2/3/2006: Forget the (yawn) game, there's a hell of a show Sunday...

Happy gawd damn Friday to ya, music junkies.

This McShow is just a little pre-weekend quickie. I'm
definitely missing some stuff in this one (as usual I
guess) but there are a few things that you just HAVE
to know about.

We're in full swing for the SF Bluegrass and Old Time
Festival with great string music all around the city
and in Berkeley every night. Check the calendar
here:http://www.sfbluegrass.org/calendrix/calendar.php?op=cal&month=2&year=2006&catview=0

The last night for the Greyboy Allstars is tonight and
lemme tell ya they were so ridiculous on Wednesday
that it is unquestionably worth your while to go down
and hunt for a ticket at the Indy tonight. Saturday
brings us a killer double bill at the Fillmore with
Hot Buttered Rum and New Monsoon, along with Al Howard
playin' the CT Yankee.

And for once I'm going to pay absolutely no attention
to the Super Bowl. I've always at least watched the
game if not cared about it, but this Sunday there is a
compelling show at an unbelievable price. The SF
Bluegrass Fest is bringing Darol Anger, Bill Evans,
and Old School Freight Train to the Make Out Room of
all places. These are some of the best bluegrass
musicians on the planet at a tiny and intimate venue
for just 12 DAMN DOLLARS. I bought my tickets today
and so should you.

|||||| FRIDAY 2/3 ||||||

THE GREYBOY ALLSTARS @ Independent $25 (sold out and
tough to get)
Wednesday was insanity, and their last show in town is
tonight. These sumbitches are easily in my top five.
They are some of the best of the best players in funky
jazz today. To a man: Karl Denson, Robert Walter,
Chris Stillwell, Elgin Park, Zak Najor). If you have
ever thought about thinking that you might think you
want to hear the funkiest soul acid jazz you ever did
here, GO. And if not, go anyway.
http://www.greyboyallstars.com/main.html

The Violent Femmes @ Fillmore $27
After 'decades of disorganized music' I can't believe
I still haven't seen this band. Can't go tonight
either but I'm sure they do a hell of rock n' roll
show.
http://www.vfemmes.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 2/4 ||||||

New Monsoon | Hot Buttered Rum @ Fillmore $20
Sa-weet! A hot double-bill of jam happy roots music.
I'm not sure who is going first—the heel kickin'
new-grass dance-happy sounds of Hot Buttered Rum or
the world-funk Latin Indian grooves of local vets New
Monsoon.
http://newmonsoon.com/

Al Howard & the K23 Orchestra @ Connecticut Yankee $8
A powerhouse of hip-hop, spoken word, Latin jazz, and
rock would be one way to describe Al. This 6-piece has
amazing energy, badass impov skills, and some
seriously smart lyricism goin' on.
http://www.alhowardk23.com/

|||||| SUNDAY 2/5 ||||||

Darol Anger Trio | Old School Freight Train | Bill
Evans String Summit @ Make Out Room $12
Screw the game, I'm going to this. THANK YOU SF
Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival for bringing all of
these crazy string musicians to one tiny little venue.
Darol is the best fiddle player I have ever seen and
I'll catch him any time I can. Old School Freight
Train is a young new-grass fusion band mixing
influences of jazz, Latin, and Celtic music. I hear
they're terrific. And as if that weren't enough, banjo
wizard Bill Evans and his sextet will push their
string instruments to the absolute limits of
bluegrass. Crazy crazy crazy.
http://www.sfbluegrass.org/calendrix/cal_event.php?id=201&wcal4ulogin=349415c463244244a8d6f1e383371ece

Rock to Relief @ Slim's $20 (sold out, check CL)
This is a rock benefit for New Orleans and Pakistan
featuring Phil Lesh, Rich Price, Peter Rowan, and
more. Should be a great gig if you can get in.
http://www.slims-sf.com/

|||||| WEDNESDAY 2/8 ||||||

Jazz Mafia Brass Band @ Boom Boom Room $6
Get over the hump with some brass for your ass. SF's
best funky jazz players will funk it up all night at
the Boom Boom. I might head to this one...
http://jazzmafia.com/bands.html