First off, we're sorry we missed last week's music offerings - Wallpaper, Eric Hutchinson and The Trucks - but we're back. A lot has happened in just one week. First off, New Kids on the Block debuted their newest single, "Summertime" with the announcement there's going to be a tour and new album. Frankly, from what we've heard, it's not that bad. Actually it's kinda good in a pop-ish, upbeat "summer" hit kind-of-way. Madonna also......

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,......

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......

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......

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......

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......

Wallpaper is back this Friday! Though they weren't gone for long (just a few weeks), this time they're coming back with a longer set. Hell yes! Wallpaper is Eric Frederic from Oakland, joined by Arjun Singh on drums. "I saw that classic Bay Area sound resurfacing," Frederic says, "that same psychedelic, drippy, care-free, funky approach that reigned from Sly Stone to Digital Underground." We had a blast earlier this month when Wallpaper played Noise Pop......

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......

Usually, we don't feature arena concerts, but Wednesday night's concert featuring Mute Math, Alanis Morissette and Matchbox Twenty, is well worth it and is something to talk about. First off, who ever decided that those three bands ever belonged together? Strange enough, we kinda think it works (in an extremely 90's kind of way). With the arena setting, hopefully Mute Math will finally get the extra push to become a household name. Their concerts are......

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,......

Join us tonight at the Fillmore, where Sia (one of our favorites) will be headlining. We saw her at the end of last year and the show was definitely fantastic; we highly recommend checking out tonight's show. Her latest album, Some People Have Real Problems, is stellar and has garnered critical success jumping to #26 on the Billboard charts, selling more than 20,000 copies and finishing ahead of fellow press darling Kate Nash (all in......

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......

It's that time again. (We can't believe it's already Monday.) As usual, there is great music going on every night of the week so make sure you take the jump to see our daily recommendations. We've been counting down the days to see Sara Bareilles since we heard about this tour back in December. It's here. Finally. Bareilles will be opening for James Blunt in the VH1's "You Oughta Know" tour. There's no way you......

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......

Wow, one show on Monday and twelve on Friday. This week we definitely start off a bit slow, but by the end of the week, we have a ton of choices. Wednesday, there is the sold-out Ingrid Michaelson show that had to be moved from Cafe du Nord to Slim's because apparently everyone is into "librarian chic" right now. Though it's sold-out, you can still find tickets on craigslist; the prices aren't too inflated, yet.......

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......

This week we want to focus on the local music scene even though it seems that Portland natives' Blitzen Trapper and Stephen Malkmus have captured San Franciscan's hearts - Wednesday's show is sold out. (There aren't even any tickets available on Craigslist!) Friday night you'll want to head over to Slim's to catch six bands: Perfect Machines, Fyre Away, High Like Five, the Paper Sons, Punch Face and Bob Hill Band. We're most excited about......

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......

Kids, it's time to get rocking. (Especially before the "Private Party" dry spell that is coming on. Yikes.) This week, the San Francisco music gods are offering a vast array of newbies and veterans - something that we will graciously partake of any day of the week. Now that the bets are in (okay, so no one really cast any bets - how boring is that?), you can go to Cafe du Nord, tonight,......

Judging from the range of performers this week, there is something for everyone. Starting first, in our weekly recommendations, is New Zealand singer-songwriter, Brooke Fraser. Prior to this post, we knew nothing about this accomplished 19 year-old but a quick visit to her MySpace page and we were hooked. Tuesday, you can catch this gorgeous, pop-writing sensation at Cafe du Nord. If not, download her latest release, Albertine on iTunes. Wednesday, we are welcoming......

Earlier this month we mentioned that The Decemberists' five-night engagement at the Fillmore was canceled. It was going to be the highlight of our week, but we guess tofurkey will just have to do. This week, our picks are Travis who are playing with Maximo Park at the Fillmore tomorrow night. Friday night at the Fillmore, The Drones (listen to "Shark Fin Blues" here) are opening for Band of Horses, an indie-rock band based......