It’s New Year’s Eve week and you need all of the fun. You’ve come to the right place.
Monday through Wednesday: STRFKR at the Independent (electro pop)
The electropop band whose name shall not be spelled out plays three dates at the Indy, and you won’t find many better, weirder party bands. I saw them at Rickshaw Stop a few years ago and out of nowhere they applied paint to their own faces like they were preparing for battle. Somehow it just felt like the right thing to do, it seems. The band’s last album, Miracle Mile, is eclectic, surreal fun, building on the wondrous foundation of their debut album, Reptillians, which landed them in the purview of tastemakers across the blogosphere.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Allah-Las at the Chapel
The hedonism of Allah-Las’ native Los Angeles shines through on the nostalgia-rock band’s raved-about 2014 album, Worship the Sun. This is the stuff of Tarantino soundtracks, with jangly guitars and and nods to ‘60s psych-rock at every turn. We’ll classify Allah-Las as required listening for anyone who takes pride in distinctly Californian rock, where the sun nudges the artistic subconscious forward.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Pretty Lights at Bill Graham
Colorado producer Derek Vincent Smith has by now earned a reputation as a leading innovator in the world of electronic dance music. The genius of his collage-art almost distracts from the main point — Pretty Lights will make you move. Smith regularly and deservedly earns top billing at festivals across the planet, and the Bill Graham NYE date marks another feather in the cap.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Flaming Lips at the Warfield
Furries unite!
Wednesday: Cut Copy at the Mezzanine
Euphoria, thy brother is Cut Copy. It’s only appropriate the Australian dance-rock band finds itself back in San Francisco on a tentpole occasion — the band’s latest album, Free Your Mind, was partly inspired by San Francisco’s Summer of Love (the band also channeled the 1988-89 UK Summer of Love), and if there ever was a night to discard inhibitions, it’s NYE. Celebrated DFA artist Juan MacLean joins the party as the night’s DJ.
Follow @ChrisTrenchard for more words like these.
