Er, yes, well, we do have quite a bit of catching up to do since the Big Blog Crash of '06.

Magik Markers get sketchy at ArthurFest, LA, in 2005. Credit: Kimberly Chun

MAGIK MARKERS

First off, wow, Magik Markers certainly drank dat kosmic Kool-Aid last night, July 6, at the Hemlock Tavern, didn't they? I went with my pal who's been psychic since birth, reads animals' pea-brains, and is currently taking a trance-medium class -- and she swears that the MM's magnetic cutie-pie vocalist Elisa Ambrogio is working with three beings -- WITHOUT EYES, mind you (Did we need that detail? TMI!) -- when she performs. Hey, different strokes, y'all -- some kick back with a six-pack; others go for the eyeless, fleshless variations on the out-of-bod theme. OK, can I consider my music journalist license revoked now? Am I free to go?

Liars, Liars, pants on fire at Bottom of the Hill. Credit: Kimberly Chun

LIARS

In other live show notes, here's a much-belated review of the mega June 5 Liars show at Bottom of the Hill, courtesy of Guardian freelance writer Chris Sabbath:

I had seen the Liars open for the YYY's four years ago back in Cleveland, Ohio, when they were still a quartet, and I was blown away. However, the band has undergone a lot of changes in terms of lineup and sound, so I was anticipating tonight’s performance to be different.

Several thoughts raced through my mind as I waited in line for the band’s sold-out show at the Bottom of the Hill. Would they play songs off of They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top? I guessed no, but pondered anyway. Could the band’s live sound top their new album’s slick production work? Would any faux-Simon instruments be involved like last time? How tall is Angus? I hope I have enough money for at least three beers. Will the girl standing behind me please shut the fuck up? Anyhow, I had missed the Liars last tour and was eager to see if they could best the one I had seen in Cleveland.

As I stood in the back patio chain-smoking cigarettes and chatting it up with friends, the muffled yet catastrophic din of Portland, Ore.’s Rabbits lured me back into the club. I was met with a wall of deafening feedback, layered fuzz, and a drummer way too happy to slam his sticks against his cymbals. The trio ripped through a tight sounding set of chaotic sludginess and doom metal (or for lack of an annoying classification -- tom rock, which is usually committed by drummers that beat their rack toms into the ground) that brought to mind several bands (Venom, Amphetamine Records-era Helmet, the Melvins 20 years back, High on Fire right now). The sound of two guitars locking horns and spiraling downward into one giant puddle of gritty tumult surpassed my expectations. I spilled more beer on myself, then in my mouth at the end of the band’s performance. My only disappointment was the fact that the band didn’t have any CDs for sale -- just LPs and T-shirts.

I saw the Apes open for the Gogogo Airheart three years ago in San Diego, and can vividly remember the performance being really intense and fun to watch. Yet I wasn’t too enthused with tonight’s set, mainly due to the fact that they had a new lead singer (which I had found out much to my dismay a few weeks back). As the Washington, DC, quartet was setting up, a short costumed character (somewhat resembling a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger) came onto the stage and began talking to the crowd. I really couldn’t make out what he was saying, partly because I was trying to get the bartender’s attention, and mainly because I really didn’t care, but as the rest of the band took the stage, the costumed figure took off the mask and revealed that herself to be the Apes’ organ player. Somebody in the group began to roll call each band member’s name off (Jackie Magik, Majestic Ape -- obviously not their real names) and then introduced the new vocalist before exploding into the first song.

I’m not sure if the songs they were playing were new or not, but I can assure you that it definitely sounded like classic Apes: proggy eruptions that seem to bounce up and down somewhere along the lines of King Crimson spitting out energetic, dancey chops. The costumes were pretty humorous -- the bass player looked like a war vet wearing disco tights, and the drummer resembled a track star. The vocalist stood out amongst the rest, a tall, lanky fellow wearing normal street clothes, shimmying back and forth and lunging at the crowd. His vocals were too watered down and didn’t seem to mesh well with the rest of the band. Maybe I am too attached to their old singer. Perhaps if I heard a recorded song with the new vocalist on it, I would feel differently, but I prefer the old singer’s nasally growl. In any case, the Apes' musicianship did stand out -- though, sad to say, their show made me picture Morris Day fronting a dynamite-sounding rock band. The crowd was definitely digging it, and the club was twice as crammed as it was for the Rabbits’ set.

I secured a corner of Bottom of the Hill just as the Liars were about to come on. As guitarist-percussionist Aaron tweaked some gadgets on stage, Julian jumped up and sat behind the drum set, dressed in what looked like an old boxing robe. The two started playing drums simultaneously and were joined shortly thereafter by singer-guitarist Angus (dressed to kill in a one-piece garage jumpsuit). The crowd yelled gleefully upon his arrival, and the band went into its first song, an ear-scathing mixture of guitar, drum banging, and effects pedals whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Most of the songs were from the band’s new album, Drums not Dead, but the Liars did dip into the breadbasket of old tunes from its last album. The trio strayed away from the dance-punk numbers from their first album, but at this point, I don’t think anybody really cared. The Liars' new songs are just as fun, and geared to make hips swivel and legs rattle up and down.

The band sounded much more balanced and explosive with three members as opposed to four. Julian’s drumming really helped thicken the sound and branched off past the simple disco beat that made the band earlier albums digestable. Aaron's and Angus’s cohesiveness as a duo was topnotch and more well-rounded than the last time I had seem them. I can only hope that they continue to explore different sound textures and not stick with the particular model that they have going on right now.

During the show, I noticed a few crowd surfers, men with shirts off beating their bare chests in approval, the occasional hipster covering his or her ears, and more beer -- spilled on me.

By the middle of the set, Angus had stripped off his uniform, to reveal a black and white checkered secretary dress. The crowd really didn’t react to the costume change.

...Therefore skirts for everyone. Credit: Kimberly Chun

I was very excited to hear “Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack!”, the first song off the new album, followed by an equally impressive “Let’s Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack.” Other good numbers were the tom-happy “A Visit from Drum,” as well as a resounding version of “Broken Witch.” I didn't recognize some of the songs but found them just as mesmerizing -- thanks in part to Angus's hollow delivery on vocals and the band's knack for improvisation. Needless to say, the set was very comforting, with few pauses in between songs and lots of pleasing noise. No encore, but I felt the Liars had already proved their point in the hour that had passed, so I went home with head and body buzzing.

The vast reservoirs of affection we have for Devendra Banhart never quite run dry - and that goes triple for visual artist Chris Cobb.

Cobb, the guy in charge of the color-coding book trick at Adobe Books a year and a half ago, is exhibiting art revolving around Banhart, a former SF Art Institute student, at New Langton Arts in San Francisco. The show opens tomorrow, July 11, and will be up through July 15.

A Chris Cobb image of Devendra Banhart and his band in action.

The artist e-mails: "I asked Devendra to send me some relics from his tour for my show and he did. I will also be showing a bunch of photos of him with the Hairy Fairy Band.... I know Devendra from when I did the Adobe Books installation where I rearranged all of the books by the color of their spine."

Chris Cobb redesigns Adobe Books. Courtesy of www.chriscobbstudios.com.

Yeh! Fetishizing rock stars! That wonderful Banhart can stomp on our spines any time. Whoops, did I just write that? Oh well, we can guess that Karl Lagerfeld probably seconds that emotion -- word has it he has accumulated quite a portfolio of Banhart pics and that's why he asked him to play the recent Chanel runway show. Ooh la la.

Other artists to look out for at that New Langton show, titled "Five Habitats: Squatting at Langton" and curated by former CCA curator, now White Columns director Matthew Higgs: writer Dodie Bellamy will exhibit a selection of the late writer Kathy Acker's clothes. Bellamy will discuss “Digging Through Kathy Acker's Stuff” on July 12 at 7 p.m. - promising to meditate "upon relics, ghosts, compulsive shopping, archives, make-up, our drive to mythologize the dead, Acker's own self-mythologizing, the struggle among followers to define Acker, bitch fights, and the numina of DNA."

Additionally Tussle's Alexis Georgopoulos will present ARP in the smallest space at New Langton. The gallery offers: "Georgopoulos has chosen the intimate idea of getting together with a friend or acquaintance to share a cup of tea, to take a moment, to slow down, and perhaps, reflect. Georgopoulos places a table, a tea set for two, and two speakers in the space. In this intimate, almost cocoon-like setting, the music Georgopoulos has composed as ARP will play as a backdrop. The music itself is minimal in its use of drone, repetition, inertia, tranquility/tension and is informed by a wide variety of composers, among them Charlemagne Palestine, Ralf Hutter & Florian Schneider-Esleben, Terry Riley, and Franco Battiatio."

Guardian intern Michael Harkin throws down on the occasion of Syd Barrett's passing, announced today, July 11:

The "Madcap" back in the day.

Alas! Word around the hood is that Syd Barrett has passed away—sad news for Pink Floyd fans and psych enthusiasts everywhere. Nobody was expecting new material anytime soon from Barrett, who never attempted to reappear after vanishing into an unproductive, drug-induced haze. It was, however, always oddly reassuring to know that he was around…somewhere.

Bless him for avoiding reunion cash grabs and cameos at laser-light shows, but one has to wonder what it’d be like if he ended up even half as productive as, say, Robyn Hitchcock. There’s no question that his epic silence is a large part of what makes him legendary: he burned out damn quick, but left what is perhaps the best of Floyd’s output in The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. You can also thank Barrett for thematically fueling what followed in Floyd’s bombastic concept-album parade, but it seems more appropriate to remember him for his actual tenure with the group, as well as his stellar solo records.

Older Syd out to grab some air -- rather than cash?

Okay, so if Barrett and Howard Hughes were to get in a fight, I’m pretty sure that SB would emerge the prizewinner for the title of “most awesome departed recluse of the century.” Hats off to you, Syd.

So I guess this is the big hard rock week that y'all have been waiting for, huh? Portland, Ore.'s Danava - '70s crunch meets '80s keys and schizo shenanny-gans ensue - happens Friday, July 14, along with Parchman Farm and Snow Foxxes at Bottom of the Hill. Tonight, July 12: Austin, Texas's Sword slashes its way through the underbrush, wielding its debut, Age of Winters (Kemado), like a silver chalice. Saviours and Akimbo round out the bill nicely at Slim's. Danava and the Sword - both on Kemado Records; so what dya think of them apples?

The Sword, good Lord...

Akimbo descends on the city.

Oh yes, and incidentally, Flying Luttenbachers and Zs ain't hard rock in the conventional sense - but damn, they do. That they do.

Flying Luttenbachers mock those silly photos you took back in elementary school.

Both bands tore it up at 21 Grand last night, July 11 (7-11 Day, free slurpies at 7-11 - you missed out). Zs sat before sheet music and descended into a frenzy of jazzed-based drone, thrash, and chicken-fried repetition. Nice. And then Weasel Walter's between-song commentary was worth the admission alone - Mick Barr might not have been in the haus but the entire band raged nonetheless. Go see 'em both tonight, July 12, with the Sword and Sandal (a new John Dwyer project) at Hemlock Tavern.

Radical queers? Radical sluts? Radical. It's time to get out for Debasement, "a Radical Queer Social and Slut Dance" and benefit for Arab Queer groups ASWAT and Helem, on Friday, July 14.

Your friendly waitstaff.

They sayeth:

"It’s time to debase Israeli Terror (and maybe even each other) at a radical queer dance party and sultry soiree. DEBASEMENT will happen at De Basement, a dark and sleazy subterranean speakeasy below the Baker’s
Dozen. Enjoy the sizzling sounds of your fave local DJs Gary Fembot (The Clap), Brontez (Gravy Train, Pussyboys) and Reaganomixxx (Pussyboys). Come thirsty, darling, because some of SF’s most babealicious barmaids have
concocted some delectable cocktails and mocktails for your enjoyment. We invite you to dress up, dress down, cruise, network, dance, prance, make out, and make trouble in support of Helem and ASWAT, two queer
organizations whose members have spoken out against the hypocritical World Pride event in Israeli Jerusalem this August. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. at 733 Baker St. at McAllister, SF. $5-$25.

You have been warned.

Whoa, did Vice Cooler of XBXRX, KIT, and Hawnay Troof have an awesome birthday or what at 21 Grand in Oakland July 15? The topper came around midnight: Mirror/Dash, Sonic Youth twosome Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore's seldom-performed experimental side project.

Moore and Gordon arrived after finishing up their opening set for Pearl Jam at the Bill Graham Civic, sans entourage; set up and plugged in their own gear; and then played a short set of textural fragments with Kim Gordon on drums and then guitar. It was rad to see Gordon and Moore performing together outside of an SY context - a first for me. I dug the piece that featured Gordon playing a propulsive rhythm guitar.

I also like the way hundreds of people suddenly materialized when the SYers appeared (despite the sketchy sign at the door stating "Sonic Youth are NOT playing" - oh yeah, OK, technically, no). I guess folks got busy texting their pals when Vice, performing as Hawnay Troof, announced that Mirror/Dash was coming up soon.

After a few songs, Moore and Gordon warmly wished a happy birthday to Cooler, grinning from ear to ear up front after helping with setup. Is it too much to see them as Cooler's spiritual parental units? Troof-ully, they seem to adore Vice. To drive the point home further, Moore jumped into the audience and tackled the birthday boy. Someone was in a hugging mood...

And on a complete side note, can we all agree that Gordon is probably the hottest (and coolest) 50-something lady in rock, resembling a downtown Charlotte Rampling? Madonna and her aerodynamic thighs have nothin' on her. She also pulled a nice kid-like, twirly dance off at the previous night's Fillmore performance.

Get Hustle didn't make the bash, and Friends Forever canceled due to the girl drummer's back injury. I missed Sharon Cheslow's improv set with Magik Marker's Elisa Ambrogio, as well as Always. But I did catch the spunky Dinky Bits. Cute costumes, guys.

Harry Merry was a maniac, playing a fairly long set of his looney, loveable bizarro tunes. This number was about a bus driver who refused to obey.

The Vice, in his Hawnay Troof guise, got on stage, rocked the mic, and worked the crowd up to a lather.

Cooler continued sweating his heart out, as Thurston Moore peered over the top of heads from the sidelines. A cornucopia of local bands also represented in the audience, including sundry peeps from Comets on Fire, Erase Errata, Xiu Xiu, So So Many White White Tigers, Curtains, and Death Sentence! Panda.

At the end of Hawnay Troof's set, three lovely ladies jumped on stage and led a "Happy Birthday" singalong. Awww, shucks.

Oh, well, my camera sighed and died before Quintron and Miss Pussycat got into the music, but let it be said, they were busy busting out some manic jams when I made my way out of the sweaty, steamy 21 Grand. Outside, venue honcho and bartender Sarah told me she ran out of booze and beer and that the worst drink she resorted to serving was a gin and coke in someone's used beer bottle. Yum. Better luck with the beverages next year - but just try to top this party.

Ahem, this just in from Wooden Wand PR HQ:

"Do you assume Knoxville, Tenn., resident Wooden Wand is a vegetarian?

"Huh?"

'When I am on tour, several people offer me hummus and assume I am a vegetarian or vegan. I don’t want to be rude, and I never refuse the free offer. But I will take White Caste over hummus any day,' says Wooden Wand

That’s right, Wooden Wand will take a SXSW barbecue sandwich over a grilled zucchini and tomato sandwich on spelt bread."

And did they mention that the dude has a new album out, Second Attention, on Kill Rock Stars. What's that - the fifth or six one this year? I guess it's the protein.

CAN I HAVE JELLY WITH MY JAMZ

OK, We confess - we'll do anything Goldie winners Sisterz of the Underground, that ace breakdancing troupe that's not even all sisters but is just so slammin' we just put away our red pens and don't even care. Tonight, July 19, they co-host a jam with live music by the Top Rockerz Breakbeat Band.

Who dat? The ensemble includes Mirv, House, Dr. Ware, DJ Quest, Chris Williams, Adrian Isabell, and Kenny Brooks. Dudes have played for katz as diverse asLes Claypool, Bob Weir, Bill Laswell, DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Charlie Hunter, Bootsy Collins, and Maceo Parker. So you know they got chops. There will be a special performance by Baysic Project Bboy/Bgirl Dance Company. Cash prizes for best B-boys and -girls. Got it? So get it.

July 19, 8:30 p.m., Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell, SF. $11. (415) 885-0750.

Contributor George Chen points to this dispatch regarding improv trumpet player and cartoonist/illustrator Mazen Kerbaj of Lebanon.

Until recently Kerbaj and other musicians and artists were scheduled to be in the states on a 15-date tour, e-mailed musician LIz Albee on July 16.

"I was hoping to e-mail those of you I know in the Midwest and East Coast to urge you to see their shows," she writes. "Unfortunately, the airport was bombed shortly before they were supposed to leave. They were then hoping to fly out of Syria, but the main roads have also been bombed, and their city, Beirut, is now under constant attack, so they have cancelled their tour.

"Too bad for us music fans.

"So as a grossly inadequate compromise, may I introduce to you Mazen Kerbaj, an artist and writer and very very, very great trumpet player: http://mazenkerblog.blogspot.com/.

"And also Raed Yassin, an accomplished double bass player, filmmaker, dancer, writer and poet (that's, ahem, accomplished at all these things)....

"Ya'll should really hear their stuff. Or see it. Or read it. Or meet them sometime when their airport is rebuilt. Again."

Guardian intern Michael Harkin went to the Camera Obscura show on July 20 and this is what he thought:

Scottish delights Camera Obscura treated the Great American Music Hall to a tidy set o’ fey, pretty pop on Thursday night, putting their immense songwriting abilities on display in the most modest of manners.

Singer-guitarist Tracyanne Campbell led the group through a few slower tunes at the start before playing “I Love My Jean,” a fragile, fluttery pop number that they wrote as a tribute to John Peel, eventually opening up to louder, quicker new songs like “If Looks Could Kill” and “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken.” The snappier bits prompted head-bobbing and sorta-dancing all around. That was a contrast to the back-and-forth sway that otherwise characterized the spectatorship’s movement.

The band seemed like the nicest gosh-darn people you could ever meet. Guitarist and backing vocalist Kenny McKeeve had a particularly friendly demeanor: he addressed the mezzanine sitters by asking if anyone up there could make out the insect bite on his scalp, and uttered the gently surprised reaction, “Thanks so much!” when the stage lights were turned up after his offhand observation of darkness in the room.

More humorous banter came from Campbell, who wouldn’t specify her understanding of the word “jock,” which apparently means something different “where [they] come from.”

Their two-song encore concluded an hour-long (and not overlong!) set with “Eighties Fan,” one of their finest tracks and a song originally produced by Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian, a companion of theirs in the British Isles’ pop canon.

Not to be overlooked are openers Georgie James, who provided the necessary proof that cheery indie-pop has its place in DC (the District of Columbia, not to be confused with Daly City).

Singer and guitarist John Davis was most recently the drummer for Prince-ified post-hardcore squadron Q and Not U. Here, he collaborated with singer-keyboardist Laura Burhenn, letting on no indication whatsoever of his prominent former project with the sheer tightness of their melodic structures and sentiments.

From the desk of: Johnny Huston

It's Monday, it's hot as hell, I'm wearing devil red from head to toe and I'm counting the hours until Os Mutantes save us all!

Other music I'm loving at the moment? Let's start with the Ricardo Villalobos career-span comp Salvador, especially the hypnotist's power of the lead-off track, his 2006 remix of "Que Belle Epoque." So the Germany-based (by way of Chile) Villalobos likes Baby Ford? He can oochy koochy and beach bump onto my stereo anytime.

Then there's Girl Talk and his three recordings, especially the new Night Ripper. Mash-ups? Please. More like plunderphonics with DJ Assault's attention span and sense of dirty humor. The wishes of the Justified Ancients have been granted. Gimme more. And what if god was a project bitch, anyway?

What better band to speak to about all-female groups than Portland, Ore.'s All Girl Summer Fun Band. I e-mailed to Kathy Foster (drums, bass, vocals), Jen Sbragia (guitar, vocals), Kim Baxter (guitar, keyboards, drums, vocals), and Ari Douangpanya (bass, drums, vocals) for my story, but alas didn't have the space to get in their responses. So here they are now.

By the way these women come with impeccable musical pedigree: Baxter played in the Young Astronauts, Cherry Ice Cream Smile, and One Two; Sbragia with Pretty Face, Kissing Book, and the Softies; Foster with Haelah, Hutch, and Kathy, the Thermals and Butterfly Transformation Service.

Bay Guardian: Would you say it's harder to find all-girl bands these days? Is it a form of musicmaking that's waning (thinking about prominent ones such as Sleater-Kinney and Le Tigre that have called it quits)? Does the idea, associated issues, and the mode of working and making art among solely women seem irrelevant, for whatever reason, today?

Kathy: I think there are more and more girls/women playing music these days. It may seem like it’s less relevant because the mainstream media doesn't pay much attention, but that's mostly all crap anyway. On the more independent level, there are tons of great female musicians.

Kim: If it is harder to find all-girl bands these days, then perhaps that is a good sign. In the past girls/women were not always given a lot of respect in the music world, even within the independent music scene. I personally started my first all-girl band in high school because I felt frustrated trying to play with guys and not getting much respect from them. There are definitely more and more females playing music everyday, especially because of the onset and expansion of the rock camps for girls as well as all of the positive attention that bands like Sleater-Kinney and Le Tigre have received. Perhaps the relationship between males and females in music is improving and female musicians are more spread out between all-girl and co-ed bands. I think this is the case, at least within the independent music scene. The mainstream music scene will probably always be stuck in their old-fashioned, unprogressive ways.

Jen: It seems there are always new female vocal groups that rely on their sex appeal, which is frustrating for me. I wish more women wanted to learn to play instruments. It seems lazy to me to just tart up and sing, especially when there's the technology to fix less than stellar voices.

I don't think female-based art and music is irrelevant at all, but I can see where the masses - hypnotized by shows like American Idol - see fame as the reason for doing it, and that it can come instantly if you're lucky. Who wants to spend years perfecting a craft? Lots of people...but maybe it's becoming less and less popular.

On the other hand, Sleater-Kinney and the Donnas have undoubtedly inspired a whole new group of girls that are still learning how to play, and maybe in a year or two there will be more all-female rock bands. I would love to see that.

Gus Van Sant shoots the girls.

BG: Do you find it disheartening or encouraging to have your gender emphasized? Any thoughts on the emphasis put on "women in rock" in the '90s?

Kim: I definitely appreciated the emphasis put on women in rock in the '90s. I was just starting to play music at that time and it allowed me to find out about a lot of great all-girl bands such as Tiger Trap, Slant 6, and Bikini Kill. I guess I find it a little disheartening that it is now 2006 and people are still treating women in music as “new” and “interesting." Women have been playing music for so long now, it is ridiculous to me that we are still even having to discuss it.

BG: Why is it important to work in an all-female context today? Do you find that sexism in music, the music industry, or music subcultures still persists?

Kathy: I've never thought of it as important. I've never consciously made a choice to be in an all-girl band. AGSFB is the second all-girl band I've been in, and both times it was because I liked the people I was playing with and felt comfortable around them. I've played in several bands with guys for the same reasons. Any person who feels I'll suck because I'm female is not someone I want to be around anyway. I don't think I know anyone like that. And I don't want to waste my time with that.

Kim: Although things are improving, unfortunately sexism and ignorance does still exist in music. Living in Portland, Ore., we do not have to deal with it as much, but I know that in other parts of the US and in the world it is still difficult for female musicians to gain the respect they deserve. Playing in an all-female context can be very protective and empowering and I personally love collaborating and creating music with other females. It seems like the goal, however, should be for women to feel comfortable playing with males or females without having the music scene and industry push them one way or the other.

Jen: I think as long as women are making music, it doesn't really matter who is in your band. Being in all-female bands is great, especially when you're all good friends. I have also been in bands with men, and I never found it oppressive or less than optimal. As far as sexism in music is concerned - I really think the whole idea of women not being able to "rock" as hard as men is a thing of the past. Who really still believes that?

Have you heard Francoise Hardy's If You Listen? First released in 1972, this collection of songs sounds very 2006 -- proof positive that Devendra Banhart could uncork some wild worship at Ms. Hardy's feet just like he does at Vashti Bunyan's. Last night and this morning, I listened to her takes on compositions by Buffy St. Marie (an exquisite "Until It's Time for You to Go") and Randy Newman ("I Think It's Gonna Rain Today") and imagined her performing a concert in San Francisco. But what local venue can do her justice?

This isn't heralded as one of Hardy's best albums, perhaps because she largely sings in English, and perhaps because it comes near the end of her ye-ye-era popularity. (Today, when she isn't guesting with Benjamin Biolay, she's still a handsome solo artist: all young dudes should check her website to be turned on -- and to learn how to wear a suit.) But If You Listen is dating so well it's verging on timeless. Pristine, cool, like the Nico who covered "I'll Keep it With Mine," yet with a little lightness of phrasing and a lot more pitch-perfect ability, Hardy lords over the impeccable instrumentation. Her versions of Beverley Martin's "Ocean" and "Can't Get the One I Want"? Perfection.

Guardian art director Mirissa Neff checked out Os Mutantes on Monday, July 24, at the Fillmore and sent back these words and images.

All photos: Mirissa Neff

Reuniting for their first tour since 1973, Os Mutantes were greeted by a ravenous SF crowd ranging from hipster admirers to rowdy Brazilians. Here, Zelia Duncan and Sergio Dias have a moment during the Tropicalia legends' set at the Fillmore.

The word on the street is that they are planning to put out a new release -- perhaps targeting the US market? Maybe that's why so many songs that were originally in Portuguese were performed in English.

Guardian art director Mirissa Neff checked out Manu Chao and Kinky at the Greek Theater on Friday, July 28... here's what she saw and heard:

All images by Mirissa Neff

After only playing LA and NYC when he's made it to the states, Manu Chao finally played a Bay Area show last night. He didn't disappoint...

A few of us did a Q+A with Manu before Kinky went on. One of the highlights was when the Chronicle's Delfin Vigil asked Manu about the World Cup and whether he sided with France or Spain. Manu replied, "I am not a nationalist. I have a passport for both countries but I don't understand this mentality of seeing that someone is from a different place than you and wanting them to die."

I asked Manu if he had plans to release Siberie M’etait Contee [a French only release] here and he said, "No... maybe someday. But I have a new album that just needs to be mixed. Then it will be ready for release." Hmmmm...

Kinky opened the night with their unique Norteno-flavored electronic funk. Ulises Lozano and Gil Cerezo got the crowd going:

People just lost their shit when Manu Chao's Radio Bemba Sound System hit the stage. Here's sexy guitarist Madjid Fahem:

Meanwhile bassist Gambeat held down stage right with lots and lots of reverb:

After about five encores the crowd was still screaming for more...

Wow, I'm not sure this even qualifies as a music item, but check Lindsay Lohan's written spanking from the Morgan Creek studio boss, on the Smoking Gun Friday:

'Lindsay Lohan's hard-partying antics and recent bout of "heat exhaustion" has left one Hollywood big shot steamed, The Smoking Gun has learned. In a blistering July 26 letter to the 20-year-old actress, James G. Robinson, who heads the L.A. firm producing Lohan's current movie, calls her recent erratic behavior "discourteous, irresponsible and unprofessional." Robinson, the 70-year-old chief executive of Morgan Creek Productions, writes that Lohan has "acted like a spoiled child and in doing so have alienated many of your co-workers and endangered the quality" of "Georgia Rule," a movie now being filmed and which stars Lohan, Jane Fonda, and Felicity Huffman.'

And now her mom has weighed in defending her daughter. I guess you'd support your gravy train's, whoops, offspring's clubbing too if you were in her shoes...?