It’s time to celebrate America — that is, it's time to celebrate EVERYTHING about America. Music included. Whether it’s rock, jazz or pop, America does it best, plain and simple. Grab a red-white-and-blue bandana and a few Budweisers and get yourself to one (or all!) of these shows...
Beyonce, HP Pavillion, Tuesday
A pop star must speak to the times in which they live. Reference Twitter in a song and you’re covered, or at least until Twitter becomes passé. But let it be known, the best pop stars also embrace the various phases of their own life. If you’re Beyonce, right now that means talking about life as a wifey and mother. That’s the Beyonce we get on her current Mrs. Carter Show world tour. Matrimony and sacrifice in da HOOOUUUUUSE. But don’t worry, all the single ladies are still very much welcome to join the party, as they saw in LA over the weekend…
Face to Face, Bottom of the Hill, Wednesday
Who says punk is a young man’s game? Certainly not anyone still on board with Face to Face, a band that’s been frequenting Bottom of the Hill and other SF concert halls since the early ‘90s. Their discography by now looks like a Punk Rock Hall of Fame résumé, especially after pumping out two albums in the last three years, 2011’s Laugh Now, Laugh Later, and this year’s Three Chords and a Half Truth. The band’s template has varied over the years, but the goods are still here: Rapid-fire drums, genius basslines and magnetic choruses.
Remember this one?
Fillmore Jazz Festival, Saturday and Sunday
2013 Fillmore Jazz Fest Artist-in-residence Kim Nalley has been hailed as one of the finest jazz singers on the West Coast, having been the discovery of San Francisco Symphony Director Michael Tilson Thomas. She headlines another whopper of a lineup that also includes world music artist in residence Peter Appelbaum, who CMJ has referred to as “a visionary, galvanic composer like few others of his time.” NBD.
Get out there and get weird, like these folks did in 2010:
White Denim, Independent, Saturday
First, this song:
In short, come for the dizzying guitar work, stay for the confetti canon of percussion and soothing, inviting vocals. The audience for the Austin-based rock quartet continues to grow, and for good reason. Anyone who saw these dudes shred at Outside Lands last year knows they’re the real deal, a band dedicated to lofty artistic statements… so long as it still rocks hard.
Say Anything, Regency Ballroom, Sunday
More punk! Clearly the ‘90s are still alive and well. The Rx Bandits are one of the myriad flag-carrying ska bands to emerge from the late-’90s/early-‘00s Orange County early punk rock/ska scene…and re-emerge. And re-emerge again. Yes, they’ve gone through several incarnations and hiatuses. In 2011, they announced that year’s summer tour would be their last. But clearly, THEY CANNOT BE KILLED. They’re our Zombie Band of the Week.
