Thursday, May 5th
Fleet Foxes, The Cave Singers at The Fox Theater – Oakland
What better way to to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, than to go see a bunch of pretty folk music in Oakland? Probably a lot of things, but that doesn’t matter, because everyone in the bay area will be cramming into this theater to let the harmonies cause their head to swim… And if you can’t get in, you can at least download the first single of their new record, Helplessness Blues.
Cass McCombs, Frank Fairfield at Swedish American Hall
Friday, May 6th
Charles Bradley & The Menehan Street Band at The New Parish
Sharon Jones protoege` Charles Bradley is another killer retro soul singer that’s old enough to remember when this music was new. He’s got pipes reminiscent of Al Green if Green lived a much harder life, and his live show is a powerful and spiritual experience.
Battlehooch, Man/Miracle, B. Hamilton, The There There at Uptown Nightclub (FREE!)
Diddy Dirty Money, Lloyd, Tiga at The Warfield
Saturday, May 7th
The Corin Tucker Band, Billy & Dolly, The Bruises at Bottom Of The Hill
Corin Tucker was 1/3 of the highly influential rock band Sleater – Kinney. The other 2/3 started a little band called Wild Flag, and their getting all of the press these days. And, yes, they are good, too, but you really need to see Tucker’s live show. She folks it out a bit more than she did in her previous band, but this show still promises to be as emotionally direct & intense as any show you will see this year. Check out her insane Sheila E cover:
Manic Hispanic, Old Man Markley, Hounds & Harlots at Slim’s
Rhett Miller, Robert Francis at Swedish American Hall
Sunday, May 8th
KT Tunstall, Charlie Mars, Meiko at Great American Music Hall
Tunstall writes the songs that the whole world knows but doesn’t know who does them, and this show is a back to basics for this show. She’s playing some very intimate shows, and she’s doing it solo. This doesn’t mean acoustic… She’s going to be doing live looping, and this will remain a high energy show filled with hummable melodies by the 2nd sexiest musician from Wales.
Elvis Costello & The Imposters at The Fox Theater – Oakland (also appearing 5/9)
Monday, May 9th
TV On The Radio at The Independent
By now, everyone is pretty much aware of this band. If you aren’t, you are missing out on one of the most inventive bands in rock music. This is their first gig since the passing of bass player Gerard Smith (RIP), and it was delayed a week and a half for mourning. They are playing tracks off their incredibly strong new record Nine Types Of Light, and although you had to be pretty quick to score tickets to these special gigs (also playing 5/10), this show will be worth selling your soul to a scalper to get in to.
Mogwai, Errors at The Regency Ballroom
And if you aren’t skilled enough to get into a TV On The Radio gig, you can head down to see another breed of art rock at The Regency, for Scotland’s loudest import Mogwai!
Tuesday, May 10th
The Raveonettes, Tamaryn at Bimbo’s 365 Club
Wednesday, May 11th
The Kills, Cold Cave, The Entrance Band at The Fillmore
I’m a big fan of triple bills that are 100% pure fun. We have the sexy intercontinental duo The Kills, making their big comeback after Alison Mosshart’s brief flirtation with Jack White in The Dead Weather, the disco-goth of Cold Cave, and the dark psychedelic blues of The Entrance Band. This is one of those shows where sex appeal will be set to 11, so spray those pterodactyl pheromones and get your groove going.
Alien Ant Farm at The New Parish
