Mission Mission

I like the look of this flyer, and the sound of “White Gold Karaoke Night.” And if it’s not great, you can always bowl a few frames.

(Thanks, Carlos!)

This Thursday night, the Cal Academy and Noise Pop are having a very special party. Here’s the deal:

[T]his week NightLife is all about earthquakes! Be among the first to see the Academy’s newly opened Earthquake exhibit and planetarium show, complete with shake table and live ostriches. Also enjoy an Earthquake Sundae-eating competition by Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop, soundQuake, meet the folks from the US Geological Survey and SPUR. Live music by Weekend and Violens presented by Noise Pop.

Sounds good! To win, tell us your best earthquake-related anecdote (or I guess an ostrich-related anecdote would work) in the comments section below. A winner will be chosen based on merit and awarded a pair of tickets for the party. Contest ends at noon on Wednesday.

Further details and advance tickets here.

Here’s a song by Weekend:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJk41jsE_YQ

Remember that time you were lost in the nacht, the moon was full, and everything seemed effin’ awesome? Well, get your corpse over to Warm Leatherette at Submission this Saturday for a joyous incision of fog fueled tunes from below and an early live set from Brooklyn bloodletters, Pop. 1280. Regular djs Riegler, Nihar, and Jason P will be turning out top notch nocturnal lullabies guaranteed hijack your heels.

Remember Lookout! Records, from Berkeley? It’s where Green Day started, they had Operation Ivy, it was probably your favorite label when you were 15? Remember? Spin does, and it recently asked Mr T. Experience frontman Dr. Frank to take a look back and make a list of the top 20 Lookout! Records tracks. It’s pretty good. Here’s a taste:

16. The Groovie Ghoulies “The Highwayman” (from Travels with My Amp, 2000)
The Sacramento-based Groovie Ghoulies were the touring-est band I ever met, and if anyone knew their highways, it was them. Still, I thought the world didn’t need another “life on the road” song before I heard this classic tune from the awesomely titled Travels with My Amp LP. So, yeah, I was wrong, but that’s the last one, seriously — no more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPQ-e3FMxYc

Read on.

[via Pavla]

UPDATE: P.S. Sewer Trout!

Just listen to this song by new local band Cocktails and tell me you don’t want to go to their show tonight next Wednesday night at El Rio. I won’t believe you:

RSVP and invite your friends!

If you’ve ever happened upon Amnesia on a Wednesday evening and was greeted by a gypsy jazz ensemble consisting of two guitars and an upright bass, a badass percussionist, an old Russell Crowe on horns, and a mad scientist on accordion, you have seen Gaucho. In fact, Gaucho has been delighting crowds and dancers weekly at Amnesia for nearly 10 years. And if you haven’t seen Gaucho, surely you have seen the mural over Amnesia’s entrance, which features Gaucho’s accordionist Rob Reich.

This fall, they’re releasing a new record, and like most Bay Area-based creative endeavors these days, they’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the release. For those of you who like to support local businesses and the arts, there are 17 days left!

Bonus: Our very own Vic Wong is featured on two of the tracks! In Vic’s words, “it’s only rhythm guitar, so who cares,” but the answer to that is that WE CARE.

Aren’t backyard shows the best? Rob Little, from a local band called Psychic Hiking, opened up a show I went to on Sunday. Rob went on right after the the solar eclipse — a tough act to follow — and he killed. See for yourself:

Sorry the video is upside down. Either I have an accelerometer problem or it’s an homage to Rodney Graham.

They played a sold-out show at Slim’s last Thursday night, and I’m sure this rendition of “Bitchin’ Camaro,” full of praise for San Francisco, Philadelphia, reality television and gay marriage, was a highlight:

(Thanks, Uselysses!)

When Thee Oh Sees play Brick & Mortar Music Hall, something special happens. It’s an intimate venue with a serious sound system, and those are two qualities that really lend themselves to epic Oh Sees shows.

So we’re very excited that the band is playing at this venue again this Wednesday night, with the Mallard, Burnt Ones and Warm Soda opening up. And we’re excited that we get to give away a pair of tickets! If you’d like to play, tell us in the comments section below why you deserve to win. A winner will be chosen based on merit. Contest ends tomorrow (Tuesday, May 15, 2012) at noon.

(To be safe, you might also want to buy tickets here as we’re told the show is very close to selling out.)

For now let’s watch this new Oh Sees video, which depicts what is clearly a typical 24 hours in the life of an Oh Sees tour:

[Video via the Bay Bridged] [Photos by the Tens]

Now here’s a set of pipes you can bring to the park without worrying about cops.

[photo by potential past]