Time to tear yourself away from all the awesome flicks at the SFIFF and get some exercise. Or at least stand up for a bit. Hit Bottom of the Hill tonight to check out Laura Veirs. Even if you are not a pre-teen Texan girl, or super into snow leopards, you’ll probably dig the music. We first interviewed Laura about a year ago-- although she's not offering a free tattoo this time round, her......

Saturday night we had the pleasure to watch one of Noise Pop's most intriguing local acts: Wallpaper. We interviewed Eric Frederic - the man behind it all - earlier in the week and had even listened to his new EP, T REX on his MySpace page but we had no idea it was going to be that much fun. We were on such a high from Wallpaper's set that we didn't want to ruin it......

Sfist interviews Yoni Wolf of Why?...

*CLUB: Check out Rock Out Karaoke over at Amnesia. What is Rock Out Karaoke? Well, it mean that you will hear neither a Righteous Brothers cover nor a note from everyone's least favorite musical, Grease. And isn't that what you really want in a karaoke night? Of course it is. (Glenny Kravitz hosts.) READING: Sorry to throw another Valencia Street happening your way, but: author and artist Ian Philips, of Suspect Thoughts Press, reads......

Nicole Atkins starts this week off strong with some soulful tunes from the Jersey shore over at The Independent, starting at 8pm. She's crazy-cool and has a voice of gold. If you're more of a rocker, than get to Cafe du Nord early to see Cold Hot Crash and Filter play. It looks like the only way you can buy tickets is at the door and there's not too many of them. A Fine Frenzy,......

Yes, we are a bit late with the listings but that doesn't stop us from being excited for this week's music offerings. It's Noise Pop - something we've been talking about since December. Since there is so much going on this week, we are going to highlight some shows that we know you can still get tickets to. Let's start with tonight: Minipop, from San Francisco, will be headlining at Bottom of the Hill......

It's going to be a grand ole party (sorry, we had too...) over at Bottom of the Hill on Sunday night where Grand Ole Party will be headlining. They just finished a very successful tour with Rilo Kiley and Vampire Weekend and are celebrating the physical release of their debut album, Humanimals (which came out earlier this month). Check out three of their recently recorded songs over at Daytrotter; it's pretty damn cool. Hailing......

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar. Standouts: British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?: We were first introduced to British Sea Power when we were checking out the bands that are coming to the Noise Pop Festival (which we remind you is in two weeks). It's being heralded as the "...first contender for Album of 2008." Not bad, for this indie-rock band from Brighton,......

Shit. It's Valentine's Day this Thursday and by the looks of it most of you have already planned your perfect date. Three shows are already completely sold-out: The Kills at Rickshaw Stop, Slightly Stoopid at The Independent and Common at Mezzanine. While there are still several shows you can chance Thursday night, it might be wise to stay home and wait till the weekend to take your crush out. We are. Friday, the local music......

The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeri) (1966): We were going to start throwing shade at the overall ineffectiveness of political satire -- which, by the way, The Battle of Algiers is not -- but instead we this interesting tidbit about this classic regarding Algeria's struggle to overthrow French Colonial Government in the mid-1950s. According to IMDB: "In 2003, the New York Times reported that the Pentagon screened this film for officers and......

This week there's a recommendation every night at a different venue - talk about a great week of music. Starting with Monday, MGMT, the super-hyped duo from Brooklyn, will be playing Bottom of the Hill. MGMT is: Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, two psychic pilgrims whose paths first intersected in the green pastures of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, circa 2002. After a post-college "existential crisis" they decided to create their masterpiece, Oracular Spectacular, released......

Back in December, The Lovemakers, a glam-rock outfit from Oakland, decided to stay put and forego their national tour to record their next full-length album entitled "Love is Dead." (For a band called "The Lovemakers," that's quite a title!) According to their blog, they've also decided to "be a 3-piece [band] again for the next while live. Scott, Lisa and Michael Urbano on drums. Back to basics. Very cool. Very fun." What we didn't......

The UK's latest sensation, Kate Nash, makes her San Francisco debut this Saturday night at popscene at 330 Ritch Street. We are so very excited about this show. Not only do we absolutely love Kate Nash's EP (her CD is coming out tomorrow) but we get an added bonus of seeing Minipop, San Francisco's own indie-pop band. This show is bound to be genius. Nash is only playing three other shows in the US -......

If you haven't decided what you are doing to celebrate the New Year, it's okay - it seems that limited tickets are still available to tonight's biggest shows. We have a feeling they will go quick. If you don't like crowds, you can check out Radiohead's New Year's Eve bash on your couch with a bottle of booze. For the partiers, there are several options ranging from $8 at Hotel Utah to $100 at Cafe......

-- Crime in Choir: CIC rocks it. Hard. For reals. Big time. One of the purest sounds coming out of SF these days, really. Brave the chill and head down to Potrero Hill to check them out. You won't regret it. Pink Mountain and Science of Yarba open at this anniversary party for Frenetic Records. The music starts at 10 p.m. at Bottom of the Hill; $10. -- It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine:......

Starting out this week, Peck the Town Crier is celebrating his sophomore CD, Groundhog's Day by performing at Pier 23. You can hang out with this San Franciscan native from 7:30-10:30 for absolutely nothing - it's free. "Recorded at the famed Hyde St Studios in San Francisco, Groundhog’s Day blends Peck’s unique story-raps and verbiage with hand played instrumental arrangements that pull from the gambit of [great] American music..." It's a bit weird, a bit......

Warning: when visiting the ice rink at the Embarcadero, please be careful. You could fall face-first on the ice, cut open your knee, swallow a couple of itchy Vicodins to abate building pain, and then send out several emails that you won't remember writing the following morning. Or so we hear. -- The Last Detail (1973): Jack Nicholson takes Randy Quaid out for a last bit of debauchery before young Quaid is sent of......

Without a doubt, we think that every Australian in San Francisco was at Bottom of the Hill last Wednesday to rock it out with Australia's hit band, Eskimo Joe. We speculated when we first walked in but weren't positive - the "background" music was too loud to actually positively i.d. an accent. Halfway through the show the lead singer, Kavyen Temperley, asked for all the Australians in the house to scream. We were the only......

-- Cabaret for Humanity: Cabaret isn't just about getting drunk while telling self-centered stories about your life. Sometimes they give back. One of the city's best venues is getting all benefitt-y on our asses. This evening (and tomorrow night) they host an all-star lineup of local talent including, Tony Koester Kim Kuzma, Irene Soderberg, Veronica Klaus, Paul Elia, Basic Black & the Rob Evans Quartet, Joe Collins, Meg Mackay, Ethyl Merman, Mark Miller, Mercedez......

Back in May, we were introduced to a great indie-pop band called Great Northern. We quickly fell in love with their latest release, Trading Twilight for Daylight and have been trying desperately to see one of their shows to no avail (they have been touring constantly since their release). They've been through San Francisco several times so we're sure you've already heard about them. (We hope!) Even our own Aaron Axelsen from Live 105 has......

In light of it being Halloween, we thought instead of candy, we would give out two tickets to another concert. This week has been full of giveaways (see here and here), so why not more? This time, it's two tickets to see Tunng, a London-based experimental/folk/electronic band, at Bottom of the Hill on Monday, November 5th. The press release says that, "If you're into rustic acoustic-based folk, kitchen sink experimentalism, delicate electronics and pop......

Between the black n' purple checkered floor and the burlesque porn that was playing in the TV over the bar, we knew we had entered the perfect world's most interesting venue, Bottom of the Hill. (We continued that thought as we ventured into the sticker/grafitti laden walls of the cramped men's bathroom.) Bumping into Chris Reynolds, Eulogies' drummer, at the merchandise table before the show was unexpected as the porn but we digress. After a......

-- The Breasts of Sherry Glaser: The protest-y Miss Glaser's comedy and peace activism show runs the gamut from her unsheathed mammary glands to an interpretation of 9/11 and the Twin Towers falling down. Oh my. (Warning: audience participation will occur!) Starts at 7:30 p.m. at The Marsh; $10-15. -- The Velvet Teen: The Velvet Teen rocks. Hard and with perfection. Because that's what they do in Santa Rosa. Be sure to see them......

-- Figurines, Dappled Cities, Union Trade: Rock bands -- with a little easy-listening thrown in there for balance! -- bust it out starting at 9 p.m. at Bottom of the Hill; $10. -- Custom Made Theatre's Silent Auction on the Stage: Bid on trips, theater tickets, and mighty fine art, and much more (just like dem rich do!) but in a more accessible setting. Fol-rock band the Jiffy Lube Allstars -- featuring Jason Garrison,......

-- Tastes of the City: Help raise money for the George Mark Children's House in San Leandro by attending this culinary bash. Young and "philanthropic-minded" guys and gals meet and mingle while binge eating on food and wine from such places as Andalu, Jack Falstaff, and more. Goes from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Forum at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; $60. (!) -- Mathematicians, Madame Blavatsky Overdrive, and Odd Nosdam:......

R.I.P. When The Lights Go Down In The City November 2004 - September 2007 It was SFist's first editor Jackson West who asked me to write a music column back in '04 and he also came up with the name of it. I thought, it's SF-related and a quote from a Journey song - perfect! For the past three years my aim has been to tell you about the music in San Francisco that......

-- Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox: You've bought the all-purpose soap and chortled over its packaging, now catch the documentary about the guy who started it all. Screens tonight at 7:15 p.m. 9:15 at The Red Vic, 1727 Haight; $5-8.50. -- Yo Momma! Slam: Last year's winner "Sugar" Sheng Wang hosts an insult-filled evening of cracks and cruelty directed at the mothers of some of the Bay Area's best slammers. Starts at 9 p.m. at......

For those of you who don't care what happens to Pam and Jim: -- 49ers Fan Night: Biggest 49ers fan ever, Bevan Dufty, invites you to celebrate football. In the Castro. 49ers alumni stars will be present, and Gold Rush cheerleaders will be on hand to sign calendars. In the Castro. Sounds like a homerun kind of night! Goes from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at Mix, 4086 - 18th Street (at Castro); free. -- Circle,......

Never having been huge fans of instrumental music, we were taken by surprise when we listened to Maserati's latest record Inventions For The New Season. Their own entertaining bio describes the music as a "post-psychedelic orgy of hooks molesting the tired cliche of math-prog" and/or "a post-disco drone machine bristling with the buzz-saw sound of 1,000 angry square waves nestled on a California king size bed of shoegaze swirl." We like to think of the......

-- "Endless Strummer": It seems like at any moment in San Francisco, a Joe Strummer tribute is taking place. Ok look! Here's one now, featuring Clash City Rockers, La Plebe, David J, Odd Numbers, the Hooks, Harrington Saints, the Shakespearos, and the Ferocious Few covering his oeuvre. Starts at 9 p.m. at Bottom of the Hill, 1233 - 17th St., all-ages show; $10. -- Jay Mohr: The man who plays a most excellent asshole......