Live This Month: April 2015

In Live This Month, we sample some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing in the coming month in the San Francisco Bay Area.

It sure is a great time to be a fan of classic dream-pop and shoegaze music, with the recently-reunited Ride hitting the U.S. this month for their first stateside shows in 20 years. By contrast, Warren Defever, leader of longtime 4AD act His Name is Alive, has kept that band actively releasing records since its inception, but the experimental group’s 25th anniversary tour across the United States is certainly a notable event. And these highlights are to say nothing of the Jesus & Mary Chain’s arrival here next month.

A number of former locals are also playing big shows in April. The Soft Moon first gained acclaim while based in Oakland, but Luis Vasquez relocated to Europe to create his dark electronic-pop album Deeper. Meanwhile, Wove’s heavy guitar-driven jams are sure to sound great at the Great American Music Hall. The show is the biggest local date yet for the new band, which evolved out of Nate Mercereau’s beloved A Million Billion Dying Suns.

On the local front, Oakland “hard mod” band Hard Left, which includes Slumberland Records’ Mike Schulman, is releasing its debut LP We Are Hard Left with a Hemlock Tavern show. If you’re more inclined toward indie pop, be sure to check out Nowhere Now, the first full-length from Oakland’s Waterstrider. Finally, regardless of your concert budget, there’s a great free show at the Brick & Mortar Music Hall on April 7 with Culture Abuse; we’ve included a track from them in the mix, but Scraper and Never Young are awesome local bands on the bill as well.

Enjoy the podcast… and then go see some concerts!

About the bands:

Lady Lamb – “Billions of Eyes”
Joined by Rathborne and Sea Knight, Aly Spaltro comes to the Rickshaw Stop on April 25.

The Strange Land – “Specter”
Opening for Wand and CCR Headcleaner on April 15 at Bottom of the Hill.

Hard Left – “Kicking It Off”
Releasing We Are Hard Left with a show at the Hemlock Tavern on April 30.

Waxahatchee – “Air”
Performing alongside Girlpool and Crabapple on April 29 at the Great American Music Hall.

Clark – “Winter Linn”
On April 23, Clark’s tour with Nosaj Thing comes to The Independent.

Dinner – “Going Out”
Supporting Mac DeMarco on April 20 at The Independent.

Brogan Bentley – “Smoke”
Performing at Underground SF on April 4 and The Independent on April 25.

Culture Abuse – “Take It Out On Yourself”
Playing a free show on April 7 at the Brick & Mortar Music Hall with fellow locals Scraper and Never Young.

Wove – “On and On”
Co-headlining the Great American Music Hall on April 18 with Creepers; Chasms and Emotional also perform.

Waterstrider – “White Light”
On April 30, the Oakland band celebrates the release of Nowhere Now with In the Valley Below and Freedom Fry at the Rickshaw Stop.

The Soft Moon – “Black”
Girl Tears and Skull Katalog support The Soft Moon at The Chapel on April 28.

Ride – “Leave Them All Behind”
The reunited band performs at The Warfield on April 13.

Kathryn Calder – “Take A Little Time”
Coming to the Hotel Utah on April 29 with Ismay.

His Name is Alive – “African Violet Casts A Spell”
On April 7, the band’s 25th anniversary tour comes to the Rickshaw Stop; Future Twin and Golden Drugs open the show.