Speaking of bricks, Ben Folds (i.e., the delightful Elton John-Billy Joel fusion of our time) played at the Warfield last night. Photog drfindley managed to capture some choice shots of the scraggly-haired pianist, composer, songwriter, and performer in action. ...

San Francisco favs Loquat will be celebrating the release of their new album Secrets of the Sea from Talking House Records on Saturday night at Bottom of the Hill. The show will mark the end of their national tour, which looked like a lot of fun. Take a look at a few of bassist Anthony Gordon's photos from the trip, and check out his interview with SFist from last year. Also check out Loquat's pretty,......

Photo by Rachel Warner Rainy days call for pretty music. Solution = Leona Naess and Ray LaMontagne at the Paramount tonight. Leona’s new album, Thirteens, just came out on Verve Forecast . She was nice enough to answer a few questions for us—seriously who is that “Free Bird” guy anyway? If you’re that guy, please defend yourself (if you can). What is your favorite song to perform these days? My favorite song to perform......

The road to recovery post Halloween should probably include a strong dose of Bay Area pride and a dash of Delaware’s finest. Half-handed Cloud (Oakland) and The Spinto Band (Wilmington) are playing Bottom of the Hill tomorrow night. Wear your costume (or what’s left of it), and let the pop help you recover. As extra enticement the guys from the Spinto Band answered a few questions for us. One thing we could all probably......

Castro shut down got you blue? We've got you covered. We're giving a pair of tickets away today and tomorrow to see Mr. Roboto's Halloween bash with the Heavy and a bunch of great DJ's. Yes, there is a costume contest. You can buy tickets here.......

SF Symphony guest conductor Fabio Luisi did his best last week to steal the thunder of violin megastar Joshua Bell. He opened the program with a tone poem by Richard Strauss, Don Juan. Tone poem means a symphonic little piece which tells a story, and, more often than not, said story is rather hard to follow: the instrumental language of an orchestra, as powerful and evocative as it is, is still open to multiple conflicting interpretations. To each their own daydream. Not with Luisi's Don Juan: after a crisp, brilliant opening that said, here comes Don Juan, he does not fuss around, Luisi and the SFSO delivered a sexy, lush rendition of the piece. It was a propulsive, erect, fanfare-ish opening. The strings (and Barantschik in particular) were seductive, the brass blended with the orchestra. A oboe playfully riffed on a snake charmer melodic line. ...

This just in: "The Killers have been forced to cancel their show this evening at San Francisco's Warfield due to illness. The show will be rescheduled for December 12th at The Warfield; all tickets from the cancelled show will be honored for this date."

"It's not even on Goldenvoice's page for the show yet," our well-placed source wrote, "For shame."...

Photo by Eric Weiss We're here to help you beat the mean mondays. The Kook's latest album is one of our favorite of the year-- they'd like some SFists and their favorite +1's to see them this Saturday night.......

The Sigur Ros show in Berkeley on Friday night was notable for the rabidity of the fans, the beauty of the music, and the cooperation of the elements. Fans on the front row arrived at 10:30 am (for the 9 pm set). The ethereal pop/rock of Sigur Ros was perfect for the ampitheater setting. And when did the deluge begin? During the final encore, as if on cue. Oh, yah, and Jared Leto was there......

Oh man, the Swedes are so on fire these days. Seriously, we’re not sure what they’re putting in the water tonight, but it’s turning them all into incredible musicians. We know that you’ve been to a billion concerts in the last week, but you’re at the home stretch. Hey, if Jose Gonzalez can play four shows in the next two days at Yoshi's, we think that the very least you can do is show......

It’s an age old adage that the band which interviews together sticks together. Given the interview below we predict a long and prosperous future for local band The Heavenly States. Think of it as a 4fer to start your Monday. 4x the local knowledge, wit, and tips. Starting tonight The Heavenly States will be at the Fillmore opening for Spoon. The best fans are.... Ted: Heavenly States Fans! Jeremy: Listeners Genevieve: Delicious and/or ribald.......

We caught up with Herbie Hancock the other day as he was in the middle of fixing his car. That’s right, Jazz Legend Herbie Hancock was running late because his hands were covered in oil. Hancock recently had to cancel an appearance in SF—he’ll be playing at the Mountain Winery tonight, and he said he hopes people will make the drive down. Below we’ve excerpted part of our conversation with him. ‘Then and Now:......

Photo by Vincent Soyez Normally we spend a lot of time writing introductions, but really how could we top “If there had been a roof at the park, the singer would have torn it off the sucker, with her hot-and-steamy blend of R&B, funk, soul, jazz, and hip-hop”-- the Boston Globe’s assessment of Ledisi’s performance at the Newport Jazz festival? Oh wait, we can: the two-time Grammy nominee she’s local. Ledisi gives her picks......

The next week or so is one of those crazy and magical times when there are so many great concerts going on that you should probably consider forgoing sleep entirely. Below are a few of our picks to help guide you through these crazy times. We’ve also been racking up the music interviews, so make sure to check them out in the coming days, we’ve got Built for the Sea, Ledisi, Herbie Hancock, Heavenly......

Free EP’s? Being a friend, not a fan? Oh, and really pretty cello filled music? All that and more are to be had Thursday night when local band Built for the Sea has their cd release party at Slim’s. They describe their music as a mix of Radiohead and Mazzy Star. We’d add there’s a strong dose of Coldplay as well. You can listen to them here. Basically it’s very chill and very pretty......

The first edition of San Francisco's one and only Hornucopia Festival kicks off tonight. The festival squishes "over 35 horn- and brass-fueled bands" into a couple of dozen shows over two weeks, featuring mostly local talent. We are particularly partial to bands featuring the trumpet, our assigned instrument in 5th-grade band. We remember thinking to our small selves, "it's only got three buttons... how hard could it be?" These people make it look easy. Here......

MattyMatt and y'all have got the commentary down. Here's some pictures we snapped this weekend at Outside Lands. If you've got more, feel free to add your flickr links below. Man, this town has some good looking people.......

So you're heading to Berkeley to see Two Gallants tonight. You'll probably love them. We caught them at a party last night, and man, they really are good. The nicely fill a current hole in the fabric of rock (yes, we did just make that metaphor up, and we are going to stick with it). We are of the opinion you can never give enough love to local acts-- make sure to check them......

We are thrilled that the Outside Lands Festival has so many local acts. We've interviewed many of these local favorites in the past, and will be re-running this interviews in the next few days. Below is an interview with Matt Nathanson from 2006-- he's been very, very busy since then. You can get an update on his site, or check him out on Saturday night. Matt Nathanson has had an interesting couple of months.......

After opening and closing several times over - well, what seems like several times over, that is - latest word on the struggling jazz club is that it's shutting its door. Again. For good. Most likely. We think. If you recall, Kim Nalley's music venue was supposed to shut down in April, was then brought back to life via a plump divorce settlement, but now seems destined for the grave (e.g., phone is dead, its......

ECLIPSE: As we mentioned before, the Exploratorium is having a solar eclipse viewing slumber party. And for those of you non-agoraphobes who won't be watching it on Second Life, head over to Cow Hollow for a slumber party/eclipse viewing party. Be sure to pack your sleeping bag or blanket for an old-fashion camp out on the museum floor. The museum cafe will be open from 9 p.m.-midnight, but bringing a picnic lunch - especially......

Since we really, really, really enjoy some Erase Errata, we feel the need to bring this to your attention. Kind and terribly sweet EE frontlady Jenny Hoyston had her guitar stolen last night. Mean! But fortunately some rock et roll outfit who call themselves Tussle posted the following announcement: after Erase Errata's last minute show at million fishes, jenny's guitar got stolen. it's a black squire strat in a black gig bag with a......

MUSIC: The "heart-melting" Watson Twins (minus Jenny Lewis) headline a night a pretty ditties over on Potrero Hill. Tim Fite and Okay on Monday open for the two 9 p.m. // Bottom of the Hill (1233 - 17th Street) // $10 FILM: Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired screens in the Mission tonight. This documentary turns its lens on the (in)famous director of Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby, dipping into his marriage with Manson Family murder......

Jameth found this over at 7th and Howard this morning, and we're going to copy him. Yeah, and what? Anyway, you can email the address scratched in chalk -- we have no idea where it goes, and we don't care if it is or isn't viral, so HA! -- or let us know in the comments what albums/cds make you happy. Television is our din of choice, but SFist (and its readers) would certainly......

Jimmy Eat World is a big band that has been coming to the Bay Area ever since they are a little band. In that time they’ve covered a lot of ground (they even played Noisepop). Tomorrow night they’re bringing their infectious power pop-rock to the Fillmore, one of the city’s most historic venues. Rick Burch, the band’s bass player, answered a few of our questions about how much he loves the area, and about......

Maria Taylor -- singer-songwriter from Alabama who stopped in SF recently to play a gig -- had her stuff stolen this past Wednesday. Her touring van, naively parked over at Mission and Eighth Sts., was broken into and the contents inside swiped. While Taylor's bass has been recovered at a nearby pawn shop, here's what's still missing: Left-handed RED Gretsch Tennessee Rose Guitar Left-handed Martin Acoustic Guitar Left-handed WHITE American Fender Precision bass (w/......

DATING: Those loopy dames over at Femina Potens are having a Queer Speed Dating night -- a bi-monthly benefit to increase visibility of women and transgendered artists -- which turns out not to be nearly as much fun as it sounded at first. Still, if you're a lonely fruit, head over to the Upper Market area tonight. Who knows? You might meet that special someone. 8 p.m. // Femina Potens Gallery (2199 Market Street)......

THEATER: All she ever needed was the music and the mirror, and a chance to dance.... for you. Check out the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical you may have heard of, A Chorus Line, playing through July 27. 8 p.m. // Curran Theater (445 Geary) // $25-$99 BENEFIT: Something or other is happening at Foreign Cinema about ranked choice voting/instant runoff voting," which will be on the ballot in Memphis, TN, Glendale, AZ and St. Paul,......

As fitness crazes become evermore bizarre (and also awesome—trapeze yoga? Hula hooping? Yes!!), we’re secretly hoping that tap dancing catches on. If it does the credit for all those hipsters tap-tap-tapping away will probably belong to Tilly and the Wall. Percussion? Yah, they’ve got it, in the form of some seriously happy feet. In addition to being a great gimmick—corny and folksy and seriously hip—the tapping works with their brand of pop. Which you......

(By Joe Kukura) You've seen that filthy online “Shaquille O’Neal rapping” video? The one so obscene that even Biggie Smalls would have told him to tone it down?. [TMZ.com] Spain against Germany Sunday for the Euro 2008 championship. And, yes, this is what the foreign people in your favorite bars are screaming about. [ESPNsoccernet] Fresno State actually just won a major national sports championship! [bleacher report] Warriors’ first round draft pick Anthony Randolph “has......