Lonely Planet’s Passport to the World Concert with Michael Franti

I’ll admit it.  I wasn’t too keen on Michael Franti and Spearhead
until the latest album,  Everyone Deserves Music. It has to be one of the most original recordings I’ve heard in a long time. These are very talented
folks with a powerful message very nicely connected with other progressive movements I highly respect: KPFA and Democracy Now!  Franti and others also helped
organize the Power to the Peaceful concert at SF’s Golden Gate
Park which has become a yearly event to find a healthier way to
remember the events of 9/11. 

Big shout to Lonely Planet for doing something wonderful in helping
folks get passports.  Here’s the flyer for the upcoming event and a few words from Andrew Strickman who is promoting the event:

Great friends and colleagues…

As many of you know, weíve been working with Lonely Planet for the last
few months on a terrific project to launch a three-year campaign to
increase U.S. Passport registrations.

Unsurprisingly to most of us, Iím sure, the U.S. has the fewest number
of registered passport holders by population in the industrialized
world. We hope to raise that number for 23% to 35% in the next three
years.

The culmination of these launch activities will be celebrated Friday
the 30th in San Francisco (as well as other dates in NYC and Chicago)
with a huge music and cultural experience at Mezzanine

I hope you will consider joining me there (tix are only $15!) and encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same.

Do something great for your country…. LEAVE!

Franti and Spearhead : Everyone Deserves Music
Franti and Spearhead : Bomb the World
Franti and Spearhead : Oh My God

stellastarr*

I’m ushered back to the eighties and my youthful underground
world.  A time when I thought my friends and I were the only
people on earth that knew what everything was about.  Who
knows?  We probably did.  But I also remember the soundtracks
that coated these moments: Joy Division, The Smiths, Bauhaus and other
less English musicians.

I’m reminded of this when listening to
the new album by stellastarr*, Harmonies for the Haunted
and I wonder
if some kids somewhere listening to them are feeling the way I did back
then.  Or has that sense of being alone and unique in the world
been marketed by Nike?  This is my first time encountering
stellastarr*.  Their sound is very much linked to the new wave hip pop of
NYC the likes of Interpol and the Strokes (which are the most
recognizable, but you should also discover the unique sound of The Double).  Stellastarr* delivers the hip pop, but unlike
their counterparts these folks retain a more sincere song
writing.  At times Sean Christensen may sound a bit more Robert
Smith than even Robert Smith, but he does attain a very “Haunted”
falsetto tone that sticks to your teeth.  The songs are extremely
catchy and well produced giving the listener a peek at what could be a
very radio friendly future for these talented Brooklynites. 

Here are some tour dates and a few Mp3’s I found roaming about:

9/21/05 LA, CA * El Rey
9/22/05 SF, CA * Popscene
9/23/05 SF, CA * The Independent
9/24/05 Santa Barbara, CA * Velvet Jones
9/25/05 Solana Beach, CA * Belly Up Tavern
9/28/05 Dallas, TX * Trees
9/29/05 Austin, TX * Parish
10/1/05 Atlanta, GA * The Loft at Earthlink Live
10/2/05 Orlando, FL * The Social
10/4/05 Philadelphia * The T.L.A
10/5/05 Washington, DC * 9:30 Club
10/6/05 NYC * Irving Plaza
10/7/05 Boston, MA * The Paradise

These music links may require special accomodations by you, but it’s
all I could find.  Thanks to Hype Machine, oh mighty Hype
Machine!  Our own private pirate shop or Big Bro in disguise?  Who
cares, just listen.

stellastarr* : lost in time
stellastarr* : sweet troubled soul

Rykarda Parasol at the Hush Hush

Thought I’d drop a plug for one of the best nights of music in San
Francisco at the Hush Hush Lounge. 
DJ Neil Martinson spins tunes
from the 60’s and 70’s from his extremely rare vinyl collection and
presents some of the best and most eclectic musicians you should know
about. Here,
in his words, is an invite:

Please join me at the Hush Hush (now under new ownership) this following Monday, September the 19th for a fantastic show:

Rykarda Parasol (11pm)
and
Wise Blood (10pm)

If you haven’t witnessed Rykarda and her band performing
their music in a live setting, you really ought to rectify this
lamentable shortcoming. The opening band was chosen by Miss Parasol
herself. All bound to delight!

Hush Hush 496 14th street at Guerrerod

Download these Mp3’s:

Rykarda Parasol : Lonesome Place
Rykarda Parasol : Lullaby for Blacktail
Rykarda Parasol : She’s Like Heroin to Me

Free Louis XIV

Flash Alert! LOUIS XIV
is coming to Justin Herman Plaza in SAN
FRANCISCO on SEPTEMBER 6, 2005 at 5PM.

This
San Diego band hit the international scene
in 2004 with their quirky punk feel, sexy
lyrics, and irresistible angst. Jason
Hill, Brian Karscig, Mark Maigaard, and
Jimmy Armbrust released their introductory
EP, Illegal Tender, in January
2005, featuring the edgy ìFinding
Out True Love is Blindî.

Louis XIV : God Killed the Queen
Louis XIV : Finding Out True Love is Blind