When the Lights Go Down In The City
For those of you who haven't already fled to Canada, here are this week's concert picks.
Friday night presents a lengthy ballot of entertainment candidates, but this time those troubling middle states won't keep us from our top choices. Start out the night with the laid-back acoustic funk of Citizen Cope at the Red Devil Lounge, or head to Booksmith for a free reading by legendary music critic Greil Marcus from his forthcoming anthology "The Rose & the Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad." Fans of "Living With Ghosts"-era Patty Griffin could check out petite new-country crooner Mindy Smith at the Grand with opener Tift Merritt. There's also the holiday party for local label Jackpine Social Club at Thee Parkside featuring sets by Oranger, Beaver Nelson, and Ian Moore, and did we mention they're having a meat raffle? Or take the advice of SFists Shane and Isaac and catch Tussle's set at Mezzanine. Isaac also recommends OOIOO at Bottom of the Hill; impress your friends by knowing how to pronounce their name (oh-oh-eye-oh-oh).
Saturday night offers up an enticing selection of great bands with long names: Pretty Girls Make Graves opens for Death Cab For Cutie at the Warfield, and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists celebrate their new album "Shake the Sheets" (Lookout! Records) at Great American. You could see Moving Units at Slim's, and while you're there try to pick up an advance copy of the GAMH / Slim's Winter 2004 Sampler CD. The free CD features 18 artists playing at the clubs this season and are available at the box office or after select shows while supplies last.
You might have already seen long-named ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead destroy their instruments as they're wont to do during their live set, so get to their show on Monday at Great American by 9pm to catch the opening set by up-and-coming co-ed duo Forget Cassettes. Visit Forget Cassette's website to listen to songs from their new album "Instruments of Action". SFist has no idea where new venue The Grand is, so instead of getting lost trying to find it on Tuesday night to see The Faint and TV on the Radio, we'll see them on Wednesday night at Bimbo's instead.
Break out the Jiffy Pop because you have at least two opportunities this week to explore the actress-rock genre. In "Juliette & The Licks", Juliette Lewis portrays spandex-clad wild woman "Juliette" and delivers a dangerous performance as the singer for a ragtag band of rockers called "The Licks" (showing on Sunday night at Cafe du Nord). Channeling the underwhelming stage presence of Norah Jones, Minnie Driver stars as "Minnie Driver," a struggling singer-songwriter trying to escape her successful movie star past to bring her brand of don't-wake-the-baby folk rock to the masses (showing on Thursday the 11th at Great American Music Hall).
SFist Krissy, contributing.