Live This Month: August 2012

August means the return of the Outside Lands Festival, the latest installment of which deftly balances the expected big name headliners with a healthy serving of compelling indie artists. There are certainly plenty of good options to keep attendees satisfied all weekend long, but if you’re considering a single day ticket, we’d recommend skipping work on Friday, as opening day looks to have the strongest all-around bill.

There are plenty of compelling musical offerings beyond Outside Lands, though, as locals like Birds & Batteries and Young Moon celebrate the release of their fourth and first LPs, respectively. Twin Shadow brings its simmering new retro-pop album Confess to the Great American Music Hall for two shows, while Portland’s The Memories bring their Underwater Peoples-endorsed indie pop to a Northwest-centric show at Cafe Du Nord. As always, take a listen, then go see some shows!

About the bands:

Young Moon — “Winds Light”
Danny Paul Grody and Vestals open Young Moon’s Navigated Like The Swan record release party at the Hemlock Tavern on August 9.

Birds & Batteries — “The Golden Age of Dreams”
Celebrating the release of Stray Light with Radiation City and Trails and Ways at the Rickshaw Stop on August 3.

Three Mile Pilot — “Long Way Up”
Coming to Bottom of the Hill on August 18 with Dramady.

The Memories — “Softly”
Playing alonside Calvin Johnson, The Shivas and several more at Cafe Du Nord on August 19.

Dylan Shearer — “Afterwhile”
Opening for NO and Foxygen in a free show at the Brick and Mortar Music Hall on August 7.

Dana Falconberry — “Lake Charlevoix”
Joining Emily Jane White at the Hemlock Tavern on August 21.

Two Gallants — “My Love Won’t Wait”
Playing at the Outside Lands Festival on August 10 and at an Outside Lands night show on August 8 at the Rickshaw Stop.

Tame Impala — “Apocalypse Dreams”
Performing at Outside Lands on August 11.

Mr. Elevator & The Brain Hotel — “Right Where You Ought to Be”
Appearing at the San Frandelic Summerfest at Thee Parkside on August 18 with Spindrift, Zodiac Death Valley and more.

Twin Shadow — “Five Seconds”
Performing with Poolside at the Great American Music Hall on August 16 and 17.

Chromatics — “Kill for Love”
Headlining the Mezzanine on August 31 with Bronze and DJ Omar.

Craft Spells — “Still Left With Me”
Playing at Noisette, a music and food festival taking place at Public Works on August 4.

Doseone — “Last Life”
Supporting WHY? at the Great American Music Hall on August 30.