Who still wants to write about a show that happened a month ago? This guy.

I’d heard locals Grand Lake were popular around these parts, and so I was surprised when there wasn’t more than 15 people at the Rickshaw Stop on that distant memory of a Thursday evening. It was a real shame, because they put on an amazing show opening for Casper and the Cookies and Aquasurge. Grand Lake’s performance was a crazy trip through an array of emotions, twirling the small audience from happy up-beat rock to anxious, swelling spaces of lyrical honesty.

Equally comfortable doling out dark, pulsing beats and minimalist bass lines (with long stretches of anticipation between excellent vocals) or exploding with sweet, hopeful alt-rock, Grand Lake is a wild ride. The entire act was very well put together; energetic throughout, with an ultimately optimistic vibe and enthusiastic drumming that would have excited a larger audience into bouncy dancing. Grand Lake really stole the show for me, and I wholeheartedly recommend them.

Casper and the Cookies came up next featuring Jason NeSmith (formerly of Of Montreal) sporting a mustard yellow jacket that matched the mustard yellow bass guitar that kept switching hands. Casper’s talented 3-singer harmonies and relentless pop-rock dance-beat drumming actually did get some people moving by the very end of their set, a testament to the hyperactive fun pouring from their stage. Continuing the high-energy trend set by Grand Lake, Casper and the Cookies were impressive and downright jolly.

Last we had Aquaserge, who were interesting but a little bland. They were trying pretty hard to trip the audience out, with five yelping vocalists, sharp, dissonant keys, and driving drums under inflating guitar narratives. Their music was trying to put me ill-at-ease, with occasionally flat singing and repetitive, swelling noise, coming at any given time from the bassist, the drummer, or the keyboards. They succeeded in creating an interesting sound-scape, but failed at being particularly compelling for me. When I’m given an ocean of sound, I tend to fall asleep on my inner-tube, no matter how deep and mysterious the water is.

Here’s to a more regular schedule — I’m almost positive I have three and a half readers, and I’m sure they were worried about me. I’m touched, honestly.

–Kyle Wheat

Of course tomorrow you should find yourself at the show we’ve put together at the Hemlock, and while that is a quality show there are still others worth checking out this weekend.

On Thursday the 10th (((folkYEAH!))) will be presenting Sleepy Sun, celebrating their CD Fever’s release, at the Great American Music Hall with The Fresh and Onlys and Moon Duo, 9pm.

Head up the Haight to Milk on Friday for a night of shoegaze and post-punk with Here Come the Saviours and their good friends Everything Gone Green and 2;Frail, 9pm.

Round out your weekend by heading to the Independent on Sunday where the Young Prisms will be opening up for Real Estate and All Saints Day (feat. members of Vivian Girls, Cat Power and Delta 72), 8pm.

Don’t forget to check out our latest Deli SF Presents show at the Hemlock tomorrow (featuring The Dashing Suns, Tokyo Raid, and Meta) and, if you haven’t already done so, go vote!

–Ada Lann

This Wednesday! The Deli SF proudly presents The Dashing Suns, Tokyo Raid and Meta at the Hemlock! Come rock wih us and dance way the mid-week bluuughs. Wednesday, June 9th at 9pm $7. Do it!

In anticipation of their third full length release, Bulls & Bears, San Francisco blues-rock band The Stone Foxes have released a video and a free download for the song "Stomp." The video is pretty amusing and the concept, inspired by the Mattel View-Master toys of the 80’s, gives a context to offering the video in standard and 3D format which goes beyond the current trend of 3D everything as a means to market anything [have you seen the commercials for the new 3D HDTV? Ridiculous]. For those of you without two-toned glasses at home, the standard video is included in this post. Anyone wanting the full experience can go here.

Bulls & Bears is available in physical format on July 6th and digitally on iTunes June 29th.

-Nicole Leigh

"May Grey" seems to be giving way to "June Gloom" in the Bay Area. Two weather clichés that are about as inspiring as the overcast skies that haven’t been tempting me to, ahem, call in sick at the day job. Luckily, this week I was treated to an unexpected surprise on Daytrotter when I noticed a recent session from San Francisco’s Young Prisms. Four tracks spanning from "Dreamcatcher Panoramic" which was originally released on their self titled EP on Mexican Summer to "I Don’t Get Much" from their recently released 7" split with Weekend. Their sound is the perfect compliment to the tiny rays of sunlight that occasionally break through the clouds throughout the day.

Young Prisms play The Independent on Sunday, June 13th.

-Nicole Leigh

With the hope that your Memorial Day was eventful, and well memorable, here are a few selections for some worth while shows this coming weekend.

On Friday head over to The Rickshaw where Tempo No Tempo will be playing their last show ever with Born Ruffians and Young Rival, 8:30pm.

On Saturday, if you’ve never had the opportunity to catch one of their shows, make your way down to the Bottom of the Hill for the wonderful spectacle that is Captured! By Robots. Playing with The Dont’s and Bobby Joe Ebola & The Children MacNuggit, do what you can to catch this impressive mechanical exhibition, 9:30pm.

Of course if a man playing music with a bunch of robots isn’t your thing, then head up to the Hemlock that same night for an apparently re-imagined We Shore is Dedicated opening for Winfred E. Eye and Bart Davenport, 9pm.

Lastly, round your weekend out with Music for Animals playing the Indie Mart, with a roster of other acts, at Thee Parkside starting around noon.

–Ada Lann

Maintaining last week’s momentum, looks like this weekend is turning out to be just as busy with a number of great shows around the city.

If you’re up for starting early this week head over to the Hemlock tonight to catch Maus Haus, with Boomsnake and Hosannas, before they set off on their tour, 8pm (early show).

Should the Hemlock not be your cup of tea tonight, around the corner at The Great American Music Hall Wooden Shjips will be playing with Spectrum, 8pm.

Continuing with their Thursday series, Epic Sauce will be putting on yet another quality free show at Milk. This one will be celebrating the release of Silian Rail and Seattle’s By Sunlight’s split 7-inch. Ash Rieter and Devotionals will also share the bill, 8pm.

This Friday head over The Rickshaw Stop where Birds and Batteries, Sister Crayon and Judgement Day will be playing a show presented by Spinning Platters, 10pm.

Lastly, on Sunday at the Hemlock local noisy shoegazers Young Prisms and Weekend will also be celebrating the release of a split 7-inch. Playing with Grave Babies and Swanifant, this is sure to be quite the show, 9pm.

Of course I’d be remiss not to also briefly mention that SF Popfest has a number of events sprinkled throughout the weekend. Featuring a number of great local acts head over to their website to check out their line-up and schedule.

–Ada Lann

Checking out the calendar, it looks as though this weekend certainly has quite a lot of activity on the slate.

Rapidly becoming one of the Bay Area’s essentially taste makers, Epic Sauce has yet another show, this Thursday the 20th at Milk, to start your weekend with.  This one is co-presented with local PR wizards Terrorbird who will be celebrating their 4th anniversary.  Featuring Man/Miracle, Baths, The Splinters, and Sister Crayon with DJ sets by Sugar and Gold and Disco Shawn, this party is not one to be missed, 8pm.

Head down to Thee Parkside on Friday for a well packed line-up including The Fresh & Onlys, Sonny & The Sunsets, The Art Museums and out-of-toweners Jacuzzi Boys, 9pm.

Saturday night wander up Polk St to the Hemlock for the folk sounds of The Finches with Key Losers and Breezy Days Band, 9pm.

Lastly, round your weekend out at Cafe Du Nord on Sunday where our friends over at The Bay Bridged are presenting an event with KALX.  The album release party for Emily Jane White and featuring Slow Motion Cowboys and Devotionals, this relaxing folk show will be a nice place to wind down for the coming workweek.

–Ada Lann

Once again local blog Epic Sauce will be hosting a show at Milk in the Haight with a number of great acts.  Boasting drink specials (that will hopefully last this time around) and free before 10:30 with an RSVP (here), this is sure to be a good show.

Live: Tempo No Tempo, Fake Drugs, Cosmonauts

DJ Sets: Starfucker, oOOoO, and Bye Bye Blackbird

Milk Bar

1840 Haight St

9pm

–Ada Lann

Though Bay to Breakers (and Jonathan Richman’s residency at the Starry Plough for the matter) may be offering stiff competition for audiences this weekend, for those disinterested in the theatrics of college style drinking sports, or at least brave enough to combine a nights worth of bar beverages with morning marathon mayhem, here are a few selections from this weekends calender.

Thursday the 13th out Rank/Xerox’s Liars-esque punk sounds at the Eagle with Awesomes, Deep Teens, and Olympia’s Western Hymn, 8pm.

This Friday cross the water to the Uptown in Oakland for The Aerosols, Bitter Honeys, Vows, and Joel Robinows Explosion. Billed as "a night of ‘new oldies’ and girl group sounds," this should be a great evening in music, 9pm.

Local dance-punk duo Casey and Brian are slated to play Saturday night, with Cookie Mongoloid and the ever nebulous "and more," in the Lil Tuffy’s 8th Annual Prom. Sponsored by Suicide Girls, head up to the Red Devil Lounge to bounce around a floor that rarely sees any thing but the banality of cover bands.

That about raps it up for this week. If in fact you are doing the Bay to Breakers, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do on a bike.

–Ada Lann

The Morning Benders are following up their recent US tour with more touring. Since the release of their sophomore album Big Echo in early March, they have been on the road non-stop headlining in several US cities. Beginning May 18th, they can be playing to sold out audiences in the US and Canada with Broken Bells and in July and August with The Black Keys. Additionally, Rough Trade Records will be introducing Big Echo in late June to audiences in the UK, Europe and Australia just in time to help promote, you guessed it, a European tour in the fall. Pack light fellas.

-Nicole Leigh

Man/Miracle’s debut album The Shape of Things sold out of its first pressing rather quickly when it was originally self-released by the band towards the end of 2009. Now The Shape of Things has received a proper release thanks to the Bay Area label, Third Culture Records.

The Shape of Things has an admirable diversity, the 10 songs vary enough to all sound unique without sounding like 10 different bands. The four members that make up Oakland’s Man/Miracle are somehow able to shift the energy and intensity of their songs effortlessly, drawing you in for the quiet moments only to explode into an engrossing rhythm moments later. Songs like “Above the Salon” and “Pushing and Shoving” lean on the dancier side of indie rock, while songs like “Up” and “Back of the Card” mix afro pop and Talking Heads into some weird and catchy fun. Not to make The Shape of Things sound too light, there are definitely times when this record gets intense, aggressive, and even dark.

Lead singer, Dylan Travis, heads the diverse musical landscape with a strong and intriguing voice. His vocals can be rather easy going in the more straightforward moments of the record, but once the music intensifies his voice surges with energy, adding a haunting and enthralling narrative to the songs.

There is definitely a substantial afro and David Byrne style pop influence to this record, something that has become popular recently in the indie rock world (i.e. Vampire Weekend). However, Man/Miracle definitely makes it their own, bringing a healthy amount of dirt, grit, and raw energy to the mix. A talented group of musicians and an impressive debut album!

The Shape of Things is out now on Third Culture Records. Man/Miracle just finished up a tour with Rogue Wave and play Milk Bar on May 20th.

-Glenn Jackson

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