Bay Area Beats for July 20 - 25

Above: "Cadillac" by Con Brio

Bay Area Beats for July 20-25

Summer in the Bay Area is always a time when great bands come through for big music festivals or national tours. This week, however, it’s the homegrown talent that’s putting on the best shows. Here are your live-show picks for the week.

Locals

If you’re looking to see some great local music and you’re totally broke, the Uptown in Oakland is there for you. “Dig This” is a weekly showcase of live local music put on by Pirate Cat Radio (with no cover charge!).  This week’s show features a few KALW favorites, and we think it’s worth checking out.

The upbeat pop melodies of ASH REITER – reminiscent of Tilly and the Wall and Cat Power – should be a perfect compliment to the new experimental rock back GRAND LAKE. Formed by two childhood friends who bonded over their love of the Pixies, Grand Lake (named after the Oakland movie theater, which is named after the lake…) has been praised for their debut record “Blood Sea Dream” which is full of distorted and ambient guitar sounds that would’ve made My Bloody Valentine proud.

The sometimes folky and sometimes just plain old rock band the BLANK TAPES will round out the evening, which promises to be a fun and energetic down-home show.

Out-of-Towners

Like I mentioned, it’s the locals who really shine this week. However, given the trend of aging rockers who seem to play overpriced arena shows every year (Aerosmith and Sammy Hagar play in Oakland this week), there may actually be one over-the-hill band worth seeing this week, at Bottom of the Hill in fact. 90s alternative rock band the TOADIES come to San Francisco on Sunday as part of a nationwide tour. If that name sounds familiar, you may remember hearing the hit “Possum Kingdom” played right after Pearl Jam on your favorite alt-rock radio station back in 1994.

What they will sound like 16 years after their big radio hit is a bit of a mystery: will they rock out like the 90s garage band they once were or will they have settled into middle-aged rock mediocrity? It’s a gamble for sure, but considering that you have a special chance to see the Toadies at such an intimate venue like Bottom of the Hill…it might be well worth a ticket.

Spotlight

I remember seeing a flyer posted on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley advertising for an upcoming show. The band playing described themselves as an “Eastbay indie-rock group.” This band knew exactly what category their music fit into and they wanted you know it.

Now if San Francisco group CON BRIO were to put up a flyer for their show, it might read something like this: “Well we’re definitely soulful...and there are certainly a lot of elements of jazz and blues in our music, but I don’t know if you could call us a jazz or a blues band. Oh, we’re also pretty damn funky too.”

Maybe their flyer would have to be broader: do you like good music? Do you like live music? How about music that you wouldn’t know quite how to categorize but know that you want to start moving your hips when you hear it? It’ll start with your shoulders swaying side to side. Then your feet start to pick up. The next thing you know you’ve grabbed the stranger next to you and you’re both grooving to the loud yet melodious sounds of Con Brio.

Utilizing the piano, organ, saxophone, drums, trumpet, electric guitar, and tall and wide friend,  the stand-up bass, the five-piece band has been playing together for just a year and a half, though their tight and cohesive sound would suggest they’ve been jamming together for years. With clever and at times downright profane lyrics, lead singer Xandra Corpora commands your full attention. Corpora’s range channels classic soul and gospel singers whose heyday was well before she could even talk.

Con Brio plays their record release party for their debut album “From the Hip” this Tuesday at Café Du Nord in San Francisco.

If you’re feeling sleepy this might not be the show for you, since you can expect Corpora to call you out for standing in the back and bobbing your head. But if you’re still hitting the espresso at the end of the work day, then I suggest you put on your dancing pants and your jazz/soul/funk hat and head over to Café Du Nord for a reminder of what live music is all about.

Tickets may have sold out by show-time, so purchasing them online ahead of time is recommended.

Band with the best name playing this week

SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM will play the Great American Music Hall on Sunday July 24^th.  They’ve labeled themselves “experimental/rock” music, though their name would suggest to me that they either play punk or lullabies. Perhaps both?

Do you know of a great band playing in the area? You can email us at news@kalw.org.