We'll confess to having never really listened to Wolf Parade; maybe we got them confused with Mice Parade, and we've always though Wolfmother sounded pretty derivative, so they just fell through the cracks for us. But one of the two lead songwriters in Wolf Parade, Dan Boeckner, has a band with his wife Alexei Perry called Handsome Furs which we're really liking. It's a little dark and dire while still being melodic and engaging; we hear similarities to The Constantines' mellower moments. Listen to "What We Had" and see them live on Monday at Rickshaw Stop. We've got a copy of their record Plague Park for one lucky winner. (Contest ends 9/19; winner will be notified via email).

Last Thursday night we went to Bimbo's to see Stereo Total at the behest of a good friend. We'd never seen the duo before but they charmed us with their energy, humor, zesty accents (hers French, his German) and playful relationship with the English language. Françoise played the laid back good-natured chanteuse while Brezel flailed about with the energy of a toddler. The songs were fun and fast and they kept them coming through a few different encores, culminating in an onstage dance party with a bunch of folks in the front row. Here's a blurry photo of the mayhem.

And now for this week's show recommendations. Hustle to Amoeba by 7pm to see a free performance by Pinback. Later on Scissors For Lefty open for The Bravery at the Warfield. And let's all wish a very happy birthday to Popscene! To celebrate 11 years of breaking artists, premier performances and jam-packed dance parties, Hot Hot Heat perform at Popscene's home of 330 Ritch along with guest DJs from The Bravery. Friday night's for dancing, apparently. Rickshaw Stop presents Disco Hook Up 2007 with Hey Willpower, Hot Tub, Voxhaul Broadcast and DJ Omar. Robot Rock presents VHS or Beta and Walter Meego at Mezzanine.

The big event around San Francisco this weekend is the first ever Treasure Island Music Festival presented by Noise Pop and Another Planet Entertainment. You can still buy tickets to see the amazing lineup of mostly hip-hop and electronica on Saturday and all indie rock on Sunday. There will also be some night shows for the festival on Saturday night, with Grizzly Bear at Mezzanine and over at the Independent Built To Spill and The Delusions perform.

If you're not going to Treasure Island, you should still get out and about on Saturday afternoon. If you're a musician, the Expo for the Artist & Musician offers education and networking at SomArts Cultural Center. If you just want to see some free local music, Hemlock Tavern & KUSF co-present a free, all-ages concert at the Polk Street Fair outdoor live music stage (corner of Polk & Post). The Hemlock will open at 1pm and you can see performances by Spectrum, Triclops!, Los Llamarada, Lou Lou & The Guitarfish and T.I.T.S..

On Monday, see Handsome Furs with Johnny & the Moon and Social Studies at Rickshaw Stop. The New Pornographers play songs from their latest record Challengers at the Warfield. On Tuesday night, see a free performance by High On Fire at Amoeba. Peter Bjorn & John perform their addictively upbeat melodies at the Warfield with The Clientele. Cafe Du Nord has Over The Rhine and Griffin House for two nights.

Watch Peter Bjorn & John's video for "Young Folks":

On Wednesday night, Air put on a transcendent show at Bimbo's with Sondre Lerche for the first of two nights. Cat Power brings along her Dirty Delta Blues to the Fillmore. At Mezzanine, SF360 Film+Club, The San Francisco Film Society, Rehab, and Mezzanine present "Screaming Masterpiece", a documentary chronicling 1000 years of Icelandic music. (That's way more than just Bjork and Sigur Ros.)