Submarine Symphonika - The Submarines
Ah, the kids are back in college. How can you tell? Dollar drink specials at the local bar? Nah, there's a bazillion national acts coming through town, trying to grab what little disposable income is left in the country. Looks like a good week to get some international schooling too, what with a Swedish/Argentinian folksinger, some German technophiles, a retro-Peruvian act, a French chanteuse, and some good old Texas indie rockers.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Jose Gonzalez @ Yoshi's Oakland; doors 8 and 10 p.m., tickets $25.
Not only has Yoshi's opened a San Francisco branch, but the venerable club has started to book artists outside the jazz and Latin worlds. Case in point: four shows in two days by Sweden's Jose Gonzalez, who usually plays town at rock venues like Bimbo's. Some (re: me) might find his crystal clear voice and strident guitar strumming a tad too somnambulant, but others fall into puddles of tears at the sound of his songs. Might as well mop those tears up with some good sushi, no?
Thursday
The New Year, A Weather, Si Claro @ Bottom of the Hill; doors 9 p.m., tickets $12.
With the '90s onslaught in full swing, it seems like a perfect time for a "slo-core" revival. Look no further than a show by the New Year, the offshoot of the band that epitomized the genre, Bedhead. Even though it was written mostly on piano, the quartet's eponymous new album sounds pretty much like its predecessors -- meaning there are plenty of murmured vocals, slowly plucked guitars, and the occasionally epic feedback build up that makes your heart feel like it will burst up and out of your head. Indie rock doesn't get much better than this.
Friday
Supermayer @ Mighty; doors 10 p.m., advance tickets $16.50.
Last year, Kompakt Records artists Michael Mayer and Superpitcher combined forces as Supermayer, releasing the LP Saves the World. While it seems unlikely that the planet could be realigned by a disc full of jittery micro-house, burbling minimalist techno, or giddy German disco, that didn't stop the duo from trying, even adding in some Roxy Music-ish synth-pop for good measure.
Chicha Libre, DJ Organgrinder @ Cafe Du Nord; doors 11 p.m. (late show), tickets $12.
International-retro is officially a movement. First there was Antibalas' fresh take on Afro-beat, then Dengue Fever's reworking of Cambodian garage-soul, and now Chicha Libre's updating of the '70s Peruvian style "chicha." The New York group's debut CD, Sonido Amazonico, features slinky Farfisa grooves topped off with surfy guitar licks and busy Latin percussion, making for the kind of retro music that sounds oddly timeless.
Saturday
The Submarines, Brazilian Girls @ Mezzanine; doors at 8 p.m., advance tickets $25.
The Submarines' Honeysuckle Weeks is one of this year's most euphoric pop records, which is even more surprising considering the band's history. The band's Blake Hazard and John Dragonetti dated, broke up, individually wrote songs about the dissolution, then sent them to each other, got back together and made a record of those break-up songs. Honeysuckle Weeks is the follow-up, a disc full of richly orchestrated sunshine-y music, gorgeous harmonies, and massive hooks. One of the best records about being happy in many a moon.
Sunday
Beach House, Lazarus @ Swedish Music Hall; doors 6:30 p.m., tickets $16.
After playing the Festival in the Forest in Fernwood, Beach House arrives in S.F. for a show that's bound to cure some insomnia. Not to say that the Baltimore-based duo's music is on the sleepy side, but their new disc, Devotion, should probably come with a tab of No-Doz (or a tab of something, anyway). That said, as sleeping aids go, Beach House is pretty damn pretty, featuring gloriously meandering vocals by Michel Legrand's daughter Victoria and the kind of lush, trippy organ that '60s psych bands used to play after drinking the Kool-Aid.
Jose Gonzalez @ Yoshi's Oakland; doors 8 and 10 p.m., tickets $25.
Not only has Yoshi's opened a San Francisco branch, but the venerable club has started to book artists outside the jazz and Latin worlds. Case in point: four shows in two days by Sweden's Jose Gonzalez, who usually plays town at rock venues like Bimbo's. Some (re: me) might find his crystal clear voice and strident guitar strumming a tad too somnambulant, but others fall into puddles of tears at the sound of his songs. Might as well mop those tears up with some good sushi, no?
Thursday
The New Year, A Weather, Si Claro @ Bottom of the Hill; doors 9 p.m., tickets $12.
With the '90s onslaught in full swing, it seems like a perfect time for a "slo-core" revival. Look no further than a show by the New Year, the offshoot of the band that epitomized the genre, Bedhead. Even though it was written mostly on piano, the quartet's eponymous new album sounds pretty much like its predecessors -- meaning there are plenty of murmured vocals, slowly plucked guitars, and the occasionally epic feedback build up that makes your heart feel like it will burst up and out of your head. Indie rock doesn't get much better than this.
Friday
Supermayer @ Mighty; doors 10 p.m., advance tickets $16.50.
Last year, Kompakt Records artists Michael Mayer and Superpitcher combined forces as Supermayer, releasing the LP Saves the World. While it seems unlikely that the planet could be realigned by a disc full of jittery micro-house, burbling minimalist techno, or giddy German disco, that didn't stop the duo from trying, even adding in some Roxy Music-ish synth-pop for good measure.
Chicha Libre, DJ Organgrinder @ Cafe Du Nord; doors 11 p.m. (late show), tickets $12.
International-retro is officially a movement. First there was Antibalas' fresh take on Afro-beat, then Dengue Fever's reworking of Cambodian garage-soul, and now Chicha Libre's updating of the '70s Peruvian style "chicha." The New York group's debut CD, Sonido Amazonico, features slinky Farfisa grooves topped off with surfy guitar licks and busy Latin percussion, making for the kind of retro music that sounds oddly timeless.
Saturday
The Submarines, Brazilian Girls @ Mezzanine; doors at 8 p.m., advance tickets $25.
The Submarines' Honeysuckle Weeks is one of this year's most euphoric pop records, which is even more surprising considering the band's history. The band's Blake Hazard and John Dragonetti dated, broke up, individually wrote songs about the dissolution, then sent them to each other, got back together and made a record of those break-up songs. Honeysuckle Weeks is the follow-up, a disc full of richly orchestrated sunshine-y music, gorgeous harmonies, and massive hooks. One of the best records about being happy in many a moon.
Sunday
Beach House, Lazarus @ Swedish Music Hall; doors 6:30 p.m., tickets $16.
After playing the Festival in the Forest in Fernwood, Beach House arrives in S.F. for a show that's bound to cure some insomnia. Not to say that the Baltimore-based duo's music is on the sleepy side, but their new disc, Devotion, should probably come with a tab of No-Doz (or a tab of something, anyway). That said, as sleeping aids go, Beach House is pretty damn pretty, featuring gloriously meandering vocals by Michel Legrand's daughter Victoria and the kind of lush, trippy organ that '60s psych bands used to play after drinking the Kool-Aid.
Somnambulant? Leave your ten dollar words at the door, buddy!
How about insomnambulance?
Somnambulant? You trying to make me look dumb? I know what it means. Something about sleep, right?
How about insomnambulance?
Somnambulant? I'm late for the hospital!
How about insomnambulance?
What have Matt and Bubba (oh, how I love that bubbalicious name) Kadane been doing since 2001?
Tears. The new gluten-free alternative to soy sauce.
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