When The Lights Go Down In The City
Our concert picks for the week of 6/23-6/29.
While scanning for your best musical entertainment options this week, we noticed an interesting trend of late 90's alt-pop bands rousing from their silent slumber to play in our fair city. We mention them here not so much to recommend them, but more out of sheer wonder that they're still alive and kicking.
Tonight Amoeba presents Madlib & MED for an in-store and signing before their gig later at Mighty. Get worldly with the Bay Area Afro-Cuban All-Stars at the Elbo Room, Brazil's Cidade Negra at Mezzanine, or Mexico's Jaguares at the Fillmore. VHS or Beta do their dance-rock thing at Popscene. The Mountain Goats, featuring the prolific and confessional John Darnielle, start a two night stand at Bottom of the Hill in support of their latest release The Sunset Tree.
Friday night, Cafe Du Nord celebrates Pride Week with a rowdy display by Pansy Division with the Ex-Boyfriends and the Nervous Breakdowns. Mighty presents the Something To Prove Tour, with Inspectah Deck of Wu Tang, Afu-Ra and more. Slim's has a Neil Young Tribute Night with locals like the Mother Hips, and Mezzanine hopes to pack in the post-punks to see Moving Units and Film School. On Saturday, KFOG presents a show at Great American with gentle popster Glen Phillips, formerly of the inscrutably named Toad the Wet Sprocket. Lifehouse also rises from the dead to play at Slim's. Lifehouse is the new Silverchair. Let's hope they invested their millions wisely.
On Sunday the world grooves continue with Ojos de Brujo and O-Maya at the gorgeously green Stern Grove. We soaked up the glory there last Sunday, and highly recommend getting there way before noon, unless you have a prehensile tail that allows you to hang comfortably from tree branches. We hear that Ojos de Brujo have electric tablas, which sounds kind of wrong to us, but we're sure the show will be well worth the trek out there. That night, you have a few chances to get local. Panache Magazine presents OCS at 12 Galaxies, Erase Errata and Tartufi make noise at Cafe Du Nord, and Great American presents Gabby La La with the legendary Les Claypool. You've probably read about Holland's zZz playing at Hemlock, because, well, they have a damn good publicist. Brian Van Der Ark from the Verve Pipe is at the Red Devil Lounge. The Verve Pipe once toured Europe with Kiss. We would not lie to you!
On Monday night, Birdman Records' favorite doom-rockers the Apes take over Thee Parkside. We hope Amanda, a.k.a. Majestic Ape, will be selling some of her excellent artwork at the merch table. On Tuesday night, it's a battle of the band names with the distastefully named I Hate You When You're Pregnant at the Hemlock vs. the snicker-inducing Pissed Pissedofferson at the Hotel Utah. Who's that at Cafe Du Nord? Fountains of Wayne, it's been so long we hardly recognized you.
On Wednesday, locals The Ebb & Flow play a free show at Amoeba. Later on head to Slim's for some genuine (pronounced jen-yoo-wine) Texas blues from Doyle Bramhall, opening for Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentleman.
Image of Film School by the talented photographer Debra A. Zeller. Image of The Apes from the Birdman Records website.