Keeping to their promise of slowly squeezing out short releases over the course of 2011, Sunbeam Rd. have followed up last months Circular Breathing with Basements & Passed Lives. "Basements" fills the first side with brooding vocals and a delicate guitar melody weaving its way through a sea of drone. Contrasting a bit, "Passed Lives" snaps out of the pensive state of the preceding song with a driving bass line and danceable beat. All in all both tracks, as well as "Circular Breathing," are definitely worth a listen and are available for free on Sunbeam Rd.’s Bandcamp page. They will also be playing a show this Wednesday at the Hemlock with Spiro Agnew and Red Blue Yellow. Check them out.

-Ada Lann

Looks like Wednesday this week is bring us two fantastic shows for a good nights run around.

Start the evening off with an Ears of the Beholder presented Happy Hour show at the Noise Pop Pop-Up Shop with Space Ghost, Skeletal System, Kites Sail High, Yalls (Debut), and visuals by Chris Martz. This will take place at the Fifty24SF Gallery starting around 6. Get your tickets here if you haven’t already.

Following that Milk will host Future Sounds Presents: The Rumble featuring Blackbird Blackbird, Phantom Kicks, and Letting Up Despite Great Fault, 8pm.

A lot to fit in to one evening but definitely worth it if you have the stamina.

–Ada Lann

San Francisco band Foolproof Four have released a Three Song Sampler just in time for their performance at this Friday’s SF IndieFest. They will be playing alongside four other Bay Area acts: Los Shimmy Shakers, Taxes, Shit Outta Luck, Thief and Nervous, at the TwentyFifty, which is located on Bryant Street.

This is the second annual SF Winter Music Festival and it will begin tomorrow and continue through the 17th. There are eight showcases with two stages and over forty bands. Their website exclaims: “The best punk, metal, ska, swing, rockabilly and indie rock from around the Bay and beyond!” All shows are 21 and up.

Foolproof Four is lead by guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Noah Grant, with Dan Brennan on drums and vocals. The two are often accompanied by Nate Harris to round out their sound. These three tracks, available on the bands MySpace and Facebook pages, as well as for sale at shows, showcase the variety the band is known for. This summer they played alongside Maria Taylor and Morgan Nagler at the Bottom of the Hill, and they have been keeping busy since—recording songs for their first full-length release. Keep an eye out for a fun new music video as well, shot in San Francisco.

The three songs—“Post-Industrial”, “Lady Valia Stood Her Ground” and “We’re All for Sale” almost sound as if they are by three different bands. This does not create a lack of coherence in their overall sound, but instead let fans know that these boys will always have some new trick up their sleeves. Although they sure know how to have fun with certain songs onstage, many of their songs are quite thoughtful too. Grant wrote “Lady Valia” about his admiration for the nonviolent protesters at UC Berkeley, and as a statement of solidarity to those who on faced such violence and did not let it break them.

Grant describes their new set of songs as “a swung folk/rock tune, an a cappella tune, and a straight ahead rock tune.” If you like the sound of that, be sure to make it out to their show Friday night!

–Shauna C. Keddy

Well the poll results are in and congratulations to the winners. The music continues of course so here are a few selections from the calender.

Tomorrow head out to El Rio to catch Casey and Brian with Little Creatures, 9pm.

Friday Ears of the Beholder will present yet another show with yet another fantastic line-up. At Cafe du Nord featuring a headlining set by Exray’s with support by Tim Cohen, Cyclyst, and a DJ set by Fiveng this here is another EOTB show you can’t miss, 8pm.

Finally on Saturday wander out to Mama Buzz in Oakland to see Ben Thompson, who took third place in our Readers Poll, lay down some electronic tunes, 9pm.

–Ada Lann

Surely it comes with little surprise that everyone’s favorite of last year Weekend has topped our list and been named the Best Emerging Bay Area Artist of 2010. After causing a huge splash with their wildly successful EP (earning itself a Deli SF Album of the Month Award), impressive Noise Pop performance, and a currently successful new release Sports, Weekend have proven themselves a force to be reckoned with around the Bay Area. As they depart for their tour with the Wire we wish them the best exporting the finest of San Francisco’s wonderfully shrill shoegaze-y noise-rock.

After a contentions reader’s voting period Michael Musika earned himself a second place nod. Contrasting Weekend with a more subdued acoustic style Michael Musika brings some representation to the poll for the Bay Area’s folk community.

Finally, after coming in first in the reader’s poll The Family Crest took third for the overall contest. Bringing an orchestral indie-rock sound to the field, this placement hopefully will help The Family with their latest release The Village.

Well we are coming up to the final hours of our Best Emerging Bay Area Artist 2010 Poll so be sure to get your votes in. In the meantime however there are several shows this coming week you may want to check out.

Tomorrow night Ears of the Beholder will be presenting a show at Public Works featuring Religious Girls, The Actors, former Artist of the Month winners Thralls, and Spiro Agnew, 8pm.

Thursday at the Starry Plough in Oakland former Artist of the Month winners Cannons and Clouds will be playing with Black Balloon and The Interchangeable Hearts, 9pm.

Friday head to the Rickshaw to see Monotonix, Ty Segall, and Nodzzz, 8:30pm.

Saturday be sure to catch Weekend at the Hemlock with Terry Malts and Wax Idols. This may be your last chance to see Weekend before their much anticipated tour with the Wire, 9:30pm.

Alternatively, on the same night, you can get a free CD just for walking in the door of the Rickshaw for the Attachments’ album release party. They will be playing with The Hot Toddies and Scrabbel, 8:30pm.

–Ada Lann

Well the New Year continues with one thoroughly busy week for shows. Here are a few selections.

Tomorrow head out to Bottom of the Hill to see Young Prisms kick off their tour with Melted Toys. They will be playing with Speculator, 9pm.

Thursday at Cafe Du Nord Worker Bee will be headlining an all local show with Sleeptalks, Nick Reinhart, and new favorites Sunbeam Rd, 8pm.  Apparently they made a promo video for the show.  A first?

Friday Yours Truly and Terror Eyes will be presenting an interesting part film part live music event at the Common. With screenings of unreleased footage from both blogs, performances by Religious Girls and Appetite, and the promise of free beer this is not an event to be missed, 8:30.

However if film screenings aren’t your thing, up at the Hemlock, the same evening, Man/Miracle will be playing with Butterfly Bones and Elephant & Castle, 9:30.

Finally, Saturday back out at Bottom of the Hill Jake Mann & The Upper Hand will be celebrating their CD release with Grand Lake and il gato, 9pm.

–Ada Lann

Well in the midst of all our current Best Emerging Artist poll business we should, of course, still mention there are still shows to be seen this week. Here are a few selections from the calender.

Tomorrow Bay Area Bourgeois will present a show at Era Art Bar in Oakland with Ben Thompson (recently selected for the poll from our Sonicbids Submissions), Hydroplane and Fool’s Paradise, 8pm.

Friday out at the Knockout Maus Haus will be playing their last show before a few month hiatus with Sleeptalks, 10pm.

Saturday at Slims catch Magic Bullets with the Fresh and Onlys and Crocodiles, 9pm.

–Ada Lann

Here Come The Saviours gained the most votes amongst the Bay Area-based artists that submitted to be considered for our Best Emerging Artist Poll 2010. They will therefore go on to the next stage of our poll along with B. Hamilton, The Spyrals, and Ash Reiter.

TOP 10 ARTISTS FROM OPEN SUBMISSIONS

Region: SF Bay Area

Jurors: Deli Washinton DC and Philadelphia Editors

1. Here Come The Saviours – NOMINATED FOR NEXT PHASE

2. B. Hamilton – NOMINATED FOR NEXT PHASE

3. The Spyrals – NOMINATED FOR NEXT PHASE

4. Ash Reiter – NOMINATED FOR NEXT PHASE

5. Callow

6. Fans of Jimmy Century

7. Foreign Cinema

8. Bears! Bears! Bears!

9. Commissure

10. Leilujh

As we finish up the nomination process for our upcoming Deli SF 2010 Best Emerging Artist Readers Poll, we are proud to announce the bands selected from our Sonicbids submission page.

Birds and Batteries

Birds & Batteries are on a steady rise with consistently sold out shows in San Francisco, a new record, a Daytrotter session and more national touring ahead. "Panorama" is the third full-length from Birds & Batteries and their finest work to date (Spune/ Velvet Blue Music). The new album is a rare mix of organic and electronic, pop and experimental and an effortless play of surprising elements.

Birds & Batteries’ "Up To No Good" EP (2009, Eightmaps) showed singer / bandleader Mike Sempert exploring synth-funk and the influences of Bowie’s "Scary Monsters" and P-funk. On "Panorama" (2010, Spune/Velvet Blue Music) his love for artists like Harry Nilsson, ELO, and David Byrne shines through, and he trades in a bit of the irony for empathy. Sempert might as well be a scientist in his next life, as he is able to blend his classic folk-ish voice with synth textures for down right futuristic results. When pressed for a simple summary, he’s described the sound as "Art-rock meets Tom Petty." Basically it’s not all that easy to define. Sempert is joined by Christopher Walsh (guitar), Jill Heinke (bass), and Brian Michelson (drums).

The new record conjures up blue skies and big views. It is heartfelt and bold and unlike anything in the current indie landscape. After playing festivals in the spring of 2010 – SXSW, Noise Pop, NX35 – Birds & Batteries toured nationally in the summer and fall of 2010. They’re scheduled to return to Noise Pop 2011 in SF in February.

Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson is a San Francisco based/Iowa raised electronic artist forging a trail into uncharted sonic territory with compositions that are as motivating on the dance floor as they are uplifting in the headphones. Graduating from Cornell College with a degree in composition, Ben marries his love of electronic dance music with his passion for structure, harmony, and melody. This hybrid of classical sensibility and contemporary sounds creatively blends elements of electronic, house, techno, rock, and funk.

Ben’s ability to keep a strong foot in both the “sophisticated” art world and the “party” club scene has earned him a diverse and growing audience, including the staff of iTunes who labeled him a 2010 Electronic Artist to Watch. Having only been producing electronic music for 4 years, Ben has already booked at premier SF venues and parties, including Mighty, 111 minna, The Boom Boom Room, the Disco Biscuits after party and Kelly’s Mission Rock, and also opened for international acts Lazer Sword, Signal Path, Shlohmo, and Ghosts on Tape.

Prior to making electronic music Ben was logging hours on the guitar playing in jazz and funk bands, writing acoustic pieces, and studying composition. He is proving to be a steadily rising star and is currently working on a follow up to his 2010 self-released EP, Time Traveler. Ben’s next release in 2011 will coincide with a small tour to promote his already infiltrating sound.

Slowness

Slowness is a drone-pop trio from San Francisco that formed in 2008 in a big living room just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The group—Geoffrey Scott (guitars, vocals), Julie Lynn (bass, keyboards) — enlisted Monte Vallier at Ruminator Audio as producer. After several attempts to get it right, the band completed its first four-song EP, Hopeless but Otherwise, and hit the road for a 17-date U.S. tour in the summer of 2010. The group is currently recording a follow-up EP with Vallier, on which Sean Eden, formerly of Luna, will add guitars. Slowness is booking a European tour for the summer of 2011 to support the soon-to-be released For Those Who Wish to See the Glass Half-Full.

Check back again soon to begin voting on your favorite SF act.

The Mother Hips, Chico-based jam-band from the nineties, headlined a holiday show at The Great American Music Hall the weekend before Christmas. Although the stoner vibe of their long instrumental bits may have been a bit much for those in the audience not high on cannabis, they were tighter on certain songs and held their own even while missing many of their original members. The showstopper was when lead singer Tim Bluhm’s wife Nicki came onstage and raised the roof with her powerhouse voice. Those completely gone from too many joints and five minute musical interludes were snapped back to attention, with the refreshing presence of a woman onstage among the five male hippie rockers. The beautiful Mrs. Bluhm walked onstage, appearing polished and stylish, and proceeded to sing with wisdom and heart. Even though she only graced the stage for one song, it hit home more than the entire rest of their performance for me.

The female power was introduced early in the show in fact, with San Francisco-based all women’s choir, The Conspiracy of Venus, kicking the show off with a rousing and fun-filled set. Choir director Joyce Todd McBride included one superb song she wrote herself, but otherwise early comers to the show were treated to three Tom Waits songs, two by Joni Mitchell, and one by Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol. Additionally, a rocking choir version of the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” got the audience dancing and joining in. Highlights of their set were a solo by Demetra Delia Markis and their fun props such as a toy cowboy gun yielded by Frankie Burton. The girls ranged in age from twenties to middle age and it was a joy to see them all up their in their holiday finest.

More girl power was exhibited in the second opening act, Or the Whale. Led by Alex Robins, the band is given flight by the amazing singer Lindsay Garfield. Or the Whale has appeared on Good Morning America, and their debut album Light Poles and Pines helped earn them a 2008 Hollywood Music Award for Best Americana/Roots Artist as well as a coveted spot on Radio & Records Top 100 Americana Artists of 2008. And believe me, they live up the hype. Americana without feeling cliché or too cool for school, this band knew how to rock, and how to bring it down home. Not to mention, it was precious to notice that (accidentally?) four out of six of them were clad in plaid shirts and jeans.

The highlight of the show though, had to be when the choir joined The Mother Hips for a song, taking advantage of the onstage box seating. In the twenty or so shows I have seen at the GAMH, I have never seen it used before. But it was not just their placement in the box that made this moment great, it was their voices with the Mother Hips, a perfect pairing.

Words and Photos by Shauna C. Keddy

Or the Whale Photo by Melanie Robins