Feature

The main events (Part 2 of 4)

12:00 a.m. · March 23, 2006 · by Eric Solomon

Monday, March 27

Opening Night Party with Kennedy

Thee Parkside, 5-8 p.m.

VIPs and Badge Holders only, free

1600 17th St.

If you miss that uncomfortable feeling you had with the uncle you didn't want to be left alone with, check out Kennedy's video for "Who's Lovin Your Mama." It features Kennedy in '70s disco-pimp mode, lecturing a class of schoolchildren about their mother's love for them -- and his love for their mamas. If you plunked down for a badge to the festival, this hipster-licious opening party is your reward.

Tuesday March 28th

Feist

with John Vanderslice, Youth Group, The Botticellis

Bimbo's, 7 p.m.

1025 Columbus Ave.

Leslie Feist helped out Broken Social Scene and released her own sophomore effort, Let It Die, in 2004. Its mix of folk, indie rock, jazz and the faint whispers of trip-hop make for a varied listening experience, especially when she loops instruments and harmonizes with herself live, which will no doubt be enhanced by the statuesque concert hall.

Every Move a Picture

with Scissors for Lefty, Communique, Push to Talk

Bottom of the Hill, 7:30 p.m.

1233 17th St.

Deadboy & the Elephantmen

with Ex-Boyfriends, Rum Diary, Stephen Fretwell

Caf� Du Nord, 8 p.m.

2174 Market St.

Isis

with These Arms are Snakes, Zombi, The Holy See

Great American Music Hall, 7 p.m.

859 O'Farrel St. 

If you need a break from jangly or precious indie rock, check out some metal dirges from Isis. The tempo ranges anywhere from sludge-like to creeping, so best come prepared for an evening of atmospheric effects and menacingly layered guitar.

Wednesday, March 29

Billy Nayer Show

with Teri Falini, Hopewell, Henry Miller Sextet

Bottom of the Hill, 7:30 p.m.

1233 17th St.

The members of the Billy Nayer Show are on their own planet. The mentality may be found somewhere between Frank Zappa and David Lynch. The music gets shaded with crooning, with bits of garage rock and punk, but the lyrics live in their own abstract realm, careening from tales of sex and animals in allegorical and realistic senses, not necessarily in that order. They may be based in New York, but they drew their initial following in San Francisco, so it's a bit of a homecoming for these characters.

Tommy Guerrero

with Bing Ji Ling, Curumin, Honeycut

Cafe Du Nord, 8 p.m.

2174 Market St.

The Dirtbombs

with Black Lips, The Lamps, Sensations

The Independent, 7:30 p.m.

628 Divisadero St.

The members of the Dirtbombs don't mess around, with a lineup featuring two drummers and two bassists, mainly for the hell of it. They don't like it when you call them a garage rock band out of Detroit, especially given their proclivity for dropping albums consisting entirely of soul covers.

The Cuts

with Col. Knowledge & the Lickety-Splits, A-Fir Ju Well

Thee Parkside, 8 p.m.

1600 17th St.

Heavenly States

with Audrye Sessions, New Trust, Mandrake

Rickshaw Stop, 8 p.m.

155 Fell St.

This trio from across the Bay has been dubbed by one local weekly as "Oakland's answer to the Clash," and it's garnered various other superlatives along the way. Hype aside, these guys play accessible punk in a raw form that's not afraid of variety, adding the occasional Southern strings and Cajun horns.

Britt Daniel (from Spoon)

with Laura Veirs, Martyn Leaper, Meric Long

Swedish American Hall, 7 p.m.

2174 Market St.

Thursday, March 30

Rogue Wave

with Aqueduct, Octopus Project, Scrabbel

Bimbo's, 7 p.m.

1025 Columbus Ave.

Her Space Holiday

with Plus/Minus, Loquart, Pants Pants Pants

Bottom of the Hill, 7:30 p.m.

1233 17th St.

Nous Non Plus

with Hey Willpower, Parks and Recreation, Space Mtn

Cafe Du Nord, 8 p.m.

2174 Market St.

Kieran Hebden (Four Tet)and Steve Reid, Kid 606, Mattson 2, Huts

Great American Music Hall, 7 p.m.

859 O'Farrel St.

Kieran Hebden dropped the Four Tet moniker but brought his usual laptop electronic fiddling. Steve Reid brought his history as a Motown session drummer and jazz experimentalist. The Exchange Session Volume 1 brought from the pair three long tracks that people are still trying to process, but they can see how the session plays out in live format when these two collaborate in front of an audience.

The National

with Mark Eitzel, Talkdemonic, Division Day

The Independent, 7:30 p.m.

628 Divisadero St.

The polish may come from residing in New York, but the self-deprecation and feelings of separation come from a Midwestern upbringing, with a group transplanted from Ohio to more urban settings. The five-piece brings its moody undertones live, and it doesn't hurt to be playing with the former American Music Club frontman Mark Eitzel.

The Herms

with Citizens Here & Abroad + DJ's

Popscene, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

330 Ritch

Why?

with Asobi Seksu, Dirty Projectors, Black Fiction

Rickshaw Stop, 8 p.m.

155 Fell St.

Ain't no party like an Anticon party ... or something like that. Why? changes its style so often it might be different with this show, but expect some blend of indie hip-hop, folk pop, psychedelic rock, and whatever the hell else the band's namesake decides to be experimenting with on any given day.

Friday, March 31

Two Gallants

with Silversun Pickups, Street to Nowhere, Cold War Kids

Bimbo's

1025 Columbus Ave.

The members are from San Francisco, take their band name from a James Joyce short story, and paint country folk landscapes of dusty prairies and the wind whistling across barren earth. It's nostalgic and intellectual, with a modern enough voice to bring the middle of America to the kids on the coasts.

The New Amsterdams

with Slow Runner, The Brokedown, Ryan Harper

Bottom of the Hill, 7:30 p.m.

1233 17th St.

Chow Nasty

with Books on Tape, Post Coitus

Caf� Du Nord, 5 p.m.

2174 Market St.

Jason Collett (Broken Social Scene)

with Etienne De Rocher, The Submarines, Alina Simone

Cafe Du Nord, 9 p.m.

2174 Market St.

We Are Scientists

with Foreign Born, The Grates, The Blood Arm

The Independent, 8:30 p.m.

628 Divisadero St.

With an album cover that features the members hiding their faces behind proffered kittens, the members of We Are Scientists may invite skepticism. We Are Scientists certainly brings energy and humor, though, with punk-pop tracks that will race to the ending before you knew what hit you, touching on the important topics (girls and alcohol, natch) along the way.

Film School  

with Cloud Room, Birdmonster, Send for Help

Slim's, 7:30 p.m.

333 11th St.

Saturday, April 1

The Rubber Curtain: Curumin 

with DJs Tommy Guerrero, Gadget, Toph One

Annie's Social Club, 10 p.m.

Set aside the guitar and listen to Curumin, a singer from San Paulo who plays samba and jazz in Quannum's growing intent to move into international territory. Following up on selector duty will be hyped skateboarding legend/funk musician Tommy Guerrero and local DJ stalwarts Toph One and Gadget.

I Am the Avalanche

with Summer Obsession, Overview

Bottom of the Hill, 12:30 p.m.

1233 17th St.

Wolfmother

with Parchman Farm, Danava, Dear Kerosene (formerly Io)

Bottom of the Hill, 8 p.m.

1233 17th St.

If you like doing the comparison thing and are trying to figure Wolfmother out, you can call it the Darkness without the schlock. Whatever you'd like to call it, the members came from Australia to rock you! Seriously, though, any ironic posturing is purely this writer's side, and the group's future retro Zeppelin sound comes to without tongue in cheek or other appendages in self-referential posture.

The Velvet Teen

with Xiu Xiu, Minipop, Polar Bears

Great American Music Hall, 7 p.m.

859 O'Farrel St.

Kid Koala

with DJ Relm, J Boogie's Dubtronic Science

The Independent

628 Divisadero St.

He may scratch a guitar or two, he may scratch "Moon River," and there's likely to be a Charlie Brown sample or two. Although the artist formerly known as "turntablism" is on the side of a milk carton, Kid Koala brings a freshness and humor to the art of scratching records that defies some of the genre's solipsistic tendencies. J-Boogie's smooth funk project, Dubtronic Science, will help mellow the harshness that comes with knowing the festival is almost over.

Sunday, April 2

Smoosh

with Two Seconds, Lou Lou & the Guitarfish, Just 3 Guys

Cafe Du Nord, 8 p.m.

2174 Market St.

They'll probably have to go into a crowd and beat somebody's ass at some point to remove the "aw how cute" factor, but these two teenage sisters (actually, only one of them is old enough to be called a teen) apparently have some chops. Don't just take Death Cab for Cutie drummer Jason McGerr's word for it -- he's been the Obi-Wan to these girls' Princess Leia, or some other suitable metaphor. They play in Noise Pop's "The Next Generation" show, and no doubt will rock it better than Hanson.

Trainwreck Riders

with Gavin Newsome (formerly Full Moon Partisans), Pine Box Family

Bottom of the Hill, 12:30 p.m.

1233 17th St.

This may be your last chance to catch some local flavor at one of the city's most venerated spots to catch a good rock act, and it's over in time to turn in early for those who are tired from the week's proceedings. Trainwreck Riders play a mix of country and Bay Area punk rock. Gavin Newsome, formerly Full Moon Partisans and probably a lawsuit away from changing its name (it's inspired by San Francisco's ruling mayor), plays in the same vein, and yet the members' borrowing from Soviet punk makes it something altogether different.

Vetiver

with Brightblack Morning Light, Neil Halstead (of Mojave 3), Peggy Honeywell

Great American Music Hall, 7 p.m.

859 O'Farrel St.

Sean Hayes

with Geoff Farina, Chris Brokaw, Trains Across the Sea

Rickshaw Stop, 6 p.m.

155 Fell St.