SUPER 11
SUPER ONZE
(self-released)

Led by hand drumming, three-stringed n'goni lute, and organic pitch shifting Malian chant, Super 11's Super Onze is a compelling set of songs. The band, a collective formed in a remote region of Northern Mali, plays Takamba, a type of music typically created for weddings and other ceremonies. It comes from a rich musical history, linked to other artists in the area, and in style to acts such as Ali Farka Touré.

Read more »

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Snap your fingers – jazzy San Francisco swingsters the Cosmo Alleycats have officially released their debut album, The Late Late Show. It's the kind of story you love to hear: talented local band makes good, a group that formed as a weekly venue houseband makes the leap to fully-realized recording act. And that record beams with tinkling piano, hearty sax, the thumping backbone of upright bass, and a mix of soulful jazz numbers, vintage R&B, and poppy upbeat swing.  Read more »

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Between them, local guitarist Joe Gore and drummer Dawn Richardson have played alongside some heavy-hitters: Tom Waits, PJ Harvey,  Tracy Chapman, Eels, DJ Shadow, Courtney Love, Four Non-Blondes, and a whole lot more. Together, the duo plays lush instrumental rock'n'roll in their new band, Mental 99. How lush? With just two (albeit two considerably talented) musicians, the band showcases a densely layered sound – the strength  you might expect from say, a quartet – thanks in part to its live looping skills. Read more »

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

This is the time of year when sparkly holiday affairs are everywhere. Depending on your current state of mind, these tinsel-coated, candy-caned, dreidal-spun affairs can stink like commercial biz abominations, or warm like twinkling, nostalgia-inducing winter shindigs. With San Francisco act Uni & Her Ukelele opening up for the Yule Logs (a band that just released an album called You Ruined Christmas) at Amnesia, the evening is bound for greatness. It's the seventh annual “Christmas is the Best” show, and both holiday-loving acts play clever and folky power-pop with tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek sweetness. Read more »

It had been a long wait to see Iggy Pop live (not like, Morrissey-long, but more like three months later than anticipated). When I spoke with Pop back in September, he was ecstatic to be out on the road again. Read more »