Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Via R.G.: "Not that anyone needs an excuse to hate Phillies fans, but I was at a sports bar having dinner with some coworkers in fisherman's wharf today and a group of phillies fans received a dime back as change for their bill. One of the ladies in the group puts the dime in her pocket and pulls out a penny to leave as a tip. YEAH, A PENNY! Real classy lady, real classy."

Wednesday night is when things get real exciting. Division Day, who released their debut album, Beartrap Island on Eenie Meenie Records (Scissors for Lefty, Wallpaper, Great Northern) at the end of last year is back in San Francisco. We consistently have loved everything that Eenie Meenie Records has put out, including Division Day. They will be supported by A-Sides, an indie-rock band from Philadelphia. It should be a great show!

The Hands (pictured to the right) are a straight-up rock band from Seattle, Washington. We wanted to recommend The Hands, playing over at Kimo's in Nob Hill on Friday night, but when we googled Kimo's (to find out more information about the venue), we realized that Kimo's didn't even have a website. This is 2008, right? We checked out reviews on yelp and boy we're we surprised. Kimo's was reviewed as being "dirty and disgusting" with the "worst sound ever." Ouch. There weren't too many favorable reviews posted. (Kimo's rating is a crappy two out of five stars.) For a band who is playing SXSW later this month, we're a bit surprised they aren't playing Bottom of the Hill or Slim's. We're wondering, is it really worth going to Kimo's? From what we've read, we're a bit worried. What do you think?

For full listings, take the jump...

Instantly the audience responded positively to the well-blended vocals, perfectly crafted pop-hooks and the organic-sounding drums played by NYC Subway musician, Shakerleg. You can not deny that these two Australian brothers, Issac and Thorry Koren, have talent. Backed by the unstoppable drummer (who just uses his hands) The Kin has everything going for them.

Opening their set, The Kin, added the assistance of two guitarists from Josh Kelley's band and Pat McGee's band. The added accompaniment brought a fuller life to their already unique sound. The great thing is this: The Kin's music works with just the guitar, piano and drums. To introduce one of my favorite songs, "Abraham," the Koren brothers gave an absolutely hilarious account of when they got pulled over for speeding in Georgia. Lucky for them, they autographed a CD for the cop's daughter and went their way. (Some times I wish I was a rock star!)

We fear that they made a fan out of every person present. Lucky for us, that means they'll be coming back to the West Coast sooner than later.

For an exclusive video and pictures of the concert, take the jump...

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week.

Bostonist plans to bring the right tunes for a July 4th backyard barbecue. Side one of the Bostonist Chock-Full-o-Freedom Summer Soundtrack comes courtesy of the Ryan Montbleau Band. Side two is a mix from Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. If the barbecue is really ragin', they'll bring new singles from Mitt Romney's dog called "Station Wagon From Hell" and new Celtic Ray Allen's cover of "Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number."

As neither American (they have their own birthday to worry about) nor interested in Paris Hilton in any capacity whatsoever, Torontoist freely covered what it knows best – its local beat. They compared notes on what the city's greatest albums of all time were, watched some sweet-ass rock balancing, and continued covering the sale of one of its favourite CD stores, Sam the Record Man, with a report from its merchandise auction. They freely checked out the smallest bar in town, then told their readers to go beat the shit out of a car. When emergency vehicles were ordered to "Support Our Troops," they debated the issue and watched as a street artist, Posterchild, mocked it (and then re-published his manifesto a few days later).

SFist had freedom to love covered, with coverage of the city's famous annual gay pride parade. And of course, they covered the freedom to rock, with an interview of local American air guitar champion Hot Lixx Houlihan. The commenters were free to complain about the terrible parking situation in San Francisco, in not one, not two, but three posts this week. What San Francisco's not free to do, though? Throw away garbage – the city's taken away over 300 of our city trash cans!

Overseas, Londonist was politely pretending not to be aware of Independence Day, but everyone was keeping busy with a variety of big, outdoor events, all washed out by ceaseless rain, as is traditional for all of London's "summer" shenanigans. As everyone limbered up for a slightly confused Canada Day, the whole of London was suddenly unnerved by a major bomb scare - news still coming in so watch that link. Despite the troubling situation, Londoners are still embracing their freedom and are marching and partying for London Pride, Europe's biggest gay and lesbian festival. And with the famously stoic and bravest of faces only Londoners know how to produce in troubled times, chins are up and voices are soaring for the week-long London-wide Sing London event. Let's hope the stiff upper lips are relaxed a little for the big finale next weekend.

For those who say they don't like LA, filmmaker Werner Herzog says this: "Los Angeles is raw, uncouth, and bizarre, but it's a place of substance." Therefore, LAist has been celebrating film, day by day, this past week by following the Los Angeles Film Festival. (But let's not forget about the erotic stuff, okay?) Angelenos are also savoring their last year of using cell phones while driving – was that why all those UCLA students were running around in their underwear? And with such freedom of mobility in their car culture (okay, the traffic doesn't help much), why not host an art exhibition called The Parking Lot Show?

Summer in the city has been heating up for Gothamist. The Big Apple had a forty-eight-minute blackout that freaked everyone out. Even still, there were people celebrating their freedom to camp out for iPhones, which arrived in NYC with possibly more media and spectators than people on line. A fight broke out between two cozy seafood restaurants over claims of intellectual property theft (the Caesar salad, the wainscotting, and the marble counters, for starters) and some people got upset at vehicles violating no-car rules in a Brooklyn park. Luckily, there is Matt Allen, who has been handing out free frozen treats across the country, and is now in NYC. And the Splasher, the strange figure who's been splashing street art, sent us a 16-page manifesto.

And in Philadelphia, where that whole Fourth of July thing got started, Phillyist was celebrating freedom left and right: freedom to act for twenty-four hours straight, freedom to shop and drink at the same time, freedom to make Seinfeld references and the mayor's freedom to get his iPhone on. They were happy to see their local transit corporation feels free to ask people to keep it quiet, that kittens are free from cheesesteak restaurants, and that The Nightwatchman is still all about a different kind of freedom. On a completely different note, they educated their readers about pulmonary embolism, which took the life of their beloved editor, Star "Sarcasmo" Foster, in December.

Compiled and edited by Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey.

Top image by Flickr user 37°C, via SFist. Middle image by Flickr user NYCViaRachel . Bottom image by Michael Femia at Bostonist.

This is all part of the autobiographical-supporting First Person Arts' Sixth Annual Memoir-Writing Contest, and this year's theme this year is "Objects of My Affections." You can send in either a Short Memoir (up to 3000 words) or a Short Short Memoir (up to 500 words), and the winner gets published in the Philadelphia City Paper and a free trip to Philly for the First Person Festival in November.

The judges are pretty top-notch too -- the guy who edits "Modern Love," that cringe-inducing overly-personal personal column in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times, and three book editors from publishing houses that specialize in memoirs.

The rules to enter are here -- good luck! Bring home the prize for the Bay Area!

And the layoffs begin -- a source tells us the first person to be let go from the Chronicle in their 25% reduction-in-staff campaign is managing editor Robert "Rosey" Rosenthal. We got the news confirmed by Friend of SFist and Chron Blogging/Interactive Editor Eve Batey, who says:

It's no secret that we're losing at least 20 managers, but I was still shocked to hear that Rosey would be leaving. The instant rapport I had with him was one of the main reasons I chose to come work at the Chronicle, and he's taught me a lot. He's a great, funny, and enthusiastic guy, with terrific instincts. He's the first one to admit that he doesn't know a lot about the web, but he's also the first one to try to figure out how to make stuff work for online. I can't speak for anyone else here, but I'm going to miss him more than I can say.

Rosey joined the Chron staff at Phil Bronstein's behest in 2002 from the Philadelphia Inquirer, and was in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Chron. He's been credited with a lot of the improvements in coverage seen in the paper during that time, by encouraging stories with longer narrative lines (like BALCO, homelessness, and Alicia's Story) and focusing the paper's coverage on city-specific issues.

We're sorry to see him go, particularly if the news should be read as the paper backing away from Rosey's commitment to the paper's readability (which, you may recall, was the consensus around here on keeping the paper competitive). Best of luck to you, Rosey, and we must admit we're starting to get a real feeling of dread about how these layoffs are going to go from here on out.

Update: Here's the Chron's article about Rosey's departure.

Tonight, learn about graffiti street artists as SF360 Film+Club returns to Mezzanine to celebrate the URB Next 100 Issue with a screening of Doug Pray’s film, Infamy. The film is an
intense journey into the dangerous lives and obsessed minds of six of America’s most prolific graffiti artists. Doug Pray (“Hype!” and “Scratch”) teamed up with writer, publisher, and graffiti guru Roger Gastman, to make a movie that takes you deep into the world of street legends Saber, Toomer, Jase, Claw, Earsnot, and Enem. After the film, the intriguingly named Chicago DJ Flosstradamus will perform, with Vin Sol opening. Doors at 7 pm, film starts at 7:30 pm, music starts at 10 pm. Damrak Gin will providing free gin drinks for the first hour. How sweet is that?. Tickets to the film are $8, but you can email info@sf360.org for $5 tickets. If you show up for the concert only, tickets will be $10. SF360 Film+Club is presented by the San Francisco Film Society, Mezzanine and Rehab. This event is sponsored by SFWeekly, 7x7 and Damrak. SF360 Film+Club is a monthly series, and past events have featured Next: A Primer on Urban Painting, Wholphin (we have it at home & it's seriously funny) and Colma: The Musical.

As for Infamy, the film is supposed to be funny and brutally honest. The artists in the film reveal why they are so willing to risk everything to spray paint their cities with "tags," “throwups,” and full-color murals. Meet Joe "The Graffiti Guerilla" Connolly, a notorious “buffer” who paints out graffiti on his neighborhood’s walls with a vengeance matched only by those who vandalized them. From the streets of the South Bronx to the solitude of a San Francisco tunnel, from high atop a Hollywood billboard to North Philadelphia for a lesson in "Philly-style tags," from the Mexican border to a Cleveland train yard, Infamy probably won't analyze or glorify graffiti, but instead bring it to life.

Mezzanine is at 444 Jessie Street @ Mint, SF. Phone: 415-625-8880

The Love Movement are having an art show called "Love Conquers All," a collaboration with the Love Bandits, on Saturday night at the fabulous Space Gallery. They will be giving away free art, and they invite you to come and "share the love."

Check out their inspiring answers after the cut—they know more about the San Francisco art scene than lots of us residents!

Going into last wknd’s action, there were no “complete” teams left – only those who had outweighed their weaknesses enough to advance to the NFL’s Divisional Playoff Round.

* Indianapolis vs Baltimore

Baltimore’s ball-control running game could get no headway against the uber-maligned Indy run defense. I mean seriously, the Ravens only rushed their battering ram RB Jamal Lewis 13 times? Bad call, coach.

Both sides threw two interceptions, but only one side controlled the ground. Thusly did the Colts advance past the #1 NFL defense.

* Philadelphia vs New Orleans

Part of the reason New Orleans' offense was #1 for the 2006 NFL regular season was due to its balance. Were a defense to load the line of scrimmage to stop the run, the Saints could pass. If the D dropped more men into coverage, Coach Payton could hammer up the middle with Deuce. Balance and adaptability equal points. Usually.

The opposite of this is the Philly offense. Mustachioed Philly Head Coach Andy Reid's offensive style is a form of the West Coast offense grown wild in the backyard. Folks forget that Bill Walsh's original West Coast Offense relied upon threat of the run to set up the pass. Reid's unpruned style uses the pass to set up the pass. Then they pass some more. The run is used only as a change-of-pace, and when it comes, as it did for a long TD in this game, it's a surprise to opposing defenses.

Not having a run game has tons of attendant problems: short-yardage plays become an ordeal, and it's far harder to kill the clock when the clock needs to be killed.

As the final drives went up and down the field, the Saints could rely on the run, while Philly to go pass.