The battle for SF Music calendar supremacy is a three-horse race. February has Noise Pop, one week guaranteed to have at least five, affordable, noteworthy shows. August brings about Outside Lands, the best of a very good fall festival season (early-bird tickets on sale this Thursday). But it’s April that may reign supreme. With Coachella happening in SoCal, the better half of the state becomes a playground for major acts (take your pick of how to define that—showmanship, fanbase size, critical relevancy, proximity to a new album, etc.). The full Fauxchella 2013 lineup can be found elsewhere, but the brilliance of April in SF is outlined below.
Can’t Miss for April 2013
Well, we all missed Phoenix at the Independent on April 1. Or at least I’d assume so being that tickets sold out in 10 seconds and were then being scalped on Craigslist for $2,000/ticket. (It’s a bigger venue and it sold out just as fast, but the legendary LCD Soundsystem at MSG show only had tickets reaching the high hundreds.) But don’t fret, even if the Frenchies were accessible it might not be the show to catch given facevalue cost ($45).
Have an interest in modern rock? For under $20 each, you could take in Ty Segall (or his Fuzz project, pictured above), Telekinesis, Palma Violets, or The Men. If you want to spend the dough, Prince has a four-show run with tickets going for $250 each (DNA lounge will be appropriately intimate and dungy though). There’s a cool night with the Portland Cello Project—playing Brubeck, Bach, Beck—and then plenty of other major names to choose from.
This month’s top spot, however, is likely a priceless ticket. With Palma Violets in town on their first big US tour (supporting the excellent debut, 180), they’re taking an unusual marketing tactic to excite fans. When announcing the dates on their Facebook page, the band attached the following note:
“Most important of all we need people infected with the spirit of 180 – if we’re in your city on this tour you give us a house to play and we’ll sort you out a proper party. Assist our aesthetic assault. Email me harryviolent@gmail.com x”
There’s a ton to choose from, but if you find yourself at a secret unannounced house party for what could be this year’s buzziest live act, you win. Let me know if you hear details for the Palma Violets SF House Show.
If you’re spending $50…
[Ty Segall—$15 (at a fundraiser), 4/20, Fri, The Chapel] +
[Palma Violets—$15 (plus fees), 4/23, Tues, The Independent] +
[Telekinesis—$10, 4/24, Wed, BoTH ] +
[Fuzz—$10, 4/24, Wed, The Rickshaw] =
$50. Look, I get that fees take you slightly over. But you can’t see Telekinesis/Fuzz on the same night anyway, resell one to a friend for $20 and you’ve made it (…or hail a taxi and try to make each? It’s worth a shot).
Victorious Venue:
No single venue eclipsed the five show mark in our curated calendar, but both The Fox and The Rickshaw will have four high quality evenings in April. While The Rickshaw has the higher ceiling—seriously, go see Fuzz in a venue of that size—it’s hard to ignore the quality of The Fox this month. Metric. Modest Mouse. Vampire Weekend (w/ Tanlines). Crystal Castles. Add the general beauty of venue, the ease of access to it no matter if you’re coming from either side of the Bay, and April is Fox not a lamb.
Curated Calendar
(Not all the shows, but the ones worth seeing)
Portland Cello Project—Yoshi’s (4/3) Wed (Beck, Brubeck and Bach music)
Modest Mouse—The Fox (4/10) Wed
Alt-J—The Fillmore (4/10) Wed
Foals—The Fillmore (4/11) Th
Policia—Mezzanine (4/13) Sat
Purity Ring—The Indy (4/15, 4/16) Mon, Tue
*4/17 at BoTH
Green Day, Best Coast—Berkeley (4/16) Tues
Vampire Weekend, Tanlines—The Fox (4/17) Wed
Metric—The Fox (4/18) Th
How To Destroy Angels, Diiv—Regency Ballroom (4/18) Th
Mother Mother, Birdmonster—BoTH (4/19) Fri
Ty Segall—The Chapel (4/20) Sat
The Men—Rickshaw (4/22) Mon
Palma Violets—The Independent (4/23) Tue
Prince—DNA Lounge (4/23-4/24, four shows) Tue, Wed
Telekinesis—BoTH (4/24) Wed
Fuzz—Rickshaw (4/24) Thur
Maps & Atlases—Rickshaw (4/26) Fri
Crystal Castles—The Fox (4/27) Sat
The Killers—Bill Graham (4/27, 4/28) Sat, Sun
Now, Now—Rickshaw (4/30) Tue
Mattise on Media 