-- Patterson Hood: Co-founder of the très hip Athens, Georgia rock/alt-country/cowpunk band Drive-By Truckers performs solo tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Swedish American Hall, 2170 Market (as Sanchez); $15. -- Arise, Hollowhed, Agenda of Swine, and Alta Mira: Scary loud heavy metal will help wipe away poor Brit's depressing performance (and the subsequent vaginal shot sequel later on in the evening [NSFW]). The thrashing starts tonight at 9 p.m. at Elbo Room, 647 Valencia;......

-- Rykarda Parasol: Dreamy rock crooner (and fellow beverage taste-tester) performs tonight along with the Dilettantes and Brad Brooks. Show starts at 9 p.m. at Cafe Du Nord, 2174 Market; $10. -- Porchlight: A Storytelling Series' Five-Year Anniversary: Hostesses and superb comedians Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte celebrate their spoken-word comedy showcase's fifth birthday with stories from Kelly Beardsley, Lisa Margonelli, Hemlock Tavern's Anthony Bedard, journalist Sylvie Simmons, Hai Ning Luan, and Matt Gonzalez.......

This week's shows have an equal emphasis on the old and the new. Mix things up a little by seeing an up-and-comer followed by a living legend or two; it's just the kind of eclectic variety that San Francisco's concert venues have to offer. On Friday we're delighted about the opportunity to see 80 year old living legend Charlie Louvin play an early show at the Swedish American Hall. The Louvin Brothers had their heyday......

Special video bonanza! Last night we made it out to the Noise Pop BAGeL Radio happy hour at Thee Parkside just in time to see Peloton. That's right, in case you haven't heard or experienced it yet, Noise Pop is in full swing here in San Francisco. Thee Parkside was packed with festivalgoers and BAGeL fans and DJ Ted couldn't help but beam proudly at the full house. It's good to see music fans supporting......

Video geeks are descending on San Francisco this weekend for Vloggercon 2006 (or 'video blogger conference' if you're not a fan of tech neologisms). It was inspired by Webzine and the original Vloggercon in New York City last year. The daytime events at the Swedish American Hall are booked solid, but tonight there will be a "Meet the Vloggers" event at the Apple Store which is open to the public (likely followed by drinks......

Now that Noise Pop is over, things are settling down at live music venues across the city, and we miss it a little. Our highlights from the festival included Feist at Bimbo's, Britt Daniel at Swedish American, Two Gallants at Bimbo's, the David Dondero and Craig Wedren show at The Knockout, and seeing old friends and making new ones. Feist's performance at Bimbo's, which SFist Emily posted a vibrant review of last week, was one......

We first heard of Rogue Wave when they opened for Spoon a few years ago, and though we liked them back then, we had no idea they'd make such gorgeous records. Descended Like Vultures, released last October, is a must-own and with airplay on MTV2, a deal with Sub Pop and tours with Nada Surf and The Shins, they're not our hometown secret anymore. Listen to "Publish My Love" or watch the video. Enter to......

Saturday: So much to do! Berkeley's Impact Theatre's Hamlet opens Friday February 10, and runs Thursday-Saturdays at 8 p.m. until March 18. Their Othello and MacBeth kicked ass, and we can't wait to see what they do with the Greatest Dane. If we decide not to cross the bridge, we're hitting Root Division's Flypaper event, "an evening of film, art, music and fashion." Doors open at 7, runway show is at 8. It's all......

We're trying out** a new way for you to hear the music we're writing about this week. Ever heard of a service called Rhapsody? We've been subscribing for nearly a year now, and for less than the price of one record a month, we get access to tons of artists and albums to stream at any time. If you have Rhapsody, click on the link below for songs from 10 of the artists who are......

Happy New Year everyone! Were any of your holiday presents of the musical variety? If not, don't fret because our giveaways are back. This week you can enter to win a copy of local chanteuse Paula Frazer's Leave The Sad Things Behind, released in October on local label Birdman Records. Paula's Cline-esque croon floats angelically over spooky, romantic songs with lush instrumentation including horns and steel guitar. Sounds like the soundtrack to a love scene......

Last time we saw Merlin Mann in the flesh, he was graciously stealing us a beer at the Google party we crashed together after his Web 1.0 party. The first time we saw Merlin Mann was drinking a free beer at a Creative Commons party at the Swedish American Hall. In other words, wherever there's beer and bloggers, you'll find Merlin talking out his ass and taking names. Merlin's the first to admit that......

If you're interested in DIY online publishing, you should be with us at Webzine this Saturday and Sunday from 12noon - 6pm at the Swedish American Hall. Registration for the whole weekend is only $22 in advance or $30 at the door. Anyone who registers before Thursday night also gets free admission to SFist's Webzine kickoff party, which features Red Stripe beer specials and DJ sets by Karen from KALX and DJ Roxy Fox of......

Here at SFist HQ, we were excited when we heard that Friend of SFist Eddie was going to go ahead with his plan (first rumored at SXSW) to give WebZine a kick start. In the last few months we've gotten drunk at many meetings, put together a panel, traded buttloads of email and spent most of our time thinking about the parties (that's how we roll). Well, the fun just got a lot more......

Our concert picks for the week of 5/26-6/1. Although Memorial Day should mean more than just a day off from work (if you get the day off, and, well, if you have a job), clubs do take advantage of the three day weekend by offering up an action-packed Sunday night. But of course, San Francisco offers up stellar music events all week long. You could spend tonight with the straight-from-the-bottle swillers in The Cuts at......

Our live music picks for the week of 2/17-2/23. You could commemorate President's Day by celebrating Washington's or Lincoln's birthday, or by reflecting on your most and least favorite Presidents of the past. For most of you, we're betting Monday just means a much-needed day off of work. Not to worry -- there are plenty of ways to party like it's a three day weekend. Ex-True Believer Jon Dee Graham plays a 6pm early show......

Music-loving good samaritans, this is your lucky week. If you like to enjoy a little partying and live performance in exchange for your charitable contributions, you have no less than six different tsunami relief benefits to choose from. On Friday, The Independent is having their second benefit, featuring members of New Monsoon, ALO, Samantha and the Ritual for a donation of $10-50. Great American's benefit that night with indie kings Gibbard, Kozelek, Richman and Bachman......

It's good to be a nerd. At least that's how SFist feels after hanging out at the Swedish American Hall, taking full advantage of the open bar, nodding our head to the DJ's beats, nibbling on tidbits from the trays of finger food and stuffing our bag with schwag at the Creative Commons party last night. Intellectual property lawyers sure know how to party! Lawrence Lessig, everyone's favorite copyright law reform advocate and Stanford law......

We may have just found our new "so best" pic, thanks to the folks at Late Night with Conan O'Brien who put together a little slideshow for Bill Gates' keynote address and Media Center PC demonstration at CES in Las Vegas. Bill fumbled with the remote after the system hung up, prompting uber-geek Conan to quip, "Who’s in charge of Microsoft?! —oh." Phillip Torrone of Engadget, who took the above picture, was there to......

[Ed. Note: And our pleading pays off yet again, with new SFist Krissy bringing news of the music scene.] True San Francisco hipsters and locals with the finest taste in indie rock will convene for a Tiny Telebration this Friday at Café du Nord and the Swedish American Hall.  What’s a Tiny Telebration, you ask?  It’s a party that San Francisco's unofficial musical mascot John Vanderslice is throwing to celebrate Tiny Telephone's 7th anniversary.  Vanderslice......