum Diary called it quits back in 2007.

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Future Twin has announced a “dual release” for July 31: the band is putting out a new 7″, called the Resist 7″, as well as Future Twin Deluxe Edition, a CD that will contain both the new record and the Situation EP. Both are coming out on the Future Twin Inc. label — which is to say, both will be self-released.

Here’s the video for Situation EP track “Landslide,” which premiered on Impose.tv earlier this year. It’s a bit of a tour video with some candid footage of the band thrown in, to give you a nice little window into what it’s like to be Future Twin.

In the lead-up to the dual release date, Future Twin is playing a couple dates in Brooklyn, then coming back and playing the Hemlock here in their hometown. Details after the jump, along with a downloadable version of “Landslide.”

Upcoming Future Twin live dates:
Jun 1 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
Jun 3 – Big Snow Buffalo Lodge – Brooklyn, NY
Jun 24 – Hemlock Tavern – San Francisco, CA

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On May 11, San Francisco based indie-pop band The Invisible Cities announced they were releasing a new song every Friday for ten weeks, calling it the Meet the Lampreys project. The first release of the series, “Freeze Ray Knees” may only be 75 seconds long, but that’s just enough time to have it stuck in your head for days. The band creates a vibe that is perfect for some laid-back toe tapping on a lazy San Francisco evening.

Check out the new tracks as they are released every Friday on The Invisible Cities’ website or Bandcamp page, and watch their quirky video for “Freeze Ray Knees” below:

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Permanent Collection’s previous EP, last year’s Delirium (a solo effort from ex-Young Prism Jason Hendardy), was a reverb-heavy release that had some folks divided on whether it was an overdone mess or a dream-pop masterpiece.

Judging from the first track to be shared off of the debut LP set for an August 7 release on Hendardy and friends’ Loglady Records, Newly Wed Nearly Dead should satisfy both camps. The noise and atmosphere are still there, but Hendardy’s vocals emerge from the squall to complement the music, not get suffocated by it.

Perhaps it was the influence of three newly recruited band members — bassist Megan Dabkowski, guitarist Brenden Nerfa, and drummer Mike Stillman — or the recording/mastering assistance of Monte Vallier (of Swell/Half-Church and Ruminator Audio) and Kramer (Galaxie 500 and Low producer) for the sonic clarification, but either way, maybe we can stop referring to Permanent Collection as a Young Prisms spin-off and look forward to future offerings from this promising quartet.

Permanent Collection will be touring the Northwest with Terry Malts in June, from Portland to Vancouver (alas, no SF date as of yet.)

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Below, enjoy an 8tracks mix featuring local and touring bands performing in SF this week. After the jump, find out more about when they’re all playing! For a full list of upcoming concerts in the SF Bay Area, check our Local Concert Calendar.

Tuesday, May 22nd
Dum Dum Girls, Tamaryn, Young Prisms at Slim’s
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Darcys, Sporting Life at The Independent

Wednesday, May 23rd
Grass Widow, Broken Water, Wild Moth, American Splits, at The Luggage Store Gallery
Blasted Canyons, Sunbeam Rd, Fine Steps at Rickshaw Stop
Spiritualized, Nikki Lane at The Fillmore

Friday, May 25th
The Avengers, The Bananas, Toys That Kill, Fleshies, Terry Malts at The New Parish
Seapony, BOAT, Black Elephant, Desario at Hemlock Tavern
Cass McCombs, Michael Hurley at Great American Music Hall
Mister Loveless, The She’s, Der Spazm at Bottom of the Hill

Saturday, May 26th
Pop. 1280 at Sub-Mission Gallery
Kids on a Crime Spree, Surf Club, Manatee, Dead Angle, Cruel Summer at The Knockout
Personal and the Pizzas, Mean Jeans, Unnatural Helpers, King Louie’s Missing Monuments, The Chemicals at Vitus
Finish Ticket, Please Do Not Fight, Picture Atlantic, Coast Jumper at Bottom of the Hill
Lake, Jaberi and Deutsch, Half-Handed Cloud at Hemlock Tavern

Sunday, May 27th
Ceremony, Whirr, Gun Outfit, ++++, Big Kids, Pop. 1280 at The New Parish
TV Girl, Allen Clapp and His Orchestra, The Bilinda Butchers, Outer Hope at Hemlock Tavern
Unnatural Helpers, King Lollipop, Zig Zags, Bad Backs at The Knockout

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Adios Amigo have a new album called Dos coming out on June 1, and they’ve just premiered one of the album cuts, “Chicken”, via Prefix (but you can listen and download below).

Adios Amigo – “Chicken”

Prefix calls Adios Amigo “Psych-pop up-and-comers” and perhaps the up-and-comers bit is right, but I’m not sure about the psych pop. I’ve seen them live a couple times and I guess the tag is as apt as any, cuz mainly those kinda labels are made up anyway. But I’ve always gotten more of a folk rock vibe from them, and “Chicken” certainly bears that out, as it’s built around hushed vocals lines, shuffling drums, an acoustic guitar, and a banjo.

Come see them live for yourself at Du Nord at their record release party the same day the album comes out, June 1.

Adios Amigo, Annie Bacon and Her OSHEN, Al Lover & The Haters, My Second Surprise
Cafe Du Nord
June 1, 2012
8pm, $10

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Undercover Presents is a quarterly project that selects influential albums from the rock and roll lexicon for a diverse assortment of Bay Area musicians to put their spin on it, in both a recorded studio album and a live performance. Past tributes have been the Pixies’ Doolittle and The Velvet Underground & Nico. This time around, guest curator Cornelius Boots has chosen an eclectic group of 50 musicians to reinterpret Balck Sabbath’s 1970 magnum opus Paranoid at the Independent in its entirety with a marching band, a gamelon ensemble, straight-forward rock and roll, and more.

Attendees will go home with a CD recorded by the musicians at Faultline Studios. KALX 90.7 FM will continue to air previews of the album all day.

Here is the line-up:
Extra Action Marching Band – War Pigs
Uriah Duffy + The Memorials (ft. Thomas Pridgen frmr drummer for The Mars Volta) + Jeremy Von Epp of BlackGates) – Paranoid
Novilunio – Planet Caravan
Charming Hostess – Iron Man
Sabbaticux Rex & The Axe-Wielders of Chaos (project by Cornelius Boots) – Electric Funeral
Tiger Honey Pot w/Max Baloian ft. Barbara Byers – Hand of Doom
Surplus 1980 (project by Moe! Staiano, frmr Sleepytime Gorilla Museum member) – Rat Salad
miRthkon – Fairies Wear Boots

KALX, Faultline, and Undercover Present: A Tribute to Black Sabbath’s Paranoid
The Independent
May 19, 2012
9pm, $20

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Stereogum recently premiered Oakland hip-hip duo Main Attrakionz‘ remix of cross-Bay indie outfit Dominant Legs‘ “Make Time for the Boy.” Squadda Bambino and MondreM.A.N. inject a healthy dose of cloud rap beats and laid-back lyricism into the track, along with a sped-up vocal sample from the original’s opening line. Check it out below:

Dominant Legs – “Make Time For The Boy” (Main Attrakionz Remix)

Dominant Legs also just announced two shows at the end of the month. On 5/30/12, they’re joining Wavves, Smith Westerns, Go Back To The Zoo, Tennis, Mr Wix and SpaceGirls at The Paradiso in Amsterdam for Hilfiger Denim Live, and they play San Miguel Primavera Sound in Barcelona the very next day.

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While the designation “punk-pop” might suggest that slick, whiny garbage that somehow became popular around the turn of the millennium, Grandma’s Boyfriend is helping to seize back nervy, sped-up pop for the rest of us. The SF band is giving away their new EP of songs “about getting killed and lost love and girls that just take things too far” below, but this is seven-inch music, so grab one from Loglady. As the flyer indicates, the “cuttiessssst band of 20122#” is currently on tour.

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That Sonny Smith of Sonny and the Sunsets would bridge music and theater is a matter of natural progression. Smith began his musical career at 18 playing Jimmy Yancy covers at mountain town clubs in Colorado before he ended up in Central America writing screenplays whose characters and plots eventually developed into songs. So, it makes sense that in 2005 the Watchword lit-mag would commission Smith to create a CD of plays as songs that would be performed on stage in a production called The Dangerous Stranger.

One Act Plays finally saw a proper vinyl release on May 8 on Secret Seven Records. Appearances by Edith Frost, Neko Case, Miranda July, Andy Cabic, Virgil Shaw, Mark Eitzel, John Dwyer, and others help bring bring to life the fictional vignettes depicted in the songs, “except for ‘Freaks In Space’ and ‘Honey Roy Rockwell,’” writes Smith. “Those two are the complete truth. The terrible truth.” Listen to the warbly album stand-out, “Eddie and Rita”:

Sonny and the Sunsets the band has a new LP coming out on Polyvinyl on June 26. Longtime Companion was written about his breakup with a girlfriend of ten years, and if this track, “Pretend You Love Me,” is any indication, expect a heartwrenching classic country follow-up to last year’s Hit After Hit:

Sonny’s band is also set to play the Huichica Music Festival June 1-2 in Sonoma, as well as the Pickathon Festival just outside of PDX August 3-5.

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In 2009, Bill Rousseau and Dahlia Gallin Ramirez released In the Beginning, an appropriately-named debut as the likewise appropriately-named Billy & Dolly. Three years later, the duo of former Monolith members returns with Dally Bon Idyll, a Jason Quever-recorded set of winning AM Gold-meets-FM power pop. It’s top-shelf stuff, and you should stream it below.

After the jump, check out the duo’s new video for “Oh Yeah.”

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New SF band Cazadero serves up dusty folk-rock with a notable country feel on its debut LP, Dusk for Dawn, which you can stream in its entirety below. The band’s first live show is at Viracocha this Friday night (9pm, $10) with Nika Aila States of Red Steppes and special guests.

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As a UC Davis alumnus, I’m always proud to promote the vibrant underground music scene in Davis, CA. Run primarily by the local college radio station KDVS 90.3FM, the city lights up every week with house shows by bands playing diverse versions of strange, noisy, alt-everything. Often very few of the students present have even heard the band — but it’s still worth it to go to the show, grab a 40 oz of Miller Lite and join the ear-splitting, sweaty, living room mosh pit and then waltz outside and have a cigarette with your friends. What San Franciscans gain in bringing big name artists, we lose in freedom — bouncers, camera passes, ID checks, no moshing rules, expensive equipment.

The point is this: in Davis, they’re celebrating that no-fucks-given attitude like they have eleven times prior with Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom, a day long outdoor music festival at a biker bar (a real one, not Zeitgeist) in the agricultural fields outside of Davis. Find a spot in the grass and watch an eclectic lineup of Sacramento/Bay Area artists and bands pound their instruments into the ground right in front of you. For those (like me) obsessed with the weather, it should be 85 degrees in Davis this Saturday. Perfect.

KDVS 90.3fm Presents:
Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom XII
May 19, 2012
1-10PM
Plainfield Station
23944 County Rd. 98
All Ages
$10

OFFICIAL LINEUP

Dibia$e (LA/Sacramento)
Raleigh Moncrief (Sacramento)
Twin Steps (Oakland)
Buk Buk Bigups (Sacramento)
No Babies (Oakland)
Brothers Amor (Oakland)
World Hood (Sacramento)
UCD Gamelan Ensemble (UC Davis)
West Nile Ramblers (Davis)
Mondo Lava (Davis)
Yi (Oakland)
Headboggle (San Francisco)
Burglars (Davis, Santa Cruz, Long Beach)

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Mount Eerie — the always soft yet threateningly strange project of Phil Elverum — are getting set to release their newest album Clear Moon on May 22. According to NPR:

“Recorded in his recently established de-sanctified church turned recording studio, The Unknown in Anacortes, Wash., Clear Moon is an immersive, sprawling album that finds common ground in folk, ominous chamber music, electronics and…ambient metal tonalities. Murky and beguiling, Clear Moon is remarkably consistent.”

Try before you buy and stream the entire album over at NPR right now.

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SF pysch-rock quintet Sleepy Sun rolls back into SF this Friday, 5/18/12, after a month’s-long tour across the States and Canada in support of their latest effort Spine Hits (out April 10th on The End Records), and they’re celebrating the occasion with an album release show this Friday, May 18th at The Independent. Joining the band are Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Some Ember, and DJ Britt Govea.

After a very brief rest (read: enough time to do their laundry and repack), Sleepy Sun returns to the road, heading to Europe for a run of shows beginning on May 23rd in the Netherlands, before a short turn around the West Coast in June. Spine Hits is their third full-length album, and the band has been gaining steam on the strength of tracks like “V.O.G.”, which we previously featured back in April:

Get full details on the show and Sleepy Sun’s upcoming European and West Coast tours after the jump.

Sleepy Sun, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Some Ember, and DJ Britt Govea
The Independent
May 22, 2012
Doors: 8:30 pm / Show: 9:00 pm
$13 advance / $15 door

Sleepy Sun Tour Dates:
05/23 – Groningen, Netherlands – Vera Club
05/24 – Berlin, Germany – Berghain
05/24 – Berlin, Germany - BERGHAIN / Kantine
05/25 – Hamburg, Germany – Molotow
05/26 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Le Guess Who Festival
05/27 – London, United Kingdom – IBYM/ATP at Alexandria Palace
05/28 – Antwerpen, Belgium – Trix
05/29 – Leuven, Belgium – Het Depot
05/30 – Tourcoing, France – Le Grand Mix
05/31 – Paris, France – Point FMR
06/02 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Festival- ATP Stage
06/03 – Marseille, France – Grim Montevido
06/04 – Turin To, Italy – sPAZIO 211
06/05 – Zurich, Switzerland – Rote Fabrik
06/06 – Bern, Switzerland – Dachstadt
06/07 – Ravenna, Italy – Hana Bi
06/08 – Porto, Portugal – Primavera Festival- ATP Stage
06/15 – Vancouver, Canada – Commodore Ballroom
06/16 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
06/17 – Seattle, WA – Showbox at the Market
06/20 – Visalia, CA – The Cellar Door
06/21 – Los Angeles, CA – Nomad Gallery
06/22 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy & Harriet’s Place
06/23 – Pomona, CA – Moon Block Party

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The Soft Moon recently released this new song, which features Luis Vasquez and company collaborating with John Foxx And The Maths, the new band from former Ultravox singer John Foxx. It’s an expansive-sounding synth pop song, brighter than we’re used to from The Soft Moon to be sure, but definitely worth checking out.

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Evan Caminiti of Barn Owl’s latest solo release is Night Dust, out now on Immune Recordings. The album is out on LP and cassette, and, as Caminiti told Fluid Radio, tape played a big role in Night Dust‘s composition:

I just used a cassette 4 track for basic tracking but then bounced the tracks through an effects chain to a DAW and layered gradually on top of that. I was influenced by the approach of dub mixes so there is a lot delay involved but I experimented with other techniques like playing cassettes back through different amps and re-recording them or playing tapes backwards.

Caminiti performs at Liminal Space on Saturday, May 26th. Check out the below video for Night Dust‘s “Returning Spirits”:

Evan Caminiti, KWJAZ, Marielle Jakobsons
Liminal Space
May 26, 2012
9pm, $7-10

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Check out this very cool remix by Jel — aka Oakland’s Jeff Logan — of the Sleigh Bells‘ single “Comeback Kid,” from their newest album Reign of Terror. The remix reduces the overblown guitar attack of the original song into a sort of hazy underbelly for Alexis Krauss’ vocals. It kinda sounds like you’re playing the song through crappy speakers (which you might be) while beats from your roommate’s hip-hop records bleed through the walls.

Jel is also opening for Sleigh Bells for the July segment of their tour. Full dates and the original video for “Comeback Kid” below.

Jel opening for Sleigh Bells

07-02 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
07-03 Boston, MA – House of Blues
07-05 Montreal, Quebec – Corona
07-07 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
07-09 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
07-10 Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection
07-12 Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
07-16 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
07-17 Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theater
07-18 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiwcUdX7XMw

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Last year, we teamed up with Tiny Telephone and some of the city’s best food trucks to throw an awesome daytime music and food festival called Phono del Sol in the Mission’s hidden gem, Potrero del Sol Park. If you were there, you know how great it was. If you missed it, don’t beat yourself up, because Phono del Sol will be returning on July 21, 2012. We’re going to have more of everything this year: more food trucks, more music, and more awesome festivities, and we’re excited to start telling you all about them soon.

This year’s music lineups includes a bunch of great Bay Area bands, but we’ve also invited some other West Coast acts to perform as well. Who will be appearing? Find out next week on the Phono del Sol Facebook page, or just listen to all seven performing bands in the below teaser clip. Yes, that’s seven bands performing at the same time for ten seconds. Unpleasant to listen to? Surely, but if you subject yourself to this clip enough, you’ll hopefully begin to pick out some of the Phono del Sol 2012 performers.

The Bay Bridged – Phono del Sol 2012 Teaser

We’re giving away a pair of VIP passes to Phono del Sol (complete with reserved viewing area and other goodies) to the person who can identify the most bands from this clip. E-mail contest[at]thebaybridged.com with the Subject line “Phono del Sol” and your list of who you think is playing. We’ll pick a winner on Monday!

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• TBB Video Premiere: Religious Girls – “OG” (Live at Phono del Sol)
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• TBB Video Premiere: Mirah performs “Hallelujah” live with Thao at Phono del Sol

SF Popfest returns for a fourth year for indie music lovers with a sweet tooth. This year’s festival spans three days and two venues, featuring 13 bands and three Djs for what should be a very confectionery Memorial Day weekend. Standouts include Kids on a Crime Spree, Cruel Summer, Manatee, Desario, and Black Elephant (just to name a handful), while the kids from Shine-on will take Saturday into the wee hours of Sunday morning with an indie pop dance party.

Check out the full schedule and get your tickets here, but first, listen to this mix made by Jamie Jams of Shine On to get you psyched:

Tracklisting:

1. Seapony – “Dreaming” 00:00
(Go with Me, LP; Hardly Art, 2010)
2. Cruel Summer – “White Flag” 02:17
(Rocinante Records, 2012)
3. Outerhope – “Twenty Years from Now” 06:38
(A Day for the Absent, LP; Numberline Records, 2009)
4. Boat – Landlocked 11:32
(Dress Like Your Idols, LP; Magic Marker Records, 2011)
5. The Bilinda Butchers – “All My Friends” 14:35
(Regret, Love, Guilt, Dreams, LP; Fastcut Records, 2011)
6. Allen Clapp – “Snow in the Sun” 19:35
(Something Strange Happens, LP; Bus Stop, 2006)
7. Desario – “Call Out Your Rivals” 21:23
(Mixer, LP; Test Pattern Records, 2012)
8. Black Elephant – “Roce Et Roule” 25:14
(Trabajo Records, 2012)
9. Kids on a Crime Spree – “To Mess with Dynamite” 27:18
(We Love You So Bad, LP; Slumberland Records, 2011)
10. Surf Club – “Young Love” 29:29
(Young Love EP; Death Party Records, 2012)
11. Manatee – “Indecision” 31:40
(Slumberland Records, 2012)
12. TV Girl – “Baby You Were There” 34:56
(Benny and the Jetts, EP; Small Plates Records, 2011)

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To enter any contest submit an email to contest[at]thebaybridged[dot]com with your full name in the body and the concert you’re entering the contest for in the subject line. You may only submit your name once to only one contest. Winners for each show will be decided using the guidelines listed below.

Friday, May 18th
Milo Greene, Drms, Papa @ Rickshaw Stop
To win a pair of tickets to the show be the THIRD person to enter!
The show starts at 9pm, $10/$12, 21+. Purchase advance tickets here.

Saturday, May 19th
This Charming Band (a tribute to the Smiths/Morrissey)/For the Masses (a tribute to Depeche Mode)/Spellbound (a tribute to Siouxsie & the Banshees) @ Slim’s
To win a pair of tickets to the show be the FOURTH person to enter!
The show starts at 9pm, $15, 6+. Purchase advance tickets here.

Best Coast with Jeff The Brotherhood @ Fox Theater
To win a pair of tickets to the show be the FIRST, THIRD, or SEVENTH person to enter!
The show starts at 8pm, $25, 21+. Purchase advance tickets here.

Seeking Empire, Beta State, New Diplomat, The Bruises, plus DJ Aaron Axelsen (popscene) @ Rickshaw Stop
To win a pair of tickets to the show be the SECOND person to enter!
The show starts at 8pm, $10, 21+. Purchase advance tickets here.

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• Night shows announced for Outside Lands 2011 – Vetiver, Best Coast, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
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Jangle-monsters Cruel Summer have shared a new track that will appear on their upcoming EP (release date TBA) on Mt. St. Mtn., so expect limited edition noise-pop awesomeness with spectacular packaging in the near future.

“Carquinez” (yeah, like the bridge that takes one to lovely Vallejo) was recorded in March by Jason Kick of Maus Haus fame at Secret Studios. A popular song during their live sets, it starts out whispy and crescendos into an intense explosion of fuzz and feedback, while settling back down on its dreamy little cloud in the end. Only complaint is that it doesn’t last longer.

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The breakup of Bare Wires after a troubled SXSW tour broke a lot of hearts, but if you’re familiar with Matthew Melton’s past projects (solo recordings, Snake Flower 2), you know he wouldn’t be without a band for long. Indeed, Melton’s post-breakup interview with All Shook Down noted the beginning of a new band called Warm Soda, which is playing its first show on Wednesday night with Thee Oh Sees, The Mallard, and Burnt Ones at the Brick & Mortar Music Hall.

“But what does Warm Soda sound like,” you ask? Take a listen to the brand new song “Reaction” below. It’s pure pop goodness soon to be released on a Southpaw Records 7″.

Warm Soda – “Reaction”

Thee Oh Sees, The Mallard, Burnt Ones, Warm Soda
Brick & Mortar Music Hall
May 16, 2012
9pm, Sold Out

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The James & Evander media frenzy continues as the Kings of Future Pop have dropped a second preview track from their forthcoming debut full-length, Bummer Pop. Prefix Magazine had the honor, but you can listen right here:

The Oakland duo debuted another song from Bummer Pop last week, “Can’t Forget” (this one via My Old Kentucky Blog):

Bummer Pop is officially out May 15th on Velvet Blue Music, and can be streamed in full below.

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June 25th brings a special night of music to The Warfield, as composer extraordinaire Philip Glass teams up with Joanna Newsom and Tim Fain for a benefit show to support Big Sur’s historic Henry Miller Memorial Library. Pre-sale starts this Wednesday at 12pm with tickets available at FolkYeah.com, and the general public on-sale is this Friday at 10am here.

Located in a setting rivaled only by the musical talent that’s graced its stage, the Library has become a premier destination for top performers from all over the world (in-depth list here). Recently, however, the Library was told they must modernize their water systems and bathrooms to meet federal health requirements or risk shutting down. Specifically, Henry Miller Library must raise $140,000 in conjunction with overall plan approval in order to begin construction this fall.

June’s Warfield show is billed as the fundraising campaign’s official kick-off, but donations are already underway if you’d like to chip in. An open letter has also been posted by Executive Director Magnus Toren on the matter. Despite the mad dash to secure funding, the Library has been allowed an abbreviated musical season between June and October. Check out the current schedule, and watch Glass lead a performance of “Anthem Pt. 3″ from the Hollywood Bowl last August below.

Philip Glass, Joanna Newsom, Tim Fain
The Warfield
June 25, 2012
8:00pm, $62.50-$140

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Broke-Ass Stuart has been living in SF for a decade now, dispensing top-notch advice for the budget-conscious. Stuart’s celebrating ten years with a party on Thursday night at Public Works that, naturally, features a bunch of great entertainment, and, also naturally, won’t break the bank. Judgement Day, Birds & Batteries, and Social Studies, all for just three bucks? Happy anniversary, Broke-Ass. More details & RSVP here.

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San Francisco bluegrass quintet The Bothers Comatose will release their sophomore album Respect the Van on May 22nd, and have scheduled the official release party for this Saturday at Great American Music Hall. Sioux City Kid and Tiny Television will open to kick the night off. Check out the video for “The Scout” (off Van) below.

The band is a product of brothers Alex and Ben Morrison’s family acoustic parties, which heavily influence their current bluegrass-folk fusion sound. With Alex on banjo and vocals, and Ben on guitar and vocals, the lineup is rounded out by Geo Benedetti (bass, vocals), Ryan Avellone (mandolin), and Philip Brezina (fiddle). Following Friday’s show, they’ll be heading out on the road for a busy summer. Check out all the dates below and support ‘em if you can.

The Brothers Comatose 2012 Tour Dates

5/19 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
5/24 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Pour House
5/25 – Evans, GA @ Banjo-B-Que
5/26 – Black Mountain, NC @ Pisgah Brewing Co.
6/2 – Felton, CA @ Redwood Mountain Faire
6/7 – Santa Rose, CA @ KRSH Backyard BBQ
6/9 – Shenandoah Valley, CA @ Barbera Festival
6/15 – Crystal Bay, NV @ Crystal Bay Casino
6/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint
6/24 – San Louis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brewing Co.
6/29 – Laytonville, CA @ Kate Wolf Music Festival
6/30 – Laytonville, CA @ Kate Wolf Music Festival
7/3 – Fort Collins, CO @ Avogadro’s Number
7/4 – Boulder, CA @ Golden Hill Inn
7/5 – Carbondale, CO @ Steve’s Guitars
7/7 – Dolores, CO @ Dolores River Brewery
7/7 – Telluride, CO @ The Steaming Bean
7/19 – Kenmore, WA @ Kenmore Concert Series
7/20 – Bellingham, WA @ The Roost
7/20 – Seattle, WA @ Bank of America Plaza
7/21 – Bainbridge Island, WA @ Treehouse Cafe
7/28 – Kemmerer, WA @ Oyster Ridge Music Festival

The Brothers Comatose, Sioux City Kid, Tiny Television
Great American Music Hall
May 19, 2012
9:00pm, $15

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If you threw arty punk, experimental noise and electronic pop into a meat grinder, you’d probably hear the sounds of Black Dice‘s new album Mr. Impossible while the machine was running. But who knew such a periodically-abrasive combination would also be so engaging? The band is currently touring the US, and they’ll be at The Lab tonight. Listen to the new LP in full below:

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Below, enjoy an 8tracks mix featuring local and touring bands performing in SF this week. After the jump, find out more about when they’re all playing! For a full list of upcoming concerts in the SF Bay Area, check our Local Concert Calendar.

Monday, May 14
Herman Dune, The Sam Chase, DJ Britt Govea at The Independent
Black Dice, A White Hunter, Stillsuit at The Lab
Beach Fossils, Catwalk, Permanent Collection at Slim’s
Light Asylum, Black Materials, Dark Materials at Public Works

Wednesday, May 16
Thee Oh Sees, The Mallard, Burnt Ones, Warm Soda at the Brick and Mortar Music Hall
Big Tree, Kapowski, Bells at Cafe Du Nord
Sunfighter, The Arabs, Cadet, The Midnight Snackers at The Uptown

Thursday, May 17
Naytronix, Yalls, Mwahaha at the Hemlock Tavern
Suckers, Young Man, Vanaprasta at Bottom of the Hill

Friday, May 18
Sleepy Sun, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Some Ember, DJ Britt Govea at The Independent
B. Hamilton, Minot, Shuteye Unison at The Uptown
Plants and Animals, Cannons and Clouds, Owl Paws at Bottom of the Hill
Cazadero, Nika Aila States at Viracocha
High Castle, CCR Headcleaner, White Suns at Hemlock Tavern
The Avengers, Erase Errata, Carletta Sue Kay at Cafe Du Nord

Saturday, May 19
Melted Toys, Memories, Permanent Collecton, Creepers at Thee Parkside
Cool Ghouls, Meat Market, Poor Sons at Hemlock Tavern
Best Coast, Jeff The Brotherhood at the Fox Theater
The Brothers Comatose, Sioux City Kid, Tiny Television at the Great American Music Hall

Sunday, May 20
Pansy Division, Swann Danger at Cafe Du Nord

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In 1965 they were smoking pot with Hendrix, opening for the Byrds, the Doors and Love, but then The Sloths vanished, their recordings unavailable unless you wanted to spend $6,000 on eBay. More than 45 years later, they return! There was a Friday show at the Rockit Room, but this story could only happen at Oakland’s incredible Stork Club. The crowd was small but huge in its thirst for discounted PBR tallboys.

After two opening acts (keep reading!), The Sloths took the stage. Singer Hank Daniels looked like he could be Iggy’s brother with long straight hair and exposed six-pack. The band started off with the song often credited for the birth of punk, Love’s “7 and 7 Is.” Later they played Love’s version of Burt Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book.” Still later they covered “Hey Joe” with some Love touches as well. Seeing Love in the late 60s musta been life changing. Just listening to Forever Changes a few times can change you. The Sloths were clearly intimate with this material and brought out the full power of the songs. As “7 and 7 Is” came to its apocalyptic conclusion, Hank lifted his fingers and a small blast of flames came forth! For “My Little Red Book” he pulled out his very own little red book (and his iPhone) to demonstrate just how far we have come….or possibly how far we have gone astray? Cool classic covers continued with “Here Comes the Night” from Them.

I missed Tuci and the PJs but made it for Dukes of Hamburg featuring local dj Russell Quan. The guy has played drums for the Mummies, The Phantom Surfers, The Bobbyteens and more, but in the Dukes he is front and center screaming, blowin’ harp and bangin’ that tambourine. Fun 60′s nuggets determined to get yer ass shakin’. And no one shook it harder than Marc Ribak. Marc is another Bay area music madman. He’s the mastermind behind Berkeley’s Rock N Roll Adventure Kids. He played with Nobunny. And along with his fine lady Amy, Marcos created Total Trash Booking which has delivered 3 years of the super sleazy-delicious Total Trash Fest and much more including a load of work on this years uber fun n’ milky Burger Boogaloo.

Turns out Marcos was just warming up. As the clock passed 12:30, he strapped on a guitar and joined LA’s Wounded Lion to close out the evening. I’d imagined heading home ‘early’ after The Sloths, but simply could not. Wounded Lion had it going on. The sounds are catchy and invigorating pop. There’s a drummer plus a percussionist guy hopping like mad. He was sporting a Fungi Girls t-shirt. Clearly he knows his shit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftO9ClIhFAo&feature=fvwrel

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LA’s Salva and SF’s Grenier (aka DJG) have teamed up for a new single on Frite Nite that showcases the collaborators’ melting pot approach to a variety of electronic music sounds. Grenier, who has a solo album coming out later this year, performs at SOM this Saturday, May 12.

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The latest installment of “Push The Feeling” is tonight, Friday, May 11th at Underground SF, with live performances by Shortcircles and Chucha Santamaria y Usted, alongside YR SKULL and the epicsauce DJs. It’s all free if you RSVP here. Music from all of the participants can be found below.

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Back in April, we posted about a special intimate show with The Ferocious Few at the Bamm.TV headquarters in SOMA. Well, it happened and now we’ve got the video to prove it. Watch the Mission District’s premiere rock-a-billy band power through the cut “Midnight Ghost” — a track from their debut album Juices — while pulsing white lights give the performance an edgy, almost threatening vibe.

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For once, the tireless workhorse that is Thee Oh Sees appears to have taken a day off. Their new video for “Chem-Farmer”, a cut from their 2011 double EP Carrion Crawler/The Dream, features Los Angeles-based polka cover band Alpine Village People exclusively. Watch as director Chezerez Jourdain follows the lederhosen-sporting polka band as they overeat gas station goodies, play a raucous show, and sleep with some good-natured groupies at the after-party, all to the tune of Thee Oh Sees.

Turns out I was just kidding about the band taking a day off. They’re touring Europe right now and then playing the Pitchfork Music Festival and Outside Lands upon their return. I’m worn out just thinking about it. US tour dates below:

07/15/2012 Pitchfork Festival Chicago IL
07/20/2012 Capital Hill Block Party Seattle WA
08/03/2012 Pickathon Happy Valley OR
08/04/2012 Pickathon Happy Valley OR
08/05/2012 Woodsist Festival Big Sur CA
08/10/2012 Outside Lands Festival San Francisco CA
09/23/2012 ATP Asbury Park NJ

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“Epic Fail” comes from Birds & Batteries‘ recent Unfold EP, which finds the band in dark synth pop mode (stream it in full below). The five-song set was actually composed at the same time as the group’s upcoming full length, Stray Light. Birds & Batteries perform at the California Academy of Sciences tonight and at Public Works on May 17.

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San Francisco Pop Fest 2012 is gearing up for this year’s Memorial Day Weekend festivities (May 25-27) with 14 bands playing over three nights at the Hemlock Tavern and the Knockout. Looks like a pretty good time with a solid lineup.

San Diego indie pop duo TV Girl will be making the trip up and you can download their new mixtape The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle via Stereogum (zip file).

Full lineup for the festival:

THE BILINDA BUTCHERS * BLACK ELEPHANT * BOAT * ALLEN CLAPP AND HIS ORCESTRA * CRUEL SUMMER * DEAD ANGLE * DESARIO* KIDS ON A CRIME SPREE * MANATEE * OUTERHOPE * SEAPONY * SURF CLUB * TV GIRL

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