So much music going on here in SF. Yes! We are Under The Stars, a quasi-weekly column about to be trampled by five million concertgoers attending several music festivals in Golden Gate Park over the next three weekends.
But no matter the scene or scent, patcholi or Sour Diesel (that’s expensive cannabis, Holmes), we still will be here on message with strong ass opinions, presenting new music releases, upcoming shows, and other adjacent items. We keep it moving, hustling with the changes, thinking outside the margins. We’ve been doing this for five years… Spend some time with us…
First, a heartfelt Rest In Peace to Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who lived a humble, decent, and artful life off-camera. The joy he brought to so many by being a warm, empathetic Black man is deeply felt and cannot even be tabulated. Rest easy, King.
Let’s get to some music..
REVIEW: LOS BITCHOS AT GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, JULY 23
Three years after their debut, Let The Festivities Begin!, Los Bitchos returned to SF with fervent enthusiasm, rawkus fun, and that ying-yang pizzazz they are known for, riding that well-deserved wave of buzz—blowing doors down metaphorically and through their powerful tone—and establishing yet another uptick.
As they worked through several selections from their first album, kicking off the show with “Talkie Talkie,” lead guitarist Serra Petale was mean-mugging for laughs but, dammit, laying down swerving guitar lines that immediately snapped the crowd up in emotion. “What’s up, San Francisco,” she declared before hitting a note, prompting the sold-out crowd to go full speed down the cumbia tutorial. This was one of those shows where SF music heavyweights check in. Who was it this night? Bay-Area DJ royalty: J Boogie and Patrick (DJ) King Most, and Oakland’s own Combo Tezeta warmed up: This sea of cumbia-heads were ready and having it. Lit and equipped to get mischievously delighted, Los Bitchos-style.
Both percussive groups bring that psych-surf groove-based Latin folk dance vibe, so the international energy stayed flawless, in motion all night. From tip to tail. But here’s what stuck out. Compared to previous shows in SF by Los Bitchos, this time, they reached and inspired a new core. The ladies. Finally, this idea, of an all-woman band bringing psychedelics and grooves—expressive movements straight to your domepiece—not a gimmick, more of an assertion, captivated the women in attendance on this night. Not to dismiss their 2022 show at The Chapel—I had a great time, fucked around, and got lost walking home because it was so lit. But on this night, all kinds of women made space for themselves. Jamming out with a partner or solo-style.
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So geeked to see—Black, white, asian. Latino women—just grooving, whipping out their air guitar, and giving their fierce mean-mugging to the solos. Not giving a shit what the dudes were doing. Props to that savage Van Halen girl gang, high off Mezcal, spaghetti westerns, and Tarantino flicks. That fierce empowerment message, without even uttering a single lyric, ’cause LB mostly play instrumentals, was loud AF.
KASSA OVERALL, “REBIRTH OF SLICK” (COOL LIKE DAT)
When musicians decide to focus on doing hip-hop covers, I usually immediately curl into a fetal position. Yet jazz players are improv savants, just like the best emcees. Reporting on what is seen and felt in the moment makes for the most inspiring art. Kassa Overall, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Graduate and Grammy-nominated jazz artist, drummer, emcee, singer, and producer, gets the mission.
On his upcoming album CREAM, he converts hip-hop classics by The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, A Tribe Called Quest, OutKast, Digable Planets, and Juvenile into stirring jazz-adjacent arrangements and sometimes, when the occasion calls for it, turns them into straight-up burners. They land exactly where you want the past and the future to meet, at the intersection of fresh and unexpected. Amazing selections and tasteful retouches are given a wildly reworked treatment for this project, which eschews edits, dubs, and drum machines, instead presenting classics with tweaked rhythms, inverted constructs, and a 21st-century eclecticism.
It’s revelatory. A buddy of mine caught Overall open up for Tuneyards in June at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park (you really should see a show at that venue, somehow it’s still slept on and that’s criminal). He reported that the energy put forth from the set just ignited both shows the entire night. But don’t go by a second-hand account, just feel what he does to the Digable Planets classic “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like DAT)” with a hard bop meter, a real burning 15/4 odd-time arrangement. It’s a warning shot, people. Kassa Overall is here.
Pre-order CREAM here.
MIDNIGHT SESSIONS AT UNDERGROUND SF, 8/1
Midnight Society from LA teams up with SF Collectives Shelter, Stamina, Five Allet, and Wormhole for an epic collaborative night showcasing some of California’s finest drum & bass talent, including Shadow Spirit, Jokr, Grail, and Flaco. Experience the energy as artists from across the state come together for an unforgettable evening of heavy basslines and cutting-edge beats. collectives, one mission: bringing the West Coast D&B community together under one roof.
Kicks off at 9 pm. Grab tickets here.
FATCAP SOUND AT UNDERGROUND SF, 8/2
Double whammy: FatCap Sound presents another night of nothing but the best jungle and drum & bass for yo booty and yo face, featuring badman selectah DIAL M direct from the UK and make space for Jon AD from Lo Dubs as well. Bass space in the place.
Grab tickets here.
ORCHESTRA GOLD, “BAYE ASS N’DIAYE” DAKAN
Orchestra Gold’s new digital single, “Baye Ass N’Diaye,” is a big-stepping, hard-bumping, funk-rock-infused tribute from vocalist Mariam Diakite to one of her spiritual instructors. The band’s new album, Dakan, slated for October release, serves, according to the band, as a turning point for the Oakland outfit, coming into the fold as a bridge between worlds: West African traditional music and heavy, hypnotic psychedelic rock.
Without even knowing the predetermined direction of the new project, you can tell an evolution is happening with this band. The lead single “Baye Ass N’Diaye” moves with centralized frequency: thick horn lines, interplanetary guitar presence, grooves that push, not pull, and arrangements that make dance and free-flowing movement effortless. With performances over the past few years at the Bliss Festival, SFJAZZ, and Mill Valley Music Festival, expect Dakan to take this African Psych-Rock band further, to destinations unknown.
Pre-order here.
COCHEMEA, ANCESTROS FUTUROS
As a Daptone veteran saxophonist, Cochemea and his polyrhythmic sensibilities have supported many projects emanating from the influential Brooklyn label. That affiliation and grand command of soul, funk, and Afro-Latin jazz eventually landed him a full-time residency in Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings’ band in 2009.
On his solo projects, Cochemea Gastelum unpeeled the layers, revealed heady and meditative arrangements that meld the inner being with the power of funk-inspired cosmic jazz.
I always hear a strong Eddie Harris vibe in his music, who he’s called one of his idols.
With the upcoming Vol. 3: Ancestros Futuros, Cochemea adds on to the previous solo work he’s carved and shaped for years by mixing the prospective, the coming, and the to-be into a sonic gift for the Gods.
Pre-order here.
SADGIRL & THE MCCHARMLYS AT GAMH, TUE/5
SoCal rock bands take center stage at GAMH next Tuesday, blending experimental, gritty garage pop with doo-wop, surf, and 60s-style rock ‘n’ roll. Headlining LA’s SadGirl continues exploring sensory textures, balancing opposites through lo-fi tape machines to create a raw, punk-inspired euphoria. Meanwhile, the opening band, the bold and lively The McCharmlys from Santa Ana, celebrate the charms of various past eras through the playful attitude of lead singer and founder Angie Monroy. They have earned fans among punk, new wave, and rockabilly audiences with their unique mix of retro styles that come together perfectly.
Grab tickets here.
