12/4/2007: The Bird is the Word

Andrew Bird, of course.

He and the Realistic Orchestra have got some nerve. Here I am, trying to catch up on work projects, trying to get moving on final papers for classes, and they have the gall—the fucking GALL to play shows.

Shows that I just have to tell you about.

Well fine then. Fine. I'll tear into it all real quick like, so's I can get back to work.

Don't miss the UPCOMING section either. Ridiculous amounts of good shit are heading our way.

And as you might well have figured out at this point... No, I'm not dead. But thanks for asking.

|||||| TUESDAY 12/4 ||||||

Realistic Orchestra @ Bruno's $8
LAST SHOW 'TIL FEBRUARY. And this is why Adam Theis and 20 of the Jazz Mafia's finest want to blow the crap out of Bruno's tomorrow night. I'm gonna be there, and I'd say that if you don't join me for this 20 piece live breakbeat orchestra explosion, you're just nuts. Here is what Adam says: "We have some new presents for y'all this Tuesday, some Sly Stone and Tower of Power to start with, and some guest vocalists laying it down. So come prepared to boogie with your shiny blue boogie shoes, the ones with the sparkly lights." You heard the man. Lemme know if you're goin', there might be a guestlist spot in it for ya...
http://jazzmafia.com/

Chick Corea @ Yoshi's SF $44-55
Tuesday through Saturday shows. Sure, it ain't cheap, but damn it's Chick Corea! This pianist is truly one of the greatest living legends of jazz. Ridiculously prolific, his compositions have ranged far and wide over just about every genre of jazz. When the hell else are you gonna see this guy? It's a hell of an excuse to check out the BRAND NEW Yoshi's in SF!
http://www.chickcorea.com/

|||||| WEDNESDAY 12/5 ||||||

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings @ Bimbo's 365 $20
Soul, soul, funky soul! Sharon, born in Augusta Georgia no less, is known to some as the Queen of Funk. It just doesn't get more authentic for roots soul music than this woman. Go dig her and her stellar band, it's a hell of a show.
http://www.daptonerecords.com/sharonjonesandthedapkings.html

Wednesday Night Sessions @ Royale $5
With Jazz Mafia holdin' down the rhythm and guest MCs from all over the Bay, there really is no better way to spend hump day.
http://jazzmafia.com/

Chick Corea @ Yoshi's SF $44-55
Tuesday through Saturday shows. See above.
http://www.chickcorea.com/

|||||| THURSDAY 12/6 ||||||

Vince Herman's Great American Taxi @ Connecticut Yankee $10
Leftover Salmon frontman Vince Herman is bringing his new roots rock band on a rare stop at the tiny little CT Yankee. This is really tempting 'cause the man is serious business when it comes to soulful americana country rock music. Wanna go?
http://www.greatamericantaxi.net/

Chick Corea @ Yoshi's SF $44-55
Tuesday through Saturday shows. See above.
http://www.chickcorea.com/

|||||| FRIDAY 12/7 ||||||

Fred Wesley's House Party @ Boom Boom Room $20
Friday and Saturday shows! Fred is the legendary trombone player who, along with sax man Maceo Parker, basically defined the funk horn section (backing up none other than James Brown for all of his very best stuff). Fred's not a young man these days, and he very rarely comes around. This gig has him playing with a top notch New Orleans funk/jazz outfit called Groovesect. I'm reeeeeally tempted by this one...
http://www.funky-stuff.com/wesley/

Chick Corea @ Yoshi's SF $44-55
Tuesday through Saturday shows. See above.
http://www.chickcorea.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 12/8 ||||||

Andrew Bird @ the Warfield $28.50
BUY YOUR TICKET NOW. They're almost sold out, and trust me this man is nothing short of a bona fide phenom. His music is all over the map. From insanely creative rock and roll with a stellar backing band, to captivating solo compositions that involve live sampling of his incendiary violin and guitar, gorgeous singing, and virtuoso whistling. He is truly one of the most incredible performers I've ever seen. EVER. Balcony seats are still available, and if you buy one I'll sneak you down to the floor area to hang with the cool kids. Just go, kiddo!
http://www.andrewbird.net/

Fred Wesley's House Party @ Boom Boom Room $20
Friday and Saturday shows! See above.
http://www.funky-stuff.com/wesley/

Chick Corea @ Yoshi's SF $44-55
Tuesday through Saturday shows. See above.
http://www.chickcorea.com/

10/5/2007: A Strictly Showy Bluegrass Birthday? Hardly!

Okay, so that title actually kinda makes sense.

Why? Because tonight is my birthday party where we'll be shakin' everything we've got to some funky jazz and bad ass Afrobeat grooves. Please c'mon out and join the fun! Much silliness will ensue, but one must admit that it will hardly be a night of strictly bluegrass. In fact, aside from some stellar early evening sets in Golden Gate Park , there won't be any bluegrass at all.

Yet fret not my dear fans of the good stringed stuff. The incomparable Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival comes out in full force on Saturday and Sunday, and as soon as you're out of bed and recovered from the Showy Birthday Debauchery, you need to zip on out to the park and join me.

BELA FLECK, Keller Williams, and way too many other incredible musicians FOR FREE. I mean daaaaamn.

I cannot possibly tell you how thrilled I am to be staring into the face of such an intensely music packed weekend. Print out the list for Hardly Strictly below, I won't even be able to remember it myself. And this is just the shit that I know about, which is a tiny slice of the bands that are playing this year.

Is this real? Doesn't seem possible, but what the hell, here we go...

|||||| FRIDAY 10/5 ||||||

A VERY SHOWY BIRTHDAY @ the Connecticut Yankee - $10
Color me completely and totally psyched. I'd love to see each and every one of you beautiful folks at the Yankee for one hell of a dance happy good time. Music starts around 10pm with Adam Willis, Greg Garvey, and a little reunion of sorts with some of our old pals from the Urban Quartet cookin' up a tasty groove jazz stew. Headlining the gig I'm lucky to have Onibla! (most of the members of Bay Area Afrobeat powerhouse Albino!). They will rock the hell out this little joint, and will keep us all dancin' till the Yankee kicks our asses to the afterparty. I do hope y'all can make it, I think it'll be kinda fun and stuff...
http://tinyurl.com/3xggge

HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL @ Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park - $FREE!
I'm all over this. All weekend, all the time. Hit me up if you're headed down. Freakin' delicious.

4:15pm: T Bone Burnett @ Banjo Stage. An americana singer, songwriter, and producer, T Bone (the man who produced the "O Brother Where Art Thou?" soundtrack among other huge achievements) will throw down his soulful stuff on the Banjo stage. And what a backing band he has! John Mellencamp? Neato.

5:45pm: Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) @ Banjo Stage. Jeff is closing out the Friday afternoon kick off of the Festival this year, and I am really psyched to catch him. Everything I've heard says he's soulful and captivating just the way a true song craftsman should be.
http://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2007/artists.shtml

Dark Star Orchestra @ the Fillmore - $30
Friday & Saturday shows. I had no idea how amazing this band was until I finally saw them - on a night where they re-created a show from my favorite era of the Dead no less. The band literally does entire Grateful Dead shows live, note for note, and it's absolutely uncanny. I might even venture to say that on the night I caught them they sounded better than just about any recording I've heard of the real Dead. Tighter, cleaner, and soulful as hell, DSO is serious shit.
http://www.darkstarorchestra.net/homeframe.htm

|||||| SATURDAY 10/6 ||||||

HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL @ Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park - $FREE!
I'm all over this. All weekend, all the time. Hit me up if you're headed down. Freakin' delicious.

11:00am - Subdudes @ Star Stage. Straight outta New Orleans , the Subdudes mix up a gumbo of roots music that melds soul music, gospel music, Louisiana music, blues and good old rock n' roll in all the most delicious ways.

2:15pm - Alison Brown Quartet w/ Joe Craven @ Banjo Stage. Alison is a unique figure in roots music with her jazz influenced take on the 5 string banjo. Joining her is the legendary multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven.

2:50pm - Keller Williams @ Star Stage. Not to be missed! You'll be hard pressed to find a musician more skilled, entertaining, original, and hilarious than Keller. Best known for displays of acoustic music virtuosity, live looping with multiple instruments, and absurdly whacky lyricism, Keller is always a trip and never disappoints.

3:15pm - Boz Scaggs & the Blue Velvet Band @ Rooster Stage. Boz is one of the men who invented funk music, what more do you need to know? Okay, how about the fact that his Blue Velvet band is comprised of some of New Orleans ' biggest roots muscians too? He'll be doing some very unique takes on american icons like Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, and even Boz himself.

3:20pm - Ricky Scaggs w/Bruce Hornsby and Kentucky Thunder @ Banjo Stage. WHY OH WHY does he have to opposite Keller Williams and Bela Fleck? Ricky's set last year was maybe the most perfectly captivating traditional bluegrass music I've ever heard in my life. Legendary singer/songwriter/pianist Bruce Hornsby sits in for the set.

4:10pm - BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES @ Star Stage. Can you tell I don't want you to miss this one? Bela, probably the world's pre-eminent banjo virtuoso, is bringing his incredible band in full force to amaze us in the Park. He is just a towering figure of unique and jazzy song craft, and his band includes my own personal God Victor Wooten on bass, Future Man playing the most insane digital drum instrument you've ever seen, and phenomenal woodwind player Jeff Coffin. I can't say enough about how amazing this band is. If you've seen 'em you know. If you haven't JUST GO!

4:40pm - Gillian Welch @ Banjo Stage. A singer/guitarist with a completely unique, darkly rich (sometimes haunting) style, Gillian is an icon of modern acoustic roots music by any measure.

5:20pm - T Bone Burnett @ Arrow Stage. An americana singer, songwriter, and producer, T Bone (the man who produced the "O Brother Where Art Thou?" soundtrack among other huge achievements) will do his soulful thang to close out the Arrow Stage.

5:30pm - Los Lobos @ Star Stage. These guys just rock. Equal parts bluesy, funky, and straight up rock and roll-y, they put on a powerful and energetic show that will definitely get you movin'.

5:45pm - Belle Monroe & Her Brewglass Boys @ Porch Stage. Local favorites that I've been wanting to see for a little while now, Belle and her band play hard-driving traditional bluegrass along with whacky and humorous takes on unexpected cover tunes.

6:00pm - Steve Earle @ Banjo Stage. This man, leader of the Bluegrass Dukes, is a giant in the world of americana music. Word is his solo stuff is a powerfully soulful and authentic blend of true american roots and folk.

http://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2007/artists.shtml


Dark Star Orchestra @ the Fillmore - $30
Friday & Saturday shows, see above.
http://www.darkstarorchestra.net/homeframe.htm

Izzabella | Garrin Benfield | JP Cutler | Bernadette @ 12 Galaxies - $10
A jam-filled Hardly Strictly afterparty if ever there was one, this gig features Izzabella with former players from Home at Last and special guests from Railroad Earth headlining with roots-rock grooves. Garrin Benfield will give us his amazingly soulful and original solo acoustic craft. JP Cutlet will rip it up blues rock style. And our pal Bernadette will open at 9pm with her songstress stylings and all star backing band of local jam-rockers.
http://12galaxies.inticketing.com/evinfo.php?eventid=18109

|||||| SUNDAY 10/7 ||||||

HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL @ Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park - $FREE!
I'm all over this. All weekend, all the time. Hit me up if you're headed down. Freakin' delicious.

1:05 - Hot Buttered Rum @ Arrow Stage. YEEEHAW! Smokin' hot chops, and high energy jazz influenced compositions combined with all around stellar musicianship make Hot Buttered Rum my favorite young string band. They're a force to be reckoned with, don't miss 'em!

1:10pm - the Secret Life of Banjos @ Porch Stage. Banjo virtuosos Bill Evans and Jody Stecher will rip it up on their five stringers.

1:45pm - David Grisman Bluegrass Experience @ Banjo Stage. Mandolin players don't get to be more iconic than Mister Grisman I'd venture to say. A true institution of bluegrass music, he's done everything from Old and In the Way with Jerry Garcia, to dropping into the Warfield with Gomez last year. I've heard this band in particular drops some of the best traditional stuff you'll hear anywhere.

2:55 - Earl Scruggs @ Banjo Stage. Yet another bluegrass icon, Scruggs is responsible for creating much of the sound that has evolved in banjo playing over the last two decades. His band the Foggy Mountain Boys were one of the most influential ever in string music.

4:30 - Railroad Earth @ Star Stage. Soooo psyched this band is playing. A fantastic combination of bluegrass instrumentation with hard jam rockin' energy, blended together with healthy doses of soulful authenticity make Railroad Earth a rad show every time.

5:45 - Emmylou Harris @ Banjo Stage. The darling of the festival, Emmylou is a living legend. With a voice that will bring a tear to your eye in both its soulful intensity and honey sweetness, there is simply no one like her.

6:00 - Del McCoury Band @ Star Stage. One of my personal favorites in the world of traditional bluegrass, Del and his sons take the stage by storm and are true to the ways of Bill Monroe and the roots of this beautiful music. Del 's voice rings out high and tight, and the harmonies and musicianship of the band are truly second to none.

http://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2007/artists.shtml

Burning Man Decompression @ 19th & Minnesota St. $10 in costume
The other huge party goin' on Sunday is of course Decompression. Live music will include Afrobeat rockers Albino (same as my birthday gig Friday night), surf rockers the Mermen, and livetronica outfit BLVD. With an all out attack of costumes, performance art, art installations, crazy vehicles, DJs, you name it, it will be an uber crazy time for sure. I'd go, but then I'd have to miss all the great bluegrass...
http://burningman.com/blackrockcity_yearround/special_events/

Dark Star Orchestra @ the Fillmore - $30
Friday & Saturday shows, see above.
http://www.darkstarorchestra.net/homeframe.htm

Railroad Earth @ 12 Galaxies - $22.50
Hardly Strictly afterparty. A fantastic combination of bluegrass instrumentation with hard jam rockin' energy, blended together with healthy doses of soulful authenticity make Railroad Earth a rad show every time.
http://railroadearth.com/app_home/home.do

10/23/2007: Lookin' for something to do tonight..?

Sure y'are!

Uncle Showy just got word of a hot one for ya, kids. Seeing as how it's Tuesday and all, you know it's Jazz Mafia Tuesday related (unless of course you've somehow been immune to my constant Mafia pushin' that is). Tonight they have somethin' very special happening at Bruno's, and I'd love for you to join me.

Also, I doubt I'll have time to get an email out before this weekend so I wanted to give a shout to anyone out there in ShowyLand who may be headed to VEGOOSE. I'll be going for my first time, so hit me up if you'll be out there for the madness. We must join forces in rocking out.

Okay, here's the place you need to be tonight:

|||||| TUESDAY 10/23 ||||||

Nino Moschella | Jazz Mafia Horns | the Park @ Bruno's $10 (or possibly less, contact me...)
Several people have been telling me that I absolutely HAVE to see Nino Moschella. He's a soulful hip-hop style singer with some serious skills to drop, and tonight is just the night to catch him. Backing the man will be my favorite all star horn players, the Jazz Mafia, along with the funky rhythm section of the Park (members of Bucho). I'm all over this gig so drop me a line if you wanna meet up. Shazzle will probably go down around 10 or just a bit later.
http://www.ninomoschella.com/
http://jazzmafia.com/

9/28/2007: McShow McWeekend McQuickie McLove

Where is all the live music on LoveFest weekend you ask? I might be able to help...

First a reminder that you're all cordially invited to join me at the Connecticut Yankee in ONE WEEK for the annual Very Showy Birthday. I couldn't be happier to announce that we'll be rockin' out to some badass Afrobeat grooves this year courtesy of Onibla! (The incognito moniker for some well known Bay Area Afrobeat players). I personally certify the fact that the fun quantity will be somewhere in the neighborhood of immeasurable. ...But only if you come, funkypants. Dig the details here: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/showymcshow@gmail.com/veryshowybirthday

And of course I'll hit you with my long winded take on who to catch at the upcoming Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in just a few days. Okay, here we go. Look out now! McQuickie comin' atcha!

|||||| FRIDAY 9/28 ||||||

Widespread Panic @ Paramount Theater (Oakland) - $45 (SOLD OUT)
Friday & Saturday shows. Straight outta Georgia, Panic is a southern jam rock giant of a band. They have deep roots in traditional acoustic americana, but layer it up with some hot electric musicianship and even have a bit of a penchant for some darker and more dramatic themes at times. A great rock band all around (bassist Dave Schools is one of my heroes), I'm sure it would be incredible to see them in the spectacular Art Deco landmark Paramount Theater. Craigslist is your friend.
http://widespreadpanic.com/

Banyan w/ Steve Kimock @ 12 Galaxies - $25
Friday & Saturday shows. Anchored by drummer Steve Perkins (Jane's Addiction) and trumpeter Willie Waldman (Memphis Horns, Snoop Dog), Banyan is a pretty wild outfit. Sometimes ambient, sometimes furious, they mix punk attitude and energy with jazzy, funky, and livetronic style grooves. Joining them for this late night 2-set show is guitarist Steve Kimock, a huge figure in the jam world.
http://www.myspace.com/banyanband

|||||| SATURDAY 9/29 ||||||

San Francisco Blues Festival @ Fort Mason - $35-80
Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm. So I'm no blues expert, but I do know the the headliners for both days of this festival (set at gorgeous Fort Mason) are pretty freakin' sweet. Saturday the show will come to a fiery close with Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Randolph is absolutely the most rippin' steel guitar player I've ever seen in my life. His licks and energy are just incendiary, and his band takes blues rock to foot stompin' new heights.
http://www.sfblues.com/schedule/

Widespread Panic @ Paramount Theater (Oakland) - $45 (SOLD OUT)
Friday & Saturday shows (see above).
http://widespreadpanic.com/

Bohemian Carnival @ DNA Lounge - $20
With Mutaytor headlining and a slew of crazy acts on the bill, the second annual 'indie-circus' should be a hell of a fun night. Mutaytor is a 25-piece livetronica hybrid act best known for super high energy shows loaded with performance art and dance. Contributing to the trippy burlesque madness will be Vau de Vire Society, Gooferman, and one of my favorite DJs Potion Potion (among others). I'm really tempted by this one, give me a shout if you wanna come with and lose you mind just a little bit.
http://www.sunsetpromotions.net/evinfo.php?eventid=18382&sid=

Banyan w/ Steve Kimock @ 12 Galaxies - $25
Friday & Saturday shows (see above).
http://www.myspace.com/banyanband

|||||| SUNDAY 9/30 ||||||

San Francisco Blues Festival @ Fort Mason - $35-80
Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm. So I'm no blues expert, but I do know the the headliners for both days of this festival (set at gorgeous Fort Mason) are pretty freakin' sweet. Sunday the show will end with a star studded jam featuring New Orleans piano icon Alan Toussaint, legendary guitarist, harmonica player, and singer-songwriter John Hammond, and blues harp virtuoso Charlie Musslewhite.
http://www.sfblues.com/schedule/

9/20/2007: Medeski, Scofield, Martin, Wood, and... YOU.

The action never stops here in ShowyLand.

I'm just barely catching my breath and back in town, only to have spectacular shows smackin' me upside the head. Let me do my best to spread this pain around, 'cause there sure as hell is plenty of it.

First off, who can give me a little report from the (AAARRR!) Treasure Island Music Fest? Bummed to have been out of town for both of those days. Thievery? Kinky? Built to Spill? Devil Makes Three? How were they?!?

Next, As if the upcoming Showy Birthday wasn't enough to look forward to (FRIDAY OCTOBER 5TH—still working out the deets), we have the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival rolling into town on that very same weekend. I had a glance at the lineup ( http://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2007/artists.shtml) and hooooooly crapoly is it off the hook! BELA FLECK will be there with the entire Flecktones band proper. KELLER WILLIAMS will be there, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Earle, Del McCoury, Boz Scaggs, Gillian Welch, David Grisman, Railroad Earth, Bill Evans, Emmylou Harris, Hot Buttered Rum... I mean GOD DAMN. This is free! Free! FREE!

Okay Showy, settle down. There are more immediate matters to address. YOU, dear reader, would be well served rockin' out to some of the most bad ass experimental groove jazz on the planet with me this weekend. Medeski, Scofield, Martin, and Wood will be doin' Friday and Saturday at the Fillmore, while right across the street sax machine Skerik will be blowin' his evil horn at the Boom Boom Room. My plan is to hit up Skerik on Friday and MSMW on Saturday.

GOD this city is boring...

|||||| THURSDAY 9/20 ||||||

AIR @ Bimbo's 365 - $40
I struggle to describe this French duo. Their name is an acronym (in French) of "Love, Imagination, Dream" and I've gotta say those terms definitely relate to the sound. Heavy on synthesizer sounds, the music is sometimes dramatic and moody, sometimes uplifting and beautiful, and usually pretty fascinating to my ears. I would go in a second if it weren't totally out of my budget at the moment. If you check 'em out, please let me know what it was like.
http://www.pocket-symphony.com/

|||||| FRIDAY 9/21 ||||||

Medeski, Scofield, Martin, and Wood @ the Fillmore - $32.50
Friday & Saturday shows (I'll be there Saturday). SAH-WEET! Not only is the best improv freak-jazz trio on Earth gracing us with their presence, but they're bringing freaky-funky guitar virtuoso John Scofield with em'! I've been wanting to see this lineup for years, literally, ever since I first got a listen to their collaborative effort "John Scofield A-Go-Go." It's one of the best albums I own, and they just followed it up with another brilliant release "Out Louder." Sometimes ridiculously complex and cerebral, sometimes straight-up jazz funk groovin', MMW (and S) is relentlessly creative in everything that they do. This stuff isn't for everyone, but if you like your jazz on the weird side there is simply nothing better. I think there are still tickets available for Saturday night, get one now and I'll see you there!
http://www.mmw.net/

Skerik's Maelstrom Trio @ Boom Boom Room - $15
Friday & Saturday shows (I'll be at this one fer sheezy!) Skerik is the saxamaphone player with a horn as black as his soul. This man (from Les Claypool, Garage a Trois, Critters Buggin', Dead Kenny Gs, etc, etc) never ceases to amaze me with his power and creativity. His take on experimental jazz is just plain eeeevil. Like crazy virtuoso eeeevil, just the way I like. For these rare Boom Boom Room gigs he brings 'Nawlins cats Brian Coogan (organ, Stanton Moore Trio), and Simon Lott (drums, Charlie Hunter). It'll be nasty stuff, no doubt about it.
http://www.myspace.com/maelstromtrio

Crown City Rockers & many others @ the Independent - $15
This is gonna be one hell of a night of bad ass hip-hop at the Indy (anyone remember the Justice League?) Crown City combines excellent live instrumentation with a super authentic roots hip-hop groove that will make ya move. Opening up for them are emcees Gift of Gab and Lateef the Truthseeker, along with Nino Mochella who does some super rad funky soul stuff from what I'm told.
http://www.crowncityrockers.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 9/22 ||||||

Medeski, Scofield, Martin, and Wood @ the Fillmore - $32.50
Friday & Saturday shows (join me tonight!). See above.
http://www.mmw.net/

Papa Grows Funk @ the Independent - $20
One of New Orleans' finest funk bands, Papa Grows rocks with a loose improvisational take on the Crescent City's syncopated roots music. If you're lookin' to dance hard to some authentic 'Nawlins grooves, this is definitely the gig for you.
http://www.papagrowsfunk.com/

Skerik's Maelstrom Trio @ Boom Boom Room - $15
Friday & Saturday shows (I'll be there Friday). See above.
http://www.myspace.com/maelstromtrio

|||||| SUNDAY 9/23 ||||||

Phil Lesh & Friends @ the Greek (Berkeley)
The venerable Grateful Dead bassist, a talented musician with classical and jazz training, brings his band around for a special night at the Greek. They do rich and vibrant renditions of Dead tunes along with originals by Phil that should compliment the setting sun and Berkeley skyline quite nicely...
http://www.phillesh.net/

9/4/2007: GALACTIC. FREE. TONIGHT.

THIS JUST IN!

Galactic, one of my absolute favorite bands, is playing at Amoeba Records on Haight for free tonight! If you're anywhere else at 7pm, you're outta your mind...

Of course there is more great stuff this week, so I'll be back in a day or three with more news. If you're seein' Stevie Wonder tonight hot damn! You're in for a treat. That would be the ONLY valid excuse for missing Galactic in my not-so-humble opinion.

|||||| TUESDAY 9/4 ||||||

Galactic w/ Gift of Gab @ Amoeba Records (7pm) - FREE
That's right kids, the band that defines the modern New Orleans funk rock sound, the band that sells out the Fillmore every time they come around, the band that features one of my favorite drummers in the world (Stanton Moore), is PLAYING AMOEBA FOR FREE. Gift of Gab, an outstanding MC and co-founder of Blackalicious, will join the boys to lend some hip-hop flavor for the set. These Amoeba gigs are never very long, so get there nice and early so you don't miss any of the action. Woot!
http://www.galacticfunk.com

8/23/2007: McShow Fantasma!

Happy Thursday funky folks! Comin' straight at ya is another quickie McShow, featuring a super happy fun fun Fantasma gig that you have to join me for on Friday night. Before that though, I have just a couple of other little notes this week:

First: PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR VOTE on a date for the Very Showy Birthday gig. I'm now thinking about moving it back one weekend, which puts it at the same time as the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Since that's a marathon weekend for sure, I think Friday night would be best. So, which of the following suits your fancy (or fancies your suit)? I'll pick the one that more people dig and book it full o' funk.

• Saturday September 29th
• Friday October 5th

Second: Get your damn tickets NOW for SCOFIELD, MEDESKI, MARTIN, and WOOD! They're coming on 9/21 and 9/22 to the Fillmore and it's bound to be a sonic attack the likes of which humanity may not have yet seen...

Now that business is out of the way, on to more immediate things. Namely you, me, the Elbo Room on Friday night, and some cats from Austin Texas called Grupo Fantasma. Brilliant musicians all, Grupo will not fail to blast the low ceilings right off of the Elbo Room with their powerfully funky Latin party grooves. It's only 10 bucks, how can you go wrong? I'm game to host an after party too if the kids are lookin' for more trouble. There are a lot of other good bets this weekend (as usual), but gettin' tickets to some of them could be a challenge. For Wilco, Beasties, and Stevie (YEAH!) Craigslist is lookin' like where it's at.

Keep bringin' the funk, y'all. The weekend is sooooo aaaaalmost heeeeeere:

|||||| FRIDAY 8/24 ||||||

Grupo Fantasma @ Elbo Room - $10
hot hot HOT! Grupo is a kickin' 12 piece Latin funk band from Austin Texas that you definitely SHOULD NOT MISS! It's a rare treat to have these guys roll through, and good times on the dance floor will surely ensue. Join me for a night of funky horns, rockin' percussion, and shakin' that sexy ass. And it's in my 'hood too, afterparty at my place anyone..?
http://grupofantasma.com/

Wilco @ Greek Theater (Berkeley) - $40 (sold out)
I've been wanting to see this band for a while, and the word on the street is they're getting better all the time. What started as an alt-rock-country outfit has evolved over the years in a number of different, creative, and dramatic directions. And the new album is supposed to be great too.
http://www.wilcoworld.net/

The Waybacks @ Freight & Salvage (Berkeley) - $20
Some seriously creative acoustic musicians, the Waybacks are a virtuoso crew of americana players who push the boundaries of the genre to new directions. With a great energy and some wild arrangements, these guys are just great to see.
http://www.waybacks.com/

Beastie Boys @ Warfield - $50 (sold out)
A "Gala Instrumental Show," this one is bound to be groove-laden and surreal as hell. If you manage to trade your soul for a ticket, let me know how it goes.
http://www.beastieboys.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 8/25 ||||||

Beastie Boys @ Greek Theater (Berkeley) - $50 (sold out)
The more 'normal' of the two Beastie dates, seeing them at the Greek would be quite a treat.
http://www.beastieboys.com/

|||||| SUNDAY 8/26 ||||||

Stevie Wonder @ Sleep Train Pavilion (Concord) - $85+
Are you goin'? If so, get in touch for a caravan and some good ol' tailgatin'. I don't know what tickets are going for on Craigslist but I mean shiiiiit, this man hasn't toured in 12 years. I can't wait.
http://steviewonder.com/

8/9/2007: Another HOT Thursday night show! Oh, and weekend stuff too...

First thing's first, save this date!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29th - A Very Showy Birthday
Plans for another blowout are in the works. Suggestions for venues are
most welcome.

So apparently they're trying to close down the Sweetwater again, lame:
http://savethesweetwater.com/

Now then, what're ya up to tonight? Chillin' you say? Screw that! Roll
on out to Oaktown with me and catch the late show at Yoshi's. It'll be
the best 8 bucks you'll ever spend. I'll even give ya a lift if ya buy
me a beer, deal?

Oh, and I guess there is some other good stuff this weekend too...

|||||| THURSDAY 8/9 ||||||

Marco Benvento/Reed Mathis/Matt Chamberlain @ Yoshi's - $8-18
Thursday, Friday, Saturday shows (join me late Thursday for just 8
bucks!) Who is the pirate's favorite freak-jazz keyboard player?
mAAAAARRRRRco Benevento! One half of the stellar Russo/Benevento Duo,
you may also have seen Marco with Bustle in Your Hedgerow, Garage a
Trois, and any number of other crazy good bands. His style is crazy
freaky post jazz with a little indie rock/ Radiohead influence too.
Reed Mathis on bass (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey) is one of my personal
heroes, and Matt Chamberlain (Critters Buggin') is just a powerhouse
drummer. This is gonna be SMOKIN' stuff, join me Thursday night for
just 8 dollars!
http://www.yoshis.com/calendar/detail/?s=86

|||||| FRIDAY 8/10 ||||||

Marco Benvento/Reed Mathis/Matt Chamberlain @ Yoshi's - $8-18
Thursday, Friday, Saturday shows (see above).

SambaDa | Afrodesia @ Independent - $12
SambaDa never fails to rock the socks off the room. Go ahead and try
to stand still, I dare ya. It's a tasty mix of spicy samba, African
percussion, and heavy hittin' funk that is ridiculously dance happy.
Local Afrobeat purveyors Afrodesia go first (I think).
http://www.myspace.com/sambada

|||||| SATURDAY 8/11 ||||||

Marco Benvento/Reed Mathis/Matt Chamberlain @ Yoshi's - $8-18
Thursday, Friday, Saturday shows (see above).

Ozomatli | G. Love & Special Sauce | Slightly Stoopid @ Greek Theater
(Berkeley) - $32
Damn, this'll be a hell of a party, and not JUST because it's
Gumbeaux's birthday! Y'all know these bands anyway, but in case you
forgot Ozo is a big funky Latin hip hop band with badass percussion up
the wazoo. G. Love always brings it with his original and authentic
rootsy hip hop rock n' roll - one seriously talented dude for sure.
Haven't seen Slightly Stoopid, but I've sure been there. They've got a
dub infused hip hop thing goin' on.
http://www.ozomatli.com/site.php

Old Crow Medicine Show @ the Fillmore - $27.50
Damn, I've been wanting to see these Nashville cats for a while now.
They play old time americana roots music (think bluegrass, slow and
sweet), but with a rock n' roll attitude. My kinda stuff...
http://www.crowmedicine.com/

8/3/2007: Will WONDERS never cease?

Holy shit.

The man, the myth, the funky LEGEND...

STEVIE WONDER is playing two dates in Northern California in about a month.

Holy shit.

TICKETS go on sale this MONDAY 8/6 at 10am! Holy shit!

This man has not toured in over a decade, and God who knows if he ever
will again! I missed seeing James Brown at Bimbo's and that was a
really bad call. I don't want to make that mistake again. Here are the
dates:

Sunday 8/26 @ Sleep Train Pavilion (Concord) - $35-131

Tuesday 9/4 @ Mountain Winery (Saratoga) - $100-250

Tickets through the evil empire: http://www.livenation.com/

This is some seriously expensive shit, but I'm determined to find a
way to make it happen. Word on the street is the Pavilion is like a
smaller version of Shoreline. The Mountain Winery on the other hand is
one of the MOST spectacular places I've ever been lucky enough to
witness a show. It's stunning in all of its stone and sweeping view
glory. But SHIT that's expensive. And y'know, if I'm gonna see Stevie,
I wanna SEE Stevie (even if he can't see me). That means being close,
or at least pretty close.

So I'm torn. If I could afford it I'd go for the Winery in a second,
but I think because of finances I might try to get a really good seat
at the Pavilion. Have any of you been there? How is it? Are any of
y'all down to weigh in with a plan of attack?

I'm all ears on this one kids. Clock is tickin' until 10am Monday. Oh,
and it sounds like he'll be doing his best to make this something
really special:

"I thought what would be really wonderful would be to go out and
perform throughout this country as we have a need for healing," Wonder
said.

Awwwwwww, cute.

Hit me back folks.

Special thanks go to: Adam Willis, Roddy Castro

8/2/2007: Holy Crap! Great Music! TONIGHT!

Damn, I turn my back for a second and I almost miss a great show! One
of my favorite freak-jazz musicians on Earth is holdin' court at the
Boom Boom Room tonight. Give me a buzz if you wanna go do your
Thursday night right.

Also this weekend is some great funk from New Orleans' Kirk Joseph on
Saturday night. And Sunday brings us two kick ass free shows: African
Jazz at Stern Grove (where I'll be) and the Jerry Garcia Day at
McLaren Park.

It's practically the weekend already, have you gotten your groove on yet?

|||||| THURSDAY 8/2 ||||||

Mike Dillon's Go Go Jungle @ Boom Boom Room - $10
This man is a KING. The most stellar vibraphone player I've ever seen
in fact. He's intense - the music will be freak jazz with a bit of
punk rock spirit and a splash of New Orleans funk. When Mike isn't
doing this, you can catch him with Les Claypool, Ani DiFranco, Skerik,
Hairy Apes BMX, Critters Buggin', Garage a Trois, the list goes on.
The Go Go Jungle has Mike teaming up with a smokin' bass player and
drummer. I missed 'em last time, I don't want to make that mistake
again. Join me!
http://www.myspace.com/mikedillonsgogojungle

|||||| SATURDAY 8/4 ||||||

Kirk Joseph's Backyard Gruv @ Boom Boom Room - $12
Kirk is the founding sousaphone player from the legendary Dirty Dozen
Brass Band. His band is a crew of top shelf 'Nawlins funk players that
are pretty much guaranteed to blast the roof off of the Boom Boom.
http://www.kirkjoseph-sousafunk.biz/backyard/index.html

|||||| SUNDAY 8/5 ||||||

Hugh Masekela @ Stern Grove - FREE
2-6 show. I'm psyched about catching this guy, and you should be too!
Hugh is a legendary jazz trumpeter from South Africa. You know him
from the brilliant tune "Grazin' in the Grass" that's been covered at
least half a million times (hear a few notes at the Stern Grove link).
He is credited as being one of the fist to bring world influence into
popular jazz circles. Goapele opens with soul and R & B grooves.
http://www.sterngrove.org/08052007.html

Jerry Day 2007 @ McLaren Park Amphitheater - FREE
12-6 show. The annual tribute to Jerry Garcia is going to be quite a
treat this year. The three band lineup includes americana jammers
Jelly, Dead faithful Workingman's Ed, and a band I've really been
wanting to catch: Melvin Seals' JGB. Melvin played Fender Rhodes in
the brilliant Jerry Garcia Band, and the new version is incredibly
authentic from the recordings I've heard. They're tight and soulful in
all the most tasty ways. Why this has to be opposite a great Stern
Grove show I'll never know. Damn this city!
http://www.jerryday.org/event.html

7/24/2007: North Beach Jazz Fest... FUNK YEAH!

So I'm still at a loss as to why so many of you seemed to get my
message yesterday, but not the one last week. I'm gonna keep puzzlin'
away... but not right now. It's time for MUSIC!

Now there is (as usual) a ton of great live music goin' down over the
next week. Not the least of which are the two sold out Galactic shows
at the Independent Wednesday and Thursday nights (deepest apologies
for the lack of advance notice). If you can get in, you'll see an
absurd amount of guest stars including a who's who of funky New
Orleans characters. One that I'm really tempted by is the Connecticut
Yankee on Friday - it's called the Satisfied Allstars and it includes
a lot of ridiculous people like Jessica Lurie (Living Daylights),
Bobby Vega (Sly Stone), and Dave Watts (the Motet). Pretty hot for 12
bucks. And finally if you're not in North Beach on Sunday, you'd
better be at the Beach Chalet in the afternoon to catch Adam Willis
and the ever funky Swoop Unit in the afternoon.

BUT this email is all about North Beach Jazz Fest. It kicks off
TONIGHT with Jazz on Grant. It's free - get yer groove on bitches!

|||||| WEDNESDAY 7/25 ||||||

JAZZ ON GRANT @ All Around Grant St. in North Beach - FREE!
Hands-down one of my FAVORITE nights of music all year long, come on
out and play! The opening show is at 7pm at the Italian Athletic Club
on Washington Square (1630 Stockton) with the Jazz Mafia's stellar 20
piece breakbeat band Realistic Orchestra. Other great bets around the
hood are Adam Willis' rad funk band Swoop Unit from 8-10 at Grant and
Green (1371 Grant), followed by some more of the badasses from the
Jazz Mafia from 10-12 (I'll see you at some point for both of those
gigs). The Ritual is a great funk rock outfit led by keyboard whiz
Jordan Feinstein, catch 'em at Maggy McGarry's (1355 Grant). Rockin'
guitarist Sean Leahy is a good bet too at Giordano Bros. (303
Columbus). What's so brilliant about this night is that you can
literally just walk down Grant St. and pop into any place that sounds
good. It reminds me of Jazz Fest nights in 'Nawlins, and it's FREE.
I'll be there on my bike probably between 7 and 8. Hit me up for a
night of music not to be missed. Full schedule here:
http://nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| THURSDAY 7/26 ||||||

Latin Jazz Night @ North Beach - $10
One 10 buck wristband gets you into three venues Thursday night,
sweet! Salvador Santana (Carlos' son) has a funky latin hip-hop group
with a full lineup of great musicians; he's at Mojito all night.
Maneja Beto is a latin funk rock band from Austin (Grant & Green) that
sounds interesting, and La Collectiva will be holding down Royale.
http://nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| FRIDAY 7/27 ||||||

Jazz Mafia @ Grant & Green - FREE
Whatever these absurdly fantastic musicians have planned for the
night, it's bound to be sick. Jazz? Funk? Hip-hop? Horns? Yes.
http://nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 7/28 ||||||

NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST @ Washington Square Park - FREE
Noon to 7pm. Gorgeous setting, fantastic crowd, kick ass music, all
for free. We're lucky to have this event in our town, rock on down and
show it some love. My pics for the Saturday lineup are afrobeat cats
Albino!, funky Latin hip-hop band Salvador Santana, and I've never
seen Los Mocosos but it might be about time... This is great stuff,
give me a shout if you're heading out.
http://nbjazzfest.com/

Bernard Purdie/Grant Green Jr./Adam Theis/Joe Cohen/Jordan Feinsten @
Mojito - $15
This is one hell of a crazy lineup. Purdie is called 'the world's most
recorded drummer' having backed up James Brown and Miles Davis to name
just two. Grant Green's son is also a ridiculously funky jazz
guitarist, Adam and Joe are without a doubt SF's versions of Fred and
Maceo, and Jordan is pretty freakin' excellent too. Hot damn, this
should be great stuff.
http://nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| SUNDAY 7/29 ||||||

NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST @ Washington Square Park - FREE
Noon to 7pm. Another stellar day, and this one has some really hot
shit right up to the end. My pics: Bucho is an excellent funky
jazz/hip-hop outfit that has been rockin' all over town lately. But
the big news is the Godfathers of Groove. Three funky jazz LEGENDS
including Bernard Purdie and Grant Green Jr. (see above), along with
Hammond Organ maestro Reuben Wilson. I've seen these guys together and
it is off the funky charts. Dig it!
http://nbjazzfest.com/

7/23/2007: McShow Faithful, PLEASE RESPOND!

Things are a bit troubled in ShowyLand today.

After chatting with many of you gorgeous cats and kittens at some of
the fine musical happenings over the weekend, it's come to my
attention that FAR too many of you didn't actually receive my
last-minute McShow email last week.

Gadzooks, I say!

This Wednesday marks the beginning of the fantastic North Beach Jazz
Festival, and I sure as hell don't want any of you to miss out on the
action. What prompted my move to Gmail was the fact that Yahoo was
giving me all kinds of trouble with emailing the Showy list. It's now
over 130 people strong, by the way, but I'm hoping that the size of it
isn't relegating me to your bulk or spam folders.

This is the shit that keeps me up at night.

SO, if you HAVE received this message in your Inbox proper, please
DROP ME A QUICK REPLY to let me know. This way I can figure out which
of you aren't getting the messages that you so very richly deserve.

Thanks for your help kids. Keep on bringin' the funk.

7/19/2007: The Bitch is Back

That's the first, and LAST time you'll ever hear me quote Elton John. I promise.

Sorry for being such a stranger by the way. I had thought that getting
rid of the whole school thing for the summer would give me time for
the Showy McShow list, but of course that never quite works out the
way I want it to somehow. Suffice to say if you're in the mood for
some music, I probably am too, so just get in touch dagnabbit.

The reason I'm here now is that there are some super COMPELLING
musical happenings afoot, and you simply must join me for them. This
weekend's Showy agenda includes the stellar Shotgun Wedding Quintet CD
release at the Independent on Friday, fixin' bikes for free Saturday
afternoon at the Tour de Fat, and a rare stop by the legendary Femi
Kuti at the Fillmore on Friday night (do NOT miss that one). Finally,
if I'm still standing after climbing Mt. Tam on my bike I'll try to
make my way to Stern Grove for crazy Indian livetronic grooves from
Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale on Sunday afternoon.

And of course there are those insane String Cheese Incident shows
happenin' at the Greek. Saturday they're rolling with Sound Tribe
Sector 9 and the Disco Biscuits for livetronic action while Sunday
they'll kick up their bluegrass heels with Railroad Earth and Hot
Buttered Rum. Fantastic bands, all five. Yikes.

Oh, and lil' ol' North Beach Jazz Fest kicks off with the most
sensational Wednesday night of music you'll find all year. It's less
than a week away: http://www.sunsettickets.com/images/nbjazz/

More on that after the weekend.

Rock ON:

|||||| FRIDAY 7/20 ||||||

Shotgun Wedding Quintet @ Independent - $15/18
You all know how much I love this band, and they couldn't be hotter
right now. It's a CD release party, at one of the best venues in town,
and they've lined up a host of pals to ensure it's one hell of a
ridiculous and funky night. Shotgun Wedding is a group of virtuoso
jazz talents, playing funk-infused hip-hop, with mind blowing
freestyling, in relentlessly creative and amazing arrangements. Damn
good shit. I'll be there for sheezy, you should be too.
http://www.jazzmafia.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 7/21 ||||||

Tour de Fat @ Golden Gate Park - FREE
Noon to 5pm. Bikes, beer, ballyhoo! What's not to love? Five bands,
delicious malty hoppy beverages, whacky bicycle contraptions, good
times. I'll be fixin' bikes for free under the Mike's Bikes tent, so
c'mon over and say hi to uncle Showy. Costumed cruiser ride happens at
10:30am, beer flows at noon.
http://www.followyourfolly.com/folly_tour_de_fat.html

Femi Kuti @ the Fillmore - $32.50
This man is a GOD. One of the BEST SHOWS I've ever seen in my ENTIRE
LIFE. I'll stake whatever reputation I have left on that. Femi is the
son of Fela Kuti, the inventor of the funky funky music known as
afrobeat. Combining African rhythms and percussion, powerful and
layered vocals, and incredibly seering and infections horn lines,
there is no music that makes me shake my Showy ass as much as
afrobeat. The recorded stuff does him no justice, the live show is
just incredible. I urge you NOT to miss this. It's rare, and it's
worth every penny.
http://www.myspace.com/femikuti
http://www.sfweekly.com/2007-07-18/music/music-is-still-the-weapon?src=newsletter

|||||| SUNDAY 7/22 ||||||

Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale @ Stern Grove - FREE
Non-Stop Bahngra Collective opens at 2pm. If I'm still standing after
my long bike ride, I'll be gettin' my India groove on at the Grove.
Anoushka, daughter of Ravi, is a sitar legend in her own right. Karsh
Kale is a DJ/producer best known for taking traditional South Asian
music into new realms of dancey beats.
http://www.sterngrove.org/07222007.html

|||||| OTHER GOOD BETS THIS WEEKEND ||||||

7/20 - Universal Language w/Radio Active @ Boom Boom Room
http://www.universallanguage.us/
7/20 - Blue Turtle Seduction @ Ar+Space (late night)
http://www.blueturtleseduction.com/
7/20 - Symie & the Pimp Jones Luv Orchestra @ Elbo Room
http://www.stymieluv.com/index.php
7/21 - String Cheese Incident/STS9/Disco Biscuits @ Greek Theater
http://www.stringcheeseincident.com/
7/21 - Blue Turtle Seduction @ Ar+Space (late night)
http://www.blueturtleseduction.com/
7/21 - Chris Berry & Panjea @ Ashkenaz
http://www.chrisberry.net/
7/21 - Red Meat @ Great American Music Hall
http://www.redmeat.net/
7/22 - String Cheese Incident/Railroad Earth/Hot Buttered Rum @ Greek Theater
http://www.stringcheeseincident.com/
7/22 - Disco Biscuits @ Independent
http://discobiscuits.com/

6/7/2007: All this for ONE show? Sheesh.

Sorry folks - you'll have to sit through another absurdly long single
show email message. If you want to be removed from the list at this
point, I don't blame you at all.

It doesn't mean that I'll remove you of course. I'm just lettin' you
know I empathize.

|||||| SATURDAY 6/9 ||||||

Various & Sundry @ Bimbo's 365 $22
Okay, I like the name. And you've gotta love the venue (I definitely
need to go to Bimbo's more often now that I think of it). But the band
is why I felt compelled to email you all. Don't ever settle for
anything less from your local Showy. This Saturday night we'll be
getting quite a musical treat in the form of some of the best young
alt-bluegrass-folk-rock-roots singer/songwriters in all the land.
Various & Sundry is based on a project from the amazing Sean and Sara
Watkins of Nickel Creek. It will be a night of varied and beautiful
strings and vocal harmonies, to be sure.

Sara describes the band:

"The official band is my brother Sean and myself, Glen Phillips
(formor lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket and one of our favorite
rock singers and songwriters with whom we've collaborated before),
Grant Lee Phillips (of the highly influential band Grant Lee Buffallo
and an other great writer, singer and performer), Luke Bulla (a fiddle
and guitar player who I've known since I was eleven and is great fun
to sing with).

We're really going to work hard to make this so much more than a few
solo people who are sharing the same stage - we are going to be a
band, playing and singing the great, new material from each member.
The performances we've done so far have been like candy for us."

This from a girl who turns my knees to Jello when she sings or plays
fiddle. Let's go.

http://www.myspace.com/watkinsfamilyhour

6/5/2007: t's PRINCE's birthday... how are you gonna celebrate?

The Jazz Mafia has a plan that should be superfantastico in my humble
estimation. And because I wholeheartedly support everything these
musical geniuses lay their gifted hands on, I'll copy the entire Jazz
Mafia newsletter below. Let me know if you're up for a bit of funky
Prince tonight at Bruno's...


Jazzmafiaproductions
Presents

Realistic Orchestra
Celebrates Prince's birthday....come get funky

Yes yes, tis time once again to bring yourselves for the monthly
dose of big band funk, jazz and so much more at Bruno's with your host
Realistic Orchestra. This Tuesday we bring you the music of Prince; -
funky, rockin, sensual, a musical genius who has influenced multiple
generations of musicians with his eclectic style, and we're
celebrating his birthday with some arrangements by various members of
the orchestra, plus we have a great new tune brought in to us by
trombonist Jeanne Geiger. A splendiferous night of music, hope you can
make it down, and if you wear purple you get a free jazz mafia sticker
(designed by Mister Showy McShow), woo!


Realistic Orchestra @ Bruno's
2389 Mission st. (btn 19th and 20th sts) - SF
Tuesday, June 5
9pm
$8 cover

http://www.jazzmafia.com
For more info on Prince, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)

For Tuesday we'll be featuring these fine musicians:
saxaphones:
Joe Cohen
Evan Francis
Kenny Brooks
Dayna Stevens
Doug Rowan

trombones
Marty Wehner
Danny Grewen
Marc Bolin
Adam Theis

trumpets:
Chris Barnes
Joel Behrman
Erik Jekabson
Joel Ryan

Eric Garland - drums
Colin Hogan - keys
George Ban Weiss - bass
Jon Monihan - guitar
Dublin - vocals


With special guests:
Joe Bagale
Chris McGee
Emily Schmidt
and
DJ Daymitreeus

5/23/2007: Some good ones YOU should know about

Hiya folks!

Below is yet another abbreviated teaser to the Showy McShow. Really
it's just (and always has been I guess) a self-serving thing. I'm
gonna check out the Boom Boom Room tomorrow night late and I think
I'll also be at Bruno's Friday night early, so I could use some
company from you lovely people. Also on here are a couple of shows
I'll have to miss, but that doesn't mean you should make the same
mistake.

To wit:

|||||| THURSDAY ||||||

BluSirkut @ Boom Boom Room $10
Join me! These cats are the incredible jazz/funk musicians from Karl
Denson's band, the Tiny Universe. Their side project is a live
electronica thing with jazz and funk roots and even some wild visual
stuff. Picture Theivery Corp or St. Germain done completely LIVE. You
should come dig it, I think it'll be great.
http://blusirkut.com/

|||||| FRIDAY ||||||

Jazz Mafia Tribute to Miles Davis @ Bruno's $8
EARLY SHOW, 7pm! SF's cream of the crop jazz musicians will be
performing Miles' album "Birth of Cool" in its entirety. The Jazz
Mafia's finest will be in full effect, with special guest badasses
such as Marcus Shelby on bass. That's a hell of a way to spend happy
hour in my opinion. Let's go!
http://jazzmafia.com/index.html

|||||| SATURDAY ||||||

SambaDa @ Elbo Room $15
This band is HOT. They are a big ol' Afro-Samba-Brazillian Funk outfit
with awesome percussion and the kinda energy that just rocks the crap
out of the room. It's a pre-Carnaval party, so they'll be bound to be
throwin' down.
http://sambada.com/

|||||| SUNDAY ||||||

Papa Grows Funk @ Boom Boom Room $25
There is a reason why this is so pricey, it'll be fantastic. These
guys are one of the biggest names in New Orleans funk, and they don't
come around nearly often enough. Spectacular funk band.
http://papagrowsfunk.com/

That's it for now! Almost done with that damn school thing so fear
not, an unabridged Showy is on the way.

5/17/2007: New Deal tonight! Hot Buttered Rum Saturday! Get it all over ya.

LIVEtronica and bluegrass on the same email? Who the hell is this guy?
Did I even sign up for this thing? How the hell do I opt out?

The answers to these questions, and the answer to what you've truly
been missing in your life can be found right here my dear friends.
Join me for:

|||||| TONIGHT ||||||

the New Deal | Kid Beyond @ the Independent $20
This is badass funky dance music, played 100% LIVE by incredible
musicians. Drumbeats, basslines, melodies, and effects - it's all
whipped up right in front of you and I guarantee they can keep up with
those crazy record spinnin' people that the kids like so much. The New
Deal is a band I've been wanting to see for years, they almost never
come around. Tonight and tomorrow they're at the Independent, but
tonight the incredible one man beatbox live-looping army Kid Beyond
will be opening. I'm soooo there, and you should be too.
Band: http://www.thenewdeal.ca/
Recent show: http://www.archive.org/audio/xspf_player.php?collectionid=tnd2006-12-14&playlist=http://www.archive.org/download/tnd2006-12-14/tnd2006-12-14_vbr.m3u

|||||| SATURDAY 5/19 ||||||

Hot Buttered Rum @ the Fillmore $20
This I believe is the first time Hot Buttered Rum has headlined the
Fillmore, so they're bound to make it something special. If there is a
young bluegrass band that has a such an amazing caliber of
musicianship and such incredible creative talent and energy, I sure as
hell haven't seen 'em. It'll be a heel kickin' good time, c'mon down
y'all!
Band: http://hotbutteredrum.net/
Recent show: http://www.archive.org/audio/xspf_player.php?collectionid=hbr2007-05-04.m200s.flac16&playlist=http://www.archive.org/download/hbr2007-05-04.m200s.flac16/hbr2007-05-04.m200s.flac16_vbr.m3u

So if you're wondering why after this huge hiatus I've come back to
hit you last-minute with just two shows, fret not. I'm out of school
in one week, and a FULL BLOWN REAL DEAL SHOWY MCSHOW email will then
proceed to give purpose and direction to your musical life.

'Til then join me for music and remember to keep it funky.

3/13/2007: Yikes! We're gettin' attacked!

...by the FUNK that is!

Look out, now.

Once again for your reading pleasure, another Quickie McShow. Zoom zoom:

Achtung! San Francisco is about to be attacked by some of the funkiest
touring bands on Earth, and even though I should be eating lunch right
now I just need to get the word out. This is some seriously hot shit,
break out them oven mitts and hang on bitches!

Unfortunately I won't be able to make Greyboys this weekend (in
Boston, d'oh), but PLEASE do join me next week for Antibalas or for
Soulive. Really all three of these are can't-effing-miss shows, but
Antibalas is particularly rare and I know many of you haven't seen 'em
before. And they're playing in probably the best venue in the entire
city. Attendance is MANDATORY!

|||||| SATURDAY 3/17 ||||||

Greyboy Allstars @ the Fillmore $28.50
The West Coast boogaloo funky jazz band that defines the genre, this
might be my favorite group of musicians on the planet. The
incomparable lineup includes two personal heroes in Karl Denson and
Robert Walter on sax and organ. If you've been listening at all these
past few years, you've heard me say plenty about this band. A la
Colbert, movin' on...
http://greyboyallstars.com/

|||||| WEDNESDAY 3/21 ||||||

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra @ Great American Music Hall $21
COME SEE THIS BAND. Inspired by Fela and Femi Kuti in the true
afrobeat style, this band puts out a wall of sound that is absolutely
in-funky-fectious and will have you groovin' your ass off from note
one. Afrobeat music is as Showy as it gets: combine deep African
percussive rhythms with a huge horn section blasting you with the very
nastiest in old school funk. It's just absurdly delicious, and I will
offer you a 100% money-back guarantee! You'll take a check, right..?
http://anti.com/artist.php?id=40

Soulive @ the Independent $25
Luckily this trio is doing a Thursday night show too. Antibalas &
Soulive back-to-back, goddamn life is GOOD. Soulive hits it harder
than any trio I've ever seen, they're like heavy metal groove jazz.
Just take anything that's ever bored you about jazz and throw it right
out the window. The intensity, the musicianship, it's just phenomenal
every time. And with SO MUCH SOUL... ridiculous.
http://www.soulive.com/concord/site.php

|||||| THURSDAY 3/22 ||||||

Soulive @ the Independent $25
HECK YES.
http://www.soulive.com/concord/site.php

Couple more quickie notes. Funky geetarist Will Bernard is having a CD
release at 12 Galaxies on Friday the 23rd that should be pretty damn
hot: http://www.willbernard.com/default.htm. And of course you all
MUST go and see any Jazz Mafia band whenever possible. They appear in
one badass incarnation or another just about every night. Dig it here:
http://jazzmafia.com/gigs.html

As always, keep it real. Real funky that is.

2/2/2007: These days it's becoming painfully obvious to the staff at McShow Industries...

...that the ONLY way I'll ever find time to do a Showy McShow would be
to stay in some nights and NOT go to shows.

You can see the paradox of the situation. It's actually threatening to
tear a hole in the fabric of the space-time continuum, so if that
happens anytime soon you'll know who to blame. D'oh.

So, since I'm unwilling to give up on doing the Showy McShow (at least
once in a while), and since I'm also unwilling to give up on going to
shows, I need to find a solution. Any and all constructive (or
destructive) criticism on this topic would be appreciated. Currently
I'm thinking I will try to maintain a public Google Calendar to at
least get the listings up, and maybe try to find time to do a full
McShow write-up sporadically whenever I can. Would any of y'all bother
looking at a calendar of spectacular SF live music events, even if it
didn't have full descriptions and crap?

So TONIGHT I'm thinking of taking a break from my packing (yep, turns
out I'm moving to the Mission in a week, holy crap) to catch one of
the following southern-fried, out-of-towner acts. Please do let me
know if either one sparks your interest:

Mike Dillon's GoGo Jungle @ 12 Galaxies $10
Mike D is a KING among bad-ass funky experimental musician men. He's a
wizard of the vibraphone and percussion in general, and tends to
channel music from some divine source rather than simply play it. You
know him from his work with Skerik, Les Claypool, Garage a Trois,
Critters Buggin', Hairy Apes BMX, and others. This trio should be
pretty incredible. Watch the video on the MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/mikedillonsgogojungle

North Mississippi Allstars @ Independent $22
True-blue southern blues rockers that are ridiculously authentic and
super fun. They have a stellar energy, just good time rock and roll,
with all the right roots. And I haven't seen 'em in years, so I wonder
what they're up to these days.
http://www.nmallstars.com/index.shtml

Also kicking off TONIGHT is the always-excellent San Francisco
Bluegrass & Old Time Festival. No time to babble about the lineup
here, just dig it on the website. Basically for the next full week
there will multiple kick-ass fast-pickin' string bands at great venues
all over this damn city. Good shit, dig it here:
http://www.sfbluegrass.org/

That's it for now kids. Give me some feedback, come out tonight, and
HAPPY FRIDAY!

12/7/2006: Compelling music drives the great Showy out of hibernation...

Well, hibernation... mountains of schoolwork... it's all the same
thing when it comes to trying to put out the Showy McShow: No dice,
homeslice.

If this means you've missed out on some of the smokin' hot music
that's been around recently, you have my deepest apologies. This is
the fear that keeps me up at night.

And since I'm still absolutely buried time-wise, and probably will be
until the holidays, this tiny invite might be all I can muster for the
next little while. I hope not, but it'll be a challenge. I'll include
an UPCOMING list at the bottom so that at least you'll get some ideas
for where to get yer groove on over the next few weeks.

I'll be catching Trey Anastasio at the Warfield on Thursday night (how
is his latest band?), and I'm thinkin' about the Disco Biscuits on
Friday (supposed to be on a tear lately). Yet there is ONE extremely
unique and compelling show this weekend that I just HAD to tell you
all about. It's almost sold out, so jump on this one quick. It'll be
one hell of a night, and I cordially, no, COERCIVELY invite you to
join me:

|||||| SATURDAY 12/9 ||||||

Stanton Moore Trio | the New Mastersounds @ 12 Galaxies $25
One hell of a funky marathon, this gig will feature TWO whole freakin'
sets from each of these stellar bands. Up first is Stanton Moore, one
of my musical heroes. He is the funky 'Nawlins drummer you've seen
with Galactic, Garage a Trois, and several other kick ass funk bands.
His totally en-fuego trio sports funky guitar maestro Will Bernard and
organ wizard Brian Coogan. Then the New Mastersounds come on and hit
it hard. They're basically the Greyboy Allstars of the UK, nasty
boogaloo funk groovers all around. And with my favoritest DJ in the
land, Motion Potion, spinnin' between all those sets, the room will be
rockin' non stop. It'll be a late one...
http://12galaxies.inticketing.com/evinfo.php?eventid=13157

Sorry I can't do descriptions of the following list right now... Dig
the String Cheese shows at the end of the month. I think I'll be
catching the one on the 30th if you're interested...

10/13/2006: Pre-Hallows McShow

Hot damn, it's Friday night and the weekend is here! Can't believe I
actually got this thing done with enough time left to go out...

Not a moment too soon if you ask me. And of course there is some
spectacular music on tap tonight and for the next two weeks. In fact,
you'd be hard pressed to find a night before Halloween weekend that
DOESN'T have a smokin' show. Am I a sucker for this city? Umm, do
Marina girls wear black pants?

A quick digression: Thank you all SO MUCH for rockin' the crap out of
Bruno's last Friday. That was ridiculously fun and it's all because of
YOU. There is the possibility of some kind of Showy Presents kind of
thing going down there in the future, so stay tuned to this here funky
channel.

Some quick highlights for outstanding musicality in the next couple weeks:
If I weren't doing a birthday thing tonight I'd be at the Boom Boom
Room catching some amazing New Orleans organ funk featuring Brian
Coogan and the Jazz Mafia horns. They're playing Saturday too and I'm
sure it'll be hot. Hate to miss 'em again (dammit) but I'll be in the
Mission at 12 Galaxies digging some groovy livetronica from Lotus,
c'mon out and dance! If you're crazy enough to go elsewhere though,
ALO is at the Fillmore and Gov't Mule is at the Warfield. Not too
shabby for a Saturday. Heading into next week it's all about Jazz
Mafia doin' the Tuesday residency at Bruno's, Wednesday at Mojito, and
Friday as the stellar Shotgun Wedding Quintet at the Elbo Room. Nasty.

The following Saturday I'm tempted to catch Vince Herman (Leftover
Salmon) with his new roots-rock band Great American Taxi at (where
else?) the Great American Music Hall. Rockin' and rollin' into the
next week we have another fabulous Jazz Mafia Tuesday and then a
ridiculous amount of options on Wednesday the 27th: Gomez at the
Warfield (sign me up) or Perpetual Groove & Dan Lebowitz at 12
Galaxies (why God?). Thursday the band that basically defines New
Orleans funky brass, Rebirth, starts a two night stand at the lovely
Independent.

Then my friends, it's All Hallow's Weekend. And shenanigans aplenty...

|||||| FRIDAY 10/13 ||||||

Brian Coogan's NoLa Confection @ Boom Boom Room $12
Friday & Saturday shows. New Orleans organ funk meets Jazz Mafia horns
in a funky throwdown, aww yeah! Coogan is a badass Hammond player best
known for his work with legendary drummer Johnny Vidacovich. Backing
the man up are a trio of the BEST horn players in town: Joe Cohen,
Adam Theis, and Mike Olmos of Jazz Mafia fame. Throw in superstar
emcee Dublin and some funky drums and guitar and this should be one
sweet confection indeed.
http://www.myspace.com/briancoogan

|||||| SATURDAY 10/14 ||||||

Lotus @ 12 Galaxies $12
Join me for some hot new-school livetronic rockin' on Saturday night.
I have it on good authority that Lotus is a hell of a band. They sure
have a ton of influences; trip-hop, African rhythms, funk, post-rock,
and more no doubt. Along with some badass live drumming of course.
C'mon and dig em.
http://www.lotusvibes.com/

Brian Coogan's NoLa Confection @ Boom Boom Room $12
Friday & Saturday shows, see above.
http://www.myspace.com/briancoogan

Animal Liberation Orchestra @ Fillmore $20
There are probably jam bands that are more whacky in SF, but none of
them are quite as talented as ALO I'd contend. These cats go beyond
'just another jam band' by getting really creative with some of their
changes and arrangements and by having a great sense of humor
especially where lyrics are concerned. And I do believe this is their
first Fillmore headlining gig, good show old bean! Opening up are
Honeycut and Mojow & the Vibration Army.
http://alomusic.com/

Gov't Mule @ Warfield $26.50
Southern jam rock giants, these guys always bring a big big sound.
Professional cats all around, they're led by the legendary Warren
Haynes (soulful guitarist of the Allman Bros). If you wanna do yer
rockin' southern fried, go dig 'em on Saturday night. Donovan
Frankenreiter opens.
http://www.mule.net/

|||||| MONDAY 10/16 ||||||

Homespun Rowdy @ Amnesia $FREE
Did y'all know that Amnesia has 100% FREE bluegrass music on most
Monday nights? I haven't seen Homespun, but from listening to tunes on
the website they sound great: soulful old-time strings and harmony.
Yum.
http://www.homespunrowdy.com/

|||||| TUESDAY 10/17 ||||||

the Breakfast @ 12 Galaxies $10
Y'know, I've never seen this band but it might be time to check 'em
out. They're a jammy rock trio with (from what I just listened to)
some very quick, creative, and generally bad ass musical chops. Kinda
reminded me a little of the energy of Umphrey's McGee. Tempting...
http://thebreakfast.net/

Low End Theory @ Bruno's $5
Jazz Mafia Tuesday yo! It's amazing what you can do with trombones,
especially like four them played by virtuosos using crazy looping and
digital effects. Bad ass and eclectic, the Jazz Mafia way.
http://jazzmafia.com/index.html

|||||| WEDNESDAY 10/18 ||||||

Jazz Mafia All Stars @ Mojito $free?
And they are truly all stars, these hard-workin' Jazz Mafia cats. It's
Mojito's anniversary (so hopefully they've been working on the venue
and the drink sizes a bit...) and they're hosting the best funky
musicians in town for the celebration.
http://jazzmafia.com/index.html

|||||| FRIDAY 10/20 ||||||

Shotgun Wedding Quintet @ Elbo Room $10
Jazz Mafia at their hip hop funkin' best! Catch some smokin' horns,
funky beats, a bit of 7 string bass action, and of course lyrical
wizard Dublin (the other white rapper) all up in the Elbo Room place.
If you've never seen this band, you're nuts. Just go.
http://www.shotgunweddingquintet.com/

Sonny Rollins @ Masonic Center $25–85
SF Jazz brings one of the most legendary sax players ever to the
Masonic Hall for the kick off of their Fall season. He reportedly is
always captivating and having him come through town is a rare chance
to see something truly special in jazz.
http://www.sfjazz.org/concerts/2006/fall/artists/SonnyRollins.asp

|||||| SATURDAY 10/21 ||||||

Great American Taxi | Flying Other Brothers @ Great American Music Hall $14
Leftover Salmon frontman Vince Herman's new project, Taxi embraces
roots americana (read bluegrass) styles and rocks them the hell out.
Rad. Opening up is another fun and rockin' roots-based band, the
Flying Other Bros.
http://www.greatamericantaxi.net/

Ronkat Spearman's Katdelic Revival @ Boom Boom Room $12
Multi-instrumentalist Spearman is one of the mainstay cats (ha) in
George Clinton's P-Funk. He's also a Grammy nominated songwriter, and
his band has some serious talent including guitar shredder Sean Leahy
(London Street) and badass drummer Kevin Carnes (Broun Fellinis). This
gig is bound to be a roots-funk throwdown.
http://www.ronkat.net/

Bridge School Benefit @ Shoreline Amphitheatre $39.50–150
Saturday & Sunday shows, same lineup apparently. Not that I advocate
Shoreline at all, much less benefits for those damn kids that won't
get off my lawn, but you can't argue with the numbers: Neil Young
joining Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Trent Reznor, Gillian Welch, Dave
Matthews Band, Brian Wilson, Death Cab for Cutie, etc etc.
http://www.bridgeschool.org/events.html

|||||| SUNDAY 10/22 ||||||

Bridge School Benefit @ Shoreline Amphitheatre $39.50–150
Saturday & Sunday shows, see above.
http://www.bridgeschool.org/events.html

|||||| MONDAY 10/23 ||||||

Barefoot Nellies @ Amnesia $FREE
Bluegrass Monday continues with some lovely all-female harmonies and
rootsy bluegrass courtesy of the Barefoot Nellies.
http://www.barefootnellies.com/

|||||| TUESDAY 10/24 ||||||

Dynamic @ Bruno's $5
Jazz Mafia Tuesday fool! Once again the city's best night for
spectacular music at a ridiculously low price hits it right on the
money. Dynamic is a combo of Shotgun Wedding and Jazz Mafia Trio
players so count on some serious talent bringin' the funk.
http://jazzmafia.com/index.html

|||||| WEDNESDAY 10/25 ||||||

Gomez @ Warfield $25
I think I might be down for this, been trying to see these guys for a
while. Kind of an eclectic rock band, Gomez has shown me a whole bunch
of faces including high energy jamming, soulful creativity, and just
plain innovative and progessive rock n' roll. If my wallet allows,
I'll be there. Matt Pond PA and Rodrigo y Gabriela open.
http://www.gomeztheband.com/

Perpetual Groove | Dan Lebowitz Group @ 12 Galaxies $18
They's callin' this a Pre-Hallow's Dream, so the place'll be pretty
decked out I reckon. In fact, deck yourself out too while you're at
it. All these years and I still don't think I've actually caught
P-Groove, but they're some pretty heavy hittin' jam rock players.
Groovy and soulful, they'll make ya dance. And opening up is Dan
Lebowitz and Steve Adams (guitar and bass from ALO) with our man
Jordan Feinstein on the funky keys.
http://www.pgroove.com/

Raq | Blvd @ Independent $15
Man, I'm takin' some risks on bands I haven't seen here... A rock band
through and through, these guys can keep it tight and clean and can
also jam out in funky style. Listening to their stuff the musicianship
is pretty excellent, I'll bet this will be a good one. Local
livetronica rockers Blvd open up.
http://www.raqmusic.com/

|||||| THURSDAY 10/26 ||||||

Rebirth Brass Band | Aphrodesia @ Independent $20
Thursday & Friday shows! A funkytown institution y'all! Get up wit yer
'Nawlins get down at the Indy. Maybe the baddest funky brass band
goin', these guys hit you with a wall of horns and throw in a little
new school hip hop attitude for good measure. Opening are SF's own
Afrobeat rockers Aphrodesia, definitely worth showing up early for in
my humble opinion.
http://www.rebirthbrassband.com/

9/22/2006: Hooray Bird and Moe! Hooray Medeski Martin & Wood! Hooray Jazz Mafia Tuesdays! Hooray Music!

Happy Friday gorgeous people!

At looooong last it's the debut of the Gmail McShow, many profuse

apologies from the McShow Punctuality Audit Division. It still smells

like the Yahoo McShow, but let me tell ya from this end of the kitchen

things are cooking quite a bit smoother. Speaking of smooth, don't

forget this date:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6th. It's a VERY SHOWY BIRTHDAY. I'm still sorting a

couple of things out, but I have to say I'm really psyched about

what's in store. I'll keep y'all posted of course, this is gonna be a

hell of a good time.

Oh, MUSIC! Yeah! And tons of it. Two weeks' worth, to be exact:

Tonight there are smashing options in the form of utterly unique

troubadore Andrew Bird at the Great American (where I'll be), and

kick-ass jam rockers Moe. at the Warfield. And late night there is

some cool stuff going down with excellent local cats down in SoMa.

Then we roll into the DJ beat throng of Love Fest/Love Parade/Love thy

neighbor/Love your Mom weekend. I'll let you go elsewhere for details

on people spinning vinyl records, but I will recommend the Bohemian

Carnival at DNA Lounge on Saturday night which is gonna have some

crazy performance art trickery and vaudeville/gypsy musicians galore.

Then on Tuesday MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD make their return to our fair

city. This is a night not to be missed for fans and tolerators of

freaky experimental jazz. Get yer ticket NOW. The other big news on

Tuesday is that Bruno's, our beloved and swanky Mission jazz joint,

has re-opened after far too much renovating. This means JAZZ MAFIA

TUESDAYS are back to bring the funk each and every week. The next one

is the incredible Shotgun Wedding Hip Hop Symphony, hell yeah.

The following weekend serves up a rare Tea Leaf Green acoustic night

at the Great American. They're a good fit for the acoustic thing, with

the bluesy influence and all. After that we get the huge crazy

Realistic Orchestra at Bruno's for Jazz Mafia Tuesday, the roots

americana sounds of the Waybacks with Bob Weir on Wednesday, and a

trio of fantastic options for Thursday including some tempting free

bluegrass at Atlas Cafe.

And that folks, will bring us neatly up the the night of the McShow

Birthday Spectacular. Stay tuned and stay funky...

|||||| FRIDAY 9/22 ||||||

Lori Carsillo Trio @ Cafe Claude (7 Claude Ln, SF) $FREE

I have it on good advice that this woman's voice is amazing. Early

show (she plays from 7:30–10:30), no cover!

www.loricarsillo.com

Andrew Bird @ Great American Music Hall $15 (SOLD OUT)

Sorry I didn't get to you guys before this one sold out. If you're in

the mood to see something special, hit Craigslist and hunt down a

ticket to see this cat. He is mainly a solo troubadore:

singer/guitarist/violinist/live-looper blah blah blah. The thing is

he's crazy versatile, completely unique, clever as hell, and from

everything I've listened to a virtuoso musician. There is more

fantastic music this night, but I'll be at Andrew Bird 'cause I've

never seen him and I really wanna.

http://www.andrewbird.net/

Moe. | New Monsoon @ Warfield $25

Dang, why does this have to be the same night as Andrew Bird? Why? Moe

are veterans on the jam scene and they never fail to completely rock

the place with their rootsy, bluesy instrumentation and compositional

creativity. New Monsoon are also heavy jam hitters, integrating world

percussion influences with their improv rock.

http://www.moe.org/index2.htm

the RituaL | Bernadette @ Arspace (Folsom at 9th) $8

Where would a pirate go for a late-night party? Aaaaaarrrspace! This

gig starts around midnight and goes laaaate. On the bill are some of

SF's excellent local rockers including keyboard madman Jordan

Feinstein, guitar badass Sean Leahy, and our pal Bernadette Bohan.

Might see ya there...

http://www.theritual.net/

|||||| SATURDAY 9/23 ||||||

Bohemian Carnival @ DNA Lounge $15

If I go to one Love Parade related party, this might be it. You

guessed it, they actually have live music. It sounds like a hell of a

lot of vaudeville type fun. Acrobats, fire artists, clowns,

contortionists, stilters, and some wild music are on tap. Vau de Vire

Society (a band of vaudevillains), Gooferman (clown

multi-instrumentalists), Brass Mafia (the city's best funky brass

band), Angelo Moore (of Fishbone ska fame), and many more are on the

bill.

http://www.vaudeviresociety.com/

Planet Drum @ Masonic Center $25–80

SF Jazz presents this percussion-frenzied show. Led by Mickey Hart of

the Grateful Dead, it features some of the world's percussion

virtuosos including the incredible Zakir Hussain (tablas), Giovanni

Hidalgo (congas), and Sikiru Adepoju (talking drum).

http://www.sfjazz.org/concerts/2006/fall/artists/PlanetDrum.asp

Stymie & the Pimp Jones Luv Orchestra @ Rockit Room $12

Big bad funky old-school soul music is the name of Stymie's game. Like

Sly Stone his band is gritty and real, no overproduced cheese here.

Dig 'em and get down. Equipto and Matt Renzi Trio open up.

http://stymieluv.com/index.php

Wil Blades @ Bacar

Pull up a seat, have a glass of vino, forget your troubles while you

listen to the city's best young Hammond B3 organ maestro.

http://www.wilblades.com/

|||||| TUESDAY 9/26 ||||||

Medeski Martin & Wood @ Fillmore $27.50

HELL YES! I'm gettin' my ticket tonight, who's in? MMW is basically

the world's pre-eminent freak jazz band. From night to night you don't

know what the hell these three virtuosos are going to do. From crazy

sonic experimentation to ass-shakin' funky jazz, they do everything

BRILLIANTLY. For this gig Chris Wood (best stand-up bass player I've

EVER seen) will be opening with his brother Oliver. Fuck yeah.

http://www.mmw.net/

Shotgun Wedding Hip Hop Symphony @ Bruno's $6

JAZZ MAFIA TUESDAYS ARE BACK and on the ATTACK! Finally, at loooooong

last Bruno's is open again! And that means that SF's funkiest Tuesday

nights are right back where they belong. This episode brings the bad

ass hip hop funk of Shotgun Wedding with (lordy!) a damn string

section. Go and be rocked!

http://shotgunweddingquintet.com/

|||||| WEDNESDAY 9/27 ||||||

Kaki King @ Independent $14

An amazing and intense performer, Kaki King's acoustic music is rich

with beauty and soul. I haven't seen her in years, but I'm sure she's

doing new and original things these days too, check her out.

http://www.kakiking.com/

|||||| THURSDAY 9/28 ||||||

Cherry Poppin' Daddies @ Red Devil Lounge $20

Swingers baby, swingers! Grab your lady and get to steppin', it's a

rare chance to catch this big swingin' brass band in a little tiny

room. The Red Devil will be jumpin' and jivin' all night, daddio.

http://www.daddies.com/

|||||| FRIDAY 9/29 ||||||

Tea Leaf Green acoustic @ Great American Music Hall $16

It's pretty unique really, that SF's biggest jamband is doing two

nights at different venues unplugged and electric in the same weekend.

Having heard these guys acoustic I can definitely recommend it. They

have a blues rock kinda sensibility that makes for a soulful sound

without the electric stuff.

http://tealeafgreen.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 9/30 ||||||

Tea Leaf Green @ Fillmore $20

Night two is TLG electric, bringin' you straight-up blues based jam

rock. Great guitar licks from Josh and soulful keys from Trevor are

the pillars of this band. Haven't really heard them change much lately

though... Zack Hexum opens.

http://tealeafgreen.com/

|||||| TUESDAY 10/3 ||||||

Realistic Orchestra @ Bruno's $6

Jazz Mafia Tuesday! This enormous 18-piece wall of sound does things

no big band ever did. Like breakbeat drum n'bass style compositions

for instance. They're totally unique and if you haven't seen 'em fill

a little room like this, you should

http://www.jazzmafia.com/realisticorchestra.html

|||||| WEDNESDAY 10/4 ||||||

the Waybacks feat. Bob Weir @ Slim's $25

Described as eclectic acoustic americana, you can bet there will be a

healthy dose of bluegrass, folk, blues, and old timey rock n'roll from

these cats. And of course with Grateful Dead guitarist Bobby Weir

sitting in, these guys must have some serious cred.

http://www.waybacks.com/index.html

Hip Hop Jazz Sessions @ Royale $5

The Jazz Mafia trio provides the wicked grooves while some of the

city's best emcees duke it out for freestyle supremacy at this sweet

little North Beach spot.

http://www.jazzmafia.com/jazzmafiaunit.html

|||||| THURSDAY 10/5 ||||||

Dark Hollow @ Atlas Cafe $FREE

Sweet, soulful, beautiful bluegrass string music is what Dark Hollow

is all about. They do the traditional stuff right, and it's the

perfect thing for an intimate cafe in the Mission. Who wants to go?

http://home.comcast.net/~ukecat/dkhollow2.html

Dark Star Orchestra @ Fillmore $25

Thursday through Saturday shows. I'm going Saturday because I've never

seen these guys before and it's about damn time. They re-create Dead

shows in ridiculously accurate detail. From what I hear it goes way

beyond what you'd normally think of as a cover band... down to the

on-stage banter. Wild.

http://www.darkstarorchestra.net/

The RituaL & Friends @ Connecticut Yankee $5

Keyboard badass Jordan Feinstein continues his rockin' residency with

some of SF's best jam players. On the bill are stellar guitarists

Garrin Benfield and Sean Leahy, and some cats from jamband Home at

Last.

http://www.theritual.net/