The Scene: Free Live Music in San Francisco

Tomorrow night, there’s a ridiculous number of Not Quite Free shows that are going to be nothing short of awesomeness personified. I couldn’t choose just one, so I chose three. Y’gotcher punk, y’gotcher americana, and y’gotcher Brazilian soul. What more could you ask for? Also, in a not-really-live-music-but-too-freakin’-cool-not-to-mention vein, the Museum of Performance and Design right now has this kick-ass exhibit going on through August 28th, and it’s called “Somethin’s Happening Here: Bay Area Rock ‘n’ Roll 1963-73.” Technically, admission is free, but they do have a suggested donation of $5, which ain’t so bad! Here’s an excerpt from the exhibit’s web page:

MPD charts the magic time in the Bay Area rock scene from the folk-infused early ‘60s to the last days of the Fillmore West an unprecedented, in-depth examination of this incredibly diverse era—charting its trajectory, identifying its causes and effects, dispelling its myths, and offering a fresh look at this well-known subject.

[...]

Seminal local bands like The Beau Brummels, The Charlatans, Country Joe and the Fish, and Quicksilver Messenger Service receive their due alongside better-known Bay Area names like The Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Grateful Dead and Sly and the Family Stone. Above all, the show celebrates the timeless appeal of this signal moment in 20th-century popular culture, enveloping visitors in a blaze of sight and sound.

How cool does this sound? I mean, seriously! So, get your pretty little behind down there and check it out. Oh, and here’s a link to the exhibit’s web page, where you’ll find lots more cool info on what exactly is on display.

O.K., enough with the pleasantries; let’s get down to business. Here are my picks for live music in our beautiful city for Wednesday, February 24th:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24th:

LIVE:
Artist/Event: JimBo Trout and the Fishpeople
Genre: Americana/Bluegrass/Western Swing
Venue: Johnny Foley’s Irish House
Location: 243 O’Farrell St. (between Cyril Magnin & Powell Sts.)
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Anything Else?: Our buddy, Jimmy Sweetwater of The Mission Three, also plays with this ensemble. What might that mean? Oh, baby, it means it’s gonna be kick-ass music, stompin’ feet, and a good time had by all! Keep in mind, though, that this venue ain’t y’mama’s dive bar, so expect to spend a little more than you may have originally hoped to.

DJ:
Artist/Event: DJ Deathstar
Genre: Electronic
Venue: Beauty Bar
Location: 2299 Mission St. (between 18th & 19th Sts.)
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Anything Else?: Nope!

NOT QUITE FREE:
Artist/Event: Boca do Rio
Genre: Brazilian Soul
Venue: Boom Boom Room
Location: 1601 Fillmore St. (at Geary Blvd.)
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Anything Else?: Cover is $7. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show starts at 9:30 p.m.

Artist/Event: Left Alone, Bum City Saints, Hounds and Harlots
Genre: Punk/Rock/Ska
Venue: Thee Parkside
Location: 1601 Fillmore St. (at Geary Blvd.)
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Anything Else?: Cover is $8. Please note that this is an all-ages show.

Artist/Event:  Sioux City Kid & The Revolutionary Ramblers, Vandella, Thee Landlords
Genre: Americana/Folk/Indie/Rock
Venue: Red Devil Lounge
Location: 1695 Polk St. (at Clay St.)
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Anything Else?: Cover is $5 in advance or $8 at the door. Please note that you MUST have your ID with you to gain entry; they’re very particular at this venue!

Hey, gang! So, this week — as in, Post-Valentine’s Day Week, now get your ass out there and rock out to work off all of that freakin’ wine and chocolate! — we have a veritable cornucopia of aural treats for your Live Music pleasure! Here are some highlights for tomorrow, and I will be covering the rest of the week in a separate post on Monday:

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH:

LIVE:
Artist/Event: The Pick’s 3rd Monday Bluegrass Jam
Genre: Bluegrass
Venue: Amnesia
Location: 853 Valencia Street (between 19th & 20th Streets)
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Anything Else?: Apparently, this is sort of the opener for a for-charge show at the same location. The Pick-Up show starts at 6:30 p.m. and is free, but if you stay, you can pay $5 to see three excellent bluegrass and roots bands as part of the San Francisco Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival. FYI, I did try calling the venue to confirm both shows, but apparently their phone is not currently functioning.

Artist/Event: Glenn Farr & Friends
Genre: Celtic
Venue: The Chieftain
Location: 185 5th Street (between Natoma & Howard Streets)
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Anything Else?: This venue is kind of tight on space, so get there early, and order some grubbin’ Irish pub food while waiting for the band to start.

DJ:
Artist/Event: “Punk Rock Sideshow”
Genre: Punk
Venue: Hemlock Tavern
Location: 1131 Polk Street (between Hemlock and Sutter Streets)
Time: 10:00 p.m.
Anything Else?: Often this weekly DJ-driven punk rock party will have a live band earlier in the evening. Sometimes the live shows are free, sometimes they’re not. This week there is a live show scheduled to start at 9 p.m. that carries a $6 cover, and features Oceanography, The Pentacles, and mumble mumble.

NOT QUITE FREE:
Artist/Event: Golden Boy, Chris Von Sneidern, Curtains For You
Genre: Alternative/Indie/Pop/Power Pop/Rock/Swing
Venue: Thee Parkside
Location: 1600 17th Street (between Carolina & Wisconsin Streets)
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Anything Else?: Nope!

Hey, gang! So, as some of you no doubt already know, the annual San Francisco Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival is happening right now! True, many of the events do carry a cover charge, but there’s a ton of venues where admission is free! Plus, for those of you who are not in the city proper, this festival is happening all over the East Bay and Marin County, too — so you have no excuse to stay homebound for the next week! Get out, kick up your heels, and getcher fiddle and ukelele on!

Here is listing of some of the FREE shows hosted by the Festival this week:

Monday, Feb. 15th
Taco Jam at Baja Taqueria in Oakland.

Tuesday, Feb. 16th
Fiddle Tunes Jam at SoCha Cafe in the Mission, S.F.

Wednesday, Feb. 17th
The Whiskey Brothers at the Albatross Pub in Berkeley.

Thursday, Feb. 18th
High Country Bluegrass and Dark Hollow at the Atlas Cafe in the Mission, S.F.

Friday, Feb. 19th
Paul Knight and Friends at the Station House Cafe in Point Reyes.

Saturday, Feb. 20th
Oops, no free shows listed for Saturday! But there’s a couple of Not Quite Free events, including a children’s show at the Randall Museum in the city center of S.F., featuring Gayle Schmitt & the Toodala Ramblers (adults $9, kids $6); and the “Bluegrass & Old-Time Revue” at the Swedish American Hall in the Castro, S.F. ($5, all ages).

Sunday, Feb. 21st
“Fabulous Duos” at the Velo Rouge Cafe in the Inner Richmond, S.F.

The Lowdown

Who: The Mission Three
When: November 19, 2009
Where: Revolution Cafe
Hidden Costs: Artists “pass the hat” to accept tips/donations

The Take-Away

Venue: See this review I did about a month ago. Additionally, you’ll be glad to know that, as the weather gets colder, the cafe has these awesome heaters that are suspended from the patio’s overhang. These heaters not only keep the patio nice and toasty, but generate some residual warmth for the interior, as well — yay, heaters! — which means that you don’t have to sit all bundled up in your full regalia in order to keep warm while enjoying both your libations and the show.

Artist: The Mission Three are truly a local treasure, full of catchy tunes, groan-inducing jokes, and kick-ass musicianship. Check out their MySpace site for updates and touring dates. As for upcoming shows in San Francisco, you can find them at the Mojo Bicycle Cafe on December 7th and 21st and January 18th; back at the Revolution Cafe on December 17th and January 16th; and at Ireland’s 32 on December 27th. For the better part of January, the band will be on a Southwest Tour of Nevada and Arizona. (Again, see their site for more info).

The Review

On November 19th, I had the pleasure of seeing The Mission Three perform at the Revolution Cafe, which is a venue that I have previously reviewed.

The following is a little blurb that I excerpted from the group’s MySpace site:

The Mission Three consist of three San Francisco Musicians that reside in the Mission District. They tour and play with tons of local musicians but when they get together the stars align!!

Misisipi Mike Wolf — guitar and vocals. He hails from Mississippi and has been here in the bay area for 10 years

Cree Rider — guitar and vocals. He hails from St. Louis and has been here in the bay area for 4 years

Jimmy Sweetwater — washboard, harmonica and vocals. He hails from the swamps of Florida and has been in the bay area for 20 years

As for my experience with The Mission Three…well, put simply, it was everything I was hoping it would be! I came to this show looking for good roots music with a solid blues foundation, colored with a playful sense of humor, and this is precisely what the group brings to the table. Add to that musicianship that is neither self-conscious nor pretentious (as can all-too-easily be the case), and you’ve got yourself an evening of foot-stompin’, grin-inducin’, whisky-swiggin’ glee.

The guys kicked things off with “Ramblin’ On My Mind,” a blues-flavored rockin’ tune featuring a wailing harmonica (Jimmy Sweetwater) and vocals (Cree Rider) that make you feel like you’ve climbed into the singer’s restless soul.

One note on Jimmy’s harmonica playing: unlike so many harp players, Jimmy is able to phrase a musical line with the harmonica without overindulging in frilly arpeggios and needless riffs. He really understands the instrument, using its unique timbre to paint a picture, so that it becomes a true vessel of storytelling, rather than just some cool trick that the Percussion Guy can do. And at one point during the show, Jimmy broke out his self-proclaimed “Fun Machine,” a seemingly homemade contraption comprised of a Fender washboard fitted with various acoustic happy-making accoutrement, including a bicycle bell and a tambourine.

Similarly, when Cree sings, you’re getting more than a lyrical yet layered tenor voice. Cree believes the words he’s singing, and nowhere was this more evident than when he sang lead on a gorgeous cover of The Band’s ”King Harvest (Has Surely Come).” As I listened to Cree tell the story of this poor farmer on the verge of losing everything, I could almost see that man standing right before me. I could hear the wind through the grain, feel the heat of the southern August sun. It was some powerful storytelling.

And talk about a sweet lead guitar! Misisipi Mike seamlessly transitions from supporting rhythm player to chorused lead guitarist, deftly picking out runs up and down the scale as his left hand does a ballet over the fretboard. No buzzing notes here, kids! And, much like Jimmy on the harmonica, Misisipi Mike’s phrasing is eloquent without being self-important. He’s a joy to watch, making impeccable picking seem effortless.

The thing that’s so great about The Mission Three is that there is a consistency to the music, regardless of the theme or the genre of origin. Whether it be “Whisky Warm and Mellow,” a playful jaunty sing-along type of tune that Jimmy claims is a favorite of George Clooney’s, or a kick-ass cover of The Kink’s “Sunny Afternoon,” The Mission Three deliver a performance that is cohesive and has a good flow. You never get burnt out on a particular hook or tempo; these guys craft a set with care and thoughtfulness, giving the listener a superlative live music experience.

Perhaps just as importantly, the members of the band don’t try to complicate their respective roles, which I believe allows them to really refine their particular skill sets so as to best contribute to the band’s signature playful and heartfelt style. All three take turns on lead vocals, in an almost round-robin kind of way. Misisipi Mike Wolf plays a steel string electric acoustic lead guitar; Cree Rider plays a nylon string electric acoustic guitar; and Jimmy Sweetwater plays the harmonica and the Fun Machine.

In the end, though, these guys love the music they’re playing, and get their whole bodies into their performance, literally shaking the floorboards with their foot stomping, swaying to the tempo, leaning into the lyrics. You get the feeling that you’re hanging out with your friends you grew up with on the front porch of your auntie’s country home, and these friends just happen to be exceptional musicians with a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of roots music. Throw in a little Southern Rock with almost a funk flavor, maybe some Folk Pop, and the odd Django Reinhardt jazz-influenced guitar hook, and you’ve got yourself an evening of music worth coming out in the cold for.

The Mission Three will be performing four more dates before the end of this year, and have a few dates in January already scheduled. At that point, they will begin a mini Southwest tour, and will also be hitting Louisiana and Washington State, but will return to the city shortly thereafter. They also will be recording their second album in January; the first one is available for $10 at any live show.