Mission Mission

I had the time of my life!

Thanks to DJ Foodcourt and his pals.

People having been raving about The Secret Alley: “What the hell is this?!” – A Recent Visitor.

This Saturday night it will be be filled with art & music. The Yellow Dress, Chris Klippel and Quite Polite will all be playing their awesome music, starting at 9pm. There will be an art show in the lobby, featuring the sweet works of Gretchen Natvig, Taylor Meers Jacobs, Sasha Mace, Michelle Fleck and Sarah Thibault, opening at 8pm. If that sounds good, come by 180 Capp Street, between 16th and 17th Saturday night, it should be fun.

(Disclosure: I am one of those dorks at The Secret Alley, so this is really just self-promotion, which is why it reads like a press release)

Poster design by Cody Frost.

San Francisco’s Mark Growden is finally back from months of touring and he’s playing at the Porto Franco Art Parlor on Liberty and Valencia this Friday. The last Mark Growden show of this type sold out pretty quick, so only advance tickets are available. Grab them here.

Mark is an amazing songwriter and musician who plays the chromatic button accordion, an instrument that is pretty damn rare in the states. You pretty much have to walk into an accordion shop, glaze over the bountiful piano accordions, and say, “fuck it, I want to play the harder one”. I guess the added bonus is that no one will ever ask to play it during your set break. If only I had a nickel for every time some dude walked up to my guitar and said, “hey dude nice axe, hey can I show my friend this RHCP tune I just learned?”

Oh, have you seen that video of Mark Growden playing bicycle handlebars? It’s outta sight!

BTW if any of you musically-inclined cyclists are into collaborating on an all bike parts band (“bikestra”), he’s totally down.

Sure, we’ve sung praises for the yodelin’ Japanese cowboy Toshio Hirano before, but I just found this video profile of him done by PRI that deserves some attention:

Toshio has a charisma and passion for music that is really sobering to all the cynical young musicians like myself. Here’s a guy who loved classic country music so much that he literally up and moved straight to the source. (Ok, so my love of burritos may have moved me from the east bay to San Francisco, but that’s not exactly the same thing.)

He’s no fool either, he’s well aware that there’s quite a bit of the novelty/freak show draw to his act. But hey, if that’s what it takes to get people to come out and see him doing what he loves, then he’s ok with that. Oh, and his between-song banter is hilarious… that’s no act. This man is funny.

Toshio will be playing tonight as part of his monthly residency at the Rite Spot Cafe on 17th and Folsom from about 9pm-12. Go get your two-step on.

photo by Eric Wolfinger - http://ericwolfinger.com/

Move over gamelan! Accordion is the new hotness. Marié Abe plays at Tartine Bakery on Fridays (TONIGHT) from 6-8pm. I don’t even know why I’m bothering to type anything else since after seeing the HOTT picture above I’m sure you have already left this site and you’re totally myspace-stalking the shit out of her.

Marié is from Japan and was April in 2009′s Accordion Babes Calendar. She plays in a ton of groups including the Japonize Elephants, Tango No. 9, and Thorny Brocky. Most of her music is pretty damn heavy and experimental, but at Tartine they keep it a bit more accessible for the baked goods crowd with jazz, Brazilian choros, French musette waltzes, and such. She’ll be joined by Darren Johnson (Nice Guy Trio, Brass Menazeri) and Lisa Mezzacappa. No cover, so tip well.

And if that’s not enough accordion for you, head over to Amnesia from 7-9pm for Rob Reich and Craig Ventresco right afterwards, playing some good old ragtime, blues, and early jazz.

Update! Agent Chaos of The Derailleurs is here to spread the word that there is a Bike Dance Cabaret in town. The Derailleurs will be debuting their Tweed Ride Polo Dance Movie and also the Derailleurs Coloring Book.

Come see what the saucy cyclists have cooked up for you.

Dance performances by the Derailleurs, the Bombshells (punk rock burlesque), and the Cheese Puffs (lounge burlesque)

Live music by The Nerv (hard hitting, straightforward inspirational punk), Jessie Roadkill (quirky singer-songwriter), and Tongue and Teeth (haunting and passionate)

Dance music by DJs Zelko (of Kafana Balkan), Miss Rowdy (booty), and Mega Bitch (more booty)

When: Jan. 30th

Where: The Box Factory 865 Florida #1 @ 21st

How Much: $7

[photo by derailleurs]

Plus: the late Jay Reatard!!! And actually, JUST KIDDING!! It’s just pictures of these and other rock ‘n’ roll greats performing live. But they’re epic pictures I’m sure, just like last time. Opening reception is this Saturday night!

Check out the event’s Facebook page for photographer bios and more.

Write your own caption contest! GO! (No prizes, don’t be mean, Sexpigeon auto-disqualified)

Snapped at 16th St. BART. God we’re creepy.

I know.  You want to do your part for Haiti, but you’ve already stuffed your face to the limit with Bi-Rite bake sale goodies and texted 90999 from your mom’s cellphone at least twenty times.  Well, there’s more!

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti is hosting a benefit tonight at El Rio (Mission @ Caesar Chavez) featuring quite a diverse collection of musical performances.  Headlining is Brass Menažeri, a frenetic, cascading rhythm of Serbian, Macedonian, Greek & Rajasthani Roma.

Other acts include the percussive jazzy stylings of Ezra Lipp and Ofir Uzier; Sean Lee with some one-man-banjo old timey twanging; Arthur Adams strumming some Haitian pop guitar (H-Pop>J-Pop?); and of course the Mission’s own La Corde opening everything up with some loud punk rock.  Makes sense, right?

$1 PBR and $2 well drinks!  Determine your own legacy of generosity at the door with a sliding scale that starts at only $5.  The music begins promptly at 8pm.

If you like listening to a proper English gal sing about anal sex, hot water bottles, and proper cunnilingus technique in a punky cabaret backdrop, you’ll love the Trifles! They are playing tonight at El Rio at around 9pm with the Barbary Coasters, and the Cheshire Rock Opera.

These guys are awesome and I wish they would play more often. Singer Linda Robertson is hella talented. She plays a bunch of instruments, was Miss Accordion San Francisco 2004, and is the author of a high-larious memoir “What Rhymes With Bastard“.

Here’s a video of them playing at the Makeout Room last year: