It's been a long time since we randomly clicked on a band's website and were utterly captivated by the music we heard. We saw Bowerbirds' name and photo in Cafe Du Nord's show listings and were drawn to listen to the songs they stream on their site. It's amazing the beauty you can find sometimes just by turning over a few rocks. The music is homespun and intimate; Phil's gentle croon and the spare arrangements of accordion, acoustic guitar and percussion reveal a confidence in their quietude. Thanks to the fine fellows at their label Burly Time Records we have a copy of their album Hymns for a Dark Horse to give to one lucky reader. See them at Cafe Du Nord on Tuesday, September 4th, before they head out on tour with John Vanderslice. (Contest ends 9/5; winner will be notified via email.)

This week's show recommendations: Tonight Popscene presents the live world premiere of Blaqk Audio, the new collaboration between Davey Havok and Jade Puget of AFI. At Make-Out Room see a trio of local "The" bands: The Passionistas, The Happy Hollows and The Dont's. We're pretty big fans of As Tall As Lions' self-titled debut record, but we haven't had a chance to see them live yet, unless that performance we watched on Jimmy Kimmel counts. Lucky for all of us, they're playing on Friday night at Bottom of the Hill with Mae and Dear And The Headlights. At Cafe Du Nord, see some local music by Bellavista, LoveLikeFire and Rescue Me. LoveLikeFire just released a brand new EP this week called Ocean In The Air which you can listen to in its entirety on their website.

On Saturday, if you can make it to Oakland without aid of the Bay Bridge (which surely you've heard will be closed all weekend), we applaud you. Just kidding. It's simple enough to hop on BART and head over to the 7th Annual Art & Soul Oakland fest. It's a huge lineup covering all sorts of arts and music, but readers of this column will probably be most excited about the stage curated by Live 105 and featuring performances by Great Northern, Army of Me, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Against Me!

Giant Squid's music is as terrifying and foreboding as its namesake. (Seriously, we watched a PBS special on giant squids once and we've never been the same.) See them Saturday night at Hemlock with The Family Curse and Wormwood. Bottom of the Hill presents Endless Strummer: A Tribute to Joe Strummer as well as a benefit for Strummerville with The Clash City Rockers. On Sunday afternoon Lucinda Williams plays at the Art & Soul Oakland Festival.

On Tuesday, go see Bowerbirds at Cafe Du Nord with Karpov and Last of the Blacksmiths. Kings Of Leon play with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Manchester Orchestra at Warfield. At Bottom of the Hill see indie troubadours Ben Kweller and Willy Mason. On Wednesday night Okkervil River play a sold out show at the Independent with Damien Jurado. Bottom of the Hill has a great lineup including Magnolia Electric Co., Golden Boots and The Dying Californian at Bottom of the Hill. Slim's presents some good old-fashioned actor-rock by Billy Bob Thornton.

Watch Okkervil River's video for "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe":