A Million Billion Dying Suns‘ new music video for Hey Man, off their 2013 release, Strawberry EP is an intensely striking modern fairy tale that will take you on a 6 minute wild ride of an Oakland hipster’s worst nightmare.

Plagued with the torment of bikers, wizards and reptiles, one ordinary man’s bike ride around town turns into a dark and violent labyrinth of events. Escape is futile until he wakes up from the spine chilling alternate reality (which could even be an alternate Bay Area), only to find himself back home, but more lost than ever.

Produced by French Press Films, directed by Andrew Juncker and gifted with a supreme performance by actor, Andrew Riddell, this video is totally impressive. The acting, twists and quality are a very pleasant surprise in a world of DIY, lo fidelity production, –not that there’s anything wrong with them. Hey Man will show you just what a little time, passion and budget can do to pump an already great band and album.

Kudos to A Million Billion Dying Suns for producing a great music video. There are a couple of chances to see them perform live in the very near future.  -je

05.01 San Francisco CA – The Make-Out Room
05.10 Los Angeles CA – The Satellite
05.22 San Francisco CA – Converse Store, Downtown SF

Tonight the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco is hosting a show with performances by: Parae, VAINHEIN, Grendel’s Claw, and Tyler Holmes. Each band holds true to a slew of genres – spanning all the way from electronic music to post-punk.

Opening is electro-goth solo act Tyler Holmes. Also playing is highly surf punk two piece Grendel’s Claw. VAINHEIN is a musical act from Oakland that plays dark, experimental house music. Parae is a San Francisco-based trio that creates post-punk-tinged experimental art rock. The band has confrontational-sounding vocals amidst rough-edged, noisy instrumentals. Last year the band came out with a full-length called Crystal Venom, which is sure to bend conventions of genre. –Erin Dage

The sound of ’80s is back and more progressive than ever, thanks to SF based quartet Melted Toys. Smooth guitar leads and thumping drum beats are easily accessible in their newest album "S/T," released with Underwater Peoples.

Easygoing, sweet vibes mixed with on-point vocal waves a la Christopher Owens build and swell in Bummed Out while things take a more post punk vibe with Horizons. A Postcard slows down with breathy vocals and rich basslines to fill the air with demure head swaying happiness. Blush begs to be blasted during a golden coastline drive with the windows down and volume up. Bongo drums make an appearance in Joy Fit as palm trees sway in the distance and echoey vocals flow over a deep bass. The group’s more techno-savvy side comes out in Citrus Honeymoon as silver synth sounds glissade over short guitar bursts and a slowed-down mood. With chill beats and slick-smooth sounds, Melted Toys bring the bacon and all of the syrup. – Kat Collins

San Francisco State University’s music and arts venue, The Depot is putting on an all ages show highlighting some of the Bay Area’s most fun and energetic young bands. Oh, and the show is free! Topping the bill is Wild Moth, a four piece from San Francisco that recently released their latest album, Over, Again through Asian Man Records. Their sound ranges from frenetic (think Jay Reatard or Pavement’s “Cut Your Hair") but with a heavy dose of post punk.

Setting the stage is Oakland’s surf-rock wonder kids, Meat Market. The band recently finished wrapping up their March Madness tour which included stops at SXSW. Labor Temple and Bicycle Day, who sound similar to John Dwyer’s Coachwhips or early Oh Sees projects will kick off the night.

This will be an early show, running from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., but making it down will be well worth your while! –Skyler Warren

SF based group, The Y Axes blend clean, sweet vocals with calming melodies and plaits of deep basslines with animated guitar pulses in their newest album, Sunglasses & Solar Flares. The follow up to the release of their previous ep, Moon Rock 2.0, this 13 track album keeps up the spacey theme with titles like, "Nanoseconds" and "Neon Street."

Timely beats and pleading lyrics brush up against each other in "Nothing With You". "Green To Gold" says hello with electronic warbly synth lines and lyrics sung with a smile. "Dotted Lines" features a reverberating beat and a spicy guitar solo in a tale of love and poetically passing time. With their album set to release on May 17, keep an eye out for The Y Axes as we enter the future of pop music. You can listen to a single from Sunglasses & Solar Flares below. –Kat Collins

Polish and lace up your best dancing shoes, press a good shirt, or pick out a dress that’s easy to twist in because Royal Jelly is looking to help you get over your slump on humpday. As part of their April residency, Royal Jelly and John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom Room will be hosting this jazz-inspired, dance inducing band who posseses plenty of rhythm and soul to go around! 

Joining Royal Jelly is another funk filled, soul/ hip hop group, The Pull, who are coming fresh off of winning San Francisco State’s Battle of the Bands. You can catch DJ Honeycomb Brown, spinning vintage funk hits guaranteed to keep your toes tapping. Don’t be shy because this show will be a super fun time! –Skyer Warren

This month for The City: SF Sounds presents, a monthly free concert series hosted by NBC Bay Area and Jack Daniels, it’s all about danceable rock. Bay Area bands Animal Super Species and The Trims will be playing the event April 24 at The Milk Bar in San Francisco.

Animal Super Species is a band that is the vein of The Faint, playing scuzzy dance pop. Be sure to check out their debut album, Yearbook – its filled to the brim with danceable tunes. Followed in the theme of the night, is The Trims, an alternative dance pop group from San Jose. The band came out with Delete You After last year and it has definite post-punk and dance influences.  –Erin Dage

If you’re in the mood to see a cool show in San Francisco, The Hemlock Tavern will be hosting a showcase made up of a plethora of talent. Foli will be a refreshing treat for psychedelic soul music fans. Their sound ranges between mellow and introspective grooves to full-on rock and roll assault, which makes for an exciting show.

And for music lovers who are into a steady and washed out sound, shoegaze group, Upstairs Downstairs will give you a spiritually chill experience with their silky vocals and delicately woven instrumentals. Folk soul artist, Breck Omar Brunson will be making his San Francisco debut as a solo singer songwriter after experiencing moderate success as a band front man and contemporary artist in Washington DC. This show is going to be entertaining, intimate and down to earth. Make sure you attend this show if you’re looking for something a bit different then your average Bay Area rock show. – Kat Collins

Tomorrow night, Kymberli’s Music Box Presents and The Night Light in Oakland will be hosting a killer neo psych lineup. With performances by up and coming local musical outfits, Down and Outlaws with their heavy psych rock aesthetic and energetic live show and the melodious mod rock group, The Electric Magpie, whose reminiscent, 60s revivalist sound seems to be filtered directly through a time machine, this show is not to be missed. 

Salt Lake City based sextet, Super 78 will also be playing the show. Their mashed-up qualities results the creation of a New Order-gone-Gang of Four musical vibe. The lo-fi group will share the bill with the one and only, Kirpatrick Thomas of Cowboy-badboys Spindrift. He’ll be lending his killer baritone voice to his own solo acoustic psych-cowboy songs. It will be an amazing performance to experience.

Come out and celebrate Earth Day with a few beers and some killer music. – Kat Collins

As you may or may have not heard, The Deli Magazine San Francisco is spearheading a series of shows at the DNA Lounge. For the very first show (after our Riot Grrrl party we threw at SUB/Mission in February) April 18, we’ve got an excellent lineup of local bands consisting of Modern Man, Buzzmutt and Baus.

Baus is an Oakland band that made waves last month with the release of their first full-length, Idol Minds. The band blends elements of post-punk and no wave to create truly jagged and abrasive tunes. Buzzmutt is a band from San Francisco wh playing psych-tinged noise rock. And headlining is Modern Man, an Oakland-based band that weaves together drudgingly dark shoegaze. Last year the band came out with an awesome tape entitled, Small Waves.

The choice is yours: Do you want to come and celebrate a new era of The Deli Magazine San Francisco and local music, or do you want to stay at home? –Erin Dage

A new era of reinvented garage rock is upon us, and there’s no better musical example that represents this statement than San Fran based group, Vulture Legs. Bearing bluesy garage vibes, their four-song EP Crawl With Me ranges in sound reminiscent of a cooled-off Black Keys and a cleaned-up version of FIDLAR.

Organ overtones in No Game throwback their sound to the 60’s, with poetically blunt lyrics (mean on the streets/tryna sell some happiness/woman on the corner, man did you see her? /no she’s not your ordinary girl). With Me Girl leads with a strong guitar interlude, as lyrics plead for a chance with the opposite sex (Won’t you take a ride with me girl/I can show you things girl). Read Between The Lines is filled with fast-paced guitar riffs and battering drum beats as vocals dance up and down the melodies. Citing "a tasty casserole" as an influence on their Facebook bio, the tastiness is inevitably apparent in their first release. We can expect great things from Vulture Legs. –Kat Collins

Down Dirty Shake is headling another San Francisco show. This time, they’ll be playing with Gainsville based Ancient River and California Raga Association, formallly the Brooklyn Raga Association. This is going to be a classic psych revival show with diverse interpretations of the genre being expressed by each band. Down Dirty Shake plays psych-soul, with a heavy and stylistic resemblence to The Doors. Ancient River is more Pink Floyd-esque garage, gritty sound that drive, and the California Raga Association brings a roots version of psych rock to the table.

Don’t miss this show!