Mission:KUSF:2Nite

Tuesday, April 25, 2006
KUSF’s 29th Birthday Celebration
12 Galaxies
$5

Some of you know that I’ve been volunteering at this little local radio station. Perhaps you have heard of it? It’s called KUSF. If you haven’t, you need to check it out. If the fact that I’m going to be a DJ there as soon as they’ll let me isn’t enough to get you interested in checking out the station, what about the fact that they play great diverse music? What about the fact that they give away free tickets all the damn time? KUSF has been the main source of free tickets for me in the past couple years, and I’ve seen some great stuff because of it: Aesop Rock, McCoy Tyner, Six Organs of Admittance, Sleater-Kinney, Meat Beat Manifesto, Deerhoof, Method Man & Redman, Decembrists, Rebirth Brass Band, The Mars Volta, Pelican, Calexico, Iron & Wine, Negativland, Animal Collective… And that’s just scratching the surface. Perhaps you should check it out.

Even if you don’t want to actually listen to KUSF, you could still come out to their 29th B-Day Celebration at 12 Galaxies tonight. You’d be showing love for your local independent commercial-free radio, as the show is a fundraiser for the station. Those of you who have gone to free shows with me or have gotten discounted tickets to shows when we went in groups could look at it as getting the station back that hooked up those tickets in the first place. Or you could just look at the fact that the show is full of value for only $5.

It’s an all-local bill that’s gotten together to help out KUSF. Up first is Toshio Hirano, who will sing and yodel his way into your heart with classic country tunes. Next, bring on the amour with Salut Matelot with French cabaret music from the 1940s and 1950s. Then, get ready for some spacey rock with The Wendy Kroys (featuring KUSF DJ Carolyn on bass). Headlining the gig are punk-disco-new-wave-dance-rock Numbers, who will get everybody moving at the end of the night (with a little help from all the alcohol that will have been consumed by that point).

If anyone is interested in grabbing some Taqueria Cancun beforehand and making an evening of it, holla at me.

Dinner Is Served

Friday, April 21, 2006
Kronos Quartet with Matmos and Walter Kitundu
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theatre
$35/$25 regular, $29/$21 students, seniors & teachers, $26/$18 YBCA Members

Saturday, April 22, 2006
Kronos Quartet with Matmos and Walter Kitundu
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theatre
$35/$25 regular, $29/$21 students, seniors & teachers, $26/$18 YBCA Members

Quoth the YBCA: “Kronos Quartet joins forces with local experimental music superstars in this celebration of sound art. Matmos makes music from everyday sounds - amplified crayfish nerve tissue, a kiss between lovers. Their world premier collaboration with Kronos is a score for video, software interface, sample banks and stringed instruments. Kitundu makes instruments that rely on wood, water, fire and earthquakes for their power and pitch. His piece for the Quartet honors jazz great Charles Mingus in a way he could never have imagined, on instruments only Kitundu can play.” For the uninitiated, Kronos Quartet is legendary chamber string quartet that has worked with an insane number of composers. I wish I could tell you about the time I saw them in Amsterdam. But I can’t seem to remember it all that well. I remember thoroughly enjoying it, though. And Matmos are supposed to be great live as well.

Saturday, April 22, 2006
Sangati Opening Night (Read on for Artists)
The Sangati Center (1232 19th Street | Studio 8 | Oakland, CA | 94607)
$15

One of my friends is having an opening for the Sangati Center, which will be an institution dedicated to promoting South Asian music. They are having a number of events this weekend, but this is the one I’m going to attend. Check out the website. In addition to the music, a dinner at 6:00 is included in the price. $15 isn’t as bad as it might have initally seemed. The performances: 7:00 Tabla Solo Performance (Duet) -Ferhan Qureshi (tabla) and Sameer Gupta (tabla); 9:00 Sitar and Tabla Performance - Rabindra Narayan Goswami (Benares) (sitar) and Ramchandra Pandit (Benares) (tabla); and 11:00 Sitar and Tabla Performance - Srinivas Reddy (sitar) and Sameer Gupta (tabla)

Spend 4/20 with 3 Japanese Girls!!!

It’s not too late to decide to head on over to the Great American Music Hall and check out Dinosaur Jr. with support from Comets on Fire and Priestess. So gosh darn rock, right there. If you've already got plans, perhaps we should move on to the less immediate future.

Thursday, April 20, 2006
Ex-Girl
Bottom of the Hill
$10

Flower costumes. Stuffed frogs. Body paint. Don’t be fooled by Japanese all-girl trio Ex-Girl. They aren’t going to play Japanese pop. They are going to rock you out of your mind with their guitar/bass/drums/voice experimental-opera-metal-prog-fusion-wtf music. Their last show at Bottom of the Hill is down as one of my favorite shows ever. The opera-esque vocals are completely mesmerizing and you will have no idea what is coming next for the entire show. Looking for some music to accompany your 4/20? This is the show for you. Abstaining? This is the show for you. Highest possible recommendation.

Saturday, April 22, 2006
Beginners Meditation Class
Berkeley Buddhist Priory
Free (9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.)

In the spirit of mixing it up a little, here’s a free event (although you need to RSVP in advance, as space is limited). It’s a meditation seminar consisting of a talk on mediation, a meditation, and a discussion on mindfulness and meditation. A reliable source informs me that the Priory is quality. Website: Click here Now you can’t say I didn’t help make your life a little more peaceful, bitches.

Saturday, April 22, 2006
Single Frame and The Arm
Hotel Utah
$7

Austin is (once again) invading San Francisco. Single Frame will smack you across the face with their acid-kraut-arena-punk-new-wave-disco-disaster-art-rock-freakout-nuclear-wasteland-soundtrack. I think that’s what I wrote in my SXSW preview. I don’t have it with me, but I’ll try and hook it up for you. It'll save me time and provide for more throught-through writing for you. Right now I’ve got to run. Priestess beckons me.

Tonight's the Night for Loads of Experimental Hip Hop

Friday, April 7, 2006
Subtle, Fog and Jel
Slim’s
$15

Doseone’s voice isn’t for everyone. I can understand how some of his more experimental stuff, like Themselves (Dose and Jel) and cLOUDEAD (Dose, Jel and Odd Nosdam), could be a little challenging. I’ve heard people use “extremely nasal” and “shrill” to refer to Doseone’s MCing. While I don’t agree that those are necessarily negative adjectives, even naysayers should enjoy Doseone with his band, Subtle, which finds Dose singing more accessibly, but still keeping his voice weird and otherworldly enough to satisfy his hardcore fans. Subtle features Dose and the aforementioned Anticon producer Jel, Marty Dowers, Jordan Dalrymple, and Alexander Cort and Dax Pierson (who many of you may have heard of through Amoeba suffered a serious spinal injury in an accident on tour, but who is apparently improving and receiving a great deal of help thanks to everyone’s generosity). As far as the sound goes, its electronic drums, kit drums, electric cello, keyboards, samplers, guitar and Doseone’s vocals with elements of hip hop, rock, and electronic music in the mix. Check out a track here and see for yourself. Fog (a.k.a. Andrew Broder), who is associated with Lex Records and Ninja Tune, opens with his blend of experimental, hip hop and lo-fi rock. Also opening is the aforementioned Jel, who is touring in support of his recent experimental hip hop/electronica LP, Soft Money. Utterly delectable.