Oh snap, it's BACK.

Last week wasn't the first time I've missed something that I really needed to put on the Showy McShow music list, and it sure as hell won't be the last...

I really had to drop this quick note on y'all though, because Tuesday night—tonight in fact—is a very special night.

San Francisco music hasn't quite been the same since Jazz Mafia Tuesdays at Bruno's ended.

I'm not sure what I missed most about it.

It could have been the impeccable quality and unending variety of live music streaming out of the joint until the wee hours of Wednesday morning; it could've been the obscenely low cover charge that always kept enough scratch in my wallet for that one extra drink I knew I shouldn't have ordered on a school night; it could've been the smiling faces of old friends, that Cheers kinda atmosphere that always awaited you when you stepped through the door; or, most likely, it was probably the fact that no matter what challenges my Tuesday brought me I always knew I had a place to go to lose my troubles (and myself), and just rock the hell out for a while.

Tonight, Jazz Mafia Tuesday comes roaring BACK.


|||||| TUESDAY 8/4 ||||||

Joe Bagale @ Coda - $7
WOOOOOT! SF's best damn weekly music night is BACK, baby! Coda (at Mission & Duboce) is an all-new venue and restaurant that, unlike Bruno's in the recent past, promises to stick to their live music ethos nearly every night of the week. This is the new home of Jazz Mafia Tuesdays, and it looks like it's here to stay. The choice of Joe Bagale for their first night back is a hell of a good one too. Hot off a fantastic gig at Yoshi's, Joe wil bring his multi-instrumental and vocal skills to bear in a spot where we'll have the room to dance to the sweet funky soul music. The man just rocks the old school funk with authenticity and skill that you'd never expect to find in a dude this humble and, well, white (ha). This is going to be a blast, and a hell of a way to make Wednesday morning hurt all over again. I can't freakin' wait.
http://joebagale.com/
http://www.codalive.com/

|||||| WEDNESDAY 8/5 ||||||

Phish @ Shoreline Amphitheater - $50 (SOLD OUT, see Craigslist)
The day of reckoning... the moment of truth... it has arrived. The Bay Area will soon find out if Phish—in my opinion the single most innovative rock band of the last quarter century (yeah, I said it)—can re-create the magic of their best years. In the '90s this band was untouchable. The telepathic dynamism of their improvisations, the fierce virtuosity of their musicianship, the fire and passion and sheer creativity that they brought to the live experience, it was unmatched by any single rock band I've ever seen... on a good night of course. Unfortunately as they went out on and came back from hiatus in the 2000s, they got sloppy, the good nights came less and less often, and some of the messiest shows I've heard were played. Now back again from a long break, the recordings and reports from friends have me thinking that finally, at loooong last, the magic is back. On Wednesday night I'll brave the lawn down at Shoreline (shudder) to find out... OH! And they just announced a 3-day festival in Southern California on Halloween too. Uh-huh.
http://phish.com/

Realistic Orchestra Michael Jackson Tribute @ Yoshi's SF - $10/14
If you've ever been to a Jazz Mafia tribute show, you know that no one brings the party like these cats. They have a way of bending, twisting, and squeeeeeezing the funk out of everything they touch. That's why this MJ tribute is NOT TO BE MISSED. The Realistic Orchestra will absolutely kill it with multiple vocalists and a 20 piece wall of sound. They'll make you forget all the weird (well, most of the weird), and remember all that you loved, about the late King of Pop. I can hear that Billy Jean bassline right now in fact... on an upright... maybe with a tuba...
http://www.jazzmafia.com/


|||||| UPCOMING ||||||

8/7 - American Steel | the New Trust @ Bottom of the Hill
8/8 - Los Amigos Invisibles @ the Fillmore
8/11 - Shotgun Wedding Quintet @ Coda
8/11 - Crooked Jades @ Cafe du Nord
8/14 - Orgone @ Boom Boom Room
8/14 - Sol'Jibe @ Mojito
8/18 - Shotgun Wedding Quintet @ Coda
8/20-8/22 - Brass, Bows, and Beats @ Yoshi's SF
8/28 - David Grisman Quintet @ Freight & Salvage
8/28-8/30 - Outside Lands Festival @ Golden Gate Park
8/30 - Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle @ Boom Boom Room