WEDNESDAY 29
Enorchestra
In between his roles as "Roxy Music co-founder" and "ambient guru," musician/non-musician Brian Eno recorded a sequence of four visionary, distinctive solo rock records. So, when Bay Area superfans Doug Hilsinger and Caroleen Beatty released a cover-to-cover reinterpretation of Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) upon its 30th anniversary in 2004, they were overjoyed to receive compliments (and liner notes!) from Eno, himself. Having since expanded to a seven-piece, Enorchestra's two-drummer, three-guitar assault lends a vitalic, muscular drive to Eno's dry pop experiments. Performing the album in its entirety, they share the bill with garage-y psych-punks Thee Oh Sees, fresh off their well received Outside Lands set, at this benefit for Blixa, Sluggo from the Grannies' 4-year-old son, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. (Taylor Kaplan)
With Dirty Power
9pm, $14
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
(415) 621-4455
www.bottomofthehill.com
Desaparecidos
Omaha, Nebraska's indie rock king and side-project junkie Conor Oberst has had a busy summer. After a 10 year hiatus, his post-hardcore band Desaparecidos are back, and they're pissed off. Continuing the harsh sociopolitical criticism established in their first and only album Read Music/Speak Spanish, Desaparecidos precluded their summer tour by releasing two new scathing singles. The first, "MariKKKopa" gives voice to America's disadvantaged immigrants and calls out Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio for taking pride in being compared to the Ku Klux Klan. The second single "Backsell" takes on capitalism by way of telemarketers. Remember when a good protest song could change the world? So does Conor Oberst. (Haley Zaremba)
With the Velvet Teen
8pm, $25
Regency Ballroom
1290 Sutter, SF
(415) 673-5716
www.theregencyballroom.com
Virgil Shaw and the Killer View
Get ready for a night of folk tales and Americana at the gorgeous Great American Music Hall. Headliners Virgil Shaw and the Killer have been hailed by Rolling Stone and the New York Times for their wayward wandering tales and sound. San Francisco string band the Human Condition brings songs that open with relatable, twangy refrains such as, "Well she broke my heart/and she broke my first guitar/So I moved back to the city/and now I'm playing in the bars." Also go to check out the hauntingly beautiful solo instrumental (and some spoken poetry) project of Two Gallants' drummer Tyson Vogel, called Devotionals. (Shauna C. Keddy)
With Betsy and Beau, Luke Sweeney and Wet Dreams Dry Magic
8pm, $13
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell, SF
(415) 885- 0750
www.slimspresents.com
THURSDAY 30
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
When New York City's the Pains of Being Pure at Heart got together, all they had was a band name, which vocalist Kip Berman took from the title of a children's story a friend had written. After the band began writing and uploading dreamy pop songs to their MySpace page, it became clear that they had more going for them than a pretty moniker. Their fuzzed-out, whimsical music matches the name's theme of innocence and angst perfectly and has gotten the attention of critics and music-lovers alike. The band is often compared to fellow shoegazers My Bloody Valentine, which is pretty much as high as praise gets in the indie rock world. (Zaremba)
A B and the Sea, popscene DJs
9:30pm, $17
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
(415) 861-2011
www.rickshawstop.com
RAW SF
Welcome to RAW, a monthly showcase of San Francisco's emerging independent and underground artists. Painters, screenprinters, graffiti artists, fashion designers, makeup artists, photographers and musicians all converge to display their latest works, talk shop, imbibe a drink or two, and shake a little tail. Live artists throw down some paint in the front room, while the main gallery includes San Diego's Jason Acton, a colorblind artist who channels his inner Andy Warhol with vivid, pop art-themed acrylic works. Slayers Club firespitter Joe Mousepad and deejay Matt Haze keep the crowd moving until the afterparty, when Oakland's Boats and Sacramento's Rufio drop beats, glitch, and bass. (Lee)
Show: 7pm-9pm; afterparty: 9pm-midnight, $15
1015 Folsom
(415) 431-1200
www.1015.com
FRIDAY 31
Vertigo
Celebrate the San Francisco-set, 1958 Hitchcock classic that just unseated 1941's Citizen Kane as the greatest film of all time* by watching it in 70mm at the Castro Theatre. (*According to a Sight & Sound critics' poll; no word on where actual greatest film of all time, John Carpenter's 1982 The Thing, fell on that list.) Vertigo is, indeed, the cinematic equivalent of a flawless diamond, following Jimmy Stewart's fragile ex-cop as he trails impossibly glamorous Kim Novak up Nob Hill, through the Mission, and into the icy waters under the Golden Gate Bridge. Masterful filmmaking — and if you've only ever seen it on DVD, the experience of watching it mega-sized will be mind-blowing. (Cheryl Eddy)
Through Mon/3
8pm (also Sat/1-Mon/3, 2 and 5pm), $8.50–$11
Castro Theatre
429 Castro, SF
(415) 621-6120
www.castrotheatre.com
Tiger and Woods
Tiger and Woods are electronic music's Batman and Robin, a mysterious disco-spinning duo whose origins are little known. They lurk in the shadows, devoting themselves to the search for the rarest funky cuts on vinyl to remix and remaster. They travel around the world, performing in masks (well, wide-brimmed hats) and concealing their identities while dropping their latest funkified remakes. Last year's Through the Green served as both an homage to and a fun romp through 1980's keyboard-laden, post-disco. The twosome apparently like to keep things offbeat and quirky — on their Facebook page, they use the monikers Larry Tiger and David Woods, presumably a shout out to Larry David, of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame. (Lee)
With Lovefingers, Kenneth Scott, Rich Korach, Brian Bejerano
9pm, $15–$20
BeatBox
314 11th St., SF
(415) 500-2675
www.beatboxsf.com
The Vaselines
In the late '80s, Scotland's the Vaselines released just a couple of EPs and one full-length album before calling it quits after two short years together. However, thanks to big-name fans like Kurt Cobain, who covered three of their tunes with Nirvana, and exposed the band to larger audiences around the world, new generations have rediscovered and fallen in love with the duo in the ensuing decades. Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee reformed the group for a series of outstanding shows in 2008, prompting the recording and release of a new album, Sex With An X, in 2010, which perfectly captured the unique and infectious spirit of their earlier work. Be sure to catch them tonight at one of only four US shows booked for this year. (Sean McCourt)
9pm, $22
Independent
628 Divisadero, SF
(415) 771-1421
www.independentsf.com
SATURDAY 1
San Francisco Zine Fest
Like the zines themselves, the offerings at Zine Fest are a DIY mishmosh of great things, from the Xerox'd, hand-stapled anarchist variety, to glossy, colorful graphic novels. They'll all be on display and for sale, at the 11th annual event. And, as in years past, there will be panels and workshops for aspiring zinesters. Topics in 2012 include "From Webcomics to Print," "Sewn, Not Stapled," and "DIY Animation Workshop." This year's featured guest artist is LA-based writer and illustrator Sarah Oleksyk, who works as a writer and storyboard artist for Cartoon Network's Regular Show, and just released graphic novel Ivy. She'll be on hand Saturday for a workshop Q&A. (Emily Savage)
Through Sun/2, 11am-6pm
San Francisco County Fair Building
1199 9th Ave., Golden Gate Park, SF
www.sfzinefest.org
Yeasayer
"Live in the moment/never count on longevity, please" pleads Yeasayer's Chris Keating on new album Fragrant World. It's a line that applies to the Brooklyn-based band, which faced a difficult task of following up on the success of 2010's Odd Blood. Never a band to stay static, Yeasayer opts for darker and moodier moods in Fragrant. Gone is the upbeat power pop on Odd's "O.N.E." and "Ambling Alp," and in comes sinister effects and sequenced electronic percussion loops. "Longevity" is a haunting, low-slung premonition filled with bass drops, while the "Devil and the Deed" sounds like a futuristic confessional/gospel. (Lee)
With Daughn Gibson 8pm, $25
Fox Theater
1807 Telegraph, Oakl.
(510) 548-3010
www.thefoxoakland.com
SUNDAY 2
Oakland Pride
Bigtime Queer Pride comes twice a year 'round these parts, pilgrim. And while the Bay has yet to experience the polarization of LGBT crowd types that affects, say, LA Pride vs. Long Beach Pride, Oakland Pride's flavor is a lot more spontaneous and organic feeling than San Francisco's "mega event." Don't expect garish floats, multiple stages, corporate logo overload (or free entry, alas, but you get a good, gay value.). Do expect a flat-out celebration of everything that makes Oakland's queer community so vibrant, including a plethora of family entertainment and truly rainbow-like diversity (we are stoked to oompah-hoof it to rad musical acts K-Paz de la Sierra and Banda Cienega). Oh yes, there will be divas as well, including rapper Rah Digga and CeCe Peniston, whose spirited "Finally" was the least offensive of the five songs gay bars played over and over throughout the whole of the 1990s. (Marke B.)
11am-7pm, $10, $5 for 12 and under
20th St. and Broadway, Oakl.
www.oaklandpride.org
MONDAY 3
John Maus
A longtime session player (if those exist in the indie rock world) for Animal Collective, Ariel Pink, and other fuzzed-out, left-field pop entities, John Maus made his case as a solo artist with last year's breakthrough LP, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. Like a more electronic take on Before Today's faded, tape-obsessed pop sorcery, Maus' recorded output overflows with smoke-and-mirrors studio subterfuge, raising all kinds of questions about his live approach. Will Maus take the stage all by his lonesome, or will he have some conspirators in tow to work the candy synths and synthetic drums? Come find out, and get lost in the haze.(Taylor Kaplan)
9pm, $13
Independent
628 Divisadero, SF
(415) 771-1421
www.theindependentsf.com
Hot Snakes
You know how band reunions can take place for one of two reasons? One, for the band to stroke its own ego, and two, to give back to the legions of loyal, desperate fans who've been patiently waiting, year after year. (Okay three: money, but that's likely not the case here.) When Hot Snakes traveled to SF earlier this year, after a way-too-long hiatus, they seemed to be in it for both themselves and for those ravenous fans. The noted band of San Diego musicians, led by John Reis and Rick Froberg, looked like they were having a blast, positively ripping through thunderous post-hardcore classics off 2000's Automatic Midnight, 2002's Suicide Invoice, and 2004's Audit in Progress. Given their backgrounds and sonic exercises in post-Hot Snakes bands (Obits, Night Marchers), there wasn't a rusty nail in the bunch. So they've rejoined their post-Drive Like Jehu act and toured, and are now touring once again; I guess it's post-reunion at this point, though no less exciting for the wild-eyed fans. (Savage)
With Mrs. Magician
8pm, $23
Slim's
333 11th St., SF (415) 255-0333
www.slimspresents.com
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