Date Palms Danny Paul Grody Chuck Johnson Sunday, March 31, 2013 Hemlock Tavern Better than: Any number of resurrections . This Easter Sunday, the real blessing comes in the form of an early show featuring a handful of local cinematic instrumentalists inviting the mind to ... More >>
Among the Drug War's finer ironies is the treatment of marijuana by the world of sport, which has taken a deliciously schizophrenic view on the miracle/devil plant: It's a gateway drug that dooms its users to a lifetime of apathy, ignorance, and nonproduction. It's also a performance-enhancer, in th ... More >>
Many local labels are offering obscure reissues and innovative new releases on all conceivable formats. Label Sampler will profile a different Bay Area record company every other week. Name: 4 Men With Beards Owner: Filippo Salvadori Founded: 2001 Headquarters: San Rafael Creation story: 4 Men ... More >>
Barn Owl San Francisco's Barn Owl makes densely layered guitar music that is equal parts heavy and beautiful. Guitarists Jon Porras and Evan K. Caminiti arrived at their textured sound six years ago while students at SF State, munching vegan tofu burritos and taking in music by rock god Neil ... More >>
Barn OwlThanks to both the national media and the local one, most of us know about the more-than-worthy garage-rock, shoegaze, indie-pop, and electronic sounds emanating from the S.F. scene. But far less appreciated are the aquifers of creativity stirring beneath us in the Bay Area's experimental ... More >>
Grand LakeIt's For Free GraceSean Smith & the Present MomentJames & EvanderCafe Du Nord9 p.m., $10Caleb Nichols is often asked why he left Port O'Brien two years ago, right around the time the neo-folk outfit was getting quite a bit of attention. His answer is simple: He was tired and needed ... More >>
DevotionalsSean HayesKacey JohansingBottom of the Hill9 p.m., $10Two Gallants frontman Adam Stephens has been performing his solo material live for a while now -- his debut, We Live on Cliffs, is out Sept. 28 -- but Tyson Vogel has quietly snuck past his bandmate in getting new music on record sh ... More >>
Corentin LamyDo Make Say Think: not at last night's show, but, yeah, that's what they looked likeDo Make Say Think, Years, The Happiness ProjectTuesday, Feb. 2, 2010Great American Music HallBetter than: Making your own Happiness; typical conversations with neighbors.Bands that don't use many--or ... More >>
(James Blackshaw) British guitarist James Blackshaw makes incredible acoustic songs inspired by minimalist composers and the classical music of his homeland. He's a modern day John Fahey, repeating and building on hypnotic melodies that are complex to create yet easy on the ears. He's teamed up wi ... More >>
Pioneering freak-folkers Matt Valentine and Erika Elder
Well, lots of things, actually
Sean Smith crafts a new American Primitive
Hearts (Absolutely Kosher Records)
I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey
The psychedelic folk of wandering minstrel Devendra Banhart
Acoustic Adventures (Communion)
Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues (Revenant)
Dan Prothero's Fog City label releases Americana records that are neither country nor folk
Bashovia (Takoma/Fantasy)
Pause (Domino)
A Tall-Tale Storyline (spinART)
M. Ward's new album is damn fine folk -- from a guy who used to ignore folk music
With beat-up instruments and a homespun philosophy, Six Organs of Admittance creates a psychedelic buzz
From the "Can We Please Get the Millennium Over With Now?" Desk and Happy [Expletive Deleted] Holidays
Brian Fraser and Chris Palmatier have an avant-rock band called Brian and Chris. Everything else is more complex.
Three (small) days of peace, love, and psychedelia
Dank, dark, and sad with Chicago's weird country band
