Thursday, October 17th
An Evening With Lionel Richie at SAP Center (formerly HP Pavilion)
Yes. Lionel Richie. Everyone needs to see Lionel Richie before they day. I saw him in Austin a last year, and he killed with a high energy, two hour set that started at 11:30 at night. Every song is a classic, and he’s one of the finest performers out there. There is nothing more fun you could do this night than dance all night long. (all night)
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Push The Feeling at California Academy Of Sciences
Friday, October 18th
Paramore, Metric, hellogoodbye at SAP Center (formerly HP Pavilion)
Paramore’s “brand new eyes” was a one of the best albums of 2009. It was a glorious peace of emotionally dynamic guitar rock. However, I didn’t know how deep those emotions ran until learning that half the band left during the tour for the record. It required Paramore to take stock if itself, and managed to take four years to produce a follow up. What we got was one of their most aggressive and ferocious record to date.
Braids, Hundred Waters, Kodak To Graph at Rickshaw Stop
Saturday, October 19th & Sunday, October 20th
Treasure Island Music Festival at Treasure Island
There is never any reason to do anything other than Treasure Island Music Festival if you are in town the weekend of said festival. It is the best music festival in America. Of course, you should read this for maximum enjoyment! The best part is that there is no overlap. So you don’t need to decide between Animal Collective and Sleigh Bells or Tricky and Atoms For Peace. It’s the best value for your festival dollar.
Monday, October 21st
The Sounds, Gemini Club at The Fillmore
I bet you forgot about The Sounds. They’ve put out several wonderful records filled with Blondie-inspired dance rock, and they aren’t showing any signs of stopping. Just because radio station programmers have decided to stop getting behind these wonderful Swedes doesn’t mean you should. I think you should be shaking your booty at The Fillmore tonight, because Mondays are hard, so your Monday night should be pure bliss.
Hunx & His Punx, Wet Drag at The Chapel
Tuesday, October 22nd
Brian Wilson & Jeff Beck w/ Al Jardine & David Marks at The Paramount Theater – Oakland
It’s official. There are now more original Beach Boys touring with Brian Wilson than touring in the actual Beach Boys. This show is, essentially, an extension of last year’s epic Beach Boys reunion tour, only instead of Mike Love, we’ve got guitar legend Jeff Beck. Which means that this show might actually be better than last year’s tour.
Laura Marling, Willy Mason at Great American Music Hall
Wednesday, October 23rd
Au Revoir Simone, Genuis, CALLmeKAT at Slim’s
Fact: Au Revoir Simone took their name from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. If that’s not enough of a selling point, then just listen to their super fun brand of synth pop:
Fred Frith, Patrice Scanlon, Grex at The Knockout
