Event

Beyond the Listings: November 2009

By Ben Van Houten | Nov 08, 2009

There are plenty of great shows in the Bay Area in November, including some welcome returns by touring bands. Here are a few picks for great shows in the coming month:

Despite all of the success that Canadian indie bands have had over the past decade (alphabetically, that list goes from Arcade Fire through Wolf Parade), I'm baffled that The Hidden Cameras remain so under-the-radar. Leader Joel Gibb and his rotating cast of contributors are known for bright, baroque instrumentation, but have dialed down those sounds on the recently released Origin:Orphan, which trades more strongly in electronic sounds and heavier tones. Gibb has always weaved more serious lyrical themes into his songs, but this is maybe the first time that the music's caught up, and it's a welcome new chapter for this extremely talented group. The Hidden Cameras have been known for some theatrical live shows, so it'll be interesting to see how the new material is conveyed when the band performs at Bottom of the Hill on Thursday, November 19th. They'll be joined by singer-songwriter (and sometimes Hidden Camera) Gentleman Reg and local electro-country-rock band Winter's Fall.

"Unlikely" is a word many have used to describe the ongoing reunion of Mission of Burma, who return to the Bay Area for a performance at The Independent on Saturday, November 14th. The band were post-punk pioneers in their original four-year existence, and the Signals, Calls and Marches EP and Vs. helped inspire a legion of bands captivated by the quartet's loud, defiant, and frequently anthemic rock and roll. Mission of Burma's 2002 reunion tour (which included an awe-inspiring stop at the Fillmore) reinvigorated them, and they've since released three more albums, all well regarded. The latest is last month's The Sound The Speed The Light, an ambitious work that explores a variety of tones through four three-song suites. What's perhaps most striking, though, is that despite the members' ages, their ability to transfigure guitar noise into sweeping experiments in sound can be matched by few more recent, younger bands. SF trio Erase Errata, playing a rare show, join Mission of Burma for their Portland and SF shows, lending further reason to check the night out.

Other shows of note:

- Several local bands celebrate CD releases this month: Tempo No Tempo on November 4th at the Rickshaw Stop, Man/Miracle on November 14th at the LoBot Gallery, Birds and Batteries on November 8th at Cafe Du Nord (in a show presented by The Bay Bridged), and Or, the Whale, on November 14th and also at Cafe Du Nord.

- Local indie rock-pop band Actionslacks play their only 2009 show at Bottom of the Hill on November 18th to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary as a band. The band is taking requests from their back catalog for the show, and are currently plotting a new EP for 2010.

Ben Van Houten is the Programming Director of The Bay Bridged.