Wednesday, September 7th – 8:00 PM:

Thursday, September 8th – 8:00 PM: Righteous Acid w/ Buk Buk Big Ups, Simi and DJ Carribean Pygmy @ L and Duke St. - To put it simply, the song I heard by Righteous Acid  by following a link from Undietacos did not make me want to see the band. Buk Buk Big Ups are pretty good, or at least they were the last time I saw them, so go see them instead.

Friday, September 9th – 9:30 PM: Jake Mann & The Upper Hand w/ The Spires and The Dazzling Strangers @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen - Ah, I think after such a long break from shows [ED: hey, two weeks is a long time for me!], seeing a great songwriter and craftsman of good ole’ Americana is going to be a treat. Jake Mann is A’OKAY in my book.

Saturday, September 10th – 9:30 PM: Nick Jaina w/ Black Whales and Robin Bacior @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen – I haven’t gotten around to seeing Nick Jaina yet even though, I have heard good things from the others around me. Maybe it’s because I have a memory of Sophia’s posting a somewhat bland acoustic song to their website to promote the show. Now the song up there is solid, so I have no reason not to do it.

Appetite hails from Sacramento and is helmed by Teddy Briggs, who usually plays solo, but these days he’s taking a full band around with him. I prefer the full band over the Teddy’s previous loop pedal performances as they were sometimes troubled by technical difficulties and, even though Teddy was good at it, looping never truly captures live what a band can do. The music was spot on as usual with Teddy’s rambling lyrics coming out clear over the well composed, highly rhythmic pop music. One of my favorite moments was getting Teddy to “sing” the opening bars to a Korn song. I think it was “Freak On a Leash”?

Sands, I believe, are also from around the area, so we’ll just say they are from Sacramento [ED: they did share the drummer with Appetite after all.] The group played somewhat of a mash up of folk with more than a few epic, post-rock sound scapes laid down through the songs. I distinctly remember a woman asking someone standing next to me if they understood anything the singer said. They relied in the negative, though they did try and succeed to in parsing a few of the words. It was a good set though, with more than enough to keep me entertained the whole way through.

Hello Mtn are from Portland, OR and again brought their vintage Roland Space Echo and suitcase bass drum to the porch. I saw them previously after they had helped close out the season opening for Geographer. They described themselves as singers of sad songs and I can’t disagree. After their performance on this night they were on their way camping, hoping to write new songs while away from it all. Here’s to their success in writing some new, gems of songs.

The standout aspect of the record is Teddy Briggs’ rambling, run-on-sentence lyrical and vocal style. Each line in the songs feels like it’s running into, and overlapping in a sense, the next. When the lyrics are laid on top of well crafted and head-bobbingly repetitious music, the effect is almost hypnotic, much in the same way, to make a cross genre comparison, that a rap artist with a good flow and good beats can mesmerize. The music itself is satisfyingly rhythmic and composed of the gambit of pop-music instruments, from the simplest acoustic guitar riff to the most bleep-boop of synthesizer sounds. All these elements are dropped together with the utmost care and production that makes the album one to remember. Favorites are “Molecules” for the blubble-ly synth line, “Joining The Team” for the shuffle of the drums, “Little While” for its sentimental feeling and outro, and “Over Food” for the great guitar riff that almost contrasts with the rhythm of the lyrics.

Thursday, August 18th – 7:00 PM: Calling Morocco w/ The Men Upstairs @ The Shack (213 C St.) - The last show at The Shack for its current residents, though maybe in the future some other show savvy person will pick it up. Local favorites Calling Morocco and Shack favorites The Men Upstairs should give it a proper send off. Semper fi…

Friday, August 19th – 9:30 PM: Appetite w/ Sands and Hello Mtn @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen - Wait was last Thursday show of the year or is it gonna be this Friday? I’m confused. I can’t wait to see Appetite as a full band and after their album has come out. Should be great. Sands seems like some good epic sounding dark-folk music and Hello Mtn was great the last time I saw them.

Saturday, August 20th – 5:00 PM: Smack Jupiter w/ Crow Canyon, Parie Wood, Downhill From Here, Uncle Tony and Exhale @ Davis Art Center - Advertised as the “Third Annual DAC Summer Art Attack!”. Actually, in terms of a lot of things I could do in the Davis music scene, seeing a bunch of teenagers play in their rock ‘n’ roll bands, sounds kind of fun. Plus, if any of them are as good as Dog Party it would be an awesome time.

Saturday, August 20th – 7:00 PM: Babe Lincoln w/ Monterey Babe Aquarium, Gay Babes, Babelton Jive and Babe Ridge @ Villanova House – “Babe Fest” at Villanova House. I was hanging around when I first heard about this idea months ago, a night of all bands with “Babe” in their name. The conversation devolved into possible and present “Babe” band names. I suggested “The Babe Area”, but I think I’m the only one who thought that was a good one. You’re gonna need a beer and a good bud to get through this one, me thinks.

Saturday, August 20th – 9:30 PM: Bright Archer w/ Shenandoah Davis and Yesway @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen – Bright Archer is a contributor to both the bands AgesandAges and Loch Lomond so I guess I’ve technically “seen her before”. The music she’s got online sounds well composed and not anywhere near the kind of sleepy folk I hate. Shenandoah Davis shares this upbeat folk/americana sound but Yesway seems to verge to close to the folk’s slower kin. Yesway’s voices are good, though, so we’ll see.

Though they were the headliner of the night, San Francisco band Vetiver were not may favorite act of the evening. It’s possible that after Waters’ rock ‘n’ roll ‘plosion, I just couldn’t bring my self down and wanted something more upbeat. What I got was subdued folk-rock that, while well crafted and executed, didn’t quite fit my fancy at the moment and really ran together from song to song. I wouldn’t be against giving their live show another go, I just didn’t have that much of an interest in it this time around.

Waters is new project born from the ashes of Port O’Brien, though now with infinitely more Norwegians in the band. I think this may have been one of the loudest sets to grace the stage at Sophia’s and god damn did they make at least one new fan, me, on the night. I don’t think I have seen enough guitarists purposely feed back their guitar to start a song in recent memory. Giving the band some flourish-y genre or “sounds like” description my be doing them a bit of injustice. The only thing I think that needs to be said this that they are loud and well done rock ‘n’ roll music. Hells yeah.

What can I say about Sea of Bees and it’s principal member, Jules, that I haven’t already? That her song writing is amazing? That her voice is beautiful in an the off kilter yet forceful kind of way? That she is absolutely adorable in her story telling and crowd banter? Yep, I could totally say all those things and they would all be correct. She played us a new song with, along with “Crooked Teeth” is making anticipate her new album even more. I hear should come out later this year. Boo, ya!

I’ve seen San Francisco’s A B & The Sea about four times now. Most of those were with them as an opening act for another band I was there to see. They definitely filled the shoes of “headliner” quite nicely with their 50′s/60′s-esque beach-pop. The band played a lot of new songs, and the majority sounded really good. Just as good, in fact, as the song that I first heard by them, and the first they played on this night, “Bone Dry”. I do have to apologize to the band though, as said to them that I did not like their latest single “Sunshine”. Sorry, guys. The rest of the new stuff sounds great though.

The Fling are from Los Angles, CA and play their version of Southern California, Americana, rock ‘n’ roll. They reminded me a lot of These United States, though a little more laid back, or The Fling’s LA contemporaries, Dawes. They have their own swagger to them as well as some good songwriting. They also, like those other bands, have their own sing along, stomp your foot song, in “Wanderingfoot”. I was told just before they came on that they were recently signed to Dangerbird records so congrats on that. Tell Sebastien and Ben of Bad Veins I said, “Hi”.

Flowerss from Sacramento is the new project, according to his Facebooksssesss, of Chris Larsen, the former frontman of another Sacramento band, Buildings Breeding. Electronic beats on an iPod played as a backing track to spacey, delayed guitar was how the act was presented to us, and I wasn’t unhappy with it at all. However, Chris has a big hill to climb up after seeing another electronic solo artist a few weeks ago. Mike Sempert really set the bar high for me as to what is possible from a one-man-electronic-band solo artist.

Monday, August 8th – 7:00 PM: Austin Reitz, Brett Webber, and Christopher Robert Jones @ Villanova House (802 Villanova Dr.)

Wednesday, August 10th – 8:00 PM: King Tuff w/ Audacity and Babs Johnson Gang @ Davis Bike Collective (1221 1/2 Fourth St.) - Babs Johnson Gang is coolio and King Tuff sounds good despite talking them up as the “best glam-punk band from Vermont”.

Thursday, August 11th – 8:300 PM: Vetiver w/ Waters and Sea of Bees @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen - Going to this one and it is claimed by Sophia’s to be the “Show of the Year”. We shall see.

Friday, August 12th – 8:00 PM: Christmas Island w/ Cowabunga Babes and Loner @ Big TV (712 7th St.) – The description of Christmas Island and Cowabunga Babes of garage pop sounds good, however, Loner’s description as “Davis Experimental Weirdness” guarantees I’m going to show up late to the show if I go.

Friday, August 12th – 9:30 PM: Dustbowl Revival w/ West Nile Ramblers @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen 

Saturday, August 13th – 7:30 PM: Wounded Lion, Charles Albright, and Godspeed 209 @ DAM Haus (503 E St.)

Saturday, August 13th – 9:30 PM: David Dondero w/ yOya and Awahnichi @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen - Probably going to this one too. I think I remember wanting to see David Dondero last year or something similar.

Sunday, August 14th – 8:00 PM: Justin Farren w/ Oh Foot, MLE ,and Joe Espena @ The Stud Lounge (1004 Cypress Lane) 

• Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On: After putting on this record I wish I had a fire-place to sit at next to a lady with a nice glass of wine, just the way I like it baby. I would sit in front of the fire smiling tenderly while the list of songs on the Time-Life compilation scrolled by and played softly. Oh yeah, baby.
• Helium – The Dirt of Luck: I’ve seen the lead singer of Helium as part of her new project with members of Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag. She rocked the house then and had I own this record before, I would have had a much more knowing reaction. Their début album, The Dirt of Luck, is damn good mid-90′s thinking man’s [ED: and woman's] punk music.
• Michael Jackson – Thriller: Aw yes, Thriller, the former, and in my heart still, reining champ of album sales and #1 singles. If only Michael had kept making music like this instead of going into pop la-la land and singing about saving the children and universal love or some crap. One can dream. Maybe he would have made “Captain EO II”? Though, honestly, that was heading in the bad Michael direction already with the Capta’n.
• Panda Bear – Person Pitch: I can definitely hear how this record was referred to, by someone with opinion of merit, as being influential. You can definitely hear all the laid back, “chill out”, and expansive sound that’s big amongst the kids today all over the record, but before that shit became so hot. Like what happens much of the time with originators vs what they influence, the original is good, the influenced just sounds same-y and uninspired. [ED: Not all though, but I really don't need to hear another chill-wave band for quite some time.]
• Prince – Purple Rain: “Dearly Belove’ed, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.” Honestly, screw Prince’s whole “I hate record companies but now I’m on their side because people are stealing my music. Boo-hoo” crap, this album is amazing and should be hung prominently in the Smithsonian.

• The Apples In Stereo – Her Wallpaper Reverie: Beatle-esque songs from the Elephant Six era of the Apples In Stereo. They even got some of the weird interlude stuff down pat with only 50% of the drugs need for the Beatles’ weirdest stuff. Also has “Benefits of Lying (With Your Friend)” which is a bombastic song.
• Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle: I really don’t know why I didn’t jump on this record as soon as it came out considering how much I loved the previous effort, 23. It’s electronic-beat heavy dark pop designed to soundtrack the saddest marry-go-round ever.
• Blondie – S/T:New-wave classic, which sounds like an oxymoron. Maybe we should just ban the word “New” from genre’s so this doesn’t happen again? It’s got “Man Overboard” on it but not the song where Deberra Harry controversially “raps”. Oooh.
• Boris – Pink:This past year I learned that a native Japanese man sings some of the best “dusty roads”/”singing cowboy” country, now I’ve learned that a Japanese band makes some of the best post-rock/doom-metal/whats-it around. What’s the deal America? You’re losing to the Japanese again!
• Fleetwood Mac – Rumours: Let’s see, it’s got the song Bill Clinton used in his election campaign and the song I’ve heard at Karaoke too many times. Though some would argue that hearing a song karaoke once is hearing it one too many times at karaoke. I also hear Fleetwood was pretty drugged out when they made this record. Awesome.