By Kimberly Chun

Yes, you had to work like a dog for that Fourth of July hot dog - and to get ready for the long weekend. Wasn’t it worth it? Now’s the time to get out and get into trouble.

Sir Richard Bishop and His Freak of Araby Ensemble
The Sun City Girls son and Oakland resident also rises, this time in SF, with Oaxacan as his backing ensemble, on the closing show of his tour. For more on Bishop, go to this edition of Sonic Reducer. With Oaxacan and Rubber O Cement. Fri/3, 10 p.m., $10. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.

Extreme Animals
The Pittsburgh-San Diego booty melters flaunt it at this light-show-bedazzled happening. With Nero's Day at Disneyland, Bulbs, and Teengirl Fantasy. Fri/3, 8 p.m., $6. Lobot Gallery, 1800 Campbell, Oakl. www.lobotgallery.com

Hospitals
The raging Adam Stonehouse project recently got a lotta love from UK’s Wire. With Photobooth and Baths. Fri/3, 9:30 p.m., $6. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, S.F. (415) 923-0923.

By Michael Krimper

Votel, freakin' you

A small portion of music nurtures body, mind, and soul. A miniscule subsect does so by ripping you magnificently out of your familiar musical safety zones with unpredictable and compellingly fresh organizations of sound. Some have baptized the songs that fall under this rarefied territory of music "face-melters," and for good reason. Assiduously dissolving toughened aural skin, face-melting music inspires knowledge of the outer galactic and inner expansive reaches of the embodied mind. Its dangerous allure has solicited varied responses from thinkers, poets, and musicians throughout history. Plato advises to obliterate such enigmatic revelry in The Republic. William Blake seeks to illustrate its destructive purity in Songs of Innocence and of Experience. More recently, Afrika Bambaataa's "Searching for the Perfect Beat" embodies the infinite quest for mystical rhythms.

The DJ, producer, and deep crate-digger Andy Votel has made a career out of cultivating and archiving the face-melting phenomenon. Conducting the freaked-out, electronic psych epic Styles of The Unexpected (Twisted Nerve Records, 2000), and helping spearhead Finders Keepers Records to reissue international instances of obscure and intensely monstrous tracks from around the world, Votel is a leading expert on the limit zones of post-World War II music. Notable Finders Keepers reissues and compilations that will rewire your neural networks have emerged from Anatolia (Mustafa Özkent, Selda), France (Jean-Pierre Massiera, Jean-Claude Vannier), and Pakistan (this year's comp Sound of Wonder).

One contemporary contributor to the Keepers catalog is Los Angeles' feral beatsmith and DJ the Gaslamp Killer. A mad scientist of the Low End Theory collective, GLK psychedel-ifies hypnotic boom bap cuts and mutates vocals into chilling hums and fuzzed out screams locked toward another kind of prayer. But don't believe me, peep his avant-garde corpse ringer mix I Spit On Your Grave (Obey, 2008). Once you've trained your ears on his radiated sewer funk, flip it fresh on Gaslamp's collaboration with fellow Theorist, Free The Robots, for the jazzier side of the gutter on The Killer Robots (Obey, 2008).

To mark the third birthday of SF funk wizard DJ Centipede's Catch the Beat party, Votel, GLK, and Free the Robots have come together for a face-melting good time. Leave your mask at home.

CHANGE THE BEAT 3RD YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY With Andy Votel, Gaslamp Killer, Free the Robots, DJ Mahssa, DJ Centipede, Citizen Ten. Fri/10, 10 p.m., $10. Paradise Lounge, 1501 Folsom, SF. (415) 252-5017. www.paradisesf.com

By Mosi Reeves

Kode 9: aborted?

"The mainstream of dubstep is becoming such an abortion," Kode 9 complained to electronic music advocate (and former Bay Area writer) Philip Sherburne in an eMusic.com interview. It's a curious statement from someone who is being marketed (along with Burial, Skream, Benga, and a handful of others) as leaders of the dubstep incursion, a hybridization of 2-step garage, jungle breaks at half-speed and good ol' ragga. (It's the amalgamation of "dub" and "step.") Only two years after Burial's Untrue (Hyperdub) brought pop's cool-hunters to this bastard genre, it seems, dubstep is already eating itself.

U.K. electronic music (and its Anglophile offshoot) is herded by theorists, and Steve "Kode 9" Goodman is one of them. He has a doctorate in philosophy, and recently received a commission from the New Museum of Contemporary Art's Rhizome technology initiative for a forthcoming documentary, Unsound Systems, that explores the use of sound as psychological weapon. His record label, Hyperdub, started out as a Web site spotlighting futurists like Kodwo Eshun and was responsible for the aforementioned Untrue as well as Zomby's recent spin on '90s 'ardkore dynamics, Where Were You in '92? (Werk).

Kode 9's first collection, 2006's Memories of the Future, pairs bleak echoing tones with pummeling bass thuds. One popular track, "Sine," finds vocalist Spaceape reinterpreting Prince's "Sign O' The Times" as dread intonation: "Sign o' the times mess with your mind, hurry before it's too late."

Declaring that a scene is "over" just as the great unwashed embraces it — recent dubstep parties in San Francisco have packed dance floors — seems particularly snotty and perverse. But by disappearing into thicker brush, Kode 9 stays ahead of pop mediocrity. His new singles, particularly "Black Sun / 2 Far Gone," add melancholic melodies and popping bass, retracing a path back to 2-step. Accordingly, U.K. critics have made it an example of a silly new subgenre called "funky." (George Clinton would laugh at that one.)

All this ideological shoegazing shouldn't distract you from enjoying Kode 9's tunes. But it should tell you that U.K. electronic music has traveled very far up its own arse. "I think U.K. electronic music is a bit of a mess right now and very microsegmented, to be honest," said Kode 9 in the eMusic interview. "But there are some lines of intersection that are promising."

THE FUTURE: KODE 9, SPACEAPE, THE FLYING SKULLS Fri/10, 10 p.m., $10 (advance). 103 Harriet, 103 Harriet, SF. (415) 431-8609. www.1015.com/103harriet/events

By Johnny Ray Huston

DESIRE

Desire

(Italians Do It Better)

Sorry, but I can't hate: Johnny Jewel's latest disco project is too lost in emotion to be dismissed as a hipster poseathon. The 1980s touches dig below irony the same way Glass Candy's cover of "Computer Love" gave that icy-by-definition track a successful heart transplant. "Don't Call" is my jam of the summer so far, not least because of its live "Beat It" rhythm.

By Kimberly Chun

Entombed in SF gloom? Silly, rabbit, this is the best weather to get your musical kicks in a dark, cloudy bar.

A-Frames and Climax Golden Twins
Three guitars and a rhythm section and soaring gamelan-sludge rawk? We’re talking ‘bout the real team players, Raider Nation. With Hank IV and Fresh and Onlys. Sat/11, 9:30 p.m., $7. El Rio, 3158 Mission, SF. (415) 282-3325.

American Idols Live
Haven’t had enough? Sample A-Lam in the flesh as Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud, Megan Joy, Michael Sarver, and Scott MacIntyre provide. Sat/11, 7 p.m., $38.50-$66.25. Oracle Arena, 7000 Coliseum, Oakl. (415) 421-8497.

Dangerous curves ahead: Beyonce and company and "Crazy in Love." All photos by Charles Russo.

By Kimberly Chun


I’m bedazzled by Beyonce - bewitched, bemused, checked in and down for the night at the Knowles family’s B&B. ‘Nuff said.

I resort to the Stan Lee comicbook equivalent of “end of discussion” because I’m just too tempted to toss in the towel after taking in Ms. Knowles’ Thierry Mugler-imbued show (she tellingly selected him as her tour's costume designer and “creative advisor” after discovering his handiwork at the “Superheroes” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute last year). Have mercy, my robotic leopard woman. Because despite it’s tough, sleek surfaces, Beyonce’s “I Am... Tour” is an organic, ever-morphing, slippery organism, judging from the timely Michael Jackson/“Halo” tribute and seemingly impromptu birthday singalong that closed July 10 performance at the Oracle Arena.

Genius avant camp. Heaven-bound goddess-gown diva perfection. Down-on-the-floor earthy air-humping along to a guitar solo. Warm moments of communion with the fans. Obama love juxtaposing the Civil Rights marches, **Cadillac Records,** the ‘09 inauguration celebration, and “At Last.” Aerial flips and hood-ornament poses on a trapeze eliciting shrieks of delight from the audience. All were welcome, all were included. And the curvaceous, rump-shaking, and robust Beyonce held up throughout, looking like an ace super-trooper while dancing, kicking, and singing in her minis, hot pants, and sparkly heels ala a young Tina Turner, and whipping around Shakira-esque curls with the fury of go-go dancer scorned.

From the photo pit: Tamia Pitts, 7, was front and center.

This just in from the folks at Another Planet:

July 13, 2009 – San Francisco , CA – San Francisco ’s Indian summer is around the corner and with it brings the 3rd Annual Treasure Island Music Festival, the West Coast’s most anticipated boutique music festival. Set against panoramic views of the city by the bay, Treasure Island Music Festival will stick true to form in offering an electronic and dance centric lineup on Saturday, October 17th and an indie rock lineup on Sunday, October 18th. With two stages and no overlapping sets, fans can enjoy every note of every act. Noise Pop and Another Planet Entertainment are pleased to announce the following lineup...

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

MGMT
MSTRKRFT
Girl Talk
Brazilian Girls
The Streets
Passion Pit
LTJ Bukem feat. MC Conrad
DJ Krush
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Murs
Crown City Rockers
The Limousines

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

The Flaming Lips
The Decemberists
Beirut
Grizzly Bear
Yo La Tengo
The Walkmen
Bob Mould
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down
Vetiver
Spiral Stairs
Sleepy Sun
Tommy Guerrero
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

In only its third year, Treasure Island Music Festival has garnered national acclaim and become a must see on the United States ’ festival circuit. SPIN described it as a “full blown love affair,” while the SF WEEKLY claimed, “NorCal has its own Micro-achella” and declared that Treasure Island boasted “an impressive lineup with bands from all over the world.” PASTE MAGAZINE said, “For the second year in a row, a 70-year-old, man-made island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay was home to some of the finest live bands in the country.”

Treasure Island Music Festival will continue its tradition of exposing emerging and critically established artists to the tastemakers and fans of independent music… all going down smack-dab in the middle of the San Francisco Bay . In addition to the tunes, there will be a multitude of activities for the audience including a 60-foot tall Ferris wheel, an interactive art tent, a vendor village showcasing local designers and an array of healthy and affordable food and beverages.

“Treasure Island has a unique feel for a music festival due to its intimate size and beautiful setting. It’s very much a communal experience with artists and fans sharing similar moments together,” says Bryan Duquette of Another Planet Entertainment.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with this year’s line-up,” adds Noise Pop’s Jordan Kurland, “It’s a well-balanced cross section of established veterans of the independent and electronic music communities alongside some of the most celebrated breakout artists of the last couple years. It’s also a chance to spend a day on an island with the Flaming Lips and a 60-foot Ferris wheel.”

A limited quantity of $99.99 2-Day tickets and VIP Single Day 2-Packs go on sale on Tuesday, July 14th at 12pm PST through www.treasureislandfestival.com. A VIP 2-Pack includes 2 VIP tickets to one day, 1 parking spot on island, preferred viewing area with bleachers, lounge with full bar and other amenities. Single Day tickets go on sale on Friday, July 17th at 10am PST. To off-set traffic congestion and the limited amount of parking on the island, Treasure Island Music Festival will be providing shuttles on and off the island to ticket holders at no additional cost.

Your Treasure Island experience is brought to you by your friends at Noise Pop and Another Planet Entertainment.

For more information on Treasure Island Music Festival please visit
www.treasureislandfestival.com

Text and photos by Ariel Soto

Fast Love, a punk/pop trio, may be new to the San Francisco music scene but they're destined to be fast favorites. When they're on stage they're into every note, not only for the sake of the music but also because they're having so much fun. This being my first time seeing them, I decided to chat with their drummer Kimberly and lead vocalist Melinda to learn more about the true punk band experience.

SFBG: What's the best part of being in a punk band?
Kimberly and Melinda: The free beer!

SFBG: Who are your punk idols?
K: Dee Dee Ramone.
M: Fuzzy rocks the hot hairstyle.

SFBG: What are your goals as a band?
M: To party and have a good time.
K: It's all about the good times and beer!

The fiercely invidious sound of psytrance has been popping up again all over, like, well, button mushrooms on the underside of this wet log we call meatspace. The gamma-beta-brainwave-boom-boom sound was an odd choice to headline Pink Saturday (and give more than a few unsuspecting Madonna queens headaches, I bet). Somehow, however, psytrance seems just right when it emanates from, of all Europhile places, Israel -- especially if mixed with a grandiose goth sensibility, a little clever world music parody, and a totally inappropriate guitar solo. Behold the quivery somewhat-astral thumps of Infected Mushroom, and tear out your hair a little to the beat.

Infected Mushroom
W/ DJ Taj
Fri/17, 9pm, $30
Regency Ballroom
1300 Van Ness, SF
www.goldenvoice.com

By Johnny Ray Huston

Dynasty Handbag: she's real

Children, go where I send you. Seek out the wild women of the Mission Creek Music Festival Collision Fest.

Sure there are some sweet boys — any pleasure-seeker with eyes and ears should enjoy Mike Mantle of the Mantles (headlining July 22 at Hotel Utah), or Myles Cooper's solo journey outside the Passionistas (opening a June 24 El Rio bill). But this year's MCMF says here's to the ladies who launch — the women who make new musical rules in order to break them.

Ryder Cooley reps recent Bay Area ingenuity on Thursday at the LAB. But the double bill bonanza crazier than any acid trip involving Tony Danza goes down same place, same time the next night, when Dynasty Handbag and Ann Magnuson take the stage. Dynasty girl Jibz Cameron is a treasure as classy as your mom's favorite perfume — not even Lypsinka sinks her teeth into the art of lipsyncing with such ferocity. Try not pee yourself as she puts the p in performance and prepares you for the musical dramatics of Ms. Magnuson. What can be said about the queen of Bongwater, besides that on the cover of Power Of Pussy (Shimmy Disc, 1990), she was both outdoing and lampooning Burning Man before it even became a phenomenon?

Since Magnuson rubbed extremely pointy shoulders with Klaus Nomi back at the Mudd Club, it's safe to assume she would be intrigued by the Nomi-esque stage theatrics of Fauxnique, a.k.a. Monique Jenkinson, who is bringing her recent show Faux Real back for a weekend stint outside of the Mission Creek rubric. Word has it that the show is brilliant — for real.

While Magnuson and Dynasty Handbag exemplify the Collision Fest's cross-disciplinary antics, the Convergence Fest is a trip into filmdom. And in the case of Ira Cohen's 1968 cinematic mirror-warp The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda (Sun/19 at Artists' Television Access), I do mean trip. Along with a documentary about Krautrock godheads Faust (Sat/18 at ATA), Cohen's movie is one of MCMF's screen gems.

FAUX REAL Thurs/16–Sat/18, 8 p.m. $20. Climate Theater, 285 Ninth St., SF.(415)704-3260, www.climatetheater.com

COLLISION FEST AND CONVERGENCE FEST www.mcmf.org

By Tony Papanikolas

The world of rock music is full of “wolf bands”, but few live up to their feral moniker. Steppenwolf’s John Kay, for example, claims that he was born to be wild –a promising start– but writes lyrics about magic carpets. Not very wolf-like. Likewise, Wolf Parade betrays a dangerous ignorance of its namesake (wolves are easily spooked; incorporating them into a parade would be disastrous.) And then there’s Wolves in the Throne Room, the enigmatic Olympia, WA outfit responsible for some of the most cosmic black metal ever produced outside of Scandinavia.

If the crowd at Slim’s was any indication, Wolves’ fan base has extended beyond the immediate metal set. Metal fans made up a good percentage of the audience but there was also a sizeable punk contingent, as well as the requisite handful of hipster-types (also, a headbanging dude in an incongruous business suite, my personal favorite.) The crowd was still relatively thin when opening act Ninth Moon Black began playing, but receptive nonetheless. I’m a sucker for visual aids at shows, and the psychedelic black and white swirls projected behind Ninth Moon Black provided a neat visual counterpoint to the group’s ambient instrumentals.

By Louis Peitzman

American Idol is my guilty pleasure — except, well, I don’t feel all that guilty about it. This past weekend I had the pleasure of speaking with five of the top 10 Idol finalists, who are currently traveling across the country for the American Idols Live Tour 2009. As an uber-professional journalist, I kept my fanboy flailing to a minimum. Just know that however composed I seemed, I was a 12-year-old girl on the inside.

In preparing for these interviews, I thought about how difficult it must be to get plunged into sudden reality TV fame. Well, difficult and awesome. I also wondered about the fast-paced touring schedule. Were any of these Idols in over their heads? As it turned out, not really. In fact, the performers I spoke to were some of the mellowest I’ve ever encountered. Read on and see for yourself.

Nice guy Anoop Desai.

San Francisco Bay Guardian: With your busy tour schedule, my first question has to be, are you getting enough rest?
Anoop Desai: Yeah. You know, most nights it’s just like, after you get off stage, obviously the adrenaline rush goes down and then you’re tired, and you have to do meet and greets. We get to go outside and sign stuff for the fans, so that’s cool. But by the time we make it back to the hotel, it’s like one in the morning. You know, I try and work out in the morning and then catch the bus, so — I don’t know, it’s a routine. It is pretty tiring, but I think we’re all getting enough rest.

Louis Peitzman interviews the latest crop of Idols. Read his interview with Anoop Desai here.

San Francisco Bay Guardian: I’ve decided to ask all of you the same first question, because it seems important. Are you getting enough rest?

Well-rested Scott MacIntyre.

Scott MacIntyre: I think so. I don’t know what [Anoop Desai] said, but I think I’m doing OK. It’s a little weird because there’s a tendency to stay up a little later or sleep in a little later, because sometimes we don’t actually get to the venues — actually, we never get to the venues until about 1:00, 1:30 in the afternoon. So it’s easy to kind of fall into a different sleep pattern. But I think I’m doing OK so far. We’ll see after the 53 shows. We’ve only done four.

Louis Peitzman interviews the latest crop of Idols. Read his interview with Scott MacIntyre here and his interview with Anoop Desai here.

SFBG: So I’ve asked everyone so far this is the opening question: Are you getting enough rest on tour?
Allison Iraheta: Enough?

SFBG: Yes.
AI: Yes. Obviously yes, because I’m still standing, but if it wasn’t enough, I’d probably be passed out on the floor right there. Just about. It’s enough to just get back on my feet and do it again tomorrow.

Allison Iraheta: born in 1992.

SFBG: Is touring different from what you imagined it would be, or is it pretty much what you expected?
AI: It is what I imagined it to be. I mean, I talked to Archie [David Archuleta], Jordin [Sparks], and Dave [Cook]. They pretty much prepared me. Because I was like, “How was the tour?” And they were like, “It’s the best part.” I remember Michael Johns also telling me and David Cook that — they prepared me. Because I really didn’t know. It’s my first time being on tour. So it is really what they told me. And so far it’s so much fun.

By Tomas Palermo. Vieux appears on Sat/18 as part of the two-night 5th Annual Afrofunk Festival at The Independent. Fri/17 features the full-blown stylish sounds of Sila and the Afrofunk Experience.

PREVIEW A torrent of questions arose amid the global mourning over Michael Jackson's sudden passing. Was he addicted to prescription pain meds? How much was he actually worth? Did his father's abuse scar the star beyond repair? Speaking of paternal influence, will 12-year-old Prince Michael Jackson follow his famous father's musical calling? If he displays even an ounce of MJ's talent, the pressure will be enormous.

A similar scenario played out in the African music world following the 2006 passing of Malian blues guitarist Ali Farka Touré from bone cancer. Farka Touré's son Vieux expressed an early interest in music, but his father objected, hoping to shelter him from a professional musician's grueling tour circuit. It didn't work. Vieux picked up the guitar, releasing a self-titled debut on Modiba/World Village in late 2006, followed by the creative, youth-embracing Remixed: UFOs Over Bamako (Modiba) in 2007. With guidance from legendary Malian kora player Toumani Diabat, the younger Touré's first two releases express a reverence for his father's emotive, blues-soaked guitar style while exploring rock and electronic music interests.

These traditional and modern threads entwine so thoroughly that they fuse on the new Fondo (Six Degrees). Vieux gives voice to swirling Saharan dust storms on the energetic "Sarama," explores Mali's quiet spirituality on "Paradise" (featuring Diabate's kora solos) and ponders West African struggles in the 21st century on the reggae-tinged "Diaraby Magni." Like his father, Vieux's music has taken him from Bamako, Mali to Bonnaroo, the massive Tennessee music festival where his American summer tour begins. As U.S. indie bands like Vampire Weekend and Fools Gold incorporate African rhythms into their repertoires, it's worth hearing a talented African guitar hero whose taste for rock isn't just skin deep, it's in his DNA.

VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ With Luke Top, DJ Jeremiah. Sat/18, 8 p.m., $20. The Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. (415) 771-1420. www.theindependentsf.com

Louis Peitzman interviews the latest crop of Idols. Read his interviews with Allison Iraheta here, Scott MacIntyre here, and Anoop Desai here.

SFBG: So I’ve started by asking everyone if they’re getting enough rest on tour.

Adam Lambert: Mmm…

Runner-up Adam Lambert smells like a winner. (For reals -- he wears Dior Homme, and he wears it well.)

SFBG: Not so much?
AL: Eh, it’s all right. It could be better. But I think I’ll adjust. This is show number five, so we’re still getting into the groove.

SFBG: Is touring what you thought it would be? Of course, you also toured when you did musical theater.

AL: I did. I toured with a musical, Wicked, the first national tour. But we were like, in a city for a couple months at a time. I’ve never done like a bus and truck type, different city every night type tour.
SFBG: So is it different from what you imagined?

Louis Peitzman interviews the latest crop of Idols. His last interview is below. (Sorry, Kris Allen fans -- the Idols rotate press days while on tour, and the show's winner wasn't available when Louis visited with the group. At least he got Glambert, right?)

SFBG: Same first question as everyone else — are you getting enough rest on tour?

Michael Sarver: Absolutely. Yeah, I would say I’m getting the rest I need. I mean, there’s nights when I want to sleep more than I do, and sometimes we’re on the bus and we’re sleeping and we get woke up, ‘cause we’ve arrived at the hotel. So your sleep kind of gets interrupted and it’s a weird deal, but I mean overall, I can’t say that I’m not getting adequate sleep. There are certain days that are worse than others, though.

Michael Sarver: embracing his Texas twang.

This in from the producers; exciting to see Okkervil River, Neko Case, Amadou and Mariam, Marianne Faithfull, and - gasp - Steve Martin, among the performers:

San Francisco, CA – June 30, 2009 - What began as Warren Hellman’s bluegrass fantasy in 2001 as a wonderful gift to the city has now grown into one of the world’s largest and most anticipated festivals for concert goers and musicians alike. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 9, the FREE festival in Speedway, Marx and Lindley Meadows in Golden Gate Park, will take place on Friday, October 2 – Sunday, October 4. Starting in 2001 with 2 stages and 9 bands, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass quickly grew by leaps and bounds over the next few years. Soon 3 stages quickly turned into 5, and everyone from Willie Nelson to Ralph Stanley to Dolly Parton has graced them. As the talent continues to impress, so do the crowds. Last year's attendance estimates were a staggering 750,000+ over the three days. For the first year ever, we are pleased to announce that the festival will be expanding to include SIX stages.

In addition to bringing back those who have been with us from day one (such as Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and Hazel Dickens) - we are excited to welcome new faces to this year's festival – Richie Havens, The Chieftains, Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, Old 97’s, Marianne Faithfull, Amadou & Mariam and many more!

By Kimberly Chun

What a beaut of a day -- I’m gonna get me some plein-air crème brulee. And guess what, the night will be even better. Here are a few of the shows worth squeezing in.

Men
Le Tigre’s JD Samson gets us off – “Off Our Backs,” that is – with a recent project. With Tussle and the Younger Lovers. Fri/17, 10 p.m., $10. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.

Pterodactyl--"December" music video from Pterodactyl on Vimeo.

Pterodactyl
The Brooklyn ménage a trois swoops halcyon, rainbow-patterned skies of cacophony. With Bridez. Fri/17, 9 p.m., $8. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.

By Michael Krimper

Manchester-born electronic musician Jega (a.k.a. Dylan Nathan) decided to scrap and rework his third full length effort after a blueprint version leaked on the internet in 2003. Six years later we finally see its completion. Contributing to the project’s extended delay, Jega traveled across the Atlantic to relocate to New York and now Los Angeles where he works in digital design, a profession which certainly helps inform his versatile, multi-textured sound. But this six-year journey across the globe have worked auspiciously for Jega’s scrapped project. Finally released as a double-sided record, Variance, out tomorrow on Planet Mu, spans spatial and temporal spheres of sonic influence. The versatile and multi-layered sonic textures do not adhere rigidly to their originally inspired moment, but rather take inspiration from contemporary visions of dub-step, ambient, and IDM.

The first volume of Variance develops a lighter, hypnotic sound architected from a pastiche of soulful breaks and modulated atmospherics. The broken melodies of the introductory track “SoulFlute” lace skidding vocals over break beat jazz and airy flute riffs. In “The girl who fell to earth”, a melancholic background resonance grows like cumulus clouds organizing before a storm, allowing the pressure to build and the sharp drum kicks to gasp for release. However, in much of the first volume Jega sails comfortably, producing well orchestrated music that feels cold and distant. It’s the second volume that really displays Jega’s talent for experimenting with sound, rhythm, and texture. For Volume 2, Jega invert the first’s dreamy aesthetic, producing a starkly dissonant and aggressive sound. Variance builds tempo in loping yet unpredictable crystalline arrangements, climaxing with the laser infused, jungle percussion of “Kyoto” and “Hydrodynamic”. These songs still rely heavily on the first volume for contrast, as Variance is primarily a lesson in sonic context and the holistic architecture that holds an album together. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear such cohesive diversity even if many of the singles don’t stand out on their own.

Text and photos by Ariel Soto

There something incredibly nostalgic about the Indigo Girls. When I hear them I'm transported straight back to the freshman dorm room that I shared with my roomie Melbell, which was affectionately called the hippie-love room by the rest of our floor. There was a constant soundtrack of Indigo Girls and Joni Mitchell blasting from our speakers, and when we finally got to see the Indigo Girls live on campus, my girlfriends and I all braided our hair and donned colorful floral scarves around our waists.

By Kimberly Chun

Foggy city, music-clogged city – you offer up so much to do and see. And I’m not even counting that hard-working mama in No Doubt. Have a few more worthy shows that didn’t make it to print.

Dragging an Ox Through Water
The oxy lad is just back from opening for Jackie-O Motherfucker in Europe. With Sic Alps, Linda Hagood, and Tom Greenwood. Thurs/23, 9 p.m., $7. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.

Extra Action Marching Band and Jessie Evans
No intro needed for the brassy Bay gang – which was graced with David Byrne’s presence at its Uptown show (right after the band opened for Byrne at the Greek). Ex-Vanishing lady Jessie Evans materializes, too, with a healthy supply of sax appeal. With Bronze and Something Experience. Thurs/23, 9 p.m., $10. Eagle Tavern, 398 12th St., SF. (415) 626-0880.

By Kimberly Chun

Jarvis Cocker -- an endless source of compelling ruminations. Did you ever imagine it to be any different? More from a talk with the ex-Pulp pasha (for the other choice tidbits, see this week’s Sonic Reducer), right before he was about to get on a train and embark on a holiday with his young son -- and while I was being driven very speedily through the streets of San Francisco.

SFBG: So your new record, Further Complications [(Rough Trade)] -- how was the making of it different from your first solo album [Jarvis (Rough Trade, 2007)]?

Jarvis Cocker: Well I felt fairly prepared for this record -- we played the songs to other human beings. We played them live. There were only two songs that were recorded that we hadn’t played live, so I really wanted to capture the songs.

SFBG: Are the songs particularly personal, reflect your life?

JC: They are reflective of that. I write songs about personal things and songs that I use to make sense of what’s going on in life. I use parts of my experience in them, which is kind of a dangerous thing to do. But I hope to make something that can be amusing but still have some emotional content. For me songs have to have emotional content.

By Kimberly Chun

More music – you got it, SF. Just ‘cause you’re you. Here are a few worthy shows that didn’t make the jam-packed issue. (Psst, pass the tissue.)

Clip’d Beaks
The sometime SF-ers share their latest visions. With Boys IV Men, Vice Cooler, and Emily Hoof. Wed/29, 9 p.m., $5. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. (415) 552-7788.

The Donkeys
Balking? The Dead Oceans combo from San Diego responds to the healing powers of Beach Boys-style harmonies. With Magnolia Electric Company, Val Esway, and El Mirage. Wed/29, 9 p.m., $12. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.

If you haven't heard of local blog The Bay Bridged, you probably aren't a fan of Bay Area indie rock. No offense, but you're missing out -- not just on a thriving music scene, but also on a well-written, easy-to-navigate (and totally nonprofit) site that boasts podcasts, show and album reviews, music news, videos, and more. The Bay Bridged sponsors rock n' roll shows from time to time, but they're steppin' to the spotlight Friday night with Regional Bias, a fundraiser jam-packed with, well, the kinda stuff BB covers (live music, celebrity DJs, art by Bay Area artists) plus food, drinks, and raffles with some pretty stellar prizes -- Outside Land$ ticket$, for example.

Info is on the flyer below, or visit the event website for more details.