The Damned, GWAR, Exene, Deftones & The Roots of Reggae

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Wed. Nov. 8, 7:30pm The Independent 628 Divisidaro St., San Francisco 415.771.1422 $20 New York Dolls PROTO-PUNKS: Playing punk rock before there was even a name for it, the New York Dolls hit the scene in '71--with a menacing energy, scathing wit, introspective lyrics and questionable musicianship--like an out of control subway train full of dirty rock, blatant vulgarity and noise pollution. Even though in the early '70s the Dolls self-destructed almost as quickly and spectacularly as when they made their debut, their first albums are two of the most popular cult recordings of all time. The New York Dolls laid the tracks for every punk band to come--everyone from the Sex Pistols and The Ramones to every amp junkie in between and after that picked up a guitar owes something to the New York Dolls. Their latest, One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This--even though David Johansen and Syl Sylvain are all that remain of the original explosive Dolls' lineup--is an homage to the Dolls fallen brethren and still has plenty of punk kick just like a New York Dolls album should. The Dolls play tonight with the Supersuckers and the Chesterfield Kings opening.

Wed. Nov. 8, 7:30pm HP Pavilion 525 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose 408.998.TIXS $52 - $202 BUY TICKETS

The Who WHO ARE YOU: Rock and Roll just wouldn't be the same without The Who, they were key figures in the '60s British Invasion, pioneered the rock opera and were one of the first bands to completely destroy their instruments on stage--a feat that has become somewhat of a parroting hallmark of rock shows, but has never quite been done with the purely raging grace and determination as when Pete Townshend and Keith Moon obliterated the stage. Even though Townshend and vocalist Roger Daltrey are all that remain of the original Who lineup, it's eminently worth it to see them live.

Wed. Nov. 8, 8pm The Fillmore 1805 Geary, San Francisco 408.998.TIXS $32.50 BUY TICKETS

Deftones METAL OPUS: Hard driving and experimental, the Deftones are definitely one of the most musically innovative rock/ metal bands and have wholly separated themselves, stylistically speaking, from contemporaries like Korn or Staind--the Deftones are just technically better, more fluid, harder and, because of these factors, present a broader aural scope. The Deftones latest release, Saturday Night Wrist, just hit and continues the same hard, poetic and deep ethereal experimental bent of their previous offerings while still pushing the metal envelope.

Thu. Nov. 9, 7pm Streetlight Records 980 S. Bascom Ave., San Jose 408.292.1404 Free

dredg SONIC ART: Not quite prog-rock and not quite metal, dredg is Los Gatos' gift to complex and cacophonous rock and roll, definitely on the harder side, but with a distinct orchestral bent. dredg skillfully navigates rock's experimental waters, continually pushing their sound further into uncharted musical territory. Their latest offering to the aural senses of the public is Live at The Fillmore and dredg will be playing a benefit show in The City Nov. 16--unfortunately the only Nor-Cal "regular" show in support of the album that was fully recorded here--but, you can catch these sonic pioneers at Streetlight Records a few days before that show for an almost acoustic sampling.

Thu. Nov. 9, 7pm The Catalyst 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz 831.423.1336 $20 BUY TICKETS

Lee "Scratch" Perry THE ROOTS OF ROOT: Lee "Scratch" Perry--who started his recording career in the late '50s--is probably one of the most influential reggae artists of all time spearheading the sound for mass worldwide consumption. Perry's stage presence has grown considerably in his years and, now at the ripe old age of 70, his dub style reggae and theatrical stage shows are the stuff of legend. Perry has performed with numerous bands over the years in different incarnations, probably the most notable to younger fans on The Beastie Boys Hello Nasty album and, even though, his sound today is a far cry from his traditional roots reggae starting point, Lee "Scratch" Perry in concert is a must see.

Thu. Nov. 9, 10pm Mission Ale House 97 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose 408.292.4058 No Cover

College Night @ Mission Ale House GENERAL EDUCATION: Now that SJSU is in full swing with mid-terms just getting done and such, you hard working students need a night to call your own and Mission Ale House has never been afraid to deliver. In fact, to help with the post-studying blues, Mission's got drink specials that'll make you completely forget about that mid-term coming up. Of course, as you all know, the Mission drink slingers pour 'em heavy, so line up a note-taker if you're unfortunate enough to be saddled with Friday morning classes.

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Fri. Nov. 10, 7pm San Jose Museum of Art 110 S. Market St., San Jose 408.271.6867 $12 MORE INFO PAC presents: Cultural Xposure SENSE EXPANSION: Pacific Arts Collective's Cultural Xposure is a phenomenal installment of cutting edge live music and mind bending art invading the San Jose Museum of Art Friday, Nov. 10 for a expansive cultural experience like no other. Featured museum exhibitions include the amazing Family Legacies by Betye, Lezley and Alison Saar and the thought provoking Suburban Escape that depicts California sprawl like you haven't seen before. Live musical performances at this Cultural Xposure session include: alt hip-hopper Gina Rene of Soulstice, Bay Area rock-reggae outfit 880 South, roots reggae from Fortwentydaze and neo-soul artist Ayvee Verzonilla. Also, PAC will be showcasing their now signature mash-up of local artists doing live solo and collaborative installations including local inker Paco, character artists Ferris Plock and Kelly Tunstall with a slate of local artists going head to head in a quasi Iron painter matchup. Background beats at Cultural Xposure provided by local fave DJs Chito, Aspect, Ant-1 and Tipp with the San Jose Slam Team lending some streetwise rhymes poetry style.

Fri. Nov. 10, 10pm The Caravan 98 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose 408.995.6220 No Cover

INFM DIVE BAR ANARCHY: Loud and fast with the pure raw energy of true punk rock, INFM sets up in the slightly dirty corner of the Caravan tonight to blow the bunker doors off of San Jose's venerable dive bar. INFM has been boozing it up and ripping chords in the Downtown scene for years, kicking out subversive lyrics over fast licks that's the embodiment of the DIY mentality. Each INFM performance should come with a warning--but not an explicit lyrics one--the label should serve to put powers that be on notice that the sound contained therein will buy you a beer, cheers to your sonic esthetics then crack the empty bottle upside your skull.

Fri. Nov. 10, 9pm The Blank Club 44 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose 408.292.5265 $8

Captured By Robots WE ROBOT: If you're looking for one crazy freaking thing to do tonight, catch the evil robotic menagerie and their humiliated human slave Captured! By Robots at the Blank tonight--easily one of the most bizarre bands in the history of rock. The Bots' sets are computed from blazing electro-metal with driving bass and screaming vocals that generally make audiences react with a resounding and collective "holy shit." Eight robots and one man with a staggering amount of ingenuity and talent make Captured! By Robots one seriously great show--or a LSD hallucination dream trek through Chuck E. Cheese. San Jo twang meets thrash country shredders the Wiggle Wagons open.

Fri. Nov. 10, 9pm Johnny V's 31 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose 408.947.8470 $5

The Obsessors BRAT PUNK COMPULSIONS: San Jo punkers The Obsessors, along with fellow gutter punks The Muckruckers, The Runs and Terezodu tear up the stage at Johnny V's tonight. The Obsessors shoot their taser style hooks--hotwired directly to their amps--straight into your head and hit intensely with melodic riffs, harkening back to the gutter laureate days of bands like original West Coast subversives X blended with the anti-materialist bent of Devo, spitting out bratty new wave punk. Chick fronted by Cobra Lily sharing vocals with guitarist Kirby, The Obsessors belt out witty licks with horror pop banter and hearing them rip it up on stage takes you back to when you bought that first wax disk and danced in your bedroom 'til mom yelled at ya.

Fri. Nov. 10, 8pm VooDoo Lounge 14 S. Second St., San Jose 408.286.8636 $12

The Chop Tops GREASER ROCK: When the needle hits E on the Friday night rock and booze-fueled tank, check revved up rockabilly rebels from Santa Cruz The Chop Tops tearing up the VooDoo. These greased up throwbacks kick straight rockabilly of the tight as hell, neo-sinner, three-piece variety with a pomped stand up drummer/ vocalist, mad bass slapper and a Gretsch wielding guitar slinger with chops that would make aspiring strummers weep. The Chop Tops, in one blazing song, can rip you back in their sonic '57 Chevy to times when all you needed was an open stretch of road, a girl by your side and a roadside honky-tonk on Route 66. The Chop Tops rockabilly style blasts you off the barstool in a hail of gas, grease and liquor. The revival starts with Three Bad Jacks, Thee Merry Widows and Astro Zombies with the greased back licks of the Chop Tops headlining.

Fri. Nov 10, 8pm SJSU Event Center 290 S. Seventh St., San Jose (SJSU Campus) 408.998.TIXS $25 - $50 BUY TICKETS

James Blunt THE DANGERS OF SUCCESS: Okay, so here's how the story goes...guy goes into British Army, guy serves his country, guy writes songs, guy gets invited to play at local festival, upstages headliner, hits with most played alt-acoustic rock song for a year, guy garners vitriolic hate. James Blunt is that guy and the song is "You're Beautiful" that rocked the UK charts for a staggering six weeks at number one and catapulted Blunt to instant stardom. His Back to Bedlam tour--the album from which the "You're Beautiful" single was released--returns to North America for a second go around and tonight you can catch Blunt at SJSU and see what all of the hype is about firsthand.

Sat. Nov. 11, 9pm The Blank Club 44 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose 408.292.5265 $10

Exene Cervenka & The Original Sinners PUNK MATRIARCH: Exene Cervenka, former front woman of the quintessential LA punk band X, hits the Blank with her new project The Original Sinners. X--and subsequently punk maven Exene--formed while most of us were still in diapers and right from the get go harnessed a poetic gutter angst sound that was the perfect conduit for the band's wry and intelligent humor. While X never fully reached the notoriety they truly deserve, any combat boot shod punk worth their salt will tell you that without X and the chaotic beauty of Exene's vocal chops, the West Coast punk sound would probably sound like flowered hippie rock filtered through a cranked up amplifier.

Sat. Nov. 11, 8pm Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 99 Grove St., San Francisco 408.998.TIXS $32.50 BUY TICKETS

Be the Riottt CANNED CHANGE: Billed as a forward thinking cultural expo with art, fashion, style and genre spanning live performances, Be The Riottt Festival expands the City's already diverse mindscape at the Bill Graham Civic tonight. Over 20 music artists are playing the Riottt fest--international, national and local acts from alt to indie, hip-hop to house, punk to prog--with some of the highlights being; The Rapture, X-Clan, Sage Francis, Asobi Seksu, Zion-I, The Presets, Saul Williams and Breakstra. Guaranteed, this event is going to be huge with a seamless musical bill and cutting edge cultural representations.

Sat. Nov. 11, 8pm Ruby Skye 420 Mason St., San Francisco 415.693.0777 $15

DJ Dan ALL NATURAL SCRATCH: The favorite son of the LA house scene, DJ Dan, hits Ruby Skye tonight and even though the doors may open at 8pm, it's a more than sure bet that DJ Dan won't start dropping his signature mad beats until the usual prime DJ time. DJ Dan has cut up the international circuit logging some serious air miles along the way while his following of progressive house bass heads keeps growing exponentially under the watchful guide of worldwide house scene stalwarts like Donald Glaude.

Sat. Nov. 11, 8pm The 418 Project 418 Front St., Santa Cruz 831.466.9770 $5

Los Dryheavers LIVE FAST DIURETIC: Loud ass punkers Los Dryheavers play an almost hometown show at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz tonight and our prayers go out to the person who had to front the beer tab. Los Dryheavers hit the requisite politically tinged punk songs and can also wax wit when it's called for, but mostly, this quintet is just out for a good time, some booze and some amplifier destroying sonics in their signature no frills and no bullshit straight ahead way.

Sat. Nov. 11, 9pm The Vault Ultra Lounge 81 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose 408.298.1112 Usual Cover

Paparazzi @ Vault ENQUIRE WITHIN: The Vault Ultra Lounge goes one step beyond its usually high mark on the swank-o-meter by presenting the first Paparazzi party tonight, but there has yet to be any word what lurid photogs from exactly which libelous celeb rags will be in attendance with shutters flying. However, it is confirmed that DJ Danny Brown will be manning the decks in the Main Room while the Back Room belongs to the turntable stylings of DJ Mein. Grab your favorite shades, put your hand up to block the camera lens and hit the party...not the photographer.

Sat. Nov. 11, 9pm Angels Ultra Lounge 400 S. First St., San Jose 408.885.9588 Usual Cover BUY TICKETS

DJ Homicide TURNTABLE KILLAH: DJ Homicide--yup that DJ Homicide of Sugar Ray--heads the turntable attack at the Fame party tonight at Angels Ultra Lounge. After leaving SR (are they done or is a turn on VH1 scheduled?) and a serious acting turn in the Scooby-Doo movie, DJ Homicide has been the resident spinner at a few of the hottest and most exclusive clubs in Vegas while also hitting the renowned scene in the palm fronded digs of Miami. Other pious followers of the turntable arts, DJs nasty Nick, David Q and Reckid round out the beat lineup.

Sun. Nov. 12, 8pm The Fillmore 1805 Geary, San Francisco 408.998.TIXS $35 BUY TICKETS

Blind Guardian EPIC KNIGHT SONGS: We'll never be able to figure out the connection between metal bands and the fantasy/epic/myth genre...we mean, sure the fantasy literature genre had to have come first and we're certain that epics, sagas and myths were around far longer than any metal band--despite some of their claims--but, seriously, it just begs for a chicken and egg argument of some sort and a philosophical delving into this cultural phenomenon. So, okay, we'll go first. Why are many metal bands (here, but especially in Europe) inextricably tied to Dungeons and Dragons fantasy action? While you're formulating your response, we'll tell you that German fantasy/ metal "lords" Blind Guardian play The Fillmore tonight and extra hit points and a plus 5 sword will be awarded to any fan that brings in a 20-sided die.

Mon. Nov. 13, 8pm The Fillmore 1805 Geary, San Francisco 408.998.TIXS $35 BUY TICKETS

Paul Stanley ROCK ON STARCHILD: Gene Simmons has gone on to reality show fame and Paul Stanley--28 years after his first solo recording--has released his second solo album whose title track "Live to Win" was featured on the Warcraft episode of South Park...all right, say what you will about these contemporary ventures; it still doesn't change the fact that back in the day, KISS was one of the hardest rocking bands ever. Paul Stanley plays The Fillmore tonight and, ya know what, even without the makeup and the other members, Stanley can definitely blow the roof off a joint--kinda do miss those theatrical arena rock days, though.

Tue. Nov. 14, 10pm Tres Gringos 83 S. Second St., San Jose 408.278.9888 No Cover

Red Menace ALT-PINKO ROCK: The Tuesday night local band throwdown at Tres keeps right on rolling with Red Menace kicking out their near retro sounding alt rock licks tonight for the beautiful cover charge of nada. While certainly not as threatening as a communist insurgency, Red Menace's melodic amplifier distortion and lyrical chops mark connective songs that latch onto the part of your gut that governs the brake switch for your emotional rollercoaster.

Tue. Nov. 14, 8pm The Warfield 982 Market St., San Francisco 408.998.TIXS $22.50 BUY TICKETS

GWAR METAL MYTHOLOGY: There simply isn't a more metal mythos based and presented band than shock rock pioneers and thrash metal monstrosities GWAR, who invade The Warfield tonight. Despite what you may have heard and no matter what allusions Tipper Gore once made, GWAR is all done in the name and embodiment of good clean fun--well, except for the fake bodily fluids that are repeatedly shot out over the crowd. Sure their songs are hard and have decidedly, um, unwholesome lyrics, but you've just got to love a band that doesn't take themselves too seriously, have kept in character for like 20 years, has a legion of fans and recently had action figures created of them. GWAR just straight rocks and if there's one lingering shock value event that you may regret not going to one day, seeing GWAR live has to somewhere near the top of the list.

Tue. Nov. 14, 8pm Slim's 333 11th St., San Francisco 415.522.0333 $26 BUY TICKETS

The Damned ORIGINAL SUBVERSIVES: One of the original bands in the late '70s UK punk scene, inadvertent progenitors of early goth rock and major influences in the hardcore scene, The Damned hit Slim's tonight. There's much consternation about who exactly recorded the first punk single--most claim it was the Sex Pistols, some say the Clash, a few chime in with The Ramones (for the record we'll go with the NY Dolls)--but, actually The Damned put out "New Rose" before the big three even hit the studio. In addition to that claim to fame, The Damned also laid down one of the most anarchy laden cuts ever to blow eardrums on unsuspecting youth; Machine Gun Etiquette, which, by the way, is still hailed as one of the best punk albums of all time. If you're going to hit a couple shows this weekend, take a history lesson while you're at it--hit the NY Dolls on Wednesday Nov. 8 and catch The Damned tonight...trust us.

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Fri. Nov. 17, 8pm Johnny V's 31 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose 408.947.8470 $5

Beerlords ANARCHY IN THE SJ: When these raucous Sacto punks roll into town there are a few things you have to remember. One, start preparing your liver early and utilize some sort of training program like drinking calisthenics. Two, start listening to your favorite band at a higher volume than normal to prepare your eardrums for one of the loudest sonic assaults your poor tympanic membrane is likely to encounter. Three, roll into the venue a little early--in this case Johnny V's--to secure a good spot. Four, thoroughly apply one through three and hope the joint doesn't run out of liquor 'cause there might be a riot.

Fri. Nov. 17, 9pm The Blank Club 44 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose 408.292.5265 $8

Jade of Days ALTERNATIVE VISION: Jade of Days play that style of music that, when you hear the first chord drop, pick up the blazing guitar and the driving bass and drums then hear vocalist Dana Kelley's delicate lilting voice over the beat, you think to yourself that this is what every alt band should sound like. Kelley's melodic and emotional vocal chops perfectly compliment the amazing musicianship of guitarist Paul Borges, bassist Nelson Medeiros and drummer Junior Medeiros--the sound is clean, amazingly harmonized and spans musical styles ranging from hard hitting punk inspired choruses to driving rock solos to intelligent alt indie numbers that meld into a sound rarely heard these days. Seriously, Jade of Days is so tight and so good; they should all quit their day jobs.

--This week's newsletter by: RO & AR

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