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Pete Escovedo
Cesar de Chavez Park
Market St and Park Ave, San Jose
408.279.1775
Thurs – 5pm; free
Percussionist Pete Escovedo performs at his 15th Music in the Park, the most by any musician in the history of the series. Escovedo toured with Carlos Santana in the late '60s before forming the Latin big band Azteca alongside his brother Coke. After the group disbanded, Escovedo played the role of itinerant musician, performing alongside Herbie Hancock, Woody Herman and Cal Tjader before establishing a healthy career as a solo artist. (GW)
Jon Pousette-Dart
Little Fox
2209 Broadway, Redwood City
408.369.4119
Thurs – 8pm; $16/$18
The music industry is the perfect subject for a microcosmic case study of capitalism: competition drives many to fail, while a few go on to succeed. Countless musicians, fall victim to the system, unable to garner mainstream success. One such group is the Jon Pousette-Dart Band, a '70s soft-rock act on a par with James Taylor and the Eagles. After releasing four albums on Capitol Records, Pousette-Dart and company parted ways in 1980. Except for their relatively small fan base, nobody seemed to notice, but take heed: John Pousette-Dart is a worthy songwriter with a huge cache of smooth-rock tunes up his sleeve. (GW)
Stellar Corpses
Nickel City
1711 Branham Lane, San Jose
408.448.3323
Fri – 6pm; $8
How old can the Stellar Corpses be? Because I'm starting to wonder if, say, 25 years ago or so, Glenn Danzig didn't wander into Santa Cruz and have a few hybrid moments under the Boardwalk, if you know what I mean. Perhaps the resulting creatures were taken in by a kindly old greaser couple and raised on a farm in Corralitos, strapping, polite young lads just trying to get their chores done in time for supper. Until one day they could no longer hide their true nature and started a band that combined the raging Misfits horror-punk in their blood with the farm-fresh psychobilly of their formative years. This is only one theory about how Stellar Corpses got their start, mind you. Why not ask them when they kick off their CD release tour with this show? Rockit Zombies and the Cruz Missiles open. (SP)
The Rivals
The Agenda Lounge Cellar
399 S. First St, San Jose
408.287.3991
Fri – 8pm; $10
The Rivals are a backbone of the San Jose music scene, rocking relentlessly through the loud times and the lean. These local punks were tireless promoters of a live-music comeback through this last drought, which is why it was nice to see them reaping the rewards now that it's actually happening. After going easier on the calendar earlier this year to work on recording, they're back to knocking out regular doses of their fast and furious live shows. They played Left Coast Live, as well at Live 105's inaugural "BFD Brawl" at the VooDoo Lounge. When you see them, don't forget to tell 'em thanks for keeping the faith. (SP)
Jim Breuer
San Jose Improv
62 S. Second St, San Jose
408.280.7475
Thurs – 8pm, Fri – 8 and 10pm, Sat – 7 and 9pm, Sun – 7pm; $22/$25
After his role in Half Baked, comedian Jim Breuer penciled a kind of disclaimer into his standup routine: "People always tell me how stoned I must have been for that movie," says Breuer, "but they don't understand that it was me acting in a film." He goes on to point out that some people are born with a big nose, others are given a birthmark and still others, like himself, are made to look extremely stoned. But don't pigeon-hole Breuer's talent into a one-dimensional routine; the guy can portray an endless variety of characters, as he did during his three-year stint on Saturday Night Live. (GW)
Wilco
Mountain Winery
14831 Pierce Road, Saratoga
408.741.2822
Fri – 7:30pm; $39.50
Wilco gets complicated, as the recent death of former member Jay Bennett--who left under the unfriendliest of circumstances--brought to mind. Fans of the band's early, more straightforward records often bitch about the indulgences of their newer stuff. They were famously screwed over by Reprise Records after the label decided Yankee Foxtrot Hotel wasn't commercial enough. So maybe it's a good idea for Jeff Tweedy and company to get back to something simpler: their new album is titled Wilco (The Album) and kicks off with "Wilco (the song)." Onstage, they tend to strip down their songs to the simplest arrangements possible--Tweedy may not be much to look at, but few live experiences rival listening to him sing "California Stars" under the California stars. (SP)
Dance My Heart
The Venue
4 New York Ave, Los Gatos
408.395.5553
Sat – 6pm; $10
East Bay dance-core outfit Dance My Heart is a musical culmination of MTV's lifespan--from its launch during the '80s pop craze right up to its current fixation on Kanye and Justin. Maybe it's strange that four kids from the suburbs decided to combine synth beats and samples with electric guitars and auto-tune vocals; then again, it could be a perfectly likely and ingenious scenario. Finding itself to be a hot commodity on the local dance scene, DMH has begun to branch out, booking gigs along the West Coast. In the age of Passion Pit, Dance My Heart could go pretty far throwing a dance-rock party every night. Tainted Virtue, Point of View, Hey Pollyanna, Back in 72 and Brian G. also play. (GW)
Joan Sebastian
HP Pavilion
525 W. Santa Clara St, San Jose
408.287.9200
Sun – 6pm; $38.50-$147
Mexican songwriter Joan Sebastian got his start the hard way, knocking on doors in Mexico City until he found Discos Capital's Chucho Rincon. The record exec agreed to listen to Sebastian perform, later giving him the opportunity to cut his first album, which featured the single "Descartada." Despite a lack of promotion, the album sold more than 12,000 copies, and Sebastian never looked back. Eight Grammy Awards and dozens of successful albums later, "The People's Poet" is regarded as one of Latin America's most prolific talents, honored in 2003 with a Songwriter of the Universe award at the 11th Annual El Premio ASCAP. (GW)
The Stabbings
The Blank Club
44 S. Almaden Ave, San Jose
408.29.BLANK
Tues – 9pm; $5
Dark and sinister goth rock is the Stabbings' forte; songs like "The Fall," "Human Veal" and "Winter's Rose" are ominous compositions fit for humanity's darkest hour. Influenced by the '80s goth heyday, the Seattle-based group uses haunting organ chords and electric-guitar riffs to convey the cemeterylike gloominess first explored by the likes of Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Cure and the Sisters of Mercy. Crystelles and the Beggers also perform. (GW)
