SF Concert Calendar: Sept to Oct

ON TOUR

Colour Revolt are playing at Bottom of the Hill on September 4th: Happy Birthday to me. With distressed vocals vaguely tinged with a british accent and abstractly commanding instruments to back them up, this band will bewitch you in due time. They seamlessly navigate the terrain between slow and fast paced songs, with “Ageless Everytime” forcing your body to move in the classic hipster staccato and “Mattresses Underwater” practically sedating you with its mystic overtones.

Earlimart is coming into town with The Wedding Present on September 21st and they’re playing the Great American Music Hall. This is uncomplicated music that relies heavily on a throaty piano. Your pulse won’t race, but their blissful melodies will reward the purchase of a ticket.

Laura Marling is on tour with Johnny Flynn and Mumford and Sons, and their playing a must see show at Cafe Du Nord on September 28th. I’ve previously written about Marling, and she merits a second appearance. Johnny Flynn’s song “Leftovers” is jauntily heart warming, country fresh and serenely uproarious and Mumford and Sons “Awake My Soul” may as well have been written for the Grey’s Anatomy soundtracks, but in all the best ways–after all, melodrama has its time and its place. Go see the show.

The Toy Soldiers are playing a fairly seminal gig at Cafe Du Nord on October 26th. I saw this band a few months ago at Bottom of the Hill and, while a majority of the crowd were underage girls in the front, jumping around and then trying their best to look cool while their parents nursed beers in the rear of the establishment (which made my male companions feel like perverts), these guys know how to put on a show and you will be thoroughly entertained. Plus, they’re so damn grateful to be playing and for you to be attending it’s almost impossible not to like them. Upbeat, imminently dance-able, and well crafted–how can you turn them down?

The Black Angels are playing two shows at the Great American Music Hall with Roky Erickson on November 1st and 2nd. Although their newest release fails to consistently deliver like Passover did, this band is fairly epic live–especially if you chemically alter yourself prior to the show (not that I outwardly condone that kind of behavior, naturally). Plus, the new album and associated merchandise graphics are rad. If you like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (who they toured with last year) and The Brian Jonestown Massacre (who is in their top friends the the Space) then you’ll love this band. As for Roky, I couldn’t tell you, but this band is worth sitting through an unknown opening act.

She Keeps Bees: Honey in Your SF Backyard

If Johnny Cash and Cat Power had an illegitimate love child, it would be named She Keeps Bees. And Janis Joplin would be their Godmother. Comprised of two members–Jessica Larrabee on guitar and vocals and Andy LaPlant on drums–and reigning from Brooklyn, She Keeps Bees is far too talented to be unsigned, and (I predict) will not remain that way much longer. The band’s second album, Nests, conjures certain reminiscencs of a early ’90s low-fi rock, much akin to one of their influences–Joan Armatrading, and reaches into your soul in the same vein as two of their other listed influences–Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin. In an era when pop-tarts are prevalent and over-production appears to be key, She Keeps Bees shuns superfluous effects and by doing so create an intimate atmosphere of exchange that feels authentic, their music feels salt-of-the-earth real, and appeals to the country-heart of us city-folk. What we have here is an intimate relationship between a girl and her guitar, and we’re fortunate enough to be privy to its  personalized language. The chords are simple but soulful, much like Mr. Cash, and the vocals are given to the listener unfettered by distortion and rife with a husky, blues infused tone delivered with strength and purpose. And the album art is nothing to scoff at, either; these beekeepers have it covered from all angles.

My recommendation is for you to buy this album immediately. Better yet, buy it when you attend their shows here in San Francisco: August 29th at Red Devil Lounge and August 30th at Edinburgh Castle.

If you want to hear more of their music, visit their site.

So, hopefully I see you at the show (I’m attending at the Castle) and if I don’t, may I suggest you light some unscented candles, settle in, and throw this CD in your stereo: don’t relegate it to a quick listen on your iPod while you’re waiting to catch the bus–respect this album, and it will respect you in return.