A Musical Taste of San Francisco Right Here in Santa Monica

By Tomm Carroll

Fri., January 31 - Thurs., February 6 -- If you were thinking of making a trip up to San Francisco to catch some music, you can save yourself the time and gas money. The best music of the Bay Area is coming down to the Santa Monica Bay on Saturday night, when McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica presents its sixth annual "Best Of San Francisco" Singer-Songwriter Showcase. All sets are acoustic -- or at least that's what they tell us.

A whole cable carload of NoCal musicians are making the trip down to SoCal, including Dr. Frank (of Berkeley rockers the Mr. T Experience), Carla Kihlstedt (one of the chamber jazzbos in Tin Hat Trio), Rico Bell (of agit-punk squad the Mekons), Lysa Flores (onetime El Vez's Elvette), Bob Forrest (the original Thelonious Monster man), and gay power pop outfit Pansy Division, as well as Bob Davenport, Ian Brennan, Greg Heller, Waycross, Eric Shea, Jason Kleinberg and more. Be sure to wear a flower in your hair…

STRINGS & SONS: Over at Boulevard Music -- Culver City's answer to McCabe's --
Fred Sokolow and his son Zack, along with Tom Sauber and his kid Patrick, will display their mastery of string instruments on a vast array of acoustic pieces on Saturday night. The multi-instrumentalist fathers and sons will demonstrate different musical styles -- from traditional and bluegrass to old timey and swing -- on such instruments as guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and dobro. Hey, that's five instruments and only four musicians!

Other shows of note this week include:

Friday

It's an '80s headbanger heaven at Johnny Foxx's in West L.A.with such tribute acts as Motley Priest (varous metal acts), Prophecy (Queensryche), Heartbreaker (Pat Benatar) and Sea of Love (Fleetwood Mac).

Saturday

More music from the Greed Decade when The M-80's headline Santa Monica's 14 Below this evening. Also on the bill are Sparrows of Stone, and what we could all use more of -- Money, Sex & Power.

Local legends The L.A. Guns are locked and loaded once again for a show at Johnny Foxx's. Sharing the bill are Band Name of the Week Dead Beat Sinatra, as well as The Sellouts, In Need and Pur 301.

Harvelle's in Santa Monica rocks the blues, courtesy of Just Dave and the New Family tonight.

Sunday

Flash back to the days of the Dead when Cubensis does its weekly Grateful Dead tribute at 14 Below.

Monday

All that jazz (and more) is in the oven (and on the stage) when The Jazz Bakery in Culver City welcomes The Banda Brothers.

Tuesday

Vagenius, featuring drummer Joachim Cooder (son of Ry), joins forces with Emily Wells and The Loveable Mutts for a triple bill at Santa Monica's Temple Bar.

Wednesday

It's another Battle of the Bands at Rusty's Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica Pier. This week's match: Rogue vs. Big Green.

Thursday

Do sinners have more fun? Find out when Susan Sinner and her Quartet gigs at Century City supper club and jazz hotspot Lunaria.

PICK OF THE WEEK

KODO
ROYCE HALL, UCLA, WESTWOOD
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8
8:00 P.M.

You can forget all those jokes about drummers. The acclaimed Kodo skin-beaters have not only made the art respectable, they've transformed it into a lifestyle!

The troupe's "One Earth" tour brings Kodo to Royce Hall for a four-night stand, with special guest artists promised. If you've never experienced these amazing performers live, get yourself a ticket. An act that must be seen as well as heard to be believed, these mesmerizing drummers who hail from Japan's Sado Island have been performing since 1981. Kodo was founded by a community seeking to preserve the traditional Japanese performing arts, and the drummers lead an ascetic lifestyle dedicated to their art.

In Japanese, the group's name connotes both "heartbeat" and "children of the drum," and the performers live up to both monikers. Whether playing on a regulation-size snare drum or the majestic 900-pound "o-daiko,"Kodo does indeed electrify audiences with its collective virtuosity, strength and stamina. Don't show up with a hangover!