All photos by el fotografo clandestino

Outsidestock

Nortec Collective

Nortec Collective

Street Sweeper Social Club

Street Sweeper Social Club

Street Sweeper Social Club

All photos by el fotografo clandestino

Cuckoo for M.I.A.

John Vanderslice

Calexico

Calexico

Calexico

Modest Mouse

By Kimberly Chun

Relaxing too hard this Labor Day weekend? Get the blood moving at these musical happenings – so much more than we could fit in print.

AC/DC
The Aussies are slipping on Black Ice and into the record books as the fifth best-selling band in US history. With Answer. Wed/2, 8 p.m., $92.50. HP Pavilion, 525 W. Santa Clara, San Jose. www.livenation.com

By Marke B.

THE XX

The xx

(Young Turks)

A sublime entanglement of negative space, lithesome riffs, and raw sentiment delivered by mush-mouthed lead vocalists Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sims, this xx-cellent debut by the young rock quartet gleams the post-everything cube. Tracks "Basic Space," "Islands," and "Crystallized" could be the anthems of a less-virtual, more physical generation of emotional wonderers -- even as the instrumentation and weird engagement-through-detachment mood hearkens back to the early New Order. (Justin Timberlake and Tracy and the Plastics are listed as influences).

The xx, "Basic Space"

By Johnny Ray Huston

PICTUREPLANE

Dark Rift

(Lovepump United)

Tweaker pop from Denver's Travis Egedy, this crystal cathedral of sound will have you trying out '80s new romantic dances in its prismatic mirrors. Industrial-tinged but quite melodic, it creates panicky backing vox from split-second samples of girl pop — Kylie Minogue, is that you, ABBA, and Stevie Nicks trapped Poltergeist-like in "Goth Star"'s spectral tunnel? — while invoking boys in makeup.

Pictureplane, "Trance Doll"

By Marke B.

Oh DJ Mykill, let's just jam

There are a lot of very intriguing parties going on this weekend, featuring a lot of disco and everything else from soulful house to funky old-school techno. But if you're just in the mood to get wasted with some hip-dressed like minds to some impeccably mixed "straight-up party jams" on a Friday night -- and not be mobbed by either fake boobs or mall gays (I can't guarantee this, but that's what my crystal ball is slurring) -- then you could do worse than to hit up the I Am DJ party at 1015 Folsom, with Panic City, DJ Mykill, and JSanty.

Look, I know irony's supposed to be dead -- and how else are you going to survive an attack of LMFAO and 3OH!3 electro mixes (plus maybe a little crunked-up Britney?) without a pinch of "what the fuck? Why not, I guess." But sometimes we all just need a break from either the fabulous abstractitude or out-there vaults rarities that contemporary underground dance floors often present us with, and this joint's my pick to let loose to the sounds of KMEL meets Energy 92.7 -- especially if the effervescent DJ Mykill is behind the decks. (And I have to say that there's actually a lot going on in electro-dance-crunk-pop-trance-or-whatever mixes -- diminished twelfths, anyone?)

Just skip the bottle service. Below is a Mykill mix to test your tolerance. (He plays a lot of other stuff too, and even name-checked the obscure '90s rave white label "Brown Acid," rumored to be by Underworld, in a recent interview. So that's all right.):

DJ Mykill: Club Killers
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?rz3wiytjmnm

I Am DJ
Fri/4, 10pm, free before 11, $5-$10 after
1015 Folsom, SF
www.1015.com

By Johnny Ray Huston

AIR FRANCE

No Way Down EP

(Sincerely Yours)

With the Honeydrips, Tough Alliance, jj, and this group, the Sincerely Yours label has established itself as Sweden's chief castle of indie pop. "Collapsing at Your Doorstep" and "No Excuses" could be outtakes from Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha (Heavenly, 1991), and ain't nothing wrong with that.

Air France, "No Excuses"

By Johnny Ray Huston

24-CARAT BLACK

Gone: The Promises of Yesterday

(Numero Group)

The title here rings all too true: 24-Carat Black is a memento of all that soul music could have been, had economic woes not killed its most ambitious tendrils. This dozen-plus ensemble's unfinished sequel to 1975's oft-sampled Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth (Stax) is just as conceptual, but more downtempo. "The Best of Good Love Gone" is Dusty in the ghetto instead of a satin Memphis boudoir. "I Want to Make Up" does a slow burn then floats off in the nighttime breeze.

24-Carat Black, "The Best of Good Love Gone"

By Mosi Reeves

BIBIO

Ambivalence Avenue

(Warp)

Some albums escape criticism...they just sound good. And as much as I try to pick apart Bibio's surprising breakthrough — from its heavy allegiance to Boards of Canada, J Dilla and other beat icons to its catalog of hip indie styles — I can't stop listening to it. I've played it on long drives to L.A., and I've fast-forwarded through it on quick trips to the supermarket. Perhaps what moves me about it is its humanness. When he begins to croon as "Lovers' Carvings" builds into a bright, sprightly square dance, it usually leaves a smile on my face. I'm a sucker for melody.

Bibio, "Jealous of Roses"

Bibio, "Lovers' Carvings"

Text and photos by Ariel Soto

Donning matching black and white outfits, the Jonesin' duo bounced around the stage, singing old Dolly Parton covers and also their own lyrics, that sometimes focus on aliens, their amour, roller skates, and the foggy city we all call home. Their music is totally bubbly and funky with just a hint of country and irony. With only their mikes and a boom box for back-up , these two belted it out at Hemlock Tavern for their official Hi, We're Jonesin' (Telemarketer's Worst Nightmare) record release party and as a send-off for their around the country tour, which includes stops in Kansas, Mississippi and Texas, too.

By Michael Krimper

DAM FUNK

Toeachizown

(Stones Throw)

Los Angeles ambassador of boogie grooves Dam Funk taps into the warmth of the sun with this five-volume effort.

Dam Funk, "Toeachizown" promo

Dam Funk performs this Friday with the Donuts crew. Marke B. says:

"Laidback techno-boogie and electro-funk from the shades-bedecked master of jambox rock. West Coaster Dam of L.A.'s luscious Funkmosphere parties will be showing off rare vinyl cuts from his personal collection as well as some of his own, much lauded tracks."

Fri/11, $10. Poleng Lounge, 1751 Fulton, SF. www.polenglounge.com

By Johnny Ray Huston

Once upon a time in Detroit, I worked at a record store. Kelley Stoltz sometimes shopped there. He liked Echo and the Bunnyman even back then. And Brendan Benson worked at a different, maybe cooler record store. I had no idea that he and Kelley would end up writing so many good and great songs.

Benson's tour for his new album My Old, Familiar Friend hits Great American Music Hall tomorrow night, and one of the opening acts, Maxim Ludwig and the Santa Fe Seven, is also worth a look-see and true listen. Ludwig lists the Band as one of his musical favorites, and "To Be with Sweet Marie" genuinely calls the Band to mind -- not trifling, since most people know the sound of the Band is hard to even contrive. Ludwig's father has an interest in the Brothers Grimm, and you get the feeling that interest informs his son's music, the same way that the images on great album covers might fuel his imagination.

Maxim Ludwig & the Santa Fe Seven, "Big Black Train"

BRENDAN BENSON
with Maxim Ludwig and the Santa Fe Seven
Thu/10, 8 p.m. (doors 7:30 p.m.), $18
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell, SF
(415) 885-0750
www.gamh.com

By D. Scott Miller

MF DOOM FEATURING EMPRESS STAHHR

"Still Dope" (from MF Doom's Born Like This)

(Lex)

Sista spits some of the tightest shit over jagged hard beats with clarity, wit and grace for two minutes and forty seconds with no punches — or punches pulled. I wake up in the morning sometimes with her voice in my head and it feels good! Still dope? Yeah.

By Michael Krimper

You don’t get quite what you expect from the aptly titled electronic duo, PANTyRAiD. A side project of forward thinking producers Martin Folb (Marty Party -- he'll be performing this Fri/11 at 103 Harriet) and Josh Mayer (Ooah of the Glitch Mob), PANTyRAiD delves into the rich cross-sections of hip-hop, dubstep, and ambient. Although the duo was previously best known for heavy hitting remixes like “Do You” and powerhouse party mixes -- e.g. for XLR8R and Mary Anne Hobbs -- of synth knocking beats flipped over modulated crunk lyricism, their latest effort The Sauce (Marine, Ingrooves) salvages their place as solid beat conductors on the quest.

PANTyRAID, "Get the Money"

PANTyRAiD most impressively experiment with multi-tiered arrangements, changing tempo and bass tonality by way of a jazz inspired fluidity. In “Worship The Sun”, dissonant synth vamps grace chilling tribal drums and chants, building into a wobbling bass riding “hot sex on a platter” bars from Silk E. Fyne’s one hit wonder, and reemerging once more with a graceful intensity.

Text by Sarah Phelan

We're hearing from several sources that Energy 92.7, the agressively gay-friendly radio station that everyone loves or hates, has new owners.

Riley Manlapaz, the Guardian's promotions marketing manager, found this on Bebe Sweetbriar Facebook (Facebook being such a bastion of accuracy!) :

"From my understanding at 3pm today ENERGY 92.7 will no longer be the gay radio station we love. New owners will be changing the format, and all of our fav djs and radio personalities are going bye-bye....:-(

I heard this from someone who works for the station last night. We already knew it had been sold to a supposed homophobic owner....of course, no announcement has been or will be made by the new group until the changes go into affect. The mill has it that the new format will be some sort of music streaming that won't require the likes of a DJ. Let's see what happens! Wish for the best for the current 92.7 staff!"

Meanwhile, calls to Energy 92.7 staffers remain unanswered, and other sources say that folks were told to be out by 2 p.m. in which case they'll all be down at the local bar drowning their sorrows.

For those of you who are already feeling nostalgic, or possibly smugly satisfied, even though you don't yet know if the rumors are true, feel free to travel back in time to 2007 when the Guardian's Marke B wrote an exhaustive story about this "pure dance station", which you can read by clicking here.

As Marke B classically wrote back then, "There's no middle ground when it comes to Energy. I've been in cars where people have fought over it until blood spurted."

By Daniel N. Alvarez

DATA

"Skywriter"

(Ekleroshock/Naive)

While much has been made of the Sebastien Grainger-sung, electro-disco tracks "One In A Million" and "Rapture," "Skywriter" is full of that classic, synth-slathered French house sound that so many fell in love with when they first heard Daft Punk. Some hooks here will stay lodged in your head for weeks.

DatA, "Skywriter"

Sean McCourt reflects on Outside Lands. For Kimberly Chun's takes, click here and here. You can find pics of the festival here and here.

Oustide Lands windmills

Midway through Pearl Jam’s headlining set on the opening night of Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, Eddie Vedder apologized for his voice not being in tip top shape, due to the strain of his band being on the road for several months. He invited the audience to help him out on several tunes, which they enthusiastically did, but that feeling of not quite firing on all cylinders set the tone for much of the rest of the festival; though many of bands on this year’s lineup were quite good, only a few really gave the impression of belonging on the large stages they were given. The crowds didn’t act like they minded all that much, however, seeming to be fine with wandering the wide expanse of the park and festival grounds, checking out various acts and sampling the wide variety of food and drink that organizers provided for this year’s outing.

Autolux kicked off the festivities on Friday, and though they were good, they didn’t seem to possess either the stage presence or the discography to perform on the main “Lands End” stage. There were probably a few thousand people there to watch the set, but on the immense landscape of the Polo Fields, it appeared to be a sparse gathering at best. Built To Spill and Silversun Pickups garnered larger audiences, generating the first tinges of genuine electricity that a festival of this stature should produce.

Gooferman

In between several of the larger acts’ sets, a small outdoor stage and a tent structure near the back end of the Polo Fields nicknamed “The Barbary” featured a variety of entertainment such as self-proclaimed “micro circus and band” Gooferman, whose bizarre clown and kabuki influenced make up and outfits perfectly matched their unique sound, a cross of rock, funk, electronic, and a host of other influences. Several women members of the troupe danced around the band on stage, and even climbed above them on the curved metal scaffolding crisscrossing overhead.

By Tony Papanikolas

Most Bad Brains fans can remember where they were the first time they heard the DC hardcore legends' self-titled debut (ROIR, 1982.) For me, it was during an extended drive through Utah with my parents, a trip made memorable by a fortuitous stop at a strip mall with a Sam Goody. (My Damaged story is a lot cooler, I swear.) The album did nothing to improve my PMA during the car ride, but I vividly remember finding Bad Brains' sheer unhinged speediness awe-inspiring, and not a little disorienting. Though somewhat of a cliché at this point, it bears repeating that Bad Brains — all 34 breakneck minutes of it — started an arms race of speed and aggression that would germinate into the hardcore movement. The other side to the record, however, was the handful of incongruous reggae/dub tracks, measured interruptions to the album's typical rock 'n' roll onslaught. By their third album, I Against I (SST, 1986), Bad Brains had begun mixing the two genres more fluidly, resulting in what would become the band's trademark style.

Aside from establishing themselves as genre pioneers too singular for flat-out imitation, Bad Brains have also gained the reputation of being some of rock's most volatile live performers, with all the pros and cons that title carries. Stories of vocalist (or "throat," as he's memorably identified as in the liner notes) H.R.'s epileptic stage presence are the stuff of punk rock folklore, making concerts unpredictable affairs to be sure. Lucky for us, he'll be anchored by the original lineup: Darryl Jennifer on bass, Earl Hudson on drums, Dr. Know on guitar, natch. Our Summer rager-mode has deactivated; it's time for reignition.

BAD BRAINS With P.O.S., Trouble Andrew. Tues/15–Wed/16, 8 p.m. (doors 7 p.m.), $26, all ages. Slim's, 333 11th St. (415) 255-0333. www.slims-sf.com

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - "40 Day Dream"

By Kimberly Chun

Strap yourself in for more musical thunder as San Fran girds itself for fall - here’s more of what floats the city’s boat.

Glitter Wizard
Wah-wah wow. Hard rock meets glamazon psych in the paws of the SF-Oakland combo. Sat/12, 9:30 p.m., $6. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.

The Honey Brothers
Adrian Grenier of Entourage yucks it up from behind the kit. With Soko and His Orchestra. Sat/12, 9 p.m., $15. Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. (415) 771-1422.

Text and photos by Ariel Soto

The air was thick with friendship and love as about 70,000 people went into tree pose to say a united prayer for peace in Speedway Meadows this Saturday for the 11th annual Power to the Peaceful concert. The day long concert has been the pride and joy of Michael Franti for the past decade, whose own music strives to motivate and cultivate love and peace between all us human beings.

This year the special guests included Alanis Morissette, Cherine Anderson, and Sly and Robbie along with inspirational speakers such as former Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney and Tibetan monk Namkha Rinpoche who hinted at the possibility of the Dalai Lama coming to next year's Power to the Peaceful.

By Marke B.

Poet and punk hero Jim Carroll, (August 1, 1950 – September 11, 2009)

From Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (Penguin, 1996):

Jim Carroll: I was at the Mabuhay Gardens, which was like the CBGB's of San Francisco, and I was trying to hit on one of the Go-Go's. I had this really good coke, so I'm doling out some lines in the manager's office, and we're doing some and then all of a sudden Nico comes in.

She sees the coke and says, "Is that cocaine?" Then she says, "Oh, you are Szhim Carroll. I read about you. You are so skinny, I am so fat."

She was really large and she looked pretty bad. I said, "You sounded great. Here, have some coke."

She was really thankful. She said, "Oh, this is very good coke."

I said, "Thanks. Coming from you that's a real compliment." Hahaha.

By D. Scot Miller

MOS DEF

The Ecstatic

(Downtown)

After 2006's somewhat tepid though promising True Magic (Geffen), Mos drops the best hip-hop album of 2009 thus far. Named after Victor Lavalle's novel, with cover art from Charles Burnett's Killer Of Sheep, this is a gem that I just can't stop playing — especially "Priority" and "No Hay Nada Mas"

Mos Def, "Quiet Dog" Live

By Marke B.

Smoke out with Brownout. Photo by Sandy Carson

This week in the paper, I write about eight-piece Latin psychedelic funk outfit from Texas, Brownout. I'm really digging, in a mellow way, their new album Aguilas and Cobras on Six Degrees Records. You should throw on a rad patterned suit jacket and some slick shoes, light up something nice, and check them out at Elbo Room this Friday.

Want a taste? Check out this primo Brownout mix from Austin's DJ Chicken George and download their Olvidalo track.

Oh, and here's their new video for "Slinky"

BROWNOUT
Fri/18, 10 p.m., $8–$10
Elbo Room
647 Valencia, SF
(415) 552-7788
www.elbo.com

By Michael Harkin

Christina Carter. Photo by Rosa Guerrero

Root Strata, the San Francisco-based avant/out music label co-owned by Jefre Cantu and Maxwell Croy, has released over 50 records since its inception. Its foundations and mission are humble, but after nearly five years of work, the label has seen fit to celebrate in a quietly extravagant way with the On Land Festival, a two-night event in the city where it initially, um, took root. "This is the first time we've collectively tried to do something on this scale," Cantu, Root Strata's founder and a member of Tarentel (who perform the first night of the festival) explains over the phone. Sure, On Land is relatively small compared to SF's other fall festivals, but it's a damned feast for the right audience. Ducktails and Keith Fullerton Whitman at Café Du Nord on the same night? Killer!

Ducktails, "Parasailing"

Although On Land is not a label showcase per se, nearly every artist on the 21-act weekend bill at Du Nord and the Swedish American Hall has put out at least one record with Root Strata, or will be doing so soon. The label began in late 2004 as a way for Cantu to release a solo CD-R prior to a Japanese tour with Tarentel, but it quickly snowballed into a wide-ranging outlet for artists local and distant, whether they be noisy, pretty, glitched-out, or all or none of the above. For instance, Root Strata recently released Common Eider, King Eider's Figs, Wasps, and Monotremes, in which core member Rob Fisk's viola, guitar, and piano meanderings coalesce into a frail, haunting song cycle.

The headliner of Sunday's bill at the Swedish American is Portland, Ore.-based Bay Area expat Grouper, a.k.a. Liz Harris, whose harmonic haze will dovetail beautifully alongside the sounds of the venerable Christina Carter, the Austin, Texas cofounder of drone-folk outfit Charalambides and superb visual and musical artist. Although a straight-up music festival in most senses, On Land also possesses some cool nonauditory aspects: Paul Clipson will be showing films to accompany several of the performances, and, according to Cantu, Joe Grimm has been generating music by placing contact mics on two 16mm projectors. A handful of other labels will vend their wares as well, including Eclipse Records and Last Visible Dog. Bring a few bucks and an open mind — this is an ideal, totally stacked entrance to San Francisco's rich underground.

ON LAND FESTIVAL Sat/19–Sun/20, various times. Café Du Nord and the Swedish American Music Hall, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016. www.onlandfestival.com

Hey wazzup! My fave StSanders vid is probably "**** Me Up" by Passing Stones. His attacks on Def Leppard and Judas Priest have their minimalist power, but this one's got a rhythm section -- and Mick Jagger prancing, flouncing, and doing aerobics in heinous pajama gymwear. And it's got subtitles. All the better for enjoying lyrics such as:

-- "I dress casually.."
-- "Where's Kojak?"
-- "Frustration/B.O./Void"
-- "May I ask you a whiskey sip?"
...and...
-- "I will stop the office trotter"

If you haven't seen it, you should, and if you have seen it, you can never see it enough, so here it is, for your listening and viewing pleasure.

By Johnny Ray Huston

EMITT RHODES
The Emmit Rhodes Recordings (1969-1973)
(Hip-O-Select)

Oh, Emitt. At your peak you were picture-perfect: thick brown hair parted down the middle, angelic face with a doll's complexion. The music business' merry-go-round has been cruel to you, but what glorious pop songs you've given us: "Live Till You Die" has been holding me together the last week or two, and it's just one of many beauties from your self-titled 1970 LP.

Emitt Rhodes, Four Songs from Emitt Rhodes

By Kimberly Chun

Oh, yes, SF -- you like it hot. And you got the sounds to send off the Indian Summer in a proper freaky styley. Here are the worthies that didn’t fit in print.

Alan Braxe
The French dance pop maestro, a.k.a., Stardust, gets out from behind the remix. With One Man Party and Bad Neighbors. Sat/17, 9 p.m. doors, $12-$15. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. (415) 820-9669.

Chairlift
Electropop loveliness from Brooklyn, exploding exponentially since its last liftoff in SF, thanks to an iPod commercial. With Magic Bullets and El Ten Eleven. Thurs/17, 9 p.m., $15. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.

By Kimberly Chun

An amazing amount of hype and chatter accompanied Brooklyn band (and Wesleyan Mafia contingent) Amazing Baby’s first MySpace musical postings. Time to judge for yourself. I traded e-mails with Will Roan before the group's Bottom of the Hill show on Sept. 19.

SFBG: How did your new album, Rewild [(Shangrila)], come to pass?

Amazing Baby: I think that we approached the recording with equal parts professional and amateur goals. We are always learning more about ourselves, and to be honest, it's hard to really know what our intentions were at the time. I think we wanted to express aural love, beauty, heartbreak, and humor. There are people that we love, there are people that have died, and all of the emotions that fall in between. I think next time we may focus more on rhythms and melody. But for Rewild, it was mostly emotive.

SFBG: There's a very glammy/glitter rock feel to the record? Is David Bowie an influence?

AB: Well, I've always been very drawn to Bowie and his effortless power over a song. However, I also feel that his other styles, more than glam, have probably had a larger effect on our songwriting and recording. You can't deny your first loves. And I think, as a music fan, I continuously find myself going back to his music. It's really strong stuff, isn't it?

By Marke B.

Soul with a "!"

In the hoot-and-whirl tradition of Gogol Bordello and Balkan Beat Box, massive NYC brass-and-other-things band Slavic Soul Party! brings Eastern European funk sounds to the dancing masses, on the order of our own beloved Brass Menazeri crew. New album Taketron (barbes) is a shining example of the delicious new Romany hybridity.

Don't believe me? Download a slice of Taketron and listen for yourself here.

Then watch the feathers fly to this SSP track:

Then join the freakin' party!

Slavic Soul Party!
Fri/25, 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
$15 per show, $25 for both
Elbo Room
647 Valencia, SF
www.elbo.com

By Johnny Ray Huston

BARBARA LYNN

Here is Barbara Lynn

(Water)

A lost gem of Atlantic, saved by the boys of Water in Oakland. The clarity and purity of Lynn's voice are rare — and don't let those adjectives fool you into thinking she's a frail flower. Here, the left-handed guitarist makes wise ballads she wrote as a teen burn as strong and steady as anything by Irma Thomas. It's all in the voice.

Barbara Lynn, "You'll Lose a Good Thing"

By Spencer Young

Walking into the dark and somewhat dingy den that is Café Du Nord on Saturday night (9/19), I was confronted with the hysteric gritty sounds and seizure-inducing visuals of Joe Grimm (sorry Operative/Scott Goodwin, I missed your potentially amazing set). Interweaving noise with two 16mm video projectors, Grimm literally made sound visual as the former informed the latter into a cacophony of refracted oscillations that during heightened crossover created blinding ephemeral colors, patterns, and images -- I swear I saw Kim Jong Il high-fiving Mickey Mouse at one point -- that eerily resembled a Rorschach test.

Photo by Spencer Young

All this frenzy and sensory overload froze anyone who dared watch, making the audience a mass of automatons blankly staring into a propaganda machine—eyes possessed, ears perked, and bodies stiff. I was tempted to fake a seizure to break the tension in the room or at least prevent anyone else from having one, but couldn't shake the grip.

The cacophony continued as the boys of the evening fiddled with the knobs, switches, and wires of various gadgets. After Grimm, every act on the bill contained a special voyeuristic charm -- on stage, each performer appeared as though he were alone in his bedroom on a Saturday night somewhere in the Midwest with nothing to keep him company save for some random mixers and pedals he found in the garage, and we the audience were seeing this unfold as though through a curtain-drawn, lava lamp illuminated window.

Boys of (psychedelic) summer: Ducktails brings the blur. Photo by Spencer Young

In the case of Pete Swanson, teenage angst coupled with ennui was battled with and exorcised via a wall of sound that had him shaking in desperation. Ducktails donned Ray-Bans to casually careen through his set, evoking a bit of Dylan. His blurry summer psychedelic sound emanated from a mini Casio keyboard and a sampler inside an old suitcase. With its looped circus-like two-step dance trance and warbly guitar riffs that delicately bowed like patrons at a Japanese tea ceremony, “Beach Poijt Pleasant” was the best song of the night.

By Kimberly Chun

Keep your ears open for the sound of rolling thunder, and your heart dilated with the music of yesterday and tomorrow. Today? Well, here’s some of the musical worthiness coming down the pike right about now.

Mark Eitzel and Victor Krummenacher
Singles going steady? The American Music Clubber meets up with his Camper/Monk chum, who flies solo. Thurs/24, 8 p.m., $12-$15. Red Devil Lounge, 1695 Polk, SF. (415) 921-1695.

Hammer
He won’t hurt you -- though his parachute pants could cause damage. With Whodini. Fri/25, 8 p.m., $45.75-$65.75. Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph, Oakl. www.apeconcerts.com

Interview by Mirissa Neff. From SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Bay Area Nightlife and Glamour, on stands in our regular issue now!

Funky C with his band Joya, photographed for our SCENE cover by Spencer Hansen

Known throughout Latin America as C-Funk, singer, guitarist, and DJ Funky C, a.k.a. Cristian Moraga, was born during the bleak days of Pinochet's dictatorship. He co-fronted popular funk-rock-hip-hop band Los Tetas and brought the groove back to a Chilean scene rife with disenfranchised punk rockers. When Los Tetas ended, Moraga vowed never to set foot on another stage. Lucky for us, though, his particular brand of funk (what he calls "Funk Latino") was too chronic to shake. The mothership brought him to San Francisco where he recorded Joya (Sonic 360, 2007), an album full of nods to funk icons like James Brown and George Clinton and less-expected heros like Tupac and Snoop Dogg. With two recent slots at the Fillmore under his belt, Funky C is set to throw down his deep-rooted riffs and infectious songs at a series of new parties called "Latin Biatz."

SFBG How did you end up in the U.S.?

Funky C I have family here and came here to play with my old band, Los Tetas. But I always wanted to come here to live. In 2007 I released the Funky C album with L.A. label Sonic 360 and decided to move here. Then my wife and I had our baby here in San Francisco, a California girl. It's been a crazy year.

SFBG So the whole band came from Chile?

Funky C Well, I decided for myself, and they wanted to come too. And through my visa I got them visas. The drummer Pepino arrived last year. The bass player Chicho came last year, went back to Chile, and got back just in time for our show at the Fillmore last week. The only one who's not here is the keyboard player. We're missing one of our characters in the band, and I miss him a lot.

Interview by Billy Jam. From SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour, on stands now.

B.A.S.S. ladies: Pam the Funkstress and DJ Zita, photographed by Keeney + Law

The B.A.S.S. (Bay Area Sistah Sound) Crew, which bills itself as "the Bay's Premier Lady DJ Crew," kicked into gear in March 2008 with its first Everlasting B.A.S.S. party at Milk in the Haight. The wildly popular SF monthly, which prides itself on presenting all-female DJ and promotion talents, has now found a home at the lovely Poleng Lounge. Every fourth Saturday, founding member DJ Zita and Pam the Funkstress (formerly of the hip-hop legends the Coup) serve up a nonstop mix of hip hop, funk, soul, and dancehall. DJ Neta, currently busy being a new mom and finishing her PhD, and promoter Fiyah Lilly are also part of the Sistahood. Over the past 18 months Everlasting B.A.S.S.'s hot guest spinners have included DJ Shortee, Deeandroid, Celskiii, Melina Jones, and Conscious Daughters. On Sept. 26, DJ Similak Chyld and emcee Josie Stingray will join the mix.

SFBG What sets Everlasting B.A.S.S. apart from other parties?

Pam the Funkstress It's all female DJs, all female emcees, and female promoters, too. It's a whole lady thing. And our music selection is a lot different from what you would normally hear at a regular club. I mean you hear the club stuff, but Zita plays a lot of the old school stuff, and I play a lot more of the newer stuff but at the same time I play a lot of '90s. But I don't seem to play music that is derogatory toward women. Like with, say, Too $hort, I will play "Short But Funky" or "Blow the Whistle," but I won't play some of his album classics that I know are hits but are derogatory.

Interview by Marke B. From SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour, on stands in the Guardian now.

House of Salad, photographed by Leo Herrera

I recently ran halfway across downtown with the mother of lunatic dragstravaganza House of Salad, Ambrosia Salad herself (pictured above, bottom center, with the big head), teased out extra wig and fake Louis Vuitton suitcase full of props in tow. We were on our way from a vogue ball at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to Aunt Charlie's in the Tenderloin, where she was set to perform. But first we made a quick pit stop at an Indian pizzeria for a huge slice of Hawaiian, which Ambrosia relished with gusto, lipstick be damned. I guess that summarizes the ragtag retinue of underground DJs, performers, promoters, artists, and freaks that she's gathered around herself, who represent every alternaqueer tribe in San Francisco and put on a hell of a show: Who needs makeup when you've got ham drippings and pineapple juice?

SFBG You grew up in the fruit fields of Monterey ...

Ambrosia Most of my wonder years were spent on a strawberry farm next to the ocean, where my bedroom furniture got front row to me dancing around to Stacey Q, Annie Lennox, and Grace Jones. I was no stranger to wearing mommy's pumps and tube tops as dresses. Oddly enough, it wasn't until five years ago that I revisited wearing women's clothing. At first just silly swamp drag: a mustache with a shitty wig. It wasn't until [drag mentor] Mr. David beat the shit out of me that I discovered that Ambrosia didn't need to be so tragic after all. In fact, she looked pretty good.

By Marke B.

In the grand tradition of the genius Christian Bale freakout remix (not to mention Pwak-Pwak Pelosi and several takes on this century's greatest living hero of all time) -- and oddly right after I discovered the Castro's renewed fetish for the 1996 Armand Van Helden remix of Tori Amos' "Professional Widow," the backing track here -- comes this, the pithy motto of our generation set alight. Taylor, I'm really happy for you and Imma let you finish, but watch this first and dance around.

By Johnny Ray Huston

BLUES CONTROL

Local Flavor

(Siltbreeze)

A hot dog made Patty Duke lose control, but on this album Blues Control makes me lose control. Local Flavor is kinda like a short version of Daydream Nation minus the annoying vocals. "Tangier" is the track that hypnotizes me with an effectiveness akin to that of Jacques Bergerac in 1960's The Hypnotic Eye. Cameo by Kurt Vile on one track.

Blues Control, "Rest On Water"

By Johnny Ray Huston

CROCODILES
Summer of Hate
(Fat Possum)

If it's 1988 all over again, Crocodiles are our Spacemen 3, ready to deliver the perfect prescription: drum machines. vintage organs, drugs = god lyrics. They've got the best Jesus and Mary Chain death anthems too, and the occasional burst of energy, trading ’ludes for upper-spiked punk on "Soft Skull (In My Room)." The poise and epic production here are surprising for a debut.

Crocodiles, "Summer of Hate"

By Johnny Ray Huston

By no means brand new, yet still worth a view: Even if the music is Daft Punk cloning 101, there's no hating the video by Pleix (whose "Astral Body Church" project intrigues) for Vitalic's "Poney Part 1."

Vitalic, "Poney Part 1"

By no means brand new, but still worth a view, part II: As TV Carnage maniacs wait with baited breath for Cop Movie, we have to make due with occasional viewings of Pinky's music video for Crystal Castles. Considering the quality of the song and clip, the wait is better than it is long.

Crystal Castles, "Vanished"

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Library Catalog Music, Volumes 1-3
(Asthmatic Kitty)

By Kimberly Chun

Remember the to-do concerning the Shins’ “New Slang” on a McDonald’s commercial? Those days of outrage seem so far away now, in the throes of the continuing recession and ever-deepening music-biz woes. Licensing your sonic slang out to TV, film, and commercial endeavors has become a way of life -- and a genuine ticket to recognition for many: Chairlift, whose “Bruises” popped up on an iPod commercial, is just the latest beneficiary of that success narrative.

So perhaps one of the oddest little musical artifacts to emerge amid those fading cries of “sell-out!” is this three-part series produced by Asthmatic Kitty. Library Catalog Music looks the phenom squarely in the eye, as its promo literature queries, “Are you a major multi-national corporate conglomerate looking for quickly recognizable audio branding?” I wish. Actually, I don’t wish. But like so many others, I can use the cash, and apparently Asthmatic Kitty can, too -- though not without a certain level of integrity. These overt entries into the marketplace wouldn’t be too out of place among some of your more enticing Euro-ambient discs. Vol. 1, Music for Lubbock, 1980, dares to tug on the tails of Ry Cooder’s Paris, Texas, while Vol. 2, Music for Measurements, brings the funk to imagined buddy cop flicks, and Vol. 3’s Music for Drums yearns to set the beat to sci-fi fantasies. Who dreamed these ready-made scores up? Bellevue, Wash., band Law of the Least Effort takes the credit -- led by sometime Pedro the Lion and Seldom member Casey Foubert. Quality aural wallpaper -- coming right up.

Green Day's Mike Dirnt, from left, Billie Joe Armstrong and Tré Cool. Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers Records.

By Kimberly Chun

Another helping of American Idiot, anyone? Berkeley Rep has obliged by extending the run of the musical through Nov. 1. Meanwhile here’s more from an interview with Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong in August -- for the rest of the story, see “No Brainer” in the Guardian’s Fall Arts Preview issue.

SFBG: So what does the album mean to you now?

Billie Joe Armstrong: Um, I think it means that we were right. [Laughs] I think it means ... a lot. I love that album. It’s one of my proudest moments as a musician, for sure -- having the guts and audacity to make a record that was that ambitious, but still, at the same time, be true to rock ‘n’ roll music, I guess.

JESSE FULLER
Move on Down the Line
(Fledg’ling)

By Kimberly Chun

He was “the Lone Cat,” for sure. Bay Area blues-folk 12-string guitarist and vocalist Jesse Fuller went by that moniker back in the day -- he died in 1976 at 80 -- when he plied his one-man band (including his fotdella, a foot-operated hammer-and-pedal string bass of his own invention, and harmonica-kazoo-cymbals-washboard setup) on the streets of San Francisco.

The self-described “folk songster” spent years riding the rails after leaving his native Georgia, arrived in SF to work its shipyards as a wartime welder, and later opened an Oakland shoeshine parlor. He also penned blues-folk standard “San Francisco Bay Blues,” which went on to be covered by everyone from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Bob Dylan to Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney. Fuller certainly displays an inviting feline ease on the original version of that number on the lovingly assembled Move on Down the Line, supplemented by notes by music maven Joe Boyd and filled out with a number of tracks that aren’t on other Fuller discs in print. The songwriter’s version is the definitive ode to the city: brisk, breezy, driven by his evocative, supple drawl and bring-it-all-home kazoo solo. It’s the finale to a quirky, compelling, and essential document of a now-less-than-recognized piece of SF music history -- a part of the Southern blues tradition that carved out his own place by the Bay.

Text and photos by Ariel Soto

"I think this is going to be really romantic music," J said to me, as we sat down in our seats, our toes literally touching the mics and instruments on the makeshift stage area at Red Poppy Art House (http://www.redpoppyarthouse.org/). It was a perfect Fall evening and we were about to embark on a musical adventure through Chile with trusty our guides, the Quijeremá quartet. And yes, the music was very romantic, but also very sad.

By Molly Freedenberg

(From L to R): Graham Terry, Rushad Eggleston, and Scott Manke cast "sound tornados all over the world." Photo by Guru Khalsa.

Tornado Rider isn't just a great band name - it's an apt metaphor for the three-piece musical phenomenon led by vocalist, cellist, and force of nature Rushad Eggleston. The often spandex-clad frontman wields his sticker-covered cello the way many before him have done with electric guitars - including leaps, jumps, and dramatic perches upon speakers - as he and Scott Manke (drums) and Graham Terry (bass and vocals) produce a unique, danceable sound that has more in common with punk rock than any other musical genre. Afraid you'll have a hard time taking a punk band led by a classical instrument seriously? Don't worry - Tornado Rider, though seriously virtuosic musically, delivers every show with an eye for spectacle and a sense of humor. After all, crowd favorites include songs with the lines "Oh no here comes a dinosaur!" and "I am the goat God," and all band members perform in some version of outrageous (and usually uncoordinated) costume. Catch the whirling sound dervishes, if you can, before they head out on their national tour.

Tornado Rider
Fri, Oct 2, 9pm
$8-$10
Red Devil Lounge
1695 Polk, SF.
www.myspace.com/tornadoriderband