Staff Picks: Strange Cities, Ben Folds, Young the Giant, My Morning Jacket, The Flaming Lips

Thursday, August 17

Strange Cities and Fake Your Own Death – Kilowatt Bar

I was thrilled to see new ownership bring live music back to the Kilowatt. They’ve been doing a great job showcasing national touring acts (eg Dead Meadow) as well as must-see local bands. This show falls into the latter category and is FREE, so no excuses. – Daniel

Ben Folds, Tall Heights – Fox Theater

Ben Folds, who has been called “quite possibly the most talented technical musician of our generation,” hits the Fox Theater for one night of pure musical genius. – Jon

Young the Giant, Milky Chance – The Greek Theatre

It’s been a while since the Bay Area has seen YTG and Milky Chance and this show promises to be a reminder of how great these two bands are! – Marc

Friday, August 18

Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket  – The Greek Theatre

The band that put Louisville, Kentucky on the musical map with their epic, hours-long shows drenched in southern rock and psych rock has come a long way since doing an in-store at Amoeba Records back in 2001. Now they return to the Greek where they played a blistering and jubilant show in 2021 coming out of COVID restrictions. Fleet Foxes are on the top of the bill, but who is the real headliner here? – Daniel

Saturday, August 19

Duran Duran – The Guild Theatre 

Duran Duran are playing an intimate benefit show at the Guild Theatre Saturday 8/19. Proceeds go to the Cancer Awareness Trust. – Marc

Sunday, August 20

The Flaming Lips – Stern Grove Festival

Stern Grove celebrates their final and most ambitious show to cap their giant year of amazing acts with their “Big Picnic” & The Flaming Lips - with their spacey multi-layered music and crazy elaborate stage show. Additionally, Mayor Breed is going to formally name Sunday “The Flaming Lips Day” in acknowledgement of the band’s distinctive connection to the Bay Area. – Jon

The Clientele – The Chapel

After playing Fernwood in Big Sur on Saturday night, English indie band The Clientele heads north for San Francisco as part of a three-show folkYEAH run. I saw these guys open for Spoon at The Fillmore in 2005 and was smitten. As I recall, Britt Daniel said he wished he could make a record as good as “Strange Geometry.” - Daniel

LOOKING AHEAD

Saturday, August 26

Sigur Rós with Wordless Music Orchestra – The Greek Theatre
What’s better than your favorite Icelandic trance-like band performing at an outdoor amphitheater? That same band with an awesome orchestra, that’s what! – Jon