12/22/2004: A very Showy Christmas...

It is with a touch of sadness that I bring you this
ridiculously long Showy McShow. There are an absurd
amount of fantastic shows listed below. And
unfortunately I won’t see any of your beautiful
smiling faces at any of them...

On Friday morning I leave for Boston, not to return
until January 4th. That means no New Year’s show for
me (on the west coast anyway). It’s almost easier this
way because with the amount of musical options it’s a
really tough decision to make. Good luck to you all
with that one.

I’m excited for the trip, but I’ll miss you all
terribly on New Year’s.

*sniffle*

This has been quite an eventful year, musically and
otherwise. I’ve been keeping some running stats that
I’ll put together for your amusement when I get back.

I want to wish you all much love and holiday happiness
from the very bottom of my heart. Thank you for
sharing your music with me and for letting me share a
little with you every week.

Here’s to the next one…




|||||| THURSDAY 12/23 ||||||

Will Bernard & Motherbug @ Boom Boom Room $6
One of SF's funkiest guitarists brings one of his
original bands to the Boom Boom. The sound is
funk-rock with heavy roots in the smooth old-school
R&B that made the Bay Area famous.
http://www.willbernard.com/default.htm

|||||| SUNDAY 12/26 ||||||

Joe Satriani @ Fillmore $35
A true god of electric guitar, Satriani defined his
own seering style and continues to innovate.
http://www.satriani.com/2004/

|||||| MONDAY 12/27 ||||||

Garaj Mahal @ Tower Theater (next to 12 Galaxies) $15
Literally a band full of virtuosos, Garaj Mahal is
always a killer show. Guitarist Fareed Haque and
bassist Kai Eckhardt are two of the absolute best in
the funky jam world. Lately they’ve added in some
trippy livetronica tunes to expand their sound even
more.
http://www.garajmahal.net/flashIndex.html

Joe Satriani @ Fillmore $35
See above.
http://www.satriani.com/2004/

|||||| TUESDAY 12/28 ||||||

Shotgun Wedding Hip-Hop Symphony @ Bruno’s $8
One of the hottest Jazz Mafia acts is the Symphony. A
jazzy hip hop band with strings? Oh yeah, it’s just
that crazy. As usual, Stella Artois is $2 on JM
Tuesdays.
http://www.shotgunweddingquintet.com/pages/1/index.htm

Steve Kimock Band @ Great American Music Hall $25
Kimock is one of the kings of guitar on the jam band
scene. Wednesday night show as well.
http://www.kimock.com/

|||||| THURSDAY 12/30 ||||||

Soulive @ Independent $20
See below.
http://soulive.com/mx/

Skerik, Mike Dillon, & guests @ Bruno’s $8
The only way to accurately describe sax man Skerik is
‘out of control.’ His versatility, inventiveness, and
technical skill are just mind-blowing. Dillon is also
an incredibly talented innovator in precussion and on
the vibraphone. These are the original Critters
Buggin' founders in a rare opportunity to see them in
a tiny space at a great price!
http://www.skerik.org/

New Monsoon & Hot Buttered Rum @ 12 Galaxies $15
See below for New Year’s show.
http://www.newmonsoon.com/

Steve Kimock Band @ Great American Music Hall $25
See above.
http://www.kimock.com/

|||||| FRIDAY 12/31 ||||||

HAPPY NEW YEAR! BOY HAVE YOU GOT SOME CHOICES…

Soulive @ Independent $85
Price includes open bar! Soulive is at the very TOP of
their game right now, and they’re one of my absolute
favorite bands. Their funky funky soul-jazz blasts you
in the gut with the intensity and loudness of a metal
band. It’s just an incredible show and is worth every
penny. Bing Ji Ling opens.
http://soulive.com/mx/

Tea Leaf Green & ALO @ Great American Music Hall $30
If there are two hotter up-and-coming jam bands out
there, I haven’t seen ‘em. These guys will keep it
rocking all night long until you can stand (up) no
more. Fun fun fun.
http://www.tealeafgreen.com/high.html

New Monsoon, Hot Buttered Rum, Hairy Apes BMX @ 12
Galaxies $30
Sure to be an amazing night mixing new-school string
music with all-out experimental whackiness. Hot
Buttered Rum kicks it off with smokin’ bluegrass, New
Monsoon headlines with their layered, soundscapey,
string-heavy jams, and Hairy Apes BMX comes on
late-night just to blow your head off. Price includes
champagne and early morning breakfast, yum!
http://www.newmonsoon.com/

Papa Mali & the Instigators @ Boom Boom Room $25
Boogie in the New Year with some southern-fried
dance-happy funk. These Austin cats really bring the
deep-groove sound right to ya. Price includes
champagne and festivities.
http://papamali.com/

Shotgun Wedding Quintet @ Bruno’s $20-70
A Jazz Mafia hip-hop New Year’s throwdown. Expensive
tix include a tasty dinner, cheaper ones are for music
and lots of partyin’.
http://www.shotgunweddingquintet.com/pages/1/index.htm

Sinister Dexter @ Lost & Found Saloon $20-30
Aside from having a cool name, Sinister Dexter will
move you with their big funky latin swingin’ horns.
Advance tix cheaper and price includes champagne and
festivities.
http://sinisterdexter.net/index.php

The Avalon Allstars @ Tower Theater (next to 12
Galaxies) $25
A whole slew of legendary jammers make up the Avalon
Allstars. It’s Mark Karan (Ratdog), Melvin Seals
(Jerry Garcia Band), Bobby Vega (KVHW, Sly Stone), and
Will Bernard (Motherbug, Frequinox). Price includes
food and festivities.
http://www.morningspringrain.com/upcoming_shows.html

Joshua Redman Elastic Band @ Yoshi’s $100
Josh continually pushes the limits of funky jazz
saxamaphone and his Elastic trio just cooks. They’ll
be rocking hard at Yoshi’s all night long. There will
also be a broadcast on NPR in case you don’t have that
extra hundo sitting around. He’ll be playing Tuesday
through Sunday with tickets (thankfully) at $26-30.
http://www.joshuaredman.com/joshua/index.cfm

Aphrodesia @ El Rio $20-50 (sliding)
A benefit party for anti-war causes, you can get your
Afrobeat on all night long. Aphrodesia is a party in
and of themselves, so this is bound to be hot stuff.
http://www.aphrodesia.com

Les Claypool’s New Year’s Frog Out @ Fillmore $57.50
Claypool will be throwing down with his regular New
Year’s shenanigans at the Fillmo’. This time it’s with
Bernie Worrel, Buckethead, and Brain and it’s bound to
be whacky as all hell.
http://www.lesclaypool.com/home/

|||||| SATURDAY 1/1 ||||||

Bernard, Krazno, Staten, Cohen, Blades, Roseman @ Boom
Boom Room $12
DAAAAAAAMN that’s a hell of a lineup! With guys from
Motherbug/Frequinox, Soulive/Lettuce, Karl Denson’s
Tiny U, Cannonball/Realistic, Motherbug/OGD, and
Groove Collective this is bound to be unreal. One of
the New Year’s best shows just might be one of the
first!

|||||| TUESDAY 1/4 ||||||

The Vowel Movement @ Studio Z $5-15 (sliding)
Kid Beyond and the cats from Felonius are just a few
of the many mad beatboxers kicking their vocal rhythms
at the VM. Instruments? We don’t need no stinkin’
instruments!
http://www.thevowelmovement.com/

Realistic Orchestra @ Bruno’s $10
The original 18 piece break beat jazz band will fill
the little room once again. $2 Stella Artois is your
friend.
http://realisticsf.com/

|||||| FRIDAY 1/7 ||||||

Division Group @ Independent $15
This is sure to be unique and amazing with cats from
Soulive, Incubus, the Roots, and other bands that make
an eclectic mix to say the least.
http://www.thedivisiongroup.com/