Live This Month: April 2013

We’re due for an onslaught of anticipated new albums from Bay Area bands, and that outpouring begins this month with a number of the local artists we’ve included in this mix. Both Life Coach and Tartufi have gained members since their last records — Life Coach recently became a duo with the addition of The Mars Volta’s Jon Theodore on drums, while Tartufi gained a third member, bass player Ben Thorne (also of MINOT). On the garage rock front, we’ve included a selection from Shannon and the Clams‘ Dreams in the Rat House, which arrives in late May, and one from Burnt Ones‘ new album on Burger Records.

Plenty of reliably strong live performers are also touring through SF in April, including guitar wizard Marnie Stern, whose The Chronicles of Marnia has great songs as well as the best/most ridiculous title I’ve heard all year. If you’re more inclined toward country rock with an experimental twist, do check out Phosphorescent. I was really impressed by Matthew Houck’s band at South by Southwest; it’s a tight group of musicians who do great service to his rich songs. Finally, Telekinesis knows its way around a great indie pop song, and the band’s live shows find bandleader Michael Lerner drumming and singing with equal vigor.

Enjoy the podcast and then go see some shows!

About the bands:

Beach Fossils — “Careless”
Headlining Slim’s on April 23; locals Surf Club and Black Jeans open the show

Burnt Ones — “Fountain of Youth”
Celebrating the release of You’ll Never Walk Alone on April 12 at the Brick & Mortar Music Hall; Cosmonauts, Violent Change, and The Garden also perform

White Mystery — “Secret Garden”
White Mystery’s “4/20 Psychedelic Meltdown” (which doubles as the band’s record release festival) is taking place at the Brick & Mortar Music Hall, and features additional performances by Warm Soda, Glitz, Sir Lord Von Raven and more

Life Coach — “Fireball”
Alphawaves‘ record release show is at the Hemlock Tavern on April 20 with 3 Leafs and Once and Future Band

Marnie Stern — “Transparency is the New Mystery”
Playing at the Rickshaw Stop with SISU and E V Kain on April 28

Tartufi — “Underwater”
Returning from tour to play the Brick & Mortar Music Hall on April 26 with Kowloon Walled City and Queen Crescent

Telekinesis — “Ghosts and Creatures”
Bringing the band”s new album to Bottom of the Hill on April 24; Mount Moriah and Paparazzi also support

Vacationer — “Gone”
Exray’s performs with Vacationer on April 18 at the Rickshaw Stop

Chad Valley — “I Owe You All This” (featuring Twin Shadow)
On April 29, Chad Valley’s nationwide tour with Ski Lodge and The Soonest arrives at Bottom of the Hill

Angel Olsen — “Tiniest Seed”
Headlining the Rickshaw Stop on April 6, with support from Villages and Kacey Johansing

Phosphorescent — “Song For Zula”
Heading to The Independent with Strand Of Oaks on April 6

Sonny Smith — “If You Don’t Make a Change”
Sonny & the Sunsets perform at the Rock/See fundraiser for the Roxie Theatre at the Verdi Club on April 5

Shannon and the Clams — “Rip Van Winkle”
The Memorials and Emotional join the Clams at Thee Parkside on April 18

Cloud Nothings — “Stay Useless”
Co-headlining The New Parish with Japandroids on April 16 and 17