7/20/2006: I told you you were in for it...

Good Lawd there's a lot to talk about!

In last week's teaser I promised ya'll nice big
report, but even I wasn't expecting this much stuff.
It's pretty freakin' ridiculous:

Tonight we'll get to see the Motet (who sound like
they've been getting better and better) in the
intimate lil' space of 12 Galaxies. Saturday brings me
a chance to defend my 'Slowest Cruiser Rider in SF'
title at the annual Tour de Fat Ballyhoo of Bikes and
Beer in Golden Gate Park. Get there at 1pm to see me
take on (and whoop soundly) all slow riders, or get
there at 4pm to catch badass Afrobeat from Aphrodesia
for FREE! I'll be checkin' out Jurassic 5 for some old
school freestylin' that night at the Fillmore, but the
Raconteurs rockin' the Warfield would be a good bet
too. Catch both of those bands Sunday night as well.

The following week is riddled with outstanding FREE
music. Wednesday night is Jazz on Grant, the kickoff
of the NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST. Get thee to North Beach
on hump day for 30+ FREE shows all over the
neighborhood! Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night we
have the Afrofunk Festival at the Independent. Great
funky African bands Thursday & Friday, I'm not such a
fan of Sila on Saturday though. And the weekend is
doling out two HUGE days of FREE music with the NORTH
BEACH JAZZ FEST. All of the bands this year are hot
stuff, I'll see you in Washington Square Park!

And dig that upcoming list. Festival of the Golden
Gate is coming with James Brown, Soulive is playing
the tiny little Boom Boom Room, Ozomatli at Stern
Grove, Skerik at 12 Galaxies, Sam Bush & Hot Buttered
Rum at the Independent, Andrew Bird at the Great
American, and good Gawd Medeski Martin & Wood at the
Fillmo'!

Damn, I can't remember the last time I used so many
exclamation points in the Showy McShow. I'm annoying
myself. Time for the listings:

|||||| THURSDAY 7/20 ||||||

the Motet @ 12 Galaxies $15
Drawing on Afrobeat, samba, funk, and jam rock roots,
these veteran cats can definitely put down a sweet
groove. It's been a long time since I've seen 'em, but
recent recordings sound fantastic. This is a really
tempting show in a sweet intimate room, let me know if
you're heading down. Local funksters Bucho open up.
http://www.themotet.net/

the RituaL & Friends @ Connecticut Yankee $5
Thursday night residency. A little bit funk, a little
bit rock and roll, the RituaL is led by one of SF's
best keyboard players Jordan Feinstein. Joining them
tonight is stellar roots guitarist Garrin Benfield and
some of the cats from jamband Home at Last.
http://theritual.net/

|||||| FRIDAY 7/21 ||||||

Banyan @ 12 Galaxies $10
Friday & Saturday shows. I have to admit I'm really
curious about this band, have any of ya'll seen 'em?
If so, give me a review. It's described as punk-jazz
gumbo (Hairy Apes BMX style?) and it teams stellar
bassist Rob Wasserman with Jane's Addiction drummer
Stephen Perkins and hip-hop trumpeter Willie Waldman.
Sounds pretty wild to me...
http://www.perkinspalace.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 7/22 ||||||

Tour de Fat (feat. Aphrodesia) @ Speedway Meadow
(Golden Gate Park) $FREE
Come see me try to defend my Slowest Rider in S.F.
title belt! Ballyhoo! The whacky celebration of all
things beer, bikes, and tunes is back at Golden Gate
Park this Saturday. There is a cruiser bike parade,
goofy bike tricks, delicious beer from New Belgium
(brewers of Fat Tire), and best of all big funky
Afrobeat music from Aphrodesia for free! Beer sales
benefit the SF Bicycle Coalition. I defend my title in
the Slow Ride championship at 1pm, Aphrodesia plays at
4, don't miss it!
http://newbelgium.com/vibe_tourdefat_sf_06.php

Jurassic 5 @ Fillmore $30
Saturday & Sunday shows (I'll be there on Sat.) A rare
appearance for a group of true MCs. If you've ever
wanted to experience real, talented hip-hop musicians,
this is the night. J 5 makes a point of not rapping
about bitches, cappin' fools, of any of that annoying
shit. What they do is flow in amazing and creative
ways lyrically, come check 'em out. I'll see ya there.
http://jurassic5.com/

the Raconteurs @ Warfield $30–38
Saturday & Sunday shows. A real all-star rock band,
the Raconteurs play creative, authentic, kick ass rock
and roll. Successful musicians all around (including
the White Stripes' Jack White), they've found a unique
garage-y sound together and it totally rocks.
http://www.theraconteurs.com/

Banyan @ 19 Broadway (Fairfax) $18
See above.
http://www.perkinspalace.com/

Luminous Family Trust @ Hotel Utah $7
A cool up-and-coming band from the East Bay that
tempers their ska sound with punk and Afrobeat
influences. They're a blast, the Blue Roots and Whitey
on the Moon open it up.
http://www.luminousfamilytrust.com/

|||||| SUNDAY 7/23 ||||||

Jurassic 5 @ Fillmore $30
See above.
http://jurassic5.com/

the Raconteurs @ Warfield $30–38
See above.
http://www.theraconteurs.com/

|||||| WEDNESDAY 7/26 ||||||

Realistic Orchestra @ Italian American Athletic Club
(North Beach) $FREE
7pm—Kickin' the NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST off right! Meet
me to catch 20 of the best jazz musicians in the Bay
Area rock the room with crazy breakbeat compositions.
It's the perfect way to kick off the BEST Wednesday
night of music all year:

NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST JAZZ ON GRANT! FREE!
JOIN ME FOR THE BEST Wednesday night of music in the
city! Get your ass out early to North Beach, there
will be around 30+ FREE shows in just about every bar
and club in the hood. Highlights include Jazz Mafia
cats all over the place after the kickoff show above,
Urban Quintet @ Grant & Green, Will Bernard @ Magnet,
Dan Lebowitz @ Savoy Tivoli, and many many more. Wear
comfy shoes and go early, things start winding down by
12:00. I'll see you out there!
http://www.nbjazzfest.com/

Rusted Root @ Fillmore $25
Using reggae, percussion instrumentals, soulful and
authentic pop, and many other faces, these veterans
can always rock the place. I've still never seen them,
and I don't know what they're up to lately, but I
think it's a safe bet it'll be good.
http://rustedroot.com/

Wil Blades & Will Bernard @ Mojito $FREE
Beat them hump day blues with two of the city's best
funky jazz men. A double bill of Wil(l) on organ and
guitar teaming up for tasty grooves, and it's free!
http://wilblades.com/main.html

|||||| THURSDAY 7/27 ||||||

Albino! | Jujuba @ Independent $17
The Afrofunk Music Festival returns! As if there
weren't enough festivals going on, this one is pretty
hot. Albino! is a smokin' big funky Afrobeat band from
So-Cal that I've been dying to see for a while now.
Jujuba mixes in Nigerian Juju influences with his Fela
Kuti inspired grooves. Should be hot stuff.
http://afrofunk.org/albino.html

the RituaL & Friends @ Connecticut Yankee $5
Thursday night residency, see above.
http://theritual.net/

|||||| FRIDAY 7/28 ||||||

Prince Diabate | Aphrodesia @ Independent $17
More Afrofunk Music Festival for ya! Hailing from West
Africa, this kora (African string instrument) virtuoso
mixes funk, reggae, carribean, and rock into his
traditional African griot music. Badass Afrobeat band
Aphrodesia opens up.
http://afrofunk.org/prince.html

|||||| SATURDAY 7/29 ||||||

NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST @ Washington Sq. Park 12:00–7
$FREE!
After almost being cancelled due to uptight neighbors,
it's sooooo on! The lineup for Saturday is
world-influenced jazz including Daara J. (Senegalese
soul music), New Monsoon (world-Afro jamband),
Agualibre (Afro-Latin jazz), Stooges Brass Band
('Nawlins funky brass attack), and Slammin'
(acapella). Come on out!
http://www.nbjazzfest.com/

Hamsa Lila @ Ashkenaz (Berkeley) $14
Truly an experience to see, this big world-groove band
puts up a huge sound with beautifully layered vocals,
powerful African rhythms, and a slew of moving
melodies from wind instruments and more exotic
noise-making devices the likes of which you probably
won't see anywhere else on the continent. Oh yeah, did
I mention the costumes? Wild stuff.
http://www.hamsalila.com/

Ronkat Spearman's Katdelic Revival @ Boom Boom Room
$15
Beign a bassist and vocalist for George Clinton's
P-Funk means Ronkat has some serious funky clout. His
band is full with pros who can throw down the groove
with some serious energy. Expect funk-rock with bits
of hip-hop, gospel, blues, and even a touch of
roots-country.
http://www.ronkat.net/

Berkeley Jazz Festival @ Greek Theater (Berkeley)
$54–90
Featuring Chaka Khan (who I hear is awesome,
actually), Will Downing, George Duke/Stanley Clarke
(one of the best bassists ever), Norman Brown, Pancho
Sanchez, and more the lineup is diverse as hell. I've
never been to this fest (cha-ching), but it sounds
really interesting. 2pm Show.
http://www.berkeleyjazzfestival.com/

|||||| SUNDAY 7/30 ||||||

NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST @ Washington Sq. Park 12:00–7
$FREE!
Yeeeehaaaa! The lineup for Sunday is 'Nawlins style
featuring Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen
(Big Easy soulful pianist), A.L.O. (inventive and
whacky SF jamband), and Delta Nove (rockin' the
Afro-Latin funk). Sweeeeet!
http://www.nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| MONDAY 7/31 ||||||

Jimbo Trout & the Fish People @ Amnesia $FREE!
Kick up them heels, and enjoy a ton of tasty beers on
tap to start the week off right. Jimbo is straight-up
quality string music, whatta deal!
http://www.jimbotrout.com/

|||||| WEDNESDAY 8/3 ||||||

Dark Hollow @ Atlas Cafe $FREE?
Sweet old-time bluegrass music right in the heart of
the Mission is just the thing to get you through the
week.
http://home.comcast.net/~ukecat/dkhollow2.html

|||||| THURSDAY 8/4 ||||||

the RituaL & Friends @ Connecticut Yankee $5
Thursday night residency, see above.
http://theritual.net/