FIESTA, FOREVER: Cinco de Mayo is a holiday honoring "an initial victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla," according to Wikipedia. And on that night way back in May 5, 1862, said forces celebrated this win with chips, salsa, frozen margaritas, and body shots. Or so we assume. No one really knows for sure. That said, here are a couple of Latin American-ish......

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......

Photo from Thunderheist CLUB: Those zany and offensive Vice Magazine kids are back in town this evening to pour vodka down your throat, shove blow up your nose, and have you up until all hours. The nerve of them. And we wouldn't miss their party for the world. Tonight at Mezzanine, Vice Live's party has Black Ghost and Thunderheist to get you on the dance floor. Also, luring you in are live DJs, complimentary......

When we last reported on the fate of North Beach's Jazz at Pearl's, blues chanteuse Kim Nally's bee-bop joint, it was shuttering its doors. for good. Again. Now, according to Tablehopper, whose words we live by, Jazz at Pearl's is staying open. Again. Why? Due to a hefty divorce settlement on Ms. Nally's end, or something like that. We're tickled to hear that this cabaret style joint is staying open. Maybe we'll actually check......

Although hating on hipsters is, oddly enough, very hip right among self-consciously nerdy Bay Area denizens, SFist must delve into the scene for a moment. Why? Well, to point out some glaring omissions with regard to DJ Times magazine's America's Best DJ nominee list. According to ASD, loads of local, talented, but predictable faves--such as DJs Theo, Gabriel & Dresden, Kaskade, DJ Shadow, Mark Farina, DJ Qbert, DJ Behrouz, Bassnectar, Claude VonStroke, Miguel Migs,......

Here's your chance to win a spot on Grand Ole Party's guest list for their upcoming concert with Rogue Wave on Saturday night at the Fillmore. We promised and we never break our promises. (Well, at least we try not to.) This isn't the first time that you've been able to check this band out for free. Back in February, we gave away free tickets plus a prize pack when they were on their headlining......

This week you have the opportunity to catch a bunch of bands that were just here in the past few months. This time they are all playing different venues. First off, tonight Basia Bulat will be opening for Devotchka at the Fillmore. Last time we saw her she was at Bottom of the Hill. Her stuff was good then; it still is. If you haven't checked her new album out, listen here. Oregon natives,......

Even though we really want them, we'd feel guilty taking them for ourselves. And since no one seems to be biting, All Shook Down is giving away free pairs of tickets for tonight's Goldfrapp show to the first two people who comment. Have at it. Update: Contest closed, y'all. SF Weekly now totally owes us Goldfrapp tickets.......

Over at Laughing Squid--who, by the way, was barred from taking a picture of Google's stupid, squishy, all-white booth over at Web 2.0 today; please, anyone attending Web 2.0, take as many shots of Google's booth as you possibly can--we came across this creepy mashup of mama polygamist's Stepford Wife-ish "it's not a compound" diatribe on ABC's Good Morning America. Watch it alone. In the dark. (Oh, and it's slightly NSFW due to a......

Big band, small venue. People begging for tickets at $200 a pop on craigslist. Not a bad situation to be in if you've just released your second EP. Birds of Avalon will be playing tonight at Bimbo's. Sure, they're opening for The Raconteurs (gotta love Jack White and Brendan Benson), but we think you should be there to check out BoA. In addition to some seriously great rock music, BoA has some seriously great......

Starting this week off right, The Teenagers are playing their sleazy Parisian pop music at The Independent on Tuesday night. Michael does vocals and plays the bass, Dorian does guitar, computers and vocals, and Quentin is the songwriter and lead vocalist. These three Parisian punks are still the foul-mouthed horny dudes they were when they were 13. Nothing has changed except for now they get to sing about sex instead of just talking about......

This one goes out to all you Gen-Xers out there. The Internet-loathing band Metallica will be at Rasputin this weekend for "Record Store Day." (Also: what?) All Shook Down claims that: Wristbands will be handed out starting at 8 a.m. April 19 for the band's 2 p.m. visit, when Metallica makes its first local public appearance in a very long time to a very limited group of 400 fans. Whether they're play or give......

Photo credit: Rilo Kiley's Website We have some exciting news! We're offering two free tickets to Rilo Kiley's Thursday night performance at Concourse at SF Design Center. Now, here's some even more exciting news: Kanye West and Rihanna will be performing at the HP Pavilion on Saturday night. With Rihanna's summer blockbuster hit, "Umbrella," she finally created a "Hit Me Baby, One More Time." Instead of the standard sexy school-girl outfit, Rihanna dawned on......

As we walked down the steep, dungeon-like stairs at the back of the Great American Music Hall, the ceiling inched toward our heads with every step. By the end of the staircase it felt as if we were dropped off in the imaginary world of Alice and Wonderland. Instead of chasing the white rabbit, we quickly followed the tour manager through the twists and turns of the underground halls. While we never met up......

Nothing like talking about a secret publicly (think that pregnant man on Oprah). But when the secret is free and involves the OC, well, then it’s worth sharing. So the not-so-secret-secret is a free show at Bottom of the Hill tonight, headlined by Phantom Planet, givers of “California” a.k.a. the OC theme song. Sadly, Jason Schwartzman will not be drumming. Phantom Planet will be joined by “The Hush Sound”. Doors at 7, show at......

Ingrid Michaelson is back - this time on the hugely popular, Hotel Cafe Tour. She'll be here on Friday night at the Great American Music Hall. It is sold-out but we did find one ticket on craigslist, for only $22! Cary Brothers, Meiko, William Fitzsimmons, Jim Bianco and Jessie Baylin will also be hanging out playing some great music. Tonight, MAE and The Honorary Title will be performing at Slim's. Phillyist, gave MAE a......

Dun Hunter is not your average Texas teenager. He created his own band, PlayRadioPlay! and released his debut album, Texas just this month. (We featured PlayRadioPlay! as "Albums: Looking Forward to 2008" back at the beginning of the year.) He's being noticed and not just by us. Rolling Stone included PlayRadioPlay! as one of the "Artists to Watch: Seven Acts Who Are Defining Rock, Soul and Hip-Hop in 2008" - not bad for being only......

Photo: Richard of What Made Milwaukee Famous "jumping" the Golden Gate Bridge via their Myspace Page Oh Darling, an indie-pop band from Oregon, will be on their Spring Tour this week hanging out in the Bay Area. On Tuesday at noon, they will perform at San Jose State and then following it with a radio show appearance at KSJS, 90.5 FM, San Jose State's radio station, at 3pm. The best part: both shows are......

Do you remember what happened October 1st, 1991 at the Oakland Coliseum? It was George Michael's last concert in the Bay Area. It has been 17 years since the Bay Area last hosted the international pop star! Not much has changed: back then we were amidst the Gulf War and Clinton was seeking the Democratic nomination. Sound familiar? Very. George Michael will be bringing his smash 25 LIVE tour to North American Arenas in the......

Today in The Gate, we happened upon Peter Hartlaub's article on "Breakup Songs to Die For." Reminiscent of Nick Hornby's classic, High Fidelity, Hartlaub puts together his list of great breakup songs and the criteria for what makes these songs so great. 1. "A truly great breakup song should be filled with so much rage that the subject could include it as Exhibit A in his or her restraining order." Hartlaub cites "You Oughta Know"......

Even with several sold-out shows this week, there are still some amazing concerts that you can get into and for fairly cheap ($10-26). Tonight Alice Smith, the sexy/sultry R&B/pop singer, will be headlining at Bottom of the Hill. We called her sound a mix between "Toby Lightman, a little Alicia Keys and a more sophisticated Amy Winehouse." She's definitely something to talk about. Boredoms, from Osaka, Japan, will be playing a very special show......

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......

MUSIC: As we already mentioned, Why? is performing this evening along with Dose One, Cryptacize, DJ Odd Nosdam, DJ Jel. 8 p.m. // Great American Music Hall [859 O'Farrell] // $13 *THEATER: Eve Ensler's Obie Award-winning play the Vagina Monologues -- featuring such monologues as I Was Twelve, My Mother Slapped Me, My Angry Vagina, My Vagina Was My Village, The Little Coochie Snorcher, and more -- takes the stage in the Castro for......

Sfist interviews Yoni Wolf of Why?...

We volunteered to meet and greet sell Noise Pop merchandise to festival attendees who often ended up spending all their money on band merch (as if) and/or beer (or more specifically in Cafe Du Nord's case -- Fernet Branca and Poppy Jaspers). It was quite a fun experience though, and we highly recommend it. Contact them about volunteering at next year's event! Tuesday: Our first Noise Pop night was on Opening Night at the Rickshaw......

Popscene and Live 105 proudly present SXSF : A South By San Francisco Music Fest with Persephone's Bees (Oakland), The Duke Spirit (UK), Ting Tings (UK) and Hottub (Oakland). We all know (at least you should) that Persephone's Bees puts out some awesome Russian-influenced pop music but this particular show we are most excited about The Duke Spirit. They are hitting the West Coast for a run of dates through LA, Seattle and San......

If you're like us you spend every Friday afternoon glued to DJ Ted Leibowitz and the Bagel Radio Friday Live Show. If you aren't like us, you should be - it's the best rock radio show around. Ted has been a huge part of the indie rock world here in San Francisco for quite some time, he's a friend of SFist, and his wonderful Web radio show has been a huge boost to any number......

What with all of the media attention this summertime concert has received as of late, you would assume Miley Cyrus (the Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton narrative of our time) was booked to "sing" at Golden Gate Park. Alas, she is not. Your consolation prize? Radiohead, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and Jack Johnson are lined up for the debut of the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, happening August 22-24. Ticket prices, activities, other performers,......

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,......

When we first mentioned Nicole Atkins, back in October, we genuinely loved her unique sound calling it "...an incredibly beautiful masterpiece of songwriting and story-telling." Almost six months later, we still agree with our initial reaction - if anything, it's grown on us even more. Our friends over at Noise: SFBG are totally into her as well. "There's always room for more melodrama in my life - just as long as it's strictly of......